over the seraph on a facia is the word Jehovah in Hebrew characters in a glory, and above that upon the cornice a shield gilt, compartment and festoon; the frieze is also well carved; and over the arched pediment upon acroters are four spacious lamps, between which are the arms of England in relievo, and over them a smaller arched pediment, neatly carved.

Westward is a curious marble font, adorned with che rubims; and northward a very ornamental door-case, enriched with shield, compartment, festoon, cherubims, &c.

The length of the body of the church within is fifty-four feet, breadth fifty, height thirty-six; and the steeple, which is of brick and stone, consists of a tower, dome and turret, the altitude of which is one hundred and eighteen feet.

The PRINCIPAL MONUMENTS are as follow:

A white marble monument on the south side of the church, with a bust, to the memory of Sir ROBERT Wyse_ MAN, knight and baronet, seventh son of Sir Thomas Wyseman of Rivenal, in the county of Essex. He was king's advocate, dean of the arches, and vicar general to the archbishop of Canterbury, in the reign of Charles II.

A black marble convex shield, with a fine compartment of white marble, adorned with urn, voluta, and three cherubims, to the memory of STEPHEN BRICE, LL.D. of Whitney Park, advocate in Doctor's Commons, a very learned civilian, who died in 1688.

A tablet of white marble over the pew appropriated for the College of Arms, with the following inscription:

Sacred to the memory of JoHN CHARLES BROOKE, Esq. Somerset Herald; secretary to the Earl Marshal of England, and F. S. A. A descendant from the respectable family of Brooke, of Dodworth, in the county of York, and a person of unrivalled eminence in this antient and useful profession. When we are told that this valuable man to a moral and pious disposition united a most cheerful and lively humour; that, with a mind to comprehend, a judgment to select, and a memory to retain, every sort of useful and agreeable information, he was blessed with a temper calm, unassuming, and inoffensive; that he lived in a strict in

timacy with persons of the highest rank, and of the first literary character, without the smallest tincture of vanity; above all, that he enjoyed, with a happy constitution of body, an uncommon prosperity in worldly affairs; let us, instead of envying the possession, reflect on the awful uncertainty of those sublunary blessings; for, alas! he was in a moment bereaved of them, in the dreadful calamity which happened at the theatre in the Haymarket, on the 3d of February 1794, in the forty-sixth year of his age*.

A fine large black marble tomb-stone in the church-yard, close to the north side of the church, to the memory of Sir RIGHARD LLOYD, knight, and LL. D. born in Shropshire, fellow of the college of All Souls, Oxon, official of the Court of Admiralty, and chancellor of the dioceses of Durham and Llandaff; who died June 28, 1686, aged fifty-two.

Lord Orford, in his "Anecdotes of Painting," writes, that INIGO JONES was buried in this church..

The situation and conveniencies of St. Bennet's, formerly recommended it so much to those, who were either in a hurry to marry, or chose to keep their marriage private or concealed, that the fees, before the commencement of the Marriage Act, for marriages only, exceeded most of the livings in and about London; the reverend Mr. Cook, rector, having married, from the year 1708 to 1781, no less than thirteen thousand four handred and twenty-three couple. RECTORS OF EMINENCE. Dr. SAMUEL CLARK, afterwards rector of St. James, Westminster, an excellent divine, and an eminent writer.

JOHN THOMAS, S. T. P. afterwards bishop of Salisbury. Bennet's Hill was formerly called PAUL'S WHARF HILL.

This shocking accident was occasioned by the pressure of the crowd to see the royal family, who had commanded a play at this theatre. Those who were unfortunately near the entrance of the pit door, were driven to the brink of a steep flight of steps, close to the door: several immediately fell, and others were precipitated over them; the consequence was the deaths of fifteen persons; besides other serious injuries by suffocation and bruises. Among the principal sufferers, besides Mr. Brooke, were Benjamin Pingo, Esq. York herald; and Caps. Pigot, of the navy.

Westward of PAUL'S WHARF was a structure, denominated SCROOPS'S INN, being the town residence of that noble family during the reign of Henry VI.

Near that was another mansion belonging to the alien abbey of Fiscampe; during the wars of Edward III. that monarch seized it into his own hands, and bestowed it on Sir Thomas Burley, knight of the Garter, of whom we have made mention *. From him it received the name of BURLEY HOUSE.

But the principal structure remarkable in this part of the city in antient times, was

BAYNARD's CASTLE.

