24 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. At the death of Henry, Prince of Wales, Nov. 6, 1612, this manor came again to the crown, in which it remuned till 14 James I., when the King granted it, in trust, for the use of his surviving son, Charles, Prince of Wales, who, after he came to the throne, bestowed it, anno 16S9, on Sir Allen Apsley, who sold it the next year to Thomas Austen, Esq., ancestor of Sir John Austen, Bart., who, in the year 1723, alienated it to James Colebiooke, Esq., from whom it descended to Sir George Colebrook, Bart. This gentleman's life interest was, Feb. 16, 1791, put up to sale, and purchased by Jonathan Eade, of Stoke Newington, Esq., who afterwards bought the fee. His son, Joseph Eade, Esq., succeeded ; and, since hia death, it has been held by Samuel and Francis Pett, Esquires, his nephews, and trustees under his will. The manor, according to the survey of 161 1 before- mentioned, contains 987 acres, two roods, eighteen perches ; of which 459 acres, and four perches, were then in demesne. Lands descend according to the custom of Gavelkind, being equally divided between male heirs in the same degree of consanguinity, and, in default of male heirs, among females in like man- ner. The fine is at the will of the lord ; who takes, on descent, a year and a half s improved rent on houses, and two years* improved rent on land ; and, on alienation, one year on houses, and a year and a half on land. No heriots are now demanded, nor have been for many ages; but &• 8<2. appears to have been once paid on that account in the reign of Henry VII. Widows are not entitled to dower of the copy-hold. The court baron is, commonly. OBNBRAL HISTORICAL VIEW. £5 heU at the Blue-coat boy, at the top of the City Road. Barnbsbury Manor, it has been said, takes name from the family of Berners, from whom it was an- ciently called that of Iseldon Bemen, or Bemers^ bufy. The adjunct iury, in this instance, as in that of Highrbwry, Cawm^mry, and many others, was signifieant, we have every reason to suppose, of the existence of a manor-house, though none is now found remaining^ The term, we lately remarked, was at first applied to a place of strength, (as a fortified town, castle, or the like ;) but it gradually became attached to any house of more than ordinary pretensions, and manor-houses were of that description in general. All the lower or southern part of this manor was, probably, parcel of the original possessions of the canons of St. Paul. Its modem sweep, from north to south, is from the parish boundary on Highgate Hill to High Street: on the east it is bounded by the Upper Street, and the great north road through Holloway; on the west, for the most part, by the manor of St. John of Jerusalem, and, to a trifling extent, by the upper part of Maiden Lane. Ralph de Bemers, who died in 1297, was seised of the manor of Yseldon^ held under the Bishop of London, as of his castle of Hertford, by a certain quit-rent, and the service of warding the castle ^ The same fiunily also held half a knight's fee in Islington, under the Bohuns, Earls of Hereford, in the reign of Heniy VI.'; being, no doubt, the estate mentioned 1 Bich. 26, Edward I. Na S9. » Ewbequer Records, No. 8. (Knights' Fees.) 96 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. in the Domesday Survey, as held by (jilbert of Geoffiry de Mandeville, whose heirs the Bohuns were. From the Bemers fiunily the manor passed into that of the Bourchiers, by the marriage of Sir John Bourchier with Margaret, daughter and heiress of Bichard Lord Bemers, who died in the year 1412. On the death of Sir John Bourchier, Lord Bemers in right of his wife, in 1475, and of Lady Margaret in the following year, the manor was inherited by their grandson, John, the last Lord Bemers, who became Chancellor of the Exchequer, Deputy-General of the town of Calais, &c. His name appears among the noble authors of England ; having published, ** The Golden Boke of Marcus Aurelius,** '^The Hystoiy of the Moost Noble and Yalyant Knyght, Arthur, of Lytel Brytayne,** a translation of Froissart, &c« He died in 1532, leaving issue one daughter, married to Edmund Knyvett, Esq., who had livery of his lands. In 1548 the manor was the property of Thomas Fowler, Gent., in whose family it continued till 1656; when, by the marriage of Sarah, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Fowler, Bart., it passed to Sir Thomas Fisher, and descended, in 1671, to his son. Sir Bichard Fisher, Bart. Ursula, daughter, and event- ually heiress, of Sir Thomas Fisher, brought it by marriage to Sir William Halton, Bart. ; and by his grandson. Sir William, it was devised, in 1754, to William Tuffiiell Jolliffe, Esq. ; upon whose death, in 1797, it became the property (under the entail of Sir William Halton's will) of George Forster Tuffiiell, Esq., who died in 1798. On the death of his suc- cessor, William Tuffiiell, Esq., in 1809, it was vested OBNERAL HISTORICAL VIBW. 27 in trustees, for the use of his widow, tall Edward Carlton Tufinell, and Henry Tuffiiell, his infant sons, should attain the age of twenty-four years. The trustees named, were Thomas Creevey, and William Biereton, Esquires^ the latter of whom has since dcccaicd- The fines in Bamesbury manor are arbitrary ; but the custom has been to take two years' improved rent on a descent, and one year and a half on alienation. Noheriots are paid : nor are widows entitled to dower. W. T. JoUifie, Esq., when lord, obtained an Act of Parliament (8 George III. cap. 3.) to enable him to giant building leases of the demesne lands, &c Thomas Creevey, Esq., trustee under the will of William TufQiiell, Esq., also obtained an Act (8. Geo. ly.) to enable him ** to reduce the fine for the copy- holds held of the manor, as an encouragement to the tenants to build thereon ; to grant building and re- psiiing leases of the deyised estates,'* &c. According to a survey, taken not many years back, the manor contained, copyhold^ ISl acres, two roods, twenty-eight perches ; detne$netf (situate near the three mile stone, HoUoway,) 121 acres, and nineteen perches; total, 242 acres, three roods, seven perches. The Manor of Canonbury is the most compact, and best defined, as to the area it occupies, of all the Islington manors, being completely insulated by three highvrays; viz. on the west by the Upper Street, bam the Police Station-house, Islington Green, to the foot of Highbuiy Place ; on the east by the Lower Street and Road, from the Station-house to Ball's Pond; and, on the north, by Hopping Ijane. By 12 28 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. these roads it is shaped into abnost a regular triangle, the southern point of which is the Station-house. A survey of this manori made in 1806, by order of its lord, the Elarr(now Marquess) of Northampton, gave the contents as follows : demesnes^ held by the lord, 153 acres, two roods, thirty perches ; copyhold^ twenty- six acres, one rood, one perch ; freehold, three acres, two roods, twenty-six perches ; waste, (at Islington Green) one acre, six perches : total, 184 acres, two roods, twenty-three perches. But from this total must be deducted a plot of ground containing eleven acres, thirty-seven perches, north of Hopping Lane, and formerly well known as Barr's, afterwards Brooks's Nursery, which is properly within High- bury manor, although a freehold belonging to the Marquess of Northampton. This plot, anciently called " the Hoppinge," or Hop-Oround, (whence Hopping Lane,) was possessed in 1611, it appears, by the second Liord Compton, by whom both it, and the manor of Canonbury, were brought into the pre- sent family. At that period Highbuxy manor was parcel of the possessions of Henry, Prince of Wales, by whose command the Survey before-mentioned was taken ; and " the Hoppinge*' being therein described as Lord Compton's freehold, it would seem that his Lordship had obtained its enfranchisement. As the tract held by the Bemers family, under the Bohuns, in the reign of Henry YL, is concluded to be the same with the '^ land of Oeoffry de Mande- ville,** described in Domesday-Book, so the manor of Canonbury is judged to have originated in the ^' land of Derman Lundonensis,** mentioned in the same GBNBRAL HISTORICAL VIEW* 29 venerable record. When this manor also came into the Bemers fieumly, and made part of their fee, it was, as suchi included in a grant made by Ralph de Bemers, to the Priory of SL Bartholomew, of lands and rents, with their appurtenances, in Iseldone. The same were enumerated, along with various other possessions of the monasteiy, in a confirmation grant of Henry III., bearing date at Winchester, in the year 1S5S, and the thirty-seventh of his reign \ The canons of St Bartholomew, it seems probable, conceived of this manor as affording a favourable site for the burgh, or country-seat, of their Prior; and £rom that drcum-* stance the entire estate acquired the name of Canons-* hargh, since softened into Canonbury. For all the purposes of such a residence, as Malcolm observed, " Canonbury was certainly most convenient and plea- sant : we can easily imagine the beautiful view they must have had firom thence even to the gates of the priory, for the smoke of London was not then so dense as it is at present, and very few buildings intervened'." At the dissolution of religious houses, the priory of St. Bartholomew, together with its manor of Canon- bury, and all its other possessions, was surrendered to King Henry YIII., Oct. 25, 1540, by Robert Fuller, the last prior, who was also abbot of Waltham Holy Cross. A copy of the instrument of surrender, -^ith the seal of the priory, is given in Nichols's " History and Antiquities of Canonbury *.*" As in the case of 1 Dugdale's Monast. II. 386. > Londiniom RedmTum, I. 284. * 4to. 1788. 90 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. Highbory manor, this of Canonbury was bestowed upon Thomas Lord Cromwell, Lord Privy Seal, Vicar-Oeneral, Lord Great Chamberlain of England, &c., the king's chief instrument in dissolving the monasteries, and depressing the clergy. But Crom- well, though shortly afterwards created Earl of Essex, soon lost both his honours and his life, through the caprice of the royal despot who had so rapidly elevated him, being involved in the ruin of the Lady Ann of Cleves, Henry's marriage with whom he had industri- ously promoted. The queen, however, more fortunate than the favourite, escaped the block, the tyrant being satisfied with her divorce ; and, eventually, she ob- tained a handsome jointure, formed principally from the wreck of Cromwell's fortunes. Among other grants, she had an annuity of SO/, from this manor, which, vnth all the other possessions of the late Earl, had reverted, through his attainder, to the crown. Canonbury was granted by Edward VI. to John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, afterwards Duke of Nor^ thumberland, the powerful nobleman who prevailed on the young king to entail the succession upon the Lady Jane Grey, and who sacrificed himself in the attempt to establish that lady (his daughter-in-law,) upon the throne. When under sentence of death from Queen Mary, he showed himself as abject in adversity as ever he had been haughty in prosperity, by begging for his life in the meanest terms. In a letter written by him from the Tower to the Earl of Arundel, a copy of which is preserved in the Harleian MSS., he exclaims, ''Alas, my good Lord, is my crime so heinous that no redemption but my blonde GBKERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. SI can waslie awaye the spottes thereof? An old proverb there is, and that most true, that a liyinge dogge is better than a dead lyon. Oh ! that it would please her good Grace to give me life, yea, the life of a dogge, that I might live and kiss her feet !" In 1557, four years after the decapitation of the duke, Queen Mary granted the manor to Thomas, Lord Went- worth, who, in 1570, alienated it to John, afterwards Sir Jcdm Spencer, Knt, firom his great wealth called rich Spencer. Sir John was a citizen and cloth- worker of London, an alderman of the same dty, sheriff in 1583-4, and Lord Mayor in 159S. He seems to have possessed much public spirit, loyalt|r, and patriotism ; and, though connected with many of the leading courtiers of the day, to have been very tenacious of the rights and privileges of the city, which, by acts of royal or ministeiial power, were then not unfrequently liable to be violated. His town residence was Crosby Place, the large and sumptuous mansion built by Sir John Crosby, which had subsequently been the abode of the Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard IIL', and of which an interesting relic yet remains in Crosby Hall, near Bishop^^te Street, now in progress of restora^ tion. " This house," said Stow, ** Sir John Spencer lately purchased, — ^made great reparations, — kept his mayoralty there," — and there also, in 1603, lodged and splendidly entertained the Marquis de Rosny, (better known as the Duke de Sully,) with all his 1 " And presently repair to Crosby Placb."— ItieA. ///. Act /. Sum. 11. 9S6 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. train, when he arrived as ambassador from the French court to the new monarch of England, James I. The worthy knight made great improvements too in his mansion-house of Canonbury, and appears to have been in the frequent habit of retiring to it after the fisktigues of the day. In a curious pamphlet, published in 1651, entitled ''The Vanity of the Lives and Passions of Men, by D. Papillon, Gent," occurs the following remarkable passage, bearing reference, it would seem, to this practice of Sir John's, and which its author states to be founded on a private record. " In Queen Elizabeth's days, a pirate of Dunkerk laid a plot, with twelve of his mates, to cany away Sir John Spencer ; which if he had done, fifty thou- sand pounds had not redeemed him. He came over the seas in a shallop, with twelve musketiers, and in the night came into Barking-creek, and left the shallop in the custody of six of his men, and with the other six came as far as Islington, and there hid themselves in ditches, near the path in which Sir John always came to his house : but, by the provi- dence of God, Sir John, upon some extraordinary occasion, was forced to stay in London that night» otherwise they had taken him away ; and they, fear- ing they should be discovered, in the night-time came to their shallop, and so came safe to Dunkerk again." Sir John Spencer died, at an advanced age, in 1609, and was buried in the church of St. Helen's, Bishops- gate, where bis monument, bearing the efRgies of him- self, wife, and daughter, of the size of life, remains. That daughter, his only child and heiress, had been previously married to William, the second Lord GBNBRAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 33 Compton, Jjord President of Wales, to whom she now broiiglit so rich a dowry ^ that its possession for a time unsettled his intellects. Allusion to this £stct is made in a letter, written at the time by a Mr. John Beaolieu, to a Mr. Trumbull, then residing at Brussels, and to be found in JFintoooiTs State Papers, (▼oL iii. p. 136.) an extraet from which follows : — '' Upon Tuesday the funerals of Sir John Spencer were made, where some thousand men did assist, in mourning doakes or gowns, amongst which were three hundred and twenty-four men, who had every one of them a basket given them, stored with the par- ticular provisions set down in this note inclosed \ But to expound to you the mysticall meaning of such an anticke furniture, I am not so skilful an (Edipus, except it doth design the horn of abundance which my Lord Compton hath found in that succession. But that poor Lord is not like (if God do not help him) to carry it away for nothing, or to grow very rich thereby, being in great danger 'to loose his witts for the same ; whereof being at the very first newes, either through the vehement apprehension of joy for such a plentiful succession, or of carefulness how to * > Whkb gives the fdlowing account of the mitcelUneous contenu of each basket:—" A bUcke gowne, four pounds of beef, two loaves of bread, a little bottle of wine, a candlestick, a pound of candles, two fsucers, two spoons, a black pudding, a pair of gloves, a dozen of points S two red herrings, four white herrings, six sprats, and two > Tagged laces, then in use for securing together the various parts ofmaleappareL D 34 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. take it up and dispose it, somewhat distracted, and afterwards reasonably well restored, he is now of late fallen again (but more deeply,) into the same frenzy, so that there seemeth to be little hope of his recovery. And what shall these thousands and millions avail him, if he come to lose, if not his soul, at least his witts and reason ? It is a faire and ample subject for a divine to course riches, and a notable example to the world not to wooe or trust so much in them." Again, about a week afterwards, the same gentleman writes : '' Here is dead within these two days the old Lady Spencer, following the heels of her husband, who gave away amongst her kindred 13,000/. of the 15,0002. which she was to have of my Lord Compton, who is now altogether distracted, and so franticke as that be is forced to be kept bound. The administra- tion of his goods and lands is committed to the Lords Chamberlaine, Privy Seal, and Worcester; who, coming the last week into the city, took an inventory (in the presence of the sheriffs) of the goods, amongst which (it is said) there were bonds found for 133,000 pounds.** Yet his Lordship appears to have been afterwards more than " reasonably well restored ;" as, in 1618, he was created Earl of Northampton, and lived till 1630, when his death was occasioned by in- cautiously bathing in the Thames ^ It is traditionally said, that he obtained his wife, Elizabeth Spencer, by contriving her cariying-off from Canonbury-house in a bakers basket; an elopement, the probability of which is confirmed by a picture representing it, pre- » Sec Peck's " Desiderata Curiosa," ii. 89 GENERAL HISTORICAL VI£W. 85 serred among the paintings at Castle Ashby, the fiunily seat of the Comptons, Northamptonshire. Another story relates that Sir John Spencer was not reconciled to his daughter, until Queen Elizabeth, by a pleasant device, prevailed on him to stand sponsor to her infeuit son, the first ofispring of the young couple^ upon whom, as upon a stranger, his own surname was conferred in baptism : after which ceremony, her majesty, who condescended to enact the part of god- mother, explained the deception to the knight, but not till he had expressed his determination to adopt the boy, in lieu of his discarded daughter, as his own son. Whatever were the truth as to these anecdotes, it would appear that the lady herself did not under- estimate the value of her alliance to her noble lord, as will be seen from the following letter from her to her husband, without date, but written, it seems, when the earldom, though unconferred, was in expec- tation. ** My sweet Life, " Now I have declared to you my mind for the settling of your state, I suppose that it were best for me to bethink or consider with myself what allowance were meetest for me. For, considering what care I have had of your estate, and how respectfully I dealt with those, which, both by the laws of God, of nature, and of civil polity, wit, religion, govemmeut, and honesty, you, my dear, are bound to, I pray and be- seech you to grant me 1600/. per annum, quarterly to be paid. ** Also, I would (besides that allowance for my d2 86 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. apparel) have 600/. added yearly (quarterly to be paid) for the perfonnance of charitable works, and those things I would not, neither will be, accountable for. " Also I will have three horses for my own saddle, that none shall dare to lend or borrow ; none lend but I, none borrow but you. '^ Also, I would have two gentlewomen, lest one should be sick, or have some other lett ; also believe that it is an undecent thing for a gentlewoman to stand mumping alone, when God hath blessed their lord and lady witli a good estate. " Also, when I ride a hunting or hawking, or travel from one house to another, I will have them attend- ing ; so, for either of those said women, I must and will have for either of them a horse. " Also, I will have six or eight gentlemen : and I will have my two coaches, one lined with velvet to myself, with four very fedr horses; and a coach for my women, lined with sweet cloth, one laced with gold, the other with scarlet, and laced with watched lace and silver, with four good horses. " Also, I will have two coachmen, one for my own coach, the other for my women. " Also, at any time when I travel, I will be allowed not only carroches and spare horses for me and my women, but I will have such carriages as shall be fitting for all, orderly, not pestering my things with my women's, nor their*s with chamber-maids,* nor their's with wash-maids'. ** Also, for laundresses, when I travel, I will have them sent away before with the carriages to see all safe ; and the chamber-maids I will have go before OENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. S7 with the -greens S that the chambers may be ready^ sweet, and clean. " Also, for that it is indecent to crowd up myself with my gentleman-usher in my coach, I will have him to have a convenient horse, to attend me either in city or in country j and I must have two footmen ; and my desire is, that you defray all the charges for me. " And for myself, besides my yearly allowance, I would have twenty gowns of apparel, six of them ex- cellent good ones, eight of them for the country, and six other of them very excellent good ones. " Also, I would have, to put in my purse, 2,000/. and S002. ; and so for you to pay my debts. ** Also, I would have 6000/. to buy me jewels, and 4,000/. to buy me a pearl chain. " Now, seeing I am so reasonable unto you, I pray you to find my children apparel and their schooling ; and also my servants (men and women) their wages. ** Also, I will have my houses furnished, and all my lodging chambers to be suited with all such furni- ture as is fit ; as beds, stools, chairs, suitable cushions, carpets, silver warming-pans, cupboards of plate, fair hangings, and such like ; so, for my drawing«chambers in all houses, I will have them delicately furnished, both with hangings, couch, canopy, glass, carpet, chair-cushions, and all things thereunto belonging. " Also, my desire is, that you would pay all my 1 It was the custom in those times to strew the floors of chambers with ^yven rushes. See Blount's Tenures (art Aylesbury.) Stnitfs Manners and Customs, Vol. III. p. 72. Douce's Illustrations of Shakspeare, 8to. 1807, Vol. I. p. 477. Paul Hentzner's Travels in England, &c. 38 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. debts, build Ashby-house, and purchase lands; and lend no money (as you love God) to the Lord Cham- berlain \ who would have all, perhaps your life, from you. Remember his son, my Lord Walden ', what entertainment he gave me when you were at tilt-yard. If you were dead, he said he would be a husband, a father, a brother ; and he said he would marry me. I protest I grieve to see the poor man have so little wit and honesty to use his friend so vilely. Also, he fed me with untruths concerning the Charter-house ; but that is the least ; he wished me much harm. You know him ; God keep you and me from such as he is ! " So now that I have declared to you what I would have, and what that is that I would not have, I pray, that when you be an earl, to allow 1000/. more than I now desire, and double attendance. " Your loving wife, " Eliza Compton •." The history of the descent of the manor^ from the period of its acquisition by the first Earl of North- ampton, is that of the noble family to whom it has ever since pertained. Spencer, the second Earl, (the protege, by popular report, of Queen Elizabeth,) dis- tinguished himself by his valour and attachment to the cause of Charles I., in whose service he was killed at the battle of Hopton Heath, near Stafford, ^ Thomas, Earl of Suffolk, (one of the committee of Lord Compton's effects.) See p. 34. He was appointed Lord Treasurer, July 10, 1613. ' Theophilus, Lord Howard of Walden, succeeded his father as Earl of Suffolk, May 28, 1626,— Nichols's Hist of Canonhury. ^ This letter was first printed in the European Magazine for June, 1782. GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. S9 in 164i2-3. He was summoned to Parliament, as Baron Compton, duxing the life-time of his &ther. At Castle- Ashby is a fine portrait of him in armour. James, third £arl, with his father's honours, inherited his attachment to the royal fortunes ; for which he was depiiyed of his estates by the Parliament, but they were restored on the accession of Charles II. Dying in 1681, he was succeeded by his son George, fourth £arl. Constable of the Tower of London. James, fifth Earl, having acquired distinction in the House of Commons, was, like the second of the title, during his father's life-time, (viz. in 1711,) called up to the House of Peers as Baron Compton. He died in 1754*; and was succeeded by George, sixth Earl; who leaving no issue, the title devolved on his nephew, Charles, seventh Earl, who died in 1759, on his return from the court of Venice, to which he had been ambas- sador. Leaving no male issue, his brother, Spencer, became eighth Earl: and he was succeeded by his only son, Charles, the ninth Earl, and first Marquess, having been raised to the latter dignity in 1812. He died at Dresden in 18S8; and was succeeded by Spencer- J oshua-Alwyne, the present and tenth Earl, and second Marquess: bom Jan. 2, 1790. His lordship's other titles are, Earl Compton, and Baron Wilmington. The paternal coat of this noble family is, sable^ a lion passant gardant or, between three esquires* helmets argent : crest, a mount vert, thereon a beacon or, inflamed on the top proper; on the beacon a label inscribed nisi dominus: supporters, two dragons^ with wings expanded ermine^ ducally gorged and chained or: motto, je ne cherche qu'un, (I 40 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. seek but one '.) The copyholders in this manor pay a small fine certain, {Gs. 8d.) on descents or alienations, with the trifling quit-rent of four-pence per annum on each house. Estates descend according to the strict custom of Gavelkind. The annual court-baron is held on the Saturday nearest Michaelmas, at Canon- bury Tavern. We have seen that, in the Domesday record, there is either actual or apparent mention of the four manors already described ; the Prebend manor, and that of To- lentone, being distinctly named, and the small parcels of land which grew to those of Bamesbury and Canon- bury being also seemingly enumerated. The history of the Manor of St. John of Jerusalem cannot be taken up quite so early, the Knights of St. John not having been themselves established in England till about the year 1 1 10, and no document having reached our times relative to the occupancy of their lands in Islington prior to their possessing them. Neither have we any certain account of the time or manner of their acquiring estates in our parish. We are only informed, that, in the reign of Henry I., and about the year above-mentioned, a baron of Norman lineage, the Lord Jordan Briset, founded a house for them in Clerkenwell, and attached to it ten acres of ground that lay contiguous. In so small a grant originated a manor, that ultimately, by the successive benefactions of pious or superstitious landholders, comprehended nearly the whole of the modem parish of Clerkenwell, a very large proportion of that of Islington, and part 1 Hist. Clerkenwell, pp. 272, &c. GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 41 of Hornsey. Besides which, it appears from a record of their numerous possessions about the year 1373, that they Held, in the adjoining districts, ** West Smethefeld,** ** Kentisheton," *' Finchesley," and an estate, supposed to have been copyhold, in the manor of " Canonsbuxie \" Highbury, it has been sJready stated, passed into their hands towards the dose of the thirteenth century. The existing manor, as re- gards Islington parish, comprises two detached tracts; one of which, like Canonbury, is bounded by roads OQ its three sides, which are, on the north, Hornsey Lane; east, Du.Yal's Lane; west, the high road through HoUoway, and over part of Highgate hill. The other tract is bounded on the north and east by Bamesbury manor, on the west by Maiden Lane, on the south by the parish of Clerkenwell. The very ancient custom called Borough English continues in this manor ; whereby the youngest son of a copyholder inherits, or, in de&ult of issue, the youngest brother. The fines are at the will of the lords, who receive two years' improved rent on a descent, and a year and a half on alienation. No heriots are taken : and widows are entitled to dower of the copyhold. The court-leet and court-baron are held annually, on Holy Thursday, at White-Conduit House. From the dissolution of the monasteries till the year 1GS5, the Manor of St John of Jerusalem re- mained the property of the crown : but it was then granted, at an annual rent of 17/. I8s. lOd., to Ro- bert Dixon and William Walley ; by whom it would >EiGh.47Bdw. III. 42 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. appear to have been immediately conveyed to Justi- nian Povey. Cliristopher Wase, Esq., of Upper Hoi- loway, died seised of this manor in 1643; at which period that division of it into moieties commenced, which has continued to this day; Hester, the elder daughter of Mr. Wase, carrying the one moiety bj marriage to Sir Henry Blount, and the other having passed to George Master, of Lincoln's Inn, Esq., upon his marriage with the younger daughter, Judith. In the Master family this latter moiety con- tinued till about the year 1741, when William Snell, Esq., having purchased it of Thomas Master, Esq., it descended, upon the decease of Mrs. Snell, in No- vember, 1810, to William Hood, of Bardon Park, Leicestershire, Esq., a Bencher of the Inner Temple. The other moiety passed to the family of Short ; and afterwards, agreeably to the will of John Short, Esq., to Colonel Henry Hasard, who took the name of Short. It then descended, successively, to the bro- thers of the last mentioned possessor, John Garbrand Hasard, and Richard Samuel Hasard; with the latter of whom, who has also taken the name of Short, it remains. The present lords, therefore, are Richard Samuel Short, and William Hood, Esquires \ The Manor of Clerkenwell, like that of Canon- bury, is the property of the Marquis of Northampton. Its history, though brief, is somewhat curious. It is sometimes spoken of as the manor of SL James, Clerkenwell; but improperly, since the parish of Clerkenwell, from which it takes name, was not called * Hist. Clerkenwell, p. 2b, 26. OEMBRAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 43 after that saint till the reformadon^ and no manors liaTe been created since the time of Edward I. To give any manor so modem an appellation, is incorrect, therefore, prima facie. It is probable that this of Gerkenwell originally constituted a detached part of that parish, as a small tract still does at Muswell hill, surrounded by the parish of Homsey. How it came into the possession of the noble family, its present owners, is unknown ; but, in all likelihood, it was acquired by them along with their estates in Clerken- well. What chiefly deserves remark, is the &ct that the manorial rights were suffered to lie dormant, and forgotten, for nearly fifty years; namely, from 1751 , when the holding of a court-leet and court-baron is on record, tQl about thirty-five years back. It was from an accidental discovery of old documents at the last*mentioned period, that the existence of a " Manor of Clerkenwell" became re-apparent. These circum- stances appear the more singular, when we are in- formed that the customs of this manor are a source of considerably greater value to its lord than those of the manor of Canonbury ; the fines being two years* improved rent upon descents, and a year and a half upon alienations. It contains from 110 to ISO acres, chiefly copyhold, and no part demesne of the lord. Lying along the west side of the high road at Upper Holloway, it derives thence, as well as from its inter- section by the new road from Kentish Town, a suc- cession of frontages, whose value must be expected to increase yearly. Special courts are held occasionally at the London Spa, Clerkenwell. The Notices of ancient Islington which we shall pro- 12 44 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. ceed to extract firom historical and other works, will not, perhaps, harmonise greatly with each other as to matter, yet, we trust, they will be found separately entertaining. The following curious note relative to the cause of the disturbances in Wales in the time of Edward the First, occurs in the Mostyn collection of papers concerning that period, and is also quoted by Carte, in his history of England : — " The Snowdon Barons had accompanied Llewellyn to London, and joined their homage with that of their prince. These, with their numerous trains, were quartered at Isling- ton, and well entertained. Unhappily they could not drink the wine and the ale of London, the English bread they slighted, and the environs afforded not milk enough for their party. Their pride, too, was disgusted at the continual staring of the Londoners, who followed them in crowds to gaze at their uncom- mon garb. — No ! chorussed the indignant Britons — we never again will visit Islington except as con- querors. — And from that instant resolved to take up arms." Andrews's Hist. Gr. Brit. Vol I. p. 808. Anno 1341. (14th Edward III.) The Parliament having granted the King a subsidy of the ninth and fifteenth of grain, wool, and lambs, the following was the Survey or Taxation of the parish of Islington, made by Commissioners' appointed by the Crown, upon the oaths of the inhabitants : — " ISELDON. ** The same (>. e. the venditors and assessors) render accompt of 10/. 13*. 4rf. received of Richard Crollyng, OSKBRAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 45 Stephen Lambert^ William Pursel, Maurice G>m- payn, Stephen Pursel, and Simon le Mareacha], for the ninth of the sheaves, fleeces, and lambs, of the parish of IsELBON (the Church whereof is not taxed), to them committed, according to the true value of the same, together with the ninth of the Prior of the Hospital of the Blessed Mary without Bishopsgate, which was worth the same year 6s. 8d., and with the ninth of the Prior of St Bartholomew in Smithfield, in the same, which was worth 40^ • lOd., of which they have a writ of Sttpersedecu altogether. — Of the fifteenth nothing for the cause abovesaid. ** In the ninth of the religious, 46t, 8d. " Value of the ninth, 10/. 18s. 4d." InqtUs. Nonarum, in Cur. Scaccariif temp. Edw. III. On the third Sunday in Advent, A. D. 1557, " John Rough, with Cuthbert, Symson, and others, through the craftie and trayterous suggestion of a &lse hypocrite and dissembling brother called Bx>ger Sergeant, a taylor, were apprehended by the Vice Chamlayne of the Queene's House, at the Saracen^s Heady in Islington, where the congregation had then purposed to assemble themselves, to their godly and accustomable exercises of prayer, and hearing the Word of God : which pretence, for the safeguard of all the rest, they get, at their examinations, covered and excused by hearing of a play that was then ap- pointed to be at that place." One of the charges brought against Rough, by the infamous Bishop Bonner, was, that he had assembled at the house above mentioned, with " one Cuthbert, a taylor. 4f6 GENERAL HT8TORICAL VIEW. Hughy a hosier^ and divers others^ under the colour of hearing a play, to have read the Communion Book, and to have used the accustomed fashion as was in the later days of King Edward YI." He was soon after- wards burnt at the stake in Smithfield ^ We are also told that '' Richard Roth, Ralph Allerton, James Austoo, and Margery Austoo/' were all burnt in one fire at Islington, on September 15th of the same year. Fox^s Acts and Monuments. June 27th, 1658. " Secretly, in a back close in the field by the town of Islington, were collected and assembled together a certain company of godly and innocent persons, to the number of forty men and women, who there sitting together at prayer, and vertuously occupied in the meditation of God's Holy Word, first cometh a certain man to them unknown, who, looking over imto them, so stayed, and saluted them, saying that they looked like men that meant no hurt. Then one of the said company asked the man if he could tell whose close that was, and whether they might be so bold there to sit ; * Yea,' said he, ' for that ye seem unto me such persons as intend no harme,' and so departed. Within a quarter of an hour after cometh the Constable of Islington, ^ John Rough had been some years a preacher among the fraternity of Black Friars at Stirling, and afterwards Chaplain to the Earl of Arran. He was the means of persuading the celebrated John Knox, the Scotch Reformer, to take to the Ministry. After having experi- enced many vicissitudes in different countries, he became preacher to a private congregation at Islington, in the last year of Queen Mary's reign, where he was apprehended, and burnt in the manner above stated. See Life of John Knox^ hy J, Lettiee, B. Z). GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 47 named King^ warded with six or seven others, accom- panying him on the same business : one with a bow, another with a bill, and others with their weapons likewise. The which six or seven persons, the said Constable left a little behind him, in a close place, there to be ready if need should be, while he, with one with him, should go view them before ; who, so doing, came through them, looking and viewing what they were doing, and what bookes they had ; and so going a little forward, and returning back againe, bade them deliver their bookes. They imderstand- ing that he was Constable, refused not so to do : with that Cometh forth the residue of his fellows above touched, who bade them stand, and not depart. They answered againe, they would be obedient, and ready to go whithersoever they would have them ; and so were they first carried to a hrewJumse but a little way off, while that some of the said souldiers ran to the justice next at hand, but the justice was not at home; whereupon they were had to Sir Roger ChoUnley ^. In the mean time, some of Ae women, being of the same number of the aforesaid forty per- sons, escaped away from them, some in the close, some before they came to the brewhouse ; for so they were carried, ten with one man, eight with another, and with some more, with some less, in such sort as it was not hard for them to escape that would. In fine, they that were carried to Sir Roger Cholmley were twenty-seven; which Sir Roger Cholmley, and the Recorder, taking their names in a bill, and calling ' Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, and founder of the Free School at Highgate. 48 QBMERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. them one by one, so many as answered to their names he sent to Newgate. In the which number of them that answered, and that were sent to Newgate, were twenty and two. " These two and twenty were in the said prison of Newgate seven weekes before they were examined, to whom word was sent by Alexander, the keeper, that if they would hear a mass they should all be delivered. Of these foresaid two and twenty, were burned thirteen: in Smitkfield seven ; at Brainford six." Fox*s Acts and Monuments. In a '^Taxation of the Lands and Fees in the Countie of Middlesex," (inter ann. 1581 and 1594), the following is the return from the parish of Islington : — £. i. d. " WilliAm Perriam, Justice of the Commoii Pleas, in lands 30 Thomas Stanley, Esq., in lands 40 Robert Brokesby, Esq., in lands 40 Humfrie Smith, Esq., in lands 24 Robert Cristifer, Gent, in lands 20 John Wylegoose, Gent, in lands 26 Robert Boyse, Gent, in lands 20 John Iremonger, Gent, in lands 10 Arthmr Atie, Esq., in goodes 40 0' Thomas Bodily, Gent, in goodes 40 William Meredewe, Gent, in goodes 20 0*' Harl MSS, No. 306. Laneham*s account of Queen £lizabeth*s entertain- ment at KiUingworth (Kenilworth) castle, anno 1575, printed in Nichols's ** Progresses,** of that celebrated sovereign, contains a speech put into the mouth, for the occasion, of one who represented a Sguier Min^- GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 49 itrel of Middlesex, from which we extract the follow- ing. It makes special allusion to what has been so long the staple commodity of the place : for the Minstrel declared " How the worshipful village of Islington, in Middlesex, well knooen to bee one of the most auncient and best toounz in Englande, next to London, at thiz day, for the fey thful freendship of long time shea wed, as well at Cookez Feast in Aldersgate-streete ', yeerely upon Holly-rood day, az allso at all solemn bridealez in the Citie of London all the yeer after, in well serving them of furmenty for porage, not oversod till it be too weake ; oimylke for theyr flawnez, not yet pild nor chalked ; of creame for theyr custardes, not frothed nor thykened with floour ; and of butter for theyr pastiez and pye paste, not made of well curds, nor gathered of whey in soomer, nor mingled in winter with salt butter watered or washt ; did obteyn long agoo thez wor- shipful armez, in cooler and foorm az ye see * : • The Cooks, or PatUlart, were incorporated by Edward IV. ; and their haU was in Aldersgate-atreet * Lanehain, enumerating the various ornaments of the " Squier Muutrel" tells us that from his chain hung a scutcheon, with meul E 50 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. ** On a field Ai^ent, as the field and groond indeed whearin the milk wivez of this worthy tooun, and every man els in hys faculty^ doth trade for hys living; on a fess tenny three platez^ between three mylk tankerds proper; the three mylk tankerds as the proper vessel whearin the substauns and matter of theyr trade is too and fro transported; the fess tenny, which is a cooler betokening dout and sus- pition, so as suspition and good heed taking (as well to theyr markets and servants as to theyr custo- merez that they trust not too farre) may bring them unto platez that is coynned silver ; three» that iz suf- ficient, and plentie, for so that number in armory may well signifie. For creast, upon a wad of ote strawe for a wreathe, a boll of firmenty, and in the midst of it sticking a doozen of hoom spoonz in a bunch (as the instrument meetest to eat furmenty porage withal), that with a little licking wool alweiz be kept as den as a dy. This skoochion with beastz very aptly agreeing both to the armez and to the trade of the bearers, gloriously supported between a gray mare (a beest meetest for carrying of mylk tankerds), hir panell on hir bak, az alwais reddy for sends at every feast and brydale at need, her tayl splayd at most eaz, and her silly fole, fallow and flaxen mane, after the syre. In the skro undergraven iz thear a proper word, well squaring with all the rest, taken out of Salem's chapter of things that moost noorish a man's body, * LAC CASEUS INFANS ;' that iz, goode milke and young cheez. * And thus mooch, gentlemen, and and colour resplendent upon hit breast, of the ancient Jrmt of ISLINQTON. GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 51 pleas you (quoth he); for the armez of our worshipful tooim ;* and therewithall made a manerly leg^ and so held his peas. '^ But it seems that " another good fello of the company" disagreed with the explication of the aims thus given ; for he spoke to this effect : *^ I am sorry to see how mooch the poor Minstrel mistakez the matter ; for, indeed, the armez are thus ; three milk tankerds proper, on a field of clouted creame ; three green cheeses upon a shelfe of cake bread, the fermenty bool, and horn spoonz, becauz their profit comes all by homed beastz, supported by a mare with a galled back, and therefore still covered with a pan- ne!, fisking with her taile for fleyz, aud her sely fole neying after the dam for suk« This word, lac ccueus infans, that iz, * fresh cheez and creame,' and the common cry that theaz milk wives make in London streets, yearly, betwixt Easter and Whitsuntide. And this is the very matter ; I know it well enough." " The Walks of Islington and Hogsdon, with the Humours of Wood-street Compter, a Comedy, by Thomas Jordan, Gent.," (licensed in 1641, printed in 1657,) is a low dramatic piece, the scene of which is laid at the " Saracen's Head in Islington ;" and the prolc^ne informs us of the usual cheer of the place in these lines : ** Thougii the scene be Islington, we swear We will not blow ye up with bottle-bear ; Cram ye with eream, and fools \ which sweetly please Ladies of fortune, and young 'prentices. Who (when the supervisors come to find 'um). Quake like the cuttard which they leave behind 'um." ' OoMebernf fnoU. E 2 52 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. In a poem by Sir William Davenant, entitled " The Long Vacation in London S" being descriptive of the citizens' recreations during that period, we meet with the following: — " Now damsel young, that dwells in Cheap, For very joy begins to leap ; Her elbow small she oft doth rub. Tickled with hope of tylkUmb ; For mother (who does gold maintaine On thumb, and keys in silver chaine,) In snow white clout wrapt nook of pye, Fat capon's wing, and rabbet* s thigh ; And said to hackney coachman, go, Take shillings six— say I or no : Whither! (says he) — quoth she, thy teame Shall drive to place where groweth erea$ne. ** But husband gray now comes to stall, For 'prentice notch'd he istrait doth call, Where's dame ? (quoth he) — quoth son of shop, She's gone her cake in mUke to sop. Ho ! ho 1 — to Islington — enough — Fetch Job my son, and our dog Ruffe ; For there, in pond, through mire and muck. We'll cry, hay, duck^there Ruffe— hay, duck," > &c. " The Merry Milkmaid of Islington, or the Ram- bling Gallants Defeated," (quarto, 1681,) is another dramatic piece, similar in character to the one just noticed. The Works of Ned Ward, (8vo. 1706,) 1 Works, foUo, 1673, p. 291. ' It was common for the citizens in former times to bring their dogs to the ponds in this neighbourhood to exercise the sport of duck hunting. Master Stephen (in Ben Jonson's Comedy of Every Man in his Humour,) says, " Because I dwell at Hogtden I shall keep company with none but the archera of Finsbury ! or the citizens that come a-dueking to Islington ponds 1" &c. GENBRAL. HISTORICAL VIEW. 5S contaiiis *^ A Walk to Islington^ with a Description of New Tunbridge Wells^ and Sadler's Music House." And in ''The Spleen, or Islington Spa," a comic piece, by George Colman, acted at Drury-lane Theatre in 1756, are some satirical remarks upon the country-house of a citizen at Islington, and the bustle occasioned by packing up the neats' tongues, and cold chicken, preparatory to his wife's journey thither, by the co€tch and three, firom the end of Cheapside. The feast of '' Hot rolls and butter," and the tea-drinking parties, at White Conduit House, have been noticed by Goldsmith, in his Essays ; and the fiicetious Bonnel Thornton, in several papers of the ConnaUseur, has described the Sunday excursions of the citizens to this village, to drink ale, smoke their pipes, &c. Goldsmith, more particularly, is remarkable for his firequent mention of Islington in his writings; a circumstance to be attributed, no doubt, to his known partiality to our village. Of Islington it has with strict propriety been said, that ** Many a darling cbild of science there Hath trimmed his lamp, and wove his laurel crown." The author of the observation was himself, for a time, an inhabitant. It forms part of a very pleasing poem, called '* La Bagatella ; or. Delineations of Home Scenery : by William Fox, jun. ' " Speaking of this village, the writer says : " There Addiion firom public haunts withdrew, To polish, to correct, to charm mankind '. 1 Small 8vo. 1801. ' Mr. Fox appends the following comment to these lines : " I have 54 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. Close on those skirts our MUtim passed his days Of waning life — forsaken, blind, and poor ; Thither the melancholy CoUint fled, The wand'rings of a wildered mind to soothe * : And there, of late, our British Boothby gave The daring wild notes of the Lesbian muse '." Other persons^ of more or less note, at some time resident in the parish, and not noticed in the future pages of our work, may be here named, as follows : — Colonel Okey, an officer of eminence in Cromwell's army, and one of the judges of King Charles the First. He was, originally, it is said, a drayman in a brew- house at this place. Samuel Clark, the learned orientalist, and an editor of a polyglot Bible, was a schoolmaster at Islington in 1650. John Bagford, the antiquary, and celebrated col- lector of old English books, prints, &c., died here. May 15, 1716, aged sixty-five- His typographical collection is now in the British Museum. in my possession an old edition of the Spectator, which, under the paper No. 993, signed /, (one of the distingtushing marks of Addison,) has this note : ' By Addison ; dated, it is supposed, firom Islington, wkgre he had a retidenee.* " 1 "After his (Collins's) return from France, the writer of this character paid him a visit at Islington. There was then nothing of disorder discernihle in his mind hy any hut himself: hut he had withdrawn from study, and travelled with no other hook than an English Testament, such as children carry to the school When his friend took it into hb hand, out of curiosity, to see what com- panion a man of letters had chosen, ' I have but one book,' said Collins, ' hut that is the best' "—Dr, Johiuon*s L\fe of ColUnt, ' Sir Brook Boothby, translator of Sappho, ftc. OBNERAIi HISTORICAL VISW. 55 Damd Defoe^ the well known author of Robinson Cruaoe, and numerous other works^ received his education at Newington GreeUj and died also in our parish. Dr. W. BerrinMn, a fiunous divine^ lived many years in Rufford's buildings. He was author of " An Answer to Whiston/' " An Historical Account of the Trinitarian Controversyj" *' Sermons preached at Boyle's Lecture," &c. He died in 174S-60. Mr$. Foster, grand-daughter of Milton, kept a chandler's shop at Lower Holloway some years, and died. May 9, 1754, in the sixty-sixth year of her age. By her death Milton's family became extinct. She had lived many years in penurious circumstances, and was at last equally depressed by poverty and the infirmities of old age. It does not appear that any of her grandfather's admirers took notice of her till 1750, when, on the 5th of April of that year, Comus was represented at Drury-lane theatre, (with a new prologue, written by Johnson, and spoken by Oarrick,) for her benefit, and produced her about 130;>. James Burgh, LL, D,, a native of Perthshire, and an esteemed moral and political writer, kept an academy for nineteen years at Newington Green, where he died in 1775. Of the many works which he left behind him, his " Political Disquisitions," in 3 vols., and " Youth's Friendly Monitor," are the best known, and most esteemed '. Dr. Nicholas Robinson, a celebrated physician, and ' Newton's I^i^ ^ MilUm. ' Dr. Rees's Cyclopedia, 56 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. author of several medical worksi died at Islington in 1776*. Joseph CoUyer^ who translated the ** Messiah," and ** Noah,** from the German, and published some his- torical and geographical works, died here in 1776. Mrs. CoUyer^ who published the ** Death of Abel,'* also resided at Islington '. The '' Death of Abel** was not translated by Mrs. Collyer, but by a Mr. Mackey, and by him given to Mr. C, who was a printer in Plough-court, Fietter-lane. He affixed the dedication to Queen Charlotte, just then arrived in England, as translated from the German by Mary Collyer, a widow, in order to provide, by the sale, for her chil- dren. A copy was conveyed to the Queen, and graciously received. She expressed a wish to see this widow ; but Mrs. Collyer, knowing no language but English, was not introduced'. Dr. Husband Messiter, an eminent physician, died at his house at Islington in 1785^. ' IscMC Ritson, a native of Cumberland, who published a translation of Homer's Hymn to Venus, and pro- mised considerable eminence as a literary character, died here in 1789, at the age of twenty-nine '. Mr. Joseph White, eminent for his knowledge of coins, as well as of Natural History, died at his house. ^ Lysons's Environs. ' Ibid. * Nelson's History. The writer states that he derived this infbr* mation from ** Mrs. Hughes, author of a volume of Poems, called ' Friendly Visits from the Muse, or the Consolations of Solitude,' and at that time an inhabitant of Davis's Alms Houses, Queen's-head-lane, Islington." * Gent Mag. * Lysons's Environs. GENBRAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 57 adjoming the Old Queen's Head, June 1, 1810. He possessed a fine series of Saxon coins, which he dis- posed of some time previous to his death \ ARss Gaj/tim, an Opera dancer of some celebrity, iwho was afterwards married to the Rev. Mr. Murray, a gentleman of family and fortune, was bom in the Lower-street. Charles Derrick^ Esq., of the Navy Office, lived in Tyndale-place. He published " Memoirs of the Rise and Progress of the Royal Navy," 4to. 1806. John Haslam, M.D.y of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, author of ** Observations on Madness and Melan- choly," 8vo. 1809, '' Illustrations of Madness," a Treatise on '' Sound Mind," ** On the Moral Manage- ment of the Insane," &c., resided in the Lower-street about twenty-three years ago. Joseph Huddart, Esq., F. R. S., and an elder brother of the Trinity Company, died at his house, Highbury Terrace, in August, 1816. This gentle- man had been a captain in the naval service of the East India Company, possessed a very scientific turn of mind, and was well skilled in navigation and sea- manship. He was an inventor of improved cables and ropes, for which he obtained a patent. A fine portrait of him, engraved by Stow jGrom a painting by Hoppner, is prefixed to a quarto volume entitled " I%e Oriental Navigator,** which, with other works on nautical affiurs, were much indebted to his pen. Philip MehriU, Esq., lieutenant-governor of Pen- dennis castle, where he died in 1811, resided in ' Obit, in Gent. Mag. 58 GENERAL HISTORICAL TISW. Trinity-rowj Islington. His "life and Religious Experience" was published after liis decease* John Till AlUngham, a dramatic writer, died at his father's house in Colebrook-terrace, S8th February, 1812, and was buried in Bunhill-fields. He was author of '* Fortune's FroUc," " The Weathercock," ** Mrs. Wiggins," and other popular pieces. John Palmer, an eminent dissenting divine, author of several Commentaries, Paraphrases, and Controver- sial Tracts, died here in 1790. The Rev, Timothy Priestley, brother of Dr. Joseph Priestley, and many years minister of Jewin-street meeting, resided with his daughter at her house in the Lower-street, and died there in 1814. The Rev. Hugh Worthington, many years preacher at Salter's-hall, was long a resident in Highbury- place. James Elphintione, an eminent critic, and author of some Poetical and Philological Works and Transla- tions, was an inhabitant of Islington about the year 1788. He was the friend and correspondent of Dr. Johnson, and other characters of literary eminence. The Rev. Oeorge Burder, minister of Fetter-lane meeting, author of ** Village Sermons," &c., and formerly editor of the ** Evangelical Magazine," resided some years back in Colebrook-row. The Rev. John Clayton, minister of Weigh-House meeting, the father of George, John, and William Clayton, all eminent preachers, lived many years in Highbury-place. The Rev. John Evans, LL. D., author of a '^ Sketch of the Religious Denominations of the Christian \2 OENSRAIi HISTORICAL TIEW. 59 World," " The Juvenile Tourist," and other useful puhlicaiions, for manj years kept an academy in Pullin's-row. John Thurston, a native of Scarborough, one of the most ingenious and tasteful designers of his age, died at his house at Hollowaj, in 18S1, aged forty-eight, and was buried in Islington church-yard. Mr. T. was much celebrated for the beauty of his pictorial subjects, which form the embellishments of various elq;ant publications, though his retired habits caused him to be personally unknown beyond the circle of his family and a few friends. A delicate conforma- tion of body, and intense application to his profession, combined to shorten his life, and to deprive an orphan fiunily of his protection and support. The Rw. John Styles, DJ),, minister of a dissent- ing chapel at Brighton, and author of various pub- lications, lived at Islington in his boyhood, and some of his fiunily yet reside there. John Quick, the celebrated comedian, was, for several years, a resident at Islington, in Well's-row, and Homsey-row. Mr. W. Jackett, an eccentric character, who died several years ago in North-place, Back-road, left the following curious will, which has made its appearance in print on various occasions, and is deposited along with its inniunerable prose companions in Doctors* Cbminoiis :• — - " I leave and bequeath. When I'm laid underneath, To my two loving sisters most dear, The whole of my store, 60 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. Were it twice as much more, Which God's goodness has granted me here, And that none may prevent This my will and intent, Or occasion the least of law racket, With a solemn appeal, I confirm, sign, and seal. This the true Act and Deed of Will. Jackbtt." Sir Richard Phillips, Knt. for some time conductor of the Monthly Magazine, and a well known book- seller, lived several years at Holloway. Mr. Francis RivingtoUy also an eminent and |nuch respected bookseller, of St. Paul's Church-yard, died at his house in Tyndale-place, in October, 18S2, aged seventy-eight. Some members of his £unily now re- side in Canonbury-square. The Rev* Daniel fFilson, D.D., formerly minister of St. John's chapel, Bedford-row, and now Lord Bishop of Calcutta, was for several years vicar of this Parish. His eloquence in the pulpit is still the theme of many who were his constant hearers. He also printed some of his discourses ; and was author, or editor, while resident here, of a variety of works. The gradual increase in the Houses and Popula- tion of Islington, could it be traced step by step, from their first record in Domesday-book to the present period, would afford, doubtless, many curious particu- lars. But as the data for so minute an account are wanting, we must be content vrith such a view of the subject as can be gleaned jGrom a variety of uncon- nected sources. The twenty^even householders of the Conqueror's Survey, were succeeded by a con- GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 61 tinually enlarg^ing number of cultivators of the soil^ who, by degrees, spread themselves over the entire sur&ce of our parish, converting waste into profitable pastures, and woodland into cornfields, and erecting their rude home-steads and farm-buildings as fast as they became domiciliated. Almost at as early a period, arose the first hostelries, or inns for travellers, by the side of the village street; Islington having been fiunous for houses of this description firom time immemorial. Ogleby's *' Itinerarium Angliee," (anno 1674,) speaks of the place as, by that time, "JuU of inns and other public houses \" Country seats, for the recreation of the nobility, and more opulent in- habitants of the neighbouring city, were also studded over the parish firom a very early date : and when the court finally fiitted from the Tower of London to the West End, and fashion followed it, many of the most substantial citizens continued not the less to delight in Islington, and the adjoining villages. Indeed, Norden, in his '* Speculum Britannia^," published in 1593, ^ In that small part of the Manor of Highbury which lies at the ■oulh end of the parish, there were, in 1611, the following houses of paUic entertainment : the Rote and Croum, Saracen's Headf Oeorge, Ami, Red BuU, Bbie Bear^ Prinee't Armt, and Cockatrice. The fol* lowing, whieh do not exist at the present time, were houses of resort within the memory of some of the oldest inhabitants ; yiz. the AngUr^ in Angler's Gardens ; Frog HtUi, in Frog Lane ; the Croum, Lower- street; Three Tmne, Rosoman's-row ; Spotted Dog, near the turnpike ; the Caetle tea, gardens, and the Colebrooke Amu, Colebrooke-row ; Unicom, He4ge-row ; J)uke*t Head, comer of Cadd's-row ; Hole-in- the^Watt, Crom-street; Cattle, Homsey-row; and the Red Cow, near Sebbon's*btiilding8. There was also a public house in the Lower- sneet (till lately inhabited by Mr. Chaffin, druggist,) which bore the sign of the BuU and Thru Cahet. e» GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. apeaking of Middlesex at large, says, '* this shire is plentifullie stored, and, as it seemeth, beautified, with manie faire and comely buildinges, especially of the merchants of London, who have planted their houses of recreation not in the meanest places; which also they have cunningly contrived, curiously beautified with divers devices, neatly decked with rare inven- dons, invironed with orchards of sundrie delicate fruites, gardens with delectable walks, arbers, allees, and great varietie of pleasing dainties.*' The Ci^ historian, Stow, speaks of these erections, particularly tiiose about old Iseldon and Hoxton, with less re- spect. He describes, it is true, '* gardens, wherein are builded many fiure summer houses;*' but adds of " some of them," that, '* as in other places of the subnrbes," they were ''like Midsummer pageants, with towers, turrets, and chimney tops, not so much for use, or profit, as for show and pleasure, and bewraying the vanitie of men's mindes ; much unlike to the disposition of the ancient citizens, who de- lighted in the building of hospitals and almes-houses for the poore, and therein both employed their wit, and spent their wealth, in preferment of the common commoditie of this our citie \" He also gives the following distich, as made in ridicule of such Kke ** summer-houses :" - Kirbie's cMtle, and Fieher'B foUy, Spinila's pleasure, and Megs's i^oiy :" Concerning which, '^ and other like buildings about the citie by citizens," he observes, " men have ifot * Survey of London, p. 476. GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 6S letted to speake their pleasure ^" So lately as n72f the rage for similar vaiiities prevailed : — ^whether it be now quite extinct, we leave to the decision of our readers: — as appears firom a caricature, by Bunbury, puUisbed in that year, which exhibits a queer looking old Cit standing in front of his fimciful premises, which bear the following inscription : ''Whereas my new pagoda has been clandestinely carried off, and a new pair o{ dolphins taken from the top of the gazebot by some blood thirsty villains* And whereas a great deal of timber has been cut down, and carried away, from the old grove that was planted last spring ; and PhUo and Proserpine thrown into my bason ; from henceforth steel traps and spring guns will be constantly set, for the better extirpation of such a nest of villains, by me, Jeremiah Saoo.** Two notable legislative attempts to prevent the in- crease of buildings, in this and the other metropolitan suburbs, are upon record. In the year 1580, Queen Elizabeth issued her proclamation, forbidding the erection of any new houses within three miles of the city gates. And in 1656, an Act of Parliament was made for preventing the multiplying of houses, &c., in and about the suburbs, and within ten miles thereof. The preamble sets forth how those new buildings, outhouses, and cottages, were found to be mischievous and inconvenient, and a great annoyance and nuisance to the commonwealth. By this Act, for every dwell- iog-house, outhouse, or other building, erected within ten miles of the city walls, after March 25, 16S0, and ^ Survey of London, p. 17&* 64 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. not having four acres of land occupied therewith, one year's rack-rent was to be paid by the occupier, for the use of the commonwealth ; and for any new building erected after this Act, the builder was to be fined 1002., and, if the same was upheld and con- tinued, the further sum of SOL every month that the same should be so upheld, for the use of the poor \ These measures, being founded upon totally mistaken ideas of the evils to be apprehended firom an over- grown capital, proved as inoperative in practice as they were ill-judged in theory ; and Islington, in common with the suburban districts in general, has gone on steadily increasing the number of its houses, and the amount of its population, until, at length, it exceeds, in both these respects, many large and important provincial towns. The following comparative statement exhibits the number of houses and inhabitants estimated to have been in this parish, at different periods, from nearly the commencement of the last century : — Houses. Inhabitants. In 1708 « 326 . 1764 • . 937 .. 1788* . 1,0G0 . 1793* . . 1,200 . 6,600 1800« .. 1,746 .. 10,212 18117 . . 2,666 . 16,066 1821 • .. 3,667 .. 22,417 1831 • . . 6,830 . 37,316. ^ Seymour's Lond. ii. 696. ' New View of London. ' Seymour's Survey. * MS. of Mr. Biggerstaff, late vestry derk. * Ibid. « Population Return of 1800. f Ibid. 1810. • Ibid. 1821. » Ibid. 1831. GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 65 The Parliamentaiy census for the last-mentioned year, states TIT, out of the whole number of houses, to be empty, and 316 unfinished. Of the whole population, 16,S54 were males, and 20,962 females. The total number of families was 8,575 : of whom 320 were employed in agriculture; 4,874 in trade, manufactures, or handicraft ; and 3,381 were of the description not comprised by either of those classes. The nlajority of the population, it will have been ob- served, were females ; and such is commonly found to be the case : but it is worthy notice, that, in 1821, the disproportion was found to be on the other side, the number of males then returned being 12,867, and that of the females only 9,550. . The parish, in its now long-established extent, is three miles, two furlongs, in length, from north-west to south-east; two miles, one furlong, in breadth, from east to west ; and ten miles, two furlongs, eleven poles, in circumference. It contains an area of 3,032 acres, three roods ; of which, in 1805-6, (according to the terrier and survey then taken by order of the vestry,) about 2700 acres were meadow and pasture, and the remainder occupied by houses, yards, gardens, and wastes. It lies within the Finsbury division of the hundred of Ossulston; and is bounded by the parishes of Clerkenwell, St. Pancras, Homsey, Stoke Newington, Hackney, Shoreditch, and St. Luke. The actual boundary line is particularised in Mr. Nelson's history : but as it necessarily consists of a dry detail of parochial marks and localities, mostly uninteresting in themselves, we will not trouble our readers with its repetition. All that really deserves F 66 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. attentioni upon or near the boundary, we purpose to lay before them in our first Walk, which we intend should ** beat the bounds, ** or, in other words, com- prise the parish tour. In 1793, a very neat plan of the viUage (not comprehending the entire parish) was published by Edward and Benjamin Baker, two ingenious resident artists: size, twelve inches by ten. And, in 18S8, the survey taken in 1805-6 be- came the basis of a general parochial map (eighteen inches by twenty-four) which was engraved and published by T. Starling. A plan in the Vestry- room, drawn in 1735, is rendered interesting by the exhibition it affords of the then state of the Parish ; while it singularly contrasts with that last- mentioned, which not only shows the vast increase of buildings during the lapse of nearly a century, but also lays down the numerous roads and ways added within the same period, with various others, projected, but not as yet carried into effect. — The following cor- porate and other public bodies possess the undermen- tioned lands in Islington, as appears by the terrier ; viz. A. R, P^ The Sons of the Clergy At Holloway 49 2 19 MerceTB* Company Ditto 6 2 39 Oovemorsof St Bartholomew'B'i _ _ ,„.,,„„ ^ ^ ^ „ . , V Baker's Field, Holloway 6 Hospital / ^ Drapers' Company Near the Workhouse ... 6 2 9 Dean and Chapter of St Paul's . . . Broom Field, otherwise Eyen Grove, Lower Roadi 6 31 Brewers' Company London Fields, Du Val's Lane 21 3 36 * See note, p. 16. GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 67 A. R. P GoTcraon of Christ's Hospital. • . . Skinner's Place, and Palmer Terrace \ near RingCross 6 2 26 Ditto near the Nag's Head'.. S 2 22 dothworkers' Company The Prebend Field, Queen's Head Lane, the Lower Street, ftc. 00 SI In order to afford even a tolerably correct view of the Soil of this parish, we must treat it geologically, so far at least as the subjecti thus treated, would be likely to interest the general reader. The surface consists, as usual, of the dark coloured mould, formed by long repeated depositions of decayed vegetable matter. Immediately beneath, in most parts, occurs either gravel, rich loam, or the red brickmakers' clay, (at a mean depth of from one to ten feet,) which ex- tends under great part of the metropolis, and the country for many miles round it, and is occasionally accompanied by a bed of sand, of considerable thick- ness, sometimes thirty feet and upwards. To this suc- ceeds the great stratum of blue clay, which geologists, from its local situation, have agreed to designate as " London Clay," and whose mean thickness, with us, may be computed at about a hundred feet *. We have * Named after the Treasurer of the Hospital. * In 1662, John Brown devised to the Governors of Christ's, BrideweD, and St Thomas's Hospitals, all his messuages and lands, with the appurtenances, in Islinotoii, known by the sign of the Ifag*i Bead, then at the yearly rent of 602., to the said Governors, and their successors for ever, towards the maintenance of fix scholars at Cambridge University, taken from Christ's Hospital — Seymour's Sur- vey of London, vol i. p. 788. * The blue clay beneath Islington forms but a small portion of what f2 68 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. here stated the common arrangement and composition of the strata ; but must add, that when gravel pre- vails, it mostly covers the eminences, to the depth of about twenty feet at the thickest parts, lying imme- diately over the refl, or brickmakers' clay. The blue clay is accompanied by a sub-stratum of what is called plastic clay, containing a considerable quantity of sand and pebbles; on piercing which, (as has been done at various places in the parish, in order to pro- cure a plentiful supply of water,) we reach, at the mean depth of about two hundred feet, the chalk, intermingled with flints, which forms the general basis of the upper strata throughout this part of our Island. It must be farther observed, that, in some few places, such as Pentonville Hill, and the fields near the Caledonian School, the blue clay makes its appearance close to the surface. Most of the fossils, and organic remains, discovered at dif- ferent times in Islington, have been extracted from this clay; and by far the greater number from the northern parts of the parish, particularly about the Highgate Archway and Upper Holloway. While the excavation was proceeding for the intended Highgate is somedmeB termed by geologiBts the " London Clay Basin," which extends, northward, as fiu as Ridge Hill, on the road to St Alban's, and, southward, to the Surrey Hills. Eastward, it stretches, on the Kentish side of the Thames, to Deptfbrd, and includes an isolated patch at Shooter's Hill ; while, on the Essex side, it may be considered as prolonged to Southend. It terminates, on the north-west, at Harrow-on-the-Hill, where it attains its greatest thickness, being about 600 or 700 feet The hills, in general, in this clay district, are not found to exceed the height of from 400 to 600 feet, which is about the altitude of Highgate, Hampstead, and Shooter's Hills. GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 69 Tunnel, in the year 181 1, much occurred to engage the attention of the geologist. The stratum of red clay was found to be interspersed with finely crys- talized selenite^ or gypsum, and the calcareous con- cretions known by the name of septaria, which, when burnt, form the well-known Roman cement. In the blue stratum these stones were still more abundant, brilliantly studded with pyrites, and also containing a great yariety of diells, even the smallest and most delicate of which were in the highest state of preser- vation. Among them were many fine specimens of Nautili, Tellina, Rostellarise, Pectunculus, Cassis, Solen, Dentalii, and VolutsB ; together with species of the crab and lobster. Petrified wood, much perfo- rated by the Teredo Navalis, was thrown up in large quantities ; and there were also petrified fish, seed ves- sels, and a kind of fruit resembling the fig. Besides which, a great deal was obtained of a peculiar resi- nous substance, till then, it was believed, unknown, but since called Highgate Resin, which emits, when rubbed, or burnt, an agreeable odour. To this day, the curious have only to search the moimds of blue clay that lie on each side of the Archway-road, and break the nodules of septaria, in order to discover some of those relics of long past ages, the various shells just spoken of more especially *. Mr. Parkin- son, in his " Organic Remains," and Messrs. Cony- beare and Phillips, in their *' Geology of England and Wales," mention that, during the excavations made 1 In Mr. Sowerby's splendid work on Mineral Concbology, nearly all the above-mentioned fossil shells are accurately described, and beautifully Ggured. 70 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. for the Regent's Canal Tunnel under Pentonville Hill, the vertebral remains of a crocodile were found in the blue clay \ In the brick field of Messrs. Poynder and Hobson, east of the Lower Road, a gigantic fossil skeleton of the Mastodon was discovered, a few years since, in the common red clay, which there covers the London clay. Some of the bones, and casts of the tusks, are to be seen in the collection of the Geolo- gical Society of London, at Somerset House, having been presented to that Society by the owners of the field. The Spring Water of our parish is chiefly ob- tained &om wells, twenty or more feet deep, sunk into the upper stratum of gravel and loam. The water from the blue clay is a chalybeate, and therefore unfit for culinary purposes, or for the service of ma- nufactories : consequently, when a more copious sup- ply is required than can be procured from the upper stratum, or when soft water is the article in request, the whole depth of the blue clay is perforated, and its water stopped out ; when an abundance of the pure, soft aliment, is obtained from the substratum of plastic clay. The Climate of Islington is as healthfril, as we should be led to expect from its generally elevated ^ Mr. ParkinBon also notices the discovery of crocodelian remains near Rhodes's Tile-kilns, Hackney Road. A nearly perfect head of an animal of that species was met with in the London clay at the Ide of Sheppey, as mentioned in the last edition of Mr. Bakewell's ex- cellent " Introduction to Geology :*' it is now in the possession of Edward Spencer, Esq., Solicitor, of Bank Chambers, who communi- cated much of the information contained in this geological yiew. To Samuel Sharpe, Esq., of Canonbury-place, we are also indebted for some interesting particulars connected with the geology of Islington. OENBRAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 71 and undulating aurfiice : indeed, the salubrity of the Tillage is proverbial, and its bracing air has been long recommended by physicians to the weak and valetudi- nary. And yet, there is a disproportion, on the wrong aide, between the burials and baptisms, in the parish register ; and the number of interments that takes place here, has been more than once noticed as extra- ordinary. But this £M:t is easily accounted for, when it is considered that Islington is often the dernier reiMort of persons in the decline of life, or in the last stages of disease, when the faculty have agreed to con- sider the further use of medicine nugatory. Indeed, onr village has, from these circumstances, sometimes acquired the appeUation of The I^andan HospiktL The late Dr. Hunter used to relate a story of a lady, who in advanced age, and an ill state of health, went, by adrice of her physician, to take lodgings in Islington. She agreed for a suite of rooms ; but, coming down stairs, observed that the bannisters were much out of repair. " These,'* she said, " must be mended before I can think of coming to live here." — " Madam," re- plied the landlady, " that will answer no purpose, as the undertakers* men are continually breaking the bannisters, as they bring down the coffins." The old lady was so shocked at this funereal intelligence, that she immediately declined all thoughts of occupying the apartments \ The Parochial Government of Islington assumed an entirely new shape in the year 1824. Prior to that time a general vestry met, by prescriptive right, at > Monthly Mirror, vol. i. 166. 