\^ A^- .^^ %. ■S" -%-, -%vy"i^ \ \^ /^ ■S^- 'K 'S-. ^^, .-V- ■ Ti ■<* .^:^' '^. ^ •0 \v '^i .-6'^^ V- ^'- * "^- v^ co^ vO s ,-^ "^r. -<■ - ,> - s'^ ' r-. ^^"^^^^,^ '-^Z. * ■; N ' V. '-e.. "'^^ ,^\' - />• ^^ o . "? -> <^'"'\7^ .% ^' -".s^. CO i 1 ^ ~^* X^^' %-^ .^<^. ,^^ ■'■^-. '-<■ ■ \:. ■^ >*^ ■'„ ■'^. \\ , \ ' « * "'o x^^ -^^^ * ■ - ' ' /.^•",> -- : ' ' %^ c ^- : j^' ^ \--^-< ,/^ " , ''^ ^ ■ cP "oo^ ^ ,^^ '^^^. *" -^^ .-^^ 0^ ■^'' -^^ v.-^'^ ' ♦ n N^^^ ••^^>\ .■^^' "-^c^ s^- •?Z, ' o . V -^ r-, r^^: ,vS^ V •/», .■^ '^ <^^ -o^^ ^^.• •^, H; o '>. v^ .^^ ■V u .<^^ ./■ .\N THE FLEET. y A'-- rt Col n- ^ Cfje jfleet X" ITS RIVER, PRISON, AND MARRIAGES V JOHN ASHTON {Aut>ior 'jf " Social Life in the Reign of S^ucert j^nne," " Daivn of the Nineteenth Century,^' &c., &€., ©"f.) ILLUSTRATED BY PICTURES FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS AND ENGRAVINGS SCRIBNER AND WELFORD 1888 L VIEW OF MOOTH OP THE KLEET circa 1765. (Guildhall Att Collection.) [Frontispiece. BY TRAN=«FER JL:. A ^"f x'^,,*- , n^ PREFACE. THIS book requires none, except a mere statement of its scheme. Time has wrought such changes in this land of ours, and especially in its vast Metro- polis, " The Modern Babylon," that the old land-marks are gradually being effaced — and in a few generations would almost be forgotten, were it not that some one noted them, and left their traces for future perusal. All have some little tale to tell ; even this little River Fleet, which with its Prison, and its Marriages — are things utterly of the past, entirely swept away, and impossible to resuscitate, except by such a record as this book. I have endeavoured, by searching all available sources of information, to write a trustworthy history of my subject — and, at the same time, make it a pleasant book for the general reader. If I have succeeded in my aim, thanks are due, and must be given, to W. H. Overall, Esq., F.S.A., and Charles Welch, Esq., Librarians to the Corporation of the City of London, whose friendship, and kindness, have enabled me to complete my pleasant task. It was at their suggestion that I came upon a viii Preface. veritable trouvaille, in the shape of a box containing Mr. Anthony Crosby's Collection for a History of the Fleet, which was of most material service to me, espe- cially in the illustrations, most of which were by his own hand. I must also express my gratitude to J. E. Gardner, Esq., F.S.A., for his kindness in putting his magnificent and unrivalled Collection of Topographical Prints at my disposal, and also to J. G. Waller, Esq., F.S.A., for his permission to use his map of the Fleet River (the best of any I have seen), for the benefit of my readers. JOHN ASHTON. CONTENTS. Zhc 1R i V c r. CHAPTER I. PAGE Course of the Fleet — Derivation of its Name — The River of Wells — The Fleet choked up — Cleansing the Fleet — The Fleet Navigable — Wells — Ponds and Pools ... ... i CHAPTER II. Water Supply of London — The Fleet to be Cleansed — Smell of the River — Prehistoric London — Antiquarian Dis- coveries — Cleansing the Fleet — Fouling the River — Rivers rising at Hampstead — The Tye-bourne — The West-bourne — Course of the West-bourne 13 CHAPTER in. Course of the Fleet — The Hampstead Ponds — Rural Fleet — Gospel Oak — Parliament Hill — Kentish Town — Brown's Dairy — Castle Inn — St. Pancras Wells — Burials at St. Pancras — the Brill 25 X Contents. CHAPTER IV. PAGE Battle Bridge — King's Cross — The Dust-heaps — St. Chad's Well— St. Chad's Well-water 39 CHAPTER V. Medicinal Waters — Spas — The White Conduit — White Con- duit House — White Conduit Gardens ... ... ... 53 CHAPTER VI. Sadler's Discovery — Miles's Musick House — A Man Eats a Live Cock, &c. — Forcer, the Proprietor — Macklin on Sadler's Wells — Actors at Sadler's Wells — The Pindar of Wakefield e-j CHAPTER VII. " Black Mary's Hole" — Its Disappearance — Bagnigge Wells — Nell Gwyn's Houses — Bagnigge House ... ... 77 CHAPTER VIII. Bagnigge Wells — The Organist — Different Proprietors — " Punch " on Bagnigge Wells — Decadence of the Wells 87 CHAPTER IX. Cold Bath Fields Prison CHAPTER X. 99 The "Cold Bath"— Cold Baths— Sir John Oldcastle— Archery — Tea Gardens — Small Pox Hospital — The Pantheon — Lady Huntingdon's Chapel — Lady Huntingdon... ... iii Contents. xi CHAPTER XI. The Spencean System — Orator Hunt — Riot in the City — Riots — End of the Riots ... ... ... ... ... 127 CHAPTER XII. Fighting — Hockley-in-the-Hole — Bear Baiting — Bear Gardens — Bull Baiting — Sword Play ... ... ... ... 137 CHAPTER XIII. Mount Pleasant — Saffron Hill — Old House in West Street — Fagin — Field Lane — Thieves ... ... ... ... 153 CHAPTER XIV. Bleeding Hart Yard — Ely Place — John of Gaunt — Ely Chapel — Turnmill Brook — The Fleet — Holborn Bridge ... 163 CHAPTER XV. Lamb's Conduit — Clerkenwell — Fleet Market — Rye-House Plot — Fleet Bridge ... ... ... ... ••• '79 CHAPTER XVI. Alderman Waithman — John Wilkes — Ludgatc Prison — Sir Stephen Foster ... ... ... ... ... ... 193 CHAPTER XVII. Bridewell — Montfichet Castle — Fuller on Bridewell — Ward on Bridewell — Howard on Bridewell — Bridewell Prison The City and Apprentices — Mother Cresswell — Bride- well Court Room ... ... ... ... ... ... 205 CHAPTER XVIII. Alsatia — Whitefriars — Deaths in the Fleet — Ben Jonson and the Fleet ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 223 xii Contexts. Zbc jflcet prieoiu CHAPTER XIX. PAGE History of the Fleet Prison — Female Wardens — Settlement of Fees — Liberty of Prisoners — Filthy State of the Fleet — A Quarrelsome Knight — Preference for the Fleet Prison — Sir John Falstaff — Cardinal Wolsey ... ... 229 CHAPTER XX. Prisoners — •Puritans — Bibliography of Fleet Prison — A Warden's Troubles ... ... ... ... ... 243 CHAPTER XXI. The Warden of the Fleet — Purchase of Wardenship — Bad Discipline — Boundaries of the Fleet — Preference for the Fleet ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 255 CHAPTER XXII. Complaints of the Warden — The Warden keeps Corpses — Huggins and Bambridge — Castell — The First Prisoner in Irons — Acquittal of Huggins and Bambridge — Bam- bridge and his Prisoners — Chapel in the Fleet Bagging 265 CHAPTER XXIII. Admission to the Fleet Prison — The Humours of the Fleet ... 279 CHAPTER XXIV. Garnish — The "Common Side" — Howard's Report — Regu- lations of the Prison — Gordon Riots — Burning of the Fleet Prison — Fleet Prison Rebuilt — The "Bare" — Racket Masters — A Whistling Shop — x'^ Mock Election " Dum Vivimus^ Vivamus''' — Number of Prisoners — De- stitution ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 293 Contents. xiii CHAPTER XXV. I'ACE Escape of Prisoners — A Gang of Forgers — Abolition of Im- prisonment for Debt — Prisoners Object to move — Op- position to Removal — " The Last Days of the Fleet " — Sale of the Fleet Prison — Begging Grate — Richard Oastler ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 313 fleet HDarriaoce, CHAPTER XXVI. Illegal Marriages — Cost of Marriages — Peculiars — Suppression of Irregular Marriages — A Fleet Parson's Reflections — Fleet Parsons — An Heiress Married ... ... ... 327 CHAPTER XXVII. John Gaynam — The Bishop of Hell — Edward Ashwell — John Floud — Walter Wyatt ... ... ... ... •••339 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Lillcys — Fleet Parsons — Parson Keith ... ... ... 351 CHAPTER XXIX. "The Bunter's Wedding" — Fleet Parsons — Exchange of Wives — Singular Marriage — Irregular Marriage ... 363 CHAPTER XXX. A Runaway Marriage — Fortune's Married — Illegal Marriage — Fleet Marriage Registers — Extracts from Registers — End of Marriages ... ... ... ... ... ... 375 INDEX 387 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE shepherd's well, HAMPSTEAD... ... ... ... ... 22 the fleet, kentish town ... ... ... ... 28 view of the valley of the fleet and highgate church, from fortess terrace, kentish town, sept. 28, 1 845 ... 29 the fleet at kentish town ... ... ... ... 30, 3 i old house, kentish town, supposed to have been nell gwynne's ... ... ... ... ... ... 33 THE FLEET AT KENTISH TOWN BROWNE's DAIRY FARM, SEPT. 21, 1833 34 CASTLE, KENTISH TOWN ROAD, 1 848 ... ... ... ... 35 THE BRILL ... ... ... ... ... ... 37 BATTLE BRIDGE ... ... ... ... ... 40,41,42 DUST HEAP AT BATTLE BRIDGE ... ... ... ... 45 ST. chad's well ... ... ... ... ... ... 49 THE WHITE CONDUIT ... ... ... ... ... 54, 62 STONE IN THE WHITE CONDUIT ... ... ... ... 57 WHITE CONDUIT GARDENS (iNTERIOr) ... ... ... 64 „ „ „ (exterior) ... ... ... ... 65 the pindar of wakefield ... ... ... ... 75 BAGNIGGE HOUSE ... ... ... ... ... ... 82 BAGNIGGE WELLS, NEAR BATTLE BRIDGE, ISLINGTON ... 85 A VIEW TAKEN FROM THE CENTER BRIDGE IN THE GARDENS OF BAGNIGGE WELLS ... ... ... ... ... 88 WAITER FROM THE BREAD AND BUTTER MANUFACTORY; OR, THE HUMOURS OF BAGNIGGE WELLS ... ... ... 89 xvi List of Illustrations. PAGE THE BREAD AND BUTTER MANUFACTORY ; OR, THE HUMOURS OF BAGNIGGE WELLS ... ... ... ... ... 89 A BAGNIGGE WELLS SCENE; OR, NO RESISTING TEMPTATION ... 9O THE BAGNIGGE ORGANIST ... ... ... ... ... 9I THE ANCIENT RIVER FLEET, AT CLERKENWELL, 1 82 5 ... I OO SOUTH VIEW OF THE COLD BATHS ... ... ... II3 THE SMALLPOX HOSPITAL IN COLD BATH FIELDS ... ... II8 VIEW OF NORTHAMPTON OR SPA FIELDS CHAPEL, WITH THE COUNTESS OF HUNTINGDON'S HOUSE ADJOINING ... ... I 24 FAGIN, THE JEW ... ... ... ... ... ... I 59 FIELD LANE NEGOTIATIONS ; OR, A SPECIMEN OF " FINE DRAWING " I 60 ELY HOUSE 1784 ... ... ... ... ... ... 169 END OF HOLBORN BRIDGE, TAKEN FROM THE SOUTH, AND PART OF HOLBORN HILL, JUNE 2, 1 84O ... ... ... 1 75 HOLBORN BRIDGE ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 77 lamb's CONDUIT, SNOW HILL ... ... ... ... 18I FLEET MARKET, FROM HOLBORN BRIDGE ... ... ... 1 87 BRIDEWELL BRIDGE... ... ... ... ... ... 2O7 WOMEN BEATING HEMP ... ... ... ... ... 2I3 PASS ROOM, BRIDEWELL, I 808 ... ... ... ... 21 5 THE ARREST ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 228 BAMBRIDGE ... ... ... ... ... ... 273 A PRISONER IN IRONS ... ... ... ... ... ... 274 THE COMMON SIDE OF THE FLEET PRISON ... ... 278 THE FLEET PRISON ... ... ... ... ... ... 296 RACKETS IN THE FLEET PRISON, I760 ... ... ... 3O3 A WHISTLING SHOP IN THE FLEET, 1 82 1 ... ... ... 306 AUTOGRAPH DONE AT THE PARLOUR NO. I, PALAIS DE LA FLETE, THIS 24 DAY JUNE ... ... ... ... ... 3II FARRINGDON STREET AND THE FLEET PRISON ... ... 322 GROUND PLAN OF FLEET PRISON ... ... ... ... 323 SECTION OF THE PRISON ... ... ... ... ... 323 EXTERIOR OF THE GRATE ... ... ... ... ... 324 A FLEET WEDDING... ... ... ... ... ... 362 THE sailor's FLEET WEDDING ENTERTAINMENT ... ... 364 ILLUSTRATIONS WILL ALSO BE FOUND AT PAGES 1 7 1, I "2, 1 84, 280, 294, 304, 307, 308, 319, 335. The Fleet : 3|t0 iRitjet, lg)ri0on, ant) carriages. CHAPTER I. ONLY a little tributary to the Thames, the River Fleet, generally, and ignominiously, called the Fleet Ditchy yet it is historically interesting, not only on account of the different places through which its murmuring stream meandered, almost all of which have some story of their own to tell, but the reminis- cences of its Prison stand by themselves — pages of history, not to be blotted out, but to be recorded as valuable in illustration of the habits, and customs, of our forefathers. The City of London, In its early days, was well supplied with water, not only by the wells dug near houses, or by the public springs, some of which still exist, as Aldgate Pump, &c., and the River Thames; 2 2 Course of the Fleet. but, when its borders increased, the Walbrook was utilized, as well as the Fleet, and, later on, the Tye- bourne, or twin brook, which fell into the Thames at Westminster. In the course of time these rivulets became polluted, land was valuable ; they were covered over, and are now sewers. The course of the Fleet being clearly traceable in the depression of Farringdon Street, and the windings of the Tyebourne in the somewhat tortuous Marylebone Lane (so called from the Chapel of St. Mary, which was on the banks of "le bourne," or the brooks). Its further course is kept in our memory by Brook Street, Hanover Square, The name of this little river has exercised many minds, and has been the cause of spoiling much good paper. My own opinion, backed by many antiquaries, is that a Fleet means a brook, or tributary to a larger river, which is so wide, and deep, at its junction with the greater stream as to be navigable for the small craft then in use, for some little distance. Thus, we have the names on the Thames of Purfleet, Northfleet, and Southfleet, and the same obtains in other places. Its derivation seems to be Saxon — at least, for our language. Thus, in Bosworth's " Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Language," we find, "Flede-Fledu : part. Flooded; overflowed: tumidus - : Tiber fledu wear's 3 — the Tiber was flooded (Ors. 4. 7)." ^ The name of this church has been Latinized as " Sancta Maria de Ossibus" ! ^ Swollen. 3 The real quotation in Orosius is "pa wearS Tiber seo ea swa fledu." Derivation of its Name. 3 Again, the same author gives : " Fleet {Plat fleet, m. a small river; Ger. flethe. f. a channel). A ■place where vessels floaty a bay, gulf-, an arm of the sea, the onouth of a river, a river ; hence the names of places, as Northfleet, Southfleet, Kent; and in London, Fleet ditch; sinus. ^ Soes Fleot, a hay of the sea.^ Bd. 1.34." Another great Anglo-Saxon scholar — Professor Skeat, in " An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language " : " Fleet, a creek, bay. In the names North-fleet, Fleet Street, &c. Fleet Street was so named from the Fleet Ditch ; ^nd. fleet was given to any shallow creek, or stream, or channel of water. See Halliwell. yi.'E. fleet (Promptorium Parvulorum, &c., p. 166). A.S. fleot, a bay of the sea, as in Soes Fleot, bay of the sea. Alfred's tr. of Beda, i. 34.- After- wards applied to any channel or stream, especially if shallow. The original sense was ' a place where vessels float,' and the derivation is from the old verb fleet, to float, &c." The French, too, have a cognate term, especially in Norman towns, as Barfleur, Honfleur, Harfleur, &c., which were originally written BcLvheflot, Huneflot, and Hareflot : and these were sometimes written Hareflou, Huneflou, and Barfleu, which latter comes very near to ^ A bag, or purse, a fold of a garment ; a bay, bight, or gulf, 2 I cannot find this quotation in " Boedoe Historia Ecclesiastica," Sec, in any edition I have seen, but in 1.33. I do find Amfleet, and in John Smith's edition (Cambridge, 1722) as a note to Amj-leor, he says, " Vulgo Amblcteau or Amblctcuse, about 2 miles north of Boulogne " 4 The River of Wells. the Latin flevus, called by Ptolemy fleus, and by Mela jietio. Again, in Brittany many names end in pleu^ or plouj which seems to be very much like the Greek TrXew : /«//, swollen^ which corresponds to our Anglo-Saxon Flede; Dutch Vliet. But it has another, and a very pretty name, " The River of Wells," from the number of small tribu- taries that helped to swell its stream, and from the wells which bordered its course ; such as Sadler's Wells, Bagnigge Wells, White Conduit, Coldbath, Lamb's Conduit, Clerkenwell — all of which (although all were not known by those names in Stow's times) were in existence. Stow, in his "Survey of London" (ed. 1603, his last edition, and which consequently has his best corrections), says — " Riuer of That the riuer of Wels in the west parte Wcls. of the Citty, was of olde so called of the Wels, it may be proued thus, William the Conqueror in his Charter to the CoUedge of S. Marten le Grand in London, hath these wordes : I doe giue and graunt to the same Church all the land and the Moore, without the Posterne, which Is called Cripplegate, on eyther part of the Postern, that is to say, from the North corner of the Wall, as the riuer of the Wels, there neare running, de- parteth the same More from the Wall, vnto the running water which entereth the Cittie ; this water hath beene long since called the The Fleet Choked Up. 5 riuer of the Wels, which name of riuer continued, and it was so called in the raigne of Edward the first ; as shall bee shewed, with also the decay of the saide riuer. In a fayre Booke of Parliament recordes, now lately restored to the Tower, ^ it appeareth that a j^g^ayofthe Parliament being holden at Carlile in the Riuer of the yeare 1307, the 2S ^^ Edward the I. Henry ^'^^•'• Lacy Earle of Lincolne, complayned that whereas, in times past the course of water, parliament running at London vnder Olde bourne bridge, Record. and Fleete bridge into the Thames, had beene of such bredth and depth, that 10 or 12 ^^.^^^ ^r ships, Nauies at once with marchadises, were JVels bare wot to come to the foresaid bridge of Fleete, ^^"P^- and some of them to Oldborne bridge : now the same course by filth of the Tanners & such others, was sore decaied ; also by raising of wharfes, but specially by a diversio of the waters made by them of the new Tetnplcj for their milles standing without Baynardes Castle^ in the first yeare of King John^ and diuers p^^g^t other impediments, so as the said ships could Record, not enter as they were wont, & as they -^'^-^ '^y ought, wherefore he desired that the Maior of ^^^^^^ ^^jg London, with the shiriffs, and other discrete /« the first of Aldermen, might be appointed to view the ^''^•^ ^''^'"• course of the saide water, and that by the othes ' The Records were kept in the Tower, and at the Rolls Office, in a very neglected state, until they were removed to the present Record Office in Fetter Lane. 6 Cleansing the Fleet. of good men, all the aforesaide hinderances might be remoued, and it to bee made as it was wont of old : wherupon Roger le Bra- haxon^ the Constable of the Tower, with the Maior and Shiriffes, were assigned to take with them honest and discrete men, and to make diligent search and enquirie, how the said riuer was in old time, and that they leaue nothing that may hurt or stop it, but keepe it in the same estate that it was wont to be. So far the record, Wherupon it folowed that the said riuer was at that time cleansed, these mils remoued, and other things done for the preseruation of the course thereof, not with- standing neuer brought to the olde depth and breadth, whereupon the name of riuer ceased, Turnemill ^^^ was sincc Called a Brooke, namely Turn- Brooke. mill or Tremill Brooke, for that diuers Mils were erected vpon it, as appeareth by a fayre Register booke, conteyning the foundation of the Priorie at Clarkenwell, and donation of the landes thereunto belonging, as also by diuers other records. " This brooke hath beene diuers times since clensed, namely, and last of all to any effect, in the yeare 1502 the j 7th of Henrie the 7. the whole course of Fleete dike, then so called, was scowred (I say) downe to the Thames, so that boats with fish and fewel were rowed to Fleete bridge, and to Oldburne bridge, as they of olde time had beene accus- The Fleet Navigable. 7 tomed, which was a great commoditie to all the inhabitants in that part of the Citie. " In the yeare 1589, was granted a fifteene, by a common Councell of the citie, for the cleansing of this Brooke or dike: the money f/^^^^^,^^ amounting to a thousand marks collected, and promised to it was undertaken, that, by drawing diuerse bedensed; springes about Hampsted heath, into one head collected and and Course, both the citie should be serued of t/ie citizens fresh water in all places of want, and also that '^^"^^^'■^• by such a follower, as men call it, the channell of this brooke should be scowred into the riuer of Thames ; but much mony being therein spent, y^ effect fayled, so that the Brooke by meanes of continuall incrochments vpon the banks getting ouer the water, and casting of soylage into the streame, is now become woorse cloyed and that euer it was before." From this account of Stow's we find that the stream of the Fleet, although at one time navigable, had ceased to be so in his time, but we see, by the frontispiece, which is taken from a painting (in the Guildhall Art Gallery) by Samuel Scot, 1770 (?) that the mouth of the Fleet river, or ditch, call it which you like, was still, not only navigable, but a place of great resort for light craft. The name '^ River of Wells " is easily to be under- stood, if we draw again upon Stow, who, in treating of " Auncient and present Riuers, Brookes, Boorns, Pooles, 8 Wells. Wels, and Conduits of fresh water serulng the Citie," &c., says — "Aunciently, vntill the Conquerors time, and 200 yeres after, the Citie of London was watered besides the famous Riuer of Thames on the South part ; with the riuer of the wels, as it was then called, on the west; with water called Walbrooke running through the midst of the citie into the riuer of Thames, seruing the heart thereof, x'^nd with a fourth water or Boorne, which ran within the Citie throucrh Langboorne ward, watering that part in the East. In the west suburbs was also another great water, called Oldborne, which had his fall into the riuer of Wels : then was there 3 principall Fountaines or wels in the other Suburbs, to wit, Holy Well, Clements Well, and Clarices Well. Neare vnto this last named fountaine were diuers other wels, to wit. Skinners Wei, Fags Wei, Loders Wei, and Rad Well ; All which sayde Wels, hauing the fall of their ouerflowing in the foresayde Riuer, much encreased the streame, and in that place gaue it the name of Wei. In west Smithfield, there was a Poole in Recordes called HoRSEPooLE, and one other Poole neare vnto the parish Church of Saint Giles without Cripplegate. Besides all which they had in euerie streete and Lane of the citie diuerse fayre Welles and fresh Springs ; and, after this manner was this citie then serued with sweete and fresh waters, which being since decaid, other means haue beene sought to supplie the want." Here, then, we have a Hst of Wells, which are, to- Wells. 9 gether with those I have already mentioned, quite suffi- cient to account for the prettier name of the " River of Wells," Of these wells Stow writes in his deliciously- quaint phraseology : — *' There are (saith Fitzstephen) neare London, on the North side special wels in the Fitzstep/ien. Suburbs, sweete, wholesome, and cleare, -^"-^ ^^ • amongst which Holy welly Clarices wel, and Clements wel are most famous, and fre- quented by Scholers, and youthes of the Cittie in sommer evenings, when they walke forthe to take the aire. " The first, to wit. Holy well, is much de- cayed, and marred with filthinesse laide there, for the heightening of the ground for garden plots. " The fountaine called S. Clements well, elements North from the Parish Church of S. Clements, ■'''■'■'^^^• and neare vnto an Inne of Chancerie^ .called Clements Inne, is faire curbed square with hard stone, kept cleane for common vse, and is alwayes full. " The third is called Clarkes well, or Clark- Clarks njuell. enwell,^ and is curbed about square with hard stone, not farre from the west ende of Clark- enwell Church, but close without the wall that incloseth it ; the sayd Church tooke the name of the Well, and the Well tooke the name of the Parish Clarkes in London, who ' This is the only one left whose position is a matter of certainty.. lo Wells. of old time were accustomed there yearely to Playes byt/!e assemble, and to play some large hystorie Ifciarh''' ""^ holy Scripture. And, for example, of ^ell. later time, to wit, in the yeare 1390, the 14 of Richard the Second, I read the Parish Clarks of London, on the 1 8 of July, playd Enter- Players at ludes at Skinners well^ neare vnto Clarkes well, ^ell ^""^'^^ which play continued three dayes togither, the King, Oueene, and Nobles being present. Also the yeare 1409, the 10 of Henrie the 4. they played a play at the Skinners well, which lasted eight dayes, and was of matter from the creation of the worlde. There were to see the same, the most part of the Nobles and Gentiles in England, &c. Skinners " Other Smaller welles were many neare vnto '^^^^- Clarkes well, namely Skinners well, so called for that the Skinners of London held there certaine playes yearely playd of holy Scripture, fVrestltng- &c. In place whereof the wrestlings haue ^ ^'^^' of later yeares becne kept, and is in part con- tinued at Bartholo7new tide. Fagges^ell. " Then was there Fagges well, neare vnto Smithfield by the Charterhouse, now lately dammed vp, Tod well, Loders well, and Rad well, all decayed, and so filled vp, that there places are hardly now discerned. " Somewhat North from Holy well is one other well curbed square with stone, and is called Dame Annis the Cleare, and not farre from it, but somewhat west, is also one other Ponds and Pools. ii cleare water called Perillous pond^^ because diuerse youthes by swimming therein haue beene drowned; and thus much bee said for Fountaines and Wels. " Horse poole in JVestsmithfield^ was some- time a great water, and because the inhabitants in that part of the Citie did there water their Horses, the same was, in olde Recordes, called Horspoole, it is now much decayed, the springs being stopped vp, and the land waters falling into the small bottome, remayning inclosed, with Bricke, is called Smit/ifield pond. " By S. Giles Churchyard was a large water, called a Poole. I read in the year 1 244 that PooU ^without Anne of Lodburie was drowned therein ; Cripplegate. this poole is now for the most part stopped vp, but the spring is preserued, and was cooped about with stone by the Executors of Richard IVittington . ' ' * Afterwards known as " Peerless Pool," an unmeaning cog- nomen. i CHAPTER II. LONDON, for its size, was indeed very well supplied with water, although, of course, it was not laid on to every house, as now, but, with the exception of those houses provided with wells, it had to be fetched from fixed public places, which were fairly numerous. When the waters of the Fleet, and Wallbrook, in the pro- cess of time, became contaminated, Henry III., in the 2 1 St year of his reign (12,36), granted to the Citizens of London the privilege of conveying the waters of the Tye-bourne through leaden pipes to the City, " for the poore to drinke, and the rich to dresse their meate." And it is only a few years since, that close by what is now called " Sedley Place," Oxford Street, but which used to be the old hunting lodge of bygone Lord Mayors, some of these very pipes were unearthed, a fine cistern being uncovered at the same time. For public use there were the great Conduit in West 14 Water Supply of London. Cheape : the Tonne or Tun in Cornhill, fountains at Billingsgate, at Paul's Wharf, and St. Giles', Cripplegate, and conduits at Aldermanbury, the Standard in Fleet Street, Gracechurch Street, Holborn Cross (afterwards Lamb's Conduit), at the Stocks Market (where the Mansion House now stands), Bishopsgate, London Wall, Aldgate, Lothbury — and this without reckoning the supply furnished from the Thames by the enter- prising German, or Dutchman, Pieter Moritz, who in 1582 started the famous waterworks close to where Fishmongers' Hall now stands. The Fleet river (I prefer that title to the other cog- nomen, " Ditch "), flowing through London, naturally became somewhat befouled, and in Henry the VII. 's time, circa 1502, it was cleansed, so that, as aforesaid, " boats with fish and fewel were rowed to Fleete bridge, and to Oldburne bridge." We also know, as Stow records, that more springs were introduced into the stream from Hampstead, without effect, either as to deepening or purifying the river, which had an evil reputation even in the time of Edward I., as we see in Ryley's '' Placita Parhamentaria " (ed. t66i), p. 340 — ^^Ad peticionem Com. Lincoln, querentis quod cum cur- sus aque, que currit apud London sub Ponte de Holeburn^ & Ponte de Fleete usque in Thamisiam solebat ita largus & latus esse, ac profundus, quod decem Naves vel duodecim ad predictum Pontem de Fleete cum diversis rebus & mercandisis solebant venire, & quedam illarum Navium sub illo Ponte transire, usque ad predictum Pontem de Holeburn ad predictum cursum mundanmum The Fleet to be Cleansed. 