merly used by the company, previous to commencing business. This gallery is now used for lumber and rubbish! In the hall, not only the ordinary business of the company is transacted, but the meetings also of the Gresham committee are regularly held. This committee, to whom the important trusts attendant on the magnificent bounties of sir Thomas Gresham are delegated, consists of four aldermen, (of whom the lord mayor for the time being is constantly one) and eight other members of the corporation of London, with whom, for this purpose, are associated a select number of the court of assistants of the mercer's company. In the ladies chamber, which is a small apartment over the entrance from Cheapside, is a beautiful chimney-piece, decorated with some exquisite carvings in wood, by Gibbons. The whole of this edifice, though repaired in 1814, possesses but a mean appearance, considering that it belongs to the first company in the city. It is certainly unworthy so distinguished a body of merchants, as at present compose the court and livery of this ancient and affluent fraternity. Grocers Hall. The site of the present hall is situated on the north side of the Poultry, within an enclosed court, the entrance to which is a long narrow passage, now called Grocers-alley, which was anciently called Conyhope-lane,' from the sign of three conies, [rabbits], hanging over a poulterer's stall at the lane end; or more properly, as the historian has spelt it in the same page, Conningshop-lane,' i. e. Coney-shop-lane. At the upper end of this lane, or rather between it and the Poultry compter, was the chapel of Corpus Christi, and St. Mary, which was founded, says Stow, by a citizen named Jonyrunnes,' in the reign of Edward the Third, and to which belonged a guild or fraternity, that might expend 201. by the year'. This foundation was suppressed by Henry the Eighth, and afterwards purchased by Hobson, a haberdasher, who turned the chapel into a fair warehouse, with shops towards the street, and lodgings over them. Not a vestige of this building remains.' The site of the present hall with the building thereupon,' was originally purchased by the company, in the year 1411, for the sum of 320 marks, of the baron, Robert Fitz-Walter, hereditary castellan-baronneret, or standard-bearer, to the city of London. Here they immediately laid the foundation of a stately hall, which being mostly destroyed by the fire of London, was rebuilt with a Gothic front and bow window: the charge for the great parlour and court-room being defrayed by sir John Cutler, who was four times master of the company. In that edifice were kept the accounts, and the business transacted of the Bank of England, from the time of its incorporation till its removal into Threadneedlestreet, in June 1734. The present hall was built upon the ancien site between the years 1798 and 1802, from designs, by Mr. Le verton, architect; and though not a splendid fabric, is well adapted to its inclosed situation. It is chiefly constructed of brick, but the basement story is faced with stone, and the entrance porch is ornamented with rustic work. From the base rise ten pair of stone pilasters, of the Tuscan order, (betwen which range the principal windows), supporting an architrave and cornice of the same material. At the present time (May 1828) this hall is undergoing a thorough repair under the direction of J. Gwilt, esq. F. S. A. The company possess portraits of the following personages: sir Thomas Chichely, sir Robert Ladbroke, lord mayor, 1748, and the right hon. William Pitt. Mr. Brayley also noticed the following paintings in the possession of the company; sir John Cutler, bart. sir John Moore, lord mayor 1682, and sir John Fleet, lord mayor 1693. On the site of Grocers-hall, stood the Poultry compter, a heavy brick edifice, which was pulled down previous to the erection of the new prison in Whitecross-street. On the south side of Cheapside is a handsome house, at present occupied by Mr. Tegg, an eminent bookseller. It was erected from a design by sir Christopher Wren in 1668-9. The front is decorated with a profusion of ornament; it consists of three stories above the ground floor, besides an attic, which retires behind the line of the front. The shop front, added by the present possessor, assimilates in its decorations with the older portion of the building: the upper stories have a slightly marked centre, with a balcony of stone above the first floor window; all the windows are inclosed within richly ornamented architraves, and the stories are decorated by cornices sustained on antæ. The upright of the principal elevation is finished with a bold frieze of acanthus leaves, surmounted by a cornice, which over the centre division is broken by a segmental pediment. The attic is in a plainer style. The materials are brick with stone dressings; the plane surfaces have been covered with composition which, from its age, presented a dilapidated appearance before the house was taken by the present proprietor in 1823, who restored the whole (under the direction of G. Smith, esq.), in a highly satisfactory manner. Honey-lane market, which is partly in the ward of Cheap, and partly in that of Cripplegate, is the smallest market in the city, being only one hundred and ninety-three feet from east to west, and ninety-seven feet from north to south. In the centre is a large square market-house, standing on pillars, with rooms over it, and a bell tower in the middle. Here are also a number of standing stalls for butchers, fruiterers, &c. and the passages into the market are inhabited by poulterers, and other dealers in provisions. This market occupies the site of two churches, burnt down in 1666; viz. that of St. Mary Magdalen, Milk-street, which belonged to Cripplegate-ward, and that of Allhallows, Honey-lane, in this ward, which stood where the east end of the market now is. It is a rectory, the advowson of which belongs to the grocers' company, who, since the union with St. Mary-le-Bow, and St. Pancras, Soper-lane, present in turn with the archbishop of Canterbury. The church of St. Pancras, Soper-lane, stood on the north side of Pancras-lane, and took its name from its dedication to St. Pancras, a young Phrygian nobleman, who for his strict adherence to the Christian faith, suffered martyrdom at Rome, under the emperor Dioclesian, and from its vicinity to Soper-lane, now Queen-street. It is a rectory, the patronage of which was in the prior and canons of Canterbury, till they granted the advowson to Simon, the archbishop, in the year 1365; since which time, it