warrant; and when we did, we saw yt one Holton was ye informer, a north countryman. They say he is a papish, and an alderman of yt warde signed the warrant. And it was asked the con stable whether he could arrest by his warrant on ye first day. And he said he thought he could not. And he tould us yt he charged ye informer to come along with him to ye meeting; but he ran away from him. Soe we tould him he was a clear man of meddling with us; yt we were free to goe in our freedom to ye alderman. And so John Osgoth said he would goe with the constable to speake with ye alderman. Soe they presently came back againe; and ye alderman who had signed the warrant was gone from home, and ye constable at a straite; and being a tender man, we bid him to set an hour to come to us again, or send for us. I should goe to William Meade, and William Pen to his chamber, and he sat ye wh hour; but he never sent to him. But Thomas Lower met him about ye 7th hour; and ye constable tould him he thought it would come to nothing. Ye Lord's power was over all to his glory. G.F."* On the south side of Thames-street is

Previous to the incorporation of the two companies of salt-fishmongers, and stock-fishmongers, the fishmongers had six halls, but upon their joint incorporation they agreed to have but one, namely,' the house given unto them by the lord Fanhope, [sir John Cornewell] in the parish of St. Michael, Crooked-lane.'

This fabric, which was destroyed by the fire of London, appears to have been a plain narrow edifice, castellated and covered with lead, having two principal stories, the lower one of which had a kind of gallery or balcony. On its destruction the late hall was erected from the stately designs of sir Christopher Wren, and might be considered as a noble specimen of his intention to ornament the banks of the river Thames, had his entire plan for rebuilding the city been carried into effect. This hall occupied an extensive plot of ground between Thames-street and the river, at a 1 Malcolm's London, i. p.. 60

short distance from the north end of London Bridge, the chief front being towards the river of which it commanded a fine view. The entrance from Thames-street being under a long passage, ornamented in front with sculptured pilasters sustaining an open pediment, in which are the company's arms, and on each side a dolphin. This portion of the edifice still remains. The buildings environed a square court paved with flat stones; the hall, which formed the south side of the court was a very spacious and lofty apartment, handsomely fitted up, with a capacious gallery going round the whole interior. At the upper end behind the seat of the prime-warden, was an ornamental niche, wherein was a full sized statue, carved in wood, and painted, of sir William Walworth, knt., who was a member of this company, and is represented in the dress of his time, his right hand grasping a dagger, reputed to be the identical weapon with which he struck Wat Tyler from his horse.

Walworth's Dagger.

This dagger is evidently belonging to the period, viz. the latter end of the fourteenth century, it is of neat workmanship, without inscription of any kind, the blade is formed of four sides concaved, and is in length from the hilt 12 inches, the hilt is 5 inches, and across the guard, 6 inches. The above is a correct delineation of the weapon, from the original, which is carefully preserved by the company. Below the niche is inscribed the following lines :

Brave WALWORTH, knight, lord mayor, yt slew
Rebellious Tyler in his alarmes,

The king therefore did give in lieu
The dagger to the cytyes armes.

In the 4th yeare of Richard II. Anno Domini, 1381.

If there be not much poetry in this artless verse, observes Mr. Brayley, there is at least some fiction; for the dagger, as it is called, in the first quarter of the city-arms, was certainly intended for the sword of St. Paul, the chosen patron of the corporation, and was borne centuries previous to the age of Walworth and his compatriots. Horace Walpole says that the above statue was made by Edward Pierce, the statuary and architect, who died in 1698. There is an expression of strong muscular energy in the countenance of this figure, which was probably carved from some genuine likeness; the eyes are large, and the beard dark and bushy with whiskers. In the windows at the same end of the hall

was some painted glass, displaying the arms of England, the city, the goldsmiths' and fishmongers' companies; and under the gallery were numerous shields emblazoned, with the arms of the successive prime wardens. In front of the gallery was a very large and clever picture of the gallant admiral earl St. Vincent, which was put up at the expense of the company, in veneration of his great talents and services.

In the court room were full lengths of the sovereigns William the third, and Mary, his consort, Frederick prince of Wales, and his consort, &c. and eight curious pictures, apparently from the Dutch school, of various kinds of fish, which are grouped with much skill, and excellently coloured. An apartment above, contains two other pictures, full lengths, of the late margrave and margravine of Anspach, executed in 1797, by Romney: these are in a loose, sketchy style, but are regarded as good likenesses: the connection of the margravine with the company, arose from an invitation given by her to the company, in an excursion up the river Thames, to land at Brandenburg-house, then her residence. Here also was a portrait of W. Sturch, esq. prime warden, 1827-8, it is a half length by T. Phillips, esq. R. A.