15 & simos exinde cariand, nunc ille cursus per fordes & inundaciones Taunatorum & p varias perturbaciones in predicta aqua, factas & maxime per exaltationem Caye & diversionem aque quam ipsi de Novo Temple fecerunt ad Molendina sua extra Castra Baignardy quod Naves predicte minime intrare possunt sicut solebant, & facere debeant &c unde supplicat quod Maior de London assumptis secum Vice com, & discretionbus Aldermannis cursum predce aque videat, & quod per visum & sacrm proborum & legalium hominum faciat omnia nocumenta predicte aque que invinerit ammovere & reparare cursum predictum, & ipsum in tali statu manutenere in quo antiquitus esse solebat &c. Ita responsum est, Assignen- tur Rogerus le Brabazon &' Constabularius Turris, London Maior & Fice Com. London, quod ipsi assumptit secum discretionihus Aldermannis London, i^c, inquirant per sacramentum ^c, qualiter fieri consuevit &' qualis cursus. Et necumenta que invenerint ammoveant &' manueri faciant in eadem statu quo antiquitus esse solebat.'" Latin for which a modern schoolboy would get soundly rated, or birched, but which tells us that even as far back as Edward I. the Fleet river was a nuisance ; and as the endorsement (Patent Roll 2,^ Edward L) shows — " De cursu aqua2 de Fleta supervivendo et corrigendo,'' i.e., that the Fleet river should be looked after and amended. But the Commission issued to perfect this work was discontinued, owing to the death of the king. (Patent Roll i Edward II., pars i. m. dorso.) " De Cursu Aquas Flete, &c., reducend et impedimenta removend." i6 Smell of the River. And Prynne, in his edition of Cotton's "Records" (ed. 1669, P- ^^^)} ^sks " whether such a commission and inquiry to make this river navigable to Holborn Bridge or Clerkenwell, would not now be seasonable, and a work worthy to be undertaken for the public benefit, trade, and health of the City and Suburbs, I humbly submit to the wisdom and judgment of those whom it most Concerns." So that it would appear, although otherwise stated, that the Fleet was not navigable in May, 1669, the date of the publication of Prynne's book. As a matter of fact it got to be neither more nor less than an open sewer, to which the lines in Coleridge's "Table Talk" would well apply — " In Coin, that town of monks and bones, And pavements fang'd with murderous stones, And rags, and hags, and hideous wenches, I counted two-and-seventy stenches ; All well-defined and genuine stinks ! Ye nymphs, that reign o'er sewers and sinks, The river Rhine, it is well known. Doth wash the City of Cologne ; But, tell me, nymphs, what power divine Shall henceforth wash the River Rhine ? " The smell of the Fleet river was notorious ; so much so, that Farquhar, in his Sir Harry Wildair^ act ii., says, " Dicky ! Oh ! I was just dead of a Consumption, till the sweet smoke of Cheapside, and the dear perfume of Fleet Ditch made me a man again ! '' In Queen Anne's time, too, it bore an evil reputation : vide The Prehistoric London. 17 Tatler (No. 238, October 17, 1710) by Steele and Swift. I " Now from all parts the swelling kennels flow. And bear their trophies with them as they go : Filth of all hues and odours seem to tell What street they sail'd from, by their sight and smell. They, as each torrent drives, with rapid force, From Smithfield or St. Pulchre's shape their course. And in huge confluent join'd at Snow Hill ridge, Fall from the Conduit, prone to Holborn Bridge. Sweepings from butchers' stalls, dung, guts, and blood, Drown'd puppies, stinking sprats, all drench'd in mud. Dead cats and turnip-tops come tumbling down the flood." We get a glimpse of prehistoric London, and the valley of the Fleet, in Gough's '■^ British Topography," vol. i. p. 719 (ed. 1780). Speaking of John Conyers, " apothecary, one of the first Collectors of antiquities, especially those relating to London, when the City was rebuilding. . . . He inspected most of the gravel-pits near town for different sorts and shapes of stones. In one near the sign of Sir J. Oldcastle, about 1680, he discovered the skeleton of an elephant, which he supposed had lain there only since the time of the Romans, who, in the reign of Claudius, fought the Britons near this place, according to Selden's notes on the Polyolbion. In the same pit he found the head of a British spear of flint, afterwards in the hands of Dr. Charlett, and engraved in Bagford's letter." We, now-a-days, with our more accurate knowledge of ^Journal to Stella, October 17, 17 10 — "This day came out The Tatler, made up wholly of my Shower, and a preface to it. They say it is the best thing I ever writ, and I think so too." l8 Antiquarian Discoveries. Geology and Palaeontology, would have ascribed a far higher ancestry to the "elephant." As a matter of course, a little river like the Fleet must have become the receptacle of many articles, which, once dropped in its waters, could not be recovered ; so that it is not surprising to read in the Mirror of March 22, 1834 (No. 6^2>i P- 180), an account of antiquarian discoveries therein, which, if not archaso- logically correct, is at least interesting, " In digging this Canal between Fleet Prison and Holborn Bridge, several Roman utensils were lately dis- covered at the depth of 1 5 feet ; and a little deeper, a great quantity of Roman Coins, in silver, brass, copper, and all other metals except gold. Those of silver were ring money, of several sizes, the largest about the bigness of a Crown, but gradually decreasing ; the smallest were about the size of a silver Twopence, each having a snip at the edge. And at Holborn Bridge were dug up two brazen lares, or household gods, about four inches in length, which were almost incrusted with a petrified matter : one of these was Bacchus, and the other Ceres ; but the coins lying at the bottom of the current, their lustre was in a great measure preserved, by the water incessantly washing off the oxydizing metal. Probably the great quantity of coin found in this ditch, was thrown in by the Roman inhabitants of this city for its preservation at the approach of Boadicsea at the head of her army : but the Roman Citizens, without distinction of age or sex, being barbarously murdered by the justly enraged Britons, it was not discovered till this time. Cleansing the Fleet. 19 " Besides the above-mentioned antiquities, several articles of a more modern date were discovered, as arrow-heads, scales, seals with the proprietors' names upon them in Saxon characters ; spur rowels of a hand's breadth, keys and daggers, covered over with livid rust ; together with a considerable number of medals, with ■crosses, crucifixes, and Ave Marias engraven thereon." A paper was read, on June 1 1, 1862, to the members of the British Archaeological Association, by Mr. Ganston, who exhibited various relics lately recovered from the bed of the river Fleet, but they were not even of archaeological importance — a few knives, the earliest dating from the fifteenth century, and a few knife handles. Previously, at a meeting of the same Society, on December 9, 1857, Mr. C. H. Luxmore exhibited a green glazed earthenware jug of the sixteenth century, found in the Fleet. And, before closing this antiquarian notice of the Fleet, I cannot but record some early mention of the river which occur in the archives of the Corporation of the City of London : — (17 Edward III., a.d. 1343, Letter-book F, fol. 67.) " Be it remembered that at the Hustings of Common Pleas, holden on the Monday next before the Feast of Gregory the Pope, in the 17th year of the reign of King Edward, after the Conquest, the Third, Simon Traunceys, Mayor, the Aldermen and the Com- monalty, of the City of London, for the decency and cleanliness of the same city, granted upon lease to the 20 Fouling the River. butchers in the Parish of St. Nicholas Shambles, in London, a piece of land in the lane called * Secollane ' (sea coal), neare to the water of Flete, for the purpose of there, in such water, cleansing the entrails of beasts. And upon such piece of land the butchers aforesaid were to repair a certain quay at their charges, and to keep the same in repair ; they paying yearly to the Mayor of London for the time being, at the Feast of our Lord's Nativity, one boar's head." ^ (31 Edward III., a.d. 1357, Letter-book G, fol. 72.) "Also, it is ordered, that no man shall take, or cause to be carried, any manner of rubbish, earth, gravel, or dung, from out of his stables or elsewhere, to throw, and put the same into the rivers of Thames and Flete, or into the Fosses around the walls of the City : and as to the dung that is found in the streets and lanes, the same shall be carried and taken elsewhere out of the City by carts, as heretofore ; or else by the raykers - to certain spots, that the same may be put into the donge- botes,^ without throwing anything into the Thames ; for saving the body of the river, and preserving the quays, such as Dowegate, Quenhethe, and Castle Baynards, (and) elsewhere, for lading and unlading ; as also, for avoiding^ the filthiness that is increasing in the water, and upon the banks of the Thames, to the great abomi- nation and damage of the people. And, if any one shall be found doing the Contrary hereof, let him have ^ "Memorials of London and London Life in the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Centuries," by H. J. Riley, 1868, p. 214. ^ The street sweepers. 3 Dung boats. Rivers Rising at Hampstead. 21 the prison for his body, and other heavy punishment as well, at the discretion of the Mayor and of the Alder- men." I (7 Henry V. a.d. 141 9, Journal i, fol. 61.) ** It is granted that the risshhotes - at the Flete and else- where in London shall be taken into the hands of the Chamberlain ; and the Chamberlain shall cause all the streets to be cleansed." 3 The northern heights of London, the " ultima Thule" of men like Keats, and Shelley, abound in springs, which form the bases of several little streams, which are fed on their journey to their bourne, the Thames (to which they act as tributaries), by numerous little brook- lets and rivulets, which help to swell their volume. On the northern side of the ridge which runs from Hamp- stead to Highgate, birth is given to the Brent, which, springing from a pond in the grounds of Sir Spencer Wells, is pent up in a large reservoir at Hendon, and ' See Riley, p. 299. ^ This was probably because the rushes were spilt in the river. At that time the house-floors were strewn with rushes, which were brought to London in "Rush boats;" and an ordinance, temp. 4 Henry V., provides that " all rushes in future, laden in boats or skiffs, and brought here for sale, should be sold by the cart-load, as from of old had been wont to be done. And that the same cart- loads were to be made up within the boats and skiffs in which the said rushes are brought to the City, and not upon the ground, or upon the wharves, walls, or embankments of the water of Thames, nearer adjacent to such boats or skiffs; under a heavy penalty upon the owner or owners of such boats, skiffs, and rushes, at the dis- cretion of the Mayor and Aldermen." 3 See Riley, p. 675. 22 The Tye-bourne. finally debouches into the Thames at Brentford, where, from a little spring, which it is at starting, it becomes so far a " fleet " as to allow barges to go up some distance. On the southern side of the ridge rise the Tybourne, -'V shepherd's well, hampstead. and the Westbourne, The former had its rise in a spring called Shepherd's Well, in Shepherd's Fields, Hampstead, which formed part of the district now known as Belsize Park and Fitzjohn's Avenue, which is the finest road of private houses in London. Shep- The West-bourne. 23 herd's Well is depicted in Hone's " Table Book," pp. 381, 2, and shows it as it was over fifty years since. Alas ! it is a thing of the past ; a railway tunnel drained the spring, and a mansion, now known as The Conduit Lodge, occupies its site. It meandered by Belsize House, through St. John's Wood, running into Regents Park, where St. Dunstan's now is, and, close to the Ornamental Water, it was joined by a little rivulet which sprang from where now, is the Zoological Gardens. It went across Marylebone Road, and, as nearly as possible, Marylebone Lane shows its course ; then down South Molton Street, passing Brook Street, and Conduit Street, by Mayfair, to Clarges Street, across Oxford Street and into a pond in the Green Park called the Ducking Pond, which was possibly used as a place of punishment for scolds, or may have been an ornamental pond for water- fowl. Thence it ran in front of Buckingham Palace, where it divided, which was the cause of its name. Twy, or Teo (double), and Bourne, Brook — one stream running into the Thames west of Millbank, doing duty by the way in turning the Abbey Mill (whence the name), and the other debouching east of Westminster Bridge, thus forming the Island of Thorns, or Thorney Isle, on which Edward the Confessor founded his abbey, and the City of Westminster. The Westbourne took its rise in a small pond near " Telegraph Hill," at Hampstead ; two or three brook- lets joined it, and it ran its course across the Finchley Road, to the bottom of Alexandra Road, Kilburn, where it was met by another stream, which had its source at Frognal, Hampstead. It then became the West bourne, 24 Course of the West-bourne. as being the most westerly of all the rivers near London, taking the Wallbrook, the Fleet, and the Tybourne. Its course may be traced down Kilburn Park Road, and Shirland Road. Crossing the Harrow Road where now is Westbourne Park Station, Eastbourne and Westhourne Terraces mark the respective banks, and, after crossing the Uxbridge Road, it runs into the Serpentine at the Engine House. Feeding that sheet of water, it comes out again at the Albert Gate end, runs by Lowndes Square, Cadogan Place, &c., and, finally, falls into the river at Chelsea Hospital. ^^^^si^ CHAPTER III. THE Fleet, as far as can be ascertained, owes Its birth to an ornamental water, fed by springs — one ot the numerous ponds In Highgate and Hampstead — in the park of Ken Wood, the seat of Earl Mansfield, now occasionally occupied by the fourth successor to that title; who, being keeper of the royal Castle of Scone, prefers, as a rule, his northern residence. In the No Popery riots of 1780, with which Lord George Gordon was so intimately connected, Ken Wood House was on the brink of being destroyed by the rioters, who had, already, wrecked his lordship's house in Bloomsbury Square, and destroyed his most valuable library. Tradition says that Ken Wood was saved owing to the landlord of '^ The Spaniards," well known to all pedes- trian frequenters of Hampstead, giving them his beer, &c., until they were incapacitated, or unwilling, to fulfil their quest, meanwhile sending messengers for the Horse Guards, who opportunely arrived, and prevented the destruction of the mansion. It is quite possible 26 Course of the Fleet. that this is a true story, for a footnote (p. 69) in Prickett's "History of Highgate " says: "The fol- lowing is copied from a receipt of one of the constables of the Hundred of Ossulston : ' Received 8s. 6d., being the proportion taxed and assessed for and towards the payment of the several taxations and assessments which have been made upon the said Parish (amounting to the sum of £iSj. i8s. yd.) towards an equal contri- bution, to be had and made for the relief of the several inhabitants of said Hundred ; against whom, the several persons who were damnified by rioters within the same Hundred, in the month of June, 1780, have obtained verdicts, and had their executions respec- tively.'" Commencing thus in one of the prettiest parts of the most picturesque suburbs of London, it flows from one to the other, right through the chain of the Highgate Ponds, fed by several rills, the first being near the Hampstead end of Millfield Lane — which is, by some, regarded as its source. From the lower pond ic crossed the Highgate Road, and, for some distance, it ran parallel with it, although a little way eastward. It again crossed the Highgate Road not far from its junc- tion with the Kentish Town Road, the course of which it followed, until it came to Hawley Road, where it was joined by a sister brook, whose source was the pond in the Vale of Health at Hampstead, flowing from which, it was fed by a brooklet, over which the abortive viaduct of Sir Thomas Marion Wilson's construction is carried. It ran into, and through, the Hampstead Ponds, which end at the lower east heath, near Pond Street (a locality The Hampstead Ponds. 27 easily recognized when once any one has seen St. Stephen's Church, Haverstock Hill, one of the most beautiful churches in London). These ponds are im- mortal, if they needed immortality, as the very first page of " Pickwick " gives an entry in the Transactions of the Pickwick Club : '■^ May 12, 1827. Joseph Smiggers, Esq., P. V. P., M.P.C., presiding. The following resolutions unani- mously agreed to — ■ " * That this Association has heard read, with feelings of unmingled satisfaction, and unqualified approval, the paper communicated by Samuel Pickwick, Esq., G.C., M.P.C., entitled, "Speculations on the Source of the Hampstead Ponds, with some observations on the Theory of Tittlebats " ; and that this Association does hereby return its warmest thanks to the said Samuel Pickwick, Esq., G.C., M.P.C., for the same.' " Its memory is still retained in the Fleet Road. On its way through Kentish Town it passed through a purely pastoral country, such as we, who know the district only as covered with houses, can hardly reconcile with existing circumstances. The Guildhall Collection relating to the Fleet River, is very rich in water-colour drawings and pen-and-ink sketches of undoubted authenticity, and from them I have selected what, in my opinion, are the most suitable for this work.^ From the above, and this view of Elighgate, so late back as 1845, ^^ ^^^ fairly judge of the pleasant ' See pages 28, 29, 30, 31, &c. 28 Rural Fleet. scenery which existed almost at our doors — before the iron roads brought population, which begat houses, which destroyed all rusticity, leaving bricks and mortar on the site of verdant meads, and millions of chimneys vomiting unconsumed carbon and sulphur, in the place of the pure fresh air which once was dominant. THE FLEET, KENTISH TOWN. Cuxa 1S37. Here we see the Fleet running its quiet course — and the other sketches bear witness to its rurality. After the Fleet had recrossed the Highgate Road near the junction of that road and the Kentish Town Gospel Oak. 29 Road, it passed near the Gospel Oak^ which now gives its name to a railway station in the locality. About this oak, there was a tradition that it was so called because St. Augustine preached underneath its boughs — a fact which is probably as correct as the story that the VIEW or THE VALLEY OF THE FLEET AND HIGHGATE CHURCH, FROM FORTESS TERRACE, KENTISH TOWN, SEPT. 28, 1845. [Water colour by A . Crosby.) Church of St. Pancras was the first Christian Church in England. In truth, there are, or were, many Gospel Oaks and Elms throughout the country ; for instance, there is an iron foundry near the parishes of Tipton 30 Gospel Oak. and Wednesbury called Gospel Oak JFcrks. It was, as a matter of fact, a traditionary custom, in many places, when, on Holy Thursday (Ascension Day), the parochial bounds were beaten, to read a portion of the Gospels THE FLEET AT KENTISH TOWN. under some well-known tree, and hence its name. One or two quotations will easily prove this. In- the "Bury Wills," p. ii8, is the following passage in the will of John Cole of Thelnetham, dated May 8, Parliament Hill. 31 1527 : ^'^ Item, I will haue a newe crosse made according to Trappett's crosse at the Hawe lanes ende, and set vp at Short Grove's end, where the gospell is sayd vpon x\scension Even, for y^ w"^ T assigne x^" And, in the poem of Herrick's *' Hesperides," which is addressed '* To Anthea." " Dearest, bury me Under that holy Oke, or Gospel Tree ; Where, (though thou see'st not,) thou may'st think upon Me, when thou yerely go'st procession," It also passed near Parliament, or Traitors', Hill — a name which is much in dispute ; some maintaining that THE FLEET M" KENTISH TOWN, it was fortified by the Parliamentary Army, under Cromwell, for the protection of London, others that the 5th of November conspirators met here to view the expected explosion of the Houses of Parliament. This, which forms the most southern part of Hampstead Heath, and therefore the nearest, and most accessible to the great bulk of Londoners, has a beautiful view of Highgate and London, and has, I am happy to say, been preserved as an open space for the public. We have now followed the Fleet in its course to Kentish Town, the etymon of which is, to say the least. 32 Kentish Town. somewhat hazy. Being so, of course, an immense amount of theory has been expended upon it. Some contend that it springs from the Prebendary attached to St. Paul's Cathedral, of Cantelupe, or Cantelows, now (in Crockford^ called Cantlers) : one antiquary suggesting that it owes its name to the delta formed by the junction of the two branches of the Fleet — from Cant or Cantle^ a corner; — whilst yet another authority thinks that, as the Fleet had its source from Ken Wood — it was called Ken-ditch — hence Kenditch or Kentish Town. Be it as it may, it was a very pleasant and rural suburb, and one of some note, for herein William Bruges, Garter King-at-Arms, had a country house, at which he entertained, in the year 141 6, the Emperor Sigismund, who came over here, in that year, to try and mediate between our Henry V. and the King of France. In still older times it formed part of the great Middlesex forest, which was full of wolves, wild boars, deer, and wild oxen; but we find that, in 1252, Henry III, granted to Thomas Ive, permission to inclose a portion of the highway adjoining his mansion at Kentessetone. And in 1357, John of Oxford, who was Mayor of London in 1341, gave, amongst other things, to the Priory of the Holy Trinity, in London, a mill at Kentish Town — which, of course, must have been turned by the Fleet. The kind donor was one of the very few Mayors who died during his mayoralty. It is said, too, that Nell Gwynne had a house in Kentish Town, but I can find not the slightest con- firmation of the rumour ; still, as there is a very good pen-and-ink sketch of the old house said to be hers. Kentish Town. 33 I give it, as it helps to prove the antiquity of Kentish Town, now, alas ! only too modern. "-■^^i^f. 34 Brown's Dairy. And there was another old house close by the Fleet there, an old farmhouse known as Brown's dairy. This old Farmhouse had, evidently, a nobler origin, for it was moated; and, in 1838, the moat existed on Castle Inn. 3S the east and north sides. It belonged to the College of Christ Church, Oxford, and was held of the Manor of Cantelows at a small fine. There was a good orchard, which at the above date (the time of its demolition) contained a large walnut tree and some mulberry trees. The building materials were sold for £6oy so that it evidently had done its work, and passed away in the ripeness of old age. The Castle Inn is said to have been the oldest house CASTLE, KENTISH TOWN ROAD, 1 848. in Kentish Town, and there is a tradition that Lord Nelson once lived here, " in order that he might keep his eye upon the Fleet," and planted a sycamore in the garden. Before taking leave of Kentish Town, I cannot help recording a legal squabble, which resulted in a victory for the public. — Times, February 12, 1841 : — '^ Court of Queen's Bench, Thursday, February II, 1 841. (Sittings at Nisi Prius, at Westminster, before Lord Denman and a special jury.) 36 St. Pancras Wells. "The Queen v. Tube, "This was an Indictment against the Defendant for obstructing a footpath leading from Pond Lane, at Hampstead, over Traitors' and Parliament Hill, to Highgate. " The case lasted the whole day. " The jury brought a verdict for the Crown, thus establishing the right of the Public to one of the most beautiful walks in the neighbourhood of the metro- polis." The Fleet babbled through the meadows, until its junction with that other stream which flowed from the pond in the Vale of Health at Hampstead, which took place where now is Hawley Street, and the united brook, or river, ran across what are now the Kentish, and Camden, Town Roads, and between Great College Street, and King Street ; it then followed the course of the present road to King's Cross, passing by St. Pancras Church — which, originally, was of great antiquity, and close by which was a celebrated healing well, known as Pancras' Wells. These waters cured everything — scurvy, king's evil, leprosy, cancers, ulcers, rheumatism, disorders of the eyes, and pains of the stomach and bowels, colds, worms, &c., &c. In the Church, and Churchyard, were Interred many illustrious dead, especially Roman Catholics, who seem to have taken a particular fancy to have their remains buried there, probably on account of the tradition that this was the last church in which mass was celebrated. It was a favourite burial-place of the French clergy — Burials at St. Pancras. 37 and a story is told (how true I know not) that, down to the French Revolution, masses were celebrated in a church in the south of France, dedicated to St. Pancras, for the souls of the faithful interred here. Many historical names are here preserved — amongst whom are Pasco de Paoli, the famous Corsican ; Walker, whose dictionary is still a text book; the Chevalier d'Eon, respecting whose sex there was once such a controversy ; Count O'Rourke, famous in the THE BRILL. world of fashion in 1785 ; Mrs. Godwin — better known, perhaps, as Mary Woolstencraft — who also was married here ; William Woollett, the eminent landscape engraver, a branch of art in which he may be said to have been the father ; Samuel Cooper, whose miniatures cannot be surpassed; Scheemaker the younger, a sculptor of no small note. Nor in this campo santo was Music unrepresented, for there, amongst 38 The Brill. others, lie the bodies of Mazzinghi, who brought the vioHn into fashion here in 1740; and Beard, a celebrated singer in 1753. The river flows hence to Battle Bridge, or King's Cross, as it is now termed, forming in its way a sort of pond called " Pancras Wash," and running through a low-lying district called "The Brill." ^ This peculiarly unsavoury neighbourhood has now been cleared away, in order to afford siding room, &c., for the Midland Railway. But Dr. Stukeley, who certainly had Roman Camps on the brain, discovered one in the Brill. He planned it out beautifully. Here were the Equites posted, there the Hastati, and there were the Auxiliarii. He made the Fleet do duty for a moat which nearly surrounded Cassar's Prastorium, and he placed a Forum close by St. Pancras' Church, to the northward of which he assigned a Prastorium to Prince Mandubrace. Is it not true ? for is it not all written in his " Itinerary " ? and does he not devote the first seventeen pages of the second volume of that work, entirely to the Brill, assuring us of the great pleasure he received in striding over the ground — following, in imagination, the footsteps of the Roman Camp Master, who paced out the dimensions of the Camp.'' ^ See previous page. CHAPTER IV. THAT it was countrified about this part of Lon- don, is shown by the accompanying Copy of an engraving, by J. T. Smith, of a view " near Battle Bridge." i The etymology of Battle Bridge, which consists of only one arch, and now forms a part of the Fleet Sewer, is a much vexed question. At one time it was an article of faith, not to be impugned, that here, A.D. 6 1, was fought the famous battle between the Romans, under Suetonius Paulinus, and the Britons, under Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni, which ended so disastrously for the natives — eighty thousand of whom are said to have been killed. But there seems to be a doubt, as to whether this was the exact spot where this historical contest took place, for Tacitus makes no mention of the little river Fleet, which must then have been navigable for light and small craft, for an anchor was found, in its bed, at Kentish Town. He only describes it (Tacit. Ann. lib. xiv. c. 34) a spot of ^ Sec next page. 40 Battle Bridge. ground, " narrow at the entrance, and sheltered in the rear by a thick forest." No remains have ever been exhumed, nor have Roman, or British, relics been found near the spot. In the first quarter of this century the Fleet, for the greater part of its time, ran placidly along, as we see by these two pen-and-ink sketches, taken at Battle Bridge, i BATTLE BKIDtiE. But, occasionally, it forgot its good manners, and over- flowed its banks, flooding portions of Kentish Town, Somers Town, and Battle Bridge, as we read in the Gentlemaris Magazine ^ vol. Ixxxviii. part i. p. 462, Saturday, May 9, 1 8 1 8 : — '' From the heavy rain, which commenced yesterday ' See pages 41, 42. Battle Bridge. 41 afternoon at six o'clock, and continued pouring inces- santly till four this morning, Battle Bridge, St. Pancras, and part of Somers Town were inundated. The water was several feet deep in many of the houses, and covered an extent of upwards of a mile. The carcases of several sheep and goats were found near Hampstead Reservoir, and property was damaged to a very considerable amount." BATTLE BRIDGE. There must have been a Mill here, for Stow tells us that in the reign of Edward VI. ** A Miller of Battaile Bridge was set on the Pillory In Cheape, and had both his eares cut off, for seditious words by him spoken against the Duke of Somerset." Here, as elsewhere, just outside London, the road was not too safe for travellers, as the following account of a highway robbery will show. It was committed by one John Everett, whose career in life had been rather chequered. As an apprentice he ran away, and enlisted King's Cross. 