built, in succession, an Hospital for Lepers, at St. Giles' in the Fields, another Hospital for poor maimed people, at Cripplegate; the Priory of the Holy Trinity, within Aldgate; and the Church and Hospital of St. Catherine, below the Tower.

The state of London, in the time of Henry the Second, has already been described, from the interesting tract, written by FitzStephens, about 1174; and it may be added, from the same author, that, in his estimation, the honour of the City' consisted ⚫ in its proper men, its costly armour, and its multitude of inliabitants.' His character of the London Matrons is brief, but highly honorable: his words are Urbis Matronæ ipse Sabinæ sunt.' At this period, the houses of the Citizens were generally built with wood, and thatched with straw or reeds, a mode of coustruction that resulted from the comparative cheapness and plenty of those materials, but the evils of which were frequently experienced in the extensive ravages of conflagration. The Religious buildings, however, and the houses of the chief Nobility and Prelates, were mostly of stone, as well, perhaps, as some of the dwellings of principal Citizens and Merchants; for it is upon record that one Geoffrey Martel, in the reign of Henry the Second, sold a piece of land, with a stone house, in London. In this reign, likewise, the new London Bridge was began with stone; and in that of the succeeding Sovereign, Richard, Cœur de Lion, an or der was made by the City, that all houses, thereafter to be erected in London, or within the Liberties thereof, should be built with stone, up to a certain height, with party-walls of the same, and covered either with slates or tiles.' This order, from obvious causes, was but little heeded, and the majority of buildings, for some ages afterwards, still continued to be erected with wood.

About the year 1190, the precincts of the Tower were considerably extended, by William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, and Chancellor of England, who, having been left at the head of the Regency, by King Richard, during his absence in the Holy Land, thought proper to surround the Tower with a new embattled wall, and

* See preceding Volume, p. 121-125.

+ Madox's Form, p. 178.

and a broade and deepe ditch,' by which he greatly encroached upon the adjoining lands, and had part of the City wall broken. down, for the enlarging of the Tower; to wit, from the saide gate towards the river of Thames.'* This proceeding highly offended the Londoners, and, together with the many other arbitrary acts of the Regent, led to his deposition and banishment, in the following year.†

In the time of King John, anno 1208, the Citizens, or rather Merchants, of London, purchased for 200 marks an exemption from the Quinzieme, which was a duty payable by every Merchant, whether native or foreigner. In the same reign, between the years 1211 and 1213, the City ditch was first dug round the out-. side of the wall, and extended to the breadth of 200 feet. This ditch, says Stowe, "being originally made for the defence of the Cittie, was long together carefully clensed and mainteyned, as neede required."§

In the reign of Henry the Third, though, generally speaking, a most oppressive one to the Londoners, various improvements were made in the Capital, and the number of Citizens, having 'mightilie increased,' a new supply of fresh water was obtained from the manor of Tye-bourne, and conveyed by pipes into the City about West-cheap. Different regulations, for the prevention of fires, were also established; andthe former order, for covering all houses with slate or tile, and more especially such as stood in the best streets,' was renewed. At this time, the west part of Cheapside was 'a void place,' called Crown Field, from the sign of the Crown Inn; the principal part of the City lying more eastward. Besides the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey, this reign was prolific in reli

Stow's Lond. p. 25. Edit. 1598.

C 4

gious

+ See preceding Volume, p. 126.

‡ And. Hist. of Com. Vol. I. p. 372. Our Author remarks, that Merchant was an appellation then given to all persons who made a business of buy ing and selling, however trifling their dealings might be.' Ibid. 571. In the year 1205, the Quinzieme of London amounted to 8361. 12s. 10d. a greater sum than was raised by this duty in any other place in England.

Sur. of Loud. p. 17.

See preceding Volume, p. 133-113.

gious Establishments; and the following were in the course of it all erected in London: the Friary of Augustines, near Broad Street, St. Helen's Priory in Bishopsgate Street, the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem without Bishopsgate, the White Friars or Carmelites near Fleet Street, the Franciscans or Grey Friars in Newgate Street, and the Hospital of the Savoy in the Strand.*

The comparative cheapness of house rent in London, in the time of Edward the First, may be estimated from what Stow has recorded of Gregory de Rokeslie, who was chief Assay Master of the Royal Mints, and Lord Mayor of London from 1275 to 1282; He," says the Historian, "dwelled in Milk Street, in an house belonging to the Priory of Lewes, in Sussex, whereof he was tenant at will, paying xx. S. by the year, without being bounden to reparations or other charges."+ In the year 1277, an Order of Common Council was made, said to be the first upon record, which prohibited the holding of a market upon London Bridge, or in any other place not specially appointed,' and forbad to all Citizens the purchase of cattle, or goods of any kind, within the town of Southwark, which could be had in the City, under the penalty of forfeiting the commodity purchased.'