72 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. least twice a year, for the supervision of the parish alBdrs, most of the details of which were regulated by seven Acts of Parliament, passed at different periods during the long reign of George III. But by an Act procured by the inhabitants in the year above-men- tioned, all the preceding Acts were repealed, with a view "to make more effectual provisions in lieu thereof." The principal provisions so made, were to the effect following: 1. No person was qualified to vote in, or to be present at, any vestry, unless assessed to the poor rates of the parish at the annual sum of 20/. at the least : 3. Sixty trustees were ap- pointed, who, with the vicar, churchwardens, and overseers, for the time being, carry the Act into ex- ecution, and are called " The Trustees of the Parish of St. Mary Islington, in the County of Middlesex :" S. No person to be eligible or capable of acting as a trustee, imless assessed to the poor rates at S02. per annum at the least : 4. The trustees to be elected by the vestry triennially on Easter Tuesday ; vacancies occurring in the interim to be filled up at each inter- vening Easter Tuesday : 5. The vestry directed to ap- point twelve assessors, not being trustees, but with the like qualification as to assessment, who are empowered and required to survey and assess, once in every year, or oftener if need be, all the lands, houses, premises, &c., in the parish, and to present such assessment to the vestry; six assessors to go out of office, and six to be elected in their room, on each succeeding Easter Tuesday, in such manner as that each assessor shall continue in office for two years, and (unless re-elected) no longer : 6. The vestry required to make and sign, GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 7S once in every year, or oftener if need be, five or more distinct and equal pound rates upon the assessments to them presented ; that is to say, one rate for the main- tenance and relief of the poor; one rate for making, repairing, paving, &c. the roads, highways, and foot- paths, not to exceed in any year the sum of &• in the pound ; one rate for watching, lighting, and cleansing, not to exoeed Ss. in the pound ; one rate for payment of the annuities, and other expenses for the building, repairing, and service of the chapel of ease, or of any other chapels, or churches, purchased, erected, or hired, under the provisions of the Act, not to exceed 2f . 6d. in the pound ; and one rate for repairing, up- holding, &c. the parish church, and defiraying ex- penses incurred by the churchwarden, by virtue of his office, or by order of the vestry : 7. The parish ac- counts to be made up yearly, and audited by the assessors, who report thereon to the vestry : 8. Ab- stracts of the accounts to be printed annually, and every rate-payer entitled to a copy thereof. The churchwardens are three in number ; and they, with the vestry-clerk, and the other parish officers, the overseers excepted, are by the Act directed to be an- nually elected upon Easter Tuesday, or within seven days afterwards. The vestry make out a list of eight fit and proper persons to be overseers, upon every S5th of March, or within fourteen days afterwards ; firom which list any two or more justices of the peace for the county of Middlesex, acting in the division of Finsbury, select and appoint three persons to be overseers for the year ensuing ; every person, so appointed, refusing to discharge the duties of the 74 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. office, being subject to a penalty of twenty pounds. It will occur, of course, to most of our readers, that the provision made for watching the parish was superseded by the extension of the Metropolitan Police to Isling- ton in the year 1831 ; since when, the expense of maintaining this very active and efficient force has been defirayed, as usual, from the amount raised as poor- rates. The rental of the parish, as it appears upon the books for the year 1834, is about 160,000/. The poor- rates for the same year, are at Is. 8d, in the pound. Ecclesiastically considered, the parish is subject to the Archdeacon of London. The church living was very anciently appropriated to the Nuns of St. Leonard, at Bromley, Middlesex; having probably been be- stowed upon them by William, Bishop of London, the founder of their house, about the time of the Con- queror. Relative to the patronage, " there was of old,'* says Newcourt S " a controversy before Gilbert, Bishop of London, between the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's on the one part, and the Nuns of Stratford-Bow on the other ; which^ by the authority and assent of the said Bishop, was at last quietly determined after this manner, viz. that the nuns should hold this church of Iseldon of the canons of St. Paul's, and should therefore yearly pay to the said canons one mark, half on the next day after the feast of St. Leo- nard, and half on the octaves of Pentecost ; and that thereupon the said nuns should freely present to this church. Which church was, it seems, afterwards ap- propriated to those nuns, and a vicarage here ordained * Repertorium, I. &J6. QENBRAI^ HISTORICAL VIEW. 75 and endowed, of which they continued patrons till their sappression; but afterwards it came into the hands of private patrons.** At the dissolution of the convent, the rectory and adyowson were granted to Sir Ralph Sadler ^ who alienated them, anno 1548, to John Perse '. In 1565 they were conveyed by Thomas Perse to Roger Mar* tyn', and in 1582 by Humphrey Martin to John Cheke*. It is probable that they came into the Stonehouse fiimily before the civil war, and were sequestrated along with the other estates of Sir George Stonehouse, who suffered considerable losses through his attachment to the royal cause. In 1646 Sir Walter Smyth, being then in possession of the rectory of Islington*, conveyed it by an indenture of that date to Sir Arthur Heselrige, Sir Thomas Fowler, Sir Thomas Fisher, and other inhabitants of the place, as feoffees in trust for the vicar and his successors, on whom he settled the great tithes ^ In 1657 it was ordered by the committees acting under the authority > Pat 32 Henry 8th, pt. 22, April 21. > Pat. 2d Edward 6th. pt 1, March 6. * Pat. 7 Elisabeth, pt 8, August 17- « Pat 24 Elisabeth, pt 2, Jan. 2. * " 29th October, 1646, Walter Smith, of Great Bedwin, co. Wflti^ agreed to settle 100/. a year on the church of Islington, for which he was allowed 4002., and his fine of 1085/. reduced to 686/.*' — Iwipnpriatitnu purchased by the Committee fitting at Goldtmithf' Hattf f&r eemfoHHoM wUh deSnquents. Sept 22, 1648. It is stated in the Linsdowne MSS. No. 473, that the church living of Islington was " lettled upon feoffees, by Sir Walter Smith, upon his composition," and that " the parishioners of Islington are patrons." ' Pariiamentary Surveys, Lamb. MSS. and Proceedings of the Committees, roL zxsdz. pp. 58, 59. 76 GENERAL HT8TORICAL VIEW. of the Commonwealth, that Leonard Cook, who had been presented to the vicarage in the December pre- ceding S should receive the profits of the rectory, pursuant to this grant. In 1662 the rectory and ad- vowson were certainly in the Stonehouse family ', in which they continued for many years. By indenture, dated 1st July, 1740, the Rev. George Stonehouse conveyed " all the advowson and right of patronage,** &c. to Robert Holden. A deed, dated 1st July, 1771, recites that the above conveyance was made to Holden fit trust for the use of Sir Gilbert Williams. Sir Gil- bert, by his will, directed that his estates should be sold, and his debts paid out of the produce thereof; in pursuance of which, and by virtue of an order of the Court of Chancery, the advowson and right of patron- age to the Church of Islington was sold before one of the Masters of the Court, and purchased by Sir David Williams, the eldest son of Sir Gilbert, for the sum of 1,600/. The property was then conveyed to Thomas Brigstock, in trust for the said Sir David Williams. By indenture, dated 3d July, 1771, the advowson, &c. was conveyed to Richard Smith, Esq. for the sum of 8,000/. This gentleman, by his will, dated 2d Sep- tember, 1775, devised the perpetutal advowson, &c. *^ to which soever of the sons of his son Benjamin Smith, should take upon him the profession of the Church of England :" charging the same with the pay- ment of a legacy of 1,000/. to his grand-daughter, Charlotte. The impropriation, by deed of bargain and 1 Parliamentary Surveys, Lamb. MSS. and Proceedings of the Coinmitteei vol. iii. p. 63. ' Newcourt's Rppcrtorium, vol. i. GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 77 sale, dated 8th June, 181 1, was conveyed by the Rev. Richard Smith, heir at law of the above, in considera- tion of the sum of 5,500/., to William Wilson, Esq. of Milk-street, London, and Nether Worton, Oxon. ; from whom the proper^ descended by will to his son- in-law, the Rev. Daniel Wilson, since Lord Bishop of Calcutta, who, upon receiving that dignified ap- pointment, presented the living to his son, the Rev. Daniel Wilson, M.A. the present Vicar. The incumbent receives a modus of 2s. per acre for arable land, M. per acre for pasture, 2d. per cow, and 2d. per calf: no tithes are paid to any other person. The vicarage is rated in the king's books at 30/. The glebe consists of nine acres, two roods, twenty-one perches : part of which, containing four acres, thirteen perchesj is situate on the north side of Sermon-lane, in the Back-road: the remainder, containing five acres, two roods, eight perches, at Ball's Pond. The ground in both places has been let on building leases, by virtue of an Act of Parliament. The following is a list of the Vicars of Islington, from that given by Mr. Nichols in his History of Ca- nonbury, the names of the present and preceding incumbent excepted. 1. Walter Gerkin, the earliest whose name is pre- served, died in 13^. 2. Egidiac de Felsted, 3 non. October, 1327. 3. William de Southwerk, August 6, 1332. 4. John Soman, (vicar of Fering, Essex,) 10 kal. November, 1836. 5. Thomas Gunge, prid. non. February, 1336. 78 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 6. Henry le Gierke, 10 kal. November, 1SS7. 7. Lawrence Sprot, chaplain, April 29, 1384. 8. John Cooke, February 37, 1393, on L. Sprot's death. 9. William Hardy, September SI, 1395; resigned in 1397. 10. John Dames, June 8, 1397, (vicar of Ealing). 1 1 • Wiliam ChapeU, (rector of S. Haning-field, E^sex,) resigned. 12. WilUam Canon, (rector of Nettiswell, Essex,) 14^5 ; resigned. 13. Richard Dally, December 18, 14S7 ; resigned. 14. John Croxby, September S7, 1434 ; resigned in 1438. 15. William Leche, February ^, 1438; resigned. 16. John Farley, August 14, 1443; resigned. 17. Robert Smith, November S3, 1444; resigned. 18. John Fayley, 1448 ; resigned. 19. John WardaU, April 16, 1454; afterwards a pre- bendary of St. Paul's. 20. Thomas Gore, May 5, 1472. 21. Edward Vaughan, LL.D. promoted to the bishop- ric of St. David's in 1509 ; died in 1522. 22. Thomas Warren, B.D. September 27, 1509; died in 1521. 23. John Cocks, or Cockys, LL.D. March 3, 1521 ; died in 1545. 24. James Robinson, LL.B. February 26, 1545; re- signed in 1550. 25. William Jennins, April 30, 1550. 26. Anthony Sylliard, M.A. March 18, 1565. 27. Meredith Hanmer, D.D. son of Thomas Hanmer, GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 79 of PortdngtoDj Salop, descended from the Han- men in Flintshire, was born in 1544<; became chaplain of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in April, 1567 ; and in 1581 was made vicar of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, where, according to the relation of the inhabitants, (as Weever tells us,) he converted the brass of several ancient monu- ments into coin for his own use. In 1583 he was admitted vicar of this church; which he re- signed in 1590, and that of Shoreditch before June S2, 159S. Proceeding to Ireland, he at length became treasurer of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Dublin, which he kept till his death, in the year 1604, of the plague. Weever asserts, that he ended his days in Ireland ignominiously aUuding perhaps to the infamy adhering to him for his conduct while vicar of Shoreditch ^ He was a man of great learning, an able disputant, and a good preacher. He wrote the Chronicle of Ireland ; an Ephemeris of the Saints of that > In Stiype's Annals, vol. iiL pp. 216, 21 7> under the occurrences of the year 1584, it is asserted that the Earl of Shrewsbury was fisither of a child by the Queen (Elizabeth,) and among the witnesses exa- mined before the jury, writes Recorder Fleetwood in his Diary, " was one Meredith Hanmer, a Doctor of Divinity, and Vicar othlyngton, who dealt as lewdly towards my Lord in speeches, as did the other Wafassley. This Doctor regardeth not an oath ; surely he is a very bad man." Also, in the Consistorial Acts of the Diocese of Roches- ter, A.D. 1S88— 1590, fol. 40. b. is this entry of a charge against Han- mer. — ** Dr. Hanmer, vicar of Shoreditch, married Richard Turke' of Dartforde, and Gertrude, the wife of John Wynd, without banns or license." There is yet a tradition among the inhabitants of Shore- ditch, that the doctor committed suicide by the halter. — See EUi$*s BiU. (/ Shorediteh, p. 24. 12 80 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. Country ; a Chronograpbyy from the beginning of the world to nearly 600 years after Christ ; with the Lives of the Prophets, Apostles, and Disciples ; and some controversial tracts. 28. Samuel Proctor, B.D. September 5, 1590 ; rector of Shepperton, 1593. 29. William Hunt, M.A. May 10, 16S9. 30. Leonard Cook, December 1656. 81. William Cave, D.D. August 7, 1662. This learned divine was bom in 1637, and educated at Cambridge, whence he took his last degree in 1672. He was chaplain to Charles II., and in 1684 was installed canon of Windsor. He published two very elaborate and useful works relating to Ecclesiastical History and Antiqui- ties ; the Lives of the principal Fathers during the first Centuries of the Church ; and a work of a more extensive nature, wherein he gives a history of all the writers for and against Christ- ianity up to the 14th century, with an account of their publications and doctrines. Dr. Cave died in 1713, and was buried at Islington. Two of his Sermons also are in print, preached be- fore the King in 1676, and 1684; and one before the Lord Mayor in 1680. 32. Robert Gery, M.A. May 4, 1691. He was in- stalled a Prebendary of Lincoln, December 15, 1701. He published a single sermon, 1706, 4to.; died October 1, 1707; and was buried at Islington. S3. Cornelius Yeate, M.A. Archdeacon of Wilts; died April 12, 1720; and was buried at Islington. OMNERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 81 '' He was a gentleman of great probity and learning, and generaUy esteemed for his exem- plary life, which he spent chiefly in inculcating and practising all Christian virtues \" 34. George Carey', 1720, died in Bath, May 13, 17S3. It is recorded of this gentleman, that in consequence of a wet hay-making season in the year 17S5, he went through his parish from house to house, collecting for the poor hay- makers a handsome sum, which he afterwards distributed at the church*. 35. Richard Streat, M.A. July 173S; resigned in 1738. 86. George Stonehouse, M.A. 1738; married, June 1, 1739, a daughter of Sir John Crisp, Bart. : published a single sermon, 1739, ISmo. ; resigned the vicarage in 1740. He died at Bristol in 1 793. Mr. Stonehouse, as appears by the Journals of Whitfield and Wesley, was a £sivourer of the original Methodists, to whom he used to lend his church ; a circumstance which so extremely affected Mr. Scott, the then lecturer, that it was supposed to hasten his death, which happened July 18, 1740. The vestry books show that, about this period, a representation was made to the Bishop, by the inhabitants, of the conduct of their Vicar, in suffering improper persons to have the use of his pulpit, and also charging him with being the occasion of certain " disturb- 1 DaUy Post, April 14, 1720. ^ Whote only son was drowned iu the New Ri?er, August 7» 1731. * Malcolm's Manners and Customs of London. 82 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. ances" which had in consequence taken pkce in the church. Whitfield, on one occasion, being refused the use of the church, mounted a tomb- stone in the church-yard, and there preached a sermon to a very numerous congregation. 57. Sir Gilbert Williams, of Guemevet, Brecon, Bart. and M.A., 1740; vicar also of Sarrat, Herts ; died in 1767. 58. Richard Smith, M. A. 1768 ; died February 16, 1772 ; and was buried in Islington Church. 39. George Strahan, D.D. 1772 ; Prebendary of Ro- chester, 1808 ; also Rector of Cranham, Essex, and of Kingsdown, Kent. This gentleman was honoured with the acquaintance and friendship of that " leviathan of literature,*' Dr. Samuel Johnson, who frequently visited him at Isling- ton, and was at his house for a few days during his last illness. He bequeathed to Dr. Strahan a part of his library, and left in his hands, for pub- lication, some posthumous writings, which were afterwards printed under the title of '* Prayers and Meditations, composed by Samuel Johnson, LL.D. and published from his Manuscripts, by George Strahan, M.A." &c. 8vo. Dr. Strahan died in 1824. 40. Daniel Wilson, M.A. 1824; afterwards D.D. and now Lord Bishop of Calcutta. 41. Daniel Wilson, M.A. 1832. The most remarkable among the Lecturers of this parish appears to have been Robert Browne, founder of the sect from him called Brownists, He was born OBNBRAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 8S towards the middle of the sixteenth century, in the county of Rutland; studied divinity at Cambridge; and afterwards became a schoolmaster in Southwark. About the year 1580 he began to inveigh, with equal intemperance and ardour, against the doctrines and discipline of the Church of England ; and, settling at Norwich, gained many proselytes, of whom the majo- rity were Dutch and Flemings, being of the number of the refugees whom religious persecution had then recently driven from their own country. Ere long he was himself driven by persecution to seek a refuge at Middleburgh, in Holland, where he and his followers established themselves under the protection of the government. Returning to England, he continued to disseminate his opinions, till, being excommunicated for contempt of a summons to appear before the Bishop of Peterborough, he was induced to renounce the principles he had so zealously inculcated, and even to r«tum to the communion of the Church, in which he obtained preferment, being appointed to a living in Northamptonshire. His first sentiments, however, survived his own desertion of them, and led to the founding of the sect called Independents, whose tenets were more moderate than those of the proper Brown- ists, as, indeed, they have continued to increase in Hberality to the present day. Browne's death was worthy of the turbulent career exhibited by his life ; he dying, in 16S0| in his eighty*first year, in North- ampton gaol, to which he had been committed for an assault. He exulted in the persecutions to which he had been subjected ; boasting that he had been con- g2 84 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. fined, at various times, in thirty-two prisons, in some of which he could not see his hand at noon-day. George Gaskin, D.D. was Lecturer for forty-six years, resigning in 1822, on being preferred to a pre- bendary's stall at Ely. He was also Rector of Stoke- Newington, and of St. Bennet, Gracechurch, and, for a long period. Secretary to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The Rev. J. £. Denham, A.B. succeeded Dr. Gaskin, but left the parish : and the afternoon lectureship, to which, for a century and a half, it had been the custom of the inhabitants to ap- point, beci^ne merged in the performance of three services, under the arrangements made by the Bishop of Calcutta, then Vicar, who undertook to make adequate provision for the afternoon duty. We must not quit the ecclesiastical history of Is- lington without recording, that an establishment called the " Brotherhood of Jesus,*' appears to have been connected \vith its church prior to the Reformation. Mention of this fraternity, together with many curious particulars connected with the superstition of the times, occurs in the will of a parishioner, named Richard Cloudesley, which is still preserved in the London Registry. The following are extracts from the most important of its clauses which bear reference to this parish :— ** In the name of God, Amen. In the name of the Holy Trinity, Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, Amen, the 13th day of the month of January, the year of our Lord, 1517, and the ninth year of the reign of King Henry Vlllth. I, Richard, othervrise GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. 85 called Richard Cloudydey, clere of mind, and in my good memory being, loved be Almighty God, make and ordain my testament or my last will, in this manner and form as foUoweth. First, I bequeath and recom- mend my soul imto Almighty Ood, my Creator and Saviour, and his most blessed moder Saint Mary the Virgin, and to all the Holy Company of Heaven. My body, after I am past this present and transitory life, to be buried within the church-yard of the parish Church of Islington, near unto the grave of my father and moder, on whose souls Jesu have mercy. Also I bequeath to the high altar of the same church, for tythes and oblations peradventure by me forgotten or withholden, in discharging of my conscience, 20s. Also I bequeath to the said church of Islington eight torches, price the piece six shillings, four of them, after my month's mind is holden and kept, to remain to the Brotherhood of Jesu within the said church, and the other four torches to bum at the sacryng of the high mass within the said church as long as they will last. '* Item, I give and bequeath to the common box of the said parish S0«. Item, I give and bequeath to two poor men of the parish of Islington two gowns, with the name of Jesu upon them, every gown price 6s. 8d. Item, I give and bequeath to two poor men of the said parish of Islington two gowns, and the same gowns to have Maria upon them, in the honour of our blessed Lady, every gown price 6s. 8d. Item, I will that the said gowns be given to such honest poor persons as shall honestly wear them while they last, and not to sell them or put them to pledge. 86 OENBRAL HISTORICAL VIEW. '' Item, I give and bequeath to the repayring and amending of the causeway between my house that I now dwell in, and Islington Church, 40«. Item, I will that there be incontinently after my decease, as hastily as may be, a thousand masses sayd for my soul, and that every priest have for his labour 4fd, Item, I will that there be dole for my soul the day of buxying, to poor people 5 marks in pence. Item, I will that there be bestowed upon the amending the highway between Hyegate-hill and the stony bounds beyond Ring Crosse 20L ; and if the said 20/. will not make it sufficient, I will there be bestowed thereon other so;. " Item, I bequeath to the poor lazars of Hyegate, to pray for me by name in their bede-role, 6s. 8d. Also, I will that, every month after my decease, there be an obit kept for me in Islington Church, and each priest and derk have for their paines to be taken, as they used to have afore this time. And I will that there be distributed at every obit, to poor people, to pray for my soul, &. Sd. ** I will that all that now be seised to my use, and to the performance of my will, or hereafter shall be seised to the same, of and in a parcel of ground called the SUmy-field, otherwise called the Fourteen Acres, shall suffer the rents and profits of the same from henceforth to be counted to this use ensuing ; that is to say, I will that, yearly after my decease, the parishioners of the parish of Islington, or the more part of them, once in the year, at the parish church aforesaid, shall elect and choose six honest and discreet men of the said parish, such as they think most meet to have the GBMSRAL HISTORICAL VI£W. 87 order and distribution of the rent and profit aforesaid, which rent I will shall by the said six persons be be- stowed in manner and form following ; that is to say, I will, that there be yearly, for ever, a solemn obit to be kept for me within the said church of Islington, and that there be spent at the obit 80r. And also, that there be dealt to poor people of the said parish at every obit, to pray for my soul, my wife's soul, and all Christen souls, & . 8d. And further, I will that the said six persons shall yeerely pay, or do to be paid, to the wardens of the Brotherhood of Jesu, U. 6s. 8d. towards maintaining of the masse of Jesu within the said churche ; upon this condition, that the said war- dens shall yeerely, for ever, cause a trentcU of masses to be said for my soul in the said churche ; and further, I will that the aforesaid six persons shall have among them for their labour, to see the true performance of the same, yearly, at every obite 10» ^" > AH cbt provinons made by Cloudetlcsy for the pardon of his sins, and the repose of hia aoul, would 8eein,.however, if we may give credit to the testimony of an ancient writer, to have proved inoperative. The author alluded to, after speaking of earthquakes and similar phenomena of nature, proceeds thus: — ** And as to the samehcavings or iremiUwiemU de tenet it Is sayd / in a certain fielde, near unto y* parish cfaureb of Islingtoun^ in like manner did take place a wondrous commotion in various partes, y* carthe swellinge, and turninge uppe every side towards y« the midst of y* sayde fielde, and, by tradycion of this, it is obserued y* one Richard De Clouseley lay buried in or neare y* place, and 3^ his bodie being restless, on y* score of some sinne by him peradventure committed, did shewe or seeme to signifie y* religious obseruanoe should there take place, to quiet his departed spirit; whereupon certaine exorcisers, if we may so term y", did at dede of night, nothing lothe, using divers diuine exercises at torcbe light, set at rest y* unrulie spirit of y' sayde Clouesley, and y earthe 88 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. The following particulars are extracted from the certificate of the commissioners for dissolving colleges and chantries, in the Augmentation office : — '' Primo die Januarii, anno primo regni regis Ed- wardi Sexti, 1548. " The P'oche of Iseldon ; scil't, ^' Richard Clowdesley willed and gave unto the said churche one closse ther, conteyning xii acres, now in the tenure of Walter Coyny, to th* entente to keep an obite, and for the mayntenance of a masse, which closse arrentithe yerely viiL whereof, " At th' obite w' viw. viiid. to the pore xx«. " And to the Brother- x hedd of Jesus within the # \ XLV w. viiid. seid churche, founded at^ xxvi«. vnidf. | will for singing of masses V for the seid Clowdesley ) ** And then remayneth dere cximji iincL'* '' John Englande willed and gave unto the seid churche, for the keeping of an obite fmd the me3mte- nance of an honest priest, one closse of copyholde land in the seid parishe, in the tenure of Robert Walker at will, by yeare iiiii vw, vind. In quit-rent to Thomas Fowler, Gent. iw. ixd. ob. q. And then remaynethe clere nnl. v«. xd, d. q. ** Memorandum, ther is of Howselyng people ' did returne aneare to its prbtine shape, neuer more commotion pro- ceeding therefrom to this day, and this I know of a verie certaintie." — PMrfe/ de Mir, Nat. X. c. 4. > Persons supposed to be qualified to receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Chaucer says, ** But OENKRAL HISTORICAL YIBW. 89 within the seid paiische the number of ccccxl. Sir Jamys Robynson is vicar ther, and his vicarage is woTthe by yere xxx/.** By authority of an Act of Parliament passed in 181 1, entitled " An Act for providing a Chapel of Eaae^and an additional Burial-ground, for the parish of St. Mary, Islington,^* certain trustees were empowered to raise thirty thousand pounds, upon annuities, for the purposes of the said Chapel, &c.; and, in consequence, an edifice, in size exceeding the mother-church, was erected at Holloway. And in the month of May, 1825, the Commissioners under the Act 58 Geo. Ill a^. 45, " for building and promoting the building of additional churches in populous parishes,** made ar« rangements vnth our parochial authorities to build three additional churches in the parish of Islington. These were all begun to be erected in the year 18S6, and completed in less than three years. The parish contributed twelve thousand pounds towards the building expenses, and fitting up the edifices for divine service ; which sum was borrowed under the provisions of the local Act obtained in 18S4. By an order in conncQ, which appeared in the London Gazette of ** Bat for u moch m man and wife Should shew the pariih priest ther life ; Onis a yere aa saith the hoke, Er any wight hii Houtil toke." — Bom. Rue, " I wed forthe, and to him ygone, And he thai HoutU me anone."— /Mil. See alae " A Bcke ofHowMl^ng, or a Worke of Preparation, or of OrdinauDce unto Communion."— i#Me«'« Tcpog, Antiq, by Herbert, Td. L pu 4IML 90 GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. September 14thy ISSO, (pursuant to the powers given by the Act for building additional churches, and its amendmentsy) ecclesiastical districts were assigned to the three new churches, and named, from them, " Trinity District," " St. Paul's District," and " St. John's District :" the residue of the parish, wherein the old church and chapel of ease were situate, being called ** St. Mary's District." The Commissioners, following up the provisions of their acts, appointed select vestries for the management of the district churches, and assigned the pew-rents to their respec- tive churchwardens, for payment of the stipends of the ministers and clerks. The select vestries also made rates upon their districts, for the repairs of their seve* ral churches, and for the expenses attendant upon the carrying on of divine worship : and the same were in part collected : but their collection was after a short time suspended, from an apprehension (which subse- quent events in other parishes have confirmed) that the imposition of such rates was illegal. Ultimately, a scheme was proposed, and approved by the parish- ioners in vestry assembled, for equalising the ecclesi- astical burthens of the parish : to carry which into effect, an Act was obtained in April, 1832, the chief provisions of which were as follow. 1. The Act of 1824 was repealed, so far as the vestry were therein authorised or required to make a rate for payment of the annuities and other expenses consequent upon the erection of the chapel of ease, &c., and a rate for repairing and upholding the parish church and de- fraying the expenses of the churchwardens. 2. In lieu of the rates so repealed, the vestry were required aSWKRAj:. HISTORICAL VIEW, 91 to make one rate, not to exceed 2f • 6d. in the pound, for paying the annuities and other expenses attending the erection of the chapel of ease^ &c, and for paying the money borrowed towards building the district dmrches, and the interest thereon ; another rate, to be called ** The Churchwardens* Kate/' for payment of the annuities granted for money to purchase the new parochial burial-ground, and for defraying all official expenses incurred by the churchwardens ; and a third rate for repairing and upholding the parish church, and chapel of ease, to be assessed upon the district of St. Mary only. 8. The rents and profits of the Stone-Fields estate, (lately spoken of as be- queathed to the church by Richard Cloudealey), which heretofore had been appropriated to the serrice of the pariah church alone, and towards defraying the expenses of its churchwardens, were directed to be divided into four equal parts, one to be assigned to the churchwardens of each church, and applied in paying the incidental expenses of the chapel of ease, and the three district churches. 4. The pews in the parish church, and chapel of ease, were allowed to be let, with the exception of certain seats accus- tomed to be reserved for the ministers, parish officers, &c, and with a provision that not less than one-fifth of the whole number of sittings, in the said church and chapel, should be for ever free and open to the poor ; the pew-rents of the parish church to be applied to defiraying the incidental expenses, and ordinary re- pairs of the same ; and those of the chapel of ease to be appropriated, in the first instance, to the payment of the clerk's salary, and the residue to the minister IS 9S GENERAL HISTORICAL VIEW. for the time being. 5. The mortuaiy money, and fees for vaults, &c.j after deducting so much as the vicar, clerk, and sexton, are entitled to, and paying thereout th e expenses of insuring the church and chapel of ease from damage by fire, to be carried to the credit of the churchwardens' rate. 6. The church- wardens and select vestries of the district churches indemnified from the consequence of all errors, irre- gularities, and illegalities, in making and collecting the late district rates. By this Act (2 Will. lY. cap. SB.), in conjunction with that of 1824 (5 Geo. lY. cap. 125.), the prin- cipal provisions of which were before recited, the civil and ecclesiastical constitution of the parish are at the present time (1834) fixed and regulated. CHAPTER II. WALK THE FIRST. TOUa OF THE BOUNDARIES. We are perfectly aware that our first Walk must prove a long one, to such of our readers as may feel ffispoaed to undertake it, luiless they should be accus- tomed to pedestrian exercise. Nevertheless, the conviction we have derived firom experience, that a good general idea of any locality is acquired by nothing so well as by performing its tour, induces us to commence our perambulations with a description of whatever may s6em interesting upon or near the line of " the bounds'* periodically visited by the parish authorities. An eligible starting point for this expedition, will be the angle formed by the terminations of High Street and the City Road, opposite the Angel Inn. Pursuing the parochial line eastwardly firom this point, the map, and the boundary-stones, unite to inform us that it just includes the obelisk and triangular-shaped garden which make so handsome a finish to the end of Dolby Terrace. That terrace was built by a per- son of its name, who, having made a handsome for- tune by the manufacture of publicans' beer-machines. 94 WALK THE FIRST. resided for some time in the house which looks up the road, over the garden just mentioned. The New River flows through its private grounds ; and, before the formation of the City Road, was here carried over " the hollow" in a wooden trough, lined with lead, having a way underneath for passengers. The base- ments of the houses stand in the same hollow; which, until their erection, was frequently called Jack Placketfs Common, from a footpad executed on the spot, July 28th, 1762, for robbing and using personal violence to a Norway merchant, named Fayne, whom he had decoyed hither for the perpetration of his de- sign. The execution itself was made remarkable by a serious accident which occurred to the spectators, through the breaking down of a fence running be- tween the foot-path and the edge of the hoUow, whereby numbers were precipitated below. Proceeding in rear of Dalby Terrace, down Ghis- well Road, the boundary takes in the houses called Frederick Place, but not the footway before them ; a circumstance which led to grave discussion some years since, between our parish officers and the paving board of St. James, Clerkenwell, as to the party legally bound to pave the said footway ; a discussion which termi- nated, however, in the pavement being laid by the Clerkenwell board. Crossing the end of Sidney Street, and running behind its houses on the east side, — crossing the City Road, and miming eastwardly in rear of that road imtil it has reached the Regevd^s Canal Basin, — ^the line arrives at the first object on our walk which it is important particularly to describe. WALK THE FIRST. 95 This Basin is cut from the Canal to the City Road, and somewhat beyond it, the latter being carried over it by a bridge : it is sixteen hundred feet long, and one hundred and ten feet wide ; and, with its whar&, covers an area of twenty-five acres. A smaller basin lies eastward, extending, in a line paraUel with the first, from the canal nearly to the City Road. The commercial facilities which the metropolis derives from its aquatic communication with the inland parts of the kingdom, by means of these basins, and the canal they are connected with, are too well known to be enlarged upon. The canal itself was constructed under the provisions of an Act of Parliament of the 52nd Geo. III. cap. 195, ex- plained and amended by several subsequent statutes. It was begun in 1812, and opened August 1st, 1820, by a gay procession of boats, barges, &c., occupied by proprietors, their ladies and families, and other per* sons interested in the success of the concern, which was divided into 12,294i shares. The cut commences at Paddington, where it joins that branch of the Grand Junction Canal which is called the Paddington Canal, and thereby establishes a communication with nearly all the navigable waters in England. Taking a north-eastward direction from its source, it passes under Maida Hill, by a tunnel S72 yards long, and skirts the Regent's Park for a considerable dis- tance: then flowing through Camden Town, and crossing the Hampstead and Kentish Town Roads, and Maiden Lane, it enters this parish, and supplies a huge basin, called HorsefalFs Basin, in its way to White-Conduit Fields. It now passes under Penton- 96 WALK THE FIRST. ville Hill, part of Islington, and the New River, by means of another tunnel, 970 yards long, nineteen feet six inches high, and seventeen feet six inches wide, and reappears in the brick-fields adjoining what are still called the City Gardens^ though, curtailed and neglected, few traces of their former industrious cultivation by citizens are at this time visible. Here the basins just described are supplied with water : after which, the canal passes onwards to the house of entertainment called the Rosemary-Branch, crosses the Kingsland and Hackney Roads, proceeds by Stepney Fields, and falls into the Thames at lime- house. Its whole length is about nine miles, bearing a descent in all of about eighty-four feet. It has twelve locks, and upwards of forty bridges at various places. A fitter opportunity than the present vrill not occur, to inform the reader that the City Road was projected, about the year 1756, by Charles Dingley, Esq., a gentleman well known for his unsuccessful attempt to establish the use of that ingenious machine, the saw-mill. His plan was to connect the southern extremity of Islington with the " Dog-house Bar,** (mentioned at page 10 of this work), and thereby to open a communication between the city and the west end of the town, by the road, then, lately formed, called the New Road^ which runs firom the Angel Inn to Paddington. The idea was carried into effect by virtue of an Act of Parliament, entitled, " An Act for making, widening, and repairing a road firom the north-east side of the Goswell Street Road next Islington, in the county of Middlesex, and near to WALK THE FIRST. 97 the road called the New Road, over the fields and grounds to Old Street Road, opposite to the Dog'- house Bar, and at and from the Dog*house Bar to the end of Chiswell Street by the Artillery Ground," On the g9th of June, 1761, the City Road was opened to the public. In order literally to pursue the parochial line from the point to which we traced it, namely, the west bank of the larger canal basin, we should cross that basin from the wharfs in Macclesfield Street; but may more conveniently proceed by the City Road bridge, take the first turning to the left beyond it, and thus regain the boundary at the canal bank. Here is another bridge, of which also we shall do well to avail ourselves, and by that means gain the towing-path, though our true direction is on the contrary side. The towing-path, it must be observed, is to be pedestrianised only by permission of the lock-keepers ; which, however, it is not very difiicult to obtain. After a short walk, to which the passage of the different craft will afford amusement, we shall reach a stone bearing the Islington mark, and thus showing that the line has crossed the canal to where it is situated. Leaving the water, and the New North Road bridge, on the right, it then takes a devious course across a field to the Rosemary Branch: but, prior to any further mention of that house, we must allude to a rather important feature in the history of the tract we have just perambulated. It may be known to comparatively few, that ^vhere a canal now winds, with all its usual accompaniments H }fb WALK THE FIRST. of locks, bridges, baxges, navigators, and towing- horses, the citizens of ancient London were more peculiarly wont to exercise the art of shooting with the long bow ; and that the tract in question, together with its continuation to the city wall on the one hand, and to the villages of Islington and Hoxton on the other, was celebrated, under the name of Finsbury Fields, for its appropriation to this manly species of amusement. In truth, the encouragement of this pastime was considered, for several centuries after the Conquest, as of the first political importance ; a &ct made sufficiently evident by repeated statutes for its promotion and regulation. In 1865, Edward the Third commanded the Sherifis of London to make proclamation, that '^ every one of the said city, strong in body, at leisure times, on holy- days, should use in their recreations bows and arrows, or pellets, or bolts, and learn and exercise the art of shooting; forbidding all and singular in our behalf, that they do not after any manner apply themselves to the throwing of stones, hand-ball, foot-ball, bandy- ball, lambuck, or cock fighting, nor such other like vain plays which have no profit in them '." And, in IS92, an Act passed to oblige servants to shoot vrith bows and arrows on holidays and Sundays; and of such consequence was excellence in this art esteemed, that Sir John Fortesque, an eminent lawyer in the reign of Henry YI., again and again declares " that the mighte of the realme of Englande standyth upon archers*." Henry VIII., who fi:om early life had 1 Rot Claus. 89 Edw. III. * Anecdotes of Archery, by E. Hargrove, York, 1792, 12mo. p. 36. WALK THE FIRST. 99 practised the manly and athletic exercises, particu- larly that of the bow, granted, in the 29th year of his leign, a patent to Sir Christopher Morris, Master of the Ordnance, and others, that they should be over- seers of the science of artillery , '* to wit, long bowes, cross bowes, and hand gonnes ;'* with liberty for them and their fraternity to exercise shooting at all manner of marks and butts, and at. the game of the popinjay, and other games, as at fowl and fowls, as well in the city and suburbs as in all other places. In this patent there was one remarkable passage, viz. that in case any person was injured or slain by an archer, he was not to be sued or molested if, immediately before the shot, he had used the word "Fast*!" Arthur the brother of Henry, was particidarly fond of the exercise; insomuch, that an expert bowman was styled Prince Arthur*. In the third year of this reign, every father was directed to provide a bow and two arrows for his son when he should be seven years old : also, in the sixth year of the same reign, all per- sons, except the clergy and judges, were obliged to shoot at butts '. In a splendid shooting match at Windsor, before the > Se« a copy of this patent in Highmore's History of the Artillery Company, p. 40. * Barrington** " Observations on the Practice of Archery in Eng- land," Archaeologia, voL vii. p. 66. ' Anecdotes of Archery, p. 45. In an old ballad, written in praise of the Princess Elizabeth, queen of Henry VII., his Majesty is de- scribed as an Archer — " See where he ihooieth at the butteif and with him Lordes three." Harl. MSS. 367. H 2 100 WALK THB FIRST. same King, when the sport was nearly over, his Majesty observing one of his guard, named Barlo, preparing to shoot, said to him, *' Beat them all, and thou shalt be Duke of Archers." Barlo more than fulfilled what was expected from him, and received the promised reward, being created Duke of Shoreditch, as that vil- lage was the place of his residence \ Several others of the most expert marksmen were in a like manner honoured with titles, as Marquis of Islington, Earl of Pancridge, &c. The title of Duke of Shoreditch descended for several generations with the Captain- ship of the London Archers. Hall, in his Chronicle, (about 6 Henry YIII.) tells us, however, that ** before this time the inhabitants of the towns about London, as Iseldon, Hoxton, Shoresditch, and others, had so inclosed the com- mon fields with hedges and ditches, that neither the young men of the city might shoote, nor the antient persons walke for their pleasures in those fields, but that either their bowes and arrowes were taken away or broken, or the honest persons arrested or indighted, saying, that no Londoner ought to go out of the city but in the highwayes. This saying so grieved the Londoners, that suddainly this yeere a great number of the city assembled themselves in a morning : and a turner, in a foole*s coate, came crying through the city, shovels and spades! shovels and spades/ So many of the people followed, that it was a wonder to behold ; and within a short space all the hedges about the City were cast down, and the ditches filled up, ' Strype*8 Stow, vol. i. p. 302. WALK THE FIRST. 101 and eveiy thing made plaine, such was the diligence of these workemen." The rioters having thus effected their purpose, returned quietly to their respective homes : ** after which/' says Hall, '' those fields were never hedged *." In 158S, there was a splendid shooting match in Smithfield, under the direction of the Duke of Shore* ditch. Captain of the London Archers, vrith his seve- ral officers, the Marquesses of Clerkenwell, Islington, Hoxton, and Shacklewell, the Earl of Pancras, &c. In the " Remembrance" of which " Worthy Show and Shooting, by the Duke of Shoreditch and his Asso- ciates, upon Tuesday, the 17th of September, 1583, by W. M." (London, 12mo. 1682), we are told, that ** the train passed to Shoreditch church, and then turned down into Hogsden Fields^ into a fidre large green pasture ground of goodly compass, where a tent was set up for the Duke and the chief citizens '." Tlus lasted two days. There were archers assembled to the number of 3,000, each having a sash, a long bow, and four arrows. On the evening of the second day, the victors were led off the field, mounted on horses, * Stow's Sunr. p. 47G. — In 1544, Roger Aiicham wrote an excel- lent Treatise, entitled, " Toxophilus, the Schole or Partitions of Shooting: contayned in Two Bookes; pleaaeaunt for aU Gentlemen and Yeomen of Englande for their Pa8t3nBie to reade, and profitable fortheyr Use to folowe, both in Warre and Peace." In this work the great eaccellency of archery above other sports, and its utility in a political point of view, are ably discussed, while many of the fashion- able amusements of the day are as justly condemned. > EUis's Hist of Shoreditch, p. i?!. lOZ WALK THE FIRST. and attended by ^00 persons, all bearing lighted torches in their hands \ Paul Hentzner, in his Journey to England, in the reign of Elizabeth, observes that " the English make great use of bows and arrows to this day in their ex- ercises." It appears, however, that the practice was at that period on the decline; for, about the year 1570, the Bowyers, Fletchers, Stringers, and Arrow- head-makers, petitioned the Lord Treasurer, as pre- viously they had petitioned the Queen, concerning their decayed condition, by reason of the discontinu- ance of the use of archexy, and toleration of unlawful games '• By the time of James I., the art seems to have fallen much into disuse. Stow laments, that it had become ** almost cleane left off and forsaken ; for," says he, " by the means of closing in of common grounds, our archers, for want of roome to shoote abroad, creepe into bowling alleys, and ordinarie di- cing houses, neerer home, where they have room enough to hazard their money at unlawful games *•" To remedy which inconveniences, and give encourage- ment to this ancient exercise, James, in 1605, directed his letters patent to the Lord Mayor, the Lord Chan- cellor, and several other eminent persons (including Sir Thomas Fowler, of Islington,) alleging that divers persons about the City, possessing lands, &c. had taken away from the archers the privilege of 1 Anecdotes of Archery, p. 69. > Seymour's Surv. of Lond. voL ii. p. 383. ' Ibid. p. 86. WALK THE FIRST. 103 shooting in such fields and closes^ as, time out of mind, had been allowed to be shot in, by making banks, hedges, and plucking up the old marks, and making ditches so broad, without bridges, &c. ; and directing those commissioners to survey the grounds, within two miles compass of the City and suburbs, which used to have marks, and be used for shooting, and to reduce the same to proper order and condition, as in Henry the Eighth's time \ Charles the First would seem, from the dedication of a treatise entitled " The Bowman's Glory," to have been himself an Archer ; and, in the eighth year of his reign, he issued a commission, similar to that just mentioned, directed to the same persons, and empowering them to prevent the fields near London firom being so enclosed as to *^ interrupt the necessary and profitable exercise of shooting," and also to lower the mounds, where they hindered the view fi'om one mark to another'. > Higfamore's History of the Artillery Company. ' It appears, from the above, as well as from other circumstances, that the Artillery Company of London (which seems to have had its origin in the before named patent of Henry VIII.) has for many centimes possessed a right of assembling and exercising in these ikelds. Moreover, they have several times of late years asserted this right, by removing obstructions, reinstating their marks, &c. as is seen in the Company's records, from which the following extracts are made: — *' On the Company's march to Baupaes on the Ascension day, in 1788» they found the gate of a large field, in which stood one of their stone marks, near BaiPt Pond, both locked and chained, and four men placed to prevent their entrance. The adjutant ordered it to be finrced ; after which they marched across and opened another gate.'f -^Hitiary rfthe ArtiUery Company, p. 366. " In 1784, a committee was 104 WALK THE FIRST. In 1628, was published a small volume, entitled *' Ayme for Finsburie Archers ; or, an Alphebetical appointed to ascertain the sitiiatioD of the butta, ftc. that the right might not be lost, and report thereon." — Ibid. p. 385. In October of the same year, " the Company marched to Finabury fields, to view their several stone marks, beginning at Prebend Mead, where the Cattle atone stood, and thence extending to Bianmet FieUe and iMUng" ton Cmnmon," They removed several obatructioDa, &c. — Ibid. p. 903. In 1736, ** considerable encroachments having been made upon the ancient marks belonging to the Company, the Court (July 30) or- dered notice to be given to all the occupiers of lands in Baumes and Finsbury Fields, between Peerleee Pool^ South, BcoiiMct-Pond, North, Hotton, East, and lelington. West, wherein any of their marks were placed, to remove any obstruction to the Company's rights." — Ibid p. 396. Aug. 12, 1736, " the Company, on its march over Baumea and Finsbury Fields, having pulled down by the pioneers several parts of the fence of a piece of ground enclosed about two years since by Mr. Samuel Pitt, for gardens and aummer houses, through which breaches the Company marched from the marks of OuardtUme to Ar^ noldf and from Arnold to Jbsoly ; and having come to apiece of ground lately enclosed by a brick wall, by Messrs. Walker, Ward, and Co. (proprietors of the white lead mill), between the marks of Bob Peak and the Levant, the Company were induced to desist from pulling down, or making a breach in the wall in order to march through, on account of Mr. Maltby, one of the partners in the white lead works, having assured the commanding officer of the battalion, that he and his partners, at the time of making the said enclosure, were ignorant of the Company's right in those fields, but were willing to enter into any reasonable terma of accommodation with the Company for what they had done. One of the archers' division was then ordered to shoot an arrow over the said inclosure, aa an aasertion of the Com- pany's right; which, having done, the battalion proceeded on its march to several other marks," ftc— /M. p. 309. Again, in 1791, when the long butts on Islington Common were destroyed by digging gravel, " A detachment marched to the spot (Aug. 18,) pursuant to a previous notice to the occupiers and commissioners of the roads to remove every obstruction, and to replace the marks. These otdects were obtained."— /Md p. 410. 12 WALK THE FIRST. 105 Table of the Names of every Marke within the same Fields, with their true Distances, according to the Dimensuration of the Line, newly gathered and amended by James Partridge ^" This book is dedicated '' to all that affect the famous exercise of Archerie, frequenting Finsburie Fields ;" and in the pre&ce are given ** rules touching the use of the treatise/' with general directions to archers in the pursuit of that ex- ercise. The marks, or butts, enumerated, amount to upwards of 160. They were chiefly stones, or posts, fixed in the ground, having tops of different forms, and of unequal height. They were scattered over the fields extending firom the City northward to IsUngtan Camman, and to the village itself on its eastern side, ss delineated on an engraved plan of Finsbury fields, copied Id Malcolm's '' Londinium Redivivum," Vol. IV . p. S6. The greatest distance between them appears to have been nineteen score, or 380 yards, and the least nine score, or 180 yards. It is evident, therefore, that the union of considerable strength with dexteri^ must have been essential to proficiency in this exercise : and, in order to render the necessary exertion habitual, Henry VIII. prohibited by statute all persons, whose age exceeded twenty-four years, firom shooting at any mark not 2S0 yards distant. Mr. Nelson, in his ** History," mentions a few remains of the marks in these fields as existing at the time he > The first editioii of this book was published in 1S94, by •* 1. 1. SBd E. B." and sold at the sign of the Swan, in Grub-street. This ttraet was inhabited, in old times, by the fletchers, bowyers, bow- ttrin^aukavsy and maaufibcturers of every article connected with aithery. 106 WALK THE FIRST. wrote ; but none, it is believedi are extant at the pre- sent period. Partridge the author of the treatise just spoken of, was eminent for archery, and showed no small degree of zeal for its practice. His name was attached to two of the marks, which were generally called from the person who erected them ; and he laments the decay of the art in most places save the City of London, where, in his time, it was still much delighted in, ** as appeareth by the daily concourse of citizens, to their great commendations, in divers companies, in the convenient fields about the City K"^ During the civil wars archery seems to have re- ceived no encouragement, but rather to have fidlen into disrepute. Sir William D*Avenant, in his bur- lesque poem, entitled '' The long Vacation in Lon- don','* describes the shooting matches then made between the attorneys and proctors, who ** Each with solemn oath agree, To meet in Fields of Finsburie ; With loynes in canvas bow-case tyde, Where arrows stick with mickle pride ; With hats pinn'd up, and bow in hand, All day most fiercely there they stand, Like ghosts of Adam Bell, and Clymmb * : Sol sets for fear they'll shoot at him." * " Ayme for Finsburie Archers." > Works, folio, 1S73> p. 291. * Jdam Bell waa the name of one of the marks just mentioned. (See " Ayme for Finsburie Archers.") Jdam Bell, Cl^ of the CUmgk, and WUUam efCUmdeekyt were three noted outlaws, whose skill in archery rendered them aa fiunous in the north of Eng^nd, as Robin Hood and his contemporaries were in the midland eountiea.— Percy's Reliques o/EngUsh Poetry, 1765, p. 120. WALK THE FIRST. 107 By a plan of these Fields, representmg the state in which they were in the year 1737, it appears that only twenty-four of the ancient marks were then standing, they having been gradually removed by the land- holders, who were glad to get rid of the annoyance they occasioned. However, so lately as the year 1746, a cowkeeper named Pitfield^ was obliged to renew one of them, which the Artillery Company caused to be inscribed ^* PitfieldPs Repentance.'^ And, since that time, a brick-maker was compelled to make a similiar submission'. But archery had now degenerated, from being the glory of British warriors, into a mere recreation. Finsbury Fields were little frequented by its votaries ; and the very name of archer seemed forgotten, till, in 1753, under the auspices of a *' Society of Archers,'* targets were erected during the Easter and Whitsun holidays, when the best shooter was styled Captain for the en- suing year ; and the second. Lieutenant '. This So- ciety has been long since incorporated with the Hon. Artillery Company, who, till witiiin memory, had a company called the Archers' Division attached to their corps. Among the modem alterations which have taken place in Finsbury Fields, the numerous roads and ways by which they are now crossed, are, perhaps, hardly less deserving of notice than the Canal lately spoken of. The principal of these is the New North Boad, constructed by a company of shareholders. 1 Barrington's Observations, Archsologia, vol. vii. » Ibid. 108 WALK THE FIRST. pursuant to an Act of Parliament, (52 Qeo. III. cap. 154) entitled " An Act for making a public carriage- road from the present turnpike-road near the south end of Highbury PlacCi Islington, to Haberdashers Walk, in the parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, in the county of Middlesex.** A saving of three quarters of a mile is said to be effected, in travelling by this route from the Upper Street of our village to the eastern parts of the metropolis. Buildings are rapidly rising by the sides of the New North Road, and the streets forming contiguous to it: so that Islington and Hoxton are already all but united by continuous lines of houses. The Rosemary Branch, to which the boundary line had conducted us, is the successor of a public house bearing the same sign, which at this time forms part of the White-lead Manufactory behind it. It was built in the year 1783. It has grounds for tea-diink- ing, &c. ; and, for many years, was much resorted to on account of a peculiar feature it possessed in a large pond, above an acre in extent, on which aquatic trips were enjoyed both by its Sunday and week-day visitors. In the winter, again, the same pond fre^ quently afforded amusement to numerous skaiters, and the not less numerous spectators of their evolu- tions on its banks. But both these sources of plea- sure to the public, and profit to the proprietor, are now literally dried up, owing to the total disappear- ance of the water, through the general drainage of the neighbourhood for the accommodation of the surround- ing buildings. The White^Lead Manufactory, just mentioned, WALK THS FIRST. 109 was long made ccmspicnoiu to a considerable distance by two wind-fniBSf which still exist, but divested of their sailsy and at present principally used as store- houses. They were erected, the one in 1786, the other in 1792, by Messrs. Walker and Co., iron- masters, of Masborough, near Rotherham, Yorkshire, through the connection of that firm with the house of Walkers, Maltby, and Co., white-lead manufacturers, of Upper Thames Street, London. Their use, as mills, is now superseded by a steam-engine of twenty- horse power. The present firm is T. and C. Maltby and Co., who here carry on a concern employing about fifty persons, two-thirds of whom are women, whose constitutions, it is said, are less injuriously afiected by the imwholesome processes of this manu- fiu^ture than those of the robuster sex. Some mystery is observed as to the peculiar modes resorted to, in this and similar manufitctories, for obtaining the article which they dispose of: but it is generally understood to be prepared from common lead, by the aid of some strong add, the vapour of which, ope- rating upon the metal, corrodes and reduces it to a white calx, which is afterwards ground to a proper oonsistenoe for use. A scarcely less known, or less remarkable object, than the Mills, is Bahnei or Baumes Housef an old square mansion, with two stories in the roof, which stands a little without our parochial line, being in Shoreditcb, and to visit which, indeed, we must M to moping Hozton come ; Doll, neUacholy pUce, where the talUtrees, 110 WALK THE FIRST. And uncouth buUdings, maMy, old, and drear, With fiuideB quaint oppresa the passmger K' This antique house was the residence of Sir Qeorge Whitmore, Lord Mayor of London in 1631, who suffered much for his attachment to the cause of Charles I. Therefore is it celebrated, by the inge- nious poet just quoted, as « the once fiun'd abode Of plump Lord Mayor, and oft praised civic cheer. The seat of loyal Whitmore, — good old man. Who, for his duty to his king, prelierr'd To pass in prison-house his lonesome hours'." Melancholy has been the transition from this occu- pancy by the chief magistrate of the capital of the empire, to that of inmates of a very different descrip- tion ; for not less true is it, that *' Far other uses now the mansion claim : And where the music and the banquet cheer'd, Now mopes the maniac wretch the live-long day. And clanks his chains, and weeps, and laughs aloud * ;" the house having been devoted, for a long series of years, to the purposes of an asylum for insane persons. The estate to which Balmes House anciently formed a noble seat, and which is still called the BcJmes Eitaief is of considerable extent, and was leased, in 1821, for ninety-nine years, at a rent commencing with 550/. per annum, and advancing, in seven years, to 1300/. per annum, by the late Rev. Peter Beauvoir, > Fox's " La Bagatella," p. 14. * Ibid. p. 64. • Ibid. WALK THE FIRST. Ill to Mr. William Rhodes, who for many years resided in a house nearly adjoining the old mansion. But, after most expensive and long-protracted law proceedings, both in the House of Lords and in the inferior courts, between Mr. Beauvoir's heir and Mr. Rhodes, the lease is understood to have been set aside by a recent verdict, delivered upon a trial before Lord Lyndhurst in the Court of Exchequer, on the ground of inadequacy in the rent agreed for to the real value. But it is not yet certain that the last- mentioned decision will conclude the contest between the parties. — ^The original carriage avenue to Balmes, and which for some years was a private road to Mr. Rhodes's premises, is now a public thoroughfare, called WhUmore Itoadj leading from Hoxton to the gates of the old house, and crossing the canal by a bridge within a few yards of it. By a continu- ation of this road, Hoxton and Kingsland Road are connected. Ere we finally quit Hoxton, and Finsbury Fields, it may be noticed that a public-house, called the Robin ffaodf stands within the precincts of the former, and overlooks the latter, which witnessed the expiring games of the metropolitan archers, and was one of their chief places of resort when their sports were over. In our youthful days, the appropriate sign, representing the famed outlaw, and his constant at- tendant, both in their suits of '* Lincoln green," yet swung firom an arm of a lofty tree before the door ; and the following invitatory couplets met the eye beneath : — 112 WALK THE FIRST. '* Ye Archen bold, and Yeomen good, Stop and drink with Robin Hood. If Robin Hood is not at home, Stop and drink with Little John." The tree and the sign^ the last relics of the *' good old tunes** of Archery, have, however, disappeared ; and the house, having acquired a modem front, is merely called '* The Robin Hood *' by way of customary distinction for houses '* in the public line." We resume our route, by again falling into the parochial line at the boundary-stone placed a short distance from the Rosemary Branch. The track we must now follow is a footpath, of very ancient date, leading over what is still called Islington Common, though few vestiges remain of the state from which it derived that appellation. The objects here are few, being nearly confined to some large market- gardeners* grounds on the one hand, and the rear-wall of the extensive new undertakmg called *' Islington Cattle Market,** on the other. We shall take the op- portunity of farther allusion to the last-mentioned spirited concern, that will be afibrded by a future excursion by the road leading in its front. Proceed- ing straight forward on our present walk, we soon reach Ball*8 Pond Road; having crossed the boundary, whose course is to the right, in rear of the houses occupying the south side of that road. We pursue a parallel direction, only taking the highway instead. Maberly Chapel, an unpretending edifice, erected for a congregation of the Independent persuasion, is WALK THE FiaST. 113 among the buildings on the side of the road we are traversing* 6. H. Bunney*8 (formerly Bassington's) Nursery occurs on the opposite side. Passing which, and arriv- ing at Kingsland Turnpike, we notice a small antique building at the angle between the road from Ball's Pond and that leading to Shoreditch* This is inscribed ** St. Barihohmenfs Chapel;^ though little informar tion as to the object or origin of the structure is thereby afforded. The fact is, that it was anciently attached to an Hospital for Lepers^ the date of whose foundation is unknown, but must have been prior to the fifteenth century. In the year 1437, (temp. Henry VI.) John Pope, citizen and barber, gave by will to ** the Masters and Governors of the House of Lepers, called Le Lokes^ at Kingeslond without Lon- don, an annual rent of &• 8cl., issuing out of certain shops situate in Shirbome Lane, toward the sustenta- tion of the said house at Kingeslond for ever ^^ The term '* lokes** probably comes from the Saxon loke, or loct implying shut up, or confined; and alludes perhaps to the restraint under which persons were kept in these houses, and which, from the nature of their disease, was considered absolutely necessary. Such Lokes, Lazar-houses, or Hospitals for Lepers, were formerly established in every suburb of the metropolis ; as in the case of this at Kingsland, and those at London Wall, Bermondsey, Lambeth Marsh, Tothill Fields, St. James's, Westminster, (where now 1 Strype's StiTYey of London. I 114 WALK THE FIRST. stands St. James's Palace), Whitehally &c ^ Stow calls a similar house, the chapel appertaining to which has not been many years removed from the end of Kent Street, South wark, ** The Loke;" and from these hospitals, there can be no doubt, we have the modern term Lock^ as applied to receptacles for per- sons labouring under a particular disorder. From the records of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, it appears that, soon after the establishment of that institution in the reign of Henry VIII., cer- tain lock-hospitals were opened at convenient dis- tances from the City, for the reception of patients afflicted with a disease at that time considered con- tagious, and that this old '* House of Lepers" be- came one of them. The Governors of St. Bartholo- mew's afterwards annexed a commodious brick edifice to the buildings here, in such manner as to leave but little standing of the original Lazar-house, its chapel excepted. And it seems that this establishment, like the rest, was placed under the care of a chaplain, a surgeon, a sister, nurse, and helper, and provided with about twenty beds. It continued to be used as an appendage to the Hospital in Smithfield until the year 1757, when " foul patients" began to be admitted into '* the new wing," and an order was made that ** no more be received in the <mt houses '•" The Governors' erection was then appropriated to some other use, and is at present occupied by several tenants : but the Hospital arms, (party per pale, arg. ' See Moser*! Vestiges, in Europ. Mag. vol. li. p. 331. > Records of St Barthol. Hosp. WALK THE FIRST. 115 and sab. a chevron counterchanged) are still seen over the door ; though a sun-dial has disappeared, which bore the appropriate motto, " Post voluptatem mi- sericordia." The following were the circumstances which led to the preservation of the Chapel, and to the perform* anoe of public worship in it to this day, according to the ritual of the Church of England. February 17th, 1761, the Rev. Mr. Cookson, then Chaplain, pre- sented a petition to the Governors from the inhabit- ants of Kingsland, praying that " he might continue the duty for their accommodation as thentofore/' Whereupon, an order passed '' that Mr. Cookson should have the use of the chapel as desired, on pay- ing a yearly acknowledgement of 6d, into the poor's box, with leave to take down the patients' pew in the gallery, and raise the seats, at his expense, under the direction of the Hospital surveyor '•" From that time, the office and salary of Chaplain being discon- tinued, Mr. Cookson was permitted to have the use of the building on the terms stipulated, he keeping the same in repair, and it being understood that he might receive such stipend as could be collected from the attendants upon public woiship under his minis- try. In this manner the chapel has been kept open to the present time, the Governors of St. Bartholo- mew's Hospital continuing to nominate a minister upon a vacancy. The Rev. Isaac Hill has held the appointment since the year 1813. From the architecture of this little edifice, it would ' Aecords of St. Barthol. Hosp. 116 WALK THE FIRST. appear to have been erected prior to the reign of Henry VIII. : and the lapse of years, and construc- tion of the roads on two of its sides, have caused such an elevation of the ground about it, that the bottom of the pulpit is upon a level with the sur£Eu;e of the highway, and there is a descent to the chapel floor, by steps, of not less than three feet. The doorway, by which the patients entered from their apartments to join in divine service, is seen on the south side. In size the structure does not exceed twenty-seven feet from east to west, by eighteen feet from north to south; and its height, on the outside, is not more than twenty feet to the top of the roof, which sup- ports a small turret with a bell. The pulpit, with a due regard to economising the room, is placed in the north-east comer. The contiguous communion- table is a plain falling slab, surmounted by the deca- logue, &c. in gilt letters on a black ground ; while the latter is ornamented with cherubim, and other deco- rations, painted in wainscot. On the floor are seven double pews, and two single ones; and five single pews occupy the entire gallery. The whole building was for some time suffered to become much dilapi- dated ; but of late years has been repaired more than once out of the funds of the Hospital. As a curious instance of topographical mis-statement, the origin of which it might be difficult to trace, we may notice that Mr. Nelson, in both editions of his " History*" of the parish, (the former published in 1811, the latter in 18S3,) informs his readers that " in the chapel there was lately an old pewter Saher^ engraved with the Hospital arms ;" and, again, ** in the chapel WALK THE FIRST. 117 18 an old folio Bibles strongly secured with brass, having Psalms at the end, set to music in the ancient square character, and not divided into bars/* which " has, to all appearance, been in the place from the days of Henry VIII. or Elizabeth." The enquiries of the present writer were naturally directed to these relics of the olden time : when, strange to tell, the Reverend gentleman, who, we have said, has been mi« nister here since the year 1813, and who was well acquainted both ynth the chapel, and his predecessor during many previous years^ declared that he had no knowledge of any such, vesiiffiaf and that, to the best of his information and : belief, they never existed ! Enquiries were even made at the 'Hospital by the same gentleman, with a view to some elucidation of the mystery apparently hanging over these facts, but with no satisfactory result. And the clerk of the chapel, who has known it not less than thirty years, was equally in the dark with regard both to the salver and the sacred volume. The Islington boundary line crosses the floor of Kingsland Chapel, entering it by what was formerly the patients' door on the south side, and passing out by the public entrance on the north : consequently, so much of the building as stands eastward of this line, including the altar and pulpit, is within the pa- rish of Hackney. But, notwithstanding, our perio- dical perambulators assert some ecclesiastical or paro- chial right, whenever they " beat the bounds," by hearing prayers read from the pulpit by their clergy- man, who attends the procession; a custom, which the usual accompaniments of the service render it no 118 WALK THE FIRST. want of charity to say, would be honoured by the breach rather than by the observance. Our walk is pursued by Kingsland Green, a large respectable old house on whose west side is occupied as the British Orphan Asylum. This deserving institution is stated to be *' for the board, clothing, and educa- tion of Fatherless Children and Destitute Orphans, from the age of seven to fourteen years, who have not received parochial assistance, and whose parents have moved in the middle and respectable walks of society." The Directors add, in their modest and pertinent " Address," that they '* court an inspection of the Asylum ; fully assured that the sight of fifty chil- dren, clothed and happy, and looking up for in- struction in ' the way they should go,' will plead their cause with the most powerful eloquence." They further inform the public, that " the present house is already found to be insufficient for the purposes of the institution ;'* and that they '' are urged, not only by the want of accommodation, but by the wishes of many friends, to commence a building fundJ*' It is intended that the new erection, wherever situated, shall contain not less than a hundred children, one half of whom to be of each sex. The first election, at which four orphans were admitted, took place November 26, 1827. The road leading in rear of Kingsland Road, and keeping nearly parallel with it for a short distance, is that by which we must continue our route. Soon in- clining to the left, it conducts to NetringUm Oreen, presenting nothing worthy of note upon the way. The Green forms a quiet, retired square of respectable WALK TUB FIRST. 119 houses ; three sides of whichi with the inclosed ground in the centre^ are in our parish^ while the fourth^ or north side, is in that of St, Mary, Newington. Near the centre, on the south side, are two old houses, with comparatively modem fronts, which were origi- nally one mansion, the property and residence of Wil- liam Halliday, Alderman and Mercer of London in the reign of James I. In the Survey of Highhury Manor, before mentioned as having been taken in the year 161 1 S the Alderman is named as the then oc- cupant ; and it appears that the premises, including an orchard, &c,, and forty-four acres of pasture called " the park," extended south nearly to Ball's Pond. Mr. HaUiday died in 1623; and, being buried in the church of St. Lawrence, Jewry, is there described in his epitaph as *' a worthy magistrate, for his piety, charity, and prudence, deserving immortal fame," His widow, who was sister to Sir Henry Row, of ShackleweU, became the wife of Robert, Earl of Warvrick. The property was conveyed to Sir Henry Mildmay, through his marriage with Ann, the eldest daughter. Sir Henry was one of the judges of the unfortunate Charles the First : and to him the Par- liament sold a share of the woods of Highbury '. His estates were forfeited at the Restoration : but tliis at Newington Green having been settled on his wife, continued in the family, and was lately the property of Sir Henry St. John Mildmay, Bart., as it is now that of lus relict. Lady Mildmay. There are traces of antiquity in both the houses, sufficient to show that the 1 See page 22. ^ Sec Page 23. 12 ISO WALK THE FIRST. mansion was of the age of James I., and, in all pro- bability, erected by Aldennan Halliday. Stuccoed ceilings, and carved wainscotting and mantel-pieces, decorate several of the rooms, particularly in the westernmost house, the first floor of which well de- serves inspection. The wainscot is of oak, enriched with pilasters in the classic styles ; but the whole, as so commonly happens in such cases, covered with white paint. The chimney-piece has in the centre a shield, bearing three esquires' helmets, the arms of Halliday \ The ceiling contains the arms of England, with the initials of King James, and medallions of Hector, Alexander, &c. Another large old house formerly stood at the north-east comer of the green, the site of which is now occupied by two modem dwellings. It was in the form of a quadrangle, built round an open court, and chiefly composed of wooden frame-work and plaster. It was literally falling with age, when removed soon after the year 1800, and had been for a long time divided into tenements for poor people, with whom it was called Bishop^s Place. When pulled down, some parts of the oak wainscot were found to have been richly gilt, and adorned with paintings, then almost obliterated by the effects of time. The tradi- tion of the neighbourhood spoke of this house as having been a residence, or the property and occa- sional resort at least, of Henry VIII. ; and there are circumstances which give an air of probability to the relation. The houses of many of the nobility, * New View of London, p. 908. WALK THE FIB8T. 121 (who firequently exchanged them with, or presented them to, the capricious monarch), were north of Lon- don at that period. A branch of the fiunily of Dudley, Earl of Warwick) possessed the neighbouring manor of Stoke Newington: and the following letter of Henry Algernon Percy, Earl of Northumberland, dated at " Newington Oreene," veiy possibly was indited at the house in question. It was addressed to Lord Cromwell, Secretary of State ; and had in view to exculpate the writer from the pretended suspicions of Henry, in regard to a matrimonial contract alleged to have been made between the Earl and Ann Boleyn, prior to her mairiage vdth the King. ** Master Secretary, " This shsll be to signify unto you that I perceive, by Sir Raynold Camaby, that there is supposed a pre-contract to bee be- tweene the Queene and me. Whereupon I was not only heretofore examined, upon mine oath, before the Archbishops of Canterbury and Torke, but also received the Blessed Sacrament upon the same, before the Duke of Norfolk, and other the King's Highness Council, learned in the Spiritual Law ; assuring you, Mr. Secretary, by the said oath and bl essed body, which afore I received, and hereafter intend to receive, that the same may be my daanuUwH if ever there were any contract or promise of marriage between her and me. At Newington Greene, the 13th day of May, in the 28th year of the reign of our Sovereign Lorde King Henry Vlllth. " Your assured, ** H. NOETBUMBEELAND K" Now> this same Earl of Northumberland^ who died in the following year at Hackneyi (whither it is pro- bable he removed from Newington Green), is said to have " prodigally given away a great part of his lands > CoUins's Peerage, voL ii p. 303. 