43 in Flanders, rising to the rank of sergeant. When the troops returned, he purchased his discharge, and got a situation in the Whitechapel Debtors' Court, but had to leave it, and he became a companion of thieves, against whom he turned king's evidence. He got into debt, and was locked up in the Fleet Prison, but was allowed to reside within the Rules, a district round about the prison, out of which no prisoner might wander ; and there, in the Old Bailey, he kept a public-house. But he could not keep away from evil doing, and was sent to Newgate. On the expiration of his sentence, he turned highwayman. In the course of his professional career he, on December 24, 1730, stopped a Coach at Battle Bridge, which coach contained two ladies, a child, and a maidservant, and he despoiled them, but not uncivilly. The husband of one of the ladies coming up, pursued him, and next day he was caught. It v/as not then, any more than it is now, that every rogue got his deserts, but this one did, for he was hanged at Tyburn, February 20, 1731. The name of " Battle Bridge " is well-nigh forgotten, and " King's Cross " reigns in its stead. Yet how few Londoners of the present generation know whence the name is derived ! If they ever trouble their heads about it at all, they probably imagine that it was a cross, like the Eleanor Crosses, raised to the memory of some king. And what king, think you, was it intended to keep in perpetual remembrance .'' None other than his Most Gracious Majesty King George the Fourth, of pious memory. Why this monument was raised I have never been able to learn, unless it was to celebrate his death. 44 King's Cross. which took place in 1830, and probably to hold up his many virtues, as bright exemplars, to ages yet unborn ; but a mad fit came over the inhabitants of Battle Bridge, and the hideous structure arose. It was all shoddy ; in the form of an octagon building ornamented with pilasters, all substantially built of brick, and covered over with compo or cement, in order to render it more enduring. It was used as a police-station, and after- wards as a public-house, whilst the pediment of the statue was utilized as a camera obscura. I don't think they knew exactly what they were about, for one party wanted it to be called Boadicea's Cross, another went in for it being nationally named St. George's Cross ; but the goodness of the late king was more popular, and carried the day, and we now enjoy the nominis umbra of King's Cross, instead of the old cognomen of Battle Bridge. It had a very brief existence. It was built between 1830 and 1835, and was demolished in 1845 » the stucco statue only having been in situ for ten years. It is said that the nose of this regal statue had, for its base, an earthen draining tile, and that it was offered to a gentleman for sixpence ! There hardly seems to be any connection between " the first gentleman in Europe ' and dustmen, but there is a slight link. Battle Bridge was peculiarly the home of the necessary dustman, and in a song called " The Literary Dustman," commencing — " They call me Adam Bell, 'tis clear That Adam vos the fust man, And by a co-in-side-ance queer Vy I'm the fust of dustmen," The Dust Heap. 45 Is the following verse : — " Great sculptors all conwarse \vi' mc, And call my taste divine, sirs, King George's statty at King's Cross, Vos built from my design, sirs." Close by here, in Gray's Inn Road, was a mountain of refuse and dust ; but it was as profitable as were the heaps of Mr. Boffin in Charles Dickens's " Our Mutual Friend." This mound once had a curious clearance, so DUST HEAP AT BATTLE BRIDGE. it is said. It was bought in its entirety, and sent over to Russia, to help make bricks to rebuild Moscow ; and the ground on which it stood v^as, in 1826,'^sold to a Company for £^ 1 5,000. " My dawning Genus fust did peep, Near Battle Bridge, 'tis plain, sirs: You recollect the cinder heap, Vot stood in Gray's Inn Lane, sirs ? " Let us turn to a sweeter subject, and gossip about St. Chad's Well, the site of which is now occupied by 46 St. Chad's Well. the Metropolitan Railway at King's Cross. St. Chad is a saint in the English calendar, and might have been a distinguished temperance leader, if the number of wells dedicated to him, is any criterion. He lived in the seventh century, and was educated at Lindisfarne (at least so Bede says), and afterwards became Bishop of Lichfield, and, at his death, his soul is said to have been accompanied to heaven by angels and sweet music. A good modern account is given in Hone's *' Every Day Book," vol. i. pp. 323, 4, 5, which, as it was taken from actual observation about fifty years since, may well be transcribed. Speaking of the aforesaid dust-heap he says : — " Opposite to this unsightly site, and on the right hand side of the road, is an anglewise faded inscription — St. Chad's Well. " It stands, or rather dejects, over an elderly pair of wooden gates, one whereof opens on a scene which the unaccustomed eye may take for the pleasure-ground of Giant Despair. Trees stand as if made not to vegetate, clipped hedges seem unwilling to decline, and nameless weeds straggle weakly upon unlimited borders. If you look upwards you perceive, painted on an octagon board, ' Health restored and preserved.' Further on. St. Chad's Well. 47 towards the left, stands a low, old-fashioned, comfort- able-looking, large-windowed dwelling, and, ten to one, but there also stands at the open door, an ancient ailing female, in a black bonnet, a clean, coloured cotton gown, and a check apron, her silver hair only in part tucked beneath the narrow border of a frilled cap, with a sedate and patient, yet somewhat inquiring look. She gra- tuitously tells you that ^ the gardens ' of ^ St. Chad's Well ' are for ' Circulation ' by paying for the waters, of which you may drink as much, or as little, or nothing, as you please, at one guinea per year, 9s. 6d. quarterly, 4s. 6d. monthly, or is. 6d, weekly. You qualify for a single visit by paying sixpence, and a Targe glass tumbler, full of warm water, is handed to you. As a stranger, you are told, that ' St. Chad's Well was famous at one time.' "Should you be inquisitive, the dame will instruct you, with an earnest eye, that * people are not what they were,' ' things are not as they used to be,' and she 'can't tell what'll happen next.' Oracles have not ceased. While drinking St. Chad's water, you observe an immense copper, into which it is poured, wherein it is heated to due efficacy, and from whence it is drawn by a cock, into glasses. You also remark, hanging on the wall, a * tribute of gratitude,' versified, and inscribed on vellum, beneath a pane of glass stained by the hand of time, and let into a black frame. This is an effusion for value received from St. Chad's invaluable water. But, above all, there is a full-sized portrait in oil, of a stout, comely personage, with a ruddy counte- nance, in a coat or cloak, supposed scarlet, a laced 48 St. Chad's Well. cravat falling down the breast, and a small red nightcap carelessly placed on the head, conveying the idea that it was painted for the likeness of some opulent butcher, who flourished in the reign of Queen Anne. Ask the dame about it, and she refers you to ' Rhone.' i This is a tall old man, who would be taller if he were not bent by years. ' 1 am ninety-four,' he will tell you, * this present year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred, and twenty-five,' All that he has to commu- nicate concerning the portrait is, ' I have heard say it is the portrait of St. Chad.' Should you venture to differ, he adds, ' this is the opinion of most people who come here.' You may gather that it is his own undoubted belief. " On pacing the garden alleys, and peeping at the places of retirement, you imagine the whole may have been improved and beautified, for the last time, by some countryman of 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. *' St. Chad's Well is scarcely known in the neigh- bourhood save by its sign-board of invitation and for- bidding externals ; ... it is haunted, not frequented. A few years, and it will be with its waters, as with the water of St. Pancras' Well, which is enclosed in the garden of a private house, near old St. Pancras Church- yard." But, although the prophecy in " Hone" was destined ' Rhone was an old waiter at the Well. Sec p. 51. St. Chad's Well, 49 to be fulfilled, yet it was twelve years before it came about, and it was not until September 14, 1837, that Messrs. Warlters and Co. sold, at Garraway's Coffee House, Change Alley, Cornhill, the '^ valuable Copy- hold Property, situate in Gray's Inn Lane, near King's Cross, Battle Bridge," which consisted of '' The well- known and valuable Premises, Dwelling-house, Large Garden, and Offices, with the very celebrated Spring of Saline Water called St. Chad's Well, which, in proper hands, would produce an inexhaustible Revenue, as its ST. chad's well. qualities are allowed by the first Physicians to be un- equalled." It was a good sized piece of ground ; in shape of a somewhat irregular triangle, of which the base measured about 200 feet, and from apex to base 95 feet. It was Copyhold. The vendor was not to be asked for a title prior to 1793, and it was held of the Manor of Cantlowes or CantlerSy subject to a small fine, certain, of 6s. 8d., on death or alienation, and to a Quit Rent of fd. per annum. We should say, nowadays, that the assessment was very small, as, including the large gardens, both back and front, the whole was only valued, including 5 50 St. Chad's Well-water. the Saline Springy at^^Si los. per annum, of which ^2 1 I OS. was let off, but which formed but a small portion of the property. What would not the waters of St. Chad's Well cure .? Really I think the proprietor hardly knew himself, for a handbill I have before me commences — '' The celebrity of these waters being confined chiefly to its own immediate vicinity for a number of years ; the present proprietor has thought proper to give more extensive publicity to the existence of a nostrum provided by Nature, through Divine Providence, approaching nearest that great desideratum of scientific men and mankind in general, throughout all ages ; namely, an Universal Medicine. . . . The many cures yearly performed by these waters does not come within the limits of a hand- bill, but, suffice it to say, that here, upon trial, the sufferer finds a speedy and sure relief from Indigestion and its train, Habitual Costiveness, the extensive range of Liver Complaints, Dropsy in its early stages. Glandular Obstructions, and that bane of life, ScROPHULA ; for Eruptions on the Face or Skin its almost immediate efficacy needs but a trial." This wonderful water, with use of garden, was then, say 1835, supposed to be worth to the sufferer _^i per annum, or threepence a visit, or you might have it supplied at eightpence per gallon. And yet it seems only to have been a mild aperient, and rather dear at the price. In the Af/>ror of April 13, 1833, Mr. Booth, Professor of Chemistry, professed to give an analysis of the " Mineral Waters in the neigh- bourhood of London," and he thus writes of St. Chad's St. Chad's Well-water. SI Well : " It is aperient, and is yet much resorted to by the poorer classes of the metropolis, with whom it enjoys considerable reputation. From an examination, I find it to be a strong solution of sulphate of soda and sulphate of magnesia" — but he does not favour us with a quantitative analysis. Neither does the proprietor, one Wm. Lucas, who not only propounded the handbill from which I have quoted, but published a pamphlet on the healing virtues of the spring, and he also adds to Mr. Booth's quali- tative analysis, " a small quantity of Iron, which is held in Solution by Carbonic Acid." " The Well from which the Waters are supplied, is ex- cluded from the external air ; the Water when freshly drawn is perfectly clear and pellucid, and sparkles when poured into a glass ; to the taste it is slightly bitter, not sufficiently so to render it disagreeable ; indeed, Persons often think it so palatable as to take it at the table for a common beverage." This, however, is slightly at variance with the follow- ing, '' As a Purgative, more so than could be inferred from their taste, a pint is the ordinary dose for an Adult, which operates pleasantly, powerfully, and speedily:" qualities which are scarcely desirable for a Table water. That, at one time, this Well was in fashion, although in 1825 it was in its decadence, I may quote from the pamphlet (which, however, must be taken by the reader, quantum valeat) : '* Jonathan Rhone, who was Gardener and Waiter at these Wells upwards of Sixty Years, says, that when he first came into office at about the middle of the 52 St. Chad's Well-water. eighteenth Century, the Waters were in great repute, and frequently were visited by eight or nine hundred Persons in a morning : the charge for drinking the Waters was Three pence each Person, and they were delivered at the Pump Room for exportation, at the rate of Twenty-four pint bottles, packed in hamper, for One Pound Cash." CHAPTER V. AS the Fleet was " the River of Wells " it may be as well to notice the Wells, which, although not ab- solutely contributing towards swelling its volume, are yet closely adjacent — namely, White Conduit, and Sadlers Wells. Both of these, as indeed were all the other Wells about London, were first known as mineral springs, a fact which drew the middle classes to seek relief from real, or fancied, ailments, by drinking the medicinal waters, as at Bath, Epsom, Cheltenham, Harrogate, Brixton, and elsewhere. Wherever people congregate, the mere drinking of salutary water, is but tame work, and the animal spirits of some of them must find an outlet in amusements, which materially assist, to say the least, in the agreeable passing of time. But the mere drinking of waters must have been irk- some — even if people took to it as well as Shadwell in his play of " Epsom Wells " describes : — " Brisket. 1 vow it is a pleasurable Morning : the 54 Medicinal Waters. Waters taste so finely after being fudled last Night. Neighbour Frihhler here's a Pint to you. '■'■ Frihbler . I'll pledge you, Mrs. Brisket; I have drunk eight already. ^^ Mrs. Brisket. How do the Waters agree with your Ladyship ? Spas. SS ^^ Mrs. Woodly. Oh, Sovereignly: how many Cups have you arrived to ? " Mrs. Brisket. Truly Six, and they pass so kindly." By degrees these medicinal waters, or Spas, as they were termed in later times, fell into desuetude, possibly because medical knowledge was advancing ; and the Wells, with their gardens attached, became places of outdoor recreation, where the sober citizen could smoke his pipe, and have his beer, or cider, whilst his wife, and her gossips, indulged in tittle tattle over their Tea — which, although much dearer than at present, was a very popular beverage, and so, from health resorts, they imperceptibly merged into the modern Tea Garden — which, in its turn, has become nearly extinct, as have the Ranelagh and Vauxhall of a former age ; which, however, we have seen, in our time, somewhat resusci- tated in the outdoor portion of the several Exhibitions which have taken place, in the few past years, at South Kensington. The White Conduit had a history of its own, which we can trace back, at all events, to the fifteenth century, for it was built as a reservoir to supply what was, afterwards, the Charterhouse. This we can see by a royal licence, dated December 2, 9 Henry VI. an. 1431,^ which granted to John Feryby, and his wife Margery, that they might grant and assign to the Prior and Convent of the House of the Saluta- tion of the Blessed Mary of the Carthusian Order, by London, a certain well spring {fontein) and 53 perches of land in length, and 12 feet in breadth, in the vill ' Cart. Antiq. in Off. Augm. vol. ii. No. 43. 56 The White Conduit. of Iseldon (Islington) to have to them and their suc- cessors for ever, and to the same Prior and Convent, to take the said land, and construct a certain subter- raneous aqueduct from the aforesaid well spring, through the aforesaid land, and through the King's highway aforesaid, and elsewhere, as it may seem best &:c., non obstante the Act against mortmain {Teste Humfride Duce Glome St r Custode Anglic apud Weslm.). As we know, Henry VIII, put an end to the Monastic Orders in England, and, at the dissolution of the Priory, the reversion of the site, and house thereof, was granted, on April 14, 1545,^ to Sir Roger North, in fee, together with " all that the Head and original Well Spring of one Channel or Aqueduct situate and being in a certain field in the parish of Islington " — and it also gave, all the channels, aqueducts, and watercourses under ground " up to the site of the said House of the Carthusians." But, although the spring might, and did, supply the Charter House, yet it is possible that the Conduit House, from which it got the name of White Conduit, from its being built of white stone — was built by Thomas Sutton, who founded the Hospital of the Charter House, — in 161 1. It was either built by him, or repaired in 1641, for, incorporated in the building, was a stone containing his arms — and initials. - The other initials have not been identified. As the " White Conduit " it was known well into this century, but it fell somewhat into decay, about 18 12 — was never repaired, and, finally, was pulled down in 1 831 — to make ' Pat. 36 Henry VIII. p. 13, m. 31. - See next page. The White Conduit. 57 way for the completion of some new buildings in Barnsbury Road, as a continuation of Penton Street: and the stone was broken up, and used in making the New Road. So much for the Conduit itself; but it, although inert, exercised a large share in the amusements of Londoners down to a comparatively recent period. It was pleasantly situated in the fields, and, until this century, during the latter half of which, the modern Babylon has become one huge mass of bricks and mortar, it served as a pleasant place of recreation for the Cits. There was an uninterrupted prospect of STONE IN THE WHITE CONDUIT. Gentleman' s Magazine, vol. Ixxi. p. Il6i, A.D. iSoi. Hampstead and Highgate — which bounded the northern view, and which was purely pastoral, with the exception of sparsely-dotted farmhouses. There is a tradition that, on the site of the comparatively modern White Cond^Lit HouseyV^'^s (in the reign of Charles L), a tavern in the course of erection, and that, being finished, the workmen were carousing at the very moment of the monarch's decapitation. Doubtless, in these suburban fields, there was, for very many years, a place for refreshment, which probably took the form, in the Arcadian age of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, of new milk, curds and whey. 58 White Conduit House. and syllabubs, for Islington was famous for its dairy pro- duce, ^ as we know by the account of the entertainment given to Queen Elizabeth at Kenilworth Castle in 1575 by the Earl of Leicester, when the Squier Minstrel of Middlesex made a long speech in praise of Islington, whose motto was said to be, " Lactis Caseus infans." The earliest really authentic notice of the White Conduit House, I can find, is in the Daily Advertiser August 10, 1754. "This is to acquaint the public, that, at the White Conduit House, the proprietor, for the better accommodation of the gentlemen and ladies, has completed a long walk, with a handsome circular Fish-pond, a number ot shady, pleasant arbours inclosed with a fence 7 feet high to prevent being the least incommoded from the people in the fields. Hot loaves,^ and butter every day, milk directly from the Cows; coffee and tea, and all manners of liquors in the greatest perfection : also a handsome Long Room, from whence is the most Copious prospects and airy situation of any now in vogue. I humbly hope the continuance of my friends' fivours, as I make it my chief study to have the best accommodations, and am, Gentlemen and Ladies, your obliged humble servant, Robert Bartholomew. Note. My Cows eat no grains, neither any adulteration ' In an early sixteenth century book (unique) printed by Wynkyn de Worde, called " Cocke Lorelles Bokc " the dairy farming at Islington is mentioned — " Also mathewe to the drawer of London, And sybly sole mylke-wyfe of Islington." ' These Rolls were as famous as Chelsea Buns. " White Conduit loaves" being a familiar street cry. White Conduit House. 59 in the Milk or Cream. Bats and Balls for Cricket, and a convenient field to play in." This gives us a very fair insight into the sober relaxa- tions of our great-great-grandfathers : and that the White Conduit House was, about this time, a resort for harmless recreation ; and, certainly, it would rejoice the modern temperance enthusiasts to find that the principal beverages there drank were " non-intoxicants." Oliver Goldsmith used frequently to go there, walking from his house at Islington; and, in his ''Citizen of the World," letter 122, he writes, "After having sur- veved the Curiosities of this fair and beautiful town, J proceeded forward, leaving a fair stone building on my right ; here the inhabitants of London often assemble to celebrate a feast of hot rolls and butter. Seeing such numbers, each with their little tables before them, employed on this occasion, must no doubt be a very amusing sight to the looker-on, but still more so to those who perform in the Solemnity." And the same story of simplicity of amusement, and refreshment, is amusingly told in the Gentlematis Maga- zine for May, 1760, vol. xxx. p. 242, in a short poem by William Woty, the author of the " Shrubs of Par- nassus, consisting of a variety of poetical essays, moral and comic, by I. Copywell, of Lincoln's Inn, Esq. 1 760." " Jnd to White Conduit House We will go, will go, will go y Grub Street Register. "Wish'd Sunday's come — mirth brightens ev'ry face, And paints the rose upon the housemaid's cheek Harriot, or Mol more ruddv. Now the heart 6o White Conduit House. Of prentice resident in ample street, Or alley, Kcnnel-wash'd Cheapside, Cornhill Or Cranbor7ie^ thee, for calcuments renown'd, With joy distends. His meal meridian o'er. With switch in hand, he to White Co?iduit house Hies merry hearted. Human beings here In couples multitudinous assemble, Forming the drollest groupe, that ever trod Fair Islingtonian plains. Male after male. Dog after dog, succeeding — husbands — wives — Fathers and mothers — brothers — sisters — friends — And pretty little boys and girls. Around, Across, along, the garden's shrubby maze. They walk, they sit, they stand. What crowds press on. Eager to mount the stairs, eager to catch First vacant bench or chair in long-room plac'd. 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 contend, with gold bound hat, And silken stocking strut. The red-arm'd belle Here shews 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 ratling cups and saucers. Waiter here. And waiter there, and waiter here and there. At once is call'd — yoe — yoe — "Joe — yoe — yoe — yoe on the right — and yoe upon the left. For ev'ry vocal pipe re-ecchoes yoe. Alas, poor yoe ! Like Francis in the play He stands confounded, anxious how to please The many-headed throng. But shou'd I paint The language, humours, customs o^ the place. Together with all curtsy's lowly bows. White Conduit. 6i And compliments extern, 'twould swell my page Beyond it's limits due. Suffice it then, For my prophetic muse to say, ' So long As fashion rides upon the Wing of time, While tea and cream, and buttered rolls can please, While rival beaux, and jealous belles exist, So long White Co?iduit house, shall be thy fame. W. W." Later on in the century, it was still a reputable place of resort. In 1774, there was a painting at one end of the garden, the perspective of which served, arti- ficially, to augment its size ; the round fish-pond in the centre of the garden, still existed, and the refreshment- rooms, or boxes, were hung with Flemish and other pictures. Hone ("Every Day Book," vol. ii. p. 1201, &c.) says, "About 18 10, the late celebrated Wm. Hunting- don S.S.^ of Providence Chapel, who lives in a handsome house within sight, was at the expense of clearing the spring for the use of the inhabitants ; but, because his pulpit opinions were obnoxious, some of the neighbour- ing vulgar threw loads of soil upon it in the night, which rendered the water impure, and obstructed its channel, and, finally, ceasing to flow, the public was deprived of the kindness he proposed. The building itself, was in a very perfect state at that time, and ought to have been boarded up after the field it stood in was thrown open. As the new buildings proceeded, it was injured, and defliced, by idle labourers and boys, from mere wantonness, and reduced to a mere ruin. There ' This revivalist used these initials as meaning " Sinner Saved." 62 White Conduit. was a kind of upper floor or hayloft in it, which was frequently a shelter to the houseless wanderer. A few years ago some poor creatures made it a comfortable hostel for the night with a little hay. Early in the morning a passing workman perceived smoke issuing from the crevices, and as he approached, heard loud cries from within. Some mischievous miscreants had White Conduit House. 63 set fire to the fodder beneath the sleepers, and, after- wards, fastened the door on the outside : the inmates were scorched by the fire, and probably they would all have been suffocated in a few minutes, if the place had not been broken open. "The 'White Conduit' at this time (1826) merely stands to those who had the power, and neglected to preserve it. " To the buildings grown up around, it might have been rendered a neat ornament, by planting a few trees, and enclosing the whole with an iron railing, and have stood as a monument of departed worth. " * White Conduit House ' has ceased to be a recrea- tion in the good sense of the word. Its present denomination is the * Minor Vauxhall,' and its chief attraction during the passing summer has been Mrs. Bland. I She has still powers, and, if their exercise here, has been a stay and support to this sweet melodist, so far the establishment may be deemed respectable. It is a ground for balloon flying and skittle playing, and just maintains itself above the very lowest, so as to be one of the most doubtful places of public resort. Recollections of it some years ago are more in its favour. Its tea gardens then, in summer afternoons, ^ A somewhat famous singer in the latter part of the eighteenth and first quarter of the nineteenth centuries. She sang and acted at Drury Lane and the Haymarket — and also sang at Vauxhall. She became poor, and on July 5, 1 824, she had a benefit at Drury Lane, which, with a public subscription, produced about j^Soo. Lord Egremont also allowed her ;^8o a year. She was somewhat related to Royalty: her husband. Bland, an actor at Drury Lane, being the brother of Mrs. Jordan, who was the wife of William the Fourth. 64 White Conduit House. were well accustomed by tradesmen and their families ; they are now comparatively deserted, and, instead, there is, at night, a starveling show of odd company and coloured lamps, a mock orchestra, with mock singing, dancing in a room which decent persons would prefer to withdraw their young folks from, if they entered. WHITE CONDUIT GARDENS (INTERIOR). and fireworks ' as usual,' which, to say the truth, are, usually, very good." As time went on, the place did not improve, as we may see by the New Monthly Magazine for 1833, in an article — part of " Four Views of London." Speaking of the White Conduit — " Here too is that Paradise of apprentice boys, White Cundick Couse, as it is cacopho- White Conduit Gardens. 