This structure, whence the whole ward or aldermanry takes its name, was one of the two castles built on the west end of the city, with walls and ramparts, as mentioned by Fitz-Stephen. It received its denomination from Ralph Baynard, a follower of William I. who at the general survey possessed many other lordships in England. His descendant Henry Baynard †, taking part with Helias, earl of Mayne, who endeavoured to rob Henry I. of his Norman possessions, that monarch confiscated Baynard's lordships, and deprived him of his barony, which he bestowed on Robert Fitz-Richard, grandson of Gilbert, earl of Clare, steward and cupbearer to king Henry, who gave to him also the barony of Dunmow, in Essex. His son Walter, adhered to William de Longchamp, bishop of Ely, against John, carl of Moreton, brother of Richard I. Robert Fitz-Walter, his son, in the fourteenth year of the reign of John, had a beautiful daughter named Matilda, of whom the king became violently enamoured, and used every means in his power to ruin her chastity; but finding the daughter and her father too virtuous for his purpose, rage and vengeance succeeded, Fitz-Walter was accused of being a confederate with the discontented barons; and John would have secured him, but Fitz-Walter escaped the danger by retiring to France, on which the king charged him with treason and † Stow calls him William, Annals. rebellion,

* See Vol. I, p. 157.

rebellion, and demolished this castle*. John afterwards te stored him to his barony, gave him liberty to repair his castles, and appointed him governor of the castle at Hertford; the inhuman monarch however, finding he could not accomplish his purpose, is said to have dispatched the young lady by poison. The ill-treatment thus received, and the criminal conduct of the king, induced Fitz-Walter to join the barons, and he was the chief of the twenty-five who were appointed for the government of the kingdom; the king afterwards refusing the servile conditions to which they had limited him, the barons raised an army, of which that nobleman was appointed general, and he was stiled the "Marshal of the army of God and the Church." He afterwards accompanied the Crusades to the Holy Land, and was present at the famous siege of Damietta. He died 19 Henry III. leaving his son Walter, and Christian married to William de Mandeville, earl of Essex. Walter FitzWalter had summons to attend Henry III. in the forty-third year of his reign, at Chester, to repel the incursions of the Welch. His son Robert was knighted by Edward 1. and an active subject in assisting the king in his wars, against the Welch and Scots. This family continued in high ho nour and reputation till the reign of Henry VI. when the male branch having ceased, Anne, the daughter and heiress, married into the Ratcliffe family, in which the title of FitzWalter was revived.

This family, in right of the castle, held the office of Castellan and standard bearer of the city of London. The following is a curious declaration of the rights appertaining to the office, exhibited in the person of the above Robert Fitz-Walter, in 1303, before John Blonden or Blunt, custos of the city of London:

"The said Robert and his heirs ought to be and are chief banners of London, in fee for the castelary, which he and his ancestors had by Castle Baynard in the said city. In time of war the said Robert and his heirs ought to serve the city in manner as followeth: that is,

"The said Robert ought to come, he being the twentieth man of arms, on horseback, covered with cloth or armour, unto the great west door of St. Paul's, with his banner displayed before him of his arms. And, when he is come to the said door, mounted and apparelled as before is said, the mayor, with his aldermen and sheriffs, armed in their arms, shall come out of the said church of St. Paul unto the said door, with a banner in his hand, all on foot; which banner shall be gules, the image of St. Paul, gold; the face, hands, feet, and sword, of silver: and as soon as the said Robert shall see the mayor, aldermen, and sheriffs, come on foot out of the church, armed with such a banner; he shall alight from his horse and salute the mayor, and say to him, Sir mayor, I am come to do my service which I owe to the city.

"And the mayor and aldermen shall answer, We give to you, as to our banneret of fee in this city, the banner of this city, to bear and govern the honour of this city to your power.

"And the said Robert and his heirs shall receive the banner in his hands, and go on foot out of the gate, with the banner in his hands; and the mayor, aldermen, and sheriffs, shall follow to the door, and shall bring an horse to the said Robert, worth 20l. which horse shall be saddled with a saddle of the arms of the said Robert, and shall be covered with sindals of the said arms.

"Also they shall present to him 201. sterling, and deliver it to the chamberlain of the said Robert, for his expences that day. Then the said Robert shall mount upon the horse which the mayor presented to him, with the banner in his hand; and, as soon as he is up, he shall say to the mayor, that he must cause a marshal to be chosen for the host, one of the city; which being done, the said Robert shall command the mayor and burgesses of the city to warn the commons to assemble, and all go under the banner of St. Paul; and the said Robert shall bear it himself to Aldgate, and there the said Robert and mayor shall deliver the said banner of St. Paul to whom they think proper. And, if they are to go out of the city, then the said Robert ought to chuse two out of every ward, the most sage persons, to look to the keeping of the city after they are gone out. And this counsel shall be taken in the priory of the Trinity near Aldgate. And before every town or castle which the host of London shall besicge, if the siege continue a whole year, the said Robert shall have, for every siege, of the commonalty of London, one hundred shillings, and no more."

VOL. III. No. 70.

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