122 WALK THE FIRST. and inheritance to the King, and others S*' which in- deed is evident firom letters of his own writing, still extant : and it is therefore not unlikely that in this manner these premises might come into the possession of the Sovereign. Again, the tradition receives no little sanction from the circumstance, that a path (of late partly converted into a road) from the south-east comer of the Green to the road near Ball's Pond, has been, time out of mind, called ** King Harrtfs WaUc'^ About the year 1820, a man, digging in the field behind Mildmay House, and adjoining this walk, found, at about two feet and a half from the sur&ce, a curi- ous old ring of the purest gold, not much corroded or damaged. It was of good workmiemship, and had ap- parently been embellished with Roman enamel. The three remaining stones, (for one was missing), were inferior diamonds, unequal in size, and rudely set* Through a lens, the whole had a very handsome ap- pearance, the bunch of diamonds, and their setting, resembling a basket of fruit supported by scroll work. The small size of the ring led to the idea that it had been worn by a lady. It passed into the collection of Thomas Windus, Esq. of Stoke Newington Road*. Mr Samuel Wright, an inhabitant of Newington Green, who died towards the middle of the last cen- tury, and who held considerable estates in Leices- tershire, and other counties, gave such munificent sums, by will*, in the true spirit of religion and charity, ^ Nichols's Hist of Canonbury, p. 9. * Robinson's Stoke Newington, p. 14. ' Printed in Nichols's Hist of Leicestershire, vol ii. part ii. p. 706. WALK THE FIRST. 1^ that it is doing but justice to his memory to insert the following list. £. Item. To six Non-confonnist Ministera, of good life and GooTersation, and not worth 2002. each in the world, each lOOt 000 Item. To six honest aoher Clergymen, of temper and mode- rate charitable principles to their dissenting brethren, and not worth 200L a year each, or provided with a living of upwards of402.ayear, each 1002. 600 Item. To 40 poor decayed families, that have come to po- verty purely by losses and misfortunes unavoidable, each 1001. 4,000 Item. To 40 poor widows, of upwards of 60 years, and not worth 501. any one of them, each 50i: 2,000 Item. To 40 poor maidens, whose parents formerly lived well, and now come to decay, and have not 1002. each to their portion, each 1002: • 4,000 Item. To clothe, and put out apprentice 20 poor boys, (KM. each 1,000 Item. To the Society for the Reformation of Manners . . 500 Item. To the Society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts 500 Item. To Christ Church Hospital 1,000 Item. To St Thomas's Hospital 1,000 Item. To Bethlehem Hospital 1,000 Item. To the London Workhouse 1,000 Item. To the prisoners in Ludgate Prison 500 Item. To the prisoners in the Fleet Prison 400 Item. To the prisoners in the Marshalsea.. 300 Item. To the prisoners in Whitechapel prison. • • • • 300 Item. To the poor at Great Paxton, Lubbenham (co. Lei- cester), Islington, and Bow (Middlesex), and St Alphage, London, each parish 502L 250 Total 18,950 The rendue of his personal estate, after deducting 13,000/. left to relations and Mends, he bequeathed to the widows and orphans of Non-conformist Ministers. 124 WALK THE FIRST. A biographical sketch of this gentleman was published in 1737, under the title of " London's Wonder ; or the Chaste Old Bachelor : being a £Edthful account of the Family, life, and Legacies, of Mr. Samuel Wright, of Newington Green, in the County of Mid- dlesex, Gent." Several of the ejected and silenced non-conformist ministers were inhabitants of Newington Green to- wards the close of the seventeenth century. Among them were the Rev. Luke Milbbume, M.A., who being himself prevented from teaching, his wife kept a school, by which she supported her husband and herself. The Rev. Charles Morton, M.A., after ejection firom his rectory at Blisland, Cornwall, kept an academy here, " where some scores of young mi- nisters were educated by him, as well as many other good scholars.'* Among the works he published, were ** The Gaming Humour considered and improved," ** Of Common Place or Memorial Books," *' A Dis- course on Improving the County of Cornwall,*' '' Considerations on the New River,*' &c. all in a very compendious form, he being an enemy to bulky volumes, and having the observation often in his mouth, that " a great book is a great evil \" Distinguished by two large elm trees in its front, on that side of the Green included within the parish of Stoke Newington, stands a Unitarian Chapel, built in the year 1708, several of the ministers of which have been eminent for their talents and learning. It will suffice to name Hugh Worthiugton, M. A., Dr.Amory, ' Non-confonnist's Memorial. WALK THE FIRST. 1^ Dr. Price, and Dr. Towers. Mr. Barbauld, husband of the celebrated literary lady of that name, also officiated here. The present minister is the Rev. Samuel Wood, B.A. The congregation originally established at this place of worship were Presby- terians : and thus another instance has been afforded of the change £rom that denomination to the Unita- rian, which appears to have so frequently resulted from the unlimited adoption of the principles (by many considered as Presbyterian as they are Pro- testant) of free inquiry, and the right of private judgment. The church-path to Stoke Newington leads from the Grreen by the west side of the Unitarian Chapel, and is not vrithout some pleasing accompaniments as it crosses the meadows near the village. These, how- ever, have been greatly diminished of late years, through the progress of improvement in the shape of building and road-making. The Islington boundary lies to the lefl of this walk ; in part following, and in part diverging from, the road leading to the Green Lanes and Southgate. Pursuing this road, nothing strikes the attention until it crosses the New River by a bridge ; at which we naturally pause to take a glance along the stream, and over the intervening fields as far as Highbury. Close to the path by the river's side, are the ruins of an old Mill. The walk from the Thatched-House, Lower Road, to this pointy by the path alluded to, is a very pleasant one : and it may be as pleasantly continued, by keeping to the water's edge until the pedestrian arrives at Stoke Newington. A little farther on, a road runs from a turnpike-gate 1£6 WALK THE FIRST. to the same place : and this we shall adopt, as it would be unpardonable to omit a peep at so pretty a village, situated so near the boundary. The liver again crosses our way as we advance, after ornamenting the gardens of two gentlemen's seats, whose premises are parted from each other by a pretty iron bridge. Some fine willows, here planted on the banks of the stream, add greatly to the very pleasing general efiect. The ever-winding current is next seen on our left, flowing through the park-like grounds, and by the handsome mansioil, of the late William Crawshay, Esq., who died in the summer of 1834, possessed, as the newspapers said upon the occasion, of *' almost measureless wealth.** Besides the vast iron-works in Glamorgan and Brecknock- shires, and the other freehold estates, which belonged to this gentleman, probate was granted at Doctors' Commons for 700,00(M. personal property. The es- tates were bequeathed to his three sons, with excep- tion of this at Newington, which he left to his unmar- ried daughter, together with 60,000/. in cash, and his carriages, ftumiture, plate, &c. The sons were named executors to his very short will, which was made, it appears, only a few days before his death. The village street commences with the Church on the left hand, and the Bsctory-house immediately op- posite. Two structures are not often to be met vnth, in better harmony with each other, and with the general character of the scene. An air of the pic- turesque is decidedly predominant ; and it was still more striking before the church was restored and enlarged by Mr. Barry, Architect ; though the WALK THE FIRST. 127 alterations efiected bj that gentleman (in the year 1829) give undoubted evidence of much taste and judgment. The Rectory is an antique, irregularj wooden building, with a low-browed, sunken porch^ entered by a wicket. Within this porch, though out* side the house-door, are benches, designed perhaps for the accommodation of waiters upon " the parsonV charity, or spiritual consolations, in the olden time. Approaching the sacred edifice, we are informed by a date over the principal entrance, that the south aisle, which contains that entrance, was built in 1563, or during the reign of Elizabeth : but the tower, and great part of the rest of the building, however altered, are evidently much older. A tomb within, adjoining the pulpit, has kneeling figures, in high relief, of a man, his wife, and their daughter; with (over the head of the male figure) the words, '' Obiit 29^ De- cembris afio dni 1580.'* Various compartments contain Latin and English inscriptions, by which, along with many laudatory epithets, applied to the deceased, we are apprised that the tomb commemorates Tho- mas Sutton, Esq., founder of the Charter-House, and EJizabeth his wife. The last inscription runs thus : — '' Several PrelcUes, and other persons, educated at Charter-house School^ the foundation of Thomas Sut- ton, Esq., by their respectful contribtUums, caused this Tomb to be repaired A.D. 1808.'* A mural tablet, against the east end of one of the aisles, records the death of '' Ann Frohock*' in 1764, and most delightfiilly and grammatically styles her " the best of Wife's and of Woman:' Returning to the road quitted at the turnpike, and 128 WALK THE FIRST. proceeding on our route, the New River once more flows under a bridge constructed for our passage, at the spot where the gentle waters first enter the grounds of the late Mr. Crawshaj. Here we turn sharply to the left into an ancient bridle-way, forming part of the old road to Homsey Lane from the Green Lanes, by Stroud Green, mentioned at page 12. As we advance, a large and precipitous grassy mound rises in front. This, on attaining its summit, is dis- covered to be no other than a vast earthen channel (over the valley into which we had descended) for the river only just left behind, but which here again ap- pears to view, and is again crossed by one of its in- numerous bridges. The stream was originally con- ducted across the hollow at this spot by means of an enormous wooden trough, lined with lead, and sup- ported by strong timbers, standing on piers of brick- work, similar to the aqueduct spoken of at page 94, but of much larger dimensions. It was 462 feet long, and 17 feet high, and known by the name of " 7%e Boarded River'* This mode of conveying the water having been found very expensive to the New River Company, owing to the frequent necessity of repairs, and to the loss of the fluid as frequently sustained, they determined upon its removal, and conmienced their ope- rations in the summer of 1776. To effect this object, and provide a more durable and convenient channel for the stream, a bed of day was formed underneath and against the sides of the trough ; and, when it had been brought to a proper height and thickness, the lead and wood-work were taken away, their use being en- tirely superseded. The continuation of the ancient WALK THE FIRST. 129 road, over which the trough had been constructed^ was accomplished by a bridge : and an arch was turned under the river for a brook, formed by the land waters, which, flowing from all the neighbouring hills, have ever had their course through this valley, and thence to Stoke Newington and Hackney; at which latter place acquiring the name of Hackney Brook, they continue onward, and at last fSsJl into the River Lea. The New River enters our parish at the bridge on which we have delayed to make these remarks : and as from this time it will but seldom cross our way, and naturally forms a subject of some importance with every topographer, the scene of whose labours it visits on its course, we shall avail ourselves of the opportu- nity to give a concise history and description of an undertaking, at once remarkable in itself, and at- tended with consequences of no small magnitude to the health and convenience of the vast metropolis for whose service it was projected. The conduits which originally supplied the capital with water, began to be found inadequate to that purpose before the time of Queen Elizabeth ; and in her reign, and that of her successor James, a number of projects were set on foot, with a view to remedy the evil complained of. An Act passed under the aus- pices of the former sovereign, which gave the citizens liberty to cut and convey a river from any part of Middlesex or Hertfordshire to the City of London, within a period limited to ten years : but this well in- tended legislative provision was never carried into effect. K ISO WALK THE FIRST. In the early part of James's reigDj the citizens pro- cured '' An Act for the bringing in a fresh stream of running water to the North part of the City of Lon- don/* which was followed by another, explanatory of the foregoing : but the difficulties of the undertaking still appeared so great, that they declined to proceed farther in it. Mr. Hugh Myddelton, a native of Denbigh, and citizen and goldsmith of London, (who had enriched himself by a copper, or, according to others, a silver mine, in Cardiganshire), and at whose instigation, it would seem, the City had applied for the Acts last mentioned, at length made an offer to the Court of Common Council, March 38, 1609, to begin the work within two months, they transferring to him the powers vested in them by the Acts. The Court accepted his offer, and ordered that a letter of attorney shoiild be made out from the Mayor and Common Council, and indentures made and passed between them and him ; both which were done in the month of April of the same year. Being thus vested with ample powers, Mr. Myddelton, with a spirit equal to the importance of the undertaking, at his own risk and charge began the work ; but had not proceeded £u*, before innumerable and unforeseen difficulties pre- sented themselves. The art of civil engineering was then but little understood ; and he experienced many obstructions from the occupiers and proprietors of the lands through which he was under the necessity of conducting his stream. And though the distance of the Springs of Amwell and Chadwell, Hertfordshire, from which the water was brought, does not exceed WALK THE FIRST. 131 twenty miles, it was found necessary^ in order as mnch as possible to avoid the eminences and valleys by the way, to make it run a course of more than thirty-eight miles. " The depth of the trench in some places descended fiill thirty feet, if not more ; whereas in other places it required as sprightfull arte againe to mount it over a valley in a trough betweene a couple of hills, and the trough all the while borne up by woodden arches, some of them fixed in the ground very deepe, and rising in heighth above twenty-three foot ^" The progress of the work, indeed, appears to have been attended with difficulties almost insur- mountable ; for the active projector soon found him- self BO harassed and impeded by sundry interested persons in Middlesex and Herts, that he was obliged to petition the City for a prolongation of the time allowed to accomplish his undertaking. The Corporation now granted him a term of five, in addition to the former term of four years : but his difficulties did not termi- nate here ; for, after having adjusted all his contro- versies with the landholders in an amicable manner, and brought the water to the neighbourhood of En- field, he was so impoverished by his expenses, as to be once more obliged to apply to the City to interest themselves in the work. They refused to embark in so chargeable and hazardous an enterprise; where- upon he applied with more success to the King him- self; for his Majesty, upon a moiety of the concern being made over to him, agreed to pay half the ex- 1 Stew's Survey, p. 13. k2 132 WALK THE FIRST. pense of the undertakings past and to come« The business then went on without interruption ; and, on the 29th of September, 1613, the water was let into the basin now called The New River Head, in the parish of Clerkenwell, which had been prepared for its reception. The completion of this work, which Anderson, in his " History of Commerce,^ describes as '' suitable to the power and grandeur of ancient Rome in its zenith and glory," was so acceptable to King James, that he first knighted Mr. Myddelton, and afterwards created him a Baronet; and, in 1619, incorporated the pro- prietors of the concern under the denomination of '* The Governors and Company of the New River brought from Chadwell and Amwell to London." By this charter. Sir Hugh was appointed the first Gover- nor ; Robert Bateman, of London, skinner, Deputy- Governor ; Rowland Backhouse, of London, mercer. Treasurer; William Lewin to be Clerk for life. The whole cost is said to have been not less than 500,000/., a sum of enormous magnitude in those days *. On an islet of the stream that supplies the river at Amwell, a tribute of just respect to the genius and patriotism of Sir Hugh Myddelton was paid by Ro- bert Mylne, Esq., the Company's late, and father of their present Engineer. It consists of a votive urn, erected on a pedestal of Portland stone, the whole closely secluded by funereal trees and evergreens. An > Entick's London, vol. ii. p. 112. WALK THE FIRST. 133 inscription appears on each side of the pedestal. That on the south is as follows: — " Sacred to the memory of Sir Hugh Myddelton, Baronet, whose aucceasful care, aasiated by the patronage of his King, conveyed this stream to London : an immortal work, Since man cannot more nearly imitate the Deity, than in bestowing health." The opposite inscription is a Latin translation of the above: that on the west side gives the distance of ChadweUf the other source of the New River, at two miles, and the meanders of the river from Amwell to London at forty more :. and that on the east records the dedication of this ** humble tribute to the genius, talents, and elevation of mind, which conceived and executed this important aqueduct, by Robert Mylne, architect, engineer,** &c. in the year MDCCC. But one of the most difficult parts of the undertak- ing yet remained to be accomplished : and this was to convey the water to the various parts of the metro- polis. When that object was at length fully effected, and the beneficial results, both as to health and clean- liness, became as fully understood, experience also began to show that a deficiency in the quantity of the water was liable to occur, especially in the summer months. The Company, therefore, borrowed from the overplus of the mill-stream of the River Lea; and their right to persist in the practice becoming a sub- ject of litigation, it was determined by an Act of 134 WALK THE FIRST. Parliament^ passed about the year 1738, that they should thenceforth draw a certain quantity of water from that river^ to be measured by a balance-engine and guage, on condition of their paying a sum of money towards improving the navigation of the Lea» and a further yearly sum for the same purpose. But they have since purchased the mill, together with the unrestricted use of the water. Henry Mill, engineer and surveyor to the Com- pany in n23, took an exact mensuration of the course of the New River ; from which it appeared that its whole length was thirty-eight miles, three quarters, and sixteen poles. It has upwards of forty sluices, and is crossed by from two to three hundred bridges. From the spot at which it enters this parish, it meanders, in the tortuous way lately noticed, through a part of that of Newington : after which, re-entering Islington, it flows through the fields at the back of Highbury Grove, and thence by Canonbury, and under the New North Road, to the Thatched-House Tavern in the Lower Street. Then proceeding by a subterra- neous passage of about two hundred yards in length, which follows the course of the highway, it emerges at Colebrooke Row, and, passing over the Regent's Canal, and under the City Road, Goswell Road, and St. John's Street Road, enters the grand reservoir near Sadler's Wells, called the Head. That part of the stream which, afler passing Highbury, is locally de- nominated '' Tlie Sisters," from two trees formerly growing there, is much resorted to during summer, by persons from all the northern parts of London, for the purpose of bathing ; — a purpose the most opposite in WALK THE FIRST. 135 character to those to which the waters ought to be confined. This practice, the New River Company, and the Magistrates, at the instigation of the neigh-* homing inhabitants, have endeavoured to put a stop to, but hitherto without effect. A meeting was held at Highbury Tavern, in August, 1809, (Matthew Wood, Esq., Alderman, then a resident of Highbury- Place, in the Chair,) for the adoption of measures to suppress what that meeting justly considered a public nuisance. Shortly afterwards, a Mr. Trye, shoe- maker, an inhabitant of Islington, was indicted at the Quarter Sessions, and sentenced to two months' im- . prisonment in the House of Correction, for a misde- meanor, in indecently exposing himself on the bank of the river at the above spot. But the custom con- tinues in unabated activity; and perhaps never gave rise to scenes more loudly calling for its suppression, than during the unusually hot summer of 1834. The property of the New Biver is divided into seventy-two shares ; a division which took place soon after the commencement of the enterprise. Thirty- six of these shares were originally vested in Sir Hugh Myddelton, who being compelled to part with most oi them by the state of his finances, they fell into the hands of various persons. These are what are called the Adventurers* shares. The moiety vested in the crown was, by King Charles the First, on account of the then unpromising aspect of the undertaking, re- granted to Sir Hugh Myddelton, his heirs, and assigns, on condition that they should for ever pay to the King's receiver-general, or into the Exchequer, for his Majesty's use, the yearly rent of 500/. This 136 WALK THE FIRST. sum is still annually paid : but the Crown never having had any concern with the management of the Company's afiairs^ the holders of the King's shares continue to be excluded from the direction. The charter bears date June 21, 1619: though no dis- tribution of profits was made till the year 16S3. A remarkable proof of the increased value of the pro- perty in recent times, appears from the feet, that an Adventurer's share was once sold by auction, after a contest between two obstinate bidders, for 14,000/. But, though prosperity seems to have never forsaken this undertaking, from the moment of its triumph over its first misfortunes, the sum just, quoted must not be taken as a criterion of the value of the shares subsequently, or at the present moment. The boundary line makes a sudden turn to the right just beyond the bridge, following the course of the ancient bridle-way lately spoken of. For a short distance, however, the walk may be pursued more pleasantly by a footpath along the west bank of the river. The old bridle-way was at one time a road for carriages; but the right of thoroughfare being dis- puted by James Colebrooke, Esq., when in possession of the manor ^, he enforced his views of the law of tlie case by placing gates to stop the passage. These were removed by some individuals: whereupon an action was commenced, which terminating in Mr. Colebrookc's &vour, the way has never since been used as a carriage thoroughfare. A house stands over the stream, a little beyond ' See page 24. WALK THE FIRST. 137 where the Boarded River formerly commenced, called *' The Sluice Hotue^ one of the Company's sluices being here situated. It is tenanted by two '* Walks- men," or Inspectors of the river's banks, who have the care of some machinery within, by which the pipes are filled that supply HoUoway, &c., and the height of the water at the sluice is ascertained and regulated. Contiguous stands the " Eel-pie House f"" itself often erroneously called " The Sluice House" a place of some celebrity for the manu£Eu:ture of the article from which it is more correctly named. It ought not to lessen the gusto with which the pies, no doubt, are eaten by visitors of this house, to learn that the " New River Eels," upon which they may suppose themselves to be feasting, are in reality natives of the coast of Holland, and were very probably " all alive !** at Billingsgate market on the morning previous to that of their appearance here '^ baked in a pie." The truth is, that eels, of sufficient size for the purposes of cookery, are now of rare occurrence in this part of the New River ; and, besides, more readily fall into the hands of the " Walksmen," than into those of any other persons. But, as before said, this circumstance affords no real ground of disparagement to the pies of mine host: and we unhesitatingly avouch their excellence to any person who will follow the track we have pursued from the Angel Inn, and, having only break&sted before he set out, will take no refresh- ment till he arrives here. This house is a place of great resort for the lower order of citizens on Palm Sunday ; and long before the dawning of that day, the landlord and his servants are on the alert to re- 138 WALK THE FIRST. ceive their numerous guests, who are going ** palming" to Homsey- Wood, or to greater distances. Homsey* Wood House, celebrated for that remnant of a " wood" from which it is named, and for its teargardens, may be visited by crossing a few fields fix>m the Eel-pie House ; but our direction is by the carriage avenue from the latter, which reconducts to the ancient road ahready more than once mentioned. By this road, (here named Boarded River Lane,) we are shortly brought to one crossing it at right angles, and now maintained by a turnpike, called the ** Seven Sisters' New Road," though originally it was the Heame or Hem L<me before noticec^.^ The boundary, from this point, passed, at a small but un- equal distance, on the right of the substantial road over Stroud Green, which has there succeeded to the old bridle-way ; and of which, two furlongs, sixteen poles, extending from Heame Lane to a stone recording the fact, are kept in repair by Islington parish. The Green was so named firom a long slip of waste land, lying beside the road, which of late years has been enclosed, under grants made to different persons. Mr. Maitland was of opinion,' that the Ermin Street of the Romans took its course over Stroud Green, and he mentions the appearances of the ground here as confirmatory of that idea. An old farm-house stood on the Homsey side of the boundary, called Stapleton Hall, having been originally the property and residence of Sir Thomas Stapleton, of Grey's Court, Oxfordshire, Bart., a > See page 12. * Hist Load. p. la MoKHCiBir W<Qoiis Moir^iK ^^^ffSStm^it^U^^c Pu^ &yS/^*ry^d^Ci, •Si-^i'Cji Hd^irsii WALK THE FIRST. 139 gentleman of an ancient family^ remarkable for the number of eminent men it has produced. In the building were his initials^ and those of his wife^ with the date 1609. It afterwards became a public house, and bore in front the following pithy inscription : " YE ARE WELCOME ALL, TO STAPLETON HALL." Mr. William Lucas, the late occupant of these pre- mises, converted them into two houses, one of which has a handsome stuccoed front, and wears quite a modem appearance. The Green was formerly visited annually in summer time by the members of a Society held at the Queen's Arms Tavern, Newgate Street, who regaled them- selves on the grass with cakes, ale, &c. They styled themselves (for the nonce) ** The Lord Mayor, Alder- men, and Corporation of Stroud Grreen :*' and, as their convivial assemblage became the means of drawing a number of other persons to the spot, the scene by degrees assumed most of the features of a country fair. But the practice has been long discontinued. At Japan Hause^ which stands contiguous to the old Hall, it has been customary for the Churchwar- dens, on the perambulation day, to provide rolls, cheese, and ale, for the refreshment of the parochial procession, including the charity children, who, it will be imagined, are not the least happy upon this festive occasion. The boundary line makes an angle here, and proceeds eastward for a short distance: then again turning north, it follows that direction till it reaches an eminence called Mount Pleasant : thence it runs west, till it meets us at a stone which we may 140 WALK THE FIRST. arrive at by continuing along the road. Mount Pleasant, as we shall immediately perceive, deserves its name ; for the villas which decorate its site enjoy truly delightful views both towards and beyond the metropolis, and over a wide tract of the adjacent country. A stile on the left, and a path leading from it^ obligingly indicate our way. And the lover of the picturesque, should he have derived no gratification from that part of the walk hitherto laid down for him, can scarcely fail to enjoy much of the portion of it which so appropriately commences with Mount Pleasant. Indeed, it may be observed, without hazard of exaggeration, that a succession of scenery meets the eye, as we pursue the confines of Islington in this direction, to which many views of £ur greater notoriety, because in the neighbourhood of diitant places of fSEishionable resort, are decidedly inferior. To say nothing of the charming undulations of the soil immediately surrounding us, and the delightfiil green of the pastures, and the rich foliage of the forest trees, with which they are covered, it will suffice to point to the extended valley between us and the metropolis, to the grand far-stretching metropolis itself, and to the blue hills of Surrey and Kent in the back-ground, in order to make good our vaunt. In some respects, it is true, this scenery is wanting. The absence of water must be confessed : and we miss the intermix- ture of arable with pasture land, which gives so glo- rious an aspect to many a broad view in *^ merrj England." Still, we shrink not from the assertion, that numbers journey hundreds of miles from their WALK THE FIRST. 141 native dtj, in search of those beauties of prospect, and the fascination attaching itself to delightful rural appearances^ which this suburban walk would present them with, not only so much more cheaply, but even in a superior degree. After crossing two fields, we reach the northern termination of Duval's Lane, where it unites with Homsey Lane. By. proceeding westward along the latter, we are brought to' the summit of the celebrated Archway^ constructed for the transit of this ancient cro8s-i:oad over the new way formed through High- gate Hill.. For, whatever were the original advantages of the old road over the crest of the hill ^ at a period when journeys were comparatively few, and when pack-horses were most commonly employed to convey goods to and from the metroplis, some alteration had for many years been a desideratum with persons tra- velling, or employing draught-horses, on the northern road. Considerable sums of money had been ex- pended by the Highgate and Hampstead Trust, in raising the way in some parts, and making it lower in others ; but all their endeavours, by these means, to render the passage less difficult, only tended to remedy the evil in a very trifling degree. The dangerous acclivity which ascends from HoUoway for such a con- siderable length, at the rate of three inches in every yard, and which several mail-coaches, many heavy waggons, and a vast number of carriages of every de- scription, were necessitated to climb daily, had been the destruction of many lives, both of horses and * See page 11. 14& WALK THE FIRST. men ; and it was therefore no wonder that a variety of plans should, at different times, have been sug- gested to remove the evil, by changing the course of the road altogether. For this purpose it was proposed, in the year 1809, by Mr. Robert Yazie, engineer, to form a subterra- neous arched tunnel, twenty-four feet wide, eighteen feet high, and about 300 hundred yards in length, for a public road, through the substance of the hill. The encouragers of this project were soon placed in a situation to engage in their enterprise by an Act of Parliament, (50 Geo. III.) entitled " An Act for making and maintaining a Road, partly by an Arch- way through the east side of Highgate Hill, commu- nicating with the present turnpike road from London to Bamet at Upper HoUoway^ in the parish of St. Mary^ Islington^ and near the brook below the fifith mile-stone in the parish of Homsey, in the county of Middlesex." By this Act, certain proprietors therein named were constituted a body politic and corporate, bearing the appellation of the '* Highgate Archway Company," with power to purchase lands, &c., and to raise 60,000/. for making and maintaining the said road and archway, by transferable shares of 50/. each. The work was accordingly commenced ; and the ope- ration of tunnelling proceeded with for several months, for the most part through a stratum of strong blue clay ^ : but, either through the friable texture of the 1 See our Geological Sketch, page 68. — The herb CoUrfoot, it has been remarked, has grown upon this spot to an extraordinary extent since the earth was disturbed for making the road, though never WALK THE FIRST. 143 bricks with which the subterraneous arch was con- structed^ or through some deficiency of skill in its formation, the whole fabric, then carried to the length of a hundred and thirty yards, fell in, with a tremen- dous crash, between four and five o'clock in the morning of April 13, 1812. This unfortunate event, (which, had it occurred in the day-time, must have been attended with the death of numbers engaged in the works,) obliged the proprietors to alter their plan, and to have recourse, in lieu of a tunnel, to a road open to the heavens, with exception of that small part at which it would be necessary to construct an arch for Homsey Lane, as already mentioned. The new road, by which upwards of one hundred yards' distance, besides the acclivity, are said to be saved, and by which also the village of Highgate is left un- traversed, was opened to the public on the 21st of August, 1813. It was continued to Kentish Town, under an Act of Parliament of the 51st George III. ; and a far greater saving of ground, to persons travelling from the western parts of the metropolis, was thereby efiected. The archway itself is an agreeable object in the landscape, as seen firom a considerable distance, and in many varjring points of view. The road beneath it is about sixty feet from that which crosses at top, though the arch is not more than thirty -six feet high ; the intervening space being occupied by three semi- arches, formed to carry the bridge. The foundation stone was laid by Edward Smith, Esq., October 31, 181S, as is recorded on a brass plate affixed at the observed there before : a fact well worthy tlie notice of the Natural Historian. 144 WALK THE FIRST. southern entrance. From the bridge, which is orna- mented with a handsome stone balustrade, such a view is obtained over the surrounding country, and the city of London, (with St. Paul's cathedral for a striking object,) as would alone justify our late remarks upon the beauty of the prospects embraced by this part of our route. Arriving at the way up the hill of Highgate, we notice how considerable a part of it is included within the parish of Islington. By its sides stand many large and commodious houses, several of them somewhat ancient, the desirableness of the spot as a place of residence having been not less felt by our ancestors, than by numbers of the existing generation. Norden, in his '* Speculum Britannis,'* says, " upon this hill is most pleasant dwelling, yet not so pleasant as healthful, for the expert inhabitants there report, that divers that have been long visited with sickness, not curable by physick, have in short time repaired their health in that sweet salutarie aire.'* On the top of the hill, where Highgate Chapel now stands, was the Hermitage^ to one of whose pious tenants, the inhabitants, both of this village and that of Islington, were indebted for the causeway between the two, spoken of on a former occasion. ^ This hermitage, it seems, was in the gift of the Bishop of London : for William Lichfield was presented to it by Robert de Braybrook, then Bishop, " in meritum anima su4B^ Feb. 20th, 1386: and William Forte, by Bishop Stokesly, April 20, 1531, in consideration of certain prayers to be said for his soul, and the souls of his > See page 12. WALK THE FIRST. 145 predecessors and successors, and all the fiedthful de- ceased. This William Forte was the last Hermit of Highgate ^. On the lower part of the hill, William Poole, Yeoman of the Crown in the reign of Edward IV., being himself stricken with leprosy, founded an hospital for persons afflicted with that disorder'. This foundation remained till the time of Henry YIII., as appears from the will of Richard Cloudes- ley, before quoted', wherein he bequeaths 6t. 8d. " to the poor lazars of Hyegate^ to pray for him by name in their bede-role." Lazarets*, or Lazarcot Field, near Whittington Stone, was no doubt the site of this HospitaL Our illustrious countryman. Lord Bacon, whose moral and philosophical works will transmit his name to the latest posterity with honour, is said to have met with his death near the same spot, as related by Aubrey, in his MSS. preserved in the Ashmolean Museimi at Oxford. Aubrey himself professes to have received his information from Thomas Hobbes of Malmsbury, who was in habits of intimacy with his lordship, and frequently visited him. ^' The cause of his lordship's death was trying an experiment as he was takeing the aire in the coach with Dr. Wither- bome, a Scotch man, Phisitian to the King. Towards HighrGate snow lay on the ground ; and it came into my lord's thoughts why flesh might not be preserved in snow, as in salt. They were resolved they would try the experiment presently : they alighted out of the coach, and went into a poore woman's house at > Newconrf • Repertorium. • Pat 17. Edw. IV. * See page 86. L 146 WALK THE FIRST. the bottome of High-Gate Hilly and bought a hen, and made the woman exenterate it, and then stuffed the bodie with snow ; and my lord did help to do it himself. The snow so chilled him, that he immedi- ately fell so ill, that he could not return to his lodg- ings (I suppose then at Gray's-inn), but went to the Earle of Arundel's house at High^Oatef where they put him into a good bed, warmed with a panne ; but it was a dampe bed, that had not been layn in for about a yeare before, which gave him such a colde, that in two or three dayes, as I remember he (Hobbes) told me, he died of suffocation.*' Crossing the high road from the end of Homsey Lane, the boundary line descends the hill by Maiden Lane, which is one of the ways now wholly kept in repair by Islington parish, though one half of the ex- pense was formerly borne by that of St. Pancras. An Islington boundary-stone, it is said, having been re- moved fiK>m the east side of the lane to the west, so as apparently to include the whole road within our parish, the authorities of St. Pancras, in the year 1778, refused to continue the payment of their quota towards the repairs ; and l^al proceedings bdng the consequence, the entire cost of the road was adjudged to belong to the people of Islington, tc^ether vrith the settlement of an enormous bill for law expenses^. The views from various points, as we descend the Lane, are extremely pleasing. Looking back, the elegant new Church at Highgate is seen on the left, standing exactly on the brow of the hill, and being 1 Nelson's Hist 8vo. p. 73 .j''Mai:3iiA3L3 Tjiirj^riE '''^ Jt/TTiv:^ rraTTiprH WALK THE FIRST. 147 conspicuous^ consequently, to many miles' distance in every direction \ The Archway Road, and that to 1 This edifice, dedioated to St Michael, though not ^ from the line of the present Walk, i« so sitif^ted th^ it pannot with conveni- ence be embraced by it It stands in the pansh of St Pancras, was erected in 1888, and is decidedly one of our best specimens of modern church bnilding. The north elevation, opposite the Grove, Highgate, comprising the tower and principal entrances, has a striking effect, and is rendered peculiariy pleasing by the novel and graceful man- ner in whieh the aisles recede {ram the tower on either side, so as to present an unusual variety of iacee. The interior also deserves much praise. A rich fnndow of stained glass decorates the louth end : it was executed' at Rome, and successfully imitates the pld style in the figures which fill its principal com(partments. This structure will, no doubt, form the principal olgect of attraction to the future risitants of Highgate, were it only on account of the inscription it contains to the memory of the late jusdy eminent S. T. Coleridge, who, daring aD the latter part of his life, resided at the Grove, in the house of Mr. Gillman, Surgeon. A plain marble tablet, against the east wall, bears the inscription alluded to, which is hardly less credit- able to those who pUiced it there, than to him whom it commemorates. It is as follows:— " Sacred to the Memory of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Poet, Philosopher, Theologian. This truly great and good man resided fhr The last nineteen years of his life In this Hamlet He quitted < the body of this death.' July aSdi, 1834, In the sixty-second year of his age. Of his profound learning and discursive genius, His literary works are an imperishable record. To his private worth. His social and Christian virtues, James and Ann Gillman, The friends with whom he resided l2 148 WALK THE FIRST. Camden Town on the one hand and to Holloway on the other, are crossed before we arrive at any object During the above period, dedicate this taUet. Under the presiure of a long And most painful disease, His disposition was unalterably sweet and angelic He was an ever-enduring, ever-loving friend. The gendest and kindest teacher, The most engaging home-companion. ' O framed for calmer times, and nobler hearts! O studious poet, eloquent for truth ! Philosopher, contemning wealth and death, . Yet docile, child-like, full of life and love:* Here, on this monumental stone, thy friends inscribe thy worth. Reader 1 for the world mourn. A Light has passed away frx>m the earth. But, for thu pious and exalted Christian, ' Rejoice / emd ogam I toy unto you, Rejoice /' Ubi Thesaurus ibi Cor. 8. T. C." The whole cost of Highgate new Church was rather under 10,0001. of which, 6,000iL were contributed by the Church Commissioners, and the remainder raised by subscription among the inhabitants. Messrs. Cubitt, of Gray's Inn Lane, contracted for the building at 1,600L Some delay took place in the consecration, in consequence of the ancient Chapelry of Highgate being an ecclesiastical " peculiar," situate in the three parishes of Homsey, St Pancras, and Islington, and, though surrounded by the diocese of London, not included in it Claims to jurisdiction over the church were also set up by the parish of St Pancras, on the ground of its having been built within their boundary. But these difficulties were set at rest by the passing of an Amendment to the Act by virtue of which the edifice had been erected ; and Highgate is now a district of itself, paying no ecclesi- n^tur" Cc/icrnJiu.^i':i rli,"*j^ y^ i/sstfif^ «i>/ WALK THE FIRST. 149 particularly deserving notice. We should mention, however, the large Uoor-Cloth Manufactorjf, belong- ing to Messrs. Mann and Sargon, which occurs oh the right, in St. Pancras parish, close to where the Gunden Town Road intersects the one we are travel- ling. About midway Aown the Lane, in the fields to the left, appears a public-house and tea-gardens, known by the name of Copenhagen Houie^ and tradi- tionally said to have been so called from the residence of a Danish prince or ambassador there during the time of the great plague. Another account states that, towards the beginning of the seventeenth cen- tury, circumstances having caused great numbers of Danes to lesort to the English capital, this house was opened under the appellation which it still retains by a person of that nation, and greatly patronized by his countiymen resident in the metropolis. This story very probably refers to the reign of James I., who being visited in London by his brother-in-law, the King of Denmark, a considerable influx of persons from that country would be only the natural conse- astical due* to St . Pancras, or to any other pariah. The old Chapel, which stood opposite the Gate-house Tavern, in Hornsey parish, was puUed down after the opening.of the new Church, with the exception of one end, which, mantled with ivy, and with two glazed windows remain- ing in it, forms part of a picturesque fence-wall to the grounds of the adjoining house, the residence of the Minister, the Rev. Samuel Mence. The cemetery continues to be used as such. HcUy Lodge, a pretty seat of the Duke of St Alban's, is in the vicinity of the new Church, on the left of the road to Kentish Town. HMy Terrace stands contiguous : — a handsome row of houses, delight- fully situated, with gardens in front, profusely decorated with fine shrubs and evergreens. 150 WALK THE FIRST. quence. The house, the oldest part of it at least, (which does not include the long room, and those beneath it> at the west end,) would seem to be of about two centuries standing : and *' Coopen-Hagen*' is the name given to the spot in a map in Camden's Britannia, published in 1695. It is much resorted to in the summer timei both on account of the extensive prospect enjoyed from it, and the pleasantness of the surrounding fields, especially during hay-harvest. At the time of the great riots in 1780, this house was kept by a widow, named Harrington, who, with her waiter, and a female servant, were greatly alarmed by the passage of a body of the rioters, on their way to attack Lord Mansfield's seat at Caen Wood. Upon their information, though no damage was done to Copenhagen, a party of soldiers were sent to garrison the place until the metropolis was again quiet. The view of the nighdy conflagra- tions in London, from this spot, durmg the disturb- ances, is represented to have been at once grand and terrific. On the new-year's day previous to those dis- graceful events, the house was broken into after its inmates had retired to rest. The burglars forced the kitchen window, and, mistaking the salt-box in the chimney-corner for a man's head, fired a ball through it. They then ran up stairs, secured the servants, and biurst the lower pannel of Mrs. Harrington's bed- room door, while she contrived to secure fifty pounds between the bed and the mattrass. On her denying that she possessed any money, they wrenched her drawers open with a crow-bar, refusing to use the keys she oflfered them. In these they found about ten pounds. WALK THE FIRST. 151 which they took, together with all the plate, linen, and clothes. They then went to the cellar, set all the ale-barrels running, broke the necks off the wine bottles, spilt the other liquors, and magnanimously ilaahed a round of beef with their cutlasses. From this wanton spoil, however, they reserved enough to carouse with in the kitchen, where they ate, drank, and sai^, till, on a sudden, they resolved to ** pinch the old woman, and make her find some more money.*' Again running up stairs, where the hostess was still in bed, they, by their threats and violence, obtained fix>m her a disclosure of the hidden fifty pounds; a discovery which appeared to enrage rather than pacify them, as they then seriously proposed to c^t her throat. But that crime was not perpetrated, and they at length departed with their plunder. In May following, one of the robbers, named Clarkson, a watchmaker in Clerkenwell, being discovered, offers of mercy were made to him, provided he would be instrumental in the apprehension of his three accom- plices. He comjdied: they .were taken, tried, and executed: and though Clarkson himself obtained a pardon, he soon after sufficed death for a subsequent offence. The robbery was so far fortunate for Mrs. Harrington, that she obtained a subscription, the amount of which considerably exceeded the value of the money and property she had lost. Her land- lord, (Mr. Leader, the coach-maker, of Long Acre,) also remitted a year's rent of the premises, which at that time was 30/. ; and, finding that the notoriety of the affidr had greatly increased the number of visitors to the house, he built the additional rooms which 153 WALK THE FIRST. have been spoken of. Shortly afterwards, Copen- hagen House became celebrated for fives playing, par- ticularly while Mrs. Harrington remained the land- lady, who, indeed, is said to have at last become care- less of all customers, unless " they came in shoals to drink tea in the gardens and long-room up stairs, or to play at fives, skittles, and dutch-pins, and swill, and smoke.** The house was subsequently kept by a per- son named Orchard ; and, after his tenancy, by one Tooth, who encouraged brutal sports, for the sake of the profit they indirectly afforded him. On Sunday mornings, the fives ground would be filled by rufiSians, who drank to intoxication : after which, they would fight their bull-d(^, of whom as many as fifty or sixty were sometimes brought together here, before the house, amid the uproar of the idlers attracted to the " bad eminence*' by its infamy. These excesses, after being for a time too leniently dealt with, were very properly punished in 1816, by the magistrates* refusal to renew the license to Tooth. But to such a pitch had the nuisance arrived, that the succeeding landlord, Mr. Bath, could only abate it by reftising every species of refreshment to any person who came with a bull-dog at his heels. In the early part of the French Revolution, when these premises were kept by Orchard, the neighbour- ing fielHs became the scene of various public meetings, convened by the " London Corresponding Society." On the 15th of October, 1795, when a very numerous assemblage collected here, three rostra were set up for the accommodation of the popular orators, and an address to the nation, a remonstrance to the King on WALK THE FIRST. 153 his neglect of a prior addressi and certain resolutions on the state of affidrs, were proposed, and carried by aodamation. April 21st, 1834, the same spot was distinguished by the great meeting of the '' Trades* Unions,** who marched thence in procession, attended by an immense concourse of the populace, with an address to his Majesty, which was peaceably presented, but rejected, at the office of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in Downing Street. The number of members of the different ** Unions,'* who took part in this proceeding, was very variously esti- mated : but, upon a moderate calculation, it could not be less than 30,000. — In the year 1812, a pros- pectus was issued by a company of projectors, having for its object the raising of 200,0002. for the purpose of establishing a Sea-water Bathing-place, by convey- ing salt water through iron pipes " from the coast of Essex to Copenhagen Fields."* It was calculated that this scheme would pay the subscribers twelve and a half per cent, for the capital embarked : but, though sanctioned by the names of several eminent physicians, it met with no public encouragement, and was very soon abandoned. Farther down the Lane, on the same side with Copenhagen House, stands a cluster of buildings called BelKskf where are a variety of manufactories, with premises for slaughtering horses, &c. Yet farther, are Messrs. Randell's Tile-kilns, removed from Bag- nigge Wells Road, Clerkenwell, in 1828. A bridge over the Regent's Canal is next crossed, contiguous to the large basin, spoken of on a former occasion, called Horse£Bdl*s Basin. Other manufactories, chiefly 154 WALK THE FIRST. of the description which fall under the denomination of '* nuisancesy" occur on the left^ having been esta- bliahed here on account of the nature of the situa- tion, detached in a great degpree froni any pcq^iulous neighbourhood, and still at a convenient distance from the capiti^. Near the termination of the Lane is a small building, formediy inscribed " Battk^Bridge Chapel^** having been a meeting-house for a congre* gation of Methodists. It is now a private house : a much larger and handsomer edifice having arisen in 1824, to supersede the use of this, in Liverpool Street, New Road. Opposite the old chapel, in St Pancras parish, stands that wdl-known building, the Smalt- Pox Hospital, instituted, as an inscription in its firont informs us, in 1746. The structure was not erected, however, until several years later, though the charity was founded at the time mentioned. Until the year 1795, another hospital co-existed with this in Clerk- enwell, devoted to the use of persons actually labour- ing under the disease, while the building under notice wa» confined to the purposes of preparing and inocu- lating patients ^. From the boundary-stone at the bottom of Maiden L^e, the parochial line has been commonly supposed to ^proceed south, over the junction of the various roads at King's Cross, to the farther side of Gray^s Inn Lane, and there to include part of the ground whereon formerly stood an immense and well-known Dust-hill*, but which has been some years occupied > Vide Hist Clerkenwell, pp. 301, 302. * This eminence, commonly called ** Smith's Dust-hill,'* from its heing the property of a person of that name, was perhaps the lai^^t '!,'-■. T—. ^ --^ ■ iL-r.. Po^ 'tii J? s^r-rr" -;.;".- WALK THE FIRST. 155 by a handsome row of houses called Chichester Place. It was then considered to return northwards by crossing Gray's Inn Lane, and to proceed in the same direction^ within a few yards of St Chad's Wells^ to the Battle*Bridge Road^ so as to include a number of the houses which stand nearly insulated by the two ways. Yet these houses, it seems, time out of mind, have paid rates to the parish of St. Pancras. This atuation of things led the authorities of our parish, about twelve years since, to claim the payment of rates from the houses in question ; and the daim was not disputed, so far as the parish of St. Pancras was concerned. But the then occupant of one of them, known as the White-Hart public-house, a Mr. Chandler, refused compliance ; and, an article of fur- niture being distrained for the amount demanded, brought his action against the Islington collector, and obtained a verdict, July 15th, 18S4, in the court of King's Bench. The consequence has been, that, though there can be little question of the fact that the disputed ground was originally a part of our parish, its inhabitants have continued to pay rates to the parish of St. Pancras, to which they now consider that they unquestionably belong. heap of cinder-dust ever collected in the neighbourhood of London, or elsewhere. It presented s very singular appearance, not only from its mountainous height, but from the number of hogs who were nearly at all times to be seen upon its steep sides, banqueting upon half-decayed vegetable matters, and other garbage, which they ex- tracted from the mass. After accumulating for several years, by the annual addition of some thousands of cart-loads, the heap was at last exported to Russia, for making bricks to rebuild Moscow, after the conflagration of that capital on the entrance of Napoleon. 7 156 WALK THE FIRST. SL Chad's Wells, just mentioned, must not be passed without &rther remark. The time of the dis- covery of these medicinal springs, and of their intro- duction to the public, is not recorded ; but there is reason to believe that period to be very distant. In accordance with the general practice of the monkish ages, when every spring had its tutelary saint, to whose influence all its sanatory properties were ascribed, these waters were dedicated to St. Chad, the first Bishop of Lichfield. They are characterized by Dr. A. D. Sinclair as " very efficacious in glandu- lar and visceral obstructions, in bilious and scrofulous complaints, ulcerations, and eruptions on the skin, &c.; sweetening and purifying the blood by their cathartic, diuretic, and antiseptic qualities." He also recom- mended them in rheumatic and nervous complaints, in- digestion, gravel, stone, affections of the liver, and as a powerful vermifuge, or anthelmintic. Their qualities are supposed to approach those of the Cheltenham, more nearly than any other British springs. Some years back, a person who considered himself to have been relieved firom a very dangerous state of health by their use, placed in the pump-room a poetical tribute to their virtues, concluding with the following lines: " 01 did Phyiicians, to their judgment true, But give each herb, each plant, each spring, its due, No need had we of foreign drugs profound, To heal diseases, or to cure a wound. But Doctors, still politically blind. Deny the bliss, and torture half mankind." Jonathan Rhone, a perfect ** original,'* who was WALK THE FIRST. 157 gardener and waiter at the Wells nearly sixty years, and who died about six years back, was accustomed to give a glowing description of their attractions about the middle of the eighteenth century, when he entered upon his twofold office. The gardens were then yery extensive, reaching a considerable way down Gray's Inn Lane, where SL Chad^s Raw, and the adjoining houses, now stand, and were daily crowded with visitors, to the amount of hundreds eveiy morn- ing. But they began to decline shortly afterwards ; and, for many years, a general appearance of neglect and dilapidation was their prevailing feature. In 182S another encroachment was made, by the erec- tion of St. CAaeFs Place. When Mr. Hone, author of the " Every-Day Book," &c., visited them in 18S5, he made the striking observation that " St. Chad^s Well is haunted, not frequented ;" and spoke of the whole scene as one " which the unaccustomed eye might take for the pleasure-ground of Giant Despair." '* Trees," he adds, " stand as if made not to vegetate, clipped hedges seem willing to de- cline, and nameless weeds straggle weakly upon un- limited borders." — " On pacing the garden alleys, and peeping at the places of retirement, you may imagine the whole may have been improved and beau- tified for the last time by some countryman of King William III., who came over and died in the same year with that king, and whose works here, in wood and box, have been following him piecemeal ever since." He makes poetical mention also of an antique dame, who at that time presided over the waters, and whom he styles the '* Lady of the Well ;" as well as 158 WALK THE FIRST. of " Rhone/ — " a tall old man, who would be taller if he were not bent by yean.*' In 1830 an additional slice of the gronndsi and one of aome importance as to size, was let off for a timber-yard : but here ends the narrative of deterioration and curtailment; for, since that time, the Wells have been put into a train of regu- lar improvement. A new pump-room, and handsome pump, were erected in 18SS; when some provision was also made for satisfying the literary appetite of the day, in the shape of sundry weekly periodicals, .&c. The gardens, though so much diminished in size, are acquiring a neat and trim appearance. A visitor of the Wells, of some notoriety, was the late eccentric surgeon, Mr. John Abemethy, who was accustomed to speak in terms of praise of their salutary qualities* The terms for drinking axe, 64. per glass {M. on Sundays) ; or, to subscribers, weekly, 2s. ; monthly, &.; quarterly, lOf.; annual, U. To those who remember Jonathan Rhone, it may be interesting to mention a few particulars relating to him. Besides his situation at the Wells, he, of late years, held several others, until extr^ooe old age com- pelled him to give them up. Among the rest, he was one of the patroles to the Highgate and Hampstead Trust, till, becoming too feeUe, he was dismissed, and allowed a pension for the remainder of bis days. In the act of going for this pension, he dropped down dead in St. Chad's Place, having arrived, it was sup- posed, at the ^e of nearly a hundred. But the year of his birth was never correctly ascertained ; as, by the time it became natural, from his extremely ancient appearance, to ask him the question, his memory, WALK THE FIRST. 159 thoixgh good in most respects, had completely fidled him upon this subject; and, for several years prior to his death, to the inquiry ** how old are you, Rhone ?*• his unifonn reply was '' seventy-nine." His long continuance at the Wells had rendered him so attached to the spot, that he frequently expressed a wish that he might die and be buried there : and in one respect, at least, that wish might be said to be gratified, since he actually died in St. Chad's Place, which a few years before had formed part of the grounds. The whole of the road running eastward firom the bottom of Maiden Lane to the turning off to Bag* nigge Wells and Clerkenwril, commonly passes under the denomination €£ Battle-Bridge, though the stream, over which was the bridge whence the spot takes its name, runs more south, crossing the New Road to Gray's Inn Lane Road, and, after traversing a small part of the latter, proceeds, through the site of the old gardens of St. Chad's Wells, to the Bagnigge- Wells Road, which it enters opposite Hamilton Place. That stream, it will occur to most of our readers, is no other than the little Biver ITeet, at this time nearly hidden from public view during its whole course from the Elephant and Castle, St. Pancras, to the Thames at Blackfriars. At one period a naviga- ble river almost up to Kentish Town, and more latterly a considerable brook called Tummill Brook, from the number of mills it worked in its progress, it is now long since it was honoured with any more dignified appellation than that of Fleet Ditch, or performed any less ignoble office than that of a common sewer, in which capacity its services are still eminent. It 160 WALK THE FIRST. takes its rise on the south side of the elevated ground between Highgate and Hampstead, contiguous to Caen Wood, where it forms several large ponds, and is used for the supply of the adjacent parts with water. — As to the epithet ^a^^fe, Mr. Nelson sup- poses it to have been derived from the celebrated conflict between the Roman general, Suetonius Pau- linus, and Boadicea, Queen of the Icenii a. d. 61 ' ; and considers that idea *' strengthened by the re- mains of an encampment, which may yet be seen in the immediate neighbourhood," — alluding to some remnants of ancient earth-works not fiur firom Copen- hagen House, which we shall take a future oppor- tunity to describe. Having already expressed our sentiments on this topic in the '' History of Clerken- well," the reader will pardon our repeating them here, to the effect following. Tacitus describes the position taken up by the im- perial commander, in expectation of the attack of the Britons, (who advanced firom London), as possessing the advantages of ** a narrow approach, and the shelter of a forest in rear'.** Assuming (with Mr. Nelson) the approach described to be the valley between Pen- tonville and Gray's Inn Lane, and which, it is likely, was distinguished by a road from the capital in the earliest times — the line of the Roman army to extend east firom about where now stands the Small-Pox Hospital — ^and the forest in rear to mean the great > Hiflt 8vo. p. 64. ' ** Deligitque locum arctis faucibus, et ft iergo silvft clauium." — Ann. lib. xiv. c. 34. WALK THE FIRST. 161 forest of Middlesex — there is nothing improbable in the supposition that this was the actual scene of that memorable engagement. Perhaps the chief argument against it might be drawn from the circumstance, that Tacitus takes no notice of the Aiver Fleets which meandered through the valley, and which, in some degree, would have both fronted and flanked the Roman position. Yet the importance, in military operations, of much more insignificant streams than the Fleet then was, is well known. Again, if the spot were named fi*om this remarkable contest, it seems likely, considering the period at which it was fought, that such name would have been conveyed to us in somewhat of a British or Saxon form, and not have waited rather more than one thousand years for transmission through the Norman hataiUe. And it is worthy notice, that the ingenious and industrious author who has chiefly enlarged upon this supposed derivation, gives as corresponding examples the two towns called Battle in Yorkshire and Sussex, both of which obtained that appellation from contests that took place in, or immediately preceding, the Norman times. But, on the other hand again, the agreement between the description, as far as it goes, of Tacitus, and the above-mentioned ancient localities of Battle- bridge — the yet remaining traces of a Roman camp in the vicinity — and the voice of tradition through a long aeries of years — are considerations to which the anti- quary will give due weight, before he decides a point, which, after all, the best conjectures can only plausibly determine \ * Hist. ClerkenwelK pp. 328, 329. M 162 WALK THE FIRST. In the reign of Edward VI., as recorded by Stow, " a Miller of Battatte Bridge was set on the pillory inCheape, and had both his eares cut off, for seditious wordes by him spoken against the Duke of Somer- set.'* And in Ames's " Typographical Antiquities *," we read that one " CUffe, an honest cobler, dwelling at Battel Bridge^* was the reputed author of a book, printed in 1589, called ''The Cobbler's Book," which charged the Church of England with maintain- ing idolatry in the habits of the clergy, fonts, saints' days, bishoping of children, organs, wafer-cakes, &c. The lowness of the site of Battle Bridge exposes it to occasional inundations, arising pardy from the natural flow of the land-waters into such a hollow, and partly from the increase of the stream of the Fleet after long-continued rains, or during a sudden thaw, when the snow lies deeply on the ground. The most remarkable event of this kind took place in January, 1809, when, a thaw coming rapidly on, the whole space between Pancras, Somers-Town, and Pentonville HiU, was in a short time covered with water. The flood rose to the height of three feet in the centre of the highway, the lower rooms of aU the houses in the neighbourhood were filled by it, and the inhabitants sustained considerable damage in their goods and frimiture, which many of them had not time to remove. Two cart-horses were drowned : and, for several days, vehicles were employed in con- veying persons to and from their houses, bringing them provisions, &c. > By Herbert, p. 1087. "^fz'^.Z'^B Coj^^^-T^mr :"J'i!7p.s ', # .I'v -V„ 'r'-v'.i'* *> CA^LEDr'TnAN ^a:. WALK THE FIRST. 163 Passing the commencement of the new road to Holloway, which was begun in 18^, and by which a saving of three-quarters of a mile is effected to persons travelling to the north from this part of the suburbs, the boundary proceeds for a short distance in a direc- tion nearly parallel with the same road, and then runs east, by the back of Pentonville, to White-Conduit House. As it would be inconvenient literally to pursue its course in this instance, we shall prefer meeting it at the tavern mentioned, by walking up that part of the Neio Road which leads from Battle- Bridge to \he beginning of Penton 'Street, and then proceeding along the latter. The N^w Rpad, we may here notice, in its whole eitent, reaches from Pad- dington to the cross-way at the top of the City Road, and was made by virtue of an Act of Parliament passed in 1756, after a violent contest between the Dukes of Grafton and Bedford in the Upper House, the former nobleman supporting, whUe the latter opposed it with all his power \ White-Conduit House takes its name from an ancient Conduit formerly standing in the field bard by, but of which no traces at this time remain* The Conduit, when perfect, presented to the eye a neat little cot- tage-looking building of white stoile : but such was only the external material, the arch over the recepta- cle within being of flints intermixed with brickwork. On the front, till about twenty years back, could be made out the date of its erection, 164^1 ; with the initials of Thomas Sutton, the founder of the Charter- ' EUif's Cam|>ag:na of Londooi p. 102. M S 164 WALK THB FIRST. house, and his arms ; (or, on a cheyron between three annulets, as many crescents of the field.) All which sufficiently confirmed the correctness of the tradition, that here was the ancient source of the water used for supplying both the Protestant institution called the Charter-house, and of its predecessor, the Chart- reuse of the Catholic times. The Society of Anti- quaries possess a drawing, by G. Vertue, from an old parchment roU, which exhibited a survey of the pipes leading to the Chartreuse, as well as of those forming a branch supply to the Priory of St. John, Clerkenwell. The last general inspection of the pipes, on the part of the Governors of the Charter- house, was made in 1654 : at which time, the course of the water having become greatly obstructed, they directed the adoption of that fiimished by the New River in lieu. But, not more than thirty years since, a well-known house in PentonviUci then occupied by the eccentric Dr. De Valangin, and subsequently by the still more eccentric William Huntington, was supplied from the Conduit* As to the original spring — ^for here was merely its receptacle, or head — it rose at the distance of forty-three perches north, and was conducted into a massive leaden cistern within this building by a brick channel discovered by the builders of the houses since erected in that direction. Between the Conduit and Penton Street, three other recepta^ cles, or reservoirs, were broken into at various times; and remains of two of them, the one circular, the other square, and both of very strong brick-work, were exposed to public view, until the spot became a thoroughfare to and from the adjoining parish of WALK THE FIRST. 165 Clerkenwell in 18S0. There was also a smaller con- duit, connected no doubt with the larger^ at the back of White-Conduit Gardens, and immediately con- tiguous to where now stands Warren Street. The principal building, after receiving far less injury from time than from neglect and wanton spoil, was at last pulled down and removed, in the autumn of 1831, by direction of the Overseers of Clerkenwell, who em- ployed their paupers in the work, as well as in after- wards breaking up the materials for mending that part of the New Road which lies in the same parish, and which at that time, owing to the want of any actual jurisdiction over it, (arising out of conflicting provisions in recent Acts of Parliament) stood in singular need of some reparation. The Tavern, deriving its appellation from the vanished structure we have been describing, is sup- posed to have first arisen somewhat more than a century ago. In May, 1760, it was the subject of a mock-heroic poem, in blank verse, published in the Gentleman's Magazine, which, as it conveys an ani- mated picture of the place, not only at the time it was written, but down to a period considerably sub- sequent, we will insert entire. " White-Conduit House. " * And to White-Conduit House We will go, will go, will go.' " Grub-street Register. ** Wish'd Sunday's come : — mirth brightens every &ce, And paints the rose upon the housemaid's cheek, Harriott, or Moll more ruddy. Now the heart Of 'prentice, resident in ample street. 166 WALK THE FIRST. Or alley, kennel-waah'dj^Cheapside, CornhiU, Or Cranboume, thee, for calcuments renown*d, — With joy distends : his meal meridian o'er, With switch in hand, he to Whiter Condmt House Hies merry-hearted. Human beings here, In couples multitudinous, assemble. Forming the drollest group that ever trod Fair IsUngtcnian plains, — ^male after male, Dog after dog succeeding — husbands, wives. Fathers, and mothers, brothers, sisters, friends. And pretty little boys and girls. Around, Across the garden's shrubby maze, They walk, they sit, they stand. What crowds preas on, Eager to mount the stairs, eager to catch First vacant bench, or chair, in long room plac*d 1 Here prig with prig holds conference polite. And indiscriminate the gaudy beau And sloven mix. Here, he who all the week Took bearded mortals by the nose, or sat Weaving dead hairs, and whistling wretched strain. And eke the sturdy youth, whose trade it is Stout oxen to contund, with gold-bound hat And silken stocken, strut. The red anned belle Here shows her tasty gown, proud to be thought The butterfly of fashion: and, forsooth. Her haughty mistress deigns for once to tread The same unhallow'd floor. — 'Tis hurry all. And rattling cups and saucers. — Waiter here. And waiter there, and waiter here and there. At once is call'd ; Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe ; Joe, on the right, and Joe upon the left. For every vocal pipe re-echoes Joe ! " Alas ! poor Joe ! like Francis in the play, He stands confounded, anxious how to please The many-headed throng. But should I paint The language, humours, customs of the place, Together with all curtseys, lowly bows, And compliments extern, 'twould swell my page Beyond its limits due. Suffice it then, WALK THE FIRST. 167 For my prophetic muse to ling, ' So long As fashion rides upon the wing of time ; While tea, and cream, and butter'd rolls >, can please ; While rival beaux, and jealous belles, exist ; So long, WhUe-Coiuimi Houu^ shall be thy fiime.' " An anonymous work, called " The Sunday Ram- ble,** which appeared in 1774, gave the following description of the place : — " The garden is formed into seyeral pleasing walks, prettily disposed : at the end of the principal one is a painting, which serves to render it much longer in appearance than it really is : and in the middle of the garden is a round fish* pond, encompassed with a great number of very gen- teel boxes for company, curiously cut into the hedges, and adorned with a variety of Flemish and other paint- ings: there are likewise two handsome tea-rooms, one over the other, as well as several inferior ones in the dweUing-house." We copy this accoimt, chiefly because it will recall White- Conduit House as it was to the recollections of many: at present scarce a feature of the house or gardens will agree with it. Before the premises were taken by their late proprie- tor, Mr. George Bowles, the fish-pond had been filled up, and its site planted ; the paintings spoken of, de&ced or removed ; and a new dancing and tea- room, called the Apollo Room, erected at the north- west angle. Under Mr. Bowles's superintendence, the ** genteel boxes, curiously cut into the hedges," were replaced by others, of larger size, and handsomer appearance : an orchestra, and even a smaU theatre, > " White-Conduit Loaves" continued, until within these ten years, to be one of the London Cries. 168 WALK THE FIRST. arose in the grounds : the Apollo Room became, as it continues, an excellent billiard-room : and the ** two handsome tea-rooms, one over the other,** which formed the circular-ended building, looking over the fields, depicted in so many views of the spot and neighbourhood, were replaced by a structure of imposing altitude and size, which consists, as to its upper portion, of a noble apartment for balls, concerts, dinners, &c., and, below, of several convenient rooms of smaller dimensions. This structure was begun in December, 18^, and ready for the reception of com- pany early in the summer following. One remarkable circumstance attending its erection was, that the pro- prietor, with a view to make its appearance as light as possible towards the gardens, having placed a series of cast-iron columns to support the upper story, and nearly completed the building upon that plan, the superincumbent weight was found to exceed what those columns would sustain, and symptoms of a general downfisdl became too apparent to be misun- derstood : in which emergency, with haste that was rendered almost desperate by the danger, for their lives were actually in peril, the workmen ran up brick piers around the pillars, and finished the basement on that side with a wall, pierced only by windows, as in front. With regard to the grounds, though they are doubt- less rendered more convenient for the reception of the throngs of visitors who have patronized them of late years, they have lost all the rural charm, and much of the agreeable disposition of the walks and trees, by which they were formerly characterized: the *' shrubby maze,*' in which our childhood was de- WALK THE FIRST. lighted to play at hide and seek, exists no longer : the " chimes,'* from a pretty miniature steeple, which, in the same happy days, we were wont to listen to, have been long silenced: and it must he also observed, that the prospect from the house, once so delightful that Malcolm was perhaps jus- tified in considering it unequalled by any other "view from London," is totally destroyed by the new buildings to the north and west For the last-mentioned alteration, the late proprietor was of course nowise responsible : but his theatrical ex- hibitions being considered as greatly to exceed the hmits of the "license of the twenty-fifth of King George the Second," as the scenes in the gardens ou his " Yauxhair nights did those of innocent and moral recreation, White-Conduit House was deprived of its license by the magistrates, and the concern is at present in other hands, and. it is right to add, far more properly conducted. A former owner of this house and premises was Mr. Christopher Bartholomew, a person of gentle- manly manners and superior turn of mind, who in- herited a good fortune, and brought much trade to the place by the taste he displayed in laying out the gardens and walks, and the excellent manner in which he managed the business of the house. He is said to have taken 50/. on a Sunday for tea only, at the then price of 6rf. per head. With every prospect of suc- cess and eminence in life, this gentleman fell a victim to an unconquerable itch for gambling in the lottery. At one time, not only these tea-gardens and premises, but also the Angel Inn, were his fireeholds ; he rented 170 WALK THE FIRST. land to the amount of 2000L a year in the neighbour- hood of Isli^gton and Hollowa; ; and was remarkable for haying the greatest number of haystacks of any grower in the neighbourhood of London. He is be- lieved to have been then worth SOfiOOL : he kept his carriage, and servants in livery ; and, upon one occa- sion, having been unusually successful in his lottery speculations, gave a public breakfast at his tea-gardens, ^* to commemorate the smiles of Fortune" as he ex- pressed it upon the tickets of admission to this Fite Champitre. But his very fortunate hits in the lot- tery increased the mania which eventually hurried him to his ruin. He was known, it is said, to spend upwards of 2000 guineas in a day in insuring numbers ; when stack after stack of his immense crops of hay were carried to market, as the readiest way to obtain the supplies necessary for such extraordinary outgoings. Having been at length obliged to part with his house through accumulated embarrassments, he passed the last thirteen years of his life in great poverty^ subsisting upon the charity of those who had known him in his better days, and the emolument he derived from serving as a Juryman of the Sheriff's Court Still, his propensity to the pursuit he had found so ruinous never entirely forsook him; and, only two years before his death, meeting with an old acquaintance, he related a strong presentiment which he entertained, that if he could but purchase a parti- cular number in the ensuing lottery, it would certainly prove successful. His friend, after remonstrating with him on the folly of persevering in a practice that had been attended with such evil consequences, was at WALK THE FIRST. 