65 niously pronounced by its visitors, which has done much to expel the decencies of the district. Thirty years ago this place was better frequented — that is, there was a larger number of respectable adults — fathers and 6 66 White Conduit Gardens. mothers, with their children, and a smaller moiety of shop lads, and such like Sunday bucks, who were awed into decency by their elders. The manners, perhaps, are much upon a par with what they were. The ball- room gentlemen then went through country dances with their hats on, and their coats off: — hats are now taken off, but coats are still unfashionable on these gala nights. The belles of that day wore long trains to their gowns : it was a favourite mode of introduction to a lady there, to tread on it, and then, apologizing handsomely, acquaintance was begun, and soon ripened into an invitation to tea, and the hot loaves for which these gardens were once celebrated. Being now a popular haunt, those who hang on the rear of the march of human nature, the suttlers, camp followers, and plunderers, know that where large numbers of men and boys are in pursuit of pleasure, there is a sprinkling of the number to whom vice and debauchery are ever welcome : they have, therefore, supplied what these wanted ; and Pentonville may now hold up its head, and boast of its depravities before any part of London." i It got more and more disreputable, until it was pulled down in 1849, and the present White Conduit Tavern was built upon a portion of its site. ' A frequent visitor at these gardens was the late George Cruik- shank, and many subjects were transferred to his sketch book. He was so well known, as to become a sort of terror to the habitues of the place, and children were threatened, when fractious, "that if they made such ugly faces, Mr. Cruikshank would put them in his book." CHAPTER VI. SADLER'S WELLS does not really feed the Fleet River, but I notice the spring, for the same reason that I noticed the White Conduit. A very fair account of its early history is given in a little pamphlet entitled " A True and Exact Account of Sadlers Well : or the New Mineral Waters. Lately found out at Islington : Treating of its nature and Virtues. Together with an Enumeration of the Chiefest Diseases which it is good for, and against which it may be used, and the Manner and Order of Taking of it. Published for publick good by T. G. (Thomas Guidot) Doctor of Physick. Printed for 'Thomas Malthiis at the Sun in the Poultry. 1684." It begins thus : — " The New Well at Islington is a certain Spring in the middle of a Garden, belonging to the Musick House built by Mr. Sadler^ on the North side of the Great Cistern that receives the New River Water near Islington, the Water whereof was, before the Reformation, very much famed for several extraordinary Cures performed thereby, and was, thereupon, accounted 68 Sadler's Discovery. sacred, and called Holy Well. The Priests belonging to the Priory of Clarken-well using to attend there, made the People believe that the vertues of the Waters proceeded from the efficacy of their Prayers. But upon the Reformation the Well was stopt up, upon a suppo- sition that the frequenting it was altogether superstitious, and so, by degrees, it grew out of remembrance, and was wholly lost, until found out, and the Fame of it revived again by the following accident. " Mr. Sadler being made Surveyor of the High Ways,, and having good Gravel in his own Gardens, employed two Men to Dig there, and when they had Dug pretty deep, one of them found his Pickax strike upon some thing that was very hard ; whereupon he endeavoured to break it, but could not : whereupon thinking with himself that it might, peradventure, be some Treasure hid there, he uncovered it very carefully, and found it to be a Broad, Flat Stone : which, having loosened, and lifted up, he saw it was supported by four Oaken Posts, and had under it a large Well of Stone Arched over, and curiously carved ; and, having viewed it, he called his fellow Labourer to see it likewise, and asked him whether they should fetch Mr. Sadler, and shew it to him ? Who, having no kindness for Sadler^ said no ; he should not know of it, but as they had found it, so they would stop it up again, and take no notice of it ; which he that found it consented to at first, but after a little time he found himself (whether out of Curiosity, or some other reason, I shall not determine) strongly inclined to tell Sadler of the Well ; which he did, one Sabbath Day in the Evening. MiLEs's MusicK House, 69 " Sadler^ upon this, went down to see the Well, and observing the Curiosity of the Stone Work, that was about it, and fancying within himself that it was a Medicinal Water, formerly had in great esteem, but by some accident or other lost, he took some of it in a Bottle, and carryed it to an Eminent Physician, telling him how the Well was found out, and desiring his Judgment of the Water ; who having tasted and tried it, told him it was very strong of a Mineral taste, and advised him to Brew some Beer with it, and carry it to some Persons, to whom he would recommend him ; which he did accordingly. And some of those who used to have it of him in Bottles, found so much good by it, that they desired him to bring it in Roundlets." Sadler's success, for such it was, provoked the envy of others, and one or two satires upon the Wells were produced. Soon after he opened the Wells, Evelyn visited them, as we read in his invaluable diary. *' June 11, 1686. I went to see Middleton's receptacle of water ^ and the New Spa Wells, near Islington." The Spring was still known as Sadler's up to 1697 as we find in advertise- ments in the Fost Boy and Flying Post of June, in that year. But the " Musick House " seems to have passed into other hands, for in 1699 it was called " Miles's Musick House." They seem to have had peculiar entertainments here, judging by an account in Da'-ivk's Protestant Mercuiy of May 24, 1699. "On Tuesday last a fellow at Sadler's Wells, near Islington, ' The New River Head, yo A Man eats a Live Cock, &:c. after he had dhied heartily on a buttock of beef, for the lucre of tive guineas, eat a live cock, feathers, guts, and all, with only a plate of oil and vinegar for sawce, and half a pint of brandy to wash it down, and afterwards proffered to lay five guineas more, that he could do the same again in two hours' time." That this was a fact is amply borne out by the testi- mony of Ned Ward, who managed to see most of what was going on in town, and he thus describes the sight in his rough, but vigorous language. " With much difficulty we crowded upstairs, v/here we soon got intelligence of the beastly scene in agitation. At last a table was spread with a dirty cloth in the middle of the room, furnished with bread, pepper, oil, and vinegar ; but neither knife, plate, fork, or napkin ; and when the beholders had conveniently mounted themselves upon one another's shoulders to take a fair view of his Beastlyness's banquet, in comes the lord of the feast, disguised in an Antick's Cap, like a country hangman, attended by a train of Newmarket executioners. When a chair was set, and he had placed himself in sight of the whole assembly, a live Cock was given into the ravenous paws of this ingurgitating monster." In the same year, in his " Walk to Islington," Ward gives a description of the people who frequented this " Musick House." " mixed with a vermin trained up tor the gallows, As Bullocks ^ and files,= housebreakers and paddcrs.3 With prize fighters, swcetncrs,+ and such sort of traders. Informers, thief-takers, deer-stealers, and bullies." '■ A hector, or bully. - A pickpocket. 3 A tramp. '* A Sharper. Forcer, the Proprietor. 71 It seems to have been kept by Francis Forcer, a musician, about 1725, and the scene at the Wells is graphically described in *' The New River, a Poem, by William Garbott." " Through Islington then glides my best loved theme And Miles's garden washes with his stream : Now F — r's Garden is its proper name, Though Miles the man was, who first got it fame ; And tho' it's own'd. Miles first did make it known, F — r improves the same w^e all must own. There you may sit under the shady trees. And drink and smoak, fann'd by a gentle breeze ; Behold the fish, how wantonly they play, And catch them also, if you please, you may, Two Noble Swans swim by this garden side, Of water-fowl the glory and the pride ; Which to the Garden no small beauty are ; Were they but black they would be much more rare : With ducks so tame that from your hand they'll feed. And, I believe, for that, they sometimes bleed. A noble Walk likewise adorns the place. To which the river adds a greater grace : There you may sit or walk, do which you please, Which best you like, and suits most with your case. Now to the Show-room let's awhile repair. To see the active feats performed there. How the bold Dutchman, on the rope doth bound. With greater air than others on the ground : What capers does he cut ! how backward leaps ! With Andrew Merry eyeing all his steps : His comick humours with delight you see, Pleasing unto the best of company," &c. But a very vivid description of Sadler's Wells is ;iven in " Mackliniana, or Anecdotes of the late Mr. 72 Macklin on Sadler's Wells. Charles Macklin, Comedian " in the European Magazine for 1801 (vol. xl. p. 16): — " Being met one night at Sadler's Wells by a friend, v/no afterwards saw him home, he went into a history of that place, with an accuracy which, though nature generally denies to the recollection of old age in recent events, seems to atone for it in the remembrance of more remote periods. " Sir, I remember the time when the price of admis- sion here was but threepence^ except a few places scuttled off at the sides of the stage at sixpence, and which was usually reserved for people of fashion, who occasionally came to see the fun. Here we smoked, and drank porter and rum and water, as much as we could pay for, and every man had his doxy that liked it, and so forth ; and though we had a mixture of very odd com- pany (for I believe it was a good deal the baiting place of thieves and highwaymen) there was little or no rioting. There was a public then. Sir, that kept one another in awe. " ^ Were the entertainments anything like the present ? A. No, no ; nothing in the shape of them ; some hornpipes and ballad singing, with a kind of pantomimiic ballet, and some lofty tumbling — and all this was done by daylight, and there were four or five exhibitions every day. " ^. How long did these continue at a time ? A. Why, Sir, it depended upon circumstances. The proprietors had always a fellov/ on the outside of the booth, to calculate how many people were collected for Actors at Sadler's Wells. 73 a second exhibition, and when he thought there were enough, he came to the back of the upper seats, and cried out, ' Is Hiram Fisteman here ? ' This was the cant word agreed upon between the parties, to know the state of the people without — upon which they concluded the entertaiment with a song, dismissed that audience, and prepared for a second representation. " ^. Was this in Rozamon's time ? A. No, no. Sir ; long before — not but old Rozamon improved it a good deal, and, I believe, raised the price generally to sixpence, and in this way got a great deal of money." Space prevents one going into the merits of the Theatre here, but it may not be out of place if I mention some of the singers, and actors, who have appeared on those boards — Joey Grimaldi, Braham, Miss Shields (afterwards Mrs. Leffler), Edmund Kean, the great traveller Belzoni, Miss Tree, Phelps, of Shakespearian fame, Marston, and others, testify to the talent which has had its home in this theatre. One pecu- liarity about Sadler's Wells Theatre was the introduction of i'eal water as a scenic effect. It seems to have been first ydsed on Easter Monday, April 2, 1804, in an enter- tainment called Naumachia. A very large tank was made under the stage, and filled with water from the New River ; and in this tank mimic men o' war bom- barded Gibraltar, but were repulsed, with loss, by the heroic garrison. Afterwards, it was frequently used for Spectacles, in which water was used as an adjunct. After this digression let us follow the course of the River Fleet. Leaving St. Chad's Well, and before 74 The Pindar of Wakefield. coming to Bagnigge Wells, there stood in Gray's Inn Road an old public-house called the Pindar of Wake- field, the pounder, or keeper of the pound at that town, the famous George a Green, who gave Robin Hood a notable thrashing, extorting from that bold outlaw this confession — " For this was one of the best pinders That ever I tryed with sword." This old house was destroyed by a hurricane in Novem- ber, 1723, when the two daughters of the landlord were killed by the falling walls. It was, however, at once rebuilt, and a public-house, bearing the same sign, exists at 328, Gray's Inn Road — most probably occupying the original site. ^*i^ CHAPTER VII. BETWEEN this house, and Bagnigge Wells, was Bagnigge Wash, or Marsh, and Black Mary's WMls, or Hole. The etymology of this place is contested. In the Gentleman s Magazine for 1813, part ii. p. 557, in an "Account of various Mineral Wells near London," is the following : " Lastly, in the same neighbourhood, may be mentioned the spring or conduit on the eastern side of the road leading from Clerken Well to Bagnigge Wells, and which has given name to a very few small houses as Black Mary's Hole. The land here was, formerly, called Bagnigg Marsh, from the river Bagnigg, ^ which passes through it. But, in after-time, the citizens resorting to drink the waters of the conduit, which then was leased to one Mary, who kept a black Cow, whose milk the gentle- men and ladies drank with the waters of the Conduit, from whence, the wits of that age used to say, ' Come, ' Otherwise the Fleet. 78 " Black Mary's Hole." Jet us go to Mary's black hole.' However, Mary dying, and the place degenerating into licentiousness, about 1687, Walter Baynes Esqre, of the Inner Temple, enclosed the Conduit in the manner it now is, which looks like a great oven. He is supposed to have left a fund for keeping the same in perpetual repair. The stone with the inscription was carried away during the night about ten years ago. The water (which formerly fed two ponds on the other side of the road) falls into the old Bagnigge river." This etymon, however, is contested in a pamphlet called An ex'perimental enquiry concerning the Contents^ ^alities^ Medicinal Virtues of the two Mineral Waters of Bagnigge Wells, &:c., by John Bevis, M.D. This pamphlet was originally published in 1767, but I quote from the third edition of 18 19. *' At what time these waters were first known cannot be made out with any degree of evidence. A tradition goes that the place of old was called Blessed Mary's Well ; but that the name of the Holy Virgin having, in some measure, fallen into disrepute after the Reformation, the title was altered to Black Mary's Well, as it now stands upon Mr. Rocque's map, and then to Black Mary's Hole ; though there is a very different account of these latter appellations ; for there are those who insist they were taken from one Mary Woolaston, whose occupation was attending at a well, now covered in, on an opposite eminence, by the footway from Bagnigge to Islington to supply the soldiery, encamped in the adjacent fields, with water. But waving such uncertainties, it may be relied on for truth, that a late proprietor, upon taking possession of Its Disappearance. 79 the estate, found two wells thereon, both steaned in a workmanlike manner ; but when, or for what purpose, they were sunk, he is entirely ignorant." But Black Mary's Hole, during the first half of the last century, had a very queer reputation. There was a little public-house with the sign of " The Fox at Bay," which probably had something to do with the numerous highway robberies that occurred thereabouts. In Cromwell's "History of Clerkenwell," pp. 318, 319, we hear of the last of Black Mary's Hole. He says, '^ Beneath the front garden of a house in Spring Place, and extending under the foot-pavement almost to the turnpike gate called the Pantheon Gate, lies the capacious receptacle of a Mineral Springs which in former times was in considerable repute, both as a chalybeate, and for its supposed efficacy in the cure of sore eyes. . . . About ten years back, when Spring Place was erected, the builder removed every external appearance of Walter Baynes's labours, and converted the receptacle beneath into a cesspool for the drainage of his houses. The spring thus degraded, and its situation concealed, it is probable that the lapse of a few more years would have effaced the memory of it for ever, had not an accident re-discovered it in the summer of 1826. Its covering, which was only of boards, having rotted, suddenly gave way, and left a large chasm in the footpath. After some efforts, not perfectly suc- cessful, to turn off the drainage, it was then arched with brickwork, and a leaden pump placed over it, in the garden where it chiefly lies. But the pump being stolen during the following winter, the spring has again fallen 8o Bagxigge Wells. into neglect, and possibly this page alone will prevent its being totally forgotten." Still following the Fleet to its outfall, we next come to Bagnigge Well, a chalybeate spring, first used medi- cinally, and then, like all these Spas, merely as a promenade, and place of out-of-door recreation. Originally, this spring probably belonged to the Nunnery at Clerkenwell, and may possibly be the " Rode Well " mentioned in the Register of Clerken- well. But we are indebted to Dr. Bevis, from whose pamphlet I have already quoted, for a history of its modern rise and development (p. 38). " In the year 1757, the spot of ground in which this well is sunk was let out to a gentleman curious in gardening, who observed that the oftener he watered his flowers from it the worse they throve. I happened, toward the end of that summer, to be in company with a friend who made a transient visit to Mr. Hughes, and was asked to taste the water ; and, being surprised to find its flavour so near that of the best German chalybeates, did not hesitate to declare my opinion, that it might be made of great benefit both to the public and himself. At my request, he sent me some of the water, in a large stone bottle, well corked, the next day ; a gallon whereof I immediately set over a fire, and by a hasty evaporation found it very rich in mineral contents, though much less so than I afterwards experienced it to be when more leisurely exhaled by a gentle heat. Whilst this operation was carrying on, I made some experiments on the remainder of the water, particularly with powdered galls, which I found to give, in less than Nell Gwyn's Houses. 8i a minutCj a very rich and deep purple tincture to it, that lasted many days without any great alteration. I re- ported these matters to Mr. Hughes, but, soon after, a very dangerous illness put a stop to my experiments, which I did not resume for a considerable time, when the proprietor called, and told me his waters were in very great repute, and known by the name of Bagnigge Wells ; which I remembered to have seen in the news- papers, without so much as guessing it had been given to these springs. Mr. Hughes took me to his wells, where I was not a little pleased with the elegant accom- modations he had provided for company in so short a time." The house attached to the Spa is said to have been the residence of Nell Gwyn, but tradition has assigned her so many houses; at Chelsea, Bagnigge Wells, High- gate, Walworth, and Filberts, near Windsor — nay, one enterprising tradesman in the Strand has christened a milk shop '^ Nell Gwyn's Dairy," and has gone to some expense, in pictorial tiles, to impress on passers-by the genuineness of his assertion. Still, local tradition is strong, and, in a book called " The Recreations ^ of Mr. Zigzag the elder " (a pseudonym for Mr. John Wykeham Archer, artist and antiquary), which is in the Library of the City of London, and which is profusely '' Grangerised " by the author, is a small water colour of Bagnigge House, the reputed dwelling of Nell Gwyn, which I have repro- duced in outline, and on this drawing is a note, " More- over several small tenements at the north end of the ^ These papers appeared in the Illustrated Family Journal. 82 Bagnigge House. Garden were formerly entitled Nell Gwynne's Buildings, which seems to verify the tradition." ^ But the evidence is all of a quasi kind. In the long room, supposed to have been the banqueting room, was, over the mantel, a bust, an alto relievo^ of a female, supposed to be Nell Gwyn, and said to be modelled by Sir Peter Lely, enclosed in a circular border of fruit, which, of course, was at once set down as a delicate BAGNIGGE HOUSE. (Said to have been Nell Gwyn's.) allusion to the actress's former calling of orange wench in the theatres. The bust and border were painted to imitate nature, and on either side were coats of arms — one the Royal arms, and, on the other side, the Royal arms quartered with others, which were supposed to be those assumed by the actress. When the old house was pulled down, the bust disappeared, and no one knows whither it went. 'In Cromwell's "History of Clcrkenwell," p. 322, we read, " In memory of its supposed proprietor, the owner of some small tenements near the north end of the gardens styled them 'Nell Gwynn's Buildings ;' but the inscription was erased before 1803." Bagnigge House. 83 I give a quotation from the Sunday TimeSy July 5, 1840, not as adding authority, or weight, to the idea that Bagnigge House was Nell's residence, but to show how deeply rooted was the tradition. It is a portion of the " Maximms and Speciments of JVilliam Muggins, Natural Philosopher^ and Citizen of the World " — '^Oh ! how werry different London are now to wot it war at the time as I took my view on it from the post ; none of them beautiful squares and streets, as lies heast and west, and north of the hospital, war built then ; it war hall hopen fields right hup to Ampstead an Ighgate and Hislington. Bagnigge Well stood by itself at the foot of the hill, jist where it does now ; and then it looked the werry pictur of countryfiedness and hin- nocence. There war the beautiful white washed walls, with the shell grotto in the hoctagon summer house, where Nell Gwynne used to sit and watch for King Charles the Second. By the by, a pictur done by a famous hartist of them days. Sir Somebody Neller I thinks war his name, represents the hidentical ouse (it war a fine palace then) with the hidentical hoctagon summer house, with the beautiful Nelly leaning hout of the winder, with her lilly white hand and arm a-beckon- ing, while the King is seed in the distance galloping like vinking across the fields a waving his hat and feathers ; while a little page, with little tobacker-pipe legs, in white stockings, stands ready to hopen a Uttle door in the garden wall, and let hin the royal wisitor, while two little black and tan spanels is frisking about and playing hup hold gooseberry among the flower beds. 84 Bagnigge House. That ere pictur used to hang hup in the bar parlor ; its wanished now — so are the bust as were in the long room ; but there's another portrait pictur of her, all alone by herself, done by Sir Peter Lely, still to be seen. (This here last coorosity war discovered honly a year or two ago, rolled hup among sum rubbige in the loft hunder the roof.)" The old house, however, was evidently of some importance, for, over a low doorway which led into the garden, was a stone, on which was sculptured a head in relief, and the following inscription — X THIS IS BAGNIGGE HOUSE NEARE THE PINDAR A WAKEFIELDE 1680. thus showing that the Pindar of Wakefield was the older house, and famous in that locality. This doorway and stone were in existence within the last forty years, for, in a footnote to page 572 of the Gentleman's Magazine of June, 1 847, it says, " The gate and in- scription still remain, and will be found, where we saw them a few weeks since, in the road called Coppice Row, on the left going from Clerkenwell towards the New Road." Bagnigge Wells. 85 The following illustration gives Bagnigge Wells as it appeared at the end of last century. BAGNIGGE WELLS, NEAR BATTLE BRIDGE, ISLINGTON. We have read how these gardens were first started i» 1757, but they soon became well known and, indeed, notorious, as we read in a very scurrilous poem called *' Bagnigge Wells," by W. Woty, in 1760 — "Wells, and the place I sing, at early dawn Frequented oft, where male and female meet, And strive to drink a long adieu to pain. In that refreshing Vale with fragrance fill'd, Renown'd of old for Nymph of public fame And amorous Encounter, where the sons Of lawless lust conven'd — where each by turns His venal Doxy woo'd, and stil'd the place Black Mary's Hole — there stands a Dome superb, Hight Bagnigge ; where from our Forefathers hid. Long have two Springs in dull stagnation slept ; But, taught at length by subtle art to flow. They rise, forth from Oblivion's bed they rise. And manifest their Virtues to Mankind." 86 Bagnigge Wells. The major portion of this poem (?) is rather too risque for modern publication, but the following extract shows the sort of people who went there with the view of benefiting their health — "Here ambulates th' Attorney looking grave, And Rake from Bacchanalian rout uprose. And mad festivity. Here, too, the Cit, With belly, turtlc-stuff'd, and man of Gout, With leg of size enormous. Hobbling on, The Pump-room he salutes, and in the chair He squats himself unwieldy. Much he drinks. And much he laughs to see the females quaff The friendly beverage. He, nor jest obscene. Of meretricious wench, nor quibble quaint, Of prentic'd punster heeds, himself a wit And dealer in conundrums, but retorts The repartee jocosely. Soft ! how pale Yon antiquated virgin looks ! Alas ! In vain she drinks, in vain she glides around The Garden's labyrinth. 'Tis not for thee, Mistaken nymph ! these waters pour their streams," &c. And in the prologue to " Bon Ton : or High Life above Stairs," by David Garrick, acted at Drury Lane for the first time, for the benefit of Mr. King, in 1775, not much is said as to the character of its frequenters, " Ah ! I loves life and all the joy it yields, Says Madam Fupock, warm from Spittlefields. Bon Ton's the space 'twixt Saturday and Monday, And riding in a one-horse chaise on Sunday, 'Tis drinking tea on summer's afternoons At Bagnigge Wells, with china and gilt spoons." CHAPTER VIII. THE gardens were pretty, after the manner of the times ; we should not, perhaps, particularly ad- mire the formally cut lines and hedges, nor the fountain in which a Cupid is hugging a swan, nor the rustic statuary of the haymakers. Still it was a little walk out of London, where fresh air could be breathed, and a good view obtained of the northern hills of Hampstead and Highgate, with the interlying pastoral country, sparsely dotted with farmhouses and cottages. The Fleet, here, had not been polluted into a sewer as it was further on, and there were all the elements of spending a pleasant, happy day, in good air, amid rural scenes. The place, however, rapidly became a disreputable rendezvous^ and we get an excellent glimpse of the costumes of circa 1780 in the two following en- gravings taken from mezzotints published by Car- ington Bowles ; although not dated, thev are of that 5 Id 5 2 90 Bagnigge Wells. period, showing the Macaronis and Belles of that time. The first is called '* The Bread and Butter Manu- factory,! or the Humours of Bagxigge Wells," and the second " A Bagnigge Wells Scene, or no resisting A BAGNIGGE WELLS SCENE; OR, NO RESISTING TEMPTATION. {Pttblished for Carington Botdes.) temptation," which gives a charming representation of the ultra fashion of dress then worn. ^ An allusion to the hot buttered rolls, which were in vogue there. The Organist. 91 Yet another glance at the manners of the time is afforded by the boy waiter, who hurries along with his tray of tea-things and kettle of hot water. ^ THE BAGNIGGE ORGANIST. And there was good music there, too — an organ in the long room, on which Charles Griffith performed, as may be seen in the accompanying illustration. The name of Davis on the music books, is that of the then ' See p. 89. 92 Different Proprietors. proprietor, and the lines underneath are parodied from Dry den's "Song for St. Cecilia's day, 1687." "What passion cannot music raise and quell ! When Jubal struck the corded shell, His listening brethren stood around, And, wondering, on their faces fell." It went on with varying fortunes, and under various proprietors. First of all Mr. Hughes, then, in 1792, Davis had it ; in 18 13 it was in the hands of one Salter; in 1 8 18, a man named Thorogood took it, but let it to one Monkhouse, who failed, and it reverted to Thoro- good. Then came as tenant, a Mr. Chapman, who was bankrupt in 1833, and, in 1834, Richard Chapman was proprietor. I fancy he was the last, as public house, and gardens, combined. Mr. William Muggins, before quoted, laments its decadence thus : ^' Besides the whitewashed walls, and hoctagon shell grotto, there war the tea garden, with its honey suckle and sweet briar harbours, where they used to drink tea hout of werry small cups, and heat the far famed little hot loaves and butter ; then there war the dancing plot, and the gold and silver fish ponds, and the bowling green, and skittle alley, and fire work ground hall so romantic and rural, standing in the middle of a lot of fields, and shaded around with trees. Now it's a werry different concarn, for it's surrounded with build- ings — the gardens is cut hoff to nuffin, and the ouse looks tumble down and miserable." That was in 1 840. It was about this time that a song appeared in *^ The Little Melodist," 1839 — dilating on the delights of the '' Punch " on Bagnigge Wells. 