In the year 1285, the great Conduit in West-cheap was completed, and the water which had been conveyed from the springs at Tyburn, was let into it through leaden pipes. In the same year, some strong Parliamentary Laws were made for the suppression of Robbery, &c., throughout England; and a particular statute was enacted for London, which, because many murders, homicides, assaults, and robberies, had been committed in the City, both in the day and in the night,' ordered, that all persons

found

* We learn from Matthew Paris, that in this Reign, William de Trumpington, Abbot of St. Albans, bought a House, or rather a Court of Houses, in London, as extensive as a great Palace, with Chapel, Stable, Garden, a Well, &c., for one hundred Marks, to which he added fifty Marks for improvements." Mat. Par. Vit. p. 125-6.

+ Sur. of Lond. p. 235.

found in the Streets with sword and buckler, or other arms, after the Curfew was rung at St. Martin's le Grand, except great Lords and men of good reputation, should be committed to the Tunne (a Prison in Cornhill, erected in 1282 for night-walkers,) and next day carried before the Magistrates; and, because such malefactors generally concerted their plans in taverns, and continued in them till the appointed time of putting their plots in execution,' the Masters of all taverns for the sale of wine or ale, were ordered to shut them up as soon as the Curfew Bell rang. The Aldermen were, moreover, required to make diligent enquiry in their wards for all malefactors, and for people who had no property, or visible means of support.*

The taste for magnificent and shewy spectacle, imbibed by the Crusaders in the opulent Regions of the East, when many of our Nobles,

'Bearing their Birthright proudly on their backs,'

took the Cross, to make a hazard of new fortunes,' in the up Holy Land, was the means of introducing into the Metropolis, a strong passion for pageantry, ostentatious apparel, and splendid decoration; and in consequence of the great demand for silks and costly embroidery thus produced, the Merchants, who had been long in the habit of importing them, opened shops in Cheapside, St. Lawrence, Jewry, and the Old Jewry; and these, 'next to those of the Goldsmiths, are reputed to have been the most splendid in London.' The domestic conveniences, however, but little corresponded with this outward sbow; the general use of woolen was unfavourable to cleanliness, and the want of chimnies was equally prejudicial. The fires were made in the Halls, against a reredoss, or screen,and the smoke had little other passage than the openings in the roof. The windows, also, were principally latticed, the use of Glass being hardly known, excepting in Churches, and Palaces.

In the year 1300, the King, on the complaint of the Merchants

• And. Hist. of Com. Vol, I. p. 413.

of

of Bourdeaux, that they could neither sell their Wines, paying poundage, nor yet hire Houses or Cellars to store them in, directed a Writ, dated at Carlisle, to the Mayor and Sheriffs of London, in consequence of which, many fair and large Houses, with Vaults and Cellars for stowage of wine, and lodging of the Bourdeaux Merchants,' were erected near the bank of the river, on the spot where a public Cookery had been in the time of Henry the Second. From these buildings, afterwards called the Vintrie, the Vintry Ward derived its name.†

The principal Monastic foundations in London, of the time of Edward the First, was the Nunnery of St. Clare, now the site of the Minories; the Monastery of the Black Friars, the Crouched Friars, and St. James's Hospital for Lepers, now the Palace of St. James's.

In the splendid reign of Edward the Third, the growing popu lation, and increasing prosperity of the Metropolis, were repeatedly checked by Pestilence, although upon the whole, it made considerable progress, both in point of extent and of affluence. In 1328, the City obtained a great accession by the grant of the Bailiwick of Southwark, at the low Rent of ten pounds annually. This was bestowed by the King on the representation of the City Magistracy, that criminals were enabled to set Justice at defiance, by passing over to Southwark, into which their authority did not extend.

In July, 1346, the King granted a Commission to the Master of the Hospital of St. Giles's in the Fields, and to John de Holborne, empowering them to levy tolls, perhaps,' says Anderson, 'the earliest known by any remaining records,' upon all Cattle, Merchandize, and other goods, for two years, passing along the public highway leading from the Bar of the Old Temple,' (i. e. Holborn Bar, between which and Chancery Lane, then called New Street, the ancient House of the Knights Templars stood) to the said Hospital; and also along the Charing Road, (probably St. Martin's Lane) and another highway called Pourtpool, (now Gray's-Inn Lane), for the purpose of repairing the said highways,

Stow's Lond. p. 186.