171 last persuaded to go halves with him in a sixteenth part of the favourite number^ which, being procured, singular to say, turned up a prize of 20,000/. With the money arising firom this extraordinary turn of fortune, lie was prevailed upon to purchase an annuity of 60/. per annum; yet, fatally addicted to the perni- cious habit of insuring, he disposed of it, and again lost all. He was at last so reduced as to make appli- cation to some who knew him for articles of old wearing apparel, and, not many days before he died, solicited a few shillings to buy him necessaries. The lemainiDg hours of his chequered life were passed in an obscure lodging in Angel-court, Windmill-street, near the Haymarket, where he breathed his last in the month of March, 1809, at the age of sixty- eight. A small part of the grounds belonging to White- Conduit House, are in the parish of Clerkenwell. Crossing the grounds, therefore, to the upper end of Sennon Lane, and proceeding by that Lane, and part of Liverpool Road, to the High Street, the boundary line, without introducing us to any thing else deserving of remark, vrill lead to the angle oppo- site the Angel Inn from which we started. CHAPTER III- WALK THE SECOND. FROM THE BOUNDAaT-STOME NEAR DALBT TERRACB, CITT EOAD, BT EIVER TERRACE, COLBBROOKB ROW, RIVER LANE, FROG LANE, AND THE LOWER ROAD, TO BALL'S FOND; FROCEEDINO BT BOPPING LAKE TO CANONBURT HOUSE; AND RETURNING BT CANONBURT SQUARE, FART OF THE NEW NORTH ROAD, CANON- BURY COTTAGES, THE THATCHED HOUSE TAVERN, AND THE LOWER STREET, TO COLEBROOKE ROW. The New River, as many of our readers know^ is the first object that presents itself upon the present Walk, flowing between the rows of handsome houses called Duncan Terrace and Aiver Terrace. To the former a noble continuation was made in the year 18S4, upon part of the land belonging to Mr. James Rhodes, the large dairy-farmer, whose premises are immedi- ately contiguous. The same year saw the erection of a new Scotch Church at the north end of River Ter- race, for the use of the congregation till then as- sembling in Chadwell Street, Clerkenwell, under the pastoral care of the Rev. John Macdonald, A.M. It was opened on Thursday the 4th of December. Con- venient sitting room is afforded in it for 700 persons. The cost was about 1,S502.; defrayed by a " building WALK THE SECOND. 173 fund,** to which the managers had recourse rather than renew their lease of the chapel in Chadwell Street. The ktter, under the name of " Providence Chapel^** has in consequence become one of the places of worship belonging to the connection of the late Countess of Huntingdon. The new structure is in the Gothic stjle; in which, however, the highest pndse it can aspire to is that of neatness. A bridge oyer the riyer connects the line of our walk vinth a road, to be called Duncan Hoadf on the south side of which are the extensive premises of Mr. Rhodes, just alluded to. These constitute one of the largest establishments for the supply of the London milk-dealers to be found in the vicinity of the metropolis. The concern was for many years carried on by the family of Pullin, from whom PuUin's Row, fiiudng the High Street, derives its name. A romantic story was fonnerly current, and perhaps still obtains with the vulgar, that the number of cows kept by the proprietor of this farm was exactly 999, and that vain were all his attempts to keep a thousand. The pre- sent stock of those useful animals, which was never materially exceeded, consists of from three to four hundred ; the number varying with the season, and being always largest in the winter time. Among them are many, whose qualities as milch-cows, it is said, are not to be surpassed. Much land in the parish is rented by Mr. Rhodes ; and its abundant produce was long seen in the large hay-stacks annually formed on that part of his premises which adjoins the south end of Colebrooke Terrace; but many acres haye been of late years converted into brick-fields. I74 WALK THE SECOND. On the north side of Duncan Road stands a pkce of worship, erected, like the new Scotch Church, in the autumn of 1834. The congregation are professed belieyers in the doctrines so zealously promulgated by the late Rev. Edward Irving, who died at Olasgow in December of the same year. Their edifice they term " The Church"* at Islington ; having confidence that the services performed in it, and the spirit in which they are performed, as nearly resemble those of the apostolical or primitive Christian times, as the wor- ship of the existing followers of our religion can do. It will be open daily, when the arrangements are complete, firom six to seven o'clock in the morning, and firom five to six o'clock in the evening : the Sun- day services commence at ten o'clock in the morning, and at five o'clock in the evening. The number of ministers is intended to be seven ; to consist of the " Angel of the Church," and six " Elders." The services are termed evangelical and pastoral: but it is expected that, not only here, but in other Christian churches, the fulfilment of prophecy will be shortly seen in the gift of the prophetical and apostolical powers that distinguished the first teachers of Chris- . tianity. Another tenet much insisted on, is, that the " last days," predicted in holy writ, are arrived, or immediately at hand ; and the great and stirring events of our times are adduced as the strongest proofs of the truth of that opinion. For the more convenient discharge of their duties by so many ofiSci- ating ministers, a semi-circular chancel is constructed at the north end, within which is a platform, raised from the floor of the building by steps, with a pedestal and 7 WALK THE SECOND. 175 desk to supply the place of a pulpit. When not actually engaged in any part of the service, the mi- nisters occupy a seat running round the semi-cirde, and which has a kind of central chair for the presiding Elder. There is undoubtedly a similarity between these arrangements and those of the earliest Chris- tian churches, in which pulpits were unknown. The structure is in a plain but good Ionic style, and was completed in precisely eight weeks from the day on which the first stone was laid, — a fact not often paral- leled in the annals of architecture. The opening took place on the day following the completion, being Simday, November 16th, 1834. Messrs. Stevenson and Ramage, of Theobald's Road, were the archi- tects and builders. The expence amounted to about S,000/., which was defrayed by voluntary subscription: and to the same source, and to the collections made on Sundays, the projectors look for the support of their undertaking, as there are no returns from pew- rents, the seats being all open. The present number of sittings is about 450 ; but may be increased at any time by the erection of galleries, for which, should they become necessary, provision is made by the mode of building the walls. The Regent's Canal emerges from the Tunnel spoken of on a former occasion ^ a few yards to the right of our way, having passed under the New River to this outlet It is worth while to descend to the towing-path, in order to view the exit from, or entrance into, this subterranean water-way, as 1 See page 96. 176 WALK THE SECOND. performed by the different boats and barges. In a previous work^ we described the mode of passage in nearly the following terms : — At first, as soon as the canal-boats approached the entrance, a plank was suspended over the water from the bow on each side. A navigator lay at his length along each plank ; and by working his feet against the sides of the solid brick arch, impelled the vessel with considerable swiftness. In the case of barges, whose width would not permit the use of planks, the only difference was, that the navigator lay along the bow of the bai^e itself, and plied his feet in the same manner. But, in the spring of 18S6, a steam-boat of four-horse power, constructed purposely for this service, was em- ployed to tow a number of boats and barges at the same time. The passage by this mode has a truly Tartarean aspect. The smoke, the fire, and the noise of the engine, uniting with the deep gloom of the arch, the blackness of the water, the crashing of the vessels against the sides of the tunnel and each other, and the lurid light that glimmers beyond each distant extremity, form an aggregate of infernalia, that must be witnessed to be adequately conceived. When a single boat or barge arrives, and the navigators choose to proceed rather than wait the coming-up of others, the original mode of passage (which the persons em- ployed caU " legging it") is still resorted to \ — The single alteration necessary in this account is, that an engine of ^ir-horse power has been substituted for the smaller one originaUy placed in the steam-boat. > Hist, of Clerkenwe)], p. 442. WALK THE SECOND. 177 From the top of the Tunnel the view is still open, in spite of building and brick-makiDg, as far as Hoxton and the Rosemary Branch. Mr. Rhodes^s brick- fields, it is true, form the fore^ound : but the re- mains of Finsbury-fields are yet verdant beyond them ; and^ at the time of this writiug, the prospect actually embraces five bridges over the winding canal. How long so extensive a view will be permitted by that ingenious and projecting race, who, by some lovers of nature and the picturesque, have been unpolitely styled '* the demons of brick and mortar," the pre- sent aspect of things makes it quite impossible to determine. * The house whose south end faces us as we approach Colebrooke Row, was originally a public-house called the ** Colebrooke Arms :" it was afterwards for many years a boarding-school for young ladies, as it now is one for young gentlemen. The Row itself was built, on land belonging to the &mily whose name it bears, in the year 1768. Six acres of ground in its rear were long delightfully laid out as a Nursery, known as " Watson's :" but these too, about twelve years back, were broken up for the purpose of brick-making. Opposite Colebrooke Row, on the other bank of the river, stands a handsome line of houses, inscribed " New Terrace, 1791," though commonly spoken of as Colebrooke Terrace. The house at the further end of the Row, looking south, was, rather more than half a century ago, a young gentleman's academy, kept by the Rev. John Rule, m.a., who rendered his school somewhat celebrated by the dramatic per- formances of his pupils. One of the pieces here 178 WALK THE SECOND. acted with considerable eclat, called ** The Agreeable Surprise/' from the French of De Marivauz, was published in a volume bearing the title of " Poetical Blossoms ; or, the Sports of Genius : being a Collec- tion of Poems upon several Subjects, by the young Oentlemen of Mr. Rule's Academy, at Islington :" printed for the authors, 12mo. 1766, price Is. 6d. The house and premises next to Mr* Rule's, were, about the same period, known as the Castle public- house and tea«^rdens, of which mention is made in the S6th paper of the '' The Connoisseur." Adjoin- ing to this, the well-known dramatist and poet-laureat, CoUey Cibber, had lodgmgs; and here he died ou the 12th of December, 1757. Mrs. Charke, the youngest daughter of Cibber, kept a public-house in Islington, where she also died, in great distress, in 1760. The education she had received was more suitable, it is said, to a boy than a girl ; and, as she grew up, she was to be found in the stable much oftener than in the parlour, and was mistress of the curry-comb, though little versed in the practice of the needle. A rash marriage with a musician of low habits, proved the consummation of her early imprudences, and of her own woe; for, from the time of that event, her father was implacable in his resentment towards her, and nearly her whole future existence was a tissue of privation and affliction, divided betwixt the noiseries oi a stroUing actress and a hackney writer for bread. In 1755, she came to reside in a wretched thatched hovel in Clerkenwell, wherein she penned a '' Narrative of her own Life,*' and in which she was visited by a literary man, who describes her with " her inkstand WALK TRB SECOND. 179 a brdcen tea-cap, her pen worn to the stump, (she had but one)/' and goes on to contrast this situation with her youthful home and prospects, when she had " her servants in liverj, and a splendid equipage at her command, with swarms of time-serving syco- phants (^ciously buzzing in her train \'* Never, perhaps^ were the consequences of early levity and self-will more strikingly illustrated, than by the ad- ventures and sad experience of Charlotte Charhe. Near the same spot, on the west bank of the river, just where it issues from imder the highway, was a small farm-yard and bam, somewhat more than thirty years since in the occupation of a very singular character, styled Baron Ephraim Lopez Pereira lyAguUar^ who resided at No. SI, Camden Street. This eccentric being was by birth a Jew, and born at Vienna about the year 1740. He succeeded to the title and estate of his &ther. Baron Diego D'Aguilar, a Portuguese, who died in England 1759. In 1757 he was naturalized, and about the same time married the daughter of Moses Mendez Da Costa, Esq., a rich merchant of London. Miss Da Costa had an immense fortune, but which was settled upon her previously to her marriage. By this lady the Baron had two daughters, who inherited their mother's pro- perty after her decease, which happened in the year 1763. In 1767, the Baron took for his second wife the widow of Benjamin Da Costa, a respectable merchant. With this virtuous and accomplished female he also received a very considerable fortune, but vested in > Vide Whyte'i Collection of Poems : 2d edit. Dublin, 17W. N 2 180 WALK THE SECOND. her, as in the former case, by the marriage settlement During his first, and the earlier part of his second matrimonial engagement, the Baron lived in very great style, in the house built by his father-in-law, Mendez Da Costa, Esq., in Broad Street Buildings. He kept an elegant equipage of carriages, horses, and (as he often boasted) between twenty and thirty servants of various descriptions. Having lost a large estate in America, however, and being not altogether satisfied with his second spouse, he began to change his mode of living. He removed from Broad Street; became rude, slovenly, and careless, both in his person and manners ; afiected the appearance of poverty ; and at length totally withdrew himself from his fiunily con- nexions and the gay world. Though abounding in wealth, he now contracted habits of the most mean and penurious kind : besides which, he acted with great cruelty to his wife, whom he locked up in a hay-loft, and treated with the utmost brutality. For this con- duct a prosecution was instituted against him in the Court of King's Bench, when he had the effirontery to appear in open court during the whole of the trial ; and, on a verdict being given against him, boldly petitioned the Bench to make his wife pay half the expenses, on the ground of his poverty f Previously to the death of his lady, which happened several years before his own,. he took a house in Shaftesbury Place, Aldersgate Street, (whither he usually retired at night to sleep, as well as the one in Camden Street, together with the premises before described, which latter he converted into a species of farm, and spent much of his time there during the WALK THE SECOND. 181 day. With consummate hypocrisy^ he would affect the most humane and charitable feelings towards any poor starving female whom chance might throw in his way : such he would take to his dwelling, and provide with food and comfortable garments. He would also invite orphans and friendless children to his house : these he occasionally made his servants, increasing their wages with their years; but intending them ultimately, like the former, to be the victims of his depraved passions, or ministers to his debaucheries. His home exhibited a scene of the most abandoned dissoluteness, several females and their families living together with him at the same time. A numerous pro- geny of illegitimate children being the result of these practices, he was extremely regular in keeping the account of his outgoings on that head. When a parish- officer made application to him for the usual indem- nity, on being informed of the amount necessary to be paid in order to exonerate him from the burden, he would reach down his ledger, and, with the greatest iangfmdi remark how much greater the demand was than he had been accustomed to pay on such occa- sions! The Baxon had several other houses, shut up, but crammed with rich furniture, &c. He had a strange propensity to what he called £Eirming ; and it was truly shocking and disgusting to witness the manner in which the affairs of his farm-yard at Islington were conducted. It was a perfect dunghill ; and, from the wretched appearance exhibited by every living object upon it, was, by the inhabitants of the village and others, properly denominated ^* Starvation Farm'^- 188 WALK tUe second. The miserable dole of food allotted to his wretched cattle, was always apportioned, and frequently given, by the Baron's own hand; and, unaccountable as it may appear, he suffered nearly the whole of his stock to languish and die by inches for want of provender. In the heap of dung and filth that had accumulated on the premises from the time he commenced fuming, (for he never suffered the place to be cleansed) be* tween thirty and forty carcases of different animals were supposed to be deposited, the whole of which had in this manner been starved to death. When any one remonstrated with him on the cruelty of the practice, he would say he did it that hi$ cattle might know their moiter! Such was the state of fieunine to which his live stock at this place were sometimes reduced, that they were known literally to devour each other. His hogs, for example, would be observed making a meal upon a starveling fowl that had been unable to escape from their famished jaws ! The wretched situation of these poor animals often roused the indignation of the spectators, who assembled in crowds to hoot and pelt the Baron, when he appeared about tiie premises, as he frequendy did, in a very mean dress, besmeared with dung and filth \ On these occasions he would take no notice of the incensed mob, but seize the first opportunity of quietly making his escape. He was once threatened with a prosecution by the New River Company, on the discovery of a skeleton of one of his catde which had been thrown into the stream. At this place he also kept, safely locked up, his old ^ See Portraits of Baron D*Aguilar, and a View of '* StarwttUm Farm" at Islington, in Granger's Woitderful Museum. 1893. Svo. WALK THE SECOND. 183 favourite coach ; it was a cumbrous machine, and had been formerly drawn by six horses, which now formed a part of the stodc on his farm. Having thus given himself up to the most^wretched and abandoned pursuits, he cared not to see any of his feunily, or his former respectable connexions. He would sarcastically tell his sons-in-law that they were gentlevaeHf and not fit associates for him; and his daughters, that they were too Jine to sit in his com- pany. Yet he is said to have been a good scholar, and to bave written with great elegance and facility. He had some of his natural children educated under the first masters, and behaved towards them with pa- rental tenderness. There were even traits of benevo- lence in his character; but his bounty was chiefly confined to the most wretched and unfortunate of the female sex, who usually found an asylum at his sleep- ing-house in Shaftesbury-place. And as his fimn at Islington might be compared to the stable of Augeas^ so this nocturnal habitation was an absolute chaos of household goods, merchandize, filth, &c. forming altogether such a rude and incongruous mass, that it was with the greatest difiSculty a stranger could enter it. In his last illness, which was occasioned by an in- flammation of the bowels, though the weather was very severe, and his complaint dangerous, he would not allow a fire in his house, nor admit a medical man into his presence. He, however, followed the pre- scriptions of a celebrated quack, to whom he every day sent a fee of one guinea. His youngest daugh- ter affectionately b^ged permission to see him, as his last moments drew nigh; but, with dreadful 7 184 WALK THE SECOND. imprecationsj to which he was much addicted, he de- clared she should never enter his presence. He died at his house in Shaftesbury-place, in March, 1802, at the age of 62. His body was removed to Islington, and thence carried to the Jews' burying-ground at Mile-end, where it was interred. Thus lived and died the Baron D'Aguilar, a man possessing all the means and ability for the exercise of the most virtuous and munificent acts ; but whose life, from a strange aberration either of feeling or of intellect, became absorbed in habits the most unna- tural, inhuman, and degrading. He left two legitimate daughters, who, by his dying intestate, came into pos- session of all his property ; while a number of poor objects, who had natural claims to his protection, and who had been supported by him in hjs life-time, were left altogether destitute. His effects at Islington were sold by auction, which lasted two days; when his stock of lean cattle fetched 128/., and his &vourite coach, which was almost dropping to pieces, 7/. His libraiy in Shaftesbury-place, consisting of a good collection of Hebrew, English, and foreign literature, was dis- posed of in the same manner. He had jewels, it was said, worth 80,000/. ; and plate, in articles of various kinds, supposed to weigh 7cwt. ; besides a stock of cochineal and indigo, valued at 10,000/. The last- mentioned articles he had purchased many years prior to his death, upon speculation, at a high price, resolv- ing not to part with them unless at a considerable profit. The value of his entire property is supposed to have exceeded 200,000/. One of the two bridges over the river from Cole* WALK THE SECOND. 185 brooke Row leads to Camden Street, which is inter- sected, near its west end, by Camden Passage, a house in which latter was for some time the residence of a character of a very opposite description to that just described. This was the amiable, though eccentric Alexander Cruden^ who was bom at Aberdeen, May 31st, 1701. Few particulars of his early years have been preserved : but it is known that he received a good elementary education in the grammar-school of his native city, and entered himself a student of Ma- reschal College, as an introduction to the clerical profession, and in order to secure the advantages of that respectable seat of learning. Having made con- siderable proficiency in the learned languages, and in general literature, the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him ; and he was on the point of being proposed as a licentiate, when circumstances, which are in a great measure enveloped in mystery, caused a total diange in his destination. Possibly some symptoms of that aberration of mind, which more strongly dis- covered itself at a subsequent period of his life, ren- dered the abandonment of a profession so replete with mental anxiety and labour, when its duties are properly perfonned, highly pradential, if not abso- lutely necessary. As to the cause of his malady, it is referred to a disappointment in love, the effects of which were so violent, as at length to oblige his friends to send him to a place of confinement; on his release from which he resolved forthwith to leave the scene of his sorrows. In the year 17^ he arrived in Lon- don ; and shortly afterwards was employed at Ware, in Hertfordshire, as classical tutor to some young 186 WALK THB SECOND. pencils. Several following jeara were spent in the Isle of Mani in similar occupations. In 17S2 he finally settled in London, or its immediate neighbour- hood^ and engaged himself as a corrector of the press, blending with that avocation the trade of a bookseller, which he carried on in a shop under the Royal ex- change. Here his literary attainments, indefatigable industry, and strict integrity, procured him the esteem, not only of those who availed themselves of his pro- fessional labours, but of several persons eminent for their wealth and influence; and, through their recom- mendations, he received the appointment of Book- seller to the Queen. A year or two before this event he had commenced his great work, *' A Cam- plete Concordance of the Hoh/ Scriptures of the Old and New Tettaiments ;* a work which, if estimated by its labour alone, must be pronounced one of the most extraordinary ever executed by an individual. The first edition was published in 1737, when he had the honour of presenting a copy to his royal patroness, the consort of George II. A. dedication to her Ma- jesty was prefixed, couched in more eulogistic terms than became the innate simplicity and dignity of Mr. Cruden*8 character, and which nothing, indeed, but the then tmiversal style of such effusions could ex- cuse. The author's hopes of receiving some solid proof of royal munificence were proportionally san- guine ; but the uncertain nature of all earthly depen- dencies was strikingly manifested in the sudden death of the Queen, only sixteen days after the presentation of the work, and consequently before her declared in- WALK THE SECOND. 187 tendon of befiiending him who presented it had time to take effect. Mr. Cruden having undertaken the Concordance on his own responsibility^ the expenses necessarily at- tendant on its publication had nearly exhausted his limited resources ; and the first fruits of his arduous and protracted toil were the fiiilure of his bookselling busineas, and the return of his mental malady. He was now sent to a private asylum for lunatics at Beth- nal Grreen; from which, however, be contrived to escape, though he was chained to the bed on which he lay. In March, 1739, he published a journal of his late sufferings, entitled, " The London Citizen ex- ceedingly injured : giving an account of his severe and long campaign at Bethnal Green for nine weeks and six days; the Citizen being sent there in March, 1738, by Robert Wightman, a notoriously conceited, whimsical man; where he was chained, handcuffed, straight-waistcoated, and imprisoned: with a history of Wightman's Blind Bench, a sort of Court that met at Wightman's room, and unaccountably proceeded to pass decrees in relation to the London Citizen," &c. &c. Not content with thus bringing his chief aggres- sor, as he considered him, before the bar of public opinion, he instituted legal proceedings against Wight- man, the proprietor of the asylum, and Dr. Monro, the physician. As he pleaded his own cause, and thereby, through the evident unsoundness of his intel- lect, established a very strong case against himself, the verdict was, of course, for the defendants. Mean-r time, his former employers did not consider him dis- qualified for resuming his labours as a corrector of the 188 WALK THE SECOND. press, and under his inspection several editions of the Greek and Roman classics were published mth great accuracy. His manners were invariably simple and inoffensive : he was always to be trusted ; and he per- formed his engagements with undeviating fidelity. After fifteen years thus occupied, his relations, with- out any sufficient cause that appears, placed him a third time in confinement; which lasted, however, only firom the l^th to the ^th of September, 1753. His sister, Mrs. Wild, his nearest remaining relation, having sanctioned the harsh proceeding, he, imme- diately upon his liberation, seriously proposed that, by way of atonement, she should " voluntarily submit to confinement in the prison of Newgate for forty-eight hours, and pay to Mr. Cruden the sum of ten pounds.** On its being intimated that a confinement in Newgate might prove injurious to her health, as the jail dis- temper was then prevailing there, he offered to com- mute such confinement for one of twice forty-eight hours in the Tower, and the payment of fifteen pounds. And when neither of these '^ reconciling proposals,** as he termed them, was acceded to, he was much sur- prised, and observed 'Mt was a little comical there should be so much trouble in getting a woman con- fined for forty-eight hours, who, by a word of her mouth, had confined him for seventeen days.*' Even- tually, he brought an action against his sister, and three other persons, and laid his damages at ten thou- sand pounds; but suffered a nonsuit, as on the former occasion. His insanity now discovered itself in a variety of whimsical, and occasionally extravagant actions. He WALK THE SECOND. 189 assumed the title of '* Alexander the Corrector/' and gave out that he was commissioned by Heaven to reform the manners of the age^ and in particular to restore the due obserrance of the sabbath. About the same time, he made a formal application to the King for the honour of knighthood ; to which distmc- tion he aspired from a conviction that it would en- large his sphere of usefulness ; for " thinking men,** he observed^ " ought to seek after titles rather to please others than themselves." Instigated by like motives, at the general election in 1754, he offered himself as a candidate for representing the City of London in parliament ; but, it is needless to say, he was not more successftil at the hustings than at court. And, as though his aspirations after knighthood and a seat in the legislature were insufficient employment for the morbid activity of his mind, he, while thus engaged, sought the hand of Mrs. Elizabeth Abney, the daughter of Sir Thomas Abney, who was Lord Mayor of London towards the end of the reign of William III. As this lady, who possessed both ac- complishments and a large fortune, peremptorily refused to see him, he urged his suit for months by letters, memorials, and remonstrances innumerable, of which he published some laughable specimens. But having engaged himself as corrector of the press to the " Public Advertiser," a popular journal, the close application thereby required at the office of his em- ployer, Mr. Woodfall, did much towards diverting him from his quixotic love enterprise. A new edition of his Concordance was required shortly afterwards, and the necessary corrections and additions furnished 190 WALK THE SECOND. him with ample oocupatiom. His days^ firom 6 o'clock in the morningy became regularly devoted to his great woric ; his evenings, till after midnighti to the business of the printing office. Engagements, thus regularly and indefadgably pursued, had an evident tendency to counteract the mental disease under which he had so long laboured ; and it is satisfactory to know, that, from the year 1758 to the close of his life, he was preserved, in great degree, from those distressing visi- tations which had painfully characterised nearly all his earlier history. He was found dead in his closet, at his lodgings in Camden Passage, on the morning of November 1, 1770; having received the mortal stroke, it appeared, while on his knees in prayer to his Creator ! Besides the works which we have referred to, Mr. Cruden vnrote an ** Account of the History and Ex- cellency of the Holy Scriptures," prefixed to a *' Com- pendium of the Holy Bible." He also publbhed a '* History of Richard Potter," a poor illiterate man, the tool of a more desperate character, whom he had rescued from an ignominious death by his exertions with the government, and whom he succeeded in re- forming by his exhortations. A " Scripture Dic- tionary," compiled by him, was published in two octavo volumes shortly after his decease. As to his philanthropic labours, they were by no means confined to the case of the poor convict just alluded to; it being on record that he was the instrument of saving another fellow-creature from suicide, and a third (one of those daughters of in&my who nightly prowl the streets of the metropolis) from the horrors of prosti- WALK THE SECOND. 191 tatuHi and want« The female last aUuded to had accosted hhn as he was returning to his house; when he availed himself of the opportunity to admonish her with such efiect, that she abandoned her depraved course of life, and having entered into the service of her bene&ctory continued in that capacity, con- ducting herself with the utmost modesty and pro- priety, until his death. To the poor in general he was as liberal of his money as of his advice ; indeed, he seldom separated the one from the other. His means fi>r these charities were principally supplied by the success of his later literary labours, particularly the second and third editions of his Concordance, which produced him eight hundred pounds. His theological sentiments were decidedly Calvinistic, as his definitions of various terms in the Concordance sufficiently testify. But he was no bigot ; on the con- trary, he ofiben warmly censured both the principles and practices of narrow-minded men. His great attach- ment was evidently to that cause, in the promotion of which all true Christians, of every denomination, must agree, — ^the cause of practical religion. He was a man, to use the words of Mr. Chalmers, ** whose character, notwithstanding his mental infirmities, we cannot but venerate; whom neither infirmity nor neglect could debase ; who sought consolation where only it could be found ; whose sorrows served to instruct him in the distresses of others ; and who employed his prosperity to relieve those who, in every sense, were ready to perish." At the south side of River Lane, a plain and neat Chapel, in the Qothic style, from a design by Mr. 192 WALK THE SECOND. Charles Barry, is now erecting under the auspices of the Vicar of Islington. It is estimated that the whole expense of this building will be SOOO/. ; of which about lyl50/. have, up to this time, been subscribed bj various persons, and the Society for Promoting tlie Building of Churches, &c. has made a grant towards it of 700/. The Vicar has himself subscribed 2001. ; and his fiither, the Bishop of Calcutta, 100/. The site is the gift of the proprietor, Mr. Cubitt. In an address to the inhabitants, printed and circulated by the Vicar, " the insufficient accommodation which the Parish Church affords" is stated to be the ground of this undertaking ; and it is added, that " no compul- sory burden will fall upon the parish at large^ either now or hereafter, from this Chapel. After the pay- ment of a small annual stipend to the minister and clerk, all the surplus of the pew-rents will be appli- cable to defray the necessary repairs and expenses incurred in the conducting of public worship." The parishioners are also informed, upon the same autho- rity, that '' the Chapel will contain 1016 sittings, of which 606 will be free for the use of the poor." It must be impossible for Christians and Chmrch-of- England-men to withhold their approbation from an undertaking, the objects and plan of which are such as have been detailed : but justice to the readers of the present work, which professes to give correct his- torical information whenever it can be obtained, re- quires the observation, that the want of a place of worship connected with the Establishment in this district, appears to have been first impressed upon the mind of the Rev. Thomas Mortimer, Minister of St. WALK THE SECOND. 19S Mark's, Myddleton Square, whose plan for building a proprietary church, nearly upon the same spot, was susperseded by the plan emanating from the Vicar of Islington. Either anticipating no objections from the Yicar, or conceiving that he had obviated them, Mr. Mortimer had proceeded so fiir as to treat with Mr. Rhodes for the ground since occupied by the place of worship lately described north of Duncan Road ; and a series of designs for the building were prepared by Mr. R. C. Carpenter. From an inspection of these designs, the author is enabled to state, that the Church contemplated would have been a commanding structure, in the Gothic style of an early English period, and, though studiously devoid of ornament, peculiarly effective in its general character. It would have contained about 3000 sittings, of which one-third were to have been free : and while the accommoda- tion of the poor was thus amply provided for, it must be apparent that, from the very nature of a proprie- tary church, " no compulsory burden" could " fall upon the parish, either now or hereafter," for the maintenance of the fabric, or the expenses connected with the services, of the edifice projected by the Rev. T. Mortimer. A foot-path from the bottom of River Lane, leads to the point at which Frog Lane properly commences, namely, the south end of Britannia Row. On the side next the fields, looking up the Row, formerly stood a public-house called Frog HaMy from which the Lane takes name. Its front exhibited a ludicrous sign of a plough drawn by frogs. Further on, also on the south of Frog Lane, are o 194 WALK THE SECOND. eight Alms-houses^ the two middlemost of which are distinguished by a stuccoed pediment, with the Cloth- workers* Arms in the centre in relief. Thej are for widows of members of the Clothworkers* Company, who have each an annual allowance of SOL, a gown, and twenty-four sacks of coal. This charity was ori- ginally endowed in 1538, by Margaret, Countess of Kent, who caused alms-houses to be built at White- friars ; in the room of which these were subsequently erected, as is recorded on the table of benefactions in Clothworkers' Hall, Mincing Lane. From the same table it appears, that Lady Anne Packington gave to the Company houses and lands at Islington in 1560. Contiguous to the Alms-houses, until about eight years back, was a small dairy-farm, at which from sixty to seventy cows were commonly kept : but the farm-house has been pulled down, and its site, with much of the adjoining land, built upon. Opposite stands the Barley-Mow public-house, deserving of no- tice from having been temporarily the abode of that son of genius, but victim of dissipation, George Morland, the celebrated painter. Having made a chance call at this house, he remained in it for several months. During that time, which was for the most part devoted to the bottle, and to the company of low-lived asso- ciates, he painted a few of his best pictures, some of which became the property of his attorney, to whom he was constantly indebted for extricating him from the difficulties arising from his indiscretions : others fell into the hands of mercenary individuals, who were ever calling upon and teazing him for specimens of his art, which he would often dispose of for very trifling WALK THE SECOND. 195 considerations. While here, he frequently applied to the farm-yard opposite for portions of old cart-harness, such as saddles, collars, hames, &c. which were copied into his sketch-book : and he would send after any rustic-looking character that he chanced to see pass* ing the house, in order to obtain a sitting, for which the party was generally remunerated with a piece of money, and something to drink. The landlord (Tate), who had himself been an artist in the former part of his life, bore testimony to the masterly manner in which Morland sketched some of his subjects, and the £u;ility of execution with which he finished others: his pallet-knife, his knuckles, and his finger-ends were not unfrequently made subservient to the pro- duction of the most happy effects, and that with a despatch almost incredible. Sometimes, in a sober and serious mood, he would determine to begin and finish a picture in his best style, one that when done should procure him several hundred guineas: with which intent (according to the nature of the subject fixed upon) he would send to Billingsgate for fine and handsome fish to copy firom, or explore the adjacent fiurm-yard for animals and objects suited to his pur- pose: but the fatality that attended him through life, seldom permitted him to accomplish any work of the kind which he took in hand. The fish would remain in his apartment till it was unfit either for the picture or the table ; and figures which had perhaps been in- tended for prominent objects in the composition, and designed to receive the finest touches of his pencil, were, to save trouble, either erased altogether, or, by some slight though happy stroke of art, thrown into o 2 196 WALK THE SECOND. shadow, and rendered subordinate to the general effect By these means, as the labour was abridged, so the picture went sooner to market ; and the supply of cash which it produced, though comparatively small, was sufficient to answer the exigencies of the moment, which was all that usually gave him any concern. — Such were a few of the vagaries that marked the career of this extraordinary compound of imitative talent and boundless prodigality. At the terminatiou of Frog Lane we cross the end of Rotherfield Street, and find ourselves in the Lower Road, We must pursue our route along the latter, passing the pretty crescent of houses called ^* An- nett's,** and the Floor-cloth Manufactory belonging to Mr. Samuel Ridley. In this manner we shall reach the front of the extensive enclosure, intended by its spirited projector and proprietor, John Perkins, Esq. to be called " Islington Marhetr We shall not enter into the merits of a market at this place, and on Mr. Perkins's plan, as compared with those of the esta- blished mart at Smithfield. Perhaps nothing but an adequate trial of the new concern could show the truth or falsehood of the very conflicting statements that have been made upon the subject ; and such a trial the Legislature have as yet refused to sanction. The application for a biU to establish and regelate this Market, is, however, intended to be renewed in the present session of Parliament. Meantime, we shall give as complete a view of the details of the project, as our limits will allow. The new Market occupies a square area of fifteen acres, bounded on each side by a brick wall, and WALK THE SECOND. 197 having its principal entrance through a handsome market-house, which comprises offices for receiving and delivering clerks. Covered sheds for cattle range round the whole interior of the wall, with open layers before them, affi>rding accommodation for 10,000 beasts, together with water-troughs so disposed that each animal may drink at pleasure. Layers and pens for 40,000 sheep fill up the remainder of the area, except where stand the tanks for supplying the water- troughs, (which are to be fed by the operation of two windmills,) and a circular space in the centre, to be occupied by offices for money-takers, an exchange for buyers and sellers, and a residence and office for the clerk of the market. The leading object of the establishment may be stated to be the convenient sheltering, foddering, and watering of the live-stock brought for sale, until the market commences, and, in the case of such as remain unsold, from one market- day to another. The ultimate objects, however, are more extensive ; as will be seen from the terms of the notice for the intended bill, which, we are informed, is '^ to erect, complete, and maintain a new and ex- tensive market-place, shops^ slaughter-houseSy abat- toirs, stables, stalls, lofts, granaries, sheds, houses, pens, out-houses, beast-houses, and such other build- ings adapted for the like purposes as may be requi- site.** The market itself is stated to be for the sale, not only of '' live cattle, beasts, calves, sheep, lambs, and pigs," but for that of " hay, straw, meal, malt, hops, and all other descriptions of grain and forage and all other marketable commodities.'^ In correspond- ence with so large a plan, six acres of ground are 198 WALK THE SECOND. reserved in fronts and on the south side of the square, for the erection of a '^ market tavern/* and the '^sun- dry buildings" that must become necessary for the completion of a concern embracing so many features, all conceived upon such an extensive scale. In a printed address to the '' landowners, farmers, and dealers in cattle,'* the proprietor announces his inten- tion, not only to renew his application to Parliament in the present session, but ** otherwise to open the market in opposition to the City Authorities,*' who, it may be noticed, were the grand agents of his late fSulure. He also "expressly states, that it is not, nor ever was his intention, to ask or take any higher tolls than such as are now taken at Smithfield Market." The ground on the west side of the road, opposite the new Market, is at present open and unbuilt upon, as far as to the New River, Canonbury, and the back of the Upper Street; and it so continues until we reach BalTs Pond. The spot thus called was once fiuned for bull-baits, and other brutal sports, and on that account much resorted to by the lower orders of people from all parts of the metropolis. It took name from a certain John BaU, who, about the middle of the seventeenth century, kept a house of entertain- ment here, bearing the sign of " The Salutation," as represented on a token issued by him, on which are seen two male figures in the costume of the day, each bowing, hat in hand, while an inscription surrounds them, and covers the reverse, containing the words : JOHN . BALL . AT . THE . BOARDED . HOUSE . NEERE . NEW- INGTON . GREENE . HIS . PENNY. A large Poud, siuce Ba/l's PoncL ^ ui K K ■l,">vrtv' i.M'THilNr ClEAIPISIL Ml^TS SILVAN 01' WALK THE SECOND. 199 filled up, was at that time frequented for duck-hunt- ing, &c. and became coupled with the name of the host. The road is continued from this spot by a re- tired and winding lane, leading to Newington Green ; between which and Ball's Pond there was within me- mory another old public-house and tea-gardens, called Spring Gardens, the site of which is laid down in the plan in the vestry-room dated .1735. In October, 1811, a field in the same vicinity was the scene of a singolar cricket-match, between eleven women of Surrey against eleven of Hampshire. It lasted two days ; and was said to havef been made between two noblemen for the sum of .five hundred guineas. . A turnpike mariks the intersection of the roads ihen- tioned, with that to Kingsland on the one hand, and to the termination of the Upper Street, &c. on the other. The last-mentioned is Hopping Lane ; north of which lies the plot of land, containing twelve acres nearly, before spoken of as "The Hoppinge," or Hop-Ground^ which, though within Highbury manor, is the freehold property of the Marquess of North- ampton^. It was for many years occupied as a nursery, knovm as " Batr's,** and afterwards as '^ Brooks's ;" but is at this time occupied, for the most part, by a line of houses called St. PauFs Terrace. St, PauTs Church stands at the angle formed by the union of Hopping Lane with the Lower Road. This is one of the three new churches built under the arrangement made by the Church Com- missioners veith our parish authorities in 1825*. It > See page 28. ^ Ibid. 89. 200 WALK THE SECOND. was erected at an expense of 10^947/. 16f. 6d. ; and contains 1793 sittings^ of which 817 are free. The minister is the Rev* John Sandys, M.A. The style is Gothic ; and, as regards both its general features and details, this structure is worthy the established reputation of its architect, Mr. Charles Barry. It consists of a body, side-aisles, and a square em- battled tower. Clerestory windows, elegantly pointed arches and columns, a canopied altar-piece, and a stained-glass window (containing the royal arms) at the east end, form the principal ornaments of the interior. Strictly connected with this ecclesiastical edifice are the St. PauFs District Schools, situate in a neighbour- ing street called Cross Street. Originally promoted by the zealous exertions of the Reverend incumbent, Mr. Sandys, they are placed under his direction and owe much of their efficiency to his care. The school- rooms were well and substantially built in 1833, at an expense of «near 7002., (including a house for the master and mistress,) and will accommodate 140 children of each sex, educated upon the national system. The punctual attendance of the scholars is found to be unusually well secured, by the undeviat- ing enforcement of some excellent regulations : and it is perhaps a peculiar feature, that the children have a " Branch Missionary Society" of their own, the officers of which are chosen from themselves, the senior scholar being secretary. Adjoining, but de- tached from the premises, is the St» PauFs Infant School, established in 1829, the year in which the church was opened. Here about 140 children, of WALK THE SECOND. SOI both sexes, are alternately amused and instructed, according to tbeir ages and capacities, being admitted at eighteen months, and not allowed to remain after they are seyen years old. The other schools, in point of fact, grew out of this, on its being discovered that the due working of the infantile system had been in- terfered with, from the retention of scholars beyond the proper age, owing to the want of an establish- ment upon the National plan to receive them. The whole are managed by the same officers and commit- tee, and supported by a common iund, which is entirely dependant *' upon voluntary contributions." As the pedestrian advances by Hopping Lane, and, leaving it at the New River, takes the foot-path on the left to Canonbury, he may, if he choose, repeat the lines of the poet : — " See, o'er the grassy slope, majestic shows Old Canonburt's Tower, an ancient pile, To Tarious fates assigned ; and where, by turns, Meanness and grandeur have alternate reign'd. Religrion's zealous sons first reared the walls ; And there it was, as chronicles record, The peaceful hermit lit his lamp, and pray'd Through the cold midnight hour, and told his beads. And wept, and chaunted low the vesper-hymn. To other hands the consecrated pile Was next transferred, and many a noble there In feast and banquet passed the summer hours. Thither, in latter days, hath genius fled From yonder city, to respire, and die. There the sweet bard of * Auburn' sat, and tuned. The plaintive moanings of his ' village' dirge : And thence his lonely lamp, through the still night. Athwart the distant space oft streamed afar ; 902 WALK THE SECOND. Pleased, in thit antiqiiate, Uus lUent tower, A wanderer long, now anchored, and at home. Through distant realms to track the ' traveller's' way. There learned Chambers treasured lore for met*. And Newbery there hta A. B. C's for habet K" The object immediately before us, howeYer, as we approach, is no part of the ancient manorial residence of Canonbury, but a tavern, called Canonbury House, erected within the old park wall, and partly upon the wall itself. Eighty years ago this was an inconsider- able ale-house, scarcely one fourth of its present size, and was then kept by a Mr. Benjamin Collins, who was churchwarden at the time of the opening of the present parochial church in 1754. It afterwards came into the possession of Mr. James Lane, at one period of his life a private soldier, who made various addi- tions and improvements. These were extended by additional rooms, a bowling-green, tea-gardens, &c. while the premises were in the occupation of Mrs. Sutton, widow of the proprietor of that name, who took the house about the year 1785. Mrs. Sutton retired from business in 1808. During her time, this tavern is said to have entertained more corporate and parochial bodies, clubs, dinner-parties, &c. than any other in the vicinity of the metropolis : and it continues to be a house of the first class for such en- tertainments, especially during the summer season. The entire premises occupy an area of about four acres, and embrace a considerable portion of the an- cient park, whose limits may be yet traced on the east 1 Fox's " La Bagatella," pp. 61— 6a WALK THE SECOND. 203 and north by the deep-red brick-wall, though on the west and south they cannot be so easily determined. The wall is supposed, however, to have run from its north-west point, near the end of Hopping Lane, be- hind the site of what is now called Compton Terrace, towards Canonbury Lane ; and then to have returned to the south-east angle, or that at which the tavern is situated. The park, consequently, was at all times separated from the offices and tower-entrance to the mansion, by the road which we must still tread to pursue our researches. The mere aspect of the offices just mentioned, will remind the reader of that part of the history of Canon- bury, in which we traced the property of the manor to Sir John Spencer, the worthy knight of the era of Queens Mary and Elizabeth'.. They consist of a long ran^e of tiled buildings, seeming, for the most part, to have been the stabling to Sir John's residence; and there is an old oak folding gate, which there can be no doubt was the workmanship of his time. They are now appendages to the tavern, and contain a bake- house, where the pastry and rolls are prepared for the use of the house and tea-garden, with sundry reposi- tories for coals, fire-wood, and lumber. In the centre, some stalls for horses yet remain. On the opposite or park side of the road is a pond, 1 rood and 30 poles in extent, and of considerable depth, which we may conclude to have been a store pond for fish in the olden time. It is partly encompassed by a wall, of great thickness, but so undermined by time and the action of the water, that it seems next to impos- > See pp. 31, &c. 204 WALK THE SECOND. sible that it should hold together. This was probably a portion of the park wall, which thus just excluded the pond from its precinct, and left it open to access from the mansion. The tower-entrance before alluded to overlooks the fish-pond, and must be now described. This Tower constitutes the prime feature of all the neighbouring landscape, and is the object of which poetical mention was quoted from *^ La Bagatella.'* It appears to have been always a detached structure from the mansion itself, though connected with it by an arched gateway leading into the court-yard. Neither is there any appearance of so much antiquity in its style or materials, as to lead to the supposition that it was erected along with the original manor-house, which, there is reason to believe, was first built by the Canons of St. Bartholomew in 1362 \ But there can be little doubt that it formed part of the erections of William Bolton, Prior of that monastic establish- ment from 1509 to 1532 ; as Stow says he *' builded of new the manor of Canonbury at Islington, which belonged to the Canons of that house.** Bolton, in- deed, was a great builder ; the Priory in Smithfield, with the church adjoining, having been also either rebuilt or completely restored by him. His rebus (a bolt in a tun) formerly appeared in several parts of the wall connected with this tower ; as it still does upon one of the summer-houses, and the wall attached, on the farther or south side of the mansion. After Sir John Spencer came into possession of the manor in 1570, he made various improvements, and perhaps some additions, to the tower buildings, if indeed he 1 See page 29. 1 ts\:^r ir?;^:? •''n'^r '^'■~/T'>-z r:'-:^M:^A,?;:< WALK THB SECOND. SOS did not erect all the domestic portions of the struc- ture, which would seem to have been added to the tower itself, the latter having originally, perhaps, been nothing more than an observatory. It is entirely of brick, about seventeen feet square, and sixty high, and contains only the oak staircase conducting to the various apartments. After passing seven stories, the visitor reaches the leads at top, and may enjoy from them a fine panoramic view, embracing London, the adjacent villages, the hills of Hampstead and High- gate, and the surrounding country for many miles. On a dear day, it is said, the Thames is visible, to- gether with Gxeenvrich Hospital, and snatches of the river and its vessels as far as Gravesend. The white wall of the staircase near the summit contains the following Latin verses, comprising the abbreviated names of the Kings of England from William the C!onqueror to Charles I., painted in Roman characters an inch in length : " WilL Con. WilL Rufiis. Hen. Stephanus. Henq. SecunduB. RL John. Hen. terf . £d terni. Ricq. Secundus. Hen. tres. Ed. bini. Ri. temus. Septimufl Henry. Octavus. post. hunc. Edw. sext. Regina. Maria. Elizabetha. Soror. succedit. Fr. — Jacobus. Subsequitur Charolus, qui longo tempore yivat ; Mors tua, Mors Christi, Fraus Mundi, Gloria Cceli, Et dolor infemi. sint Meditanda tibL" These hexameters were probably the effusion of some poetical inhabitant of an upper apartment in the building, during the reign of the monarch last named. The rooms are in all twenty-three in num- ber ; the two principal being in the first and second WALK THE SECOND. stories of the plaister-covered part which looks towards Canonbury Lane. They are each about twenty feet square, and twelve feet high, and wainscotted with oak from the floor to the ceiling ; the wainscot consti- tuting a very perfect and interesting specimen of the interior decorations of the age in which it was exe- cuted, in perfect preservation, and as yet uncovered with paint. These apartments would appear to have been fitted up by Sir John Spencer. The wainscot of the lower room is divided into small panels, with fluted pilasters, and a handsome cornice. Over the fire- place are two compartments containing lions' heads, escalop shells, &c. finely-carved; also a small pair of bellows, which, being surrounded by more promi- nent objects, are only to be observed on dose in- spection. The other room, over this, is yet more highly ornamented with panels, intersected by beau- tifully wrought pilasters. A handsome cornice runs round the top, composed of wreathed foliage and es- calop shells. Over the fire-place are two female figures, representing Faith and Hope; with the mottos "FIDES. VIA. DEVS. MEA." and " SPES. CERT A. SVPRA." These are surmounted by a handsome cornice of pomegranates, with other firuit and foliage, having in the centre the arms of Sir John Spencer. The floors of both rooms are of very large fir boards; the ceilings of plain plaister; and the windovre modem glazed sashes. The other apart- ments are mostly smaller in size, and contain nothing remarkable. Behind the tower is a garden, occupying a portion of the former court-yard, and at present stocked with some excellent vines and fruit-trees. WALK THE SECOND. S07 The original roanor-housey as erected by the Canons of St. Bartholomew, was, no doubt, pulled down to make room for the edifice of Prior Bolton. And this last, it is likely* was much altered by Sir John Spencer, on his coming to reside here about the year 1599. It occupied great part of the angular-shaped site, now covered by the houses called Canonbury Place ; two of those houses to this day containing relics of the ancient building. A stone remains in the south wall of No. 6, occupied by Thomas Swaine, Esq. bearing the date 1363; having, perhaps, been placed by Prior Bolton, in commemoration of the period at which the foundation of the house took place. In the passage of the same house, over a door, is an arch containing two escutcheons, the one blank, and the other charged with the Prior s rebus. There are also, over another doorway, the arms of Sir Walter Dennys, cut on a stone about a yard square, which was taken from over a fire-place in another part of the old house, and placed where it now is, with the following inscription beneath : ** These were the anns of Sir Walter Dennys, of Gloucestershire, who was made a knight hy bathing at the creation of Arthur Prince of Wiles, in Nov. 14S9, and died Sept 1, 21 Hen. VII. 1505, and was buried in the church of Olviston, in Gloucestershire. He married Maigaret, daughter of Sir Richard Weston, Knt, to which family Canonbury-house formerly belonged. The carving is, therefore, above 380 years old." The latter part of this inscription, however, must be erroneous, as neither the family of Dennys, nor that of Weston, could be in possession of the pre- mises at the period mentioned, it being antecedent to the dissolution of religious houses, and before the \2 SOS WALK THE SECOND. estate came into lay hands. These arms were, in all probability, placed here by some descendant of one of those families^ who might hare resided at Canonbuiy; perhaps by one of the Camptons, Joan^ a daughter of Sir Walter, having married into that fiunily. Bat the Comptons had no interest here till 1610, a century after the death of Sir Walter Dennys. The circum- stance of these arms being improperly marshalled, as noted by Mr. Nichols (the arms of Corbet^ the first heiress, married to one of the Dennys fiunily, being incorrectly placed after those of RusseU) will go to prove that this carving was executed at a later period than that mentioned in the inscription. In the adjoining house. No. 7, now a boarding- school, are many specimens of the taste for orna- mental carving and stucco-work that prevailed about the time of Queen Elizabeth. At the top of the first flight of stairs are two male figures in armour, and a female, carved in wood, and fixed as caryatides in the comers of a doorway. The ceilings of a fine suite of rooms on the same floor are elaborately embellished with a variety of devices in stucco, consisting of ships, flowers, foliage, &c. with medallions of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Titus, Vespasian, &c. The arms of Queen Elizabeth also occur in several places, in one instance with her initials, E. R. ; as does the date 1599, at which time the premises were fitted up by Sir John Spencer. The chimney-pieces are very hand- some, though of late years covered with paint : in other respects they have sustained no material injury. One of them exhibits a very elaborate piece of work- manship in carved oak, containing figures of the WALK THE SECOND. S09 Cluristian and Cardinal Virtues ; also the arms of the City of London, with those of Sir John Spencer* and the Qothworkers' Company, of which he was a mem- ber. There is also a monogram, or device, apparently intended for his name, with the date 1601 : and the whole is supported by caryatides of very elegant form. In another room is a chimney-piece divided into three compartments, and containing a male and a female figure in long rooes, with the arms of Sir John Spen- cer in the centre, surrounded by curious carved work; the whole intersected by handsome columns with Co- rinthian capitals, and supported by two caryatides bearing on their heads baskets of fruit. The Spencer arms, and the crest (an Eagle volant), also occur in other parts of the sculpture. The rooms of this house still retain a portion of their ancient wainscotting of oak, in square and lozenge panels, but covered, as usual, with paint. The old oak staircase also remains; and some ponderous doors of the same wood, having massive bolts, hinges, and {iEtsteuings of iron. The tout-ensemble of these premises, under the aspect they now wear, well exhibits the contrast that exists between the interior decorations of an- cient and modem times. The lofty folding sash- window, opening to the lawn or garden from parlours tastefully furnished with the fashionable upholstery of the day, is here opposed to the substantial oak wain- scot, the 9nas^ stuccoed ceiling, and the ponderous chimney ornaments, of the sixteenth century. The old mansion, in its perfect state, was ornamented with a turret, &c. as represented in a scarce print (size 16 ' Argent two bangemelleB between three eagles displayed proper. P SIO WALK THE SECOND. inches by 9) published by Boydell about seventy years ago \ The whole line of the building on the southern side is there represented^ as it appeared before the modem alterations. The site is exactly pointed out by two octangular summer-houses at the angles of the garden wall, as these are yet to be seen in the grounds attached partly to Mr. Swaine*s house, and partly to No. ly that of Knighty Esq. which slope down to the river side fix)m Canonbury Place. The house last spoken of was fitted up in an elegant style by a former inhabitant, De Paiva, Esq. It stands at the west end of the existing buildings, and is, perhaps, one of the best known residences on this side of the metropolis. The grounds are tastefully laid out, and brought beyond the ori^al wall to the brink of the New River, the serpentine course of which forms a beautiful boundary. The first step towards bringing Canonbuiy into its present state, was the granting of a lease in 1770 to the late John Dawes, Esq., who built Mr. Knight's villa, and three other good dwelling houses, on that side of the mansion looking towards the Lower Road. Mr. D. resided in one of these houses, till ^e pur- chased the adjoining estate at Highbury, as vnUl be mentioned in our account of that place. Other build- ings have been since erected on parts of the old site; and there are now fourteen houses, with gardens, &c. exclusive of the tavern lately described. The old tower, with its additions, being detached finom the > See also two other yiews by Chatelain, published in 1760. In the Pepysian Library is an etching of the £. view of Canonbury House. * WALK THE SECOND. 211 neighbouring houses, and standing amidst gardens and contiguous to the fields, as well as in a most salu- brious air, has been long let out in apartments in the summer-time ; and it continues so to be by Mr. Simes, the present tenant, who is Bailiff of the manor. Thus it was that the poet Goldsmith, Ephraim Chambers, the well-known cyclopaedist, and Mr. John Newbeiy, author and publisher of a variety of children's books, were resident here, as recorded by the author of " La Bagatella.** Several other literary, or otherwise rather remarkable characters, appear to have had lodgings in the building, since it has been appropriated to that use. Among them were Mr. Samuel Humphreys, who died in 17S7, having translated " Le Spectacle de la Nature,'* and written " Canons," a poem on the magnificent seat of the Duke of Chandos, and several other pieces; Mr. Depu^ Harrison, many years printer of the London Oazette ; Mr. Robert Hors- field, successor to Messrs. Knaptons, Pope's book- sellers, and afterwards Treasurer of the Stationers' Company ; also Mr. H. S. Woodfall, who first printed Junius's Letters, and Palmer, Esq. a Justice of the Peace, and Train-bearer to Arthur Onslow, Esq. Speaker of the House of Commons. Dr. John Hill died here in Feb. 1789 ; as did the Rev. John Wil- liams, LL.D. in 1798. The latter was forty years a Dissenting Minister at Sydenham ; and author of " An Enquiry into the Authenticity of the First and Se- cond Chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel," « Thoughts on Subscription to the 89 Articles," " A Concordance to the Greek Testament," and ** An Enquiry and Observations respecting the Discovery of America." p 2 212 WALK THE SECOND. The mansion itself became the residence of various persons, after it passed into the hands of Sir John Spencer. Before the knight took up his abode here^ it was rented of him by William Ricthome, Esq. who died here in 1582 ; and was afterwards, for a few years, in the possession of Sir Arthur Atje, Public Orator of the University of Oxford, who mar- ried his widow. The charter of incorporation granted to the Butchers' Company in 1605, is signed by Thomas Egerton, Baron of EUesmere, then Lord Chancellor, and dated at Canonbury, where this nobleman was on a visit to Sir John Spencer. The Compton family seem to have resided here after the marriage of the second Lord with Sir John*8 daughter and heiress. A daughter of Lord Comptoa was bom here in 1605. From 1627 to 1635, the house was rented by the Lord Keeper Coventry. In the Strafford papers is a letter from the Earl of Derby, dated Jan. 29, 1635, from " Canbury ParK where he was '* stayed from St. James's" by the greatest snow he ever saw in England. William Fielding, Earl of Denbigh, died at Canonbury House in 1685. The walks around Canonbury were long noted for their extreme pleasantness ; the fields being, for the most part, uninclosed, and intersected by foot-paths in the most accommodating directions for pedestrians to and from Kingsland, Hackney, Stoke-Newington, &c. But, about the year 1823, a great alteration in the face of things took place. Brick-makers and builders began to surround the devoted spot; the course of the New River was changed, so as to do away with a winding portion of its track called the WALK THE SECOND. 213 " Horse-shoe;'* the " New North Road'* was carried over a bridge thrown across the newly-formed channel ; and houses and streets were erected east, south, and westy which have gone on increasing to the present time. The greater part of Canonbury Square has arisen since the period mentioned. Canonbury Lane^ which is of considerably older date^ connects the square with the Upper Street. The house numbered 3 in this lane was made remarkable in the year 1818, by a case of abduction connected with the family resident in it, which excited an intense degree of interest, not only in Islington, but throughout the kingdom. Mr. Horsley, a merchant and ship-broker, then living in the house in question, had married the daughter of Mr. Charles Dignum, of theatrical celebrity, and, at the time of this affair, had three small children. On Sunday, the 8th of November, in the year mentioned, their nursery-maid, Elizabeth Holbrook, a girl of about sixteen, took the eldest child, a fine boy three years and a half old, and his sister aged one year and a half, for an airing in a small chaise ; being charged to return in an hour or two, and having previously received strict injunctions never to take the children out of the neighbourhood. Night came on, however, without their re-appearance; and the anxious parents, assisted by their servants and neighbours, searched Islington and its vicinity in all directions, but no in- telligence of either children or servant could be obtained. On the following morning they were for- tunate enough to recover the little girl, who had been found akme in the chaise the preceding night, near 214 WALK THE SECOND* the wall of the Asyltim, St. George's Fieldsi and had been taken care of by the landlady of a neighbouring public house. During several days the parents suf- fered all the horrors of suspense respecting the fate of their boy: at one time thinking the servant had been murdered ; at another that she was accessary to the foul plot of carrjring off the child, a thing which they suspected might have taken place, since they knew that there was a person in existence so hostile to their fiimily, that they had every thing to fear from him. This person, whose name was Charles Rennet, a married man, aged twenty-eight, was cou- sin to Mrs. Horsley. He was of dissipated habits, and had imbibed an inveterate hatred to the offspring of Mr. Dignum, from having fiiiled in an attempt to re- cover some property which had l^[ally descended to them. As some compensation for his disappointment, he had, it seems, received a considerable sum from the family, which having nearly squandered away, he, to recruit his finances, resolved upon the base expe- dient of stealing Mr. Horsley's child, and canning it to America, in order to compel the father to give a large sum of money for its restitution. Previously to this act, he had committed several outrages on the peace of the family ; and on one occasion had nearly caused the death of Mrs. H. by sending a message to her that her husband had died suddenly. It appeared that this man had ingratiated himself with Mr. Horsley's servant, by meeting her when she was out with fhe children; and at length had ob- tained her consent to accompany him to Birmingham, to receive a legacy which he told her had just been WALK THE SECOND. 315 left hiniy and afterwards to celebrate their mar- riage at that place. Having persuaded her to bring the boy to Smithfield on the Sunday afternoon de- scribed, he took charge of the chaise containing the two children, and prevailed on her to get into the Birmingham coach at the Saracen's Head, Snow-hill ; giving her 2/. to pay the fare, and assuring her that when he had conveyed the children safely home, he would immediately follow by another conveyance, and marry her. It also appeared, from the account of Rennet's wife, who lived in Islington, that he left her on the Sunday mentioned with the intention of proceeding to France ; that she had often heard him threaten to injure Mr. Horsley's family; and she gave it as her opinion that . he had stolen the £hild. The girl having been disposed of as we have related, soon found she had been duped; and the 21. which her pretended lover had given her being expended, she returned to London in three days, and gave evidence as to the facts detailed. Mr. Horsley was now ftimished vnth a clue to the recovery of his child, and soon ascertained that a man, answering the description of Rennet, and having with him a child of the age of young Horsley, had taken the road to Dover. Mr. H., accompanied by a friend, lost no time in pursuing the robber, who had embarked for Calais under the name of Reynolds, and on his arrival there had obtained a passport for Flanders. From Calais he was traced to St. Omer's, Cambray, Antwerp, and Amsterdam; from which latter place, it seemed, he had made a feint of going to North Holland. It was fortunately discovered, 216 WALK THE SECOND. however, that he had douhlBd upon his track, (no doubt with a view to deceive any persons who might be foUowing him), and had sailed across the Zuyder Zee to De Lemmer, under the impression, of course, that he should there find some vessel to convey him to America. This was the most anxious moment of the piursuit ; for, having had the advantage of five days' start, there was too much reason to fear the ruffian had succeeded in his object, and was perhaps then actually on his way to a distant quarter of the world. But he had been unsuccessful; and was traced tsom De Lemmer to Delmhurst, where a firock was found which had belonged to the child, having been left behind in the hurry of the flight. His pursuers now traced and followed him successively to Groningen, Embden, Bremen, and finaUy to Braake, in the Duchy of Oldenburgh ; where, the proper representations hav- ing been made, he was detained at the instance of the British Consul. In order to ascertain the truth of the charge against B.ennet, the authorities of the place had the child taken firom him and conveyed to the Consul's house, at which a number of persons were assembled to witness the result of the intended trial. The boy looked with unconcern round the room, until his eyes suddenly fixed upon his parent. He then gazed with great earnestness, changed colour frequently, and at length ran to Mr. Horsley, ex- claiming joyfully, " 0/ my Papa r The rest may be imagined : the happy &ther returned with all pos- sible expedition to England, and had the feUcily of restoring the beloved child to its sufiering mother, after a separation of twenty-seven days. Rennet, WALK THE SECOND. 217 who confessed his intention of carrying off the boy to America, with the view to obtain a huge som for his restoration from Mr. Horsley, was indicted for the offence at the Old Bailey sessions in May, 1818, and sentenced to be transported for seven years. Among other proofs of the almost unexampled sensation created by his attempt, and its issue, a print was pub- lished by the late Mr. Ackermann, of the Strand, in large quarto, entitled " The Extraordinary Case of Childstealing — Horsley v. Rennett," which contained portraits of the child, and of the unprincipled author of so much anguish to its parents. After traversing a small part of the New North Road,' and crossing the bridge mentioned in our de- tail of the alterations lately effected at Canonbuiy, we proceed by the public pathway on the east side of the New River, and thus pass Canonbury Cottages.' Just beyond is a foot-bridge, and a path leading from it over the opposite field to a relic of past times, which it may be worth while to go a little out of our way to examine. A small antique building is here situatedj the vulgar but absurd designation of which is ** Queen Elizabeth's Lodge/' Having been plainly no- thing more than a summer-house, or porter's lodge, at the entrance to the grounds of some more considerable ancient edifice, it can be properly treated of only in connection with the mansion to which it belonged. This was the house now No. 41, Cross Street, at one time among the most considerable in Islington, and the residence of the fEimily of the Fowlers, lords of the manor of Bamesbury, who possessed the copyhold estate on this spot which has since become vested in 218 WALK THE SECOND. the Tuffiiell family, together with that manor ^. The estate consists of 10 acres, 24 perches, in the manor we are now crossing, (or that of Canonbuiy), and comprises the ground whereon have been erected Tufihell Place, Astey's Bow, Pleasant Bow, Halton Street, the north side of Cross Street, seventeen houses on the south side of Cross Street, Little Cross Street, Thatched House Row, and the whole of the teiiace on the west side of the Lower Street. The Fowler fiimily seems to have been one of the most important in the parish during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I ; and, antecedent to that time, their name frequently occurs in records connected with the place. Sir Thomas Fowler, Knt, was Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Middlesex, a High Commissioner for the Veige, and Justice of the quorum. He married Jane, daughter of Gregory Charlet, citizen and tallow-chandler of London, and died Jan. 14, 1624u He appears to have been one of the jurors upon the trial of the ill-£Eited Sir Walter Raleigh, at Winchester, in Nov. 1603. His son Thomas was created a baronet May 21, 1628; but the title became extinct at the death of Sir Edmund Fowler, brother to the last mentioned. The house in Cross Street is an irregular building, composed chiefly of wood and plaster, with a modem brick front, having been divested both extemaUy and inter- nally of nearly all that was of antique appearance ; but the back front towards the garden and lodge yet retains something of its ancient character. It seems 1 See page 90. WALK THE SECOND. S19 to have been built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The ceiling of a back room on the first floor bears the arms and initials of Elizabeth, and the date 1595, together with t^ (the initials of Thomas and Jane Fowler), fleurs-de-lisy medallions, &c. in the same style as the ceilings at Canonbuiy House. The rooms are wainscotted with oak in panels ; and, till about the year 1788, the windows contained some arms, &c. in stained glass, among which were those of Fowler, with the date 1588. In making the opening for Halton Street, some remains of the old stabling and offices were removed. At the extremity of the garden attached to this man* sion, is the LodgCy originally a brick building about fifteen feet square, of which we first made mention. The arms of Fowler, bearing an esquire's helmet, are cut in stone on the west side, near the top ; which proves the time of its erection to have been before the honour of knighthood was conferred upon its owner. On the side by which we approached, or that next Canonbury-fields, were also the arms of Sir Thomas Fowler the younger S cut in stone, vdthin a sculptured frame of brick work, with his initiak, and the date 1655. The date showed that they were placed in the building by a subsequent possessor, it being after the death of Sir Thomas Fowler, and when the title had become extinct ; perhaps by his grandson. Sir Richard Fisher, Bart* who resided here at the period last mentioned. This lodge, together > Azure, on a chevron argent, between three herons or, as many erosses pattee gules ; in chief an escutcheon, charged with a ilnbter band eouped at the wrist, the arms of Ulster, and ensign of Baronetcy. 12 S20 WALK THE SECOND. with part of the garden* is now separated from the dwelling-house, and let to distinct tenants* The old garden wall running in a line with its front, formerly inclosed the ground attached to the mansion-house* The situation must have afforded an agreeable pros- pect of the mansion and park of Canonbury, and the woods of Highbury, on the one side ; with the village church, a few scattered houses, and an open view over the fields towards the metropolis, on the other. The name vulgarly attached to the little structure, arose, in all probability, £rom the circumstance of Queen Elizabeth having passed through, and perhaps taken a more than ordinary survey of it, when upon a visit to Sir Thomas Fowler, or in going from Sir Thomas's to Sir John Spencer's at Canonbury. Persons honoured with the visits of her majesty, seem to have taken pleasure in coupling her name with particular build- ings, and sometimes with particular rooms in their' houses ; and at that time, as we have seen in the case of other old mansions, as weU as that of the Fowlers, it was not unusual for the arms, initials, &c. of the sovereign to be adopted as a prominent feature in interior decorations. Such alterations and additions have been made to the lodge of late years, as com- pletely destroy its ancient character: among the rest, the coat of arms has disappeared from the front ; and the latter, together with that of the added apartments, has been stuccoed. Returning by the foot-bridge to the pathway, that winds as the river winds between the agreeably situated houses called Plecuant Row, TuffneU Place^ and Aiietft Row, we reach the spot at which the WALK THE SECOND. SSI stream enters upon its subterranean course beneath the Lower Street^ dose to where stands the ITuxtched House Tavern. This is, in no sense of the word, the original Thatched Houee^ being the successor of one destroyed by fire in November, 18S9; and that being the successor of one, which stood about midway be- tween the present site and Sir Thomas Fowler's house in Cross Street, and was pulled down on the building of Halton Street. But neither was the last^men- tioned the real ** original,** which was commonly called JcVs House, or the Old Thatched House, and was burnt down, like the immediate predecessor of the present tavern. " Job's House" was kept for many years by Mr. Hawes, father of the celebrated Dr. Hawes, the projector, and, for a series of years, the chief supporter, of the Royal Humane Society. This, and two of the three houses which succeeded to it, were literally thatched; but that material forms no part of the covering of the existing tavern. The umbrageous boughs that overspread the triangular piece of ground in its front, give an inviting look, in a hot summer's day, to the trim boxes beneath their foliage. From the road running by its side, its aspect is rather that of the way-side public house ; an ap- pearance to which the firequent congregation before it of agricultural and other country carts greatly con* tributes. JVUUam Hawes, M.D. the eminent philan- thropist just alluded to, was bom November 17, 1736 ; and received the rudiments of his education in his native village, at the academy in the Upper Street, then kept by Mr. Shield, and since conducted succes- sively by Mr. Flower and Mr. Edgeworth. He was SS2 WALK THE SECOND. afterwards sent to St. Paul's School ; and, at a proper age, was placed with Mr. Carsan, a medical prac- titioner, near Vauxhall. At the expiration of his apprenticeship, being engaged as an assistant to Mr. Dicks, in the Strand, he, after a short time, succeeded him in business. In 177S he became deservedly popular from his strenuous exertions in calling the public attention to the resuscitation of persons appa- rently dead, principally through drowning ; and, with the assistance of his friend. Dr. Cogan, succeeded the following year in establishing the institution which has been attended with such beneficial results to society. In 1774 he published " An Account of Dr. Goldsmith's last Illness;" ascribing the poet's death to the improper administration of a popular medicine, (James's Powders), and deducing from the unfortunate event many useful cautions respecting the exhibition of powerful remedies. In 1777 appeared his " Address on Premature Death, and Premature Interment," which he liberaUy distributed, in order to awaken attention in the public mind to the too early inter- ment of persons supposed to be dead. In 1780 was published his third edition of an ''Examination of the Rev. John Wesley's Primitive Physick," in which the absurdities and dangerous remedies recommended by that pious, but, as regarded physic at least, rash and ill-informed writer, were exposed by a combination of irony with serious argument. In 1781, Dr. H. pub- lished '' An Address to the Legislature on the import- ance of the Humane Society ;" and about the same time appeared his ** Address to the King and Parlia- ment of Great Britain, with Observations on the WALK THE SECOND. 2S8 General Bills of Mortality." These publications gradually raised his reputation, and he was succes- sively elected Physician to the Surrey and London Dispensaries ; but the Humane Society was ever the object of his especial regard. The moment one of the regular anniversaries of that society was over, he began to meditate plans for the success of the ensuing year. The nomination of stewards, augmenting the list of subscribers, and obtaining churches and preachers for the benefit of his favourite institution, were matters never out of his sight ; and it is believed that the not being able to obtain for that purpose the grant of the churches of two or three opulent parishes which he had long been anxiously soliciting, (parti- cularly that of IsUngton\ was a circumstance that greatly preyed upon his mind. So much indeed did the Humane Society engross his attention, that his own immediate interests appeared to him to be subor- dinate considerations. In 1793, when the manufiMS- tones of cotton had so far superseded those of silks as to occasion temporary want, and even beggary, among the artisans in Spitalfields, Dr. Hawes singly stood forward, and, prindpaUy by his benevolent exertions, 1200 families were snatched from ruin. The wants of his fellow-creatures never failed to awaken his most tender sympathies ; nor was he less liberal of his purse than of his professional services, whenever a case of distress was brought before him. In 1796 he published his great work entitled *' Transactions of the Royal Humane Society from 1774 to 1784,'* which was dedicated to the King by Royal permission. On the 5th of December, 1808, this worthy man, 224 WALK TH£ SECOND. and truly benevolent physician, died at his house in Spital Square, having just entered his seventy-third year, and was interred in die new cemetery attached to the church-yard at Islington. A handsome marble tablet, bearing an appropriate inscription to his me- mory, has since been placed in the church by the Hu* mane Society. A poetical tribute to his virtuous and weU-eamed fame, appeared in the European Maga- zine for June 18Q2, together with a portrait: and a good likeness of the Doctor is preserved in the en- graving, by.Pollard, from a picture styled *^ A Youth restored from Drowning,*' as well as in a painting by S. Medley for the London Medical Society. — Ber^a- min Hawes Esq., a brother of Doctor Hawes, and also a native of this parish, was a man of the like philanthropic and benevolent character. Having re- alized a considerable fortune as an indigo merchant, he retired to Worthing, where he died in 1822, be- queathing 24,000/. to twenty-four public institutions in London, after the death of a near relation. At a very trifling distance from the Thatched House, at the comer of Green Man*s Lane, stands a meeting-house for a congregation of dissenters of the Independent denomination, commonly called Lower Street Chapel ^ erected in the year 1744. The build- ing was originally promoted by a legacy of 100/. be- queathed by Mr. Pike; and the sum of 95/. was afterwards given by Mr. William Pearcy. The latter gentleman's donation and death are recorded in the following inscription on a stone fixed in the north wall of the chapel : — L'n-T/:sj^ ^'ir^2:'ST M^^^'irci^a " i^TH ,:4. J ,"]"7^ WALK THE SECOND. *' In a rault near this place lyes interr'd the body of Hr. William Pearcy, late of this parish, whose love for publick worship induced him to give ninety-five pounds towards the building of this place, and appointed the following lines to be inseribed on his stone: This it a/aitkful tat/ing, and worthy of ail aeeepiaium, that Jesus Christ came into the world to tave Sinners, t^whom I am the chief. He died Sept. 6th, 1746, aged 6a" No regxilar minister was appointed till the year. 1761» when the Rev. John Gawsell was nominated pastor. In 1768 Mr. Gawsell resigned his charge, and retired to Bury St. Edmond's, where he soon after died of the small-pox ^ The same year, the Rev. Nathaniel Jennings was appointed to the pas- toral office ; and, shortly afterwards, the congregation having much increased, the galleries were erected. Previously to the death of Mr. Gawsell, a part of the ^ A remarkable instance of the futility of human endeavours to avoid the all-wise dispensations of Providence, was exhibited in the case of this gentleman. Never having had the small-pox, he was particularly careful to shun every hazard of receiving the conta> gioo. With this view he left Islington, to retire into the country^ where he hoped to be more secure from danger ; but the very mea- rare he had adopted was the means of communicating the disease which terminated his life. A man employed to pack up his books and papers for removal, had recently had the small-pox in his &mily, uid there was no doubt that, through his agency, it was conveyed to the minister, who had scarcely taken possession of his new habitation, when his mortal career was terminated by the hand of death. Q 8S6 WALK THE SECOND. congregation had separated, and attended the ministry of the Rev. James Blenchall, D.D., from Dondee, at the old building about to be described under the head of " JVardCs Placet^ which was fitted up for the purpose; but a reunion taking place, the Doctor went to Holland, and afterwards tetired to his na- tive place in Scotland, where he died. Mr Jennings dying 15th October, 1814, the Rev. John Yockney, student of the Old College, Homerton, was soon after called to supply his place, the ceremony of ordination being performed at Union Chapel, Nov. 1st, 1815. The Chapel was considerably enlarged in 1820, by pulling down the front, and bringing it forward seve- ral feet towards the road; and two school-rooms, capable of acconmiodating SOO children, have been since added. About 1400/. were expended in these improvements, and the Chapel was in consequence enabled to receive 800 persons. The building was also thoroughly repaired, painted, &c. in the year 1834. A *^ Benevolent Society,** for visiting and re- lieving the sick poor, is supported by the congrega- tion, who continue under the spiritual direction of Mr. Yockney. Between this Chapel and Paradise Place stood a mansion of considerable antiquity, which was pulled down about the year 1800. It was a large irregular brick and plaster fabric, and appeared, from its size and interior decorations, to have been the residence of persons of some consequence. On the firont, which abutted on the Lower Street, was a board in- scribed " King JohtCs Place i* and it was the vulgar tradition of the neighbourhood, (a tradition which WALK THE SECOND. 227 has obtained in such a number of other instances), that it bad originally been a palace of that monarch. For some time before its demolition, being divided into several dwellings, it had obtained the name of Wariz Place, which is still attached to the buildings occupying its site. Among the various conjectures which have arisen as to the origin and history of this house ', the most probable appears to be that it was built by Sir Thomas Lovel, Elnt., a person of con- siderable note in the reigns of Henry YII. and VIII.% and who there is reason to believe was an inhabitant of this parish. From the armorial bear- ings of Dudley, which were in one of the windows, it also seems probable that the house was in the possession of some branch of that family, of which the first peer, John Duke of Northumberland, held ' Vide GemOemtaCt, Mag, foi 1791. * Id I486, when an Eaquire only» he was made Chancellor of the Exchequer ibr life, and the aame year had an annuity of 40 marks as an Eiquire to the King's body. In 1473, Henry Heydon, Esq. granted him an annuity of 20i. for his good counsel, tliat he had already and should thereafter give him. He was first Banneret in 1487; was knighted at the battle of Stoke ; and afterwards in* stalled Knight of the Garter. ][n 1602 he. was Treasurer of the Household and President of the CounciL He was one of the Exe- cutors of Henry VII.'s will; Coxistable of the Tower; Surveyor of the Court of Wards ; Steward and Marshal of the House to Henry YIII. He built theGate House at Lincoln's Inn, A.D. 1618, and placed on it the King's Arms, the Earl of Lincoln's, and his own, (which yet remain.) In 1616 he was honoured with a visit at Enfield by Margaret Queen Dowager of Scotland, sister to Henry VIIJ. : and there he died in 1624, and was buried in a chapel, which himself had founded, within the Priory of Holywell, in the parish of Shoreditch.— Vide EOit^t Hut. and Antiq. of Sthoreditck, Q2 228 WALK THE 8£COND. the adjoining manor of Canonbury \ There is in the Augmentation Office a lease, dated 18th Nov. 1. Edw. YI. from the Earl of Southampton and Lord Wriothesley to this nobleman, then Earl of Warwick, of '^ sixty acres of land and thirty acres of meadow, called Great Cutlers, in Iseldon,^ being part of a grant from Henry VIII. Robert Earl of Leicester, son of the above, and the great favourite of Queen Elizabeth, also had property in Islington. The arms, which were surrounded by the garter, could only belong to one of these, or to Ambrose Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Leicester's brother; and it is not unlikely that the last-mentioned nobleman himself occupied these premises at some period after the death of Sir Thomas LovelL Here, too, it is very possible, he was visited by his royal mistress ; and this may ac- count for the &ct of her name being so generally associated with the old houses about this spot. This will also serve to elucidate the circumstance of the introduction of the '' Squier Minstrel,^ from the ''worshipfril tooun of Islington,'* in the Earl's en- tertainment given to the Queen at Kenilworth*. The premises are believed to have been afterwards the property of Sir Robert Ducy, Bart, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1630. The letters HD, which were cut in very large characters, in relief, in the pediment of a principal entrance to the house, were perhaps the initials of Sir Hugh Ducy, Klnt. of the Bath, who married into the neighbouring family of Fisher, and who, it is probable, made some > See page 30. > See page 48. WALK THE SECOND. 2S9 alteration in this part of the building. From the period last mentioned, no particulars of any interest can be traced respecting this house till about the year 1740, when Dr. Poole rented it for the purpose of inoculation; and it became an appendage to the Small-pox Hospital in Cold Bath-fields S first insti- tuted by the exertions of that gentleman in 1746. Some time afterwards, a part of it was used by a con- gregation of Dissenters, as before mentioned ; it was then converted into a soap manufiustory ; and then occupied for a time as the parish workhouse. Before it was finally pulled down, it had been let out to working people in separate apartments. The old mansion contained a number of interesting specimens of art, among which were a chimney-piece, embellished with the arms of the City of London ; those of Lovel quartering Muswel, or Mosel'; the arms of the Priory of St. John of Jerusalem ; the coat of Gard- ner (into which family one of the Dudleys mar- ried) ' ; and the arms of the Merchant Adventurers' Company. The coat of Gardner was also delineated in various parts of the building. The windows contained a variety of Scriptural subjects in stained glass, executed in the most lively colours, particularly those of the Prodigal Son and the Faithful Steward. 1 Now Manh*i diftiUery. See page 164. * Theee arme are deacribed aa the coat of Lotel by Mr. EUia, (Caaip. Loud, p. 96,) who appean to have inapected them in the baOding ; and there ia aufficient aimilarity between thia coat and the armorial enaign of Sir Thomaa Lovel on the gate of LincolnVinn, to warrant the opinion that they are thoae of one and the aame person. * See Bib. Togug. BrU. No. 9, p. S2. 2S0 WALK THE SECOND. There were also many figures of saints, &c. The hte Matthew Skinner Esq., a skilful artist, who re- sided in Islington, took drawings of all the most in- teresting of these remains, prior to the demolition of the premises ; and a quantity of the stained glass fell into the possession of the late Samuel Ireland, Esq. Part of an ancient wall remains on the south side of Green-Man*s Lane, which probably enclosed the gar- dens attached to the mansion. A large and substantial old-house fiwes Thatched* House Row, standing on the east side of the Lower Street. This is Fisher^House^ having been for some time the residence of the fiunily of that name. Its real material is brick, the front having been only co- vered with stucco of late years. It is supposed to have been built by Sir Thomas Fisher, the second Baronet, about the beginning of the seventeenth cen* tury. It bears the initials ^ p ; and within, placed over opposite doors on the landing-place of a large staircase, are the coats of Fowler and Fisher, the two &milies having become united by marriage \ In Sir Richard Fisher, the fourth Baronet, who died in 1707, the title is believed to have become extinct. But the house had ceased to be the residence of the lamily before that period ; as we are informed that, about the year 1660, Ezekiel Tongue, author of several tracts against Popery, and some treatises in natural history, kept an academy for teaching young ladies Latin and Greek, in a large gallery of a house at Islington belonging to Sir Thomas Fisher*. It > See page 26. > Wood'8 Athen. Ozon. voL ii 12 N WALK THE SJSCOND. 2S1 was for some yean occupied as a lodging-house ; and has now, for more than half a century, been appro- piiated to the reception of insane persons* A pam- phlet, entitled '^The Discovery, or the Mysterious Separation of Hugh Doherty and his Wife,** ISmo., ISOTy contains some <^urious particulars relating to Fisher House. Brothers, the pretended prophet, was confined here until liberated by authority of Lord Chancellor Erskine in 180& Adjoining one of the two. entrances to Elder Waik, (mentioned p. 4) we may notice the Htdf-Moon public- house, with some wood and plaster tenements in its rear, which, from their appearance, must be nearly three centuries old. Further south, where the City Farm-Hmue now stands, was formerly a very old public-house, called the Crotm, which contained seve- ral fragments of antiquity in carved work, stained glass, &C. and had very probably been the residence of some opulent merchant, or person of distinction. In the window of a. room on the ground-floor, were the arms of England, the City of London, the Mer- cers* Company^ and another coat'; also the red and ' Gules, ft d«my virgin couped below the shoulders, issuing firom the clouds, all proper, .vested Or, crowned witk an Eastern crown of the last, her hair dishevelled, and wreathed round the temples with roses of the second, all within an orle of clouds, proper. Mr. Ellis (Campag. Lond. p. 100,) is incorrect in affirming this '* buxom well- looking damsel" (which has been always borne as the Mercers' Arms), to be a portrait of Elisabeth, the wife of itlenry VII. The original, in stained glass, was preserved for many years in a window in the house of Mr. Clifbn, apothecary, en the Terrace, Lower Street It is now in the poesesdon of bis son, Mr. Nathaniel Clifton, surgeon, of Cross Street. * Axure, three inescutcheons Argent ; impaling. Azure, a chevron- SSH WALK THB SECOND. white roses united, with other ornaments indicative of the times of Heniy YIL or Henry YIIL Many years previous to the pulling down of this buiUingy it had been converted into a public-house or inn, the com- mon fate of most of the old respectable dwellings in this parish. The house which occupies its site was erected about forty years ago : it is an estabUshment for the purpose of farming the poor belonging to parishes in the City, who are here kept and employed in the same manner as in a parish workhouse* It generally con- tains from two to three hundred paupers, and for some years bore in front the following inscription : " City Farm-House, pursuant to Act of Parliament of 28d Gfeorge III." A large and handsome brick house is observed at the comer of Windsor Street, which was formerly called Sandy' 9 Home^ from having been the residence of an eccentric character cf that name. It was ste- wards a boarding-school, kept by Mr. Miall; and at this time, under the appellation of the ^* Mansicm- house,'' contains the offices of the Yestry-Clerk, and is the residence of his son, Mr. R. Oldershaw, Jun. The number of ancient houses yet remaining, or that once were, on the east side of the Lower Street, goes far to show the probability of the supposition ventured upon nearly at the commencement of this between three eagles' heads eraaed Or. There waa alao in the aame window the repreaentation of a croaa of Calvary, oyerspread with vines. These, and the anna above mentioned (except the Mercers'), together with the figures of St. Anthony and aome other sainta, have been ainoe preserved in a window of an upper room at the City Farm- House* which is used aa a chapel iat the poor maintained in that buildiog. WALK THE SECOND. iSS work, that here, and on the adjoining slope towards Knsbury Fields, stood the first buildings of ** merry Islington.*' Until the year 1830, (when it was pulled down and rebuilt), the Old Queetis Head Tavern, at the comer of Queen's-Head Lane, presented one of the most interesting of these antique structures, and indeed afforded as complete a specimen of ancient domestic architecture as was commonly to be met with. It was a strong timber and plaster building, consisting of three lofty stories projecting oyer each other towards the street, and those projections form- ing bay-windows, supported by brackets and caryatides of grotesque appearance carved in wood. A central projection extended several feet beyond the rest, and surmounted a porch, to which of late years there was a descent of several steps. This centre was supported in firont by caryatides of oak, crowned with Ionic scrolls, placed one on each side of the principal entrance. The floor of the front parlour lay four feet below the suzfiftce of the highway ; though a tradition prevailed, that the house was originally entered by an ascent of several steps. This indeed is not improbable, the antiquity of the building being considered, and the common accumulation of matter before such struc- tures, when publicly situated, in the course of several centuries : add to which, that the New River, which passes under the road in front, must, in the formation of its banks, and the turning an arch over it, have occasioned a considerable rise at the spot. The mode of erecting dwelling-houses for several centuries prior to the reign of Elizabeth, was more like that oi ship4milding than any thing else to which 234 WALK THE SECOND. it can be well compared. Immense beams of oak, or, more frequently, chestnut wood, placed in perpendi- cular, diagonal, and transyeise directions, and strongly morticed or rivetted together, formed the shell or carcase of almost every domestic building. " The common run of houses,** as Strutt observed ', " espe- cially among the middling sort of people, were built with wood. They generally made large porches before their principal entrance, with great halls, and latge parlours : the frame work was constructed with beams of timber of such enormous size, that the materials of one house, as they built anciently, would make several of equal size according to the present mode of build- ing. . The common method of making waUs was to nail laths to the timber frame, and strike them over with a rough plaster, which was afterwards whitened and ornamented with fine mortar, and this last was often beautified with figures and other curious devices. The houses in the cities and towns were built each stoiy jetting forth over the former story, so that when the streets were not very wide, the people at the top froih opposite houses, might not only talk and con- verse with each other, but even shake hands together. Their houses were covered with tiles, shingles, slates or lead, except in the City of London, where shingles WQre forbid." Houses built in this manner, though perhaps of too combustible akind far populous neigh- bourhoods, were without doubt more calculated for strength and durability than most of our modem erec- tions of brick. While we are sometimes witnesses to ■ Mannen and Cuftonu of the People of Bngbuid, voL iL p. 86. WALK THE SECOND. ,S85 the fact of new houses fiiUing to the ground in a high wind, before they are well out of the builders* hands, many of the wooden fabrics of our ancestors, after a probation of centuries, remain Handing reproaches to the want either of skill or honesty in some existing professors of the art, who, notwithstanding, will style themselves ** builders,** and even ** architects.'* The ** Old Queen*s Head'* was constructed in the way just described ; and, like most of the antique build* ings in this parish, had panelled wainscots of oak, and stuccoed ceilings. The parlour ceiling was orna- mented with dolphins, cherubs, acdrns, &c. surrounded by a wreathed border of fruit and foliage. Near the centre was a medallion of a Roman bead, crowned with bays ; also a small shield, containing the initials '* I. M*** surrounded by cherubim and glory. The chimney-piece was supported by two figures carved in stone, hung with festoons, &c. The stone slab over the fire-place exhibited the story of Danae and Actseon in reliefj with mutilated figures of Venus, Baechus, and Plenty. The origin and history of this house aro involved in great obscurity ; neither the records of the prebend manor, in which it is situated, nor any historical do- cument, throw any light upon the subject : all, there- fore, that can be said respecting it, being founded on traditionary report or conjecturje, might very properly be summed up in the words of the poet : ** Perhaps — ^for history is silent here, And we may guess at will — ^perhaps some Cit, * Grown wealthy, here retir*!! in peace to pass His latter days. Some courtier here, perchance, 936 WALK THE SECOND. Bnt liv'd in pomp^ and feast, and rerelfy. How alter'd now the scene I— how changed the fiite * !" It appears however that the old building was about the beginning of the last century, possessed by a family named Roome^ who were respectable citizens^ and had been proprietors of the premises for a consi- derable time. The house has also been traditionally coupled with the name of our gallant countryman. Sir Walter Raleigh, who is said at least to have patronized, and made it one of his smoking taverns, where, *< At his hours of leisure, He*d puff his pipe, and take his pleasure." A further conjecture has been founded on the cir- cumstance of Sir Walter's having, in the 30th year of Elizabeth, obtained a patent *^ to make .lycences for keeping of taverns, and retailing of wynes through- out Englande;'* namely, that this was one of the taverns so licensed by him, and that the Queen's Head was adopted as the sign of the house in compli- ment to his royal mistress. Mr. Ellis mentions a tradition', that it was at one time the residence of the Lord Treasurer Burleigh ; and observes that, in the yard belonging to a neighbouring tenement, were, some years ago, two lions carved in wood, the sup- porters of the Cedl arms, which appeared to have belonged to the Old Queen^s Head. The probabOity of a branch of the Cecil family, having resided' at Islington is supported by the circumstance of a ser- vant of the Earl of Exeter being buried here in 1 Fox's '• La BagateUa," p. 13. ' Campsg. Lond. p. 96. WALK THE SECOND; 287 1630 . Thomas and Robert, sons of Secretary Burl 'igh, were created, the one Earl of Exeter and the other Earl of Salisbury, in 1605. Ano- ther story, related by aged persons in the parish, as received firom their fore&thers, asserts that Queen Elizabeth's Saddler resided here '; whilst others con- tend that it was the summer residence of her great finrourite the Earl of Essex, and the occasional resort of her Majesty'. Whatever may have been the truth as to these matters, respecting which the reader must form his own opinion, it is dear that this build- ing, like most of the ancient edifices in the parish already described, was erected about the time of Queen Elizabeth. The heavy Gothic ornaments prevailing throughout these structures, intermingled with the volute, the astragal, and other features of the clas- sic architecture which began to gain ground about 1 See the Pariih Register. ' But, unfortunately, the taddlere to the Royal Family about this period would rather seem to have dwelt in Southwark. Thomas Cure, Esq. saddler to Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth ; and John Bing- ham, Esq. saddler to Queen Elizabeth and King James; were both boried in the church of St Mary Oreiy, where there are inscriptiona to their memoiy. * Some verses referring to this tradition are inscribed on a large pewter tankard preserved in the modem tavern. They were written by the eccentric Joku Cranch, in the year 1796, at which time the vessel was presented to the landlord by a convivial party which had dined at the boose. Crandi was an amateur painter, and published - The Economy of Wills and Testaments," and " Remarks on Shaks- peare's Tempest" A portrait of him was engraved by Mr. Smith, Librarian of the prinUroom at the British Museum. The verses in question scarcely deserve this record, being as little remarkable for any real point or humour as they are for delicacy. 2S8 WALK THE SECOND. the time of the Reformactioni are sufficient to re- fer us back with eeriamiy to that era for the date of their erection. An engraving of ^be old house and of some of the decorations of the- interior^ may be seen in the Gentleman's Magazine for June, 1794 ; and another in Britton's '*• Architectural An- tiquities.** A more correct view than either is con- tained in the European Magazine for March, 1808. A good engraving was also published by Mr. H« Winkles, an inhabitant of Islington* The modem tavern is a handsome restoration, surmounted in front with a bust of the ^ Maiden Queen.** In a room called the *' Antique Parlour,** the most cu* rious ornaments of the old-house are collected toge- ther ; having been preserved for that purpose, as fiir as veas possible, at the rebuilding. In QueetCM'Headnlane (formerly called Boon*s-lane, and Alms-house-lane) was a row of alms-houses found- ed by John Heath, Esq. in 1640, for the rec^tion of ten decayed members of the Company of Clothwork- ers ; who received annually, from the trustees of that Corporation, a suit of clothes, a chaldron of coals, and SO/, in money for their maintenance. But these alms-houses have been pulled down within these ten years, and rebuilt in Monkwell-street, London. On the opposite side of the lane remains a row of neat Alms-houses, respecting which the following par- ticulars are recorded on a stone in front : — " In the year of our Lord 1794, these eigrht Alms-houses were erected and endowed for the reception and maintenance WALK THE SBCOMD. of aged poor penons, by Mn. Jane Davis, in punuance of the will of her deceased husband, Mr. John Davis, late ot this parish. The Rev. George Strahan, ■>v John Jackson, Esq. m Edmund CJutterbuck, Esq. \ Trustees. Mr. Edward Martin, % Mr. Thomaa Craven. ^ Mr. Davis was a carpenter of this parish, and died in 1793. He left the sum of 2000^., 3 per cent. Con- sols, for the endowment of this charity, which is open to both men and women, who are admitted by the trustees on producing proper testimonials, and are aDowed 10/. per annum each. Robert Careless, Esq., who died SGth Aug. 1805, left 1002. in aid of the funds ; but his bene&ction was reduced to about 30/. by the insolvency of oi>e of the trustees, who had re- ceiyed 90/., the amount of the l^acy after deducting the du^. A portrait of Mrs. Davis is preserved in the alms-house No. 7, by Mrs. Hughes, (mentioned at p. 56), who, bearing up under a weight of years and infirmities, still resides there. Three or four more houses, whose ancient character is seen through all the modernizing to which they have been subjected, appear on that side of the Lower Street we have been pursuing, and are the only ob- jects possessing the slightest interest between Queen*s Head Lane and the turning which conducts to Cole- broke Row, and to the point at which this Walk commenced. CHAPTER IV. WALK THE THIRD. PROM THE iOUTB EHO OF THE HIGH ITEEET, BT liLIVOTOM OREEN, THE UPPER STREET, BIGHBURT PLACE, HIGHBURY BARH, AND HIGHBURY PARK, TO THE PARIiH BOUNDARY BEYOND HIGHBURY YALE. The Angel Inn, which once more faces our starting- pointy is so commonly called ^' The Angel at Islington,'* tliough in reality within the parish of Clerkenwell, that some of our readers might imagine we had omitted a feature of importance in the present work^ did we finally quit its neighbourhood without some notice of it. This Inn is supposed to have been established as an Inn upwards of two centuries ; during a great part of which it was customary to consider it the traveller's last resting-place on his way to London ; since, if he chanced to reach it before night-fEdl, he would seldom venture to encounter the remaining perils of his journey till next day ^ For a series of years it was the peculiar resort of salesmen, farmers, and graziers, who had business at Smithfield market; 1 See page 13. WALK THE THIRD. S41 and it long retained the aspect of a large old country Inn. Its front, towards the High Street, presented two rows of windows, twelve in each row, besides those in the basement story ; the whole surmounted by an overhanging tiled roof. The principal entrance was beneath a projection, extending along a portion of the front, which had a wooden gallery at top. The inn-yard, approached by a gateway in the centre, was nearly a quadrangle, having double galleries, supported by columns and pilasters, plain, or carved into various figures. Here were the chief signs of the antiquity of the building. At present, having been rebuilt in 1819, it has the air of a large and modem house, looking commandingly down the City Road from its elerated site. Two other houses of entertainment, called the Peacock and the White Lion, stand on the same side of the High Street, within Clerkenwell, and not many yards distant from each other. The Turnpike, a little farther on, is pretty equally divided between the two parishes; one of the toll- houses being in Clerkenwell, and the other in Isling- ton. This turnpike was originally erected near the end of White Lion Street, but was brought dose to the entrance to the Liverpool Road about forty-five years since. The newer situation, however, was found to occasion accidents by the sharpness of the turning ; and the gate was fixed on the spot it now occupies, or about midway between its two former positions, in 1808, at which time the present toll- houses, and the weighing engine, were erected. On the waste ground a little beyond the Turnpike, is a Pound for strayed cattle, belonging to the lord of S4S WALK THE THIRD. the manor, which is that of Highbury. A table of the fees, painted on a large board, is placed within the contiguous dwelling of the pound-keeper. IMwftan Green commences where the h^hway divides, leading respectively to the Upper and Lower Streets. The Green, for a series of years, was an unenclosed piece of waste ground, and the common laystall of the village. The Watch-house, (now the Station-house of the. N. division of the Metropolitan Police), together with a c|ge, engine-house, and a pair of stocks, stood in the centre, until the first- mentioned wad rebuilt, in 1797, at the angle whereon it now stands. The engine-house behind was erected in 1808, and has been subsequently enlarged. The enclosure of the waste by posts and rails, took place in 1777, ynknem. the nuisances were also removed, in consequence of the \ot^ of the manor (that of Canon- bury) having made a grant of the ground to trustees, for the benefit of the parish. Since the passing of the Refqrm Act, Islington Green has been made the site of the hustings, and principal polling-booth, for the metropolitan borough of Finsbury. The Fox public-house, at the north-west comer of the G^een, was. rebuilt about twelve years back. Till then it was an ancient timber structure, with a pointed roof, and the rooms wainscotted with oak in square panels. Old people remember this house when a large tree, surrounded by benches, stood in its front ; at which time it was kept by a certain Geoige Prince, who, having received a classical education, was not more famous for his home-brewed, than for cap- ping Latin for the edification of his customers. WALK THE THIRD. 24S Another public-house, called the Duke's Head^ formerly standing at the southeast comer of Cadd's Row, (now St. AJbarCs Place)^ was of some celebrity towards the middle of the last century, not on its own account, but that of its landlord, Thomas Topham, commonly called " The Strong Man,*' of whose hercu- lean feats many wonderful tales are related. His father was a carpenter, and brought him up to that trade ; but he abandoned it soon after the expiration of his apprenticeship, and, at the age of twenty-four, became the host of the Red Lion, near old St. Luke's Hospital, in which house he failed. While residing there, he made the first public exhibition of his un- common strength, by pulling against a horse, lying upon his back, and placing his feet against the dwarf wall that at that time divided Upper from Lower Moorfields ^. He aSHerwaxds pulled against two horses ; but his legs being placed horizontally, instead of rising, as they should have done, in the line of the animals' traces, he was jerked from his position, and received an injury in one of his knees. It is probable that he was settled at the Duke's Head at the time he per- formed the exploit of lifting three hogsheads of water, weighing 1831 pounds, in Cold Bath Fields, May 28th, 1741, in commemoration of the taking of Porto Bello by Admiral Vernon ; the admiral himself being present, together with many thousand spectators. A print in Kirby's " Wonderful Museum," (8vo. 1803). represents the performance of this feat, which Topham 1 The sign of a public-bouse, called The Strong Man, in East Smitbfield, exhibits Topham with his feet against a post, in he act nf pulling against a dray-horse. 244 WALK THE THIRD. * effected by means of a wooden stage, whereon he stood over the hogsheads, and raised them by the aid of a strong rope and tackle passing over his shoul- ders. Some whunsical exertions of his strength are also recorded : amongst others, that having one day accompanied a friend on board a vessel just arrived from the West Indies, and being there pre- sented with a cocoa-nut, he threw one of the sailors into the utmost astonishment by cracking it close to his ear, with as much ease as another man would crack an egg-shell. Another time, a race being to be run on the Hackney Road, a fellow with a horse and cart would persevere in keeping close to the contend- ing parties, much to the displeasure of the spectators. Topham, who was present, stepping into the road, seized the tail of the cart, and in spite of all the fellow's exertions in whipping the animal he drove to increase his speed, our '' strong man** drew both horse and cart backwards with the greatest ease, while the surprise and rage of the driver grew beyond all bounds, nothing preventing him from exercising his whip upon the immediate cause of his chagrin, but the fear of being himself pulled or crushed to pieces« The following particulars of Topham are given by Mr. Hutton in his " History of Derby :"— " We learn from private accounts, well attested, that Thomas Topham^ a man who kept a public-house at Islington, performed surprising feats of strength, as breaking a broomstick of the first magnitude by striking it against his bare arm ; lifting two hogsheads of Water ; heav- ing his horse over the turnpike-gate; carrying the beam of a house as a soldier his firelock, &c. But WALK THE THIRD. 24S however belief might stagger^ she soon recovered her- self when this second Samson appeared at Derby as a performer in public, at a shilling each person. Upon application to Alderman Cooper for leave to exhibit, the magistrate was surprised at the feats he proposed ; and as his appearance was like that of other men, he requested him to strip, that he might examine whether he was made like them, but he was found to be extremely muscular. What were hollows under the ' arms and hams of others, were filled up with %aments in him. He appeared near 5 feet 10 inches, turned of SO, well made, but nothing singular : he walked with a small limp. The performances of this wonderful man, in whom was united the strength of twelve, were, rolling up a pewter dish of 7 pounds weight, as a man rolls up a sheet of paper ^; holding a pewter quart at arm's length, and squeezing the sides to- gether like an egg-shell : lifting two hundred weight with his little finger, and moving it gently over his head. The bodies he touched seemed to have lost their powers of gravitation. He also broke a rope fiistened to the fioor that would sustain SO cwt. ; lifted an oak table six feet long with his teeth, though half a hundred weight was hung to the extremity ; ^ In the Britiah Mufeum, some yean ago, was a pewter dish, marked on the iMck ''John Innocent, at the Miter Tavern, Fie" [et- street] : and, near the edge, " April 3d, 1737, Thomas Topham, of London, carpenter, rolled up this dish (made of the hardest pewter) by die strength of his hands, in the presence of Dr. Jno. Theop. Desagu- Ixers, Mr. Jno. Machin, Mr. Richd. Graham, Mr. Geo. Graham, Mr. Wm. Folkes, Mr. WilL Dixon, Mr. Taylor White, Mr. WiUm, Bogdane."— -Ex. htform, Henry Em, Etq, Brit. Mut, 246 WALK THE THIRD. a piece of leather was fixed to one end for his teeth to hold : two of the feet stood upon his knees, and he raised the end with the weight higher than that in his mouth. He took Mr. Chambers, Vicar of All Saints, who weighed 27 stone, and raised him with one hand. His head being laid on one chair, and his feet on another, four people, 14 stone each, sat upon his body, which he heaved at pleasure. He struck a round bar of iron, one inch diameter, against his naked arm, and at one stroke bent it like a bow. Weakness and feeling seemed fled together. — ^Being a master of music, he entertained the company with Mad Tom. I heard him sing a solo to the organ in St. Warburgh's Church; but though he might perform with judgment, yet the voice, more terrible than sweet, scarcely seemed human. Though of a pacific temper, and the appearance of a gentleman, he was liable to the insults of the rude. The ostler at the Yiigins Inn, where he resided, having given him disgust, he took one of the kitchen spits bom the mantle-piece and bent it roimd his neck like a handkerchief, but as he did not choose to tuck the ends in the ostler's bosom, the cumbrous ornament excited the laugh of the company, till he con- descended to untie his iron cravat. Had he not abounded with good nature, the men might have been in fear for the safety of their persons, and the women for that of their pewter shelves, as he could roll up both. One blow with his fist would for ever have silenced those heroes of the bear-garden, Johnson and Mendoza.** This ''second Samson," it appears, had his Delilah, VYfl'R ^ITES^T rl[:'ii!;r^ if Bai« WALK THE THIRD. 847 through whom he was brought to a tragical end. He had left Islington^ and taken another public-house in Hog Lane, Shoreditch, when the infidelity of his wife had sach an effect upon him, that, in a fit of firenzy, after beating her most unmercifully, and stabbing her in the breast, he inflicted several wounds upon him- self with the same weapon, and, having lingered several days, died in the flower of his age, on the 10th of August^ I74D. His wife afterwards recovered, A little beyond the entrance to the ci-devant "Cadd's Row," on the same side of the Upper Street, stands a square brick and plaster building, for many years the llcarnge House, and said to have been built hy a former incumbent, Dr. William Cave, who held the living from 1662 to 1691. His initials were discoTered on the front, when the structure was un- dergoing some repairs. Two shops having of late arisen upon the fore-court belonging to this house, it would escape the observation of the casual passenger. These shops complete the row called Frederick Place, the houses of which are all of modem erection, and hide the site of another famous mansion of the diden time, which was not removed until within these ten years. This, at the time of its demolition, was the Old Pied-BuU Inn ; but according to the tradition of the village, (a tradition that could be traced back for more than a century,) it had been once the residence of the brave but unfortunate Sir Walter Raleigh, who was beheaded in the reign of James I. Unques- tionably, the house was as old as the time of Queen Elizabeth ; and contained various antique remains, in painted glass, carved work, and stucco. A " Life oi 24S WALK THE THIRD. Sir Walter Raleigh/' published in 1740, has the following observations on this subject. " There is, no further from London than Islington, about a bow's shot on this side the church,a house, which, though I think it has no such evidences remaining upon its walls, ceilings, or windows, that will prove him to have been its owner, the arms that are seen there (above a hundred years old) being of a succeed- ing inhabitant, is yet popularly reported to have been a villa of his. For the present tenant affirms his landlord was possessed of some old accoimt-books, by which it appears, beyond all doubt, this house and 14 acres of land, now let at about 70/. per annum, did belong to Sir Walter Raleigh, and that the oldest man in the parish would often declare his fiither had told him Sir Walter purposed to wall in that ground, with intention to keep some of his horses therein ; further, that some husbandmen, ploughing up the same a few years since, found several pieces of Queen Elizabeth's money, whereof they brought (whatever they might reserve for themselves) about four-^score shillings to their master, the said tenant, in whose hands I have seen of the said coin. As for the house, it is, and has been, for many years, an inn ; so that what it was is not clearly to be judged from its present outward appearance, it being much impaired, or very coarsely repaired, and dimi- nished, perhaps, from what it might have been when persons of distinction lived in it. However, there are within-side some spacious rooms. The parlour was painted round the uppermost part of the wain- scot, in about a dozen panels, with Scripture histo- WALK THE THIRD. 849 ries, but now so old and decayed as to be scarcely distinguiahable. There is also a noble dining room, the ceiling whereof is all over wrought in plastic, or fret-work, with representations of the five Senses: and the chimney-piece with the three principal Chris- tian virtues. But the arms in the window, as well as in that of the hall, are, by the present inhabitants, erroneously called Sir Walter Raleigh's, there being a date under one of the coats which shows it was annealed six years after his death * ; so that we are not sure the decorations aforesaid were done by his direction, or that others more rich and elegant were not in their stead before them.*' At what time the house thus concluded to have been the residence of ** Raleigh, the icouige of Spain, whose breast with all The lage, the patriot, and the hero burned *," was converted into an inn, does not appear. The sign of the Pied Bull, worked in relief on a compa- ratively modem front towards the south, bore the date 1730, which probably was the period of the change. Ogleby's account of Islington, in 1674, as 1 These anns were in reality those of Sir John Miller, of Islington and Deron, Knt, (azure, an inescutcheon between four mascles in saltire or) impaling those of Grigg of Suffolk, (argent, three lions passant in pale azure, within a border of the second.) Sir John Miller married the daughter of Michael Grigg, of London, and was living at Islington in 1634. — Campag, London, From a rental of the manor of Bamesbury, dated February, 1684, it appears that Sir John Miller held at that time several copyhold messuages, and fourteen acres of land within the i * Thomson. S50 WALK THE THIRD. ** fiiU of inns and other public houses,** referred principally^ no doubt, to the Lower Street, and its immediate neighbourhood \ The existing " Pied Bull" is a handsome new house, forming the comer of Frederick Place and the modem street called Thebertan Street. No remains of the old mansion are preserved in it, as in the case of the " Queen's Head,'' lately described. Church Street nearly fiices Theberton Street, on the right. Here was formerly a Calvinistic Metho- dist Chapel, since converted into a school for the education of female children on the Lancasteiian plan. It bears in front the following inscription : — ** North London and Isling^n Subscription School, for Girls ; instituted 1817 : aided by Yoluntaiy Con- tributions.'* It is attended by about 150 girls. A large room adjoining is inscribed, '^ Islington Chapel School of Industry, instituted 1801.** The building of this chapel was conunenced in 1788, on part of a nursery-ground, by Mr. John Ives, a blacksmith of this parish', whose finances being insufficient for its completion, it was, in its unfinished state, occasion- I See page 61. * Before this time, a character of some notoriety, one Jeremiah Garrett, had been in the habit of preaching on Islington Green, from a moveable rostrum, which was carried firom place to place on the shoulders of the above mentioned Ives. On these occasions Ives acted as clerk, until the preacher's oratory was put an end to In this parish by the interference of Justice Cogan, a resident magistrmte. Garrett afterwards professed JnHmomiauuimf and had some years ago a chapel in Lant Street, Southwark. In the title-page to one of his publications, he styles himself " The weaiker'beaien Watdmum oftkt Lant Street Mountain.** WALK THE THIRD. S51 ally preached in by the Rev. Mr. Clayton^ Mr. Crole^ of Founders' Hall^ (an inhabitant of Islington,) and other gentlemen, until the pulpit was occupied by a regular minister* The premises becoming afterwards the property of Mr. Welch, the banker, he, about the year 1793, granted a lease for life to the Rev. Thos. Wills, A.B.i who resided in Church Row, and who immediately entered on the pastoral office. This gentleman was a native of Truro, and educated at Oxford, where he became intimately acquainted with Dr. Haweis, afterwards Rector of Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire, and a popular preacher of the evangelical school. After taking his degree, he ac- cepted a curacy in the established church at St. Agnes, Cornwall, where he was the means of produc- ing* by his preaching and exhortations, a great im- provement in the manners of that unenlightened class of people, the tin-miners in his neighbourhood. Being visited in this dreary spot by the indejGsitigable Countess of Huntingdon, in one of her peregri- nations, an intimacy took place between them, which led U> a matrimonial alliance between the minister and her ladyship's niece. Miss Wheeler. He was now induced to give up his cure, and to join in the more extended sphere of her ladyship's numerous chapels. Some misunderstanding afterwards happen- ing between Mr. W. and his patroness, he engaged on his own account the chapel in Silver Street, and afterwards one in Grub Street, prior to his taking this chapel at Islington. In each of these places of worship he executed the ministerial office with much ability and usefulness. Towards the latter part of S52 WALK THE THIRD. his life, his health became so much impaired that he was obliged to sit while preachings being unable to bear the fatigue of an erect posture. He afterwards retired to the house of an old friend at Boskenna, for the benefit of his native air, wherci after a linger- ing illness, he died Maj ISth, 1802, in his 6Srd year \ He had disposed of his interest in the chapel two years previously to Mr. Evan John Jones, who had been a linen-draper, and subsequently a coal-mer- chant. This gentleman was a very able preacher: and such was the effect of his pious labours, that, in 1814, it was found expedient to erect a new chapel, the one in Church Street not being found large enough to accommodate his greatly increased congre- gation. The new Chapel ia situate in the Upper Street, very near the parish church ' ; and was opened on the morning of Sept. 19, 1815, when a sermon was preached by the Rev. J. Slatterie, of Chatham. It is a plain neat structure of brick, fiused with cement, and crowned with a turret. It is inscribed in front " Islington Chapel,** and is capable of accommodating upwards of 1000 persons. In an address printed some years ago, respecting the charity schools connected with the chapel, Mr. Jones gave the following expo- sition of his creed : *' The Doctrinal Articles of the 1 There is a good Ukenesi of Mr. Wills, engraved by HoUoway, from a painting by Lawrence ; besides others, of smaller sixe, in religious magazines. * We remember bearing this prefumphumt contiguity reprehended, with much warmth of feeling, by the late worthy kigh-ehMrch afternoon lecturer, Dr. Gaskin. WALK THE THIRDS S5S Church of England are our basis, not indeed because they are the Articles of the Established Church, but for a much better reason, namely, because they are Bible truths, and we love the Church on that account, retaining, for the same reason, her service in our cha- pels.** This gentleman died March 28th, 1827, in the 57th year of his age ^ ; and was succeeded in his office by the Rev. Charles Gilbert, who having recently re- signed, the chapel is at this time (April, 18S5) without a regular minister. Connected with Islington Chapel are the following charitable institutions : a School of Industry, wherein thir^-five girls are clothed and educated ; a Sunday- School, attended by about 250 children ; and a Society for Visiting and Relieving Sick Persons, &c. In 1817, Mr. Jones, having purchased the copy- hold-house and premises, No. 5, Church Row, con- verted the garden and paddock behind into a Burial- ground, which, being annexed to a small plot of ground before used for that purpose, received the appellation of '' New Bunhill-fields.'* Among the monumental inscriptions there, are two to the me- mory of the Rev. Joseph Phillips, who died August SO, 1808, aged 71, (an assistant to Mr. Wills,) and the Rev. John Marrant, April 15, 1791, aged 35, a converted N^ro, who preached occasionally at the adjoining chapel. At the crossing of the gravelled walks in the middle of the ground, is an obelisk, sup- 1 There U a mezzotinto head of Mr. Jones, by W. Barnard. An engraving by Woobioth represents his person at a more recent period, when he had taken to the use of spectacles, and to wear a wig. — ^A view of the interior of the Chapel has been published by T. Starling. S54 WALK THE THIRD. porting a lamp, and standing over the family vault of the Rev. E. J. Jones, with inscriptions to his memoryi that of his mother, ^* Mrs. Mary Hundlebee," and other members of his &mily. The liUngton Dispensary ^ for affording medical and surgical relief to the sick poor, originated in the year 1821, and was established on the 11th of March, 18S2, at the house at the south-west comer of the Church«yard* From the period of its formation until January 18S5, it received 31,571 patients; of whom S8,6S0 had been cured, 1318 relieved, 93 discharged, and 124 sent to the hospital : 741 had died, and 675 remained on the books. It has two physicians, two surgeons, and a resident apothecary. The Committee recently reported that the number of persons deriving relief from this Dispensary has been constantly and largely augmenting, and that its income has of late been very inadequate to the maintenance of its exten* sive sphere of usefulness : — a statement calculated to give pain to every philanthropic mind, but likely at the same time, it is to be hoped, very speedily to enlarge the amount of the " voluntary subscriptions and do- nations," by which alone the institution is supported. The King*s Head Tavern^ and some other houses opposite the Church, are probably as old as the reign of James I. or Charles I. A head of the latter, painted on metal, has been time out of mind placed in the tavern window, as the sign of the house. It would appear that the street in front was, in the reign of James, called King's Street; for, among Selden's books in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, (8vo. T. 27. art. Seld.) in an account of that monarch's entertain- WALK THE THIRD. S55 ment at Theobald's, it is stated that ** King's Street, by the W. end of the chuich of Islington, took its name firom the King's passing at that time through it." In the house adjoining the King's Head, for many years occupied by Mr. Blount, the late John Nichols, Esq. F.S.A. was bom in the year 1745. The emi- nence of this gentleman in the literary world, and more especially as an able and diligent antiquary, are well known. In 1763, he published '* Islington, a Poem," a Familiar Epistle to a Schoolfellow, written soon after their separation, with some other poetical essays. Besides the " Bibliotheca Topographica Bri- tannica," (a number of which contains " The History and Antiquities of Canonbury," written by Mr. Nichols, 1788), he was the editor and pubUsher of " The History of the County of Leicester," " Literary Anecdotes," and many other useful and interesting works. The Gentleman's Magazine was conducted and printed by him for nearly half a century. His death took place on the S6th of November, 1826; and he lies interred in the Church-yard, nearly oppo- site his birthplace. Haying now arrived at the Parish Church of Islington, it will be expected, no doubt, that we enter into such a detail of its history, and most remarkable features, as shall suit the importance of the subject. And the first necessary remark is, that the existing structure, having been built so lately as 1751, is the successor of one or more sacred edifices occupying the same site. Of the original foundation of a church in our village, nothing can at this time be ascertained. The one removed prior to the rebuilding, was a spa- 13 S56 WALK THE THIRD. cious but low stjucture, in the usual style of our 6LA countiy churchesy and chiefly composed of the rough kind of masonry called boulder ^ or a mixture of flints, pebbles, and chalk, strongly cemented together. The tower was embattled, and had a bell turret at the north-west comer. The roof was covered with tiles. Its dimensions were as follow : Length 92 feet Breadth 54 feet Height 28 feet Altitude of the tower and turret . . 74 feet In the tower were six bells, and a clock on the west firont: also a sun-dial on the south side, near the top, bearing the date 1708, and the motto, ** Dum spectas fugit hora.^ The west end was much hidden by the old school-house, which stood close against the front of the building, with the porch beneath, and an adjoining room used for lumber. (See our Plate of the (Ad and present churches.) Hatton, an eminent surveyor, who wrote the " New View of London'* about a century ago, remarked, after an actual survey of the building, that, as near as could be guessed, firom order, materials, and other circum- stances, it appeared at that time to have been erected about SOO years. Of the interior of the building he observes, '' As to ornament, it cannot be expected any considerable should be in so old and decajring a structure, but what is there to be found is agreeable enough.** It contained three aisles, and was paved throughout with brick and stones intermixed: the floor, to which there was a descent of several steps WALK THE THIRD. 257 from the entrance, was raised two steps higher at the altar than in the body of the church. The roof was divided into panels, and immediately over the chancel was painted with clouds, &c. The pews were of oak, and the walls wainscotted in most parts seven feet high, but higher at the altar, and painted of an olive colour, enriched with gilt mouldings. The east end was adorned with a cornice of carved oak, having a glory in the centre ; and between the two tables of the De- calogue, which were painted in black letters on the white wall, there was a spacious window containing some remnants of stained glass. The gallery was built in 1663, and the altar-piece in 1671. On pull- ing down the structure, in 1751, the earliest date that occurred was I4b83 : this was discovered at the S. E. comer of the steeple, on the removal of the gallery, and, most probably, fixed the period of the erec- tion ; showing the age of the church to have been 268 years. In the year 1751, as above-mentioned, three sur- veyors, having examined the building, reported that it was so much gone to decay, as to endanger the lives of the inhabitants assembling therein ; that a substan- tial repair would be attended with great expense ; and that even then it would be found insufficient to ac- commodate the parishioners. Application was there- fore made to Parliament by the vestry, for an «Act to enable them to pull down and rebuild the structure ; which they were soon empowered to do, as well as to raise money for the purpose by way of annuities on lives. These annuities were paid by a rate on the landlords and householders of the parish, the landlord S58 WALK THE THIRD. faying two-thirds and the tenant the remainder^ A contract waa entered into with Mr. G. Steemson, for taking down the church, he agreeing to allow 110^ for the old materials, and to clear them away within one month; all which waa performed. The tower waa foimd so strongly cemented together, that it set the efforts of the workmen at defiance. Gunpowder was used in order to dislodge the firmer parts ; but, being applied sparingly, for fear of accidents, it had not the desired effect : whereupon the surveyor had recourse to undermining the foundation, first shoring up the superstructure with strong timbers ; and these being afterwards consumed by a large fire kindled for the purpose, the tower fell to the ground with a tre- mendous crash. From the great strength and solidity of this part of the fabric, it was considered that it might have stood perhaps for centuries longer ; but the inhabitants persisted in having it removed to give place to the intended building. The trustees for the new church were mentioned with deserved honour in the public prints, " for the care they took of the monu- ments and reliques of the dead, to the shame of some precedents on the like occasions, where the disregard or illusage of the dust and bones of their fellow christ- ians appeared in a scandalous manner'.** Vertue, the engraver, in a letter to Dr. Ducarel (Nov. 16, 1750) in the possession of the late Mr. Ni- chols, remarked that he knew of no print of the old church then extant. A beautiful view, drawn by Pii^ ^ Singular to say, several of the anDuitants died after receiving a single year's payment: the last survivor died in 1785. « Gent. Mag. vol. xxi. p. 878 — 426. WALK THE THIRD. 259 lament, was sold by auction at Langford*s some years ago^: and a front view, with the old school-house* and two large trees standing in the Church-yard, was engraved by Toms, as a ticket for a parish feast in 1738. The original copper-plate is still in the Sebbon £unily at Islington. The ticket is couched in the fol- lowing terms : " St, Mary, Islington. Sir, You are desired to meet many other natives of this place on Tuesday, ye 11th day of April, 1738, at Mrs. Eliz. Grimstead's, y« Angel and Crown in yc Upper-street, about ye hour of one, then and there, with full dishes, good wine, and good humour, to improve and make lasting that harmony and friendship which has long reign*d among us Walter Sebbon, I ? I Bourchier Durell, John Booth, \ S' \ ^^^^^^ Sebbon. N. B. The Dinner will be on the Table peremptorily at Two. Pray pay the Bearer five shillings." A neat view was also published among the engravings from Chatelain. Several drawings were taken about the year 1734, by Bernard Lens, drawing-master to the Duke of Cumberland ; and subsequently by Ben- jamin Green, an able artist who lived at Islington, and who was drawing master to Christ's Hospital^ In Ellis's Campagna of London is an aquatinta of the west front. And in the vestry of the present church are two drawings, N. W. and S. E. views of 1 Brit. Topog. p. 644. S2 S60 WALK THE THIRD. the old fabric, presented by Hammond Crosse, Esq. in 1769. From these the views in Mr. Nichols's His- tory of Canonbury were engraved. The existing Church of St. Mary, Islington, was built by the before-mentioned Mr. Steemson, after a design by Mr. Launcelot Dowbiggin, an architect who was one of the unsuccessful competitors for the erection of Blackfiriars Bridge \ The contract with the builder was as follows : For the Church and Tower £5622 The Spire, Vane, &c 577 The Stone Balustrades , 23 The Stone Portico in ivont 97 £6319 The foundation-stone, containing an engraved plate recording the event, was laid on the 28th Aug. 1751, by James Colebrooke, Esq., he being the largest landed proprietor in the parish ; and the structure was opened for divine service on Sunday, the 26th of May, 1754, having been just two years and three quarters in building. Though violating strict archi- tectural rules in various respects, "our Church is allowed to be a very light and handsome edifle. tt is built with brick, strengthened and adorned with stone quoins, cornices, &c., in rustic work. At the west end is a handsome tower, surmounted by a spire of Portland stone. The west door is ornamented vrith a portico of a semicircular form, consisting of a dome * See London Mag, for April, 1756, which containi an engraving of Mr. Dowbiggin's design, showing eleven arches : estimated expense, 140,0002. S'^MAEYS! ['HnRfE ^r MAET^I OlLlD^ CMir!RC!lH WALK THE THIRD. S61 supported by four Tuscan columns, with an ascent of five steps, also arranged semicircularly. The two side doors are from a Vitruvian model, and have a very neat appearance. At the east end is a Venetian win- dow, divided into three compartments by pillars of the Ionic order ; but the intercolumniations are filled up with stone, being covered on the inside with the deco- rations of the altar. The roof is spanned from the walls, without the support of pillars, and is covered with Westmoreland slates. The steeple consists of a tower, square in form till it attains the height of 87 feet, and terminated by a cornice supporting four vases at the comers, and an octagonal balustrade. From within the latter rises the base of the spire, supporting eight Corinthian double columns, with shafts wrought in rustic. Upon the columns the dome rests ; and from its crown the spire is continued with perforations, until it terminates in a ball and vane. The ceiling of the interior was originally vaulted, and disposed in parabolical compartments, with a cir- cle in the centre ; and was enriched with mouldings of wreathed flowers, &c., in stucco. The galleries are supported by Tuscan pillars, and painted in imitation of oak wainscot. They contain between 60 and 70 pews. At the west end is a very handsome and good toned organ in a mahogany case, erected in 177^. The pews in the area, and the screen which divides the church from the vestibule, are of oak wainscot. The pulpit, reading-desk, &c., are of mahogany ; and the altar-piece is of the same wood, divided into com- partments by pillars and an entablature of the Doric order. The Decalogue, &c. is painted in gold letters WALK THE THIRD. on a black ground ; and above the pediment^ in place of a window, is a painting of the Annunciation, hav- ing on each side emblems of the Law and the Gospel in chiaro-'scuro. These were executed by Mr. Nath. Clarkson, a parishioner'. The general beauty of the interior was much impaired by some alterations made in 1818, when the building was newly roofed. The present ceiling is inferior in construction and design to the one which it was thought necessary to remove ; and the filling the lobby with pews, and thereby pre- venting access to the galleries and the middle of the church from the side doors, darkened and encumbered the entrance, and is attended with some inconvenience to the congregation. The dimensions of the edifice may be stated as follow : Feet. Altitude of the Tower from the ground to the stone balustrade 87 To the top of the Vane 164 Extreme length of the Church 108 Width eo In the tower is a good peal of eight beUs ; the six which were in the old church having been re^cast in 1774, and two smaller ones added by subscription. The tenor weighs 16 cwt. and was re-cast in 1808, to improve the tone. Around each bell is an inscription, of which the following are copies : — 1 Mr. Clarkson lived at the house at the N. W. comer of Church- street, wherein some figures in chiaro''scuro, of his painting, repre* enting Design, Sculpture, Architecture, &c. remained some yean on the wainscot, as well as his initials in the fan-light over the door. In Merchant Tailors' Hall is a picture of Hen. VII. presenting the Charter of Incorporation to the Company, painted and presented by Mr. Clarkson, who was a member of the Court of Assistants. WALK THE THIRD. S63 1st Bell. Although I am but Ught aAd snuOl, I will be heard above you alL 2nd. At proper times our voices we will raise In sounding to our benefactors* praise. 3rd. If you have a judicious ear. You'll own our voices sweet and clear. 4th. To honour both our Ood and King, Our voices shall in concert ring. 5th. Whilst thus we join in cheerful sound, May love and loyalty abound. 6th. In wedlock's bands all ye who join, With hand your heart unite ; So shall our tuneful tongues combine To laud the nuptial rite. 7th. Ye ringers all, that prize your health and happiness, Be sober, merry, wise, and you'll the same possess. 8th. Cast 1808. Present— Edw. Flower, Churchwarden. Thomas Whittomore, John Blount, Edward Manton. Thomas Meares and Son, of London, FteU, The total expense of the churchj including the in- ternal materials and fittings-up, are thus given in a MS. of Mr. Biggerstaff, late Vestry-Clerk : £ $, d. The contract for the Building, (see p. 960) 8319 A Brass Chandelier to hold 36 lights .... 50 TheClock* 73 Dials to ditto 13 14 11 Mr. Dowbiggin, Surveyor 106 Ditto for extra trouble 18 18 Church-yard walls, &C. 93 10 Messrs. Byfield and Green for Organ .... 400 Bells and Frames, about 210 Extra Bills and Charges 56 17 1 £7340 > This Clock was among the earliest of those, in London and its vicinity, iliuminaied at night for the accommodation of the passenger. 264 WALK THE THIRD. In 1787 the church was thoioughlj repaired, at the expense of nearly 8002. The repairs just alluded to, in the year 1818, cost about 2000L; and in 1830 the interior was again ''repaired and beautified.** In 1787, a flag-staff, 4S feet high, which stood at the S. W. comer of the tower, was removed ; and an iron conductor affixed to the spire, to preserve the building from the effects of lightning. The means used to effect these alterations were at once novel and inge- nious. Thomas Birch, a basket-maker, undertook for the sum of S02. to erect a scaffold of wicker-work round the spire ; and this he formed entirely of wil- low, hazel, and other light sticks. It had a flight of stairs within, ascending in a spiral line from the balus- trade to the vane, by which the ascent was as easy and safe as by the stairs of a dwelling-house. This inge- nious contrivance superseded the use of a scaffold of the usual kind, and was found to be less expensive. The spire presented a very curious appearance while thus enveloped, as it were, in a huge basket, vidthin which the workmen were performing their operations in perfect safety. The emoluments of the basket- maker were very considerable, from the donations of numbers whose curiosity daily led them from London and the adjacent villages to view this surprising piece of workmanship. The exhibition was also advertised in the newspapers, the stated price of admission being sixpence each person'. ^ The late Alderman Sir Wm. Staines is said to have been the first person who contrived this kind of scaffolding, when repairing the spire of St. Bride's Church, London, which was damaged by lightning in 17^. (Europ. Mag, vol. Hi. p. 338.)] It was afterwards improved 12 WALK THE THIRD. 265 In the vestrj-room is a larg^e drawing of the Church, " presented to the Vestry by William Wick- ings, Easter, 1793';*' as well as the two views of the old structure previously mentioned. There also, in a mahogany case, is the large plan or survey of the parish on vellum, alluded to at page 65, made by Richard Dent in 1805 and 1806, and which contains a delineation of the site of every house, garden, field, &c., with figures of reference to a terrier containing the names of the respective proprietors. A copy of this survey is kept at the chapel of ease. And in the same room is the plan or survey of the roads, made in the year 1735, which we have occasionally spoken of. The earliest date of the Parish Register is 1557. It is for the most part very &irly written, and very accurately kept, except during the time of the civil war and the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, at which there is an hiatus of several years. Several persons died of the Plague at Islington, in 1577, 1578, and 1593. In 1593, 106 persons fell victims to that distemper: the whole munber of burials that year being 187. In 1603, there were 3^ burials; in 1625, 213; in 1665,696; of which 593 upon by Birch» in repairing the steeple at St Alban's; and he brought it to the greatest perfection at Islington on the occasion above mentioned. A print of the church, with the spire enclosed in the wicker-work, about seven inches square, was engraved and pub- lished in Feb. 1788, by Matthew Skinner, of Camden Street, Islington. 1 There is a copper-plate engraving from this drawing, by J. Rofie. The Rev. John Swertner, a Moravian Minister, published a panora- mic view in aquatinta, taken from the tower at the time of the wicker- work, and a similar view taken from Canonbury-tower. A lithographic view of the church, by B. R. Baker, was published in May, 1821. 266 WALK THE THIRD. were persons who died of the plague. Ninety-four died in one week, from Aug. 29 to Sept 5 \ In the months of August and September, the number of burials was above 4dO. In the former part of the same yeari before the plague broke out, the average of burials did not exceed two or three in a week*. ^ We extract a few of the most remarkable entries : — " Mr. Modye, my Lady of Worcester's priest, was 1 The following b rd extract from the " City Remetnbnmeer :" " A citizen broke out of his house in Aldersgate Street, and attempted, but was refused, going into the Jngel, or the White Horse, at Isling- ton. At the Pped Horte, he pretended going into Lincolnshire, that he was entirely free from infection, and required only lodgings for one night. They had but a garret bed empty, and that but one night expecting drovers with cattle next day. A servant showed him the room, which he gladly accepted. He was well dressed ; and, with a sigh, said he had seldom lain in such a lodging, but would make a shift, as it was but for one night, and in a dreadful time. He sat down on the bed, desiring a pint of warm ale, which was forgot. Next morning one askedt what was become of the gentleman ? The maid, starting, said, she had never thought more of him ; he bespoke warm ale, but I forgot it. — A person going up, found him dead cross the bed ; his clothes were pulled o^ his jaw fallen, his eyes open, in a most frightful posture, the rug of the bed clasped hard in one hand. The alarm was great, having been free from the distemper, which spread immediately to the houses round about Fourteen died of the plague that week in Islington." * Strype's Memorials (voL iii.) records the following interments here before the commencement of the Register : — ** In July, 1566, the Lady Broke, wife to the Lord Broke, Chief Baron, died of an infectious fever, and was brought from Canbtay to Islington church to burial, with six long torches, and six tapers of three pounds a piece, for six women, and other lights, and a herald, yeomen, and other solemnities." " Dec. 1666, Sir Richard Bruton, sometime of the Privy Chamber to King Henry VIII." 13 WALK THE THIRD. 267 buried the 26 dale of August, 1569. The Ladye of Worcester, late wife to the Earle of Worcester, was buried the 25th dale of Julye, between 11 and one of the clocke in the mornynge, being St James's daie, in the South chappell, neare unto the towre, 1584." Lady Worcester was daughter of Sir An- thony Browne, Standard-bearer to Henry VII., and relict of Henry the second Earl of Worcester (of the Somerset family), who died in 154d. " Sir George Wharton, Sonne of Lord Wharton, was buried the 10 of November, 1609. James Stew- ard, Esq. godsonne to King James, was buried the 10th of November, 1609." These two persons (the latter of whom was eldest son of Walter, first Lord Blantyre, Lord Treasurer of Scotland) were servants to King James I. Some reproachful words having passed betwixt them, and being inflamed with a desire of revenge, they fought a duel near Islington, wherein they killed each other. The King expressed much sorrow for their fate, and ordered both to be buried in one grave. There was published at the period, " A lamentable Ballad of a Combate fought near London between S' James Steward and S^ George Wharton, Knights, who were both slaine at that time: tune, Down Plumpton Park." The letters following passed between these despera- does, prior to the fatal event : — ** Mr. George Wharton's Challenge to Sir James Stewart before they fought : *' Your miscoDstruing of my message gives m^ cause to thinke you extreme Taineglorious; a humour «** y valiant detests. And S68 WALK THE THIRD. whereat you uigusUy laid I durst not meet you in y field to fight w^ you, you shall find yt you are much mistaken. For I will fight w*^ you wfSk what weapon you shaU appoint, and meet you where yoo will, being contented to give you this advantage, not valuing y* wont you can doe. '* Oeoege Whartoh." " Sir James Stewart's Answere : "8', ^ Your message being eyther ill delyvered, or else not accepted, yon have since, though ill-advised, retracted and repented it ; for your messenger willed me firom you, that ejrther of us should make cboyoe of a firiend to debate y matter. To which, I confesse* I did but lightly hearken, since I knew oddes which no breath could make even. And now you have to acknowledge noe other speeches than you chaiged me with, which is, that I said you durst not meet me in y« field to fight True it is, your barbarous and uncivil insolency in such a place, and before such a company (for whose respect I am only sorry for what I then did or said), made me doe and say / w*^ I now will make good. Wherein since you finde yourself behind, I am ready to doe you aU the right you can expect ; and to that end have I sent you the length of my rapyer, w*^ I will use, with a dagger, and soe meet you at y further end of ItUngtcn (as I understande nearer you than me) at three of the clock in y« afternoon ; w*^ things I scome to take as advantages, but as my due, and w*^ I have made indifferent And in respect T cannot send any of my firiendes w^ut hazard of discoveiy, I have sent my servant herewith, who is onely acquainted with this business. ** James Stuarte V *^ John EgertoDy son of Sir John Egerton, Knt. was buried April 22, 1610." — Islington seems to have been remarkably fatal to the duellists of that day. Mr. Egerton was killed in a duel on the 20th of April, and is said to have been put to death basely by his anta- gonist, one Edward Morgan, who was himself " sorely 1 Harl. MSS. 787. t &Ofiw WALK THE THIRD. hurt." He was third son of Sir John Egerton, who had also a son^ Rowland^ created a Baronet by James the First, and ancestor of Lord Grey de Wilton. •• William, son of Benjamin Hewling, baptized October 28, 1665."— The unfortunate William Hew- ling, who was executed at Lyme, September 12, 1685, for being concerned in the Duke of Monmouth's re- bellion. His brother Benjamin was executed at Taunton a few days afterwards. The youth, beauty, and amiable qualities of these misguided men, excited a more general commiseration of their fate than that of others who suffered, perhaps more unjustly, under the stem rigour of the merciless Jefferies. William Hewling's corpse was interred in the church-yard at Lyme, whither it was attended by two hundred per- sons, men and women of the first rank in the town\ '* Susanna Creed, and her daughter Hester, killed by a dap of thunder in their beds : buried the lOth day of August 1690." "Dr. Robert Poole, buried June 3, 1752."— The founder of the Small-Pox Hospital. " The Rev. John Lindsay, buried July 2, 1768, aged 81 ." — A learned Nonjuring Divine, and author of " A short History of the Regal Succession, with Re- marks on Whiston's Scripture Politics." He also trans- lated Mason's Vindication of the Church of England, accompanying it with a large Pre&ce, containing a se- ries of the English Bishops since the ^formation : this preface is dated Islington, 1727. Mr. Lindsay was SO years minister of a chapel in Aldersgate Street. * Lysons' Environs. 270 WALK THE THIRD. '* John Hyacynth de Magelhaens, buried Feb. 13, 1790, aged 67." — F.R.S., and member of several foreign academies, and formerly an AuguatiDe Monk at lisbon. He was great grandson to the celebrated navigator, Ferdinando Magelhaens, who gave name to the strait discovered by him in 1519, and related to the Jesuit Magelhaens who travelled into China. Having renounced the Roman Catholic religion, he came to reside in England about the year 1764. He was a studious, ingenious, and learned man, particu- larly distinguished among the literati, in this and other countries, for his intimate acquaintance with most branches of natural philosophy, and not less so for his experiments, particularly in mechanics. He died in lodgings at Islington : and having desired that ^* where the tree fell it might lie," and that no tomb-stone should mark the place of his interment, he was buried privately, but genteelly, in the church-yard. '* Elizabeth Emma Thomas, buried 29th October, 1808, aged 27." — The following extraordinary circum- stances were connected with the interment of this person: — On Saturday, the 29th of October, the corpse was brought from Charter-house Square, and buried in the church-yard ; on the following Monday a head-stone was placed over her grave, with this inscription : — In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Emma Thomas, who died the 28th October, 1806, aged 27 years. She had no fault save what travellers give the moon ; Her light was lovely, but she died too soon. WALK THE THIRD. S7I A letter being received by the Coroner, intimating a strong stispicion that there had been some foul play with regard to the deceased, grounded on the facts of her dying, being buried, and a stone erected to her memory, in the short space of three days, application was made to the parish-officers to have the grave opened, which was done, and the body removed into the church for the inspection of a Jury. On exami- nation, a large wire pin, which had been thrust through the left side of the body, was found sticking in the heart ; a circumstance sufficient to confirm the suspicions which had been previously entertained. It however appeared in evidence, that the deceased had been for some time indisposed, and had received proper medical assistance, but at length fell a victim to the violence of her disorder. Further, that a gentleman with whom she lived, being obliged to embark imme- diately for the Continent, was desirous of seeing her interred previously ; and that it was at her own request that the pin was inserted by the medical gentleman who attended her, after the body had been placed in the coffin, to prevent the possibility of her being buried alive. These circumstances being proved, and nothing appearing to criminate any of the parties con- cerned, the Jury returned a verdict of " Died by the visitation of God." The relatives of the deceased, after the necessary application to Doctors' Commons, removed the corpse on the 8th of the following month, in a new coffin, to the Tabernacle, Tottenham Court Road, where it was interred a second time. The stone bearing the foregoing inscription remained for some time where it was first erected. 272 WALK THE THIRD. '' Thomas Cooke, buried 30th August, 1811, aged 85." — A celebrated miser, who resided many years in Winchester Place, PentonviUe. Many curious anec- dotes are given of this extraordinary character, in his ** Life," published by Mr. W. Chamberlaine, a surgeon of Clerkenwell. 12mo. 1814. *' Olive, only daughter of the late Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, by his first Duchess, baptized Sept. 6, 1821. Bom April 3d, 1772." The claim of kindred to the Royal Family which was set up by this lady, and the proceedings which she took to establish a certain pecuniary demand against the re- presentatives of George III., are circumstances with which the public are well acquainted. — The following paragraph, illustrative of the above baptismal record, appeared in " The Traveller'' newspaper, Sept. 12, 1821 :— " Royal Christening. — The public will be sur- prised and amused at the following relation which we have from a correspondent, of the baptism of a full- groum Princess, which took place at Islington Church a few days ago. About 11 o'clock in the forenoon of Thursday last, the carriage, apparently of a person of rank, was observed standing at the door of the curate, which was soon afterwards driven to the gate of the church-yard. The curiosity of the neighbouring in- habitants was much excited on seeing a portly well- dressed dame, apparently about 50, handed from the coach by a dashing young fellow of not more than half her age, and tp whom it was concluded the lady was now about to bestow her fair hand at the altar. The parson, the lady, and her firiend, were sometime in the WALK THE THIRD. 273 churchy the party not having thought it necessary even to send for the parish-clerk to record the proceeding. The curiosity excited by this mysterious proceeding, remained ungratiiied till the secret became known to those whose prying inquisitiveness led them the day after to peep into the Parish Register, where the matter stands clearly developed in the following terms: * 1821, Sept. 6, baptized, Olive, only daughter,' ftc." —Our self-styled "Princess" died November 21st, 1834. The church and church-yard together occupy 1 acre and 20 perches. An enclosed cemetery, containing 3 roods, 2 perches, was annexed to the latter, by vir- tue of an Act passed for that purpose, (33 Geo. III.) entitled " An Act for enlarging the church-yard or cemetery of the Parish-church of St. Mary Islington, in the County of Middlesex,*' The copyhold of this ground cost 1200/. and 1081. was paid for the enfran- chisement. It was consecrated by the Bishop of the Diocese, December 18, 1793. The iron rails were placed upon the dwarf wall in front of the church about the year 1802. A few of the most remarkable Monumental In- icriptionsy in the church and church-yard, shall be here transcribed. There is to the full the usual pro- portion of these memorials on the walls of the interior of the building ; and the cemetery is so crowded, that it was very recently necessary to give public intima- • tion that the oldest would be removed, unless restored at the expense of the friends of the deceased parties, in order to make room for such new tomb-stones as should be required to be erected. T 274 WALK THE THIRD. In the Church : — At the east end of the south aisle is a neat marhle monument, enclosed with iron rails, to perpetuate the memory of Dame Alice Owen, and containing the fol- lowing inscription, taken from her monument in the old church : ** Under the hope of the refliurection, *' Here lyeth the hody of AUee Owen, widowe, the daughter of Thomas Wilkes. She was first married to Henry Robinson, by whom she had six sonnes, John, William, Henry, John, Thomas, and Heniy; which said Henry the younger was married unto Mary, the daughter of Sir William Glover, Knt Alderman of London ; and five daugh- ters, Maigaret, married to Sir John Bret, of Edmunton, in the Co. of Middz. Knt. ; Susan ; Ann ; and Ann the youQger, married to Robert Rich, of Homdon on the Hill, in the Co. of Essex, Esq. ; and Alice, married to John Washbome, of Wichingford, in the Ca of Worcester, Esq. " The second husband was William Elkin, Esq. Alderman of the City of London, by whom she had issue only Ursula Elkin, married to Sir Roger Owen, of Condover, in the Co. of Salopp, Knt *' The third husband was Thomas Owen, one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas to Queen Elizabeth." After which followed, on the original tomb : — " This matron having advanced and enriched all her children, kept greate hospitalitie : shee also in her life time so furthered the pub- lique weale of this state, as her charitable deeds to the Cittie of London, both Universities, Oxford and Cambridge, eapecialie this towne of Islington, can testifie; a monument of her piety to future ages being extant in the S. end of this Towne, more worthie and largelie expressing her piety than these gowlden letters, as much as deedes are above wordes. She having lived religiously to God, sufficientlie for nature, but not for her children and friends, her just soulle is in the hands of the Ahnightie, when her bodie de- parted on the aSth day of November, anno d'ni 1613.'* WALK THE THIRD. 275 But the words now subjoined to the first part of the inscription^ given above, are the following : — '* In the year 1751 the old church being taken down to be rebuilt, oc- casioned a large monument to the memory of the Lady Owen to be taken down likewise, which, by length of time and removing, wag lo much decayed and impaired as rendered it unfit to b«> replaced : in order therefore to preserve the memory of so good a Lady, the Worshipful Company of Brewers (Trustees to her Charities) caused this monument to be erected in the year 1764." The " large monument " referred to, was of white and veined marble, ornamented with two columns and an entablature of the Corinthian order. It contained an effigy of the lady it was intended to commemorate, reclining on her left side as reading a book, with figures also of eleven of her children and grand-chil- dren in a kneeling posture ; the whole enriched with cherubim, fruit, and foliage. Nine of the figures, (the lady*s own not included) were removed, on the pulling down of the church, to the free-school founded by her in St. John's Street Road, Clerkenwell ; being the " monument of her piety to future ages, extant at the S. end of this Towne," which was spoken of on her tomb. There they yet remain, occupying a stone slab placed over the entrance to the school-room, the edge of which is inscribed, " Part of Lady Owen's monument, 175S*." See Hist of Clerkenwell, p. 387. T 2 876 WALK THE THIRD. On a tablet near the preceding : *' To perpetuate, while this frail marble ihall endure, the meritorious exertions of an individual, and to excite the emulation of others, the Governors of the Royal Humane Society have caused this tablet to be inscribed, with the name of William Hawes, M. D. by whose personal and indefatigable labours, an Institution, honourable to, the Nation, and highly beneficial to the World at laiige, was founded, fostered, and matured. And long, very long, may it flourish, the Ornament and the Pride of Britain ! This excellent, unassumi n g, persevering Philanthropist, was bom in Islington, Nov. 28, 1796, died in Spital-square, Dec 6, 1808, and was buried on the 13th near these walls. Go, Reader I and imitate those virtuous actions, which the latest posterity will apphiud and venerate, and which the Recording Angel has registered in Heaven. WeU dime, good and faU/tfiU Servamti Enter thou into the joy of the Lord." At the bottom of the tablet is a medallion of the Doctor, within a wreath of oak leaves; and at the top a copy of the Humane Society's medal, with the motto, " Lateat scintillula forsan" At the east end of the north aisle is a black stone slab, bearing the effigies, in brass, of two figures, a male and a female, in praying attitudes : their lower WALK THE THIRD. S77 halves, and the inscription^ are covered by the pews. They represent the figures of Henry Saville, and his lady^ daughter of Thomas Fowler, Esq. At the top of the stone are two escutcheons, also in brass : one bears on a bend three owls, with a mullet in chief, the arms of Saville quartering those of Wyatt. The other is charged with the above, impaling the coat of Fowler. An adjoining slab, also half covered by the pews, bears a handsome brass canopy, part o^ which has been purloined, as have been two escutcheons from the upper part of the stone. In the Church Yard : — ** Here lyes the body of Richard Cloudesley, a good benefactor to this parish, who died 9 Henry VIII. anno Domino 1617." This was the original inscription to the memory of the donor of the Stone-Fields' estate \ whose tomb has always been kept in repair by the parish. In 1813 it was newly built, and inclosed with iron rails, on occasion of the bones of Cloudesley having been " found and deposited in a leaden coffin.** Launcelot Dowbiggin, citizen and joiner of London, died July 24, 1760, aged 70, Architect to this church in the year 1764. There is also an inscription to his memory in the interior of the edifice. David Donald, Esq. formerly a planter in the parish of Hanover, in the Island of Jamaica, died Sept. SO, 1807, aged 03. An eccentric character, who lived in Cumberland Row, and of whom Nelson says that he ** had his coffin made some time previous to his decease, and placed it in one of his rooms for a corner cupboard. 1 See Pages 84—91. 278 WALK THE THIRD. ' He is said to have returned one upon the hands of the undertaker, because it did not exactly please him on his getting into it*'* John Herd, late of the Costom- House, Gent and many years an inhabitant of this parish, who was barbarously murdered by foo^psds on Friday the 17th of May, 1782, aged SI. This gentleman, who had lodgings at Canonbuij House, had been detained in town on the &tal day till about 1 1 o'clock, in settling some matters relative to the marriage of his niece, which was to have taken place the next morning, with a Captain Best, of ^e 93nd regiment, who, with two servants, was accom* panying him to Ishngton. In the foot-path between the Shepherd and Shepherdess and the Prebend-field, near to where the canal now is, they were attacked by four footpads. Mr. Herd, who was a very stout man, six feet high, and who had been often heard to declare that he would never submit to be robbed, offered some resistance ; when one of the villains, dis- charging a blunderbuss, blew off the fore part of his head. One of the servants, who was armed with a pistol, which he attempted to fire at the thieves, re- ceived a wound on the arm with a cutlass. Captain Best, and the other servant, escaped unhurt. Gray, a notorious ruffian, who perpetrated the murder, was soon afterwards taken and executed; as was also Stunnell, and others of this desperate gang. Rev. William Parry, died 4th May, 1810, aged 72» Minister of Charlotte Street Chapel, and Lecturer of Cripplegate, at which latter place he is said to have once introduced a human skull, as an illustration of his discourse from the pulpit. WALK THE THIRD. 279 Horatio Mucklow, Esq. died 27th July, 1816, aged 61. An inhabitant of Highbury, who bequeathed a legacy to Mr. Powell, the parish clerk, on condition that (he latter would see his head separated from his body previous to interment, to prevent his being buried alive. On the north and south sides of the church, near the walls, lie six slab stones, which appear to have been removed from the interior of the old structure, where they recorded the interment of persons of note, having been charged with lai^ figures and escutch- eons in brass, of which they have: been shamefully deprived. The rage for destroying all such relics of superstition (as they were considered) that prevailed from the time of the Reformation to the end of the Civil War, is known to have /been excessive; and was, in all probability, the cause of the demolition of these brasses, or of their conversion into money, for the benefit of some persons whose zeal for acquiring " coyned silver" was, like Dr. Hanmer's^ as great as their enthusiasm against popery. Had they remained on the stones at the time the old church waii pulled down, they would doubtless have been placed in the new building, as in the case of those to the memory of Henry Saville and his wife, lately mentioned. * Vicar of this parish in 1683, at which time he also held the living of Shoreditch. (See page ^9,) Weever (in his " Funeral Monu- ments," p. 427) tells us of this clerg3rman, that " for covetousness of the brass, which he converted into coyned silver, he plucked up many plates fixed on the grave-stones, and left no memory of such as had been buried under them." This was said of his behaviour at Shore- ditch ; but, did opportunity serve, it is but too possible that he re- peated it at Islington. 280 WALK THE THIRD. We quit this part of our subject with the remark^ that in the church vault are two coffins of cast iron, made many years before the patent was obtained for iron coffins, in which are deposited the bodies of Griies, and his wife, formerly inhabitants of the City Gardens. Also one of cedar, with a cover similar to the gable roof of a house, containing the body of Justice Palmer, and made according to his own direc- tions, with a view to resist the attacks of worms, and to prevent any other coffin being placed upon his. Here too is a coffin bound round with iron chains, for better security ; and one which Nelson described as having " a piece of glass fixed in the lid, for the con- venience of viewing the face of the lady whose body it contains.** RuffbrcTs Buildings^ on the right as we pursue our walk from the Church, bears the date 1688, and is supposed to have been built by Captain Nicholas Rufford, who was churchwarden in 1690. On the same site, before these houses were built, there is said to have stood an old mansion, which Mr. Ellis ^ con- jectured to have been the residence of the Fowler family, before they inhabited the house we formerly described as their's in Cross Street. Another *' RvffordCs Buildings,'' with the date 1685, occurs near the south end of the village, and was -erected, in all probability, by the same gentleman. On the opposite side of the way we notice a large and handsome house, built for an academy in 181^, by Mr. Flower, who had previously resided on the * Campag. Lond. page 96. WALK THE THIRD. 281 same spot, but in a house of a very diiierent character. The prior structure, in which Mr. F. had for many years carried on his school, appeared to be of the Elizabethan era, being chiefly composed of wood and plaster, with stuccoed ceilings, carved chimney-pieces, &c. One of the latter represented Paradise, with the tree of knowledge, and the figures of Adam and Eve. Another, not discovered till the premises were pulled down, (having been concealed by one of more modem date), displayed the arms of England before the Union with Scotland, and the initials of Elizabetha Regina. Upwards of thirty testons (a silver coin of Henry VIII.) were found under the floors of the different apartments. Between eighty and ninety years back, this old house was kept as a boarding-school for young ladies, by a Mrs. Science, the wife of an ingenious watch-maker of that name. After her death, Mr. John Shield, who had married the daughter of Mrs. S., first opened it as a boys* school ; and among his pupils were those two eminent natives of Islington, the late Dr. Hawes, founder of the Humane Society, and the late John Nichols Esq. F.S. A. Mr. Shield dying in 1786, was succeeded by Mr. John Price, whose death in 1793 is recorded on a stone in the church-yard. Mr. Flower was his successor : and to him succeeded Mr. Edgeworth, the present occupant and master of this long established and flourishing academy'. > The number of SehooU which have been kept at Islington almoit from time immemorial, is a circumstance well deserving of remark. Samuel Clark, the learned Orientalist, and one of the editors of the Polyglot Bible, was a schoolmaster here about the year IS50 (A then. S8S WALK THE THIRD. Mr. Eklgeworth*8 academyy previously so well known, m derived an accession of notoriety, as well as of intrinsic usefulness, from the establishment of the Islington Literary and Scientific Society, in a very eligible part of the premises, in the year 18SS. We shaU give a succinct history of the rise and proceedings of this Society, chiefly from its own well-drawn Reports. In the summer of the year 183S, a few gentlemen of the vicinity, members of a book-club, having wit- nessed the formation of literary societies in various parts of the country and metropolis, were led to turn their attention to the establishment, in Islington, of an institution of that nature, which should afford the benefit of lectures in the most important departments of knowledge, a library for circulation and reference, a reading-room, a museum for objects of natural his- Oxon. vol. ii.) ; as, about 1672, wai the Rev. Thomas Doolittle, M.A. of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, and rector of St Alphage, London Wall. He ** fitted several young men for the ministry," (among whom was the eminently pious Matthew Henry), and is said to have been the last of the ejected ministers in or about London. Among his works are, " A Treatise of the Lord's Supper ;" " Young Man's Instructor, and Old Man's Remembrancer ;" " Earthquakes explained, and im- proved;" " Complete Body of Divinity," &c Mr. Doolittle was suc- ceeded in his school by the Rev. John Shower, an eminent presbyte- rian divine, and author of several esteemed works. The Rev. Robert Ferguson, vicar ofGodmersham, Kent, some time after his ejectment, taught University learning at Islington. — ^The Rev. Ralph Button, M. A. Fellow of Merton College, Oxon. and Professor of Geometry in Gresham College, &c. also kept an academy here, and Sir Joseph Jekyll was one of his pupils. He died in October, 1680, and was buried in the church. — James Burgess, M.A. rector of Ashprington, Devon, kept a boarding-house at Islington, for the sons of citixens who went to a flourishing school kept by Mr. Singleton, and died here about teas. WALK THE THIRD. tory> and, ccHinected with these, periodical meetiiigs of the members for readings, and the occasional dis- cussion of questions in science and literature. Their first object was to ascertain whether the public opinion was likely to coincide with their own, and whether there existed a disposition among their neighbours to welcome and encourage such an undertaking. Circu- lar letters were therefore distributed, containing an outline of the proposed plan, and inviting the concur- rence of the inhabitants ; and, on the ^th November, 1832, a public meeting was held at Canonbury Tavern, at which it was unanimously resolved that a Literary and Scientific Society should be established ; wd a Provisional C!ommittee wa$ appointed to make the necessary preparations, and to compile a series of regulations for the government of the new Insti- tution. On the 21st January, 1833, a Second Public Meet- ing was held, when the collection of Rules proposed by the Provisional Committee was taken into con- sideration, and adopted ; and at a Third Meeting, held on the 4th February, 1833, the Society was finally established, and the officers elected. On the 18th February ensuing, the rooms now oc- cupied by the Society, being the most central and convenient that presented themselves, were fitted up, furnished, and opened to the Members. The objects of the Society, as laid down in the Rules, were principally four :-^The division of useful knowledge, by means of readings, discussions, lectures, and experiments ; — the collection of a library ; — the formation of a museum ; — and the purchase of philo- 284 WALK THE THIRD. sophical apparatus. Several g^ndemen, members of the Society, kindly offered to deliver, gratuitously, courts o( Lectures; and they were commenced on the 8th of March, 1833, and continued weekly until the dose of the season. The President, Charles Wood- ward, Esq. of Compton Terrace, commenced with two lectures on Pneumatics ; and these were followed by two on Hydrostatics, by James J. Downes, Esq. ; by two more on the Component Parts of Air and Water, by the President ; and by four on Geology, by W. M. Higgins, Esq. F.G.S. the Honorary Curator. On the termination of the Lectures, the Monthly Meetings of the Society commenced, and have been continued, with but little interruption, to the present time. At these meetings, various papers of consider- able merit, the composition of members, have been read ; and from the interest which the literary essays have excited, and the discussions which are beginning to arise at these periodical meetings, there is little doubt that they will eventually take their plaee among the most important means of effecting the objects of the Institution. The Lectures for the succeeding season commenced, on the 10th October, 1833, with an Introductory one by the Honorary Curator, and were continued in the following order: — Two Lectures on Heat, by the Honorary Curator ; two on the Nature and History of Geography, by the Rev. D. Davison, A.M.; three on Heraldry, by William Newton, Esq. ; five on Me- chanics, by James J. Downes, Esq. ; two on Music, by Edward Holmes, Esq. ; and six on Astronomy, by John Wallis, Esq.: and these were followed by a 12 WALK THE THIRD. S8d Course on French Literature, by Monsieur Lambert ; on Mathematical and Physical Geography, by the Rev. D. Davison; on Electricity, by the President; on Electro-magnetism and Thermo-electricity, by the Curator; and on Botany, by Mr. Charles Johnson. The season 1884-35 opened, on the SOth of Octo- ber, with an introductory Lecture by the Honorary Curator, which was followed by Lectures on Astro- nomy by the same gentleman ; on Practical Astronomy, by IVlr. Christie; on Entomology, by Mr. Charles Johnson ; on Physical Education, by Mr. Elliott ; on Magnetism, by Mr. Downes; on Music, by Mr. Smith; on Chemistry, by Mr. Pereira ; on Education, by Monsieur Lambert; on Oratory, by Mr. Robert James Ball, B.A. ; on Poetry, by Mr. C. C. Clarke ; on Optics, by the President ; on the Philosophy of Natural History, by Mr. Robert Mudie; on Vol- canoes, by the Honorary Curator ; and on the Nerv- ous System, by Mr. T. King. In their selection of books for the Library , the CoDunittee were guided by the proper desire to pro- cure the best works of the best authors, on all subjects, literary and scientific, and to mingle with them some of the most usefiil and entertaining volumes, selected from the literature of the day, as they were published. The periodical publications in most repute were, and continue to be, regularly laid upon the table of the Reading-room, which is also provided with the leading morning and evening journals. The Library, in addition to works purchased from the funds of the Society, also contains many valuable books, which have been liberally presented to it by its men^bers and S86 WALK THE THIRD. others^ It now consists of upwards of 1900 volumes, and is steadily increasing. Since the formation of the Socie^ more than 6000 issues of these yolomes have taken place : of which number two-thirds occurred in the year 18849 a £ict which affords a pleasing evidence of the increasing utility of this branch of the Institu- tion. A catalogue has been compiled and printed, which has greatly facilitated the circulation of the books. For the articles which at present constitute the Museum^ the Society is almost entirely indebted to the kindness of friends : but presents in this branch have accumulated upon the Institution ; among which, it would be injustice not to mention the valuable contri- butions of Mrs. Kennaway, of Charmouth, presented by Mr. John Middleton ; of Mr. Middleton himself; of Mr. Richard Dillon ; and the repeated and impor- tant donations of Abraham lincolne, Esq. To Mr. R. Martin also, the Society is indebted for a collection of British and Foreign Birds, amounting to eighty spe- cimens. The whole number of articles exceeds 1500. With regard to Philosophical Apparatus, the foundation of a valuable collection of instruments for the prosecution of scientific inquiries has been laid, assisted by several handsome donations from the Pre- sident and others. Other objects, of a collateral nar ture to those detailed, are also in various stagey of maturity ; among which may be mentioned the institu^ tion of Classes for the study of Natural and Experi- mental Philosophy, of the French Language and Lit- erature, &c. The following statement will be found to convey all WALK THE THIRD. 287 the requisite information to persons wtio may become desirous of joining this highly usefiil and flourishing Institution : The Society consists of Proprietary, Ordinary, Ho- norary, and Corresponding Members. Persons purchasing a 10/. share, and paying an Annual Subscription of 1/. Is. become joint proprie- tors of the Society's stock, and are entitled to personal admission to the Reading Rooms, Library, Museum, and Lecture Room, and to the use of the books and apparatus (under the regulation of the Committee) ; they are also qualified to vote at General Meetings, are eligible to all offices, have the privilege of intro- ducing members of their families, on payment of a Subscription of 1/. Is. per annum each, to all the personal advantages of the Institution, and have a second ticket of admission to the lectures, which is transferable. Ordinary Members, on payment of a Subscription of 2/. 2s, per annum, are entitled to personal admis- sion to the Reading Rooms, Library, Museum, and Lecture Room, and to the use of the books and appa- ratus as above : or, on payment of 20L in one sum, are entitled to the same advantages for life. Honorary and Corresponding Members are ad- mitted for life to all the privileges enjoyed by Ordinary Members. The officers are appointed annually by ballot. Meetings of the Society are held on the first Friday in each month during the season appointed for the de- livery of lectures ; and on the first Thursday in each month throughout the remainder of the year. 288 WALK THE THIRD. The Library and Reading Rooms are open from Eight o'clock in the morning till Ten o'clock in the evening; and the museum from nine o'clock in the morning until dusk. Books are issued and received from Nine to Two, and from Six to Eight o'clock. Additions to the Library are made regularly, as fiur as the funds of the Society will permit ; and a book is kept, in which the recommendations of members for the purchase of books, apparatus, and other articles, are entered. Applications to become Proprietary or Ordinary Members may be made through any Member of the Society or the Librarian ; and a copy of the Rules may be seen at the rooms. The Members now enroUed on the Books of the Society consist of — Proprietors 130 Ordinary Members • . • • 80 Resident ditto 61 Making a total of . . . • 271 In a house which formerly stood opposite Cross- street, resided Dr. William Pitcaim, who, about fifty years ago, commenced a Botanical Garden, upwards of four acres in extent, behind it. Dr. Pitcaim was bom at Dysart, in Scotland, in the year 1711. He graduated at Ley den; and in 174d had the degree of Doctor in Physic conferred on him by the University WALK THE THIRD. S89 of Oxford. In the succeeding year he was elected a Fellow of the Collie of Physicians, and their Pre- sident in 1775. He died at Islington, November 25, 1791, at the age of eighty. His garden ceased at his death to be devoted to its original purposes, though it is still under cultivation for the common vegetables of our country and climate. It yet contains a few of the exotic trees and plants introduced by the Doctor. Mr. J. Wood, who inhabits one of the three newly- built houses which stand on the site of the old man- sion, at present rents it. The house, No. 119, Upper Street, inhabited by Mrs. Cross, widow of Mr. James Cross, coal mer- chant, and churchwarden in 1809, attracts the general observation of passengers^ Its ancient front is of wood, and being almost entirely enveloped vnth ivy, presents a singular and picturesque appearance. The Terrace, Upper Street, stands distinguished by its elevation above the highway. The corner house. No. 11, is made remarkable by an atrocious attempt at murder which took place within it in the year 1817. On the 6th of June in that year, Mr. Semple, surgeon, was sent for by Mrs. Corrie, the occupant of the house in question, to visit her servant, Jane Greenslade, a woman about fifty years old, who had been desperately wounded on the head and various parts of the body, by a villain whose intention ap- peared to have been to murder both these females, and then to rob the premises^ John Clifibrd Elisha, the perpetrator of this outrage, had formed an ac- quaintance with Jane Greenslade, by having often come to the house with messages to her mistress. u 990 WALK THE THIRD. The day before the dreadfiil act, he dropped a letter down the area, appointing to visit her on the follow- ing afternoon. He came, partook of tea, and sat some hours in seemingly friendly conversation with the poor woman, whom he was only watching his opportunity to destroy. She was required to take up her mistress's supper; and, on her return to the kitchen, Elisha attacked her with the poker, with which he fractured her scull, and, by repeated blows, inflicted other very serious injiuries. But an alarm being given, he made his escape by a back way, and shortly appeared among the crowd at the front door, whose account he listened to, and then said he would go for a constable ! This he seemed to do ; but was not again heard of till about two years afterwards, though a reward of £50 was ofiered for his apprehen- sion. The poor woman recovered from the murderous attack, though her life was at first despaired of: and Elisha, when tried for the offence at the Old Bailey, in 1819, was merely convicted of an atsauU on Jane Greenslade, and sentenced to one year's imprison- ment, and bound, with two sureties, to keep the peace for seven years ! Ions*s well-known Riding-Houie, on the same side of the street, is a re-building, after an accidental fire that took place in 1796. It became the head-quarters of the Islington Volunteer Cavalry and Infimtry dur- ing the existence of that corps, and was approfHJated to their drills and esfercise in wet weather. Some members of the Society of Friends, usually called Quakers, have also, at times, assembled here for public worship and religious admonition; when they have WALK THE THIRD. 291 invited the attendance of the inhabitants at large. More latterly, and since linsburjf became entitled to send members to Parliament, the Riding-house has been twice used as a place of assemblage for the friends of the popular candidate, T. S. Duncombe, Esq., at this time M; P. for the borough. The equestrian school, so long established here, continues to maintain its reputation. Tyndale Place, the handsome row of houses ad- joining, was built about the year 179S, and received its name from Colonel Tyndale, of a fiunily in the west of England, who at that time possessed the copyhold. The plot of ground, containing 2 acres and 20 perches, whereon stands Homsey Row, and the eight adjoining houses in Canonbury Lane, is a copyhold estate belonging to the parish of Homsey. It was left by Rc^er Draper, Esq. in the reign of Charles II. for the purpose of placing out poor boys : £20 per annum is all that the charity at present derives from this estate. A house at the south end of Homsey Row was formerly a public-house, called ^* The Castle,*' . where a mineral water was sold, procured from a spring in the garden. Comptan Terrace, bearing the family name of the Marquis of Northampton, at this time extends from Canonbury Lane nearly to the termination of the Upper Street on the east side. It was commenced, about thirty years back, by the building of the chapel which now forms the centre, and the four houses, two on each side, which adjoin it. These, with the houses forming the north side of Canonbury Square, u2 r 292 WALK THE THIRD. were erected by Mr. H. Leroux, under a building lease, granted by Lord Northampton, of about twenty acres of land, lying between Canonbury and Hopping Lanes. The phapel itself, called Union Chapel^ was built by some gentlemen forming part of a congregational society of opulent and respectable individuals in this parish, in lieu of a place of worship belonging to them in Highbury Grove. The property is divided into transferable shares of £100. each, with pews attached. It is a very neat brick edifice, with a frontispiece of Portland stone, crowned with a turret, and is capable of accommodating 1000 persons. It was first opened for divine service in August, 1806; when two sermons were preached, the one by the Rev. Mr. Gauntlet, M.A., a clergyman of the Esta- blished Church at Reading, and the other by the Rev. David Bogue, M. A., a Dissenting minister of Gosport. The galleries of this elegant structure are panelled with fine mahogany, inscribed in gilt letters with passages selected from the Bible. The beautiful pulpit and reading-desk are composed of mahogany and satin-wood, as are the whole of the reading-slabs in the pews. The altar is formed by pillars, and their entablature, of the Ionic order ; the inter- columniations containing the Decalogue, &c. in gilt letters on a black ground. Union Chapel, as the name imports, belongs exchh sivehf to no party ; it is open to Evangelical ministers of the Church of England and of Scotland, and to all Dissenting communions holding, in the main, the'same doctrines as the Establishment. / The Rev. Thomas TlN'nDf^l VMAIPS,!, WALK THB THIRD. 293 Liewis has been many years minister of the congrega- tion. In the vestry-room is an excellent portrait of this gentleman, painted by J. Tibbatts, from which an engraving was published in 1815. An etching of the chapel was also published by £. Bell, in 1820. A school for clothing and educating 50 girls has been established at Union Chapel for several years; to which was added, in 1814, a school for 50 boys. Here is also a " Maternal Society," for supplying poor married women with child-bed linen, and other neces- saries ; and a ** Benevolent Society," for visiting and relieving the sick poor ; both supported chiefly by the congregation. Bamesbury Lane, which &ces Union Chapel, is laid down as a public thoroughfare in the plan dated 1735, though long appropriated as a private way by the late Mr. Richard Laycock. A committee appointed by vestry, in 1822, reported the lane to be un- doubtedly a public way, and the constable of Upper Bamesbury presented Mr. Laycock's encroachment as a nuisance: yet the matter has slept from that period till the present, though now (May, 1835) again one of the subjects for consideration before the vestry. Mr. Laycock, who carried on the very considerable dairy-farm here situated, was, from the extent and diversity of his agricultural and other concerns, one of the most eminent farmers and general undertakers in the neighbourhood of the metropolis. He occupied many hundred acres of land in Islington and its vicinity, and was celebrated for the annual number and value of his hay-stacks. One of the latter, which stood in Du-Val's Lane, in the summer of 1808, 894 WALK THE THIRD. 'measured 144 feet in length, and contained upwards of SOO loads. Two others, valued at 2,6O0L, were destroyed by fire in July, 181S, through the instru- mentality, as was supposed, of an incendiary. Mr. Middleton, in his *' View of the Agriculture of Middlesex," observes, that, '' in the art of hay- making, the Middlesex farmers are superior to those of any other part of the island, and may be said, indeed, to have reduced it to a regular system : even in the most unfavourable weather, the method pur- sued by them is better than any other practised under similar circumstances/' Mr. Foot, also, in his '' Agri- cultural Report*' on this county, describes pretty accurately the practice of the Islington farmer, in regard to the management of his stock. He says, '' The cows are, during the night, confined in stalls : about three o'clock in the morning each has a half bushel basket of grains. From four o'clock to half- past six, they are milked by the retail dealers. When the milking is finished, a bushel basket of turnips is given to each cow; and very soon afterwards they have an allotment, in the proportion of one truss to ten cows, of the most grassy and soft meadow hay, which has been the most early mown, and cured of the greenest colour. These several feedings are generally made before eight o'clock in the morning, at which time the cows are generally turned into the cow-yard. About twelve o'clock they are again confined to their stalls, and served with the same quantity of grains as they had in the morning. About half-past one o'clock in the afternoon the milking recommences, and con- tinues till near three, when the cows are again served WALK THE THIRD. ^5 with the same quantity of turnips ; and about an hour afterwards with the same distribution of hay as before described. This mode of feeding generally continues during the turnip season, which is from the month of September till the month of May. During the other months in the year, they are fed with grains, cabbages, tares, and the foregoing proportion of rouen or second-cut meadow hay, and are continued to be fed and milked with the same regularity as before described, until they, are turned out to grass, when they continue in the field all night; and even during this season they are fed with grains, which are kept sweet and eatable for a considerable length of time, by being buried in pits made for that pur- pose." Mr. Laycock had sometimes more than 10,000 quarters of graiius at once under preservation by the mode described: and the cows, being accustomed to this feed throughout the year, are not found to abate their partiality for it even when in a state approach- ing to acidity. Their calves are generally sent to Smithfield when two or three days old, and are bought by jobbers and others to be reared or fattened for the market. Those cows which give the most milk, are not found, in general, sufficiently produc- tive to be kept longer than three or four years ; after which they are fattened, and sold to the butchers. The quantity of milk yielded by each cow, has been averaged at nine quarts per day. The retail dealer generally agrees with the cow-keeper for the produce of a certain number of the animals, undertaking to milk them; certain persons being employed in the cow-house, called milkers, who are paid by the retailer. 296 WALK THE THIRD. The milk is sold 4>y the cow-keeper, at so much the bam gallon (which contains eight quarts); but, in delivering it to the consumer, a vast increase takes place, not only in the price, but in the quantity, through the liberality with which wfUer is admit- ted into the composition^. The milk is conveyed from the cow-house, and sold, principally by robust Welch girls, and Irish women ; and it is amazing to witness the fatigue these females undergo, and the hilarity and cheerfulness that prevail among them, and which tend so greatly to lighten their very labo- rious employment. Even in the most inclement weather, and in the depth of winter, they arrive here in parties from different parts of the metropolis by three or four o'clock in the morning, laughing and singing to the music of their empty pails : with these, when filled, they return to town; and the weight they are thus accustomed to carry on their yokes, for the distance of several miles, is sometimes from 100 to 180 pounds. From the great labour connected with the business of a farm of this description, especially in the bringing of turnips, potatoes, grains, &c. from places at consider- able distances, a large stock of heavy carriages and 1 " The milk^room is mostly funiished with a pump, to which the retail dealers apply in rotation, not secretly, but openly, and pump water into the milk Teasels at their discretion ; the pump being pkced there expressly for that purpose, and but seldom used for any other. A considerable cow-keeper in Surrey has a pump of this kind, which goes by the name of the Black Cow, from its being painted of that colour; and it is said to yield more than all the rest put together." —MiddletwCi View, p. 423. WALK THE THIRD. ^7 horses is absolutely necessary. Numerous carts and waggons were kept for these and other purposes by Mr. Laycock^ and upwards of 100 horses. The cost of these, together with that of the many other farm- ing requisites, if added to the value of the stock of cows (whose average number is stated to have been from 6 to 700) will give some idea of the magnitude and importance of the concern which that gentleman carried on in this parish. But, not content with this, Mr. L. also erected commodious sheds and stand- ings, for the reception of cattle on their way to Smithfield-market, capable of containing some thou- sands of bullocks and sheep ; and derived, no doubt, a considerable revenue therefrom. Besides which, of late years, he caused many acres of ground contiguous to his farm to be dug. up for the purpose of brick- making \ Still, on the decease of Mr. Laycock, in May, 1834, his actual property was found to have been swelled by common report to a magnitude which very far exceeded the facts. At a handsome entrance for carriages and foot- passengers, we begin to ascend the gentle eminence, * The quantity of bricks that have been made at Islington, and its neighbourhood, within the last 60 years, is incalculable ; and it would appear that the manufacture has been of considerable standing in the place. In a report made to the Lord Treasurer, by Fleetwood, the Recorder of London, about the year 1580, concerning the police of the metropolis, it was stated, that " the chief allurers'* of the rogues and vagabonds of those times were " the Savoy, and the Brick-kilns near Islington."— (iSeymouf't Survey, ii. 326.) The brick earth averages at from four to five feet in depth ; and every acre is cal- culated to produce a million of bricks ; of which, it is said, that an experienced hand will mould from 7»000 to 10,000 in a single day ! WALK THE THIRD. upon which stands Highbury Place, — decidedly oae of the finest rows of domestic buildings in the envi- rons of the metropolis. The ''Place" consists of thirty-nine houses, mostly on a laige scale, with good gardens befaind, and allotments of meadow-land across the road in front. The site was the freehold estate of the late John Dawes, Esq., who, between the years 1774 and 1779, granted it in parcels, upon building leases, to Mr. John Spiller, who erected all these houses, and resided and died in No. 39. The specu- lation was, for some time, any thing but a profitable one to Mr. Spiller, many of the houses remaining long unoccupied, and others being let at very low rents. For many years past, however, these resi- dences have been consid^ed, in every point of view, so desirable, as to command thrice the sums for which they were let to the original inhabitants. The celebrated Abraham Newland, Esq., Chief Cashier of the Bank of England, lived for a consider- able period at No. 38. He was the son of Mr. Wm. Newland, a baker, of Castle Street, St. Mary Overy's, Southwark, in whose house he was born S3d April, 1730. At the age of eighteen he was appointed a clerk in the Bank of England, an establishment after- wards greatly indebted to his abiKty and honest inte- grity, qualities which the liberality of the persons from time to time concerned in the direction appre- ciated in a becoming manner. He appears to have risen by regular gradation till January, 178S, when he became Chief Cashier, with a liberal salary, and a suite of rooms. His attachment to his office was such, tliat for twenty»five years he never slept a WALK THE THIRD. 899 single night out of the building. His mind seemed so totally absorbed by his duties, that he appeared to exist only for the benefit of his employers. Indeed, the services he rendered to the Bank were of the most important kind : he was the -man always looked up to, and always consulted ; and, upon doubtftil points, his opinion was commonly decisive. When the Bank stopped payment in February, 1797, Mr. Newland's information, given before a Committee of the House of Lords, threw the chief light upon the circumstances which led to that measure, and upon the general con- cerns of the establishment. In 1803, an event oc- curred which embittered nearly all the remaining years of his active and useful life. A person of the name of Aslett, by his assiduous attention to business for a series of years, had so recommended himself to the Chief Cashier, that, by his means, he had risen fron^ a junior clerkship to one of the highest situations in the Bank, and seemed destined to succeed Mr. N. himself, not only in his office, but, as was commonly supposed, in the possession of his fortune. Yet, such was the blindness of this man to his own real interest, that he was found capable of committing a crime, which, though it was not followed by an ignominious death, consigned the remainder of his life to imprison- ment and expatriation. By his offence, which was that of embezzling Exchequer bills, the Bank lost 3^,000/. ; and the shock operated so severely upon Mr. New- land's mind, that he never entirely recovered from it. In September, 1807, afler nearly sixty years* service, he resigned his post ; and was presented by the Go- vernor and Company with a service of plate, valued 300 WALK THE THIRD. at one thousand guineas; while he declined to accept an annuity, which was also offered to him. Indeed, he lived scarcely two months after his resignation ; his death taking place at Highbury, November 21st, 1807, and his funeral on the 28th, in the church of St Sa- viour, Southwark. He died unmarried, leaving be- hind him property to the amount of 130,000/. A mezzotinto engraving, by Grozer, from his portrait painted for the Bank, is a good likeness of him in the prime of life ; as is one in the European Magazine for January, 1803, at a later period. The celebrity of his name, from its forming a prominent feature in the paper currency of the country for a number of years, gave rise to the well known song of ** Abra- ham Newland," written by Mr. C. Dibdin, Jun. Highbury Terrace stands to the north-west of High- bury Place, upon a more elevated spot, and consists of twenty-two houses, varying in size, but all of hand- some dimensions and aspect, built by various indivi- duals about the year 1789. They command, on a clear day, a fine view to the eastward, embracing Limehouse Church, Greenwich Hospital and Park, and the vessels navigating the river Thames. Between the Terrace and the mansion called " Highbury House,*' are two detached residences, finely situated in the midst of spacious gardens, shrubberies, &c. One of these bears the name of Highbury Lodge : the other, now occupied by Joseph Wilson, Esq., and called Highbury Hill, was, some years ago, the resi- dence of Dr. Wm. Saunders, an eminent physician, who published, among other works, a volume on Diseases of the Liver, and a Treatise on Mineral WALK THE THIRD. 801 Waters. Dr. S. was born in the north of Scotland in 174^9 studied at Edinburgh under the celebrated Dr. Cullen, and settled in the metropolis in the year 1766. He died in 1817. His portrait^ and a biogra- phical sketchy occur in the European Magazine for October, 1817. Highbury Grove is the name given to a line of buildings, of secluded character, which stand on the east side of a road running from Highbury to Canon- bury. The last house but one, in the occupation of J. £. Hadow, Esq., was the original chapel of the congregation which has assembled at Union Chapel since the erection of the latter. It.may be known by its receding front, stuccoed, and the flight of steps that forms its entrance. The only other remain of the chapel is a domed skylight in the centre of the roof, which serves to light the present staircase. Highbury House^ lately mentioned, occupies the site of the house, or " castle," which was the country- seat of the haughty Priors of St. John*. While Sir George Colebrooke was in possession of the fee-simple of the manor of Highbury, he sold the site of the old mansion within the moat ', and a considerable quan- tity of land adjoining, to John Dawes, Esq., a gentle- man who has been already more than once spoken of, and who, in the year 1781, erected the present hand- some and commodious house, with suitable offices, at an expense of nearly 10,000/. Mr. Dawes resided here from that period till his death, in January, 1788, when the house and premises were sold by auction, 1 See page 20, &c. * See page 23. 809 WALK THE THIRD. for £5,400, to William Devaynes, Esq., M.P., and a director of the East India Company. Being after- wards purchased, for 6000 guineas, by Alexander Aubert, Esq. F.R.S., that gentleman made very considerable improvements, and, among the rest, par- tially filled up the old moat, the whole of which has disappeared under the hands of succeeding tenants. Mr. Aubert also erected a lofty and spacious observa- tory, which he furnished with a complete collection of astronomical instruments, and a library of choice and valuable books ; and in a neighbouring turret, built for the purpose, he placed an excellent clock, which had belonged to the old church of St Peter le Poor, Broad Street. Upon his death, in 1805, the estate was purchased by John Bentley, Esq. ; and, ten years afterwards, by a Mr. Felton; who, having speculated largely in hops, failed in business soon after his com- ing to reside here. Mr. Knight, the eminent distiller, was his successor; and he was succeeded by John Gostling, Esq., the present owner of the property. The late Alexander Aubert^ Eeq. must be more particularly mentioned, as a gentleman peculiarly en- deared to the inhabitants of Islington by his unfailing politeness, good humour, and affability. He was bom in Austin-Friars, London, May 11th, 17S0, and received the rudiments of his education at Cheam Aea* demy, Surrey, at that time kept by Mr. Sanxay. He was then placed, for six or seven years, at a public school at Geneva, wherein he perfected himself in French and Italian: and the comet of 1744 making its appearance while he was in that seminary, his mind was directed by the circumstance to the study 12 WALK THE THIRD. 803 of astronomy^ the science of which he ultimately be- came so complete a master. Being destined to a mercantile life^ he passed some time in the counting* houses of eminent merchants in Geneva, Leghorn, and Genoa : after which he made the tour of Italy^ and was at Rome at the celebration of the jubilee in 1750. Having spent three years in Italy, he returned to London, was taken into partnership by his father, and was successively elected F.R.S., F.A.S., and a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences at Petersburgh. His favourite pursuit being astronomy, he built, in 1771, an observatory at Loampit Hill, near Deptford, and furnished it with the best instru- ments of the most eminent makers of the time. Being appointed one of the Trustees for the comple- tion of Ramsgate Harbour, he was unanimously called to the chair, on the death of Mr. Barker, in 1787 ; and, from that time, the works were carried on with unabated diligence. Under his auspices, Mr. Smea- ton undertook the office of engineer to that great undertaking; and, on one occasion, he and Mr. S. descended together in a diving bell, and remained for three quarters of an hour, examining the foundations of the pier, &c/ Mr. Smeaton was indebted to Mr. Aubert for various other advances in his profession, as well as for revising and correcting, for publication, his account of the building of Eddystone Light-house. In 1797, during the progress of the French Revo- lution, the inhabitants of Islington, at Mr. Aubert*s recommendation, formed themselves into a military 1 Smeaton'a ** Historical Report on Ramsgate Harbour/' 8vo. 1791 S04 WALK THETHIRD. society towards the defence of the country, of which he was elected the chief officer ; and, shortly after- wards, by his Majesty's commission, he was appointed lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the Loyal IsUng-' tan Volunteers. Tliis corps consisted of a regiment of infantry, and one of cavalry, the latter commanded by Captain Anderson, a London merchant; in all amount- ing to upwards of 300 effective members, who defrayed their own expenses, except those of arms and accoutre- ments, which were provided by Government. An unfortunate dispute between some of the officers and their Lieutenant-Colonel, was the cause of the break- ing up of this loyal and patriotic society about the beginning of the year 1801 : but the members at large, anxious to testify the high sense they entertained of the ability and soldierlike conduct of their comman- dant, presented him with a superb silver vase, of 800 guineas' value, bearing the following inscription : — " This Cup was presented by the late Corps of Loyal Islington Volunteers to Alexander Aubert, Esq. in testimony of their respect and esteem for him, in approbation of his firm and spirited behaviour in support of the honour and independence of the corps, previous to its general resignation, and in grateful acknowlecgment of his judicious and liberal conduct upon all occasions as their commander. Embodied the 4th of March, 1797; Unanimously resigned 20th of January, 1801, at that period consisting of 314 members. Cavalry and Infantry." WALK THE THIRD. 305 At the same time the Corps presented the Colonel with a respectful address, richly emblazoned on vel- lum, which was unanimously agreed to on the day of their resignation \ This truly worthy and respectable * We may be permitted to add some particulars relative to the revival of the Loyal UUngton Volunteers in 1803. The old threat at invasion being repeated, a meeting of the inhabitants was held at Canonbiiry Tavern, in July of that year, " to consider of the pro- priety of forming a military association for the defence of the country," &C. A subscription being entered into by the inhabitants for tho, purpose, a Volunteer Corps of Infantry was speedily established which soon arrived to great perfection, in order and discipline, under the instruction of Mr. Dickson, the a<]yutant, who had formerly served in the army* The following lines are part of some verses, written by a member of the corps, which were addressed to him on the presenta- tion of a sword in December, 1804 : — " Honour, that guides our Patriot band, Presents with an impartial hand, A sword of Merit, where 'tis due. To Zeal and Science, found in you. The day is yet but scarcely past. Rude was our corps, and form'd in haste ; Till, modeird by your just design. They march, they wheel, and form the line. Expert in onset, fierce to dose. Or pour a volley on their foes ; Or frequent by manceuvres skill'd. Seem bold for conquest in the field," &c.* This corps was commanded by Mr. Wheelwright, of Highbury, and consisted of about 900 members. Their uniform was a scarlet jacket turned up with black, light blue pantaloons, short gaiters, and beaver capa. The arms and accoutrements, as on the former occasion, were provided by Government The Loyal Islington Fotuntesrs continued their exercises till October, 1806, when, in consequence of their fund being found insufficient to answer the expenses of the establishment, * Monthly Mirror, vol. xix. p. A6. X 906 WALK THE THIRD. man died a bachelori October 19th| 1805, in the 76th year of his age, while on a visit to his friend, John Uoyd, Esq., at Wygfiiir, near St. Asaph. His re- mains, being brought to Islington, were interred in the vault beneath the church. In the parlour of the Angel and Crown is a whole length portrait of him^ dismounted, and holding his charger, as commanding officer of his corps. It was painted by Mather Brown. There is also a good likeness of him in the European Magazine for November, 1798, from a painting by Drummond. Until Mr. Dawes erected the present '' Highbury House," an old farm house, since converted into a pleasing residence, adjoining Highbury Tavern, used to be considered the manor-house. A large bam belonging to this farm ^ gave name to the tavern itself, through being incorporated with its premises, of which it has long formed the principal room. High- buty Bam, as it is consequently called, was originally an ale and cake house on a very small scale, and was in the family of Mr. Willoughby, the late occupier, for many years. The bowling-green, tea-^rdens, &c., were laid out by him ; and, through his zealous and persevering exertions, the prosperity of the concern, tiie corps was dissolved. A vote of thanks was given to their Commandant ; and Adjutant IMckson, having procured an Ensign's commission in the B2d regiment of foot, proceeded with the British army, under Lord Cathcart, to the attack upon Copenhagen, and was killed by a shot ftxmi a cannon, near Roeskilde, in the island of Zea- land, in the month of August, 1807. ' Bam, amongst milk-dealers, is synonymous with fanm (or dmy» farm, at least) : whence the term bam-meaturt, as applied to milk, in contradistinction to that by which it is retailed to the public. WALK THE THIRD. 307 before he left it, waS| perhaps, unequalled by that of any house, of a similar descriptioni in the environs. A great number of corporate bodies, public charities, clubs, and other societies, are accustomed to have their annual and other dinners at this place, at which from 1500 to 2000 people can, upon occasion, be accommodated. A dinner was once dressed here for a company of 800 persons, who all sat down to hot dishes ; on which occasion upwards of seventy geese were to be seen roasting at one fire. In June, 1808, the society of Ancient Freemasons, having been in procession to Islington Church, in their Masonic dresses, to the number of aboijt 1400, attended with several bands of music, &c., about 500 of them dined at Highbury Tavern ; while the lodge of the Jews was entertained at the Pied Bull, after their own manner, and the remainder were distributed among the other public-houses in the village. A similar procession and feasting were repeated here oil the 25th of June, 1810. On the birth-day of George III., 4th of June, 1818, the first annual celebration of the British and Foreign School Society, on the Lancasterian Plan of Education, was held here ; when the Duke of Sussex presided, and upwards of 4000 children, including nearly 300 boys of the Jewish per- suasion, walked hither in procession, and were exa- mined in the grounds. — The long room, at this time, contains two pictures, which formerly graced the walls of Sion House, the seat of the Duke of Northumber- land, and, after becoming, by purchase, the property of a former proprietor of the Grove House, Camber- well, passed into the hands of Mr. John Hinton, then X 2 808 WALK THE THIRD. of the Eyre Arms Tavern, St. John's Wood, the present occupant of Highbury Bam. They consist of a full- length portrait of a lady, dressed in the old style, and an historical piece, the subject of which is Venus lamenting over the dead body of Adonis. A number of genteel villas have been erected within the last few years on a very pleasing site, north of the Tavern, which has received the name of Highbury Park. Opposite to them stands a handsome row of houses, called Park Terrace^ several of which are as yet unfinished. The spot is justly celebrated for the beauty of its situation, commanding as it does delight- ful prospects of the surrounding country to a con- siderable extent. In former times, and till the esta- blishment of the waterworks at old London Bridge, in 1582, and the subsequent bringing of the New River from Hertfordshire, Highbury contained several of the Conduit Heads, which supplied the dty with water. Sir William Eastfield, Lord Mayor in 1438, ** a great benefactor to the water conduits,'* caused water to be conveyed from ^* Highbury,*' in pipes of lead, to the parish of St. Giles without Crippl^[ate, " where the inhabitants of those parts incastellated the same in sufficient cistemes^ ;'* and, in 1546, water was conveyed " in great abundance from divers springs lying betwixt Hoxton and Iseldon," to a conduit at the west end of the parish church of St. Margaret, Lothbury'. In the ancient survey of this manor before cited, a piece of ground in the lower part is called " the Conduit-field ;** and in Camden*s Britan- 1 Stow's Sunr. p. 308, &c. * Ibid. WALK THE THIRD. 309 nia, 1695, " an old stone conduit** is described as situate ** between Islington and Jack Straw*8 Castle/' which is also delineated in Ogilby's Book of Roads^ 1698. This conduit, which probably was the one formed by Sir William Eastfield, yet remains in the field opposite to No. 14, Highbury Place. The con- duit-house being removed, it is now arched over with brick, and its situation marked by an upright stone, which also points out the direction of the springs on the higher ground whence it receives its supply. From this ancient conduit, which remained open as a watering-place for cattle before the erection of Highbury Place, many of the houses there are now served with water, proper communications having been made, on building them, for that purpose. By these means it flows, into weUs or reservoirs, behind the houses, communicating with each other, the lower well receiving the surplus water when the upper one is filled. The pump at the west end of Hopping Lane is supplied from the same source. The Prior's ^house appears also to have been served with water from the springs of Highbury. On digging for the foundation of Highbury House, in 1781, a great number of pipes, made of red earth, baked, resem- bling those used for the conveyance of water about the time of Queen Elizabeth, were dug up^; and discoveries of leaden pipes have been made at dif- ferent times in the fields between Canonbury and Highbury. > Some of them were sold by Messrs. Leigh aod Sotheby, in July, 1810, amongst the curiosities collected by the late eminent antiquary, R. Gough, Esq. SIO WALK THE THIRD. On the north slope of Highbury Hill, overlooking the valley between that eminence and Highgate, stands Highbury College^ an institution which has for its object to bestow a liberal education for the Chris- tian ministry upon young men, whose views of doc- trine and church order agree with those of congrega- tional churches in general. It was first instituted at Mile-End, in the year 1783 ; removed to Hoxton in 1791 ; and to Highbury in 1826. The building forms three sides of a parallelogram, and commands a beau- tiful view from its garden or back front, towards Highgate, Hampstead, Homsey, &c. Its situation is in every respect healthful and pleasing, and well adapted to the purposes for which it was erected. The management of the College is vested in a Committee, chosen from the contributors, which meets on the second Friday of every month, or oflener if necessary, and of which the Treasurer and tutors are members ex officio. Candidates for admission must be single men, eighteen years of age and upwards, with such preparatory education in Latin as will enable them to read Virgil, and with some knowledge of fractional arithmetic and the elements of geography : their piety, and ministerial talents, must be attested by the pastor and church to which they belong, or by some other evidence satisfactory to the Committee. From themselves is required an account, in writing, of their religious experience, their doctrinal views, and their motives for desiring to enter the ministry. If their statement and testimonials be approved, they are subjected to an interview with the Committee, on whose recommendation they are admitted on a pro- WALK THE THIRD. Sll bation of three months. Applications, in reply to printed queries, are received at any monthly meeting. The time for admission is at the close of the Mid- summer vacation. The academical session commences at the beginning of September, and closes at the end of June in every year. The course of education comprises the Latin, Crreek, Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syriac languages ; the Belles Lettres; Intellectual and Moral Philosophy; the Elements of Mathematics; History; Biblical Criti- cism ; the Composition of Sermons ; Theology ; He- brew Antiquities, &c. After the first year» the Students have firequent opportunities of preaching, as occasional supplies to various congregations in the metropolis and its vicinity. Their general number varies from 40 to 45. Thomas Wilson, Esq., of Highbury Place, the Treasurer to this institution, gave 2000/. for the three acres of ground which formed the original site and premises ; and he has lately purchased an additional acre and a half, which he has added to his munificent first gift. The College, it is but justice to say, owes more to this gentleman, than it has done to any other individual benefactor since the date of its original foundation at Mile-End. After descending into Highbury Vale^ we notice a white house on the left, evidently of some antiquity, though much enlarged and altered in modem times, the appellation of which, from time immemorial, has been Cream Hall, It has been occupied for many years as a private residence; but was originally a farm-house, devoted, like that at Highbury, to the SIS WALK THE THIRD. business of a grass-fimni and the supply of the Lon- don milk-dealers ; a business which, perhaps, was the occasion of its name. From the Yale we again see before us the vast earthen channel, through which the New River has been now many years conducted, in lieu of the wooden aqueduct described in our tour of the boun- daries. The bridge, crossing the River at this spot, separates our parish from that of Homsey ; and forms the point, as our readers are aware, at which we pro- posed to terminate this pedestrian excursion. CHAPTER V. WALK THE FOURTH. WKOU THE KORTH END OF THE UPPER STREET, THROUGH LOWER AND UPPER HOLLOWAT, TO THE PARISH BOUNDARY ON HIGBGATE HILL: RETURNING, BY PART OF H0RN8EY LANE, AND DU-YAL's LANE, TO LOWER HOLLOW AY, AND THE UPPER STREET. The first subject for remark, upon the Walk before us, is the parochial Chapel of Ease, a little beyond the two-mile stone on the left, the building of which, some twenty years ago, became the occasion of no little stir and ill-blood in the parish. The Chapel was erected pursuant to an Act of Parliament, pre- viously referred to, passed in 181 P, by which the trustees therein named were empowered to raise by annuities the sum of 15,000/. for the purposes of the building, and an additional 15,000/. should the first prove insufficient. In point of &ct, the expense ultimately incurred was about 33,000/., of which, 6,495/. were paid for the plot of ground, containing (the cemetery included) from five to six acres. The * See page 89. 314 WALK THE FOURTH. spot is certainly as eligible as could have been fixed upon, being very conveniently situated for those in- habitants, who, living remote from the church, stood most in need of the accommodation. Both in length and breadth, it exceeds, by several feet, the dimensions of the parish church ; but will not bear comparison with that structure as to architecture. It is, in truth, little more than a mass of brickwork, with a squat tower, emerging from a mountain of roof at one end. The interior, however, is fitted up with neatness and propriety, and presents an agreeable coup d'anl. In the gallery is a very good organ ; and the altar-piece, which is arranged in compartments with pilasters of scagliola, contains a painting of the NoU me tangere, from the pencil of Mr. Tibbatts, who was one of the churchwardens at the time the chapel was built. The foundation-stone was laid 16th June, 1812, on which occasion a number of the inhabitants walked in pro- cession. A tablet in front of the building contains the fol- lowing inscription : — " This Chapel, erected by Authority of Parliament, at the expense of the ParishioDen, was consecrated by the Right Rev. William, Lord Bishop of London, Aug. 17, 1814. Geo. Strahan, D.D. Vicar. Edward Flower, Treasurer, Robt. Oldershaw, Vestry Clerk, Wm. Wickings, Architect Thos.Ori£ath8,^ John Tibbatts, \ Churchwardens. John Patrick. ) The following items, selected from the trustees' accoimts of the charges for completing this delectable WALK THE FOURTH. . 315 spedmen of parish architecturei may amuse the curious in such matters : — £ t. d. Escpenae of procariog the Act of Pazlument 378 2 Purchase of the Land and Buildings thereon 6,696^ b». Enfranchisement 900^ 0«. 6,495 6 Conveyance of Copyhold and Enfranchising ISO 14 8 Building the Wall (enclosing the Ground) 2|031 Model of the Chapel 60 Paid Mr. Griffiths, building the Chapel 20,880 9 8 The Surveyor's Commission 800 Due to and claimed by him 387 18 8 Barr, for Trees in the Ground 16 19 7 Chapman, for Gravel 25 5 Cundee, for Clock and Bells 422 18 8 Mr. England, for Organ 790 13 Catherwood, for Brass-work 285 5 Baker, for UphoUtery 280 1 8 Fees for Consecration 43 18 But the most singular item, perhaps, was that of 466/. 8«. 9d. for the pulpit^ the labour in making which was charged 693 days and one half, and one hour, at six shillings per day ^ ! ^ The extraordinary waste of money (as many considered it) which took place on this occasion is in some degree accounted for by the fol- lowing paragraph of a *' Report of the Committee appointed to inves- tigate the Causes," &c : — ** Your Committee have found it very difficult to ascertain precisely what could have led to the great ex- penditure that has been incurred: they think, however, that the excessive waste of the parish money may be traced, and is ascribable to the Trustees proceeding to build without a specific plan of the in- tended buildings, ftc, and a specific contract for the whole. The Architect having left them in the dark as to certain works, he applied to them from time to time to sanction his proceedings : — Questions were asked as to the expense ; they were from time to time assured 12 S16 WALK THE FOURTH. The junction of the road we are pursuing, with that called, till of late years, the Back Road (now Liverpool Road), has been, time out of mind, known by the name of Ring Crois, it is supposed from a cross which stood there prior to the Reformation. It seems to have been also a place of public execu- tion ; for we read, in the Parish Register, that *' William Wynche, the fint that was executed at Ring Crosse, was buried at Islington the 9th of Sep- tember, 1600.- It i|fiay be remembered, that very considerable in- terest was some time ago excited in consequence of a human skeleton (the relics of a criminal, as the gibbet- irons in which they were encased were nearly perfect) haying been dug up by some labourers at work near the main road, HoUoway, and afterwards exhibited for several days at the Coach and Horses public- house, close by. From documents in Newgate, it appears that William Johnson was hung in chains at HoUoway, in 1712, for shooting the turnkey of New- gate in the open court at the Old Bailey, while the judge was sitting : and from a newspaper of the day, we learn that ** John Price (formerly the Jack Ketch of Newgate) was convicted in May, 1718, of the mur- der of Elizabeth White, the wife of a watchman in that each new suggestion would cost but little in the execution ; — only about BO many pounds ; — and the works were ordered to be done without even a memorandum appearing in their minutes as to the directions given, or specific amount of the greater part of them. Hence they had no means of knowing the amount of the debts ihey had incurred, or were incurring from time to time, tUl the mischief was past remedy." WALK THE FOURTH. 317 Moorfieldsy for which offence he was executed in BunhiU-fieldfl. After his body had hung the usual time, it was conveyed to Holloway^ and fixed upon a gibbet, erected on purpose for the defunct execu- tioner, where it remained for many years for the finger of scorn to point at, and was ultimately consigned to the earth at Ring Cross, HoUoway, in the presence of an immense crowd of spectators." The London Chronicle of July ^th, 1759, states, that on the pre- <^ing Wednesday, *'& new gallows, for the execution of criminals, was erected at the beginning of the causeway leading to HoUoway, a little beyond the two-mile stone.** And now " Through Hollowat, famed for cakes ^ we onward tend. While much St. Michaers hermit ' we commend, Whose care a double charity bestowed, Supplying water as he raised the road '." This place seems to have been so named from its situation in the hollow, or vaUey, between Islington and Highgate Hill. The family of Blount resided at Holloway during a considerable part of the six- teenth century. Sir Henry Blount married the widow of Sir William Mainwaring, who was one of the 1 One of the London cries, within the memory of persons living, was " Holloway cheesecakes." The vender was a man on horseback. The Half- Moon public-house was also long famous for the production of these delicacies* * See page 12. * " A journey to Nottingham," a poem in the Gentleman's Maga- xine for September, 1743. 318 WALK THE FOURTH. daughters and co-heiresses of Christopher Wase^ ^^•t Lord of the Manor of St. John of Jerusalem, as before mentioned \ This gentleman, leaving England in the year 1634, visited the Turkish dominions in Eu- rope, and several parts of Egypt. After some stay at Grand Cairo, he returned home in 1636, and pub- lished an account of his travels, under the title of " A Voyage into the Levant," &c. (London, 1636, 4to.) Charles I. appointed him one of the band of pensioners ; and in the Civil War he joined the King's party, and fought on his side at the battle of Edge- hill. He afterwards abandon^ the Royal cause, and engaged in that of the Commonv^ealth, rendering himself very useftil to his new friends. In 1651 he became one of the committee for reforming the prac- tice of the law ; and was particularly zealous against tithes, as well as for an equalization of the stipends of the clergy. His general knowledge recommended him to the office of one of the Commissioners for advancing the Trade and Navigation of the Common- wealth. At the Restoration he was favourably re- ceived by Charles II. ; and, in 1661, he served the office of High Sheriff for the county of Hertford, wherein the family possessed considerable property. From this time till his death, in 1682, he lived as a retired English gentleman, and appears to have ac- quired notoriety chiefly from the freedom of his opi- nions, and some singular and paradoxical notions which he entertained. Six comedies, entitled ''Court Comedies," and published under the name of John 1 See page 42. WALK THE FOURTH. 319 Lilly, have been ascribed to him. He abo wrote a satire, called " The Exchange Walk,** and an epistle in praise of coffee and tobacco \ Sir Thomas Pope Blount ', eldest son of the pre- ceding, was bom here Sept. 13, 1640, and educated under the immediate inspection of his father. Haying established an early reputation for learning and worth, he was created a Baronet by Charles II. in 1679. He represented the borough of St. Alban's, and after- wards the county* in Parliament; and was always esteemed as a firiend of liberty, and a true patron of literature. Of his erudition he gave evidence in his learned work *' Censura Celebriorum Authorum," printed at London in 1690, folio, and reprinted at Geneva in 1694 and 1710, quarto; an accurate and useful compilation, containing an account of the cha- racters and writings of both ancient and modem poets. His " De Re Poetica," published in 1694, quarto, was a compilation of the same kind. His ** Natural History,** printed in 1693, ISmo., is a kind of com- mon-place book, containing observations, many of which are uncommon, selected fifbm the best modern writers. Of his talents as an original writer we have a specimen in his *' Essays on various Subjects,'* 8vo., in which he discusses many curious points ; such as, the influence of the priesthood; the regard due to the ancients; thevariety of opinions; the uncertainty of human knowledge ; the effects of custom and edu- > Biographia Britannica, ftc. * Whoae grand&ther was the first who bore this name, being re- lated to Sir Thomas Pope, Founder of Trinity College, Oxford. S£0 WALK THE FOURTH. cation : &c. He died at the family seat at Titten- hanger, Herts, in 1697, and left a numerous family \ Charles Blount, brother of the preceding, who was bom at Upper HoUoway, in 1654, also possessed dis- tinguished talents. The f&TOurite of his father, he was encouraged to marry, and settled in an independent estate, at the early age of 18 years. If we except a little treatise, published without his name, and enti- tled, " Mr. Dry den Vindicated, ftc." his literary career commenced in 1678, or 1679, with the publication of his " Anima Mundi, or an Historical Narration of the Opinions of the Ancients concerning Man's Soul after this life, according to unenlightened Nature," in the composition of which he is said to have been as- sisted by his father. This work contained free opi- nions, which_gave «great offence; and though it had been previously licensed, was suppressed by order of Compton, Bishop of London, and, during his absence,^ burned by some officious zealot Several answers to it were written ; and it was particularly animadverted upon in the second volume of " Nichols's Conference with a Theist.*' In the same year, Mr. Blount pub- lished some extracts from Hobbes's Leviathan, in a single sheet, entitled, " Mr. Hobbes's Last Words and Djdng Legacy,*' intended to expose, probably, the political principles of this writer, to which his ardent zeal for liberty rendered him peculiarly adverse. His zealous attachment to the same cause was soon afterwards manifested in a pamphlet under the signa^ ^ Biographia'Britannica. WALK THE FOURTH. tore of ** Junius Brutusi" designed to alarm the nation with regard to a Popish plot, and the prospect of a Popish successor to the Crown. In 1680 he pub- lished his translation of ** The two first books of Phi- loBtratus, concerning the Life of ApoUonius Tyanaeus, with philological Notes on each chapter;" which, being considered an attempt to reproach and injure the Christian religion, was immediately suppressed, so that few copies of it could be obtained. This was followed in the same year by ** Great is Diana of the Ephesians, or the Original of Idolatry, together with the Political Institutions of the Gentiles* Sacrifices ;'* a work which, though professedly written against the impositions of the Heathen Priests, was seen to be aimed at the Christian priesthood, and indirectly against all revelation. Our author was now consi- dered as the head of the Deistical sect; and he is chai^d with having taken great pains, by conversa- tion and correspondence, to propagate and defend his opinions. In a letter to Dr. Sydenham, however, he acknowledged that, as a religion for practice^ Deism was less satisfactory than the Christian scheme. The clamour occasioned by his former publications made him somewhat more cautious and reserved ; and ac- cordingly he studied to conceal his being the author of " Religio Laici,'* published in 1683, and said by Dr. Leland, in his Deistical Writers, (vol. i. p. 37.) to be little more than a translation of Lord Herbert's work under the same title ; and he even altogether abandoned a design which he had formed of vmting a life of Mahomet. From this time he seems to have changed the objects of his study; for, in 1684, he Y 382 WALK THE POURTH published '* Janua Sdentiarumi or an Introdaction to Oeog^phy, Chronology, Govemmenti Histoiyy Phi- losophyi and all genteel sorts of Learning ;** intended to assist young persons in the acquisition of principles of philosophy and science, without pursuing the tedious course usually prescribed to them in schools. Being one of those who cordially concurred in the Revolution, he, in a letter addressed to William Leveson Oower concerning Corporations, and in- serted in the ** Oracles of Reason,'* expressed his wish for the punishment of such counseUors of the late King as had violated the independence of Par- liament. About the same time he wrote his treatise, entitled, '' A just Vindication of Learning, and of the Liberty of the Press;** esteemed one of his best per- formances, and a summary of all the principal argu- ments that can be urged ui>on this topic. In his zeal for the cause of the new monarch, he wrote a pamphlet, in 169S, intended to prove the right of William and Mary to the Crown on the ground of conquest ; and in explanation of this design, so opposed, one would have imagined, to his principles, he de- clared that he wrote " with an especial regard to such as have hitherto refused the oath, and yet allow of the title of Conquest when consequent to a just war.** By this performance he gave such offence, that, on a complaint being brought before the House of Com*- mons against the pamphlet, it was ordered to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman ; and in the same censure was involved a Pastoral Letter of Bishop Burnet, in which also the notion was ad- vanced, and probably with the same views. 1 WALK THE FOURTH. SSS Mr. Blount having lost his wife, became ardently enamoured of her sister, a lady of great beauty and merit, who seemed disposed to return his affection : but, as the ecclesiastical laws opposed their unioui he drew up a case, strongly argued, and referred it to certain divines, who naturally gave their opinions against his wishes. As the lady refused her hand after such a determination, Mr. Blount, the strength of whose passions had always been remarkable, sank into despair, and at length shot himself through the head. After this act of frenzy, he languished for some days, receiving no nourishment but from the object of his affection, till his death in August, 1698. In the CsBsar MSS. the catastrophe is thus related : — " Aug. 81, 1688. Mr. Charles Blount, of litten- hanger, in Hartfordshire, died in London, felo de se^ five weeks after he had shot himself into the belly with a pistol ; for the love of Mrs. Hobby (his vnve's sister), who vras a rich widow ^*' Many of the private letters, and some small tracts, vrritten by this ingenious but misguided man, were published, with a prefiice by (GKldon, in 1698, before the author's death, in the work entitled ** The Oracles of Reason.*" This was reprinted, witii some additional pieces, after his decease, in a collection of " The Miscellaneous Works of Charles Blount, Esq.** edited by the same Mr. Gildon, who prefixed an account of the life and death of the author. The learning of Mr. Blount is unquestionable ; but his sentiments on the subject of religion, which appear * Beaut of Eng. and Wales, vol. vii. p. 382. y2 824 WALK THE FOURTH. in his writings without disguise, suflSciently warrant our referring him to the class of Deists ; though the charge of Atheism, which has been brought against him by some foreign divines, is certainly unfounded. An account of his principles is given by Dr. Leland, in the fourth letter of his " View of the Deistical Writers.** By Dr. L. we are informed, that Mr. Grildon, who edited the " Oracles of Reason,** was afterwards, upon mature consideration, convinced of his error, and, in 1705, published his retraction, in a work styled " The Deist's Manual.** The greater part of this book is intended to vindicate the doctrines of the existence and attributes of God, his providence, and government of the world, togrether with those of the immortality of the soul, and a future state : and the avowed reason for writing it was, that many Deists, with whom the author was well acquainted, really denied the great principles which constitute the basis of all religion, or at least represented them as doubt- ful : and he was of opinion that the non-admission of natural religion in its just extent, was the principal source of the prejudices entertained by such persons against the Christian revelation. Lower HoUoway contains but few houses of long standing, and indeed received, within the last half century, the chief additions to the buildings which slowly arose on either side of the ancient causeway. It has very recently been extended across the fields, westward, nearly to Copenhagen House. In that direction, contiguous to George's Place, are the re- mains of some Water Works, commenced by Mr. George Pocock, who had built a number of houses in WALK THE FOURTH. 3^ the vicinity, in 1809. The great increase of the neighbourhood, and the want of water experienced by the inhabitants, (the New River CSompany not having then undertaken to supply the spot,) were the causes of this speculation, in which Mr. Pocock ex- pended nearly SOOOL A well, 172 feet deep by 5 in diameter, from which very good water was procured ; a steam-engine, and all the machinery required for the object in contemplation ; were the first fruits of the plan : and the proprietor, in order to remunerate himself for the great expense likely to be sustained before his scheme could be carried into e£fect, divided the undertaking into SOO shares of SOL each, reserving 60 shares for his own benefit. A company being thus formed, it was incorporated by Act of Parlia- ment, 50 Geo. III. entitled, *' An Act for supplying with Water Upper and Lower Holloway, Highbury, Canonbury, Upper Islington, and their respective vicinities, all in the parish of St. Mary, Islington, in the County of Middlesex, and for other purposes relating thereto." By this Act the CSompany were empowered to raise 10,000/. for completing the works, and a further sum of 10,000/, should the first not be found sufficient. But the New River Company, finding that the Act mentioned would in all proba- bility pass the legislature, stepped in, and with great expedition carried their pipes through Islington to Holloway; and the powerful opposition thus set on foot by a wealthy body, against an undertaking as yet in its infancy, and unsupported by a sufficient capital, soon had the effect of destroying the new Water Company, together with all the hopes of $36 WALK THE FOURTH. its well-deflervingy though perhaps oyer sanguine, projectors. As we advance upon our route, a number of excellent houses, with cottages of every form and style in architecture, are seen to line the capital road that has for a considerable period taken the place of the hermit's causeway. Among these, on the left, is a small ChapelhelongiDg to a congr^ation of the Independent persuasion. It was originally built in 1804*, but destroyed by fire, (believed to have been communicated by some incendiary,) on the Srd of October, 1807. A reward of 1002. was offered for the apprehension of the supposed offender, in addition to a like sum offered by government ; but no chaige was ever actually brought against any person. The chapel was rebuilt in 1808, (when the interior was fitted up with the pews, wainscotting, &c., from the late chapel in Highbury Grove,) and again opened on the S7th of September in that year. Two sermons were preached on the occasion ; one by the Rev. Dr. CoUyer, of Peckham, the other by the Rev. Greoige Clayton. The building was enlarged in 1821, at an expence of about 500/., which was supplied by the contributions of the congregation, and the donations of friendly individuals. The Rev. William Spencer is the present minister. Attached to the Chapel, are a Sunday School, attended by about 100 children of both sexes; a Maternal Society, for the relief and assistance of lying*in women; and a Benevolent Society, for visiting and relieving the sick poor. Among the most modem erections by the road side, are Loraine Place, and Lansdoume Place. At WALK THE FOURTH. 327 the comer of Seven Sisters Road stands Bwomafit Lodgsy the residence of Charles Mann^ Esq., so caDed firom its occupying the site of an archery house of Elizabethan days. Beyond, at the three-mile stone, is Sk Moated Site^ occupied, no doubt, in former times, by a Manor House, as the spot foims part of the demesnes of Bamesbury Manor. It is of irregular form, but nearly complete as to its outline. It would appear to have been filled up near the north-east angle, and that some time before the fall of the ancient man- sion, when the drawbridge, considered so essential at an earlier period, might be superseded by the present earthen passage of the moat. Of the mansion itself there have been no remains within the memory of man. A boarding-school contiguous now bears the name of the ** Manor House.'* Half a mile farther stands St. Johns Churchy Upper Holloway, which was the first consecrated of the three new parochial churches, namely on the 2nd of July, 1828. This edifice, erected, like the other two, by Mr. Charles Barry, forms an elegant specimen both of beautiful design and correct embellishment. The interior is arranged with much taste and judg- ment, and derives a fine e£fect firom the lofty range of clerestory windows, surmounting pointed arches and pillars of graceful proportions. A fine painted window decorates the altar end, of which the following is a mi- nute description. — In the centre, over the Royal arms, is the figure of our Saviour afler his resurrection : in hit left hand he bears the cross triumphant. On the right of our Saviour is the figure of the Apostle St. Mathias : in his right hand is the axe, emblematical SS8 WALK THE FOURTH. of his martyrdom : the figure next to St. Mathias is St. James the Great : on the left of our Saviour is St. Andrew, leaning oa his cross ; next to St. An- drew is Simeon, after Albert Durer. Figures beneath : — on the right of the Royal arms, St. Philip, with his cross of martyrdom : next to St. Philip is St. Paul, in whose left hand is the sword of martyrdom : on the left of the Royal arms is St. Peter, with his cross of martyrdom. The last figure is St. Simon. In the compartments immediately over the figures, are the rose, thistle, and shamrock, on purple, surrounded with rich ruby-coloured borders. In the upper com- partments are highly-finished paintings of seraphs and cherubs in glory. Round the Royal arms, in ornamental foliage, are the rose, thistle, and sham- rock, in the same style as, and in unison with, the figures, which are taken from the works of the old German masters in the gallery of Stutgard, a collection from which some of the finest windows ever painted have been executed. Much care and arrangement have been required, and observed, in the adaptation of the figures to the compartments they fill; particular attention has also been paid to preserve the architectural outlines of the window on the painting. The pedestals on which' the figures are represented, are taken from the very beautiful organ-screen in Canterbury Cathedral. Each painting appears as one plate of glass, filling the whole com- partment, which gives much beauty to its effect, especially as the style of colouring blends and har- monises with the building generally. There is a great unity of colour throughout the picture, which WALK THE FOURTH. 329 produces a most pleasing effect, a repose that never wearies, but which the eye can dwell upon and behold with delight. The paintings are also well placed^ and admirably adapted to their station. Taken altogether, they. are calculated to* elevate the mind of the observer, and not only to please the eye, jbut to improve the- understanding ; which is the chief end of the fine arts. We have no doubt many of the figures were intended by the artist as portraits. The whole was painted by Mr. W. Bacon, of Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury, and presented by him to the parish. St. John's church contains 178S sittings, of which 753 ai^e firee; and was built at. an expense of 11,890/. 7*. 8d. The minister 'is ;tbe Rev. Henry Venn, B.D. The National School in rear is a plain building, gratuitously designed by the architect. It provides instruction for about 120 children of both sexes, and is supjported by the voluntary contributions of the congregation, and the inhabitants of Upper Hol- loway and its* vidnity. The " Mother Red Cap"* public-house, not many yards farther,. is of. some celebrity in its class, as well as of considerable, standing, being named in various publications of tKe last century, and, among the rest, by Drunken Barnaby, in his Itinerary. It was rebuilt about fifteen yei^s since, until when it wore the usual appearance of those ancient houses in this parish, so many of which have been particu- larized. Crossing the Archway Road, we reach the foot of Highgate Hill, and observe the celebrated ** Whitt%ng-> 830 WALK THE FOURTH. ton Stone,** standing a little way up on the left. The present stone, marking the site of the original one so named, was placed here, by the trustees of the parish ways, in the year 1821, and is inscribed, '' Sir Richard Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London," with the dates of Yns mayoralty and shrievalty. The real original, as it was commonly supposed to be, long lay flat on the ground, broken into two pieces, which were removed many years ago by the Surveyor of the Roads, and placed as curb-stones against the posts at the entrance to Oueen*8-Head Lane, Lower Street. Richard Whittington, the person here commemorated, and about whom so many extraordinary stories have been told, was bo^ in the year 1360. He followed the business of a mercer in the city of London, and acquired great wealth. Having served the office of sheriff with credit in the year 1393, he was chosen Lord Mayor, and filled that office not less than three times, namely, in the years 1397, 1406, and 1419. He was knighted, it is said, by King Henry the Fifth, to whom he lent large siuns of money for his wars in France ; and he died full of years and honour in 14^. "This year," (1406,) says Grafton, "a worthy citizen of London, named Richard Whittington, Mercer and Alderman, was elected Mayor of the said dty, and bore that office three times. This worship- ftd man so bestowed his goods and substance to the honour of God, to the relief of the poor, and to the benefit of the common-weal, that he hath right well- deserved to be registered in the book of fame. First, he erected one house, a church, in London, to be a house of prayer, and named the same after his own WALK THE FOURTH. 381 name, Whittiiigton College, and so it remaineth to this day; and in the said church, beside certain priests and clerks, he placed a number of poor aged men and women, and builded for them houses and lodgings, and allowed unto them wood, coal, cloth, and weekly money, to their great relief and comfort. This man also, at his own cost, builded the gate of London, called Newgate, in the year of our Lord 14^82, which before was a most ugly and loathsome prison. He also builded more than half of Saint Bartholomew's Hospital, in West Smithfield, in Lon- don. Also he builded of hard stone, the beautitul library in the Grey Fairs, in London, now called Christ's Hospital, standing in the north part of the cloister thereof, where, in the wall, his arms are graven in stone. He also builded, for the ease of the mayor of London, and his brethren, and of the worshipful citizens, at the solemn days of their assembly, a chapel adjoining to the Guildhall ; to the intent they should ever, before they entered into any of their affidrs, first go into the chapel, and, by prayer, call upon God for his assistance. And in the end, joining on the south side of the chapel, he builded for the city a library of stone, for the custody of their re- cords and other books. He also builded a. great part of the east end it Gtuldhall, beside many other good works that I know not. But among all others, I will show unto you one very notable, which I received credibly by a vmting of his own hand, which also he willed to be fixed as a schedule to his last will and testament. He willed and commanded his executors, as they would answer before God at the day of the ^ 3S2 WALK THE FOURTH. resurrection of all flesh, that if they found any debtor of his that ought to him any money, if he were not, in their consciences, well worth three times as much^ and also out of the debt of other men, and well able to pay, that then they should never demand it, for he clearly forgave it, and that they should put no man in suit for any debt due to him. — Look upon this^ ye aldermen, for it is a glorious glass /** Stow informs us, that Richard Whittington rebuilt the parish church of St. Michael Royal, and made a college of St. Spirit and St. Mary, with an alms- house, called 6od*s House or Hospital, for thirteen poor men, who were to pray for the good estate of Richard Whittington, and of Alice his wife, their founders ; and for Sir William Whittington, knight, and Dame Joan his wife ; and for Hugh Fitzwarren, ^d Dame Malde his wife, the fathers and mothers of the said Richard Whittington, and Alice his wife; for King Richard the Second, Thomas of Woodstock, &c. Here we observe it plainly asserted that Sir Richard Whittington's father was a knight, which was no mean distinction in those days. Yet in every popular account of Whittington, he is said to have been born in very humble circumstances. This erro- neous idea has evidently been owing to the popular legend of him and his cat, and it shows how fiction will occasionally drive truth out of her domain. Such, then, is the real history of this renowned Lord Mayor; but tradition, we know, tells a very different tale : and it as follows : — Dick Whittington, a poor orphan boy, came up to Lfondon from the country; and a rich merchant, named WALK THE FOURTH. 333 fltzwarreiiy took compassion on him, and put him into the kitchen under his cook^ who treated him harshly : but Miss Alice, his master's daughter, showed him much kindness. The rats and mice, that swarmed in the garret where he slept, led him a wretched life, till, with a penny he had acquired, he purchased a cat. Dick's master, Mr. Fitzwarren, was shortly after- wards sending a ship to sea, and he gave all his ser- vants permission to send out a venture in her. Poor Dick had no property on earth but his cat, and, by his master's orders, he fetched her down from his garret, and committed her to the captain with tears in his eyes, for he said he should now be kept awake all night by the rats and mice. All laughed at Dick's venture, but Miss Alice kindly gave him money to purchase another cat. The ship was driven to the coast of Barbary, atbd the captain having sent out specimens of his cargo to the king of the country, he and his chief mate were invited to court, where they were royally entertained; but the moment the dishes were set on the table, rats and mice ran from all sides and devoured what was on them. The captain was told that the king would give half of his wealth to be delivered of this tor- ment : and, instantly recollecting poor Dick's cat, he told the king that he could destroy them. He went down to the ship, and fetched up Puss under his arm. The tables were covered once more, and the usual havoc b^un, when the cat, jumping among the depredators, made a carnage of them which amazed all present. The king, out of gratitude, purchased the whole ship's cargo, and gave, over and above, a SS4 WALK THB FOURTH. great qoantitj of gold for the cat ; and the captain set 8%il for England* ' To whom is the subsequent history of Richard Whittington unknown ? Who knows not how, during the absence of the shipi he ran away from the ill-treats- ment of the cook, and had got as &r as Holloway, when he sat down on the stone, on the site of which stands the present '* Whittington Stone/' and heard Bow bells ring out " Tmm again, Whittington, Thrioe Lord Mayor of London ! and how he married good Miss Alice, and became, in reality, Lord Mayor of that great city t In the whole of this legendary history there is, we may see, not one single word of truth further than this, — that the maiden name of Lady Whittington was Alice Fitzwarren. It is really deserving of atten- tion, as an instance of the manner in which tradition will felsify history ; and it would be extremely inter- esting to ascertain the exact age of the l^end. Neither Grafton, nor Hollingshed, who copies him, says any thing of the legendary history of Sir Richard ; but it must have been current in the reign of Elizabeth, for, in the prologue to a play written about 1613, the citizen says ; " Why could you not be contented, as well as others, with the legend of Whittington? or the life and death of Sir Thomas Gresham, with the building of the Royal Exchange ? or the story of Queen Eleanor, with the rearing of London Bridge upon woolsacks?*' The word legend, in this case, would seem to indicate the story of the cat ; and we cannot, therefore, well assign it a later date than the six- tl WALK THE FOURTH. 335 teenth centuiy. Cats, we know, fetched a high price in America, when it was first colonized by the Spaniards. Two cats, we are told, were taken out on speculation to Guyana, where there was a plague of rats, and they were sold for a pound of gold. Their first kittens fetched, each, thirty pieces of eight ; the next generation went for about twenty, and the price gradually fell as the colony became stocked with them. The elder Almagro is also said to have given six hundred pieces of eight, to the person who present- ed him with the first cat which was brought to South America. On reading this,- we might feel disposed to assign a historical foundation to the legend of Whit- tingtoA and his Cat ; but it is more probably an inde* pendent British fiction. It is strange what a propensity exists with some people, to assign other causes for the acquisition of riches than industry, frugality, and skiU, the usual and surest modes of obtaining wealth. Others, again, have a wonderful inclination to discover a gpround-work of historical truth in popular legends. Whittington's Cat has not escaped their shrewdness ; for, in some popular History rf England^ the story has been explained^ as it is called ; and Sir Richard WhittiDg- ton was, it seems, the owner of a thip named the Cat, by his traffic in which he acquired the greater part of his wealth. It is not, however, quite dear, that our worthy mercer was directly eog^aged in foreign traffic. We retrograde a little from " Whittington Stone," to notice Whittington CoUege^ an exceedingly pretty 386 WALK THE FOURTH. and tasteful collection of Alms-bouses, in the Gothic style, on an eminence beside the archway turnpike. The Mercers' Company, being vested with the trust of this charity, founded in 1413 by Sir Richard Whittington, rebuilt the coU^e on its present site during the years 1820 to 18^. It consists of twenty-eight alms-houses, with a chapel in the centre, and two dwellings at the terminations of the wings, the one for the chaplain, the other for the matron of the establishment. Each alms-house has three rooms. The inhabitants are now all women, who must not be under the age of fifty-five at the time of their admit- tance. None are (ostensibly at least) possessed of more than £30. per annum, in addition to their stipend firom the charity, which in no case is less than twelve shillings per week. Such of the alms-women, twelve in number, as were removed from College Hill, London, (the original site,) have somewhat more, together also with coal-money. An air of more than decency, of positive respectability, reigns throughout ; and many of the apartments are even handsomely furnished. The buildings form three sides of a long square, or parallelogram, enclosing a charming pleasure ground, intersected by gravelled walks, and ornamented with parterres of flowers and evergreens. There is a pleasing stone statue of the founder, near the centre. He is represented as a lad, seated on the stone by the highway, and listening to the bells which speak " Turn again, Whittington.'* His knobbed stick, his provision-bundle, and the shoe taken WALK THE FOURTH. 337 off for the ease of one of bis feet, are natural and pleasing accessariesi and add to the generally in- teresting expression of the figure. The chapel has a neatly-designed and appropriate Gothic interior, with stalled seats for the alms- women, and such other persons as may attend divine service, which is performed tvnce every Sunday ac- cording to the ritual of the Church of England. The grounds may be promenaded by the public at all times, except during the hours of worship. As usual, (to the disgrace of the lower orders in this country,) this liberty has been abused, to the partial injury of the shrubs and flowers, and — what is of more conse- quence — to the mutilation also, in a slight degree, of the statue. We resume our route up the hill, and notice on the north side of the road, (as we may have noticed pre- viously), a few ancient houses, which it is probable were formerly inhabited by persons of note; but nothing remains to point out their original possessors. Tradition reports that Oliver Cromwell resided in that which is now the Crown public housed and which, though it has a modem brick front, must, from its internal appearance, have been built about the beginning of the seventeenth century. But it does not appear that the Protector ever had a house in this parish, though he in all probability visited the place ; for his contemporary and associate Sir Arthur Hesil- rige had, beyond all doubt, a dwelling in Islington, as appears by the following extract firom the Journals of the House of Commons : May 21, 1664-5, " Sir Arthur Hesilrigge, by com- 888 WALK THB FOURTH. mand of the Hou8e» related the circumstance of aa aasault made on him by the Earl of Stamford, and Henry Polton and Matthew Patsall, his servants, in the highway leading from Perpoole Lane to Clerken- well, aa he was peaceably riding £rom the House of Commons to his house in Islington, by striking him with a drawn sword, and other offensive instruments, and was enjoined to keep the peace, and not to send or receive any challenge ^*' Turmng to the right on reaching the parish boundary, we traverse a small part of Homsey Lane, and re-cross the Archway, the histoiy of which was Ailly detailed in '< Walk the First.** Reaching the head of Du Yal's Lane, and returning by that Lane to the point firom which we started, we shall for some time find nothing more worthy of note than the beauty of the surrounding country, unless we pause to compare the present substantial road with the " sloughy lane** which Camden describes it to have been in the year ^ Sir Arthur was the loti of Sir Thomas Hesilrige, of Noseley, in Leicestershire, who was created a Baronet by James I. in 1628. He was elected Member for the county of Leicester in the Parliament which met Nov. 4, 1640 ; and soon became one of the most active leaders of the Republican party, particularly distinguishing himself in the various contests between the King and the Parliament The Protector and Sir Arthur were upon the most familiar terms ; and it appears that, upon one occasion, Oliver was entertained by the Baronet with gpreat magnificence at Newcastle, when prayers were offered up ibr the success of the army in Scotland. A letter to Sir Arthur, dated Sept 3, 1660, written by the Protector, wherein he addresses him " Deere Sir," is printed in Mr. Nichols's Hist of Lei- cestershire, vol. II. part II. p. 744, which work contains an ample detail of the share he had in the various proceedings of the Parliament during that important period of our history. WALK THE FOURTH. 339 I6d5. Indeed, scarcely more than a quarter of a century back, this road was in such a state as to be scarcely passable in winter ; though since converted, at the parish expense, into a very good public highway. In another respect, the change effected here is not less striking ; as, from being very partially inhabited, nearly all the central part of the Lane is now lined with genteel cottages : besides which there is a chapel for a congregation of Methodists. Two handsome collections of houses appear on the left, bordering two roads to Stroud Green, and called respectively Han' ley jRoad and ToUingUm Pari. On the right, before we arrive at Hanley Road, we may notice a Manufactory , accompanied by one <^ those lofty chimneys, such numbers of which now appeiur in the vicinage of the metropolis. Here, about the year 18S8, Mr. Thomas Davison, printer, of White Friars, fleet Street, established the making of lamp-black and printers' ink, with much success as to the perfection to which he brought those articles, but with remarkable ill fortune in another respect, the premises having been burned down and rebuilt no less than three times. It is true that the manufac- ' ture itself is of a nature which renders such accidents peculiarly liable to take place : but it is understood that the principle on which the building was last re-con- structed, namely in 1833, is such as to render events of this kind far less probable in future. Since the year just mentioned, a steam-engine has been made to supersede the prior employment of horse-power. There is a well attached to the premises, and in con- z 2 S40 WALK THE FOURTH. stant use for the manu&cture, the Jirater in which rises from a depth of more than 300 feet. Just beyond the end of Heame Lane is the old moated site, mentioned at page 2S, whereon, for upwards of two centuries, has stood the building to which formerly was given the name of the " Devil's House.*' In later times a tradition has prevailed that this was the retreat of the fSunous Du Val^ the high- wayman, who was executed in the reign of Charles the Second, and that the roads and bye lanes in this neighbourhood were frequently the scene of his pre- datory exploits. But as it is evident from the Survey of 1611, that the house was then called '' the Devil's House, in Devil's Lane," it is also supposed that the name of Du Fal, by which the place has been for many years more generally called, was adopted in^ amendment of the more ancient and uncouth teim. Still, from the following lines, taken from " A Pin- ** darick Ode to the Memory of the most renowned Du ** Val^* written by Butler, the author of Hudibras, as well as from the nature of the exploits described therein, it is not unlikely that this neighbourhood was laid under contribution by that hero of the road, since it must have afforded as great scope for the exercise of his talents as any round the Metropolis : " He, like a lord o' the manor, seiz'd upon Whatever happened in his way, Ab lawful weft and stray, And after, by the cuatom, kept it as his own. He would have Btarv*d the mighty town, And brought its haughty spirit down ; WALK THE FOURTH. 341 Have cut it off from all relief ; And like a wise and valiant chief ; Made many a fierce assault Upon all ammunition carts. And those that bring up cheese or malt, Or bacon, from remoter parts. No convoy, e'er so strong, with food, Durst venture on the desp'rate road ; He made th' undaunted waggoner obey, And the fierce higler contribution pay ; The savage butcher, and stout drover. Durst not to him their feeble troops discover ; And if he had but kept the field, In time had made the city yield. For great towns, like to crocodiles, are found, r the beUy aptest to receive a wound." Du Val was executed at Tyburn, January Slst, 1669, in the twenty-seventh year of his age. In his " Memoirs," (4to. 1670), we are told that '' after lying in state at the Tangier Tavern, in St. Giles's, he was buried in the middle aisle of Covent Garden church; and his funeral was attended with many flambeaux, and a numerous train of mourners, whereof most were of the beautiful sex.** Between 50 and 60 years ago, the moat surround- ing the ancient house, which was of considerable width, and filled with water, was passed by means of a wooden bridge. At that time one Fawcett kept the premises as a public house; and he used to relate the preceding story of Du Val, by way of accounting for the etymology of the place. The house is chiefly composed of wood, and appears from various evidences to be that which was standing on the spot at the time of the Survey of 1611. It has of late years been 84£ WALK THE FOURTH. somewhat modernized; and the moat nearly filled with earth, and added to the garden which surrounds the dwelling. Heame Lane was continued by a cut across the fields to the HoUoway road about three years back. Until this additional communication was made, there was but a single carriage thoroughfare between Du Yal's Lane and Holloway, consisting of the old road formerly called CockLone^dimBi now Grote La$ie, which runs from the Cock at HoUoway to nearly opposite the Plough in Du Yal's Lane. Various other lines of road have been projected, and even named, but none of them have been as yet carried into effect; though the probability that one or more of them will ere long be executed, is greatly increased by the amazing accession to the conveyances for passengers to and firom London within the last few years. • Twelve or thirteen years back, a single stage firom the Plough Inn was with difficulty maintained ; at present fifteen omnibuses and coaches run between that house and the City in the course of a single day, and pass and repass it between ninety and one hundred times. Near the end of the Lane wajs formerly a Manu- fectory, wherein clothes and other articles were rendered water-proof. A patent was first granted for this invention, in 1801, to Messrs. Ackerman and Co., of the Strand; who having disposed of their interest in it to other parties, the manufactory here was established under the firm of Elizabeth Duke and Co. The articles made water-proof consisted, for the most part, of great coats and cloaks for the army, for which the proprietors had considerable WALK THB FOURTH. 343 contracts with government The process was also applied with success to prevent mildew in the sails of ships, and other articles formed of canvas. After the termination of the war the manufacture gradually declined, and also, passed into new hands, being conducted under the firm of Ingram and Lermitt. By them the premises were let to a Mr. Jones, who converted them into a dye-house : but, about two years since, they were pulled down, and a row of houses, called Ingram Place, now occupies the site. Du Yal's Lane, we may observe, in concluding this Walk, has been for some years very commonly called " Homsey Road." CHAPTER VI. WALK THE FIFTH. FROM THE TURNPIKE, HXGB STREET, BT LIVERPOOL ROAD, AND PART OF HAGBUSH LANE, INTO THE FIELDS WEST OF HOLLOW AT: RETURNING TO LIVERPOOL ROAD BY THE CALEDONIAN ASYLUM, THE ROMAN CAMP, AND THE NEW BUILDINGS IN WHITE-CONDUIT FIELDS. The road fonnerly called the Back Rodd^ we previously observed, is that which at present bears the name o{ Liverpool Road* One half of its width is included within the parish of Clerkenwell, until we reach a mean lane on the left called Sermon Lane. The first subject for remark is a well built and handsome Wesleyan Chapel on the right, erected in the year 1827, at an expence (the cost of the freehold ground included) of £4000. This sum was furnished princi- pally by twelve individuals, who are the trustees, and by whom, under the controul of the Metho- dist Conference, all its concerns are regulated. The succession of ministers, as usual with chapels in this connection, is appointed by Conference. The building contains about 950 sittings. Behind is a WALK THE FIFTH. 345 substantial Sunday School, recently erected, which receives firom 300 to 400 children. A little farther, a turning to the left leads into Ckmdesley Square^ which, with the adjacent streets, covers the estate bequeathed to the parish under the will of Richard Cloudesley ^ The inner area of the Square is nearly engrossed by the new Church dedicated to the Holy Trinity, being the third built in this parish by the parliamen- tary commissioners. It was erected at the cost of £11,535, and contains 2009 sittings, of which 858 are free. It differs principally from the other churches, in the substitution of turrets and minarets at the angles at the west end for the usual accompaniment of a tower. In the general design, and the details, it reflects all the credit upon the architect, Mr. Barry, which the structures erected by that gentleman so CQmmonly deserve. The minister is the Rev. Hunter Francis Fell, A.M. The Stone-field EstateyOt " Fourteen Acres," given to our parish by Mr. Cloudesley for the pious uses before enumerated, contains, according to a survey hanging in the vestry-room, 16a. 2r. 17p. This property, notwithstanding its appropriation by the testator to superstitious purposes, escaped seizure by the crown at the dissolution of chantries in the time of Edward the Sixth, probably on account of part of the produce having been directed to be given to " poor people," or perhaps through the influence of the feoffees or execu- tors of Cloudesley, one of whom, Sir Thomas Lovel, a parishioner, is supposed to have possessed great 1 See p. 86. 346 WALK THE FIFTH. interest at court. The estate continues vested in feoffees for the use of the parish, and is now covered with buildingSy by persons to whom the ground has been let under and by virtue €£ an Act of Parliament, passed in 1811, entitled ''An Act to enable the trustees of certain lands, called the Stone-£elds, situate in the parish of St. Mary, Islington, in the county of Middlesex, to grant building leases thereof* for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years. This plot of ground affords a remarkable instance of the great increase in the value of land near London since the time of Henry VIII. The ''Fourteen Acres" then let at ^. per annum ; but the fee-simple has been within these few years valued at the sum of 22,8001. This was upon an application having been made by the Corporation of London for the ground, as an eligible site for a new cattle-market, in the event of that held in Smithfield being discontinued. The name of the donor of the property is preserved, not only in the Square just described, but in Cloudesky Terrace, a handsome row of houses fronting the liver- pool Boad. The parochial Workhouse stands at a little distance from the road, nearly opposite Bamesbury Street. It is a commodious brick building, erected in the year 1777, at the expence of 80002., upon a piece of ground given to the parish by Mrs. Amy Hill. A spacious garden is attached, from which a considerable portion of the vegetables used in the house is supplied. The building at first consisted of a centre and two wings ; but an enlargement being found necessary, the centre was carried forward by an addition made in WALK THE FIFTH. 847 1820. An infinnai79 and some offices^ have also been since added. Before the erection of this house^ the poor were maintained in an old building in the Lower Street; and, previously, in a workhouse on the south side of the road at HoUoway, which accommodated besides the poor of the parish of Homsey. There is nothing in the internal management, or other circum- stances connected with this workhouse, calling for particular remark: but we may be permitted to repeat with approbation one of its printed rules, namely, ''That in the placing persons into their several wards, as well as in other respects, some dis- tinction be made between such poor as have been creditable housekeepers, and reduced by misfortunes, and the other poor who became so by vice or idle- ness.** It is to be hoped that the parish overseers uniformly act up to the spirit of this r^^ulation, and thus divest the workhouse system of some of its harshest and most degrading features. In the fields west of the Workhouse, on the evening of Sunday, May 7, 1797, between 8 and 9 o'clock, a barbarous murder was committed upon Mr. Fryer, an attorney, of Southampton Buildings, Holbom, who, walking here with a young lady to whom he was betrothed, was attacked by three footpads, and shot through the head ; after which they robbed him of his watch and money. A reward of 50^ was oftered in the London Guzette for the apprehension of the mur- derers : and on the fifth of June following, Clinch and Mackay, two notorious ofienders, were executed at Newgate for the crime, which, however, they perse- vered in denying to the last. Another malefactor, 7 348 WALK THE FIFTH. who was hung some time afterwards, confessed to having been the perpetrator of the homd deed. Bameshury Street was formerly only a narrow passage, leading to the Workhouse, and yulgaily called ** Cut-throat Lane/' till the houses were built on the north side, when the thoroughfare was widened to its present extent. Between this street and Park Street was, until of late years,' a nursery-ground, con- taining about five acres, in the occupation of Mr. Smith, who at this time retains a comparatively small portion of it, which, however, is covered by a noble conservatory, containing an exhibition of plants which is admired by all visitors. The nursery-ground was first made such in 1806 ; previously to which it had been the field wherein the Islington Volunteer cavalry and infantry performed their exercises. Between this spot and the Upper Street remains an old house, occupied for many years by the elder Dr. Monro, Physician to Bethlehem Hospital ; after- wards by Dr. Sequeira, a Jewish physician ; subse- quently the residence of — Travers, Esq.; and at this time that of Mr. Blunt, formerly of the Upper Street. Further south, abutting upon the Upper Street, is a spacious dwelling, called in the parish plan of 1735 "Esq. Harvey's," firom having been the residence of Jacob Harvey, Esq. who was in the com- mission of the peace, and who died about the year 1770. It was afterwards inhabited by Roger Altham, Esq., an eminent proctor, and a branch of the Altham family of Mark's Hall, Essex. It bears in front the date of 1719, and at the east end that of 1716, vnth the initials E. C. over both. Having been purchased (TlIIL^iS'CSI MnSgH^HAIET E<iPllTSS P^. -dh-^^A'/--' W *v ^'**'w— -"^ :i::!TG!R1 WALK THE FIFTH. 849 by the Church Missionary Sodetyj this house was devoted to the accommodation of their students till the year 1827^ when the handsome CoUege^ now adjoining westward, was erected. From that time the old mansion has been the abode of the Principal of the Institution, the Rev, John Fearson, M. A., as a part of the new building has been that of the Resi- dent Tutor, the Rev. Charles Marshall, B.A. The object of this highly : laudable and well-conducted Institution, is stated to be 'Vthe education and pre- paration of Missionary Students for Missionary labours." Conformably , to' this, object, the yoiing men here -admittjed are expected to acquire a com- petent knbwledge* of Latin, Greek, and. Hebrew, together with the rudiments at least of the language of the particular country to which their exertions are to be devoted. Lectures on divinity, and on various branches of science, are also statedly given. In addition to which, the students have all the advan- tages of a well furnished library, of a laboratory for chemical lectures and experiments, and of the means for occupying themselves, should they see fit, in some_ useful and mechanical arts, such as carpentering, &c.3^ the possible utility of which, should they be thrown amidst remote and savaga nations, may be readily appreciated. There are at this time thirty students vnthin the walls. - The age at which they usually become inmates, is from ^ to 30. Contiguous to the Church Missionary Institution, in Bamesbury Street, stands the Proprietary School of Islington, instituted February 16th, 1830. The object of this School, as stated in its " Rules and 850 WALK THE FIFTH. Regulations/* is to provide a course of edacation for youth, to comprize classical learning, the modem lan- guages, mathematics, and such other branches of useful knowledge as may be advantageously intro- duced ; together with religious and moral instruction^ in conformity with the doctrines and discipline of the Church of England. But, with r^ard to the last mentioned article, the Directors are desirous it should be understood, that while the School is founded upon the principles of the Church of England, the reli- gious instruction is so conducted as to embrace the children of all who wish for an education on the basis of the great doctrines of Christianity. The institution consists of a Proprietary of about two hundred shares, of £15. each, no proprietor holding more than two; and the several proprietors being interested in the property according to their number of shares, and that interest being considered personal properly. Every proprietor is at liberty to nominate one scholar in respect of each share he may possess ; and if he holds two shares, may also nominate, with the approbation of the Directors, additional scholars, being sons of such proprietor, upon the payment of an admission fee of five guineas for each scholar so nominated. A sum not exceeding eleven pounds per annum is paid for the tuition of each scholar, which includes every expence, except that of printed books, mathematical instruments, and drawing materials, which are fur- nished by the institution at cost price *• No scholar, not the son of a proprietor, is admitted without the ^ Scholars in the drawing classes are subjected to an additional charge of i61. lis. 6d. per annum. WALK THE FIFTH. S51 consent of four-fifths of the Directors^ such consent being ascertained by ballot: neither is any scholar admitted under seven years of age. The money paid for the purchase of shares has been applied to the erection of the School, the cost of which was £1967* 9s. 6d.5 including the expense of the sewers, boundary walls, railings, and fittings-up. The ground on which it is situate is held on a lease for 88 years, firom the S4th of June, I8S0, at a peppercorn rent for the first year, and a yearly rent of £30 for the resi- due of the term. The building is a substantial erec- tion of white brick, in a somewhat heavy Oothic style : it however includes every requisite and appropriate convenience, and is so constructed as to secure a place for the recreation of the scholars in the basement story, when the weather is too imfavourable for the open play^ound. The ai&drs of this Institution are managed by a President, four Vice-Presidents (two of whom have votes in the direction, and go out annually by rota- tion), twelve Directors (four of whom go out annually by- rotation), four Trustees, a Treasurer, three Audi- tors, and a Secretary. The Directors are chosen firom among the Proprietors residing within four miles of the School, and five of their number form a quorum. An annual general meeting of the proprietors is held, to pass the accounts, receive a Report fiY>m the Di- rectors of the state of the School, elect Directors and Auditors for the ensuing year, supply vacancies among the Officers or Trustees, &c. ; at which general meet^ ings all elections and questions are decided by ballot, if demanded by any three proprietors present. No S53 WALK THE FIFTH. proprietor has more than one vote, although he may possess two shares, except on questions of finance, relative to which he has a vote for each share. At the same general meetings, the Directors report their opinion on the best mode of appropriating, from time to time, the surplus funds, after payment of the sala- ries, and defraying the current expenses of the Insti* tution : and no proprietor is to be entitled at any time to claim any part or share of the said surplus funds, but they are to be strictly confined to the purposes of the School, such as rewards to deserving scholars, ex- hibitions at either of the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge, or to such other objects as the Directors shall see fit. The powers of the Directors are great. In any case not provided for by the laws, they may make provisional orders or r^^lations ; and may also, from time to time, make such regulations for their own proceedings, and such rules and bye-laws for the con- duct of the School, and general affairs of the Institu- tion, as shall not contravene any of its fundamental rules. Vacancies in their own body, or in the offices of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, or Secretary, are supplied by them, until the next general meeting of the proprietors. They also appoint, from time to time, the Masters, and officers of the establishment, and fix their salaries, and define their duties. The arrangements for the conduct of the School, though made by the Head Master, must be subjected to their approval ; but they are in no respect to interfere with the internal scholastic management The tuition is conducted by a Head Master, three Assistant Masters, and a French Master. The Head WALK THE FIFTH. 35S Master is required to be a clei^man of the Church of England, and a graduate of either of the Universi- ties of Oxford or Cambridge ; and the Assistant Mas- ters to be members of the Church of England. The Madras system of educatioui as practised at the Char- ter-house, has been adopted, as far as it was found practicable* A register is kept, by or under the di- rection of the Head Master, of the names of the seve- ral scholars, the dates of their entry and leaving of the School, and the names of the proprietors by whom they were severally nominated, together with an ac- count of their attendances, prc^ess in learning, and conduct; which register is laid before the Directors at their monthly meetings, and also whenever required, A public examination of the scholars takes place im- mediately before the Midsummer recess, by such per- sons, and under such r^^lations, as the Directors approve. Occasional lectures on the arts and sciences are delivered, at the discretion of the Directors, with the concurrence of the Head Master. Neither the Head nor Assistant Masters may take any private pupils, nor give private tuition, directly or indirectly, to any of the scholars of the. Institution, without the consent of the Directors. Nor may either of the Masters serve any church or chapel, except on Sun- days, Good Friday, or Christmas-day ; nor engage in any occupation which shall interfere with their at- tendance and duties at the School ; nor receive any fee or gratuity from any proprietor, or other person interested in the Institution, or in the education of any of the scholars. Prayers, and a portion of the Scriptures, are read at the commencement of the A a 354 WALK THE FIFTH. morningy and the termination of the afternoon school, each day. The number of schokrs is at present (June, 18S5) one hundred and seventy : school hours, from nine till twelve in the morning, and from two till five in the evening. The President is the Rev. Daniel Wilson, Vicar of the parish ; Head Master, the Rev. John Owen Parr, A.M., of Brazen-nose College, Oxford, and Vicar of Durnford. In an address from the Head Master, delivered at the opening of this School, before the Bishop of Lon- don, Patron, the President, Vice-Presidents, Direct- ors, and Proprietors, of the Institution, and printed at their united request, it is appropriately observed, that the very constitution of seminaries of this description involves the education of boys under circumstances almost, if not altogether, new. " My own observation and experience,*' continued the Rev. gentleman, ** and I have been conversant with the subject, have led me to the conclusion, that the domestication of a large number of boys under the same roof, for the purpose of education, and their intimate, unrestrained, and unobserved association with one another in their unemployed hours, away from their homes, and within narrow precincts, is ever attended with a moral de- pravation, in a ratio nearly proportioned to the num- bers. An immoral contagion Ls inevitable, and its consequences are incalculably destructive to human virtue and happiness. But here the case is essentially difierent. We have the good, whatever it may be, resulting from numbers, I do not say unmixed with evil, but with evil so checked and countervailed, as to be kept within as moderate limits as the corruption of WALK THE FIFTH. 355 human nature may permit. On the one hand, there can be no such private association for the concoction of evil : the circumstances of the case render it impossible. On the other, the very number of the boys puts into our hands a proportionate increase of moral force for good effect upon any and every individual of that num- ber. Again, every individual of the aggregate remains within the hallowing atmosphere of his home ; under the civilizing and mollifying influence of the decencies and humanities, if no more, of a private family; awed in every case, in a greater or less degree, by the inex- tinguishable voice of nature, asserting the majesty of the paternal authority. The natural care, indeed, and habitual observation of the parent will, in themselves, apply some antidote to any evil which might arise from extended association, by detecting and checking it in its commencement. While each boy vrill be suf- ficiently withdrawn and detached from his home, and will be sufficiently employed while he is there, to pre- vent the evil consequences of an idle abuse of its com- forts and indulgences, that debilitation and estrange- ment of the domestic affections, which long absence and other associations often occasion, will be avoided.'* And not less pertinent, or less valuable, were Mr. Parr's observations on the general system to be adopted in the School, more especially in reference to its reU- gious character. With a few extracts &om these, we shall close our already somewhat protracted account of this truly important Institution. — * ' While we inculcate, as the ultimate end of all our lessons, that divine wisdom which the wisest of men so eloquently commended, and decliared to be * more precious than rubies, the mer- A8l2 S56 WALK THE FIFTH. chandize of it better than the merchandize of ailver, and the gain thereof than fine gold, and all the things that can be desired not to be compared unto her ;' while we desire to be the means of imparting that 'wisdom which is from above, pure, peaceable, and full of good fruits ;* it will not be to the neglect of human wisdom* and sound learning. For it is the highest wisdom which discovers to us the real value of all human science, and furnishes us with the best and most enduring motives to its acquisition. Our aim will be to bring aU human art, and science, and philo- sophy, within the touch and influence of religion, to sweeten and to sanctify them. While we explore the rich and ample stores of the wisdom and the genius of heathen antiquity, our aim will be thus to bring them beneath a clearer and a brighter light, by which we may rightly distinguish between what is true or false, good or evil, in principle, and in tendency ; detecting, and exposing to just reprobation, what is specious and seductive in example and influence; and admiring, honouring, and imitating whatever may be worthy of approbation and respect. By the aid of this health- imparting influence, we shall redeem, as it were, to God and Christian uses, many fair portions of the in- tellectual empire of antiquity ; we shall convert to right religious and moral improvement many of the most splendid passages and finest sentiments of ancient literature. The natural wisdom, the intellectual power and grace, the public and private virtues, the moral excellences, of the ancient pagan sages and heroes, we shall gather up and consecrate to God, as the shat- tered and dislocated fragments of that ruined and de- WALK THE FIFTH. 357 tnolished image of divine beauty, which once came perfect and faultless from His hand ; while we turn to behold their re-union and harmony in that new image of heavenly excellence, which He has revealed to us in the person, example, and doctrine of our Sa- viour Christ. It is thus that, we hope, religion will be the light and atmosphere which shall illuminate at once, and enliven, the minds of those who are entrusted to our care." After noticing the collection of large and handsome cottages called Bamefbury Park, in the fields north of the Workhouse, the building of which commenced about fifteen years back, we resume our track, which presents nothing farther of interest until we arrive at the Parochial Schools, situate on the west side of the road, in rear of the Chapel of Ease. These, with a dwelling-house for the master and mistress, were erected in the year 1 815, on a piece of freehold ground given to the charity by Mr. Samuel Rhodes, cow- keeper, of this parish. The original school was at- tached to the old church : after which, and until the erection of the present buildings, a house at the south- west corner of Cross-street was appropriated to the purposes of the charity. A sum of SOOO/. three-per- cent, consols, was sold towards defraying the expense of the present schools, the whole cost of which was about 3,500/. The institution of these schools dates in the year 1710, and was originally for the education and clothing of thirty boys and twenty girls. They are supported by annual subscriptions, donations, and collections made at the church and chapel of ease. Of the Madras system of instruction, which has been S58 WALK THE FIFTH. tome time introducedi the boys' school has been said to present a perfect specimen, pronounced by Dr. Belli and many competent judges, to be fully equal to any school under the National Society. The boys are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic ; and the girls reading, writing, arithmetic, and plain work. An in- fiintile school has also been established, apart from the other schools, for the reception of children under seven years of age. The affairs of the charity are managed by a committee of trustees, who are annual subscribers of one guinea or upwards ; and any person contribut- ing at one time ten guineas, or more, is a trustee for life. The girls* school is superintended by a conmiittee of ladies. The subscriptions and collections for the last year (1834-35) amounted to 815/. It. 5^d.. The following is a List of Benefactions to the Schools, taken partly from the tables at the west en- trance of the church, and partly from inscriptions at the School-house, assisted by some recent Reports from the Committee : — 1710 By an unknown hand ft 1712 Mrs. Lloyd, her legacy 6 1713 Mr. Chew's legacy 10 1715 Mt Hitchcock's legacy 1 1717 Dr. Tilly's gift 3 1718 Mrs. Anne How, her legacy ft ft 1719 Mrs. Danvers, her legacy 2 Mrs. Anne West, her legacy 40 Mrs. Snape, her legacy 3 1720 Mrs. Yeats, her gift ft By an unknown hand 4 4,0 Mrs. Beck, her gift 10 12 WALK THE FIFTH. 359 £ M. d. 1780 Mn. Winifred Taylor, her gift 40 1721 Mr. Ofwald Hoskins, from a perton un- known 60 Mr. Jos. Calcot, from a person unknown. . ft Mrs. Bridget Cave, her legacy 60 Mr. Richard Stretch's legacy 60 1722 Mrs. Atkins, her legacy 20 1724 Mr. John Best, from a person unknown. . 3 Mrs. Margaret Clarke, her gift 10 Mrs. Susanna Galway, her legacy ft Mr. Robert Southam's legacy 60 1726 Mr. James Ballard, his legacy 100 1726.TheRev.Mr. Mills, his gift 6 1728 In part of Mr. George Liquorish's legacy of 100/. received 60 1729 Mr. Thomas Purley, his legacy 80 Mrs. Anne White, her legacy 60 Mr. Wm. Whitfield's legacy 10 By Mr. James Ballard's bequest of the residue, &c 31 2 7i 1730 By a further part of Mr. Liquorish's legacy 12 10 Mrs.Bodily 20 Mr.Fellows 20 Philip Oddy, Esq 126 Mr. Emerson •<> 6 6 1746 Mrs. Muglestone • 30 Everard Sayer, Esq 40 1746 Mr. Thomas Evans 20 1747 Mrs. Elizabeth Fowler 6 1748 Thomas Bridges, Esq 20 1749 Mr. William Allam 16 4 2 1760 Mr. John Brown 30 Mr. Bartholomew Pidgeon * • 10 1761 Mr. Altham's gift 7 4 2 * Probably *' the great Bat. Pidgeon," a celebrated barber, who lived near St. Clement's Church in the Strand.— .S?e Pennant's Lmd. p. 136. 860 WALK THE FIFTH. £ «. iL 1761 Mr. SteguM ....r. 10 1762 Mr. John latten 6 Mr.Burton 3 1765 Mr. ThomiB Stonettreet, hit aunt'i exe* cutor 6 6 1764 Mr. Gea Liquorish, the remaining put loot 26 1766 Mrs. Litten 6 1768 Mr. Bowles 60 1769 Mrs. Lucy Testes 20 Mrs.U8biime 10 1763 Mr. Charles Biddle 20 Mrs.Th(mias SO Mr.Coz 20 Mr.Pamplyn 6 1769 Mrs. Berriman 10 1774 Mrs. Eliz. Onuner 100 1776 Mrs. Henrietta Ckwke 10 Mr. John PIggott 100 Mr. Thomas Stonestreet 20 1777 Mr. Wm. Stonehouse 20 Mr. Richard Lock 20 1778 Mr. Christian 10 10 1779 Mr. John Locke 20 1780 Mrs. Auheck, 3 per cent Annuities .... 20 1783 Mr. William £xell, 3 per cent Consolid. Bank Annuiues 60 1784 Mrs. Mary Franklin 30 1786 Mr. James Crane; per annum for ever . . 6 Mrs. Road. Marshall, 3 per cent Consolid. BankAnnuities 100 1787 Mr. Frederick Hawes, 3 per cents. 100 1790 Stafford Briscoe, Esq 100 John Lloyd. Esq. 21 1792 Mr. Wm. Davis 10 Mrs. Ann Swinscoe 10 Thos. Cogan, Esq 20 1793 Mr. William Bennett 60 WALK THE FIFTH. 361 £ 9. d. 1794 Mn. Rebecca StonestKet 60 1796 Mrs. Anne Locke 20 1797 ETerard Heylyn, sen. Esq. 31 10 1798 Mrs. Mary Mollis 6 1801 Mrs.AnnMayi 100 1802 Richard Singleton, Esq 10 1804 Mr. John Hayes 100 1806 An Old Inhabitant ^ whose fiither was educated in the School 10 Robert Careless, Esq 100 Mrs. Jane Gibbs 60 1807 The late Corps of Islington Volunteers . . 26 John Bentley, Esq 10 Mrs.Pickford 60 To which her Son added 10 1820 Mrs. Sus. Ebume, 3 per cent Red. 100 Daniel Sebbon, Esq 20 1822 Mr. James Deakin' 60 Mr. Mainwaring 34 1826 Mr. Bei\j. Holmes 100 1828 Mr. John Woodward, New 4 per cents. . . 260 Mrs. Wilkinson 100 1829 Mrs. Bradley, Consols 200 Mrs. Robinson ...••• 60 1832 Mrs. Roddy, 3 per cent. Consols 200 1834 W. Horton, Esq. Stock .100 W. Crouch, Esq 60 There are now in the Schools, exclusive of the Sunday and Infantine Scholars, 28S boys, and 177 girls, 100 of whom are fully clothed, and apprenticed, with * Ann May was educated in the School, and left a moiety of her savings, during a life of servitude, to be divided between this charity and the poor of the parish. * This old inhabitant, it has since appeared, was John Nichols, Esq. F.S.A. ' Educated in the School. 362 WALK THE FIFTH. a fee of £6, at the age of fourteen years. Sundaj dothing is provided for all the girls who have been at the schools three months ; and^ to every child in the school^ shoes and other articles of apparel are given as the charity can afford. The total number of chil- dren last reported by the Committee, stands thus : — In the Parochial Schoola, Boya, 283; Girls, 177 460 In the Inbntine School, Boys and Girls 196 656 Between a detached residence, nearly adjoining the Schools, called Paradise House, and the comer of the elevated line of buildings named Paradise Row, we observe the first indications that have fallen under our notice of that ancient thoroughfare, running westward from this spot, which yet bears the appella- tion of Haghush Lane. Ere long, it may be, even that appellation, together with every remnant of the highway itself, will be obliterated, and as totally for- gotten as the name it bore in the Roman times ; — for antiquaries conjecture it to have been no other than a Roman Road. The term Pack-hcrse Lane, by which it continues to be remembered by old inhabit- ants, shows that it was used as a bridleway, and for the conveyance (once almost universal) of wares by packmen, at a comparatively recent period. Its pre- cise course might be now very difficult to be deter- mined : but it seems pretty clear, that, in connexion with a branch road from Maiden Lane, which appears to be alluded to by Camden, and with Tallingdone (or Du Val's) Lane, it was of great use in enabling WALK THE FIFTH. 363 northern travellers to avoid the steep acclivity of Highgate\ All that remains of this ancient tho- rough&re would now scarcely measure a quarter of a mile in length, being at last almost totally cut up and lost in brick-fields, buildings, and new roads : but the graphic pen of William Hone pre- sented so interesting a sketch of what it was ten years back, as well as at a somewhat later period, that we cannot do better, under this head, than extract from his " Every-day Book," and " Table Book," for the amusement of the reader. We must premise that he commences his description with some account of a cottcye formerly standing in Hagbush Lane, the his- tory of which is somewhat curious, and excited much attention in the parish about the time of Mr. Hone's writing, which was in the summer of 1825. ** Cross- ing the meadow west of Copenhagen House (says Mr. H.), to the north-east corner, there is a mud-built cot- tage in the widest part of Hagbush Lane, as it runs due north from the angle formed by its eastern direc- tion. It stands on the site of one still more rude, at which, until destroyed, labouring men, and humble wayfarers, attracted by the sequestered and rural beauties of the lane, stopped to recreate. It was just such a scene as Morland would have coveted to sketch. But it stands no longer : its history is in the ' simple annals of the poor.' About seven years ago, an aged and almost decayed labouring man, a native of Cheshimt, in Hertfordshire, with his wife and child, lay out every night upon the road side of * See pp. 11, 12. 364 WALK THE FIFTH. Hagbush Lane^ under what of bough and branch they could creep for shelter, till ' winters cold* came on, and then he erected this ' mud edifice/ He had worked for some great landholders and ownen in Islington, and still jobbed about. Like them he was, to this extent of building, a speculator ; and, to eke out his insufficient means, he profited, in his humble abode, by the sale of small beer to stragglers and rustic wayfarers. His cottage stood between the lands of two rich men ; not upon the land of either, but partly on the disused road, and partly on the waste of the manor. Deeming him by no means a respectable neighbour for their cattle, they ' warned him ofi*:' he, not choosing to be houseless, nor con<< ceiving that their domains would be injured by his little inclosure between the banks of the road, refused to accept this notice, and he remained. For this oflence, one of them caused his labourers to level the miserable dwelling to the earth ; and the ' houseless child of want,' was compelled - by this wanton act to apply, for his family and himself, to be taken into the workhouse. His application was refused : but he re- ceived advice to build again, with information that his disturber was not justified in disturbing him. In vain he pleaded incompetent power to resist ; the work- house was shut against him, and he began to build another hut. He had proceeded so far as to keep ofi* the weather in one direction, when wealth again made war upon poverty, and, while away firom his wife and child, his scarcely half raised hut was pulled down during a heavy rain, and his wife and child left in the lane shelterless. A second application for a home in WALK THE FIFTH. 365 the workhouse was rejected, with still stronger assur- ances that he had been illegally disturbed, and with renewed advice to build again. The old man has built for the third time ; and here he dwells, and sells his small beer to people who choose to sit and drink it on the turf seat against the wall of his cottage : it is chiefly in request, however, among the brickmakers in the neighbourhood, and the labourers on the new road cutting across Hagbush Lane from Holloway to the Kentish Town Road, which will ultimately con- nect the Regent's Park, and the western suburb, with the eastern extremity of this immensely growing me- tropolis. Though immediately contiguous to Mr. Bath, (the landlord of Copenhagen House), he has no way assisted in obstructing this poor creature's endea^ your to get a morsel of bread. For the present he remains unmolested in his almost sequestered nook ; and the place and himself are worth seeing, for they are perhaps the nearest specimens to London of the old country labourer and his dwelling.'