93 neighbourhood of Ishngton, and the first verse ran thus: "Will you go to Bagnigge Wells, Bonnet builder, O ! Where the Fleet ditch fragrant smells, Bonnet builder, O ! Where the fishes used to swim. So nice and sleek and trim. But the pond's now covered in, Bonnet builder, O ! Punch, too, when it was young, and had warm blood coursing through its veins, visited Bagnigge Wells, and recorded the visit in its pages (Sept. 7, 1843). After a description of the walk thither, it says, " We last visited Bagnigge Wells about the beginning of the present week, and, like many travellers, at first passed close to it without seeing it. Upon returning, however, our eye was first arrested by an ancient door in the wall over which was inscribed the following : — i *' This inscription, of which the above is a.fac simile was surmounted by a noseless head carved in stone ; and, underneath, was a cartoon drawn in chalk upon the door, evidently of a later date, and bearing a resem- blance to some of the same class in Cell's ' Pompeii.' Underneath was written in letters of an irregular alphabet, ^Chucry' — the entire drawing being, without doubt, some local pasquinade. "■' Not being able to obtain admittance at the door, we went on a short distance, and came to the ruins of the ancient ^ Wells,' of which part of the banqueting room * See ante-p. 8-I-. 94 " Punch " on Bagnigge Wells. still exists. These are entirely open to the public as well as the adjoining pleasure grounds, although the thick layer of brick-bats with which they are covered, renders walking a task of some difficulty. The adjacent premises of an eminent builder separate them by some cubits from the road of Gray's Inn, near which, what we suppose to be the ' Well ' is still visible. It is a round hole in the ground behind the ruins, filled up with rubbish and mosaics of oyster shells, but, at present, about eighteen inches deep. '^ It is very evident that the character of Bagnigge Wells has much altered within the last century. For, bearing that date, we have before us the ^ Song of the 'Prentice to his Mistress' in which the attractions of the place are thus set forth : — " ' Come, come. Miss Priscy, make it up, And we will lovers be : And we will go to Bagnigge Wells, And there we'll have some tea. And there you'll see the ladybirds All on the stinging nettles ; And there you'll see the water-works, And shining copper kettles. And there you'll see the fishes, Miss, More curious than whales ; They're made of gold and silver. Miss, And wag their little tails.' ^ ' With all due deference to Punch, I think his version is slightly, only slightly, inaccurate. I have before me five copies, two MS. and three printed, all of which run — " Come, prithee make it up. Miss, And be as lovers be, "Punch" on Bagnigge Wells. 95 " Of the wonders recounted in these stanzas, the sting- ing nettles alone remain flourishing, which they do in great quantity. The Waterworks are now confined to two spouts and a butt against the adjacent building ; and the gold and silver fishes separately, in the form of red herrings and sprats, have been removed to the stalls in the neighbourhood, with a great deal more of the wag in the dealer, than in themselves. " The real Bagnigge Wells, where company assemble to drink, at the present day, is next door to the ruins. The waters are never drank, however, now, without being strongly medicated, by a process carried on at the various brewers and distillers of the Metropolis : with- out this, they are supposed, by some classes, to be highly injurious. Their analysis have produced various results. Soda has been detected in one species, analogous to the We'll go to Bagnigge Wells, Miss, And there we'll have some tea. It's there you'll see the Lady-birds Perch'd on the Stinging Nettles ; The Chrystal water Fountain, And the Copper, shining Kettles. It's there you'll see the Fishes, More curious they than Whales, And they're made of Gold and Silver, Miss, And wags their little tails. Oh ! they wags their little Tails — They wags their little Tails Oh ! they're made of gold and silver. Miss, and they wags their little Tails. Oh ! dear ! Oh ! la ! Oh ! dear ! Oh ! la ! Oh! dear! Oh! la! How funny ! " 96 Decadence of "The Wells." German Seltzer, and designated ' Webb's ' ; others contain iron in appreciable quantities, and institute a galvanic circle, when quaffed from goblets formed from an alloy of tin and lead : in some constitutions quicken- ing the circulation, and raising the animal temperature — in others, producing utter prostration. " Flannel jackets, and brown paper caps appeared to be the costume of the valetudinarians who were drinking at the Wells, during our stay. We patronized the tepid spa by ordering ' Sixpennyworth warm,' as the potion was termed in the dialect of Bagnigge, for the purpose of drawing the proprietor into conversation. But he was, evidently, reluctant to impart much information, and told us nothing beyond what we already knew — a custom very prevalent at all the springs we have visited. '^ Lodgings, provisions, clothing, &c., are to be had at low rates in the neighbourhood, and there are several delightful spots in the vicinity of Bagnigge Wells. " The Excursion to Battle Bridge will be found highly interesting, returning by the Brill ; and, to the admirers of nature, the panorama from the summit of King's Cross, embracing the Small Pox Hospital, and Imperial Gas Works, with the very low countries surrounding them, is peculiarly worthy of especial notice." Two years previous to this notice, there was a para- graph in the 'Times (April 6, 1841) which shows how the Wells had fallen into decadence. " The Old Grotto, which had all the windows out, and was greatly dilapi- dated, and the upper part of the Garden Wall, was knocked down by some persons going along Bagnigge Road, early this morning." Bagnigge Wells. 97 The old place had fulfilled its mission. It had ministered to the recreation and amusement, harmless, or otherwise, of generations of Londoners, and it came to final grief, and disappeared in 1 844. Its name is still preserved in "The Bagnigge Wells" Tavern, 39, King's Cross Road, and that is all the reminiscence we have of this once famous place of recreative resort. CHAPTER IX. A LITTLE farther on, it washed the walls of Cold Bath Fields Prison, the House of Correction^ and we get a view of it in Hone's *' Table Book," ^ p. 75. Here he says, **^ In 1825, this was the first open view, nearest London, of the ancient River Fleet: it was taken during the building of the high arched walls connected with the House of Correction, Cold Bath Fields, close to which prison the river ran, as here seen. At that time, the newly erected walls communicated a peculiarly picturesque effect to the stream flowing with- in their confines." This '' House of Correction " was indebted for its birth to the famous John Howard, who had made an European tour, not to mention a home one, inquisitori- ally inspecting prisons. We all know the result of his labours ; how he exposed abuses fearlessly, and made men's hearts soften somewhat towards those incarcerated. ' Sec next page. lOO Cold Bath Fields Prison. Howard, writing in 1789, held that capital punishment should be abolished except for murder^ setting houses on fire, and for house breaking, attended with acts of cruelty. And speaking of his Penitentiaries, he says : '' To these houses, however, I would have none but THE ANCIENT RIVER FLEET, AT CLERKENWELL, 1825. old, hardened offenders, and those who have, as the laws now stand, forfeited their lives by robbery, house- breaking, and similar Crimes, should be committed ; or, in short, those Criminals who are to be confined for a long term or for life. . . . Cold Bath Fields Prison. ioi " The Penitentiary houses, I would have built j in a great measure, by the convicts. I will suppose that a power is obtained from Parliament to employ such of them as are now at work on the Thames, or some of those who are in the county gaols, under sentence of transportation, as may be thought most expedient. In the first place, let the surrounding wall, intended for full security against escapes, be completed, and proper lodges for the gate keepers. Let temporary buildings, of the nature of barracks, be erected in some part of this enclosure which would be wanted the least, till the whole is finished." This was a portion of his scheme, and Jie suggested that it should be located, where it was afterwards built, in Cold Bath Fields — because the situation was healthy, that good water could be obtained from the White Conduit, as the Charter House no longer required that source of supply, it being well served by the New River Company — that labour was cheap — and so was food, especially the coarse meat from the shambles at IsUngton. The prisoners were to have separate cells, so as to prevent the promiscuous herding of all, which had previously produced such mischievous results, and these cells were to be light and airy. The convicts of both sexes were to work, and their food was to be apportioned to the work they had to do. Also — a very great step in the right direction — they were all to wear a prison uniform. Howard, philanthropist as he was, was very far from lenient to the rogue. He was fully aware of the value of worky and specially provided that his rogues» I02 Cold Bath Fields Prison. in their reformation, should pass through the purifying process of hard labour. In later times, the way of transgressors was hard in that place, and it became a terror to evildoers, beins known bv the name of the English Bastile — which, however, amongst its patrons, was diminished, until it finally was abbreviated into *'the Steel" by which name it was known until its abolition.^ This cognomen was so well known, that, in 1799, a book was written by " A Middlesex Magistrate " en- titled " The Secrets of the English Bastile disclosed " — which was a favourable story of the management of the prison in Cold Bath Fields. Still, it was the subject of a Parliamentary inquiry, as we find in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1798-9, under date of Dec. 31, 1798, p. 398, that, in the House of Commons, Sir Francis Burdett gave notice of his intention of moving, at some future day, for a report relative to the system practised in the prison, called the House of Correction, Cold Bath Fields, with regard to the persons therein confined. In the " Parliamentary History of England," vol. xxxiv. p. ^66^ we learn that on Mar. 6, 1799, Mr. W. Dundas moved that a Select Committee be appointed to 'J. T. Smith in his " Vagabondiana," cd. 1815-1817, p. 51, alludes thus to the prison : " Perhaps the only waggery in public- house customs now remaining, is in the tap room of the Apple- tree, opposite to Cold Bath Fields Prison. There are a pair of hand cuffs fastened to the wires as bell-pulls, and the orders given by some of the company, when they wish their friends to ring, are, to 'Agitate the Conductor.'" Cold Bath Fields Prison. 103 inquire into the state of his Majesty's prison in Cold Bath Fields, Clerkenwell, and report the same, as it shall appear to them, together with their opinion there- upon, to the House ; and a Committee was appointed accordingly. Unfortunately, the pages of what, after- wards, become Hansard's^ do not record the result. But in the Annual Register for the same year on Dec. 2 1 St there was a long report respecting it during a debate on the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. Mr. Courtenay said, that, " having visited the prisons, he found the prisoners without fire, and without candles, denied every kind of society, exposed to the cold and the rain, allowed to breathe the air out of their cells only for an hour, denied every comfort, every innocent amusement, excluded from all intercourse with each other, and, each night locked up from all the rest of the world. He supposed it was scarcely necessary to inform the House, that the prison of which he had been speaking, was that in Cold Bath Fields, known by the name of the Bastille." There was a lot more non- sense of the same type talked by other M.P.'s and, it is needless to say, that the exaggerated statements were anent a political prisoner — who afterwards suffered death for treason. And in the remainder of the debate even the very foundation for the libel was destroyed. It is a curious fact, that people have an idea that political prisoners, who have done as much harm to the common- weal as they have the possibilitv of doing, are to be treated daintily, and with every consideration for their extremely sensitive feelings. We, perhaps, in these latter days, may read a profitable lesson in the suppression of treason. I04 Cold Bath Fields Prison. from the proper carrying out of the sentences legally imposed upon those who resist the law out of pure malice (legal). In the Gentleman's Magazine for 1796, is the following letter to — Dec. 10, 1795. Mr. Urban. — Your respect for the memory of Mr. Howard, will induce you to insert the inclosed view of the House of Correction for the County of Middlesex, formed principally on his judicious suggestions. It is situated on the North side of London, between Cold Bath Fields, and Gray's Inn Lane. The spot on which it is erected having been naturally swampy, and long used for a public lay-stall, it was found prudent to lay the foundation so deep, and pile it so securely, that it is supposed there are as many bricks laid underground as appear to sight. What is more to the purpose, the internal regulations of this place of security are believed to be perfectly well adapted to the salutary purposes to which the building is appropriated. *' Yours, &c., "EUGENIO." Still Cold Bath Fields Prison had an evil name — in all probability, because prisoners there, were treated as if they had sinned against the social canons, and were not persons to be coaxed and petted into behaviour such as would enable them to rank among their more honest fellows, and in this way wrote Coleridge and Southey in " The Devil's Walk," which was suggested by the Cold Bath Fields Prison. 105 pseudo Christos Brothers who as these gentlemen wrote : — ^ "He walked into London leisurely. The streets were dirty and dim : But there he saw Brothers, the Prophet, And Brothers the Prophet saw him." Well, in the Devil's rambles he came across Cold Bath Fields Prison — which, as I have said, was not beloved of the criminal class, and, simply, as I think, for the sake of saying something smart, and not that they ever had experienced incarceration, or is there any evidence that they had even seen the prison, they write : " As he passed through Cold Bath Fields he look'd At a solitary Cell ; And he was well-pleased, for it gave him a hint For improving the prisons of Hell. He saw a turnkey tie a thief's hands With a cordial try and a jerk ; Nimbly, quoth he, a man's fingers move When his heart is in his work. He saw the same turnkey unfettering a man With little expedition ; And he chuckled to think of his dear slave trade. And the long debates, and delays that were made Concerning its abolition." There is very little doubt, however, that, in the closing year of last, and the commencing one of this, * " Atter this I was in a vision, having the angel of God near mc, and saw Satan walking leisurely into London " (" Brothers' Prophecies," part i. p. 41). io6 Cold Bath Fields Prison. century, the conduct of the Governor — a man named Aris — was open to very grave censure. People outside imagined that all sorts of evils were being perpetrated within its walls, and, either through laxity, or too great severity, of discipline, something nigh akin to mutiny occurred in the prison in July, 1800 — which was promptly stopped by the presence of a company of the Clerkenwell Volunteers. In Auofust of the same year, there was another outbreak in the prison, the occupants shouting '' Murder," and that they were being starved, in tones loud enough to be heard outside, and, once more the Volunteers were the active agents in enforcing law and order. This latter " seething of the pot " lasted a few days, and it culminated in the discharge of the obnoxious Governor Aris. There is nothing noteworthy to chronicle of this prison from that date,^ all prison details being, neces- ^ I have met with a Newspaper Cutting, with no clue to its authenticity or date. " Dreadful Ravages of the Influenza in THE House of Correction. — Yesterday afternoon, Inquests were holden by William Baker, Esq., one of the Coroners for the County of Middlesex, at the House of Correction, Coldbath Fields, on no less than five individuals, namely, Peter Griffiths, Michael Hughes, James Jones, Thomas Lillie, and Ann Connard, all of whom had died from the effects of the present prevalent epidemic, or influenza, and who were inmates of that prison, and had been sentenced to different periods of imprisonment. It is a fact that, for the last two months, more prisoners have died in this prison, principally from the effects of influenza, than had died there during the whole of the preceding year." Possibly the poor Fleet River, at that time hardly degraded to the level of the Sewer — which now it is — may have had something to do with the unsanitary condition of the prison. — J. A. Cold Bath Fields Prison. 107 sarily, unsavoury — ^and this particular one was not watered with rose water. It was a place of hard work, and not likely to impress the unproductive class, with a wish to be permanent inhabitants thereof. Yet, as this present year witnessed its demolition, something more must be said respecting it. In the Globe newspaper of January i, 1887, is ^^is short paragraph: "Notices were yesterday posted on the walls of Coldbath Fields Prison, intimating that it is for sale. Tenders are invited for the site, and all buildings, &c., contained within the boundary walls. The prison covers an area of eight acres and three quarters." There ought to be some record of its dying days, for the demolition of a prison in a large community of people, like ours in London, must mean one of two things, either a diminution of crime, or, that the prison is not suitable to the requirements of the age. The Ninth Report of the Commissioners of Prisons, for the Year ended March 31, 1886, speaking of Pentonville Prison, says : "In November, 1885, the majority of the prisoners confined in Coldbath Fields Prison were transferred to this Prison ; and since that date, the remainder have also been removed here, that prison being now vacated, and in charge of a warder acting as caretaker. " The tread-wheel ^ has been taken down at Coldbath Fields Prison, and is in process of re-erection here. " The behaviour of the officers has been good, with the exception of four, discharged by order of the Prison Commissioners. ^ Adopted at Coldbath Fields Prison, July, 1822. io8 Cold Bath Fields Prison. " The conduct of the prisoners has been generally- good. " The materials and provisions supplied by the Con- tractors have been good, and have given satisfaction. " To meet the requirements of the local prison service, a room is being completed for the convenience of the members of the Visiting Committee who attend here, also a room for the daily collection of prisoners to see the medical officer, and other purposes, as well as various minor alterations found necessary since the transfer. " A bakehouse has been completed, and is in working order, supplying bread to all metropolitan prisons. " The routine and discipline have been carried out in the same general manner as heretofore. " The industrial labour continues to be attended with satisfactory results ; the greater portion is still devoted to supplying the wants of other prisons or Government establishments instead of the market. " Uniform clothing for officers is cut out here for all local prisons, and made up for a considerable number of the smaller prisons, also prisoners' clothing and bedding, hospital slippers for the Admiralty, as well as a large number of Cases and other articles for the General Post Office have been supplied. " The duties of the Chaplain's department have been performed uninterruptedly during the year, morning prayers have been said daily, and Divine Service has been performed on Sundays, Good Friday, and Christ- mas day, in the morning and afternoon, with a sermon at both services. The Holy Communion has been Cold Bath Fields Prison. 109 celebrated from time to time on Sundays and on the great Sunday Festivals. The hospital has been daily visited ; special attention has been paid to the prisoners confined in the punishment Cells, and constant oppor- tunity has been offered to all of private instruction and advice. Books from the prisoners' library have been issued to all who are entitled to receive them, all prisoners who cannot pass standard three, as set forth by the Education Committee have been admitted to school instruction. " School books and slates and pencils are issued to prisoners in their cells. " The medical officer states that the health of the prisoners at Coldbath Fields, and since the transfer to ' this prison, has been good. One case of small-pox \ occurred at Coldbath Fields ; as the prisoner had been \ some months in gaol, it was clear that he had caught x the disease, either from a warder, or from some prisoner recently received ; he had been a cleaner in the rotunda, and, of course, had been coming into contact with warders and prisoners alike, in the busiest part of the prison, the presumption is that the disease had been carried by the uniform of some warder. There were five cases of erysipelas at Coldbath Fields, and one at this prison, at the former place the cases came from all parts of the prison, new and old. The air shafts were thoroughly swept and limewashed, and disinfected as far as could be reached, and there is no doubt that it checked the disease. " The dietary has been satisfactory during the year, and the new pattern clothing a great improvement. no Cold Bath Fields Prison, " Every precaution is taken in classing prisoners for labour suited to their age, physique and health. " The sanitary arrangements are most carefully super- vised ; the ventilation in the cells is very good." I offer no apology for intruding this report of Prison life, which, if one took the trouble to look up the yearly reports, he would find they are all couched in almost identical language.^ I simply give it for the considera- tion of my readers — who, with myself, do not belong to the criminal classes — to show them how those who have preyed upon them, and have deservedly merited punishment, meet with treatment such as the indigent and industrious poor, when, fallen upon evil times, can not obtain, and the sooner these pampered criminals feel, through their flesh — either by the whip, hard labour, or hunger — that the wages of sin are not paid at a higher rate than that procurable by honest labour, the probability is that the community at large would be considerably benefited, and the criminal classes would be in a great measure deprived of clubs to which there is neither entrance fee, nor annual subscription, in which everything of the best quality is found them free of charge, and the health of their precious carcases specially looked after, and gratuitously attended to. ' Let any one compare, for instance, reports for 1884 and 1886. 1 CHAPTER X. COLDBATH FIELDS were, a hundred and twenty years ago, fairly rural, for (although it certainly is recorded as an abnormal occurrence) we find, in the Daily Courant, November 12, 1765, " Friday afternoon, about two o'clock, a hare crossed the New Road, near Dobney's Bowling green, ran to the New River Head, and from thence to Coldbath Fields, where, in some turning among the different avenues, she was lost. She appeared to have been hard run, by her dirty and shabby coat." These fields took their name from a spring (part of the River of Wells) which had its source there. A Mr. Walter Baynes of the Temple, who was, for his day, far-seeing, and made the most of the ** town lots " which were in the market, bought this plot of land, and at once utilized it to his profit. It was of some note, as we read in a book published in Oueen Anne's reign, "A New View of London," 1708, vol. ii. p. 785. \ 112 The "Cold Bath." " Cold Bath. The most noted and first ^ Rhout London was that near Sir John Oldcastle's^ where, in the Year 1697, Mr. Bains undertook and yet manages this busi- ness of Cold Bathing, which they say is good against Rheumatisms, Convulsions of the Nerves, &c., but of that, those that have made the Experiments are the best judges. The Rates are is. 6d. if the Chair is used,- and 2s. without it. Hours are from five in the morning to one, afternoon." We learn two things from this — the pristine exist- ence of " tub," and the fact that it was purely matutinal. Nay, from the same book we learn more, for, under the heading of " Southwark Cold Bath," we find that the " utmost time to be in, three minutes." At this latter places were " ex votos," so frequently seen at shrines on the Continent. " Here are eleven Crutches, which they say, were those of persons cured by this Water." Bathing was a luxury then — water was bought by the pailful, and a warm bath at the Hummums cost 5s., equal to between los. and 15s. of our money. Walter Baynes, Esq., of the Middle Temple, seems to have been a pushing man of business, and willing to make the most of his property. He traded on the un- ' Conduit. ^ This, I take it, refers to a practice mentioned in a pamphlet, "A Step to the Bath" (London, 1700), which I think is by Ned Ward. " The usual time being come to forsake that fickle Element, Half Tub Chairs, Lin'd with Blankets, Ply'd as thick as Coaches at the Play Home, or Carts at the Custom House" It has been suggested that the Chair was used for debilitated patients ; but, knowing the use of the term "Chair" at that epoch, I venture to propose my solution. Cold Bath. 113 cleanliness of the times, when baths were mostly used in case of illness, and daily ablution of the whole body was unknown. Ladies were quite content to dab their faces with some " fucus " or face wash, or else smear them with a greasy larded rag. The shock of a veri- table cold bath from a spring, must have astonished most of those who endured it, and no doubt invested it SOUTH VIEW OF THE COLD BATHS. with a mysterious merit which it did not possess, other- wise than by cleansing the skin, both by the washing, and the subsequent rubbing dry. However, we find Mr. Baynes advertising in the Post Boy J March 28, 1700, the curative effects of his wonderful spring. " This is to give notice that the 9 114 Cold Bath. Cold Baths in Sir John Oldcastle's field near the north end of Gray's Inn Lane, London, in all seasons of the year, especially in the spring and summer, has been foundj by experience, to be the best remedy in these following distempers, viz., Dizziness, Drowsiness, and heavyness of the head. Lethargies, Palsies, Convulsions, all Hectical creeping Fevers, heats and flushings. In- flammations and ebullitions of the blood, and spirits, all vapours, and disorders of the spleen and womb, also stiffness of the limbs, and Rheumatick pains, also shortness of the breath, weakness of the joints, as Rickets, &c., sore eyes, redness of the face, and all im- purities of the skin, also deafness, ruptures, dropsies, and jaundice. It both prevents and cures colds, creates appetite, and helps digestion, and makes hardy the tenderest constitution. The coach way is by Hockley in the Hole." Of course, viewed by the light of modern medical science, Mr. Baynes was a charlatan, and a quack, but he acted, doubtless, according to his lights, in those days ; and, if a few were killed, it is probable that many more were benefited by being washed. Sir Richard Steele, writing in 17 15, says thus : " On the Cold Bath at Oldcastle's." " Hail, sacred Spring ! Thou ever-living Stream, Ears to the Deaf, Supporters to the Lame, Where fair Hygienia ev'ry morn attends, And with kind Waves, her gentle Succour lends. While in the Cristal Fountain wc behold The trembling Limbs, Enervate, Pale and Cold ; A Rosy Hue she on the face bestows. And Nature in the chilling fluid glows, Sir John Oldcastle. 