The chief part of the edifice was of brick, but the front next the Thames was ornamented with stone window cases, quoins, &c. the latter being wrought in rustic: and the summit of the building terminated by a cornice, having a large central pediment, in the tympanum of which were the royal arms of Charles II.: from the wharf was an ascent to the portal of the hall by a high flight of stone steps. The north buttress of the new London-bridge abutting on the eastern part of the hall, the city were obliged to purchase a considerable portion, for which they paid 20,000l. to the

company.

CHAPTER IX.

History and Topography of Broad-street Ward.

This ward derives its name from a street in it which obtained the appellation of Broad-street for being, before the fire of London, one of the widest streets within the walls of the city. It is bounded on the north and east by Bishopsgate ward; on the south by Cornhill and Wallbrook wards, and on the west by Coleman-street ward. It is divided into the ten precincts of St. Mildred, Woolchurch, St. Christopher, St. Bartholomew Upper, St. Bartholomew Lower, St. Margaret Lothbury, St. Benet Fink, St. Martin Outwich, St. Peterle-Poor, and Allhallows, London Wall. It is governed by an al

derman, and sends twelve inhabitants to the court of common-council. There were formerly six churches in this ward, viz. :-Allhallows London Wall, St. Bartholomew by the Exchange, St. Benet Fink, St. Martin Outwich, St. Peter-le-Poor, and St. Christole-Stock, all of which exist except the last.

This church is situated on the north side of the street, taking its name from the city wall in the interval between Moorfields and New Broad-street, the north wall abutting on the actual wall of the city. The patronage of this church, which is a rectory, was anciently in the prior and convent of the Holy Trinity, near Aldgate, who presented Thomas Richer de Sanston to it in 1335.

At the dissolution of religious houses, in the time of Henry VIII. this church, with the priory to which it belonged, was surrendered to the crown, in whom the advowson still remains. The old church escaped the fire of London, but became so ruinous that, in 1765, the parishioners obtained an act of parliament to empower them to pull it down, together with the parsonage house, and to enable them to raise money by annuities to rebuild it. The first stone of the pre sent edifice was laid July 10, 1765, and it was consecrated Sept. 8, 1767. It was built from the designs of Mr. Dance, the builder of the Mansion-house, and was the first edifice built from his designs The old church appears from the above engraving, which is copied from one by Toms, in 1760, to have been a building of the 14th century; it was equally humble with its successor, but possessed none of a church-like appearance. The present edifice affords a striking contrast to the works of Wren, and it would almost appear that the architect had studiously avoided giving to his building any indication of what it was designed for. The exterior, with the exception of the tower, is built with brick, and if it were large

enough, it might be taken for a riding-school. The tower is attached to the west end of the building, three of its sides being clear of the main structure, all of which are uniform, except the western, which is distinguished by the entrance. It is square in plan, and in elevation is made into three principal stories. The first contains the doorway flanked by two Doric columns sustaining their entablature and a pediment; above this is a circular aperture for a dial. The second story has an arched window filled in with weather boarding, and the elevation is furnished with a cornice and parapet having vases at the angles: within the parapet is a circular stylobate sustaining a small temple of the same form, to which is attached eight Corinthian columns sustaining their entablatures. The intercolumniations are pierced with arched openings, and the entablature above is broken and recessed; the whole is crowned with an hemispherical cupola, the surface being ribbed and finished with a vane. The residue of the western front is mere dead wall. The south side is relieved by four arches formed in the brick work, the heads being pierced for windows, and is finished by the cornice continued from the tower. In the basement are windows lighting the catacombs. The east end is occupied with a semicircular bow, the brick wall of which is without relief; the elevation finishes as before. The north side is concealed from observation, but is similar to the south, with the exception of an abutment forming the vestry-room, which extends northward beyond the bounds of London Wall, and is in the adjoining parish of St. Stephen, Coleman-street. The basement story of the tower forms a porch to a vestibule, in which on the south is a flight of stairs descending to the catacombs, and ascending to the gallery, and an entrance to the body of the church. The interior is in five divisions, the first contains a gallery, the next three are appropriated to the auditory, and are marked by four engaged Ionic columns, with fluted shafts attached to each of the side walls; these sustain a fascia ornamented with leaves and honeysuckles in an incorrect taste, upon which rests a waggon-head ceiling pierced laterally with arches above the intercolumniations; the whole surface of the ceiling is frittered into numerous pannels filled with plasterer's imitations of the flowers of the honeysuckle, the whole composition being only remarkable as one of the worst specimens of modern Grecian architecture; the division to the west, is ceiled in a plainer style, the ceiling resting on a fascia continued from that before described. The chancel, which occupies the bow noticed on the outside, is abruptly divided from the nave, by a small portion of wall, which is attempted to be relieved by a painted curtain The surface of the concavity is made into various pannels, and the upright is finished by the continued fascia; the ceiling is in form of a half dome, the soffit of which is entirely occupied by lozenge shaped pannels with small flowers in the centre, the whole design so different from the rest of the church, that it might be taken for the work of another hand. The western gallery is sustained upon Doric