* Thus wrote the author of the ** Every-day Book" in June, I8S5; and he added some remarks upon the lane in which the poor man's dwelling was situate, which are yet more perhaps to our present purpose. — " From the many intelligent persons a stroller may meet among the thirty thousand inhabitants of Isling- ton, on his way along Hagbush Lane, he will perhaps not find one to answer a question that will occur to him during his walk, ' Why is this place called Hag- bush Lane?' Before giving satisfaction here to the inquirer, he is informed that, if a Londoner, Hagbush Lane is, or ought to be, to him, the most interesting 866 WALK THE FIFTH. way that he can find to walk in ; and presuming him to be influenced by the feelings and motives that actuate his fellow-citizens to the improvement and adornment of their city by the making of a new north road, he is informed that Hagbush Lane^ though now wholly disused, and in many parts destroyed, was the oUf or rather the oldest north road, or ancient bridle- way, to and firom London, and the northern parts of the kingdom. *' Now for its name. Hcig is the old Saxon word hasg, which became corrupted into hawghy and after- wards into haw, and is the name for the berry of the hawthorn: also the Saxon 'word haga signified a hedge, or any inclosure. Hag afterwards signified a bramble; and hence, for instance, the blackberry bush, or any other bramble, would be properly deno- minated a hag. Hagbush Lane, therefore, may be taken to signify either Hawthorn-bush Lane, Bramble Lane, or Hedge-bush Lane ; more probably the latter. Within recent recollection, Whitcomb Street, near Charing Cross, was called Hedge Lane K " Supposing the reader to proceed from the old man's mud cottage in a northerly direction, he will find that the widest part of Hagbush Lane reaches, from that spot, to the road now cutting firom HoUoway. Cross- ing immediately over the road, he comes again into the lane, which he will there find so narrow as only to admit convenient passage to a man on horseback. * The resident in our parish will remember a case in point nearer home : we mean Hedge Row, on the weit side of the high road lead- ing from High Street to Islington Green and Upper Street. WALK THE FIFTH. S67 This was the general width of the road throughouti and the usual width of all the English roads made in ancient times. They did not travel in carriages, or carry their goods in carts, as we do, but rode on horse- back, and conveyed their wares or merchandise in packnsaddles, or packages on horses' backs. They likewise conveyed their money in the same way. In an objection raised in the reign of Elizabeth to a clause in the Hue and Cry Bill, then passing through Parliament, it was urged, regarding some travellers who had been robbed in open day within the hundred of Beyntesh, in the county of Berks, that ' they were clothiers, and yet travelled not withe the great trope of clothiers; they also carried their money openlye in wallets upon their saddles ^' The customary width of their roads was either four feet or eight feet. Some parts of Hagbush Lane are much lower than the mea- dows on each side ; and this defect is common to parts of every ancient way, as might be exemplified^ were it necessary, with reasons founded on their ignorance of every essential connected with the formation, and perhaps the use, of a road. *' It is not intended to point out the tortuous direc- tions of Hagbush Lane ; for the chief object of this notice is to excite the reader to one of the pleasantest walks he can imagine, and to tax his ingenuity to the discovery of the route the road takes. This, the ancient north road, comes into the present north road in Upper Holloway, at the foot of Highgate Hill, and went in that direction to Homsey. From the mud 1 Hoby MSS. 368 WALK THE FIFTH. cottage, towards London, it proceeded between Para- dise House, the residence of Mr. Greig, the engraver, and the Adam and Eve public-house, in the Holloway Back Road; and, by circuitous windings, approached London at the distance of a few feet on the eastern side of the City Arms public-house, in the City Road, and continued towards Old Street, St Luke's. It no where communicated with the back road leading from Battle Bridge to the top of Highgate UiU, called Maiden Lane'. " Hagbush Lane is well known to every botanizing perambulator on the west side of London. The wild onion, clown*s-wound-wort, wake-robin, and abun- dance of other simples, lovely in their form, and of high medicinal repute in our old herbals and receipt- books, take root, and seed, and flower here in great variety. How long, beneath the tall elms and poUard oaks, and the luxuriant beauties on the banks, the infirm may be suffered to seek health, and the healthy to recreate, who shall say ? Spoilers are abroad ! " Through Hagbush Lane every man has a right to ride and walk ; in Hagbush Lane no one man has even a shadow of right to an inch as private property. It is a public road, and public property. The trees, as weU as the road, are public property ; and the very form of the road is public property^ Yet bargains and sales have been made, and are said to be now making, under which the trees are cut down and sold, and the public road thrown, bit by bit, into private 1 We have seen, however, that there was, in aU probability, a erou- aU of communication between Maiden and Hagbush Lanes. — l^de page S63. WALK THE FIFTH. 369 fields as pasture. Under no conveyance or admission to land by any proprietor, whether freeholder or lord of the manor, can any person legally dispossess the public of a single foot of Hagbush Lane, or obstruct the passage of any individual through it. All the people of London, and indeed all the people of Eng- land» have a right in this road as a common highway. Hitherto, among the inhabitants of Islington, many of whom are opulent, and all of whom are the local guardians of the public rights in this road, not one has been found with sufficient public virtue, or rather with enough of common manly spirit, to compel the restoration of public plunder, and in his own defence, and on behalf of the public, arrest the highway robber. Building, or what may more properly be called, the tumbling up of tumble-down houses, to the north of London, is so rapidly increasing, that in a year or two there will scarcely be a green spot for the resort of the inhabitants. Against covering of private ground in this way, there is no resistance ; but against its evil consequences to health, some remedy should be provided by the setting apart of open spaces for the exercise of walking in the fresh air. The preserva- tion of Hagbush Lane, therefore, is, in this point of view, an object of public importance. Where it has not been thrown into private fields, (from whence, however, it is recoverable,) it is one of the loveliest of our green lanes: and though persons from the country smile at Londoners when they talk of being " rural" at the distance of a few miles from town, a countryman would find it difficult to name any lane B b S70 WALK THE FIFTH. in his own county more sequestered, or of greater beauty. ** A acene like this Would woo the care-worn wise To moralize« And courting lovers court to tell their bliss. Had I a cottage here, I'd be content : for where 1 have my books, I have old friends. Whose cheering looks Make me amends For coldneiaea in men : and so. With them departed long ago, And with wild flowers and trees, And with the living breese, And with the * still small voice' Within, I would ngoice. And converse hold, while breath Held me, and then— «ome. Death 1" In this manner Mr. Hone treated of Hagbush Lane, and its solitary cottage, in his number of the '* £yery* day Book** for June 36, 1825 ; his object being to recommend the ** delightful task" of endeayouring to , trace it, to such persons as cannot, according to an ex- pression often used, " take a walk without a motiye.*' How fruitless now would be the attempt to make out this ancient thoroughfare, must haye appeared from what we haye already said ; and we should here quit the subject, had not the talented author of the pre- ceding extract resumed it in the second yolume of his *^ Table Book," rather more than two years afterwards, in the statement following : — *' I thought, in the Every-Day Book, that I had WALK THE FIFTH. 371 done with * Hagbush Lane* altogether — the tale of the poor man's wrongSi when * the proud man's con- tumely' grew into open aggression, had passed from me ; and I presumed that, for his little while on this side the grave, the oppressed might 'go free/ and * hear not the voice of the oppressor.' — But when sel- fishness is unwatched, it has a natural tendency to break forth ; and a sudden and recent renewal of an outrage, which every honest mind had condemned, furnishes a fresh story, well related in the following letter : — " ' Sir — In the first volume of the Every-Day Book you have favoured the lovers of rural scenery with an historical and descriptive notice of Hagbush Lane, Islington, accompanied with an engraving of the * mud edifice'' which formerly stood there, of which you have given the ' shnple annals :' — ^its erection by a poor labourer, who else had no shelter for himself, wife, and child, to ' shrink into,' when ' pierced by wintry winds ;' — its demolition by the wealthy occu* pants of the neighbouring fields ; — ^the again^^house* less man's endeavour to rebuild his hovel ; — ^the rich man's repetition of the destruction of his half-finished hut ; — and, finally, the labourer's succeeding in the erection of a cottage, moce commodious than the first, where he continued unmolested to sell small beer to poor workmen and wayfarers. AUow me. Sir, the melancholy task of informing you of the ' final destruction' of this sample of rusticity. Hagbush Lane is despoiled of its appropriate ornament. '' ' I have ever been an admirer of the beautiful scenery that is to be met with on that side of the Bb2 37^ WALK THE FIFTH. metropolis ; and never, since reading your interesting narrative and description, have I strolled that way without passing through Hagbush Lane. On entering the wide part firom the field by Copenhagen House, one day last week, I was sadly astonished at the change — the cottage, with its garden-rails and benches, had disappeared, and the garden was entirely laid waste : trees, bushes, and vegetables, rudely torn up by the roots, lay withering where they had flourished. Upon the site of his demolished dwelling stood the poor old man, bent by ajBUction as much as by age, leaning on his stick. From the heart-broken expression of his features, it did not take me a moment to guess the cause of this devastation : the opulent landholder has, for the third time, taken this ungentle expedient to rid his pastures of a neighbouring ' nuisance,* — the hut of cheerless poverty. " ' The distressed old rustic stated, that on Thurs- day (which was the 6th of September), at about six o'clock in the morning, before the inmates had arisen, a party of workmen came to the cottage ; and, merely informing them that 'they must disturb them,' in- stantly commenced the work of destruction. His dwelling was soon levelled with the ground ; and the growth of his garden torn up, and thrown in a heap into the lane. He declared, with a tear, that ' it had ruined him for ever, and would be the death of him.* I did not ask him ma&y questions : it had been a sin to probe his too-deeply wounded feelings. '* * Proceeding up the lane to where it is crossed by the new road, I perceived that, in the open space by the road-side, at the entrance into the narrow part of WALK THE FIFTH. 373 the lane, the old man had managed to botch up, with pieces of board and old canvas, a miserable shed to shelter him. It was surrounded with household uten- sils, and what materials he had saved firom the ruin of his cottage — a most wretched sty — but little larger than the dog-kennel that was erected near it, from which a £uthful cur barked loudly at the intruder's footstep. " ' Being a stranger in the neighbourhood, I can- not pretend to know any thing of the motives that have induced his rich neighbours thus to distress the poor and aged man ; — perhaps they are best known to themselves, and it is well if they can justify them to any but themselves ! — but, surely, surely, he will not be suffered to remain thus exposed in the approaching season. * all amid the rigours, of the year, In the wild depth of winter, while without The ceaseleM winds blow ice.* ^^ " * Perhaps, Sir, I give too much room to my feelings. My intention was but to inform you of a regretted change in a scene which you have noticed and admired in the Every-Day Book. I remain, &c. '* 'Sept. 19, 1827; '' This communication, accompanied by the real name and address of its warm-hearted writer, revived my recollections, and kindled my feelings. I imme- diately wrote to a friend, who lives in the vicinage of Hagbush Lane, requesting him to hasten to the site of the old cottage, which was quite as well known to him as to me, and bring me a drawing of the place in its present state, with such particulars of the razing 374 WALK THE FIFTH. of the edifice as he could obtain. This accounti as I collect it from verbal narration^ corroborates that of my correspondent. '' So complete has been the devastation, that a drawing of the spot whereon the cottage stood would merely be a view of the level earth. My friend walked over it, and along Hagbush Lane, till he came into the new road (leading from the King's Head at Hol- loway to the lower road from London to Kentish Town). Immediately at the corner of the continua- tion of Hagbush Lane, which begins on the opposite side of the new road, he perceived a new hut, and near it the expelled occupant of the cottage which had been laid waste in the other part of the lane. On asking the old man respecting the occasion and manner of his ejectment, he cried. It was a wet and dreary day; and the poor fellow in tears, and his hastily thrown up tenement, presented a cheerless and deso- late scene. His story was short. On the Thursday (mentioned in the letter), so early as five in the morn- ing, some men brought a ladder, a barrow, and a pick- axe, and, ascending the ladder, began to untile the roof, while the old man and his wife were in bed. He hastily rose; they demanded of him to unlock the door ; on his refusing, they burst it open with the pick-axe, and having thus forced an entrance,* com- pelled his wife to get up. They then wantonly threw out and broke the few household utensils, and hewed down the walls of the dwelling. In the little garden, they rooted up and destroyed every tree, shrub, and vegetable ; and, finally, they levelled all vestiges which could mark the place as having been used or cidtivated 12 WALK THE FIFTH. 375 for the abode and sustenance of human beings. Some of the less destructible requisites of the cottage they trundled in the barrow, up the lane, across the road, whither the old man and his wife followed, and were left with the few remnants of their miserable property by the housebreakers. The old man represents the ' ringleader,' as he calls him, in this last work of ruin, to be the foreman of a great cow-keeping landholder and speculator, to whose field possessions the cottage on the waste was adjacent. Who employed this * ringleader' and his foUowers ? Who was the insti- gating and protecting accessary before and after this brutal housebreaking and wilful waste ? '* The helpless man got his living by selling small beer and a little meat, cooked by his wife, to others as poor and helpless as themselves ; and they eked out their existence by their garden produce. In the summer of 18S5, 1 heard it said that their cottage was the resort and drinking-place of idle and disorderly persons. I took some pains to ascertain the fact ; but could never trace it beyond the most dubitable autho- rity — general report. It is quite true that I saw persons there whom I preferred not to sit down with, because their manners and habits were difierent from my own : yet I not unfrequently took a cup of the old man's beer among them, and silently watched them, and sometimes talked with them ; and, for any thing that I could observe — and I know myself to be a close observer — they were quite as honourable, and moral, as persons of more refined language and dress, who frequent respectable cofiee-houses. I had been, too, withinside the cottage, which was a place of rude 876 WALK TUS FIFTH. accommodation for no more than its settled occupants* It was on the outside that the poor people entertained their customersi who usually sat on the turf-seat against the footpath side of the hut, or on an empty barrel or two, or a three-legged milldng-^tooL On the hedge-side of the cottage was a small low lean-to, wherein the old man kept a pig to fatten. At the front end was an enclosure of a few feet of ground, with domestic fowls and their callow broods, which ran about capkling, and routing the earth for their living. In the rear of the cottage was a rod or two of ground banked off, and well planted with potatoes, cabbages, and other garden stuff, where I have often seen the old man fully employed in weeding and cul- tivating ; digging up old, or preparing for new crops, or plashing and mending his little fences. Between his vegetables, and his live stock, and his few custo- mers, he had enough to do ; and I never saw him idle. I never saw him sitting down to drink with them ; and if he had, there was nothing among them but the small beer. From the early part^of the spring to the end of the year just mentioned, I have been past, and loitered near the cottage at all hours of the day, before even the sun or the inmates had risen, till after they had gone to rest, and the moon was high, and the stars were in their courses. Never, in the hours I spent round the place by day or night, did I see or hear any persons or practices that would be termed disorderly by any but the worst judges of human nature and morals — the underbred overpolite, and vulgarly over- drest. There I have seen a brickmaker or two, with their wives and daughters, sitting and regaling, as WALK THE FIFTH. 877 much at home, and as sober and innocent, as parties of French ladies and gentlemen at Chedron's in Lei- cester Square ; and from these people, if spoken to civilly, there was language as civil. There I have seen a comfortably dressed man, in a clean shirt, and a coat and hat as good as a Fleet^street tradesman's, with a jug of small * entire' before him, leisurely at work on a pair of shoes, joining in the homely con- versation, and in chorusses of old English songs, raised by his compeers. There, too, I have heard a company of merry-hearted labourers and holiday- making journeymen, who had straggled away &om their smithies and furnaces in the lanes of London, to breathe the fresh air, pealing out loud laughter, while the birds whistled over their heads from the slender branches of the green elms. In the old man I saw nothing but unremitting industry ; and in his customers nothing but rude yet inoffensive good na- ture. He was getting his bread by the sweat of his brow, and his brow was daily moistened by labour." The present author is unable to add any thing to this account, relative to the ultimate fate of the old man, whose name, it appears, was William Corrall. Neithej: can he, of his own knowledge or observation, speak to the correctness of the charges, that certainly were at one time rife, of the encouragement afforded to immoral practices by the cottager's small-beer establishment. But truth compels the admission, that, though he repeatedly passed Corrall's hut, when in the zenith of its humble success, he never saw ought that the most fastidious eye could disapprove. As regards the former wild and sequestered beauties 878 WALK THB FIFTH. of Hagbush Lane, he must observe that Mr. Hone has by no means done them more than justice. In- deedi his own recollection of them in the days of his boyhood, (a period some twenty years earlier than the date of Mr. H.*s description), presents them in yet more vivid colours than those in which they appeared to the author of the Every^Day Book ; and now that they are fled for ever, he can truly say that they have been more than once sighed over, along with his other remembrances of the things that were. Since the preceding paragraph was written, we have discovered that Mr. Hone takes another, and ^* a la»i look at Hagbush liane," in a number of his Table- Book for December, 1827 : and as we are therein presented with a few additional particulars relating to Corrall, and a few more remarks, worthy of notice, upon the lane itself, we subjoin what follows : '' On the 28th of November, Mr. S., as the agent of a respectable clergyman whose sympathy had been excited by the statements of the Table Book, called on me to make some inquiries into the case, and I invited him to accompany me to Corrall's shed. We proceeded by a stage to the * Old Mother Red-Cap,' Camden Town, and walked from thence along the new road leading to HoUoway, till we came to the spot at the western comer of Hagbush Lane, on the left-hand side of the road. We had journeyed for nothing — the shed had disappeared from the clay swamp whereon it stood. Along the dreary line, and the adjacent meadows, rendered cheerless by alternate frosts and rains, there was not a human being within sight ; and we were at least a mile from any place where inquiry WALK THE FIFTH. 379 could be made, with a chance of success, respecting the fugitives. As they might have retired into the lane for better shelter during the winter, we made our way across the grassy entrance as well as we could, and I soon recognized the little winding grove, so delightful and lover-like a walk in the days of vernal sunshine. Its aspect, now, was gloomy and forbidding. The disrobed trees looked black, like funeral mutes mourning the death of summer, and wept cold drops upon our faces. As we wound our slippery way, we perceived moving figures in the distance of the dim vista, and soon came up to a comfortless man and woman, a poor couple, huddling over a small smoul- dering fire of twigs and leaves. They told us that Corrall and his wife had taken down their shed, and moved, three weeks before, and were gone to live in some of the new buildings in White Conduit Fields. The destitute appearance of our informants in this lonely place, induced inquiry respecting themselves. The man was a London labourer out of employment, and, for two days, they had been seeking it in the country without success. Because they were able to work, parish officers would not employ them; and they were without a home, and without food. They had walked and sauntered during the two nights, for want of a place to sleep in, an^ occasionally lighted a fire for a little warmth — * The world was not their friend, nor the world's law.' " We felt this, and Mr. S. and myself contributed a trifle to help them to a supper and a bed for the night. It was more, by all its amount, than they could have WALK THB FIFTH. got in that forlorn place. They cheerfully undertook to show us to Corrall*8 present residence, and set for- ward with us. Before we got out of Hagbush Lane, it was dark, but we could perceive that the site of Corrall's cottage and ruined garden was occupied by heaps of gas-manure, belonging to the opulent land- holder, whose labourers destroyed the poor mans residence, and his growing stock of winter vegetables. ' A man may see how this world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears. See how yon justice rails upon yon simple thie£ Hark in thine ear: change places ; and, handy dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief?' * Through tattered clothes small vices do appear : Robes, and furred gowns, hide a)L Plate sin with gold, And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks : Arm it in ragt, a pigmy's straw doth pierce it' ** We found Corrall, and his wife and child, at No. S, Bishop's Place, Copenhagen Street. The overseers would have taken them into the workhouse ; but the old man and his wife refused, because, according to the workhouse rules, had they entered, they would have been separatee]^ In the * Form of Solemnization of Matrimony,' it is enjoined, after the giving of hands, * those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder :' and though this prescription is of the highest order of law, yet it is constantly vio- lated by parochial authority. Corrall is sixty-nine years old, and his wife's lungs appear diseased. Were they together in the poor-house, they would be as well circumstanced as they can ever hope or wish; WALK THE FIFTH. S81 but this not being allowed^ they purpose endeavour- ing to pick up a living bj selling ready-dressed meat and small beer to labouring people. Their child, a girl about seven years of age, seems destined to a vaga- bond and lawless life, unless means can be devised to take her off the old people's hands, and put her to school. On leaving them, I gave the wife five shil- lings, which a correspondent sent for their use ; and Mr. S. left his address, that, when they get settled, they may apply to him as the almoner of the bene- volent clergyman, on whose behalf he accompanied me to witness their situation ^. " This notice will terminate all remark on Hagbush Lane : but I reiterate, that since it ceased to be used as the common highway from the north of England into London, it became a green lane, affording lovely walks to lovers of rural scenery, which lawless en- croachments have despoiled, and only a few spots of its former beauty remain. It is not " waste'* of the > After all that has been said by the humane and benevolent- hearted respecting the " hard fate" of this old cottager — notwithstand- ing, too, Mr. Hone's eloquent appeals on his behalf—and although, as already stated, the present author never observed aught that was immoral attaching to his abode — still, it must be added, the alle- gations against CorraU appear to have been substantiated, according to the opinion of very worthy and most disinterested witnesses. A highly respectable correspondent, residing near the spot, thus writes on the subject of the forcible expulsion and demolition which have been so fully detailed : — " This step would not have been taken, but that the inmates of the cottage had become the terror of the whole neighbourhood. The doors were open night and day to the most vicious and depraved characters ; and it could no longer be considered the abode of the worthy man, and industrious cottager." WALK THE FIFTH. manors through which it paases, but belongs to the crown : and if the Commissioners of the Woods and Forests survey and inquire, they will doubtless daim and possess themselves of the whole, and appropriate it by sale to the public service. True it is, that on one or two occasions manor homages have been called, and persons colourably admitted to certain parcels: but the land so disposed of, a homage could not legally admit claimants into possession of; nor could an entxy on the court-roUs confer a legal title. Indeed the court-rolls themselves will, at least in one instance, show that the steward has doubted his lord's right: and the futility of such a title has seemed so obvious, that some who detain portions of Hagbush Lane ac- tually decline admission through the manor court, and hold their possessions by open seizure, deeming such a holding as l^al, to all intents and purposes, as any that the lord of the manor can give. Such possessors are lords in their own right — a right un- known to the law of England — ^founded on mere force, which, were it exercised on the personalities of passengers, would infiEdlibly subject successful claimants to the inconvenience of taking either a long voyage to New South Wales, or, perhaps, a short walk with- out the walls of Newgate, there to receive the highest reward the sheriff's substitute can bestow." The New Moods which intersect the fields in this quarter, and to which Mr. Hone's narrative makes repeated allusion, should be here specifically noticed. The one of earliest date is that spoken of as " leading from the King's Head at HoUoway to the lower road from London to Kentish Town," and which, in the WALK THE FIFTH. S83 first part of the tale of the old cottager, written in 1825, is mentioned as *^ the road now cutting from Holloway." To this almost immediately succeeded a cut from Battle Bridge into the same road, near its junction with the high road at Holloway, which, from the material it was chiefly formed oi, is commonly <»lled the Chalk Itocul, while the other is denom- inated the Kentish or Camden-Town Rocui, A branch cut was made from the last mentioned, and opened under the name of Seven Sisters' Road, about three years back: this, after crossing the high road at HoUoway, falls into, and adopts the line of the old way called Heame Lane, as observed in former parts of this work \ and from thence is continued to Tottenham. The "Fields west* of Holloway," into which the route laid down for the present Walk promised to conduct the reader, are still as pleasant as most in the neighbourhood of London, notwithstanding the de- struction of much of their privacy, and many of their rural features, by new roads and buildings. Within the recollection of the author, their rural character prevailed quite from the hill of Highgate to the northern boundary of Clerkenwell : now, more than half that space is more or less occupied by houses of every variety of description, amidst which the charm- ing alternation of meadows, hedge-rows, and forest trees exists no longer. The pedestrian of the present time must almost approach Highgate, ere he can fairly leave behind him the congregated habitations of the > See pp. 138 and 343. 384 WALK THE FIFTH. metropolis, 'and feel that pure country air in reality blows upon him. But, as already said, ^' west of HoUoway*' there is still much to please the saunterer for health, or for the occupation of a vacant hour, especially in the hay season, when the delightful fra- grance of the atmosphere all around, and the groupes of happy visitants of both sexes, give additional charms to the scene. How long hay will continue to be made at all between Highgate and London, is a ques- tion which it might amuse speculators " in the build- ing line*' to attempt to determine. Our return may commence by the Chalk Road, which will conduct us to the vicinage of Copenhagen House on the one hand, and to the Caledonian Asylum on the other. The Asylum appears under the form of a handsome building in the Doric style, with a portico in the centre, surmounted by a figure of St. Andrew, and ornamented with a shield bearing the lion of Scotland in the tympanum of the pedi- ment. Within the portico, over the principal en- trance, is the inscription following : — THIS INSTITUTION, FOUNDED UNDER THE AUSPICES OP THE HIGHLAND SOCIETY, AND HONOURED WITH THE PATRONAOE OF THE KINO, WAS INCORPORATED BT ACT OF PARLIAMENT, A. D. MDCCCXV, POR SUPPORTING AND EDUCATING THE CHILDREN OF SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AND MARINES, NATIVES OF SCOTLAND, WHO HATE DIED OR BEEN DISABLED IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR C0UN*n TRY, AND OF INDIGENT SCOTCH PARENTS, RESIDENT IN LONDON, NOT ENTITLED TO PAROCHIAL RELIEF. THE FIRST STONE OF THIS BUILDING WAS LAID IN THE VIII TEAR OF THE REIGN OF HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY GEORGE IV, ON THE XVII OF MAT, MDCCCXXVII, BT HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, AUGUSTUS FREDERICS, DUKE OF SUSSEX, EARL OF INVERNESS, BARON OF ARKLOW, PXB- 8IDEHT OF THE CORPORATION. WALK THE FIFTH. 385 The building stands commandingly on an ascent from the east side of the road, and has an ornamental garden in front, and a piece of ground devoted to the production of culinary vegetables in rear. The archi- tect was the late Mn George Tappen. A brief sketch of the history of an institution so meritorious, it is hoped will interest the reader. The protracted and sanguinary wars in which this country had been engaged, and in which Scotchmen bore so distinguished a part, threw upon the country a greater number of the Widows and Orphans of those brave men who fell in the conflict, than had been known at any former period of our history. The Royal Insti- tutions of Greenwich and Chelsea, although liberally endowed, afforded an asylum but to a small proportion of the objects that pressed for admission ; and many Orphans, the offspring of Scotch Soldiers and Sailors, were daily seen wandering in a forlorn condition. Under these circumstances it was deemed an object worthy of Scotchmen, and the most appropriate monu- ment of the gratitude of their country, to establish an institution in the metropolis of the empire, for the Orphans and destitute Children of those who had de- voted their lives to the service of their country, or who might hereafter stand forward in its defence in the hour of danger. There was, besides, a numerous and meritorious class of Scotchmen residing in Lon- don, for whom no national institution had hitherto been provided. And it had long been a subject of regret, that — at a period when the value of education was so universally appreciated — when the natives of many different countries resident in London, and some c c 886 WALK THE FIFTH. even of the counties of England, had establishments for the education of their infant poor, — no institution had been formed for the Children of Indigent Scotch Parents, notwithstanding the wealth and prosperity of so many individuals, natives of Scotland, residing in London. To remove this national stigma, and to provide the relief so urgently called for, the Highland Society OF London determined, in the year 1808, to adopt measures for establishing an Institution, to be called the Caledonian Asylum, which should rescue these children from poverty, and afford them the blessings of education. A Prospectus to this effect was accord- ingly issued, which was well received by the public. Many of the Nobility and Gentry subscribed liberally, and pledged their future support. The measure however, from the circumstances of the country at that period, was for some years suspended. Subscrip- tions to a considerable amount were in the mean time obtained in the West Indies, through the exertions of Gilbert Saltoun, Esq., and other patriotic indivi- duals. In 1813 the subject was revived. The High- land Society prosecuted the measure with renewed vigour, and in a short time the subscriptions amounted to Ten Thousand Pounds. It is but justice to record, that Sir Charles Forbes, Bart, with that liberality and benevolence for which he is so distinguished, advanced One Thousand Pounds towards forwarding the object, in anticipation of contributions from his &iends in Bombay, which was afterwards more than realized. In the following year the Highland Society trans- ferred the management of the Asylum to the Sub« WALK THE FIFTH. 887 scribers, when a Committee of their number was appointed, and measures adopted for organizing the Institution ; and on the 14th of June, 1815, it was in- corporated by Act of Parliament. But, from unavoid- able circumstances, the Institution was not opened for the reception of Children until December 1819, when the Committee, having procured premises in Cross Street, Hatton Garden, admitted 12 Boys on the foundation : the number was afterwards gradually in- creased to 40, being the utmost that the building could accommodate, with proper regard to the health of the inmates. These premises were found unsuitable, and being from their locality incapable of extension, it became necessary to remove the establishment to a more eligible situation. Two acres of freehold ground were therefore purchased in these fields: and the foundation of a suitable building was laid on the 17th of May, 1827, and completed in September 1828, when the establishment was removed. The building thus erected, although in itself com- plete, forms only the central part of a design, which can at any time be progressively extended, or com- pleted, as the means of the Corporation increase. It is capable of accommodating 100 children ; but at present there are only 56 Boys on the establishment, being the utmost that the funds of the Institution can support. They are admitted from the ages of seven to ten years, and retained until they have arrived at fourteen, when they are apprenticed to trades, or otherwise disposed of, according to circumstances. They receive a plain useful education, and the utmost care is bestowed on their moral and religious instruc- cc2 S88 WALK THB FIFTH. tioD, under the superintendence of a Clei^man of the Church of Scotland ; and they are once a year publicly examined by the Presbytery of the Scottish Church in London. Hitherto, the benefits of the Chari^ have been confined to Boys ; but it is in con- templation, whenever sufficient funds can be obtained, to extend them also to Girls. The Institution has from its commencement been honoured with the Patronage of the Kino, and other branches of the Royal Family. His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex was President of the Highland Society when the measure was first proposed, and afterwards, when reviyed in 1813 ; and the late illus- trious Brothers of his Royal Highness, the Dukes of York and Kent, who were successively Presidents of the Caledonian Asylum, uniformly promoted its interests by their influence and patronage. The goTemment of the Asylum is by a President, ten Vice-Presidents, three Treasurers, three Auditors, and a Committee of twenty-four Directors, who are elected for three years; the President, Vice-Presi- dents, and all subscribers of one hundred guineas and upwards, being members of the Committee. A general court of the corporation is holden at least four times in every year. Every person paying into the hands of the Treasurers the sum of ten guineas or upwards, in the course of any one year, is constituted a guardian for life ; and every person paying the yearly sum of two guineas, is also a guardian so long as he continues the payment thereof. Any person leaving a l^acy of one hundred guineas, or upwards, to the corporation, may appoint by will a guardian, who is entitled to the WALK THE FIFTH. S89 same privileges as other guardians subscribing an equal amount. Every subscriber to the extent of two hundred guineas, paid vdthin the space of five years, is entitled to present one child, duly qualified accord- ing to the rules and regulations. The nomination of the children is taken in rotation by the subscribers, beginning vdth the last at the time the vacancies are declared. No child can be admitted, unless recom- mended by a subscriber who shall have paid ten gui- neas or upwards in one sum, as a life subscription, or one guinea as an annual subscription, and the same regularly continued until the time of giving such recommendation. The election is by a general ballot of the subscribers, at which all subscribers of one guinea annually, or a donation of ten guineas in one sum, have one vote for the admission of each child to be elected, and an additional vote for every additional subscription of one guinea annually, or if of ten guineas in one sum. The elections take place on the first Thursdays of the months of June and December in each year. After such elections, and before those elected can be ad- mitted into the Asylum, it must be certified by the regular medical assistants of the institution that they are firee firom mental or bodily disease; and in the event of any child being found on examination not eligible, the candidate next upon the poll is admitted in his stead. Parents or friends applying for the admission of children, are required to sign their con- sent to their remaining at the Asylum as long as the directors may think fit, and to their being disposed of, when of a proper age, as apprentices or servants, according to the provisions of the Act of Parliament. 390 WALK THE FIFTH. Much interest is given to this institution by the appearance of its youthful inmates, who all wear jackets and kilts of royal tartan, together with tartan hose and bonnets ; a dress which is only varied, during the winter months, by blue trowsers. Occasionally, they are seen in the streets of the metropoh's in this dress, when they attract much the same degree of attention as that now very rare sight, a Highland regiment. The design of such a national asylum is centoinly nobl^, and its objects worthy of more than national — we mean more than strictly Scotch — ^sup- port. Benevolent persons of the three nations, who possess the means not less than the desire to do good, could hardly extend their benefactions in a more use- ful manner, than by assisting this corporation to complete the plan originally sketched out for the " Caledonian Asylum." We may here notice, that one thousand pounds have been lately received in legacies, in sums of not less than a hundred pounds each ; and that the sum of S9(jL lis. 9d, accrued to the Institution in May, 1833, being one half of the proceeds of the Caledonian Ball then given for the mutual benefit of the Scottish Hospital and the Asylum. A short walk over the fields from the building we have been describing, conducts to where was — we can hardly now say is — the Roman Camp, Our plate will show the exact appearance of the principal portion of its remains about thirty years ago, consisting at that time of a pnstorium, with a surrounding fosse, from which the field it stood in was called the " Reed-Moat Field." In situation, form, and size, this praetorium WALK THE FIFTH. 391 exactly corresponded with the description given by Polybius of the ground-plot for the General's tent, in bis account of the Roman method of castrametation. The site was a square of about two hundred feet ; the area within the intrenchment being a quadrangle of about forty-five yards. The fosse was about twelve feet deep, and varied in breadth from twenty to thirty feet — an irregularity occasioned by encroachments upon the embankment. It was full of water, but completely over- grown with sedge. On the west was a long raised breast-work, or rampart (almost the only portion of the works that can be said to be still remaining), and another less considerable one on the south. As the situ- ation of the whole was elevated, and calculated to take in a wide view of the surrounding country, so that of the praetorium in particular was most convenient for prospect and command ; in this respect also well agree- ing with the situation of the General's tent, in every encampment of the Roman army. And yet better to adapt it to its peculiar purpose, the side from which the view was least extensive had been raised, it was evident by art, and presented a bolder embankment ; and there was a visible ridge across the area where the elevated part began. All which circumstances led the historian Nelson to conclude, that here was the identical camp of the Roman general Suetonius Paulinus, on the night before his memorable victory over the British heroine, queen Boadicea — a suppo- sition upon which we have elsewhere hazarded some remarks \ " The operations of the Roman general," 1 See pp. 160, 161. S92 WALK THE FIFTH. argues Mr. N.^ *' in his arduous contest with that injured and unfortunate princess, were, it is most pro- bable, confined to the north, or north-western vicinity of London ;*' and, he adds, ^* no situation in the neigh- bourhood of the capital could afford a more advanta- geous position than the high ground in the vicinity of Islington, both in regard to security, and as a post of observation for an army apprehensive of attack firom an immense superiority of force.** The supposed connexion of this important battle with our " Roman Camp," will perhaps render a brief relation of the circumstances attending it not unin- teresting to the reader. While London was occupied by a Roman garrison A.D. 61, Suetonius Paulinus, Propraetor in Britain, was personally employed in the reduction of the Isle of Mona (Anglesey), the principal remaining seat of Druidical superstition. Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, taking advantage of his absence upon this expedition, resolved at once to revenge the injuries received by herself and Britain from the impe- rial invaders. She therefore excited her people to a revolt ; and the Triuobantes, and other neighbouring powers, joining her standard, was soon at the head of an army of 120,000 men. She bent her first efforts upon the destruction of Camalodunum (Colchester), the nearest Roman colony, which, being unprovided against any sudden attack, was stormed, and reduced to ashes, all within it having been previously massa- cred. The ninth legion, which had ventured to take the field against the insurgents, was next routed, its cavalry with difiiculty escaping firom the field, and its infantry being almost totally destroyed. WALK THB FIFTH. Suetonius^ howeyer^ having received tidings of the insurrection, was by this time marching with all speedy to retrieve, if possible, the fortune of the Roman ar^ mies. His first care was for the safety of London, a town already important for its commerce and the number of its inhabitants. But judging, on his arri- val there, that it would be impossible to defend so large a place against an overwhelming disparity of numbers, he retired, (northwards, it is supposed,) ac- companied by such of the citizens as chose to share with him defeat or victory. London, thus abandoned to its fate, was sacked and burnt, and all its remaining inhabitants savagely butchered : Yerulamium (St. Al- ban's) experienced similar treatment; and 70,(XX) persons, being foreigners, or allies of foreigners, had now been immolated to the rage of Boadicea and her partisans. The entire army of Suetonius, after so many disas- ters, it is said, did not amount to more than 10^000 men ; and his enemies, increasing in number with their successes, were by this time swelled to 230,000. Great as was this disproportion, the Roman general knew that he had no hope but in the event of a bat- tle, and therefore resolved upon waiting the attack of the Britons at some spot which should afford them as few natural advantages 83 possible. With this determination, he chose '* a plot of ground, narrow at the entrance, and sheltered in rear by a thick forest. In such a situation he had no fear of an ambuscade. The enemy, he knew, could approach only in front : an open plain lay before him \*' According to the I Taoit Ann. lib. xiv. c. 34. 12 394 WALK THE FIFTH. usual disposition of the Roman armies, the legion- aries were stationed in the centre, flanked by the light armed and auxiliary cohorts, and the cavalry composed the wings. Thus posted, Suetonius did not long re- main in suspense ; the Britons soon appeared, covering the plain before him with their numbers. Their wives and children, who had accompanied them in order to enjoy the spectacle of a victory already considered certain, were mounted in waggons encircling their rear in the form of an amphitheatre. Boadicea, with her daughters, drove in her chariot along the ranks, renewing the detail of Roman oppression, and en- couraging her troops by the most animated language and gestures. Suetonius, on his side, did not neg- lect to address his followers in terms adapted to their circumstances ; and the acclamations with which his oration was received, convinced him that he had every thing to hope from the bravery and discipline of Ro- man soldiers. The Britons came on, uttering loud shouts, menaces, and songs of victory ; while the Romans, closely drawn up, awaited the onset in perfect silence. They ex- pended their javelins, with unerring aim, and dreadful carnage, upon the advancing Britons : then, assuming the form of a wedge, the more easily to penetrate such a multitude of assailants, the legions rushed for- ward, and were ably seconded by their allies. The foremost ranks of the natives were instantly borne down, and destroyed ; but the rest crowding to sur- round the Romans, the most obstinate part of the contest ensued. The British war-chariots, wherever they succeeded in breaking the front of their enemies, ilir.^^I.T^ S RECOIL 'T!lHl]S -ITli^TITiSII^^IF^urija '^El^ iE^^T WALK THE FIFTH. 395 occasioned terrible annoyance, till Suetonius, by di- recting his men to attack only the naked bodies of their drivers, disencumbered himself of their inroads. The action was long maintained with equal ardour on both sides ; the Britons, though destitute of order and discipline, fighting with a fury that at last amounted to desperation ; but the Romans ultimately prevailing through their superior coolness and skill, and the for- titude inspired by the well-grounded conviction that they had no resource but in victory. Prodigious numbers, perished by the swords of the legions, fol- lowed up by incessant charges of the cavalry ; while the fugitives met an almost insurmountable inipedi- ment in their own waggons, which enclosed them in a semicircle. At this barrier the slaughter was as ter- rible as it was relentless; for mercy, in the circum- stances of Suetonius, would have been the highest imprudence ; and the bodies of 80,000 Britons, com- puted to have been left upon the field, made a dread- ful retaliation for the cruelties which had preceded the encounter. Few victories, even in the most flou- rishing period of the Roman republic, deserved to be compared with this of Suetonius ; never had any been more decisive. The remaining. Britons, terrified at the chastisement they had received, fled into their respectivip districts : and Boadicea herself perished soon after the battle, either through chagrin, or, as it is more commonly supposed, by poison administered with her own hand \ 1 Tacit Ann. lib. xiv. c. 31. 37 ; and Dion. Cassius, Hiat. Rom. lib. Ixii. c. 1. 12. S96 WALK THE FIFTH. We have to add^ that the transfonnation of the *' Campy** so colourably represented to have been that of Suetonius Paulinus^ is complete. It existed pretty nearly in the state exhibited by our view until about fifteen years back, when it was in great degree broken up by digging for brick-clay and gravel. Still, until very recently, the prcetorium could be tolerably well made out, and still it was covered with its native green-sward, — was literally " in the fields** — ^and con- tinued to furnish an interesting subject for the con- templations of the antiquary. But streets, and other lines of buildings, detached cottages, gardens, &c. are now in almost immediate contiguity with this ancient relic ; and the prstorium itself is occupied by a large house, with its grounds, at the time of this writing finishing, and '< to let.*' The carriage drive round the house is made to fall into the north and west channels of the fosse, which, on the east side, is quite filled up,
to afibrd access to the principal firont, and on the south is excluded by the garden wall, and has there become a stagnant ditch. The long west rampart, as we before noticed, remains ; having sustained but little alteration, it is probable, in the course of many re- volving centuries. On fine summer evenings it usually swarms with children at their various pastimes, who dream not that they are disporting upon an earth- work of nearly eighteen hundred years* antiquity, the labour of tlie conquerors of the world, and the now sole monument of a scene of carnage almost without parallel in our history. WALK THE FIFTH. 397 The immediate vicinity of the '^ Camp" undoubtedly presents a variety of inducements to the builder, in the uncommon elevation of the ground, the purity of the air, and the nature of the soil, in which gravel predominates. Minerva Terrace, looking due west over the remains of this ancient relic, is just completed. But it seems that the view at present commanded by that line of houses wHl, ere long, be excluded by other buildings ; in which case it wiU only share the common fate of ** rows" and " terraces" in the environs of the metropolis, which in general are just shown how the country looks, and then have it shut out from them. An open road (though not as yet a carriage thorough- &re) runs from the west end of Bamesbury Park, before these houses, to Oldfield's Dairy and the Albion Cricket-ground. Pursuing it, as we proceed on our return, we pass Prospect Cottages, which have lost their prospect, except as to certain of their number, whose owners have contrived to prevent the erection of other cottages before them for the present, by taking up and cultivating the land in front as pleasure grounds, for the recreation of their inmates. OldfieltTs Dairy, just spoken of, has been possessed by the family of that name for several generations, and has been as long known for its supply of " milk from the cow" to children, valetudinarians, and others, delighting in the " fresh lactarean draught," or taking it at the recommendation of the physician, in conjunction with the benefit of the fresh breezes blowing upon a spot, that can be called countryfied, alas ! no longer. The Cricket-ground, we regret to add, is now also mis- nomered by that appellation ; the ^' Club," who held S98 WALK THE FIFTH. it for some five and twenty years of the Oldfields, having played their last match upon it in the summer of 1834. Part of it has been taken into one of the nursery-grounds, (the property of Mr. Smith, of Liver- pool Road, and others) that have been lately formed at the south end ; and the whole, it is probable, will be appropriated either to gardens or buildings within a very short period. The " Club,'' who were the successors upon this spot of the famous Mary-le-bone Cricket-club, have taken more open ground near Co- penhagen House. They are called the Albion Cricket- club from a house, overlooking the late scene of their pastime, built by the late Mr. Oldfield about the time of their establishment here, and which was by him intended to be a tavern and tea-house. But the " Albion" was never applied to the first-mentioned of those purposes, owing to the speculator's want of success in obtaining that essential article, a license ; and it is at last only " licensed to sell beer by retail, to be drunk on the premises." The broad footpath before the Albion continues till we reach two spacious carriage roads, running in the same direction towards Pentonville. These roads are bordered by " Upper Islington Terrace," " Islington Terrace," " Brunswick Terrace," " Cole's Terrace," " Claremont Row," " Goulden Terrace," " Brunswick Parade," &c. all of which have been built within the last twenty years, together with a host of adjoining "streets," " rows," and " buildings," by which, many of them being of a very mean character, the fair face of nature has been in more than one sense deformed ; while they have deprived the residents in Pentonville of all preten- WALK THE FIFTH. 399 sions to a rural place of abode. A considerable space is still open before Claremont Row* which has been often occupied on Sunday afternoons by the tents for preach- ing pitched by the " Home Missionary" and '^ Christ- ian Instruction" Societies. A yet larger space extends westward from White-Conduit House over the tun- nelled course of the canal, as &r as the entrance to the subterranean water-way. " Brunswick Parade" marks the spot, which, under the designation of " The Parade," was long a fsLYOixTite promenade of the Penton- villians in summer evenings ; and was usually thronged on Sundays, when the promenaders were joined by numbers from the metropolis, from White-Conduit Gardens, &c. The practice was discontinued about thirty years since, owing to the ground being in great part taken up for cattle-layers, for the accommodation of the beasts proceeding to Smithfield Market. Our Walk may conclude by threading a few of the intricacies of the new streets eastward, and thus reach- ing Liverpool Road, and the point of outset. On the way we will visit a neat Gothic building a little south of Cloudesley Square, erected for Trinity Church Infant Schools, which were founded for the instruction of the poor children of Trinity District Parish, be- tween the ages of eighteen months and seven years, upon the infantile system. The Society instituted for this object consists of a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Com- mittee, and an unlimited number of Subscribers. All Donors of 10/. 10^., or upwards, at one time, and all Annual Subscribers of 1/ 1«. or upwards, are Members, and entitled to vote at all general meetings of the 400 WALK THB FIFTH. Society. Members have the privil^e of recommend- ing children in the ratio of two for every donation of lOiL lOt.9 or annual subscription of II. Is. ; and ladies contributing 5L 5«. at one time, or lOf. 6d. annually, have the privilege of recommending one child. The management is by the Committee, which consists of the President, (the Bishop of Calcutta,) the Vice- President, (the Rev. Hunter Francis FeU, Minister of the District Church,) the Treasurer, Secretary, and twenty other Members, who are chosen annually at the general meeting. The Vice-President has the active management of the School, referring any new regulation to the Committee, who meet monthly, or oftener if required, three members constituting a quorum. The annual general meeting is holden in the month of April, upon a day appointed by the Committee. In a Report made to the Subscribers, at their meeting on May 19th of the present year, the Com- mittee expressed their satisfiiction at communicating the pleasing intelligence of the continued prosperity of these Schools. There were at that time not less than 840 children under instruction in the In&nt School; S63 in the Sunday School; and 60 elder children in the Evening School; making together 563 children receiving instruction, and forming an aggregate number, since the commencement of the institution-five years back, of 1482. Upon the subject of finances, they reported that they had been enabled to reduce the debt contracted upon the building account, which was originally 102S/, to 213/. 7s. lOd; thus enabling them to carry on this valuable establish- WALK THE FIFTH. 401 ment at an annual expense of 251, of which 15/. is the ground rent^ and the renudnder the interest of the balance remaining unpaid. The additional number of Subscribers obtained during the past year, more than compensated for the loss of a few of the first friends of the Schools, occasioned partly by their removal from the parish, and partly by their support of similar institutions. FINIS. -,,1 I I INDEX. A. Abduction, remarkable case of, 21S-217. Act of Parliament for BameBbuir Manor, 27. Toprerent the mul- tiplication of Houses, 63. For regulating the Parochud Qoyem- ment, 72. For building a Cbapel of Ease, &c. 89. For equalismg the Ecclesiastical Burthens of the Parish, 90. For constructing the Regent's Canal, 95. For miHcing the City Road. 96. For Hi^h- gate Archway, 142. For making the New Road, 163. For an ad- ditional Burial-cround, 273. For supplying Holloway, &c. with Water, 325. To grant building leases of the Stonefields Estote, 346. Afternoon Lectureship, 82 — 84. Albion Cricket-ground and Club, 397,398. -— Tea-house, 398. Allingham, John Till, a dramatic writer, 58. Alms-houses, Clothworkers*, 194, 238. Davis's, 238. Whitting- ton*s, 336. Angel Inn, High Street, 240. Annettes Crescent, Lower Road, 196. Archery, ancient practice of in Fins- bury Fields, &c. 98-107, 111. Marks described, 105. Arms of Islin^n, Burlesque, Lane- ham's description of, 49. Artillery Company, particulars re- lating to, 103, 107. Astey's Row, 220. Aubert, Alexander, Esq. 302—306. B. Back Road, an ancient Way, 12, 344. Bacon, Lord, manner of his Death at Highnte, 145. Bagfoni, John, the Antiquary, 54. Baker's (E. and B.) Plan of the Village, 66. Ball's Pond, 198. St. Paul's Church at, 199. Balmes, or Baumes House, 109. Barley- Mow Public house, 194. Barlo, Duke of Shoreditch, 100. Bam-measure, the term explained, 306, note. Bamesbury Lane, 293. -, or Bemersbury, Manor, 6,25. Park, 357. - Street, 348. Barowe, Lady Alicia de, 20. Barrow, and Bury, derivation of the terms. 20, 25. Barr's (afterwards Brooks's) Nur- sery, 28, 199. Bartholomew, Mr. Christopher, 169. Bathing, improper practice of in the New River, 135. Battle between Suetonius Paulinus and Queen Boadicea, 160, 392. Battle Bridge described, 159. derivation of the name, 160, 161. Chapel, 154. Diq>ute between Is- lington and St. Pancras as to houses at, 155. remarkable Inunda- tion at, 162. Beauvoir, Rev. Peter, 110. Bellisle, Maiden Lane, 153. 404 INDEX. Bernen Family, The, 25. -- • , Dr. W. 66. Birch, Thomat, hia acaffold of wicker-work, 264. Bishop of Londoii*8 Toll at Hijfh- gatc, 11. Bishop*! Place, Newioffton Green, 120: Blount Family at Holloway, 317^ 824. Boadicea, Queen, her conflict with Suetonius Paulinus, 160, 392. Boarded Riyer, The, 128. Borough Enfflish, custom of in the Manor of St. John of Jerusalem, 41. Botanical Garden, D. W. Pitcaim's, 288. Boundaries of the Parish, 65. Tour of, 93. Bowman*s Lodge, Holloway, 327. Brick-making, much practised in Islington, 297. Bridleway, Ancient, to Frog Lane, 8, 19. ■ to Homsey Lane, 12, 128, 136. British Orphan Asylum, Kingsland, Broom Field, The, U,mte; 66. Brotherhood of Jesus, 84—88. Brothers, the pretended Prophet, confined at Fisher House, 231. Browne, Robert, founder of the Brownists, 82. Brunswick Parade, 399. Bunney*s (formerly Bassington*s) Nursery, 113. Buider, Rev. George, 58. Bui*|[h, James, LL.D., 55. Bunal-ground, Church Street, 253. — — ^— additional to the Pa- rish Church-yard, 273. Cadd's Row, now St Alban's Place, 243. Calcutta, Bishop of, 60, 77, 84, 400. Caledonian Asylum, 384—390. Camden Street, and Passage, 185. Camden-Town Road, 383. Camp, a Roman, in Copenhagen Fields, 160, 390, 396. Canonbury Cottages, 217. House, 29, 201—212. Lane, 213. - Manor, 27. Canonbury Tayem, 202. Tower, 201. 204. Carpenter, Mr. R. C, 198. Caye, William, D.D., a former Vicar, 80, 247. Census of Houses and Population, 64, 65. Chalk Road, 883, 384. Chambers, Ephnim, a resident in Canonbury Tower, 202, 211. Charke, Mrs. Charlotte, account of, 178. Chi^l of Ease, Act of Parliament for proyiding, 89. — deacribed, 318— 315. • St. Peter's, Riyer Lane, -Place, 207. - Square, 213. 191. Cheesecakes, HoUoway famed for, 817, and note. Christening. Royal, at Islington Church,272. Church, The Parish, 255—280. Monumental In- scriptions in, 274. Vaults, 280. - for the followers of the Rey. E. Irying, 174, 193. Living, 74—77. • Missionary Society's Col- lege, 349. Street, 250. Churches, tbree additional ones built, 89. Churchwardens* Rate, 91. Churchyard, tbe Parish, enlarged by Act of Parliament, 273. Monumental Inscrip- tions in, 277. Citizens' country houses described by Norden and Stow, 61, 62. — — ^— ^-^— -^— caricatur- ed by Bunbury, 63. City Farm-House, Lower Street, — ^ Gardens. 96. Road, 10. Act of Parliament for making, 96, Clark, Samuel, a Schoolmaster at Islington, 34. Clarkson, Mr. Nathaniel, 262, and Clayton, Rey. John, 58. Clerkenwell, Manor of, 42. Paying Board of (St. James's), 94. Climate ot Islington, 70. Clothworkers' Alms-houses, Frog Lane, 194. ' Queen*8- hcad Lane, 238. INDEX. 405 Cloudetloy, Richard, Eztncta from his Will, 84. Legend relatinff to, 87,fM)fa. Gives the Stone-fields Estate to the Parish Church, 86, 88. His Tomh in the Church- yard, 277. Square, 345. . Terrace, 346. Cobbler of Battle-Bridge, 162. Cock (now Orove) Lane HoUoway, 342. Colebrooke Row, 177. Terrace, ibid. Coleridge, S. T., his EpiUph in Highgate New Church, 147, note. Collins, the Poet, a resident in Is- lington, 54, and noie. Collyer, Joseph, 56. — — Mrs. Mary, 56. Coltsfoot, extraordinary appearance and growth of near Highgate Archway, 142, note. Compton, Lady, curious Letter of,S5. 1— Tcrface, 291. William, Lord, 33-35. Conduit, the ancient, near White- Conduit House, 169. Conduit-heads, Highbury, 308. Cooke, Thomas, a celebrated Miser, 272. Copenhagen Fields, Public Meetings in, 15? 153. 1- House, 14a-152. Corrall, William, the Cottager of Hagbush Lane, 377— <381. Cott^ in Hagbush Lane, 863, 371 —380. Cows, management of, 294. Cranch, John, an Amateur Painter, 237, noie. Crawshay*s, William, Esq.. mansion at Stoke Ncwington, 1^. Cream Hall, 311. Cricket Club, The Albion, 398. Match, a singular one be- tween Women, 199. Cromwell, Oliver, and Sir Arthur Hesilrigge, 337. -Thomas, Earl of Essex, 22, 30, 121. Crown Public-house, Lower Street, 231. HoUoway, 337. Crosby Place, 31, and note. Cross, Mrs. her House in the Upper Street, 289. Street, 217. Cruden, Alexander, M.A., account of, 185—191. Cut-throat Lane, 348. Dairy, Islington famed for the pro- duce of the, 6, 49, 51, 52. D*Agullar, Baron, account of, 179^ 184. Dalby Terrace, 93. Davis*s Alms-houses, 238. Dayi8on*s, Mr. Thomas, Manufac- tory, Du Val's Lane, 339. Dawes, John, Esq. 210,298, 301. Death of Abel, the real Translator of, 56. Defoe, Daniel, author of '' Robin- son Crusoe," &c., 55. Dent's, Richard, Survey of the Pa- rish, 1805^, 265. Derrick, Charles ^ Esq. 57. Devirs House, m Du Val^s Lane, 23 340, 341. Ding\ey, Charies, Esq., 96. Dinner Ticket of 173d, 259. Districts, Ecclesiastical, the Parish divided into four, 90. Dog-house Bar, 10, 96. Domesday Book describes Islington, 3. Mention of the Prebend Ma^ nor in, 3, 14. Donald, David, Esq. an eccentric character, 27/. Dowbiggin, Mr. Launcelot, Archi- tect of the Parish Church, 260, 277. Duck-hunting, formerly a common sport in Isungton Ponds, 52, 199. Duels, faUl ones in 1609 and 1610, 267, 268. Duke of Shorcditch, a Title gained at Archerv, 100. . Duko*s Head public-house, 243. Duncan Terrsce, 172. Road, 170. Duncombe, T. S. Eso. 291. Dust-hill, a remarkable one in Gray* s Inn Lane, 154. and note. Du Val, the Highwayman, 340. Du Val's Lane,l2, 18, 23, 141, 338 —343. Ecclesiastical Burthens equalised by Act of Parliament, 90. Districts, the Parish divided into four, 90. . History, 74, 92. Edgeworth*s, Mr. Academy, 281. Eel-pic House, New River, 137. Elder Walk, 4, 231. 406 INDEX. £liahA*t, John Clifford, attempt to murder Jane Greenslade, 289. ElizAbetli, Queen, environed bv Beggan in Goawell Road, 9. Anecdote respecting her and Sir John Spencer, 35. Laneham*8 account of her Entertainment at Kenilworth, 48. Her proclama- tion forbidding the erection of new buildings, 63. Building ab- surdly styled her " Lodge,^217, 219. Elphinstone, James, 58. Eminent Persons resident in Isling- ton, 53—60. Ermin Street, supposed course of, 7,188. Evans, Rev. John, LL.D. 58. Extent of the Parish, 65. Fell, Rev. Huntor Francis, 345, 400. Female School, Church Street, 250. Fields vest of HoUowav, 383. Finsbury Fields, 98—107. Fisher House, Lower Street, 230. Fitz-Stephen*s probable reference to Islington, 5. Fleet iTiver, 159. Floor Cloth Manu&ctory, Maiden Lane, 149. — ^.^— — — — Lower Road, 196. Flower*8, Mr., Academy, 280. Fossil and Organic Remains, 68. Foster, Mrs., a Orand-daughtor of Milton, 55, Fourteen Acres. See Stone-fields Estoto. Fowler FamilT, their House in Cross Street,' &c., 217—220. Fox Public-house, Islington Green, 242. Fox's " La BagatelW 53. Frederick PUce, GoswoU Road, 94. Upper Street, 247. Frog Hall, 61, note; 198. Frog Lane, 7, 193. Frver, Mr., murdered near the Workhouse, 347. G. Garrett, Jeremiah, 250, note. Gaskin, George, D.D., afternoon Lecturer, 84, 252, note. Gavelkind, custom of in Highbury Manor, 24. And in that of Ca- nonbury, 40. Gawsell, Rev. John, 225, and note. Gayton, Miss, an Opera Dancer, 57. Geological View of the Pariah, 67. Gilbert, Rev. Charles, 253. Goldsmith, the Poet, a reaident in Canonbury Tower, 201, 211. GosweU Road, 9, 94. Goetlinff, John, Esq. 302. Gray's Inn Lane, remarkable Dutt- hill in, 154, and note, Greenslade, Jane, atrocious attempt to murder, 289. H. Hu^bush Lane, an ancient Road, 12. Described, 362—382. Derivation of the name, 365. Hale, Rev. W. H., M.A., Preben- dary of Islington, 18. Half-Moon Public-house, Lower Street, 231. ■ famous for Cheesecakes, 317, note. Halliday's, Alderman, Manuon at Newington Green, 119. Hanley Road, 339. Hanmer, Meredith, D.D., a former Vicar, 78, 279. Harrington, Mrs. Landlady of Co- penhagen House, 150. Haslam, John, M.D., 57. Hawes, Benjamin, Esq., 224. William, M.D., the Philan- thropist, 221—224. his Epitaph in the Church, 276. Heame, or Hem Lane, an ancient Road, 12,138,342. Hedse Row, High Street, 366, noie. Herd, John, Gent., murdered in the Shepherd and Shepherdess Belds, 278. HesUrigge, Sir Arthur, a resident in Islington, 337. Hewling, William and Benjamin, 269.^ Highbury, the same with the an- cient Tolentone, 7. . Bam, 306. Castle, 20—23. De- stroyed in Wat Tyler's Insur- rection, 21 . College, 310. Conduit-heads at, 30a Grove, 301. Chapel, 292, 301. INDEX. 407 Highbury Hill, 300. House, 20, 301. Lodge, 300. Manor described, 18. Plan of, taken in 1611, 22. Surveyed in 1650, 23. Park, 308. PUce, 298. Terrace, 300. Vale, 311. Woods, 23. Highgate, ancient Toll-gate at, 113. — ^ Archway, 141. Chapel, 149, note. Hermitage, 144. ■ Lazar-house, 86, 146. New Church, 146, 147, note. Resin, 69. Road firom, over the Hoi- low-wav. 12, 86. ^^Tunnel, 69, 142. Village described, 144. Historical Notices of the Parish, 4 —53. Holbrook, Elizabeth, 21^-215. Holloway, Chapel of Ease erected at, 89, 313. derivation of the name, 317. . famed for Cheesecakes, 317, and note. Lower, 324. original Road to, from Highgate, 12, 86, 317. —f-r- Upper, 327—338. - St. John*s Church at, 327. Holly Lodge, Highgate, 149, note. Terrace, ifru/. H6ne\ Mr. W. description of St. Chad's Wells, 157. Hag- bush Lane, 363—382. Hopping Lane, an ancient Road, 12. Name derived from ** The Hop- pinge,'* 28. Described, 199. Hoppmge, The, (or Hop-ground), Horse(alI*s Basin, Regent*s Canal, 95, 153. Horsley, Mr. his Child stolen by Charles Rennet, 2ia-21 7. Homsey Lane, 141, 338. Road, or Du Val's Lane, 338-343. Row, 291. -Wood House, 138. Houses and Population of Islington, 60—65. the multiplying of forbidden by Queen Elizabeth, 63. And by Act of Parliament, ibid. Howselyng, meaning of the term, 98^ note. Hozton Fields, used for Archery, 100, 101. Poetical description of, 109. Robin Hood Public-house at, HI. Huddart, Joseph, Esq. F.R.S. 57. Hughes, Mrs., an inhabitant of Da- vis's Alms-houses, 56, 239. Humane Society, the Royal, insti- tuted, 222. I. J. Independents* Chapel, Lower Street, 224. Holloway, 326. -, Foundation of the Horse-shoe, The, New River, 213. Sect so called, 83. Infant School, Trinity District, 399. Ingram PUce, Du Val's Lane, 843. Inns and Public-houses, Islmgton always famous for, 61. Inundation at Battle Bridge, a re- markable one, 162. lons's Riding House, 290. Irving, Rev. E. new Church for the folfowcrBof, 174. Iseldone, or Iseldon, the ancient name of Islington, 1, 2. Islington, Etymology of, 1. How described in Domesdav Book, 8. Probable state of in tne time of the Conqueror, 3 ; and in that of Richard I. &c. 5. Ancient Roads and Ways in. 7 — 12. Manorial History of, 14 — 43. Notices of in Historical an4» other Works, 43—63. Eminent Persons resi- dent in, 53—60. Houses and Po- pulation of, 60 — 65. Modem Ex- tent and Boundaries, 65. Soil, 67. Climate, 70. Parochial Go- vernment, 71 . Ecclesiastical His- tory, 74—92. Chapel, 260—253. • School of Indus- try, 250. Common, 112. DispenNir^', 254. Green, 242. 408 INDEX. lalinston Literair and Scientific So- ciety, 282-4M8. Market, 112.196. . Parochial Schoola, 357. ProiKrietary Schoola, S49 -367. Volunteen, 304, 305. Wea, Mr. John, 250. Jackett, Mr. W., hia eccentric Will, 69. Jack Ketch gihheted at HoUoway, 317. Jack Plackett*8 Common, 94. Jack Stfaw*8 Caatle, Highburv, 21. Japan House, Stroud Green, 139. JoVt House, the original Thatched- House Tavern, 221. Jones, Rev. E. J., 252, 254. K. Kenilworth, allusions to Islington in Laneham*8 account of Queen Elizabeth*8 entertainment at, 48. Kentiah Town Road, 383, King John^s Place, 226. King Harry's Wdk, 122. King's Cross, 154. ■ Head Tayera, Upper Street, 254. Kingsland Chapel, 113. — -.— Green, 118. Kniffht, — Esq., Canonbury Place, 210. Lamp -black and Printers' Ink Manniactorr, Du Yal's Lane, 339. Laneham's "" Squier Minstrel of Middlesex,** 48. Lansdowne Place, Hollows^, 326. LaycockV Mr. Richard, Dairy-farm, Laxareta*, or Lazaioot, Field, 145. Lecturers of Islington, 82. Lepers* Hospital, Highgate, 86, 145. Kinffsland, 113. Lewis, Rev. Thomas. 293. Literary and Scientinc Society, 282 Liverpool Road, formerly the Back Road, 12, 344. London Ait:hers, 98—107, 111. London Clay, some particulars re- specting, ^. Lon^ch. or Maiden Lane, 10. Loraine Place, HoUoway, 326. Lower Road, 196. Lower Stroet, 4, 7. Chapel, 224. Lml Islington Volunteers, 304, MaberlyChapeL112. Mwelhaena, John Hyacynth, dec.. Maiden Lane, a very ancient war, 10, Described, 146. Maltby*> (I*- ^^ C) White-Lead Manufactonr, 108. Mann and aaigou's Floor-Cloth Manufactory, 149. Manor of Bamesbury, 25. ' Canonbury, 27. Clerkenwell, 42. ■ the Prebend, 14. St. John of Jeraaalem, 40. I Tolentone, or Highbury, la House, Holloway, 327. Manorial History of the Pkrish, 14 —43. Mansion House, Lower Street, 282. Market, the new, projected by John Perkins, Esq.. 19^ Marks for Archery, in Finabory Fielda, described, 105. Blarquia of Islington, a title gained at Archery, 1(K). Melrill,Phmp,Esq.,57. Mesdter, Dr. Husband, 56. Metropolitan Police extended to Islington, 74. ' Station-House, 242. Mildmay House, Newington Gre«n, 119. Bfilk and Cream, the staple com> modityof the Pariah, 6, 49, 51, 52. Milton's Grand-daughter a resident at Lower HoUoway, 55. Minerva Terrace, 897. Moated Site. HoUoway, 327. Monumental Inscriptiona in the Church, 274. — _.-.-..^_-.....» in the Church-yard, 277. Morland, George, the celebrated Painter, 194, 196. Mortimer, Rev. Thomas. 192. Mother Red-Cap Public-house, 329. Mount Pleasant, 139. Myddelton, Sir Hugh, account of, ISO. INDEX. 409 N. Newbery, Mr. John, a resident in Canonbiiry Tower, 202, 211. New Bunhill-Pields, 253. Newington Barrow, or Highbury, Manor of, 18, 20. Newington Green, Daniel Defoe educated at, 55. Described, 118. Alderman Halliday*8 Mansion, 119. Unitarian Chapel, 124. Stoke, described, 126. W. Crawshay, Esq.^s Mansion at, ibid. The Church and Rectory- house, ibid. Newland, Abraham, Esq., 298 New North Road, Act of Pvliament for making, 108. New River, ancient road under, 12. Described, 129—136. New Road, 96. Act of Parliament for making, 163. Nichols, John, Esq. F.S.A.,256. Northamnton family, 34, 38. Northumoerland, John Dudley, Duke of, 30. Northumberland's, Earl of. Letter to Lord Cromwell, 121. Notices, Historical, &c., of the Parish, 43. ObeUsk, City Road, 93. Okey, Colonel, a Drayman at Is- lington, 34. Oldfield's Dairy, 397. Old Pied-BuU'lnn, 247—260. Queen's Head Tavern, 233— 238. Olive, self-styled Princess of Cum- berland, baptized in Islington Church, 272. Oiphan Asylum, Kingsland Green, 118. Owen, Dame Alice, her Monument in the Church, 274. P. Pack-horw; Lane, 362. Palmer, John, a Dissenting Divine, 58. Parade, the, White-Conduit Fields, 399. Paradise House, Liverpool Road, 362,368. — — Row, 362. Parish Church, 255—280. Feast in 1738, 259. Register, 265. Workhouse, 346. Park Terrace, Highburj^y 308. Parochial Government, /I. Schools, 357—362. Parr, Rev. John Owen, M.A., 354. Pearson, Rev. John, M.A., 349. Perkins, John, Esq., his projected new Market, 196. Pew« in the Parish Church, and Chapel of Ease, allowed to be let, 91. Phillips^ Sir Richard, Knt., 60. Pied-Bull Inn, Upper Street, 247— 250. Pirates* attempt to carry off Sir John Spencer, 32. Pitcaim, Dr. William, 288. Plague, the. Ravages of, 265. Plans of the Village and Parish, 66, 265. Pleasant Row, 220. Plough Inn, Du VaFs Lane, 342. Pocock, Mr. QeoTge, 324. Poole, Dr. Robert, founder of the Small-pox Hospital, 229, 269. Population and Houses of Islington, fOL-65. Returns, 1000 to 1831, 64. Pound, the, 241. Prebendaries of Islington, a List of, 16. Prebend Manor, mentioned in Domesday Book, 3, 14. De- scribed, l4. Surveyed by au- thority of Parliament in 1649, 15. Priestley, Rev. Timothy, 58. Prince, George, Landlord of the "Fox," 242. Priory of St. Bartholomew, 29. ■ John of Jerusalem, 8, 20. Proprietary School, 349—357. Prospect Cottages, 397. Pullen's Row, 173. Q. Queen's Elizabeth's Lodge, building so styled, 217, 219. Queen's Head Tavein, Lower Stree^ 233-23a Lane, 288. Quick, John, the Comedian, 59. Be 410 INDEX. R. Raleigh, Sir Walter, Mid to have patronised the Old Qaeen*s Head, !236. To have resided at the Old Pied-Bull, 247. Randcll*8, Messrs., TUe-kilns, Mai- den Lane, 153. Regent's Canal, 95, 175. Basin, H. Tunnel. 70, 96, 175. Register, the Parish, 265. Rennett, Charles, account of his stealing Mr. HorsleY^s Child, 214 —217. Rental of the Parish, 74. Rhodes, Mr. James, 172. his Dairy- Parm, 173. William, 111. Rhone, Jonathan, Waiter at St. Chad's WeUs, 156, 158. Ridley's, Mr. Samuel, Floor-Cloth Manufactory, 196. Ring, ancient^ found behind Mild- may House, 122. Ring Cross, probable derivation of its name, 12. a Place of Public Exe- cution, 316. Price) buried at, 317. Ritson, Isaac, 56. River Terrace, 172. Lane, 191. Rivington, Mr. Francis, 60. Roads, Ancient, 7—12. ■ State o^ sixty years since, 13, New, west of Holloway, 382. Robin Hood PuUic-home, 111. Robinson, Dr. Nicholas, 55. Roman Camp, Copenhagen Fields, 160, 390 8&. ^ Rosemanr Branch Public-house, 108. Rouffh, John, some account of, 45, 46, uid note. Royal Christening at Islinirton Church, 272. Rufford's Buildings, 280. Rule's, Rev. John, Academy, 177. Salutation, The, an ancient house of entertainment, 198. S^dy.B House, Lower Street, Jack Ketch (John Sandys, Rev. John, M.A. 200. Saracen's Head, an ancient Public- house, 45, 51, 61. Scaffold of Wicker-work round the Church Spire, 264. Schools Islington long oelebmUid for, 281, note. Scotch Church, River Terrace, 172. Seven Sisters' Road, 138, 342, 383. Simcs, Mr., Bailiff of Canonburv Manor, 211. Sluice House, New River, 137. Small-Pox HoflMtal, St. Paacns, 154, 229. Cold-Bath FieldvlH229. Smith's Dust-hill, Gray's-Inn Laae, 154, and note. Nursery, Liverpool Road. 348. Soil of the Parish, 67. Spencer, Elizabeth, LadyCompton, her Elopement from CanonDurr House, 35. Curious Letter of, ibid. Sir John, Knt 31— 3.S. 20a-209. Rev. William, 326. Spiller, Mr. John, 298. Spring Gardens, an old PubUc- house, 199. Water of Islington, 70. Stopleton Hall, 138. Starling's, (T.) Plan of the Parish, 66. Starvation Farm, 181, 182, note. St. Alban's Place, 243. St. Bartholomew's Chapel, Kings- land, 113. ^ . Hoq)ital, 114. Priory, 29, 204. SL Chad's Wells, Gray's Inn Lane, 156—159. ; — ^— — described bv Mr. W. Hone, 157. St. John of Jerusalem, Manmr of, 40. ' Priory of, 8, 20. ' St. John's Street Road, 8. St. Mary, Church of, 255—280. St. Patil's Church, Ball's Pond, 199. '■ — District Schools, 200. Infant School, 200. Terrsce, 199. St. Peter's Chapel, River Lane, 191. Stoke Newington Village described. 126. INDEX. 411 Stoke Newingtoo Cburch and Rec- tory-house, 126. Wm. CnwBhay, Esq. niansion at, ibid. Btonefields Estate, willed to the Church by Richard Cloudesley, 86, 88. The rents and profits of, appropriated, 91. Historical par- ticulars respecting, B45. Stonehouse, George, M.A., a former Vicar, 81. Strahan, George, D.D., a former Vicar, 82. Strong Man, The, (Thomas Top- ham,) 243. Stroud Green, 138. Corporation of, 139. Styles, Rev. John, D.D., 59. Suetonius Paulinus, conflict between the Romans under him and Queen Boadicea, 160, 392. ■ his supposed Encampment in Copenhagen Fields, 160, 390, 396. Survey of the Parish, by Richard Dent. 1805-(i, 265. *, Roads, made in 1735, ibid. Swaine, Thomas, Esq., Canonbury Place, 207. T. Terrace, Upper Street, 289. Terrier of Lands, 66. Tbatched-House Tavern, 221. Theberton Street, 250. Thomas, Elizabeth Emma, extra- ordinary circumstances connected with her interment, 270. Thurston, John, 59. Tolentone described in Domesday Book, 3, 5. The same with High- bur}', 7. House, 12, 18, 23. Manor, 18. or Tallingdone Lane, 11, 18,23. Tollington Park, 19, 339. Topham, Thomas, " The Strong Man," 243—247. Trades Unions' Meeting in Copen- hagen Fields, 153. Trinity Church, Cloudesley Square, 345. Infant Schools, 399. Tmstees of the Parish appointed by Act of Parliament, 72. Trye, Mr., imprisoned for bathing ID the New River, 135. TufFneU Place, 220. Turnpike, The, High Street, 241. Tyndale Place, 29f. U. V. Union Chapel, Upper Street, 292. Unitarian Chapel, Newington Green, 124. Upper Street, 7, 247—297. Venn, Rev. Henr}% B.D., 329. Vestries formerly General, 71. regulated by Act of Parlia- ment in 1824, 72. - Select, appointed for the District Churches, 90. Vestry-room, Plan of the Parish in, 66. Contains Dent's Survey, 265. Vicarage House, Upper Street, 247. Vicars of Islington, a List of, 77. Volunteers, Ixival Islington, 304, 305. W. Ward's Place, 226. 227. Watch-house, Islington Green, 242. Water-Proof Manufactory, Du Val's Lane, 342. Water- Works, Lower Hollo way, 324. Watson's Nursery, 177. Wat Tyler's Insurrection, 21 . Wcsleyan Chapel, Liverpool Road, 344. White, Mr. Joseph, 56. White-Conduit House, 163—171. White-Hart Public-house, Battle Bridge, 155. White-Lead Manufactory, 108. Whitmore, Sir George, Lord Mavor, 110. Road, 111. Whittington College, 336. Sir Richard, account of, 330-335, . Stone, 329. Wicker-work, a Scaffold of, round the Chuirh Spire, 264. Will, an eccentric one of Mr. W. Jacket, 59. Wilson, Rev. Daniel, D.D., Bishop of Calcutta, 60, 77, 84, 400. Rev. Daniel, M.A., Vicar, 77, 192, 354. onus, Esq. 311. Wood, Rev. Samuel, B.A., 125. 412 INDEX. Workhouie, the Pamb, 346. Worthington, Rev. Hugh, 68. WrighL Mr. Samuel, of Ntwing- ten Oraen, 122. Yoekney, R«t. John, 22b\ TUS END. Gilbert & Rivinoton, Printers, St. John's Square, London. \^ APfi 2 7 1946
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