has remained in the archbishops of that see. Over part of the site of this church formerly stood a cistern to receive water, which came to the great conduit at the east end of Cheapside. On the same side of Pancras-lane, a little further to the east, stood the parish church of St. Bennet, Sherehog, which is said to derive its name from one Benedict Shorne, a fishmonger, who rebuilt it. It was originally dedicated to St. Osyth, a queen and martyr; but the ambition of this disciple of St. Peter, was superior to his gallantry; he therefore ousted the female saint, and procured the tutelage of the church, by the name of St. Bennet, or Benedict, though his canonization is doubtful. The additional epithet is a corruption of his surname, which was gradually changed to Shrog, Shorehog, and, at length to Sherehog. After the fire in 1666, this parish was united in that of St. Stephen, Wallbrook. It is a rectory, the patronage of which was in the prior and convent of St. Mary, Overy's, in Southwark, till their dissolution, when it came to the crown; in which it still continues. Against the wall is the following inscription : BEFORE THE DREADFVLL Bucklesbury, corruptly called Bucklersbury, received its name from one Buckle, lord of the manor, who resided and kept his court, in a spacious stone building, called the Old Barge, from such a sign being in front of it. The site of his mansion is now occupied by Barge-yard; to which place, according to tradition, boats and barges came from the Thames, up the Wallbrook, when its navigation was open. Opposite to Barge-yard, on the north side of Bucklersbury, was a royal mansion, denominated Sernes, or Sewete's Tower. In 1344, king Edward III. constituted this his exchange, or market-place, for bullion; and, in 1358, he granted it, with all its appurtenances, to the dean and canons of the collegiate church of Stephen, Westminster. At the west end of the Poultry, where Bucklersbury meets Cheap side, formerly stood the great conduit, which was first erected for the reception of water, conveyed hither from Paddington, by leaden pipes under ground. It was castellated with stone, and cisterned with lead. It was began in 1285, Henry Walleis being mayor, and rebuilt by Thomas Ilame, one of the sheriffs, in 1479. It was taken down after the great fire, and not rebuilt. New Queen street was formerly called Sopar-lane. By the assent of Stephen Abunden, mayor, the pepperers in Sopar's-lane were admitted to sell all such spices and other wares as grocers use now to sell, retaining the old name of pepperers in Sopars-lane; till at length, in the reign of Henry VI. the said Sopars-lane was inhabited by cordwainers and curriers: after that, the pepperers or grocers had seated themselves in the more open street, in Bucklersbury, where they remained for many years. By a passage in an old book, printed in Henry VIII's reign, it appears, that Sopars-lane was a noted place where pies were made, and set forth to be sold, when spices were so near at hand. Thou must, at Eastre, receive the God of Antichrist; and thou must buy it, and pay for it, as men some time bought pies in Soperlane.* Tallow-chandlers had their shops also hereabouts; the smell of whose trade, it seems, was so nauseous in the chief street of the city, that they were appointed to remove thence, and remain elsewhere in the city. At the upper end of Sopar's-lane, in Cheapside, was the common place of standing to see great shews; as, when kings and queens, princes, or foreign ambassadors passed along towards Westminster, or from Westminster through London towards the Tower. Here was a parcel of land called The great Field of the Street,' some time in the tenure of the lady Catharine Dormer, widow: this, under that name, together with other things, was sold to sir Robert Cholmley, knt. in the second of Edward VI. On the east side of Guildhall-yard is the Irish chamber, a plain but neat edifice of brick. In the office is a painting of the right hon. T. Harley, mayor in 1768, by Hardy; and in the court room are portraits of the following gentlemen, Brass Crosby, esq. mayor, 1771; H. C. Coombe, esq. mayor, 1800, by Opie; J. T. Thorpe, esq. mayor, 1821, by sir W. Beechey; and J. Slade, esq. by Opie: the last portrait painted by that highly gifted man. In the anteroom are portraits of R. Alsop, esq.mayor, 1752; and P. Le Mesurier, mayor 1794. Numerous notices of shows, and processions, tournaments, &c. that have distinguished Cheap from the earliest period, have appeared in the historical portion of this work. We will conclude the history of this ward with the following extract from Chaucer; it contains a sprightly notice of the place, as well as a delightful sketch of a London Prentice :'- • Lamentation against the city of London, printed 1505. VOL. III. 2 D A prentice whilom dwelt in our citee, At every bridale would he sing and hoppe To hoppe and sing, and maker swiche disport.* CHAPTER XII. History and Topography of Coleman-street Ward. This ward derives its appellation from the principal street therein, which, probably, was so called from one Coleman, either the builder or a principal owner or inhabitant. It is bounded on the east by Bishopsgate, Broad-street and Cheap wards; on the north by Cripplegate and Bishopsgate wards; on the south by Cheap ward; and, on the west, by Bassishaw ward. It is divided into the precincts of St. Margaret, Lothbury; St. Olave, Jewry; and the four of St. Stephen, Coleman-street. It returns six inhabitants to the court of common council, and is under the government of an alderman. In this ward are three churches, viz. St. Margaret, Lothbury; St. Olave, Old Jewry; St. Stephen, Coleman-street. St. Margaret, Lothbury. On the north side of Lothbury is the parochial church of St. Margaret. This church is so called from being dedicated to St. Margaret, a virgin saint of Antioch, who suffered martyrdom in the reign of the emperor Decius; and it received the additional epithet of Lothbury, from its situation, and to distinguish it from other churches dedicated to the same saint. This church is a rectory, the foundation of which is of great antiquity, as appears from John de Haslingfield, who was presented to it, by the abbess and convent of Barking, in Essex, on the 16th kal. of August, 1303. The patronage continued in that convent till the general suppression of religious houses, when it fell to the crown, in whom it has continued to the present time. The original church being greatly decayed by time, a new one * The Cokes Tale, p. 170, vol. i. Canterbury Tales, by Tyrwhitt, ed. 1775. |