115 The Eyes shoot Fire, first kindled in the Brain, As beds of Lime smoke after showers of Rain ; The fiery Particles concentred there, Break ope' their Prison Doors and range in Air ; Hail then thou pow'rful Goddess that presides O'er these cold Baths as Neptune o'er his Tides, Receive what Tribute a pure Muse can pay For Health that makes the Senses Brisk and Gay, The fairest Offspring of the heavenly Ray." At one time there was a famous house of refreshment and recreation, either called the Cobham's Head, or the Sir John Oldcastle — or there were one of each. Au- thorities differ, and, although I have spent some time and trouble in trying to reconcile so-called facts, I have come to the conclusion that, for my reader's sake, le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle. There is a tradition that Sir John Oldcastle who was a famous Lollard in the time of Henry V., either had an estate here, or hid in a house of entertainment there, during his persecution for faith. But the whole is hazy. We know that there was a Sir John Oldcastle, who was born in the fourteenth century, and who was the fourth husband of Joan, Lady Cobham, in whose right he took the title of Lord Cobham. We know also, that he enjoyed the friendship of Henry V., and was of his household. But he got imbued with the doctrines of Wyclif, was cited to appear, more than once, before the ecclesiastical authorities, declined the invitations, and was duly excommunicated. He wrangled with the priests, got committed to the Tower, escaped and hid in Wales, was accused of heading a trumpery insurrec- tion, and was, finally, captured, tried, and hanged in ii6 Archery. chains alive, upon a gallows in St. Giles' Fields, when, fire being put under him, he was slowly roasted to death in December, 141 7. A pious nobleman, like the late Lord Shaftesbury, for instance, was not popular at that time, if we may believe a few lines from " Wright's Political Songs from Edward II. to Henry VI." " Hit is unkindly for a Knight That shuld a kynges castel kepe, To bable the Bible day and night, In rcstyng time when he shuld slepe, And carefoly away to crepe ; For alle the chefe of chivalrie, Wei ought hym to wail and wepe, That swyche ^ lust is in Lollardic." The English were always famous bowmen, and archery — although gunpowder has long superseded bows and arrows in warfare — still is a favourite and fashion- able pastime, witness the Toxopholite Society in Regent's Park, and the various Archery associations throughout the kingdom ; so that it is not remarkable that an open space like Coldbath Fields should vie with the Artillery ground at Finsbury, in favour with the citizens, as a place for this sport ; and we find, in Queen Anne's reign, that the Sir John Oldcastle was frequented by Archers. And for this information we may thank that old sinner, John Bagford (who spoilt so many books for the sake of their title-pages) for pre- serving. It tells its own story : — - " All gentlemen of the ancient and noble exercise of ^ Such pleasure. " Harl. MSS., 5961. Tea Gardens. 117 Archery, are invited to the annual dinner of the Clerken- well Archers, Mrs. Mary Barton's, at the sign of Sir John Oldcastle (Cold Bath Fields) on Friday, July 18, 1707, at one o'clock, and to pay the bearer, Thomas Beaumont, Marshall, 2s. 6d., taking a sealed ticket, that a certain number may be known, and provision made accordingly. Nath. Axtall, Esq., and Edward Bromwich, Gent., Stewards." There were very pleasant gardens attached to this tavern, and, like all the suburban places of recreation, they were well patronized, and they gave a very decent amusement in the shape of music — instrumental and vocal — and, occasionally, fireworks. But there seems to have been the same difficulty then, as now, as to keeping outdoor amusements, if not select, at least decorous, for, acccording to the Daily Advertisement of June 3, 1745, " Sir John Oldcastle's Gardens, Cold Bath Fields. This evening's entertainment will continue the Summer Season. The Band consists of the best masters. Six- pence for admission, for which they have a ticket, which ticket will be taken as sixpence in their reckoning. Particular care will be taken that the provisions shall be the very best in their separate kinds ; likewise to keep a just decorum in the gardens. Note. — Several ladies and gentlemen that come to the gardens give the drawers their tickets, which is no benefit to the proprietor ; therefore it's humbly desired that if any gentlemen or ladies don't chuse to have the value of their tickets in liquor, or eating, they will be so kind as to leave them at the bar." ii8 Smallpox Hospital. As a place of amusement, it seems, even in 1745, to have been on the wane. In 1758 the Smallpox Hospital was built close to it, and in 1761 the Sir John Oldcastle was bought by the trustees of the hospital, in order to enlarge it, and was pulled down in 1762. Noorthouck ("New History of London," ed. 1763, p. 752), speaking of Cold Bath Square, in which was the famed cold bath, says, " The North side of this square is, as yet, open to the fields, but a little to the east stands the Small Pox Hospital for receiving patients who catch the disease in the natural way ; and is a very plain, neat structure. The Center, which projects a little from the South. Front THE SMALLPOX HOSPITAL IN COLD BATH FIELDS. rest of the building, is terminated on the top by an angular pediment, on the apex of which is placed a vase upon a small pedestal. This excellent charity was in- stituted in the year 1 746, and is supported by a sub- The Pantheon. 119 scription of noblemen, gentlemen, and ladies, who were desirous that a charity useful in itself, and so beneficial to the public, might be begun near this great metropolis, there not being any hospital of the kind in Europe. A neat hospital for inoculating this disorder has been lately built clear of the town on the north side of the New Road."i In 1 79 1 this hospital wanted extensive repairs, which would need an outlay of about ^800 ; and the trustees, not willing to incur this expense, built another on the site of the Inoculating Hospital at Islington ; and thither, when it was finished, all the patients were removed from Cold Bath Fields. But their new home was wanted for the Great Northern Railway, and another place was built, and still is, on Highgate Hill. The old building in Cold Bath Fields was first of all used as a distillery, and afterwards subdivided. Ouoting ag;ain from Noorthouck : " Eastward from the Small Pox Hospital, on the south side of the Spaw- field, is an humble imitation of the Pantheon in Oxford Road ; calculated for the amusement of a suitable class of company ; here apprentices, journeymen, and clerks dressed to ridiculous extremes, entertain their ladies on Sundays ; and to the utmost of their power, if not ^ Noorthouck (book i. p. 358) says, "It is to be observed that in 1746, an hospital was founded by subscription between London and Islington, for relieving poor people afflicted with the smallpox, and for inoculation. This is said to be the first foundation of the kind in Europe, and consisted of three houses; one in Old Street for preparing patients for inoculation ; another in Islington " (Lower Street) " when the disease appeared, and the third in Cold Bath fields for patients in the natural way." I20 The Pantheon. beyond their proper power, affect the dissipated manners of their superiors. Bagnigge Wells and the White Conduit House, two other receptacles of the same kind, with gardens laid out in miniature taste, are to be found within the compass of two or three fields, together with Sadler's Wells, a small theatre for the summer exhibition of tumbling, rope-dancing, and other drolls, in vulgar stile. The tendency of these cheap, enticing places of pleasure just at the skirts of this vast town is too ob- vious to need further explanation ; they swarm with loose women, and with boys, whose morals are thus depraved, and their constitution ruined, before they arrive at manhood. ; indeed, the licentious resort to the tea- drinking gardens was carried to such excess every night, that the magistrates lately thought proper to suppress the organs in their public rooms." There is no doubt but that some of these tea-gardens needed reform ; so much so, that the grand jury of Middlesex, in May, 1744, made a presentment of several places which, in their opinion, were not conducive to the public morality ; and these were two gaming-houses near Covent Garden, kept by the ladies Mordington and Castle ; Sadler's Wells near the New River head, the New Wells in Goodman's Fields, the New Wells near the London Spaw in Clerkenwell ; and a place called Hallam's Theatre in Mayfair, A possibly fair account of these gardens is found in the St. James's Chronicle, May [4-16, 1772 : " To the Printer of the S. J. Chronicle. " Sir, — Happening to dine last Sunday with a Friend The Pantheon. 121 in the City, after coming from Church, the Weather being very inviting, we took a walk as far as Islington. In our Return home towards Cold Bath Fields, we stepped in, out of mere Curiosity, to view the Pantheon there ; but such a Scene of Disorder, Riot, and Con- fusion presented itself to me on my Entrance, that I was just turning on my Heel, in order to quit it, when my friend observing to me that we might as well have something for our Money (for the Doorkeeper obliged each of us to deposit a T'ester before he granted us Admittance), I acquiesced in his Proposal, and became one of the giddy Multitude. I soon, however, repented of my Choice; for, besides having our Sides almost squeezed together, we were in Danger every Minute of being scalded by the Boiling Water, which the officious Mercuries ^ were circulating with the utmost Expedition thro' their respective Districts : We began therefore to look out for some Place to sit down in, which, with the greatest Difficulty, we at length procured, and, pro- ducing our Tickets, were served with Twelve penny- worth of Punch. Being seated towards the Front of one of the Galleries, I had now a better Opportunity of viewing this dissipated Scene. The Male Part of the Company seemed to consist chiefly of City Apprentices, and the lower Class of Tradesmen. The Ladies, who constituted by far the greater Part of the Assembly, seemed, most of them, to be Pupils of the Cyprian Goddess, and appeared to be thoroughly acquainted with, their Profession, the different Arts and Manoeuvres of which they played off with great Freedom, and I doubt ^ Sec p. 89. 122 The Pantheon. not with equal Success. Whatever Quarter I turned my Eyes to, I was sure to be saluted with a Nod, a Wink, or a Smile ; and was even sometimes accosted with, ' Pray, Sir, will you treat me with a Dish of Tea ? ' ... A Bill, I think, was in Agitation this Session of Parliament for enforcing the Laws already made for the better Observance of Sunday. Nothing, in my Opinion, tends more to its Profanation, among the lower Class of People, than the great Number of Tea Houses, in the Environs of London ; the most exceptionable of which that I have had Occasion to be in, is the Pantheon. I could wish them either totally suppressed or else laid under some Restrictions, particularly on the Sabbath Day. " I am, " Sir, " Your Constant Reader, " and occasional Correspondent, " Chiswickj May 5. Speculator." This Pantheon was a large circular building sur- mounted by a statue of Fame. It was well warmed by a stove in its centre, and the grounds were prettily laid out. There were the usual walks, flower-beds, and pond, in the centre of which was a statue of Hercules, and, of course, the usual out-of-door refreshment boxes, or arbours. But it is just possible that it was owing to its somewhat disreputable conduct that the landlord became bankrupt in 1774, and the Pantheon was offered for sale. It was closed as a place of amusement in 1776, and the famous Countess of Huntingdon had some Lady Huntingdon's Chapel. . 123 idea of utilizing it for the propagation of her peculiar religious views. However, the sum necessary for alterations, proved too much for her ladyship, yet by a strange mutation of fortune, somewhat akin to what we have seen in our time, in the Grecian Theatre in the City Road, being taken by the Salvation Army, the Pantheon was turned into a Proprietary Chapel, called Northampton Chapel, which was served by clergymen of the Church of England of strictly Evangelical principles, and it filled so well, that the incumbent of the parish church asserted his right to preach there whenever he liked, and also to nominate its chaplains. This the pro- prietors did not quite see, and they closed the chapel. Then Lady Huntingdon bought it, and, henceforth, it was called Spa Fields Chapel. The illustration ^ is taken from the New Spiritual Magazine^ and I do not think that an uglier building could be produced. Probably the statue of Fame was obliged to be removed, but the ventilator in its place was certainly not an improvement. However, it is now pulled down ; but, before its demolition, it had to pass through the ordeal of more proceedings at law. As long as the chapel was served by clergy, nominally belonging to the Church of England, so long did the incumbent of St. James's, Clerkenwell, assert his right to the patronage of it. The Countess relied on her privilege as a peeress, to appoint her own Chaplain, but this was overridden by competent legal opinion, and nothing was left but for the officiating clergy to secede from the Church of England, and 'take the oath of ' See next page. Lady Huntingdon. 125 allegiance as Dissenting Ministers. This the Countess did not relish ; she would £iin be in the fold, and yet not of the fold, as do many others of this age, but she had to e^t- the leek. She had the proud privilege of fouidi ng a religious sect, and she left the bulk of her large property, after very generous legacies, to the sup- port of sixty-four chapels vv^hich she had established throughout the kingdom. She died at her house in Spa Fields, and was buried at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in Leices- tershire, " dressed in the suit of white silk which she wore at the opening of a chapel in Goodman's Fields." ^ ^ Ge?itleman^s Mngnzi/ie, vol. Ixi. (1791), p. 589. The Chapel was pulled down in January or February, 1887. CHAPTER XI. IT is almost impossible to write about anything con- nected with Spa Fields, without mentioning the famous " Spa Fields Riots," which occurred on Dec. 2, 1 8 16. In every great city there will always be a leaven of disquietude : demagogues who have nothing to lose, but all to gain, will always find an audience for their outpourings ; and, often, the ignorant, and unthinking, have only to be told, by any knave, that they are under- paid, downtrodden, or what not, and they are ready to yell, with their sweet breaths, that they are. So was it then in 18 16. And it is also remarkable how history repeats itself; for, part of the scheme proposed by the agitators on that day, was exactly similar to the proposals of certain Irishmen and Socialists of our time — teste the following hand-bill, taken from the 'Times^ the newspaper of Dec. 7, 1816. " Spence's Plan. For Parochial Partnerships in the Land, is the only effectual Remedy for the Distresses 128 The Spencean System. and Oppression of the People. The Landowners are not Proprietors in Chief; they are but the Stewards of the Public; For the Land is the People's Farm. The Expenses of the Government do not cause the Misery that surrounds us, but the enormous exactions of these ' Unjust Stewards' Landed Monopoly is in- deed equally contrary to the benign spirit of Christianity, and destructive of the Independence and Morality of Mankind. " ' The Profit of the Earth is for all.' " Yet how deplorably destitute are the great Mass of the People ! Nor is it possible for their situations to be radically amended, but by the establishment of a system, founded on the immutable basis of Nature and Justice. Experience demonstrates its necessity and the rights of mankind require it for their preservation. " To obtain this important object, by extending the knowledge of the above system, the Society of Spencean Philanthropists has been instituted. Further informa- tion of it's principles may be obtained by attending any of it's sectional meetings, where subjects are discussed, calculated to enlighten the human understanding, and where, also, the regulations of the society may be pro- cured, containing a Complete development of the Spencean system. Every individual is admitted free of expense, who will conduct himself with decorum. First Section every Wednesday at the Cock, Grafton Street, Soho. Second ■>■> ■>■> Thursday »> MulberryTree,MulbcrryCt., Wilson Street, Mooriields. Third •» »» Monday ■>■> Nag's Head, Carnaby Mrkt. Fourth I") ■>■> Tuesday " No. 8, Lumber St., Mint, Borough." Orator Hunt. 129 There ! does not that read exactly like a modern speech delivered in Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, or Dublin ? Of course it was the old story of Demagogy. The pot boiled, the scum came to the top, and it boiled over, so that, one fine day, there was a riot. It was a period of distress for the working classes, who did not then, as now, swarm into London from all parts of England, and expect Jupiter to help them ; but then, as now, the rich were ever willing to help their poorer brethren, for, in the very same 'Times newspaper that gives an account of this Spa Fields Riot, there is a list of subscriptions towards the relief of distress in Spitalfields alone, amounting to over ^18,000. The story is one that should be told, because it has its lesson and its parallel in all time. The ruling spirit of the movement was Henry Hunt, generally called Orator Hunt, a man fairly well to do, and who did not agitate for the sake of his daily bread. The occasion of the meeting in Spa Fields, at which some 10,000 people were present, was to receive the answer of the Prince Regent to a petition from the distressed mechanics of London and its vicinity for relief. It was held first of all in front of the " Merlin's Cave " (a name which still survives at 131, Rosom.on Street, Clerkenwell), and afterwards in the adjacent fields. The following account of the riots is from the Times of Dec. 3, 1816 : " A.S a prelude to the scene that followed, and with the spirit of the ruling demagogue, a person mounted a coal waggon with three flags, on which were inscribed certain mottoes ; and, after having harangued a small audience, 10 130 Orator Hunt. draughted off from the general body, proceeded to the city, where the acts of violence were perpetrated, which will be found in another part of our paper. " The speech of this orator, and the conduct of his audience, we shall give in an extract from an evening paper as we were not present at the first part of the drama ourselves. " ' In the field was a Coal waggon, upon which were mounted about twenty persons, chiefly in the dress of sailors. Several flags were displayed ; two tricoloured ones, on one of which was the following inscription : " 'Nature, Truth, and Justice ! Feed the Hungry ! Protect the Oppressed ! Punish Crimes ! ' " ' On a second tricoloured flag, no inscription. " ' On a third white flag was inscribed in red letters the following : " ' The brave Soldiers are our Brothers ; treat them kindly.' " ' Many had bludgeons, and others pockets flill of stones. One person in the waggon then addressed the meeting in the following strain : — " I am sorry to tell you that our application to the Prince has failed. He, the father of his people, answered — ' My family have never attended to Petitions but fi-om Oxford and Cam- bridge, and the City of London.' And is this Man the father of the people ? No. Has he listened to your petition ? No. The day is come — (// is. It is, from the Orator Hunt. 131 mob.) We must do more than words. We have been oppressed for 800 years since the Norman Conquest. If they would give ye a hod, a shovel, a spade, and a hoe, your mother earth would supply you. (^«-» a) — ^ — Bay - liff, Dun, or n* — ' ! Set * — ^=^=\ 6* — ^— ter Dare to —f • shew their fright-ful r 1 r — • — s — ^ J 1 f-l— =z f ' \ :t=: -^^ FV:^:: it: i- !28o Admission to the Fleet Prison. face. But, kind Sir, as you're a Stran- ger, Down your Gar - nish you must lay, Or your Gsat will be in Danger, — You must ei - tbcr strip or pay. Here we see, very vividly depicted, the introduction of a new prisoner ; the Chamberlain is introducing him The Humours of the Fleet. 281 to the Cook, whilst the Goaler and Tapster seem, already, to have made his acquaintance. The notes appended to the Poem are in the original. After a somewhat long exordium on prosperity and poverty, together with the horrors of a spunging- house, and imagining that the debtor has obtained his Habeas^ which would permit him to choose his prison, the Poet thus sings : "Close b)' the Borders of a slimy Flood, Which now in secret rumbles thro' the Mud ; (Tho' heretofore it roll'd expos'd to Light, Obnoxious to th' offended City's Sight.) ^ " Twin Arches now the Sable Stream enclose Upon whose Basis late a Fabrick rose ; In whose extended oblong Boundaries, Are Shops and Sheds, and Stalls of all Degrees, For Fruit, Meat, Herbage, Trinkets, Pork and Peas A prudent City Scheme, and kindly meant ; The Town's oblig'd, their Worships touch the Rent. "Near this commodious Market's miry Verge, The Prince of Prisons Stands, compact and large ; When, by the Jigger's = more than magick Charm, Kept from the Pow'r of doing Good — or Harm, Relenting Captives only ruminate Misconduct past, and curse their present State ; Tho' sorely griev'd, few are so void of Grace, As not to wear a seeming chearful Face : ' Where the Fleet Market is now, there was, a few Years since, a Ditch, with a Muddy Channel of Water. The Market was built at the expense of the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, who receive the Rent for it. = The Door-keeper, or he who opens and shuts the Jigg,'\^ call'd the Jigger. 282 The Humours of the Fleet. In Drinks or Sports ungrateful Thoughts must die. For who can bear Heart-wounding Calumny ? Therefore Cabals engage of various Sorts, To walk, to drink, or play at different Sports : Here, on the oblong Table's verdant Plain, The ivory Ball bounds, and rebounds again ; There, at Backgammon, two sit tete a tett\ And curse alternately their Adverse Fate ; These are at Cribbage, those at Whist engag'd And, as they lose, by turns become enrag'd : Some of more sedentary Temper, read Chance-medley Books, which duller Dullness breed ; Or Politicks in Coffee-Room, some pore The Papers and Advertisements thrice o'er : Warm'd with the Jlderfna?i,~ some set up late. To fix th' Insolvent Bill, and Nation's Fate ; Hence, knotty Points at different Tables rise. And either Party's wond'rous, wond'rous wise : Some of low Taste, ring Hand Bells, direful Noise ! And interrupt their Fellows' harmless Joys ; Disputes more noisy now a Ouarrel breeds. And Fools on both Sides fall to Loggerheads : Till wearied with persuasive Thumps and Blows, They drink, and Friends, as tho' they ne'er were Foes. "Without Distinction, intermix'd is seen, A 'Squire quite dirty, a Mechanick clean : The Spendthrift Heir, who in his Chariot roll'd. All his Possessions gone. Reversions sold. Now mean, as once Profuse, the stupid Sot Sits by a Runner's Side,3 and shules 4 a Pot. ^ Billiards is a very common Game here. 2 Fine Ale drank in the Coffee-Room, call'd the Alderman^ because brew'd at Alderman Parson's. 3 A Runner^ is a Fellow that goes Abroad of Errands for the Prisoners. •* A common Cant word for Mumping. The Humours of the Fleet. 283 "Some Sots ill-manner'd, drunk, a harmless Fight ! Rant noisy thro' the Galleries all Night ; For which, if Justice had been done of late. The Pump ^ had been three pretty Masters Fate. With Stomacks empty, and Heads full of Care Some Wretches swill the Pump and walk the Bare ;^ Within whose ample Oval is a Court, \ Where the more Active and Robust resort, V And glowing, exercise a manly Sport j (Strong Exercise with mod'rate Food is good, It drives in sprightful Streams the circling Blood ;) While these with Rackets strike the flying Ball, Some play at Nine Pins, Wrestlers take a Fall ; Beneath a Tent some drink, and some above Are slily in their Chambers making Love ; Vejius and Bacchus each keeps here a Shrine, And many Vot'ries have to Love and Wine. "Such the Amusement of this merry Jail, Which you'll not reach, if Friends or Money fail : For e'er its three-fold Gates it will unfold. The dcstin'd Captive must produce some Gold : Four Guineas, at the least, for diff'rent Fees, Compleats your Habeas^ and commands the keys ; Which done, and safely in, no more you're led. If you have Cash, you'll find a Friend and Bed ; But, that deficient, you'll but 111 betide. Lie in the Hall, 3 perhaps, or Common Side.* ^ Persons who give any considerable Offence, are often try'd» and undergo the Discipline of the Pump. The Author was one ot these in a drunken Frolick, for which he condemns himself. 2 A spacious Place, where there are all Sorts of Exercises, but especially Fives. 3 A Publick Place, free for all Prisoners. 4 Where those lie who can't pay their Master's Fee. 284 The Humours of the Fleet. " But now around you gazing Jiggers ' swarm, To draw your Picture, that's their usual Term ; Your Form and Features strictly they survey, Then leave you, (if you can) to run away. "To them succeeds the Chamberlain, to see If you and he are likely to agree ; Whether you'll tip,= or pay your Master's Fee. 3 Ask him how much ? 'Tis one Pound six and eight; And, if you want, he'll not the Twopence bate : When paid, he puts on an important Face, And shews Mount Scoundrel* for a charming Place : You stand astonish'd at the darken'd Hole, Sighing, the Lord have Merey on my Soul ! And ask, have you no other Rooms, Sir, pray ? Perhaps enquire what Rent too, you're to pay : Entreating that he wou'd a better seek ; The Rent (cries gruffly 's) — Half a Crown a Week. The Rooms have all a Price, some good, some bad ; But pleasant ones at present can't be had : This Room, in my Opinion's not amiss ; \ Then cross his venal Palm with half a Piece 5 v He strait accosts you with another Face. ; ' There are several of those Jiggers or Doorkeepers, who re- lieve one another, and when a Prisoner comes first in, they take a nice Observation of him, for fear of his escaping. * A cant Word for giving some Money in order to shew a Lodging. 3 Which is One Pound Six Shillings and Eightpence, and then you are entitled to a Bed on the Master's Side, for which you pay so much per week. ♦ Mount Scoundrel, so call'd from its being so highly situated, and belonging once to the Common Side, tho' lately added to the Master's; if there be room in the House, this Place is first empty, and the Chamberlain commonly shews this to raise his price upon you for a better. 5 Half a Guinea. The Humours of the Fleet. 28^ " Sir you're a Gentleman ; — I like you well, But who are such at first, we cannot tell ; Tho' your Behaviour speaks you what I thought. And therefore I'll oblige you as I ought : " How your Affairs may stand, I do not know. But here. Sir, Cash docs frequently run low. I'll serve you, — don't be lavish, — only mum ! Take my Advice, I'll help you to a Chum ! ^ A Gentleman, Sir, — see, and hear him speak. With him you'll pay but fifteen Pence a Week ;^ Yet his Apartment 's on the Upper Floor,3 Well furnish'd, clean and nice ; who'd wish for more ? A Gentleman of Wit and Judgment too ! Who knows the Place ;■* what's what, and who is who ; My Praise, alas ! can't equal his Deserts ; In brief, — you'll find him, Sir, a Man of Parts. " Thus, while his fav'rite Friend he recommends, He compasses at once their several Ends; The new come Guest is pleas'd, that he should meet So kind a Chamberlain, a Chum so neat : But, as conversing thus, they nearer come. Behold before his Door, the destin'd Chum. "Why stood he there, himself could scarcely tell ; But there he had not stood, had Things gone well : ' A Bedfellow so call'd. '■^ When you have a Chum, you pay but 15 Pence per Week each, and, indeed, that is the Rent of the whole Room, if you find Furniture. 3 The Upper Floors are accounted best here, for the same reason as they arc at Edinburgh, which, I suppose, every Body knows. 4 It is common to mention the Fleet by the Name of the Place, and I suppose it is call'd the Place by way of Eminence, because there is not such another. 286 The Humours of the Fleet. Had one poor Half-penny but blest his Fob, Or, if in Prospect he had seen a Job, H'had strain'ed his Credit for a Dram of Bob,^ But now, in pensive Mood, with Head down cast, His Eyes transfix'd as tho' they look'd their last ; One Hand his open Bosom lightly held, And one an empty Breeches Pocket fill'd. His Dowlas Shirt no Stock or Cravat bore. And on his Head, no Hat or Wig he wore ; But a once black shag Cap, surcharg'd with Sweat ; His Collar, here a Hole, and there a Pleat; Both grown alike in Colour, that — alack ! This, neither now was White, nor that was Black ; But match'd his dirty yellow Beard so true. They form'd a three-fold Cast of Brick dust Hue ; Meagre his Look, and in his nether Jaw Was stufF'd an elemosynary Chaw ; = (Whose Juice serves present Hunger to asswage, Which yet returns again with tenfold Rage ;) His Coat, which catch'd the Droppings from his Chin, Was clos'd at Bottom with a Corking-Pin ; His Breeches Waistband a long Skewer made fast, While he from Scotland 'DnnghWl^ snatch'd in Haste ; His Shirt-Tail thin as Lawn, but not so white. Barely conceal'd his lank Affairs from Sight ; Loose were his Knee Bands, and unty'd his Hose, Coax'd^ in the Heel, in pulling o'er his Toes ; Which spite of all his circumspective Care, Did thro' his broken dirty Shoes appear. ^ A Cant Word for a Drain of Geneva, 2 A Chew of Tobacco, suppos'd to be given him. 3 The Necessary House, is (by the Prisoners) commonly call'd Scotland, near which is a dung-hill. 4 When there are Holes above Heel, or the Feet are so bad in a Stocking, that you are forced to pull them to hide the Holes, or cover the Toes, it is called coaxing. The Humours of the Fleet. 287 "Just in this hapless Trim and pensive Plight, The old Collegian* stood confess'd to Sight; Whom, when our new-come Guest at first beheld. He started back, with great Amazement fill'd ; Turns to the Chamberlain, says, bless my Eyes ! \ Is this the Man you told me was so nice ? V I meant his Room was so Sir, he replies ; ) The Man is now in Dishabille and Dirt, He shaves To-morrow tho', and turns his Shirt ; Stand not at Distance, I'll present you, come My Friend, how is't ? I've brought you here a Chum ; One that's a Gentleman ; a worthy Man, And you'll oblige me, serve him all you can. "The Chums salute, the old Collegian first Bending his Body almost to the Dust ; Upon his Face unusual Smiles appear And long abandon'd Hope his Spirits chear Thought he, Relief's at hand, and I shall eat ; j Will you walk in, good Sir, and take a Seat ! V We have what's decent here, tho' not compleat ; ) As for myself, I scandalize the Room, But you'll consider, Sir, that I'm at Home ; Tho' had I thought a Stranger to have seen, I should have ordered Matters to've been clean ; But here, amongst ourselves, we never mind. Borrow or lend — reciprocally kind ; Regard not Dress ; — tho' Sir, I have a Friend Has Shirts enough, and, if you please, I'll send. No Ceremony, Sir, you give me Pain ; I have a clean Shirt, Sir. — But have you twain ? ^ As the Prison is often call'd the College, so it is common to call a prisoner, a Collegiafi ; and this character is taken from a man who had been many Years in the Place, and like to continue his Life; but it is hard for those who had not seen him to judge of the Truth of the Draught. 288 The Humours of the Fleet. O, yes, and twain to boot, and those twice told, Besides, I thank my Stars, a Piece of Gold. Why, then I'll be so free. Sir, as to borrow, I mean a Shirt, Sir, — only till To-morrow. You're welcome. Sir, — I'm glad you are so free. Then turns the old Collegian round with Glee ; Whispers the Chamberlain with secret Joy, We live to-night ! — I'm sure he'll pay his Foy : Turns to his Chum again with Eagerness, And thus bespeaks him with his best Address ; "See, Sir, how pleasant, what a Prospect's there ; Below you see them sporting on the Bare ; Above, the Sun, Moon, Star, engage the Eye, And those Abroad can't see beyond the Sky : These rooms are better far than those beneath, A clearer Light, a sweeter Air we breath ; A decent Garden does our Window grace. With Plants untainted, undistain'd the Glass ; And welcome Showers descending from above In gentle Drops of Rain, which Flowers love : In short. Sir, nothing can be well more sweet : But, I forgot — perhaps you chuse to eat ; Tho', for my part, I've nothing of my own, To-day I scrap'd my Yesterday's Blade Bone ; But we can send — Ay, Sir, with all my Heart, (Then very opportunely enters Smart).^ O, here's our Cook, he dresses all Things well ; Will you sup here, or do you chuse the Cell ? There's mighty good Accommodations there. Rooms plenty, or a Box in Bartholm' Fair ; ^ There, too, we can divert you, and may shew Some Characters are worth your while to know, ' The name of the Cook in the Kitchen. 2 A place in the Cellar, called Bartholomew Fair, The Humours of the Fleet. 289 Replies the new Collegian, nothing more I wish to see, be pleas'd to go before ; And, Smart, provide a handsome Dish for Four. " Too generous Man ! but 'tis our hapless Fate In all Conditions, to be wise too late ; For, even in Prison, those who have been free. Will shew, if able, Generosity ; Yet find, too soon, when lavish of their Store, How hard, when gone, it is to come at more ; And every Artifice in vain explore. Some Messages Abroad, by Runners send. Some Letters write to move an absent Friend ; And by Submission, having begg'd a Crown, In one night's Revel here they'll kick it down.^ 'Tis true, this one Excuse they have indeed, When others Cole it,^ they as freely bleed ; 3 When the Wind's fair, and brings in Ships with Store + Each spends in turn, and trusts to Fate for more. " The future Chums and Chamberlain descend The Dirt 5 knot Stairs, and t'wards the kitchen bend ; Which gain'd, they find a merry Company, Listening to Tales (from Smart) of Baudry, All introduced with awkward Simile,^ Whose Applications miss the Purpose pat. But in the Fire now burns th' unheeded Fat, ^ A phrase for spending Money fast. ^ Cole, signifies Money. 3 Bleed also signifies spending. 4 When a Messenger or Friend brings Money from abroad to the Prisoners, it is usual to say a Ship is arriv'd. s Some of the Dirt upon the Stairs is trod into knots so hard it is almost impossible to break it. ^ Smart generally begins his Stories with a Tkat^s like, &c., tho* it is not at all like the Story he tells. 20 290 The Humours of the Fleet. Whose sudden Blaze brings L — nd — r ' roaring in ; Then Smart looks foolish, and forsakes his Grin. The laughing Audience alter, too, their Tone, For who can smile, that sees Tom L — nd — r frown ? He, magisterial rules the panic Cell, And rivals Belzebub, — in looking well : Indignant now, he darts malicious Eyes, While each Dependant from the Kitchen flies ; Leaves S?nart to combat with his furious Ire, Who heeds him not, but strives to clear the Fire; Blowing and stirring still, no Pains he spares. And mute remains, while Major Domo swears ; Who bellows loud Anathemas on Smart, And the last Curse he gives is D — n your Heart ; His trembling Lips are pale, his Eyeballs roll ; Till, spent with Rage, he quits him with a Growl. "Now, as our new-come Guest observ'd this Scene, (As odd an one, perhaps, as could be seen) He first on Smart, next on his Master gaz'd. And at the two extreams seem'd much amaz'd ; Which Smart perceiving, says in sober Mood, Sir, I've a thousand Times his Fury stood ; But, yet, the Man tho' passionate, is good ; I never speak when he begins to bawl. For, should I swear like him, the House would fall." Here follow two or three pages of but little interest to the reader and the Story continues : " But I forgot ; — the Stranger and his Chum, With t'other to, to BartBTmew Fair are come ; Where, being seated, and the Supper past. They drink so deep, and put about so fast. ^ The Master of the Cellar, a Man of a variable Temper, very passionate, malicious, and ill-natur'd at some times, at others very well. The Humours of the Fleet. 291 That 'ere the warning Watchman walks about, With dismal Tone repeating, — Who goes out ? ^ 'Ere St. Paul's Clock no longer will withold From striking Ten, and the Voice cries, — All told.^ 'Ere this, our new Companions, every one In roaring Mirth and Wine, so far were gone, That every Sense from ev'ry Part was fled. And were with Difficulty got to Bed ; Where in the Morn, recover'd from his Drink, The new Collegian may have Time to think ; And, recollecting how he spent the Night, Explore his Pockets, and not find a Doit. " Too thoughtless Man ! to lavish thus away A Week's Support in less than half a Day ; But 'tis a Curse attends this wretched Place, To pay for dear bought Wit in little Space : The Time shall come, when this new Tenant here. Will in his Turn skule for a Pot of Beer ; Repent the melting of his Cash too fast, And snap at Strangers for a Nights Repast." ^ Who goes out ? is repeated by Watchmen Prisoners, from half an Hour after Nine, till St. Paul's Clock strikes Ten, to give Visitors Notice to depart. 2 While St. Paul's Clock is striking Ten, the Watchmen don't call Who goes out ? but when the last Stroke is given, they cry All told! at which Time the Gates are lock'd, and nobody suffer'd to go out upon any Account. CHAPTER XXIV. WE saw in the lines, under the Frontispiece to the foregoing poem, Garnish was mentioned, and the fact was stated as a Custom then in force of taking the prisoner's coat to pay for his fees on entrance. "But kind Sir, as you'r a Stranger, Down your Garnish you must lay. Or your Coat will be in danger. You must either Strip or pay." In the Criminal prisons, the prisoners themselves demanded Garnish from a new-comer, that is, a trifle of money — to drink. In 1708, at Newgate, this sum seems to have been Six shillings and Eightpence " Which they, from an old Custom, claim by Prescrip- tion, Time out of Mind, for entring into the Society^ otherwise they strip the poor Wretch, if he has not wherewithal to pay it." ^ And in the old Play of the Lying Lover we are introduced to a Scene in Newgate ^ " Memoirs of the Right Villanous John Hall," &c. 294 Garnish. where the prisoners are demanding Garnish from some new-comers. " Storm. Nay, nay, you must stay here. Simon. Why, I am Simofi, Madam Penelope s Man. Storm. Then Madam Penelope^ s Man must strip for Garnish ; indeed Master Simon you must. Simon. Thieves ! Thieves ! Thieves ! Storm. Thieves ! Thieves ! Why, you senseless Dog, do you think there's Thieves in Newgate ? Away with him to the Tap House {Pushes him o_ff). We'll drink his Coat ofF. Come, my little Chymist, thou shalt transmute this Jacket into Liquor." l^et although this custom was general, I have only once met with an engraving of the actual process, which, judging by the man's agonized countenance, was not a Garnish. 295 pleasant one to him. It occurs in the frontispiece to a little pamphlet called ''An Oration on the Oppression of Jailors ; which was spoken in the Fleet Prison, on the 20th of February, 173^," &c. And under the engraving, are these lines. " Unhappy, friendless Man ! how hard thy Fate ! Whose only Crime is being Unfortunate. Are Jailors sufFer'd in such Acts as these ? To strip the Wretch, who cannot pay his Fees ? Is there no kind Samaritan will lend Relief, and save him from th' accursed Fiend ?" Respecting this practice let us hear what Howard in his "State of the Prisons in England and Wales," 1777, says, in his Chapter on " Bad Customs in Prisons." " A cruel custom obtains in most of our Goals, which is that of the prisoners demanding of a new comer Garnish, Footing, or (as it is called in some London Gaols) Chummage. ' Pay or strip ' are the fatal words. I say fatal^ for they are so to some ; who having no money, are obliged to give up part of their scanty apparel ; and, if they have no bedding or straw to sleep on, contract diseases, which I have known to prove mortal. In many Gaols, to the Garnish paid by the new- comer, those who were there before, make an addition ; and great part of the following night is often spent in riot and drunkenness. The gaoler or tapster finding his account in this practice, generally answers questions concerning it with reluctance. Of the Garnish which I have set down to sundry prisons, I often had my infor- 296 The " Common Side." mation from persons who paid it. . . . In some places, this demand has been lately waved : in others, strictly- prohibited by the Magistrates " — so that we see that this custom was already in its death throes, in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. But in the interval between Bambridge and Howard, the prison was not a pleasant place of residence, if we may judge from " The Prisoner's Song " published in 1738, of which I give an illustration and the Words. ^^2!^r^^^- THE FLEET PRISON. " A Starving life all day we lead, No Comfort here is found, At Night we make one Common bed, Upon the Boarded Ground ; Where fleas in troops and Bugs in shoals Into our Bosoms Creep, And Death watch, Spiders, round y^ Walls, Disturb us in our Sleep. Howard's Report. 297 Were Socrates alive, and Bound With us to lead his life, 'Twould move his Patience far beyond His crabbed Scolding Wife ; Hard Lodging and much harder fare. Would try the wisest Sage, Nay ! even make a Parson Swear, And curse the Sinful Age. Thus, we Insolvent debtors live, Yet we may Boldly say. Worse Villains often Credit give. Than those that never pay ; For wealthy Knaves can with applause Cheat on, and ne'er be try'd. But in contempt of human Laws, In Coaches Safely ride." When Howard visited this prison in 1774 and 1776, he found on the former occasion 171 prisoners in the House, and 71 in the Rules. On the latter there were 241 in the House and 78 in the Rules. And he says : " The Prison was rebuilt a few years since. At the front is a narrow courtyard. At each end of the building there is a small projection, or wing. There are four floors, they call them Galleries, besides the Cellar floor, called Bartholomew-Fair. Each gallery consists of a passage in the middle, the whole length of the Prison, i.e.^ sixty six yards ; and rooms on each side of it about fourteen feet and a half by twelve and a half, and nine and a half high. A chimney and window in every room. The passages are narrow (not seven feet wide) and darkish, having only a window at each end. 298 Howard's Report. "■ On the first floorj the Hail Gallery^ to which you ascend eight steps, are a Chapel, a Tap room, a Coffee room (lately made out of two rooms for Debtors), a room for the Turnkey, another for the Watchman, and eighteen rooms for Prisoners. Besides the Coffee-room and Tap-room, two of those eighteen rooms, and all the cellar-floor, except a lock up room to confine the disorderly, and another room for the Turnkey, are held by the Tapster, John Cartwright, who bought the remainder of the lease at public auction in 1775. The cellar floor is sixteen steps below the hall Gallery. It consists of the two rooms just now mentioned, the Tapster's kitchen, his four large beer and wine Cellars, and fifteen rooms for Prisoners. These fifteen, and the two before mentioned, in the hall gallery, the Tapster lets to Prisoners for four to eight shillings a week. " On xh^first Gallery (that next above the hall-gallery) are twenty-five rooms for Prisoners. On the second Gallery^ twenty seven rooms. One of them, fronting the staircase, is their Committee room. A room at one end is an Infirmary. At the other end, in a large room over the Chapel, is a dirty Billiard-table, kept by the Prisoner who sleeps in that room. On the highest story there are twenty seven rooms. Some of these upper rooms, vi-z.^ those in the wings, are larger than the rest, being over the Chapel, the Tap-room, &c. " All the rooms I have mentioned are for the Master's side Debtors. The weekly rent of those not held by the Tapster, is one shilling and three pence un- furnished. They fall to the Prisoners in succession,. Howard's Report. 299 thus : when a room becomes vacant, the first Prisoner upon the list of such as have paid their entrance-fees, takes possession of it. When the Prison was built, the Warden gave each Prisoner his choice of a room, according to his seniority as Prisoner. . . . Such of the Prisoners (on the Common Side) as swear in Court, or before a Commissioner that they are not worth five pounds, and cannot subsist without charity, have the donations which are sent to the Prison, and the begging box, and grate. Of them there were, at my last visit, sixteen. . . . " I mentioned the billiard table. They also play in the yard at skittles, missisipi, fives, tennis, &c. And not only the Prisoners ; I saw among them several butchers and others from the Market ; who are admitted here, as at another public house. The same may be seen in many other Prisons where the Gaoler keeps or lets the tap. Besides the inconvenience of this to Prisoners ; the frequenting a Prison lessens the dread of being confined in one. o " On Monday night there is a Wine Club : on Thursday night a- Beer Club; each lasting usually till one or two in the morning. I need not say how much riot these occasion ; and how the sober Prisoners are annoyed by them, " Seeing the Prison crowded with women and Chil- dren, I procured an accurate list of them ; and found that on (or about), the 6th of April, 1776, when there were, on the Master's side 213 Prisoners; on the Common side 30. Total 243 ; their wives (including women of an appellation not so honorable) and children, were 475." 300 Regulations of the Prison. In Howard's time the fees payable by the Prisoners were the same as were settled in 1729 after the trials of Huggins and Bambridge ; but the prisoners exercised a kind of local self-government, for he writes : — " There is, moreover, a little Code of Laws, eighteen in number, enacted by the Master's-side Debtors, and printed by D. Jones, 1774. It establishes a President, a Secretary, and a Committee, which is to be chosen every month, and to consist of three members from each Gallery. These are to meet in the Committee room every Thursday ; and at other times when summoned by the Cryer, at command of the President, or of a majority of their own number. They are to raise con- tributions by assessment; to hear complaints; determine disputes; levy fines; and seize goods for payment. Their Sense to be deemed the sense of the whole House. The President or Secretary to hold the cash ; the Committee to dispose of it. Their Scavenger to wash the Galleries once a week ; to water, and sweep them every morning before eight ; to sweep the yard twice every week ; and to light the lamps all over the House. No person to throw out water, &c., anywhere but at the sinks in the yard. The Cryer may take of a Stranger a penny for calling a Prisoner to him ; and of a Complainant two pence for summoning a Special Committee. F'or blas- phemy, swearing, riot, drunkenness, &c., the Committee to fine at discretion ; for damaging a lamp, fine a shilling. They are to take from a New Comer, on the first Sun- day, besides the two shillings Garnish, to be spent in wine, one shilling and sixpence to be appropriated to the use of the House. Gordon Riots. 301 " Common-side Prisoners to be confined to their own apartments, and not to associate with these Law- makers, nor to use the same conveniences." In 1780 the famous Lord George Gordon, or "No Popery " Riots took place — those Riots which were so intensely Protestant, that (according to the Contem- porary Gentleman's Magazine) '^ The very Jews in Houndsditch and Duke's Place were so intimidated, that they followed the general example, and uninten- tionally gave an air of ridicule to what they understood in a very serious light, by writing on their Shutters, " This House is a true Protestant." These Riots are very realistically brought before us in Charles Dickens' *' Barnaby Rudge," but then, although the account is fairly historically faithful, yet the weaving of his tale necessarily interfered with strict historical details ; which, by the way, are extremely meagre as to the burning of the Fleet prison. The fact was, that, for the few days the riot existed, the outrages were so numerous, and the Newspapers of such small dimensions, that they could only be summarized, and the burning of Newgate eclipsed that of the Fleet. But, on the Wednesday, June 7, 1780, the Annual Register, p. 261 (which certainly has the best description I have been able to see) absolutely breaks down, saying : — " It is impossible to give any adequate description of the events of Wednesday. Notice was sent round to the public prisons of the King's Bench, Fleet, &c., by the mob, at what time they would come and burn them down. The same kind of infernal humanity was exer- 302 Burning of the Fleet Prison. cised towards Mr. Langdale, a distiller in Holborn, whose loss is said to amount to ^^ 100,000, and several other Romish individuals. In the afternoon all the shops were shut, and bits of blue silk, by way of flags, hung out at most houses, with the words '^ No Popery " chalked on the doors and window shutters, by way of deprecating the fury of the insurgents, from which no person thought himself secure. '^ As soon as the day was drawing towards a Close, one of the most dreadful spectacles this country ever beheld was exhibited. Let those, who were not spec- tators of it, judge what the inhabitants felt when they beheld at the same instant the flames ascending and rolling in clouds from the King's Bench and Fleet Prisons, from New Bridewell, from the toll gates on Blackfriars Bridge, from houses in every quarter of the town, and particularly from the bottom and middle of Holborn, where the Conflagration was horrible beyond description." The burning of the Fleet was done calmly and deliberately, as is well told in " A Narrative of the Proceedings of Lord Geo. Gordon," &c., 1 780. " About one o'clock this morning (Tuesday, June 6), the Mob went to the Fleet Prison, and demanded the gates to be opened, which the Keepers were obliged to do, or they would have set fire to it. They were then proceeding to demolish the prison, but the prisoners expostulating with them, and begging that they would give them time to remove their goods, they readily condescended, and gave them a day for that purpose, in consequence of which, the prisoners were removing all this day out of that Fleet Prison Re-built. 303 place. Some of the prisoners were in for life." And in the evening of the next day, they fulfilled their threat, and burnt it. This was the second time it had been burnt down, for the great fire of 1666 had previously demolished it. It was rebuilt, and remained the same, with some few alterations and additions until its final destruction. We get a good view " the Bare " or racket ground in 1808, an outline of which I have taken from Pugin and Row- landson's beautiful "Microcosm of London," 1808,^ RACKETS IN THE FLEET PRISON, I760. (Published by Bowles and Carver, 69, Si. PauT's Churchyard.) according to which book, " The Fleet Prison, it is believed, after the fire of London in 1666, was removed to that site of ground upon which the almshouses through Vauxhall turnpike, on the Wandsworth road, now stand, until the old prison was rebuilt, Sir Jeremy Whichcott, then Warden, having his family seat there, which he converted into a prison ; for which patriotic ^ See next page. 304 The "Bare." act, and rebuilding the old one at his own expence, he and his heirs were wardens as long as they lived. The Office of Warden of the Fleet was formerly of such consequence, that a brother of one of the Edwards is said to have been in the list of Wardens." In this illustration we find the prisoners by no means Racket Master. 305 moody, but playing at rackets and skittles. The Racket ground was under the superintendence of a Racket Master, who was elected by the Collegians, annually at Christmas. This post was eagerly sought after, as it was one to which some pecuniary profit was attached, a small fee being demanded from each person, the Racket Master having to find bats and balls. I have before me three printed handbills of aspirants for the post in 1841. One bases his claim on the fact that he is already Racket Master, and says, " I feel the situa- tion is one that requires attention and unceasing exertion, not so much from the individual position, as from the circumstance that the amusement, and (what is more vitally important) the health of my fellow inmates is in some measure placed in the hands of the person appointed." Another candidate pleads as a qualification, that he has served as Watchman for Seven years, and at last election for Racket Master, he only lost the appoint- ment by five votes. And the third publishes the caution " Collegians, Remember ! All Promises that have been (sic) before the Vacancy, are Null and Void ! ! ! " This gentleman was determined to secure, if possible, some of the good things going about, for, at this very same Annual Election, he issues another circular, *' Having had many years experience in the Tavern Department and Eating House Business, I beg leave to offer myself for the Situation in the Public Kitchen, now about to become vacant." He, too, had an opponent, who had been engaged for nine years as a baker, and was, by profession, a Cook. The Office of Skittle Master was also contested in that year ; the holder of 21 3o6 A Whistling Shop. the place being opposed by one whose claim to the position seems to be that he had a wife and one child. They made themselves merry enough in the Fleet, as we read in Egan's '' Life in London," where Jerry Hawthorn, and Corinthian Tom, visit Bob Logic, who was detained in the Fleet. Among other places there, they went to a Whisthng Shop — of which the brothers Robert and George Cruikshank have given a faithful representation. Here at a table, screened off from the draught of the door we see, Tom, Jerry, and the unfortunate Logic, whilst the other frequenters of the A WHISTLING SHOP IN THE FLEET, 1S2I. place are excellently depicted. Spirits were not allowed in the prison, under any circumstances, other than by the doctor's order ; but it is needless to say, the regu- A Whistling Shop. 307 lation was a dead letter. Of course it was not sold openly, but there were rooms, known to the initiated where it could be procured. It was never asked for, and if it were the applicant would not have received it, but if you whistled, it would be at once forthcoming. Says Logic to his Corinthian friends, " ' In the evening I will introduce you both to my friend the Haberdasher. He is a good whistler ; and his shop always abounds with some prime articles which you will like to look at.' The Trio was again complete ; and a fine dinner, which the Corinthian had pre- viously ordered from a Coffee house, improved their feelings : a glass or two of wine made them as gay as larks; and a hint from Jerry to Logic about the .Whistler, brought them into the shop of the latter in 3o8 A Mock. Election. a twinkling. Hawthorn, with great surprise, said, ' Where are we ? this is no haberdasher s. It is a ' * No nosing, Jerry,' replied Logic, with a grin, 'You are wrong. The man is a dealer in tape' " ^ ^ A cant word for gin. DUM ViVIMUS, ViVAMUS." 309 There was a class in the Fleet, who acted, as far as in their power lay, up to the Epicurean " dum vivimus vivamus" and among them the prison, however incon- venient it might have been, was made the best of, and the door of the Cupboard which contained the skeleton was shut as far as it would go. We have an exempli- fication of this in Robert Cruikshank's water colour drawing of " The Evening after a Mock Election in the Fleet Prison," June, 1835. In this drawing, which I have simply outlined (see previous page), we get a graphic glimpse at the uproarious fun that obtained among a cer- tain set. The gradations in Society of this singular mix- ture is well shown in the following key to the picture : 1. Bennett the Candidate. 2. Mr. Fellowcs of the Crown P. H. Fleet Street. 3. Mr. Houston, alias Jack in the Green. 4. Mr. Perkins, alias Harlequin Billy (Architect), who tried to sink a shaft at Spithead to supply the Navy with Water. 5. Mr. Shackleford (Linen Draper). 6. Mr. Bennett, the Watchman. 7. Geo. Weston, Esqr. (Banker, of the Boro'). 8. Mr. Hutchinson (Dr. at Liverpool). 9. L. Goldsmith, Esqre. 10. Mr. Thompson (Irishman). 1 1. Robert Barnjum alias Rough Robin (Hammersmith Ghost). 12. Robert Ball, alias Manches- ter Bob (wore a Mur- derer's Cap). 13. Captain Wilde, R.N. 14. Mr. Hales, the Cook. 15. Mr. Walker. 16. Captain McDonnough, lith Hussars (real gentle- man). 17. Mr. Halliday (Manchester Merchant). 18. Harry Holt the Prize Fighter. 19. Captain Penniment (Trad- ing Vessel, Yorkshire). 20. Mr. Palmer, Cutler to Geo. IIL, near the Haymarket Theatre. 21. Mr. Scrivener (Landlord of the Tap). 22. Captain Oliver, Smuggler and Tapster. Capias, ;£l 17,000. 23. Mr. Goldsbury, alias Jails- bury, driver of omnibus all round the Fleet. 24. Mr. George Kent. 3IO Number of Prisoners. As a souvenir of the talented Isaac Robert Cruik- shank, I append a facsimile of his autograph, which was written in the Parlour, No. i6, Hall, in the Fleet Prison, June 24, 1842. His method of utilizing the blot of Ink is unique. The remaining Notices of the Fleet must be taken as they come, as far as possible, chronologically — and first of all let us look at the enormous quantity of people who were imprisoned for debt. In the Mirror , No. 615, vol. xxii. July 20, 1833, is a cutting from the Thnes : ^' By the return of persons imprisoned for debt in 1832, in England and Wales, just printed by order of the House of Commons, it appears that the gross number was 16,470: of whom maintained them- selves 4,093, so that three fourths of the whole were too poor to provide themselves with bread." The terrible destitution to which some prisoners were reduced is shown in an extract from the Morning Herald of August 12, 1833. " Guild hall. A Gentleman complained that the Overseers of St. Bride's had refused to relieve a dis- tressed prisoner in the Fleet. The Prisoner was Mr. Timothy Sheldvake, who had been well known for his skill in treating deformities of the body. He once kept his carriage, and obtained ^4,000 a year by his practice, but he was now quite destitute. He was eighty years of Age, and of that temper that he would rather starve than make a complaint. When applicant saw him he had actually fasted forty -eight hours. St. Bride's Parish had assisted the unfortunate Gentleman, but they denied 312 Destitution. that he was legally entitled to such relief. The Applicant contended that, as the Prison was in St. Bride's parish, and was rated at ^^70 a year, St. Bride's was bound to afford casual relief to those within the walls of the prison, and to recover it from the respective parishes to which those who have been relieved belonged. '* The Vestry Clerk said, relief must be given out of the County rate. " Sir C. Marshall said he would take time to consider the Point, but he thought a sufficient relief should be afforded out of the County rate." CHAPTER XXV. TN a Return of the number of persons in the several Gaols of England, confined for Debt, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, May 13, 1835, we have an '^ Account of the Number of Persons confined for Debt in the Fleet Prison during the following Years : 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 Number confined 742 700 884 746 769 Number charged in Execution 105 136 134 126 156 And the amount of the debt and costs for which each party was so charged varied from ^2 to ^18,017. I look in vain in the Times for the paragraph to which the Warden alludes in the following letter : *' The Warden presents his compliments to the Editor of the Times, and begs to state, that a paragraph having appeared in the paper of this morning, stating that the 314 Escape of Prisoner. Fleet Prison is very full, and that a guinea and a half a week is paid for a single room, and that four, five, and six persons are obliged to live in a small apartment. *' The Warden, not being aware of this, should it in any case exist, and which is contrary to the established regulations against any person so offending, the prison not being so full as in former years, there being con- siderably less, on an average, than two prisoners to each Room, and being also exceedingly healthy. " The Warden has also to add, that the^ rest of the paragraph relating to the Fleet is totally without foundation. "Fleet Prison, March 7, 1836." In the outside sheet of the Times, February 21, 1838, occurs the following advertisement : "One Hundred Pounds Reward. — Escape. — Escaped from the Fleet Prison, on the evening of Wednesday the 14th day of February instant. Alfred Morris, late of 22 Dean Street, Tooley Street, Southwark. The said Alfred Morris is about 30 years of Age, about 5 feet 6 inches high, dark complexion, and of a Jewish Caste, prominent Nose, somewhat flat pointed, dark, irregular whiskers, stout figure, and rather bow legged," &c., &c. Anent this escape, the 'Times of February 1 6th has a paragraph such as we can hardly imagine ever could have appeared in a paper so steady and sober, as the Times now is: "The Warden of the Fleet — (From a Correspondent). Yesterday a gentleman of some misfortune and of great appearance, for he wore Escape of Prisoner. 315 a wig, moustaches, and a Spanish Cloak, was Introduced as an inmate of Brown's Hotel, so called from the Warden having a license to sell wines, beer, and ale to his prisoners, through the ' patent never ending always improving Juddery spigot and fawcet tap,' &c. In about half an hour the said bewhiskered gentleman leaves cloak, wig, and moustaches in the room of a Mishter Abrahams, a prisoner, and walks quietly out, very politely bidding the turnkey 'good morning,' At night the excellent crier of the Prison, Mr. Ellis, made the galleries echo, and the rooms re-echo, with his sometimes very cheering voice (when he announces to those who wish such things as a discharge, for it is not all who do), in calling, altissimo voce^ ' Mr. Alfred Morrison ! Mr. Alfred Morrison ! Mr. Alfred Morri- son ! ' but as no Mr. Alfred Morrison answered to the interesting call, every room was searched in the due performance of the crier's duty, but no Mr. Alfred Morrison was to be found. And the Worthy and excellent warder, the keeper of so many others in, is himself let in to the tune of £2,600 ; some say more, none say less. ' Go it, ye cripples ! crutches are cheap ! W. Brown is no longer asleep ! ' " In a leading article in the Times of November 13, 1838, upon juvenile crime, and the incitors thereto, we read the following : " The Traders in crime do not wholly confine their seductions to the young; they often find apt scholars among the unfortunates of riper 3i6 A Gang of Forgers. years, especially in the debtor's prison. Mr. Wakefield ^ says he knows many such victims ; and he particu- larizes one 'Who was not indeed executed, because he took poison the night before he was to have been executed, who told me he had been, (and who I firmly believe was) first incited to crime when a Prisoner in the Fleet for debt. The crime into which he was seduced was that of passing forged Bank of England Notes. He was a Man of very showy appearance, and he had been a Captain in the Army ; a man of good family. He said this crime was first suggested to him by persons who were Prisoners in the Fleet ; but he afterwards discovered, having been a Prisoner there more than once, that one of a gang of Utterers of forged Notes lived constantly in the Fleets and for no other purpose but that of inducing reckless young men of good appearance, who could easily pass notes, to take Notes from them, and to dispose of them in transactions. I could hardly believe that that was true, and I got some inquiries to be made for the person whom he had pointed out to me as one of a Gang, and I found that that person was constantly in the Fleet. The Gang committed a robbery upon a Bank in Cornwall, and they Vv^ere entirely broken up, and from that time forth the Person who had resided in the Fleet disappeared, though he was not one of the persons convicted, or suspected of that particular Crime. I never heard of him since, but the inquiries which I then made, con- vinced me that it was a fact that one of the Gang of ^ Evidence of Mr. Wakefield before Parliamentary Committee of 1837. Abolition of Imprisonment for Debt. 317 what are termed ' family men,' that is, rich thieves and receivers of stolen goods, did reside continually in the Fleet, for the purpose of seducing young men into the commission of Crime. He was in and out of the Prison, but a Prisoner on a friendly arrest." The time was coming, when imprisonment for debt was to be abolished. An Act of i & 2 Vict. cap. no had already abolished Arrest on Mesne Process in Civil Actions, so that no prisoners could be committed to the Fleet from the Courts of Chancery, Exchequer, and Common Pleas, and the Debtors and Bankrupts might as well be in the Queen's Bench. The Demolition of the Fleet was therefore confidently anticipated, as we find by the following paragraph from the Times, March 3, 1 841. "Removal of Prisoners. On Saturday a deputation from the Woods and Forests, attended by the Marshal, visited the Queen's Bench Prison, prepara- tory to moving over the Debtors from the Fleet, which prison is about to be pulled down. By this arrange- ment the Country will save about ^^ 15,000 per annum, besides getting rid of an ugly object, and room being made for other contemplated improvements. It is sup- posed the Judges will find some difficulty in removing the Prisoners from the Fleet by Habeas Corpus, and that a short Bill will be necessary for that purpose. The expenses of the Queen's Bench Prison in its present profitless employment, is about ^^30,000 per annum to the Country." This announcement was slightly premature, for the Act for its demolition (s ^ ^ Victorian, cap. 22) was not passed until May 31, 1842. The Prisoners objected to 3i8 Prisoners Object to Move. the Transfer to the Queen's Bench, preferring their comparative liberty as they were, to the more stringent rules of the other prison : one clause in the new Act being : " And be it enacted. That after the passing of this Act, no Prisoner in the Queen's Prison shall be allowed to send for, or to have any Beer, Ale, Victuals or other Food, or to send for, have or use any Bedding, Linen, or other Things, except such as shall be allowed to be brought by them respectively under such Rules, to be made in the Manner directed by this Act, as may be reasonable and expedient to prevent Extravagance and Luxury, and for enforcing due Order and Discipline within the Prison." I have before me the Original Subscription list of a scheme of " Resistance to The Abolition of the Fleet Prison. April 9th, 1842." The author of the Letter of " Fleta to the Lords, calling upon them individually to Oppose the Bill for transferring the Debtors in the Fleet to the Queen's Prison, respectfully calls upon all Parties interested in an Opposition to the said Billy to render him such pecu- niary assistance in forwarding his Object, as may be con- sistent with their Views or Convenience." A list of Subscriptions follows, but although 25/- was promised, Opposition to Removal. 319 only 15/- appears to be paid. They held meetings, a notice calling one of which is facsimiled ; but it was of no avail, and they had to go. One Philip Ball, a Chancery Prisoner, composed ' "The Last Days of the Fleet ! A melancholy Chaunt, Written by a Collegian, on the occasion of the ^eens Prison Bill receiving the Royal Assent. 320 The Last Days of the Fleet." Air. ^ The Fine Old English Gentleman.' I'll sing to you a bran new song Made by my simple pate, About the end of the good old Fleet, Which on us now shuts its gate. It has kept confin'd the choicest lads That e'er together met — Of merry, jolly, rattling dogs, A regular slap up set. Of jovial Fleet prisoners, All of the present day. This good old pris'n in every room Contains a merry soul. Who for his doings out of doors Is now drop't ' in the hole.' But surely this is better far Than your simple plodding way. Get deep in debt, go through the Court, And whitewash it all away. Like a jovial Fleet prisoner, All of the present day. Such right good hearts are rarely found, As round me now I see ; With such, I'm 'most inclined to say. Hang liberty for me. For T y, S y, V h. In spirits who excel ? How could we better live than here. Where friendship weaves her spell .'' 'Mongst jovial Fleet pri- soners. All of the present day. 4 To racquets, skittles, whistling shops. We must soon say farewell ; The Queen's assent to her prison bill Has rung their funeral knell ; And Bennett, Gray, and Andrew too Must close their welcome doors. For sing song and tape spinning now. This damn'd new Act all floors, For the jovial Fleet pri- soner, All of the present day. 5 But to her gracious Majesty You'll long be loyal and true. Although this latest act of hers Must be felt by some of you. Speed through the Court, or compromise Like gallant Captain T h, Sale of the Fleet Prison. 321 Or else you'll soon be sent to grieve Your guts out in the Bench. All melancholy prisoners^ Unlike those of the present day. Much, however, as the prisoners might grieve, it was of no use kicking against an Act of Parliament, and those prisoners who did not take advantage of the In- solvent Debtors Act, were transferred to the Queen's Prison, which in its turn ceased to be a debtor's prison, and was used by Military offenders, until it was sold on Oct. 30, 1879, ^'^^ pulled down in that and the following year. Now, legally speaking, there is no imprisonment for debt, but people are only committed for Contempt of Court. The Commissioners of Woods and Forests invited Tenders for the site and buildings of the late Fleet Prison, the estate of which contained above One Acre, with a frontage of about 251 feet, towards Farringdon Street, and a depth of about 230 feet. The tenders were returnable on Oct. 22, 1844, and the Corporation of the City of London became the owners of the property at a sum variously stated at ^25,000 to _^2 9,000, and the sale of its building materials commenced on April 5, 1845. Its exterior was not particularly attractive. And so it passed away, and half the present inhabi- tants of London the Great do not even know its site, which was not finally cleared until 1846. As a guide to those who wish to know its locality I may mention ' When the prisoners were removed there were two who had been incarcerated upwards of thirty years, and were in the Queen's prison in 1845. 22 322 Exterior of Fleet Prison. a ^^=^>, \ ^ \ \' p' '•■ /. ^ Plan and Section of Fleet Prison. 323 GROUND PLAN OF FLEET PRISON. SECTION OF THE PRISON. 324 Begging Grate. that the Congregational Memorial Hall and Library, in Farringdon Street, stands on a portion of its site. Before quitting the subject of the Fleet prison I can- not help referring to " the grate." Like Ludgate, it had a room open to the street, but famished with a strong iron grating, behind which sat a prisoner, who called the attention of the passers-by monotonously chanting, " Pray Remember the poor Prisoners." A box was presented for the reception of contributions, but very little money was thus obtained. EXTERIOR OF THE GRATE. The begging grate was served by poor prisoners who had to swear that they were not worth ^5 In the world. Richard Oastler. ;25 He was then entitled to share the contents of the begging box, and also be a partaker of the charities and donations to the Prison, which amounted to the magni- ficent sum of_^39 19s., besides meat, coals, and bread. Prisoners of all sorts and conditions met here, on one common basis, one of the last of any mark being Richard Oastler, who was the leader of the Ten Hours' Bill Movement, and from this prison he issued a series of " Fleet Papers " about Free Trade, Factories Acts, and the Amalgamation of the Prisons. He died in 1861, and a memorial to him was erected at Leeds. jTIeet Q^attiages. CHAPTER XXVI. THERE is no doubt that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Marriage laws, as we now understand them, were somewhat lax, and it is possible that it was so long before that time, for in Edward VI, 's time an Act was passed (2 and 3 Ed. VI., c. 21, s. 3) entitled "An Act to take away all positive laws made against marriage of priests." Section 3 provides that it shall not " give any liberty to any person to marry without asking in the church, or without any ceremony being appointed by the order prescribed and set forth in the book intituled " The Book of Common Prayer^ and administration of the Sacraments^ &c." Mary, of course, repealed this Act, and it was revived and made perpetual by i Jas. i. c. 25, s. 50. It was only after the Council of Trent, that the offices 328 Illegal Marriages. of tlie Church were considered indispensable, for that Council decreed that a priest, and two witnesses were necessary for the proper celebration of the Nuptial tie. Still, the law of England, like the law of Scotland, allowed the taking of a woman as wife before witnesses, and acknowledging her position, which constituted at common law a good and lawful marriage, which could not be annulled by the Ecclesiastical Court. That many such took place among the Puritans and Sectarians of the time of Charles I. and the Commonwealth is un- doubted, for it needed an Act of Parliament ( 1 2 Chas. II. c. 2,3) to render such marriages legal. This enacted " That all marriages had, or solemnized, in any of his Majesty's dominions since the first day of May, in the year of our Lord, one thousand six hundred forty and two, before any justice of the Peace, or reputed justice of the Peace of England, or Wales, or other his Majesty's dominions, . . . shall be, and shall be ad- judged, esteemed, and taken to be, and to have been of the same, and no other force or effect, as if such mar- riages had been had, and solemnized, according to the rites and ceremonies established, or used in the Church or kingdom of England ; any law, custom, or usage to the contrary thereof notwithstanding." This short synopsis of the Marriage law in England is necessary, in order to understand the subject of Fleet Marriages, which, however, were not all dis- reputable. The Fleet, as we have seen, had a Chapel of its own ; and in old times, a Chaplain — so that Marriages might well be celebrated there, in as proper and dignified a manner as elsewhere. And, we must Marriages. 3^-9 I bear in mind that early in the seventeenth century, the prisoners were of a very different stamp to those of the latter half of the eighteenth century, until the demolition of the prison. Therefore we see no impropriety in the first Marriaore known on record — which is that of Mr. Geo. Lester, then a prisoner in the Fleet, to a woman of fortune one Mistress Babbington. This is mentioned in a letter of September, 1613, from Alderman Lowe to Lady Hicks, and may be found in the Lansdowne MSS. 93-17. He writes : ^' Now I am to enform you that an ancyentt acquayntence of y^ and myne is yesterday marryed in the Fleete, one Mr. George Lester, and hath maryed M"' Babbington, M' Thomas Fanshawe mother in lawe. Itt is sayd she is a woman of goode wealthe, so as nowe the man wyll be able to lyve and mayntayne hymself in pryson, for hether unto he hath byne in poor estate. I praye God he be nott encoryged by his marige to do as becher doth, I meane to troble his frynds in lawe, but I hope he wyll have a better conscyence and more honestye than the other men hathe." Towards the middle of the seventeenth century clandestine, and irregular marriage was prevalent, and it is easily accounted for. A public marriage had come to be a very expensive affair. There was a festival, which lasted several days, during which open house had to be kept ; there were the Marriage Se.ttlements, pre- sents, pin money, music, and what not — so that the binding of their Children in the holy Estate of Matri- mony was a serious matter to parents ; who probably preferred giving the young couple the money that 33^ Cost of Marriage. otherwise would go in useless waste and profusion. So they used to get married quietly : a custom which Pepys reprobates in the marriage of the daughter of Sir WilHam Penn to Mr. Anthony Lowther. " No friends, but two or three relations of his and hers," The bride was married in " palterly clothes, and nothing new but a bracelet that her servant had given her." And he further says, remarking on the meanness of the whole affair, " One wonder I observed to day, that there was no musique in the morning to call up our new married people, which is very mean, methinks." Misson, who visited England in the reign of William III., speaks of these private marriages. "The Ordinary ones, as I said before, are generally incognito. The Bridegroom y that is to say, the Husband that is to be, and the Bride y who is the Wife that is to be, conducted by their Father and Mother, or by those that serve them in their room, and accompany'd by two Bride men, and two Bride Maids, go early in the Morning with a Licence in their Pocket, and call up Mr. Curate and his Clerk, tell them their Business ; are marry'd with a low Voice, and the Doors shut ; tip the Minister a Guinea, and the Clerk a Crown; steal softly out, one one way, and t'other another, either on Foot or in Coaches; go different Ways to some Tavern at a Distance from their own Lodgings, or to the House of some trusty Friend, there have a good Dinner, and return Home at Night as quietly as Lambs. If the Drums and Fiddles have notice of it, they will be sure to be with them by Day Break, making a horrible Racket, till they have got the Pence ; Peculiars. 331 and, which is worst of all, the whole Murder will come out." This senseless custom survives, in a modified degree, in our times, when on the marriage of a journey- man butcher, his companions treat him to a performance of the " Marrow bones and Cleavers," and also in the case of marriage of persons in a superior station of life, in the playing, on the Organ, of a Wedding March. The oldest entry of a Marriage in those Registers of the Fleet which have been preserved is a.d. 1674, and there is nothing to lead us to imagine that it was more irregular than that of Mistress Babbington ; on the contrary, it is extremely probable that, previously, prisoners were married in their chapel, with the orthodox publication of banns, and by their own Chaplain. But marriages were performed without licence or banns in many churches, which claimed to be peculiars^ and exempt from the Visitation of the Ordinary : as St. James', Duke's Place, now pulled down, denied the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London because the Mayor, Commonalty, and Citizens of London, were Lords of the Manor, and Patrons of the Church : but the Rector found that the Eccle- siastical Law was stronger than he, and that its arm was long and powerful, and the Rev. Adam Elliott was suspended (Feb. 17, 1686) for three years, ab officio et benejicio, for having married, or having suffered persons to be married, at the said Church, without banns or licence. He did not suffer the full term of his punishment, for he managed to get re-instated on May 28, 1687. and began his old practices the very next day. 332 Suppression of Irregular Marriages. The Chapel of Holy Trinity, Minories, pleaded privilege, on the ground that it was a Crown living, and as much a peculiar as Westminster Abbey, or the Deanery of Windsor ; while the Chapels of the Tower and the Savoy sought exemption because they were Royal Chapels, and therefore the Bishop had no juris- diction over them. Besides these, there were very many more chapels scattered over the Metropolis where irregular marriages were performed, a list of about ninety having been preserved. These Marriages so increased that it was found necessary to legislate about them, and, in 1689, an Act (6 and 7 Will. III. c. 6, s. 24) was passed making it compulsory, under a penalty of One Hundred pounds, for every parson to keep an accurate register of births, Marriages, and deaths. Another Act was passed in 1696 (17 and 18 Will. III. c. 35, s. 2-3) whereby a penalty of ^100 was imposed on any Clergy- man who married, or permitted another to marry, couples, otherwise than by banns or licence. This was enforced by another Act in 1711 (10 Anne c. 19, s. 176), which confirmed the penalty, and moreover, this section shows that irregular marriages were getting to be common in prisons, for it provides that " if any gaoler, or keeper of any prison, shall be privy to, or knowingly permit any marriage to be solemnized in his said prison, before publication of banns, or licence obtained, as aforesaid, he shall, for every such offence, forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds," &c. Of course, this did not stop the practice, although it prevented Marriages in the Fleet Chapel. Yet there A Fleet Parsons Reflections. 233 were the Ruies, and real and pretended clergymen for many years plied their illicit vocation with impunity. But there seems to have been some compunc- tions of conscience even among this graceless lot, for one of them, Walter Wyatt, has left behind him, in a pocket-book dated 1736, the following moral reflec- tions. " Give to every man his due, and learn y^ way of Truth. This advice cannot be taken by those that are concerned in y^ Fleet Marriages ; not so much as y* Priest can do y* thing y' is just and right there, unless he designs to starve. For by lying, bullying, and swearing, to extort money from the silly and unwary people, you advance your business and gets y^ pelf, which always wastes like snow in sun shiney day." *' The fear of the Lord is the beginnin'^ of wisdom. The Marrying in the Fleet is the beginning of eternal woe." " If a dark or plyer ^ tells a lye, you must vouch it to be as true as y^ Gospel ; and if disputed, you must affirm with an oath to y^ truth of a downright damnable falsehood — Virtus laudatur et alget." That this custom of swearing prevailed at Fleet Marriages is borne out by contemporary evidence. The Grul^ Street Journal July 20, 1732, says: "On Saturday last, a Fleet Parson was convicted before Sir ' These were touts, like those white-aproued gentry who used to infest Doctors' Commons, telling people where they could procure Marriage licences — only these " plyers " touted for the parsons. 334 Fleet Parsons. Ric. Brocas of forty three-oaths (on the information of a plyer for weddings there) for which a warrant was granted to levy ^4 6s. on the goods of the said parson ; but, upon application to his Worship, he was pleased to remit is. per oath; upon which the plyer swore he would swear no more against any man upon the like occasion, finding he got nothing by it." And an anonymous Newspaper cutting dated 1734, says, '' On Monday last, a tall Clergyman, who plies about the Fleet Gate for Weddings, was convicted before Sir Richard Brocas of swearing 42 Oaths, and ordered to pay £^^ 2s." There were regular Chaplains attached to the Fleet Prison to serve the Chapel there, and, as we have seen, the Warder made every prisoner pay 2d. or 4d. weekly, towards his stipend. Latterly the Chaplaincy was offered to a Curate of St. Bride's Church — as is now done in the case of Bride v/ell. A complete list of Chaplains cannot be given, because all documents were destroyed when the Fleet was burnt by the Lord George Gordon rioters ; but Mr. Burn in his '^ History of Fleet Marriages" (a book to which I am much indebted, for it has all but exhausted the subject) gives the names of some, as Haincks in 1698 ; Robert Elborough, 1702; John Taylor, 17 14; Dr. Franks, 1728; 1797, Weldon Champneys; 1815, John Manley Wood, and John Jones: and in 1834, the date of the publication of Mr. Burn's book, the Rev. Richard Edwards, was the Chaplain. These Clergymen, of course, married couples accord- ing to Law, and probably used the Chapel for that An Heiress Married. 335 purpose. We know that it was so used, for the Original Weekly Journal of Sept. 26, 17 19, says : '' One Mrs. Anne Leigh, an heiress of ;^20o per annum and j^6ooo ready cash, having been decoyed away from her friends in Buckinghamshire, and married at the Fleet chapel against her consent ; we hear the Lord Chief Justice Pratt hath issued out his warrant for apprehend- ing the authors of this contrivance, who have used the young lady so barbarously, that she now lyes speechless." 22^ Fleet Paksons. But it is not of the Chaplains I would speak, but of the irregular Clergy, or Lay men, who performed the Marriages, One thing they all agreed in, the wearing of the Cassock, Gown, and Bands. They would never have been believed in had they not. The accompany- ing illustration ^ gives an excellent idea of the Fleet Parson, and it is taken from an Engraving entitled " The Funeral of Poor Mary Hackabout, attended by the Sisterhood of Drury Lane " and it has a footnote calling attention to the "wry-necked" parson. " The famous Couple Beggar in the Fleets a Wretch, ivho there sc7-eens himself from the Justice due to his Villanies, and daily repeats them.'' The lady holds a sprig of Rosemary in her hand, which in polite society was always presented by a servant, when the funeral cortege was about to leave the house : — In this case, a dish full of sprigs is placed upon the floor, and a child is playing with them. The Mourners carried them to the grave, and then threw them in, as we now do, flowers and wreaths of the same. Perhaps one of the earliest notices of these irregular Fleet Parsons is in the first year of Queen Anne's reign, very soon after she came to the throne, as it appears, in the Registry of the Consistory Court, — that on June 4, 1702, the Bishop of London visited the common prison called the Fleet, London, and took Master Jeronimus Alley, clerk, to task, requiring him to exhibit to the Chancellor of the Diocese, before the 24th June instant, his letters of ordination, " and his Lords^ ordered him not to marry or perform any divine Office in y" Chapell in y^ ffleet, or any place within y^ Dioces untill he has ^ Sec previous page. Fleet Parsons. 3jy exhibited y^ same. Mr. Alley soon afterwards fled from ye gd Prison, and never exhibited his orders." But if Alley fled, there were others left, and the practice of marrying without banns, or licence, brought forth the act of the loth Anne, before quoted. It was probably before this, but certainly during her reign, that the following letter was written, which also is in the Bishop's Registry. " Sir, — I think it my Duty to God and y* Queen to acquaint you with y^ illegal practices of y^ Ministers and Clark in y* Fleet Chappell for marrying Clandestinely as they do som weeks fifty or sixty couple. The Ministers that are there are as follows, Mr. Robt. Elborough, he is an ancient man and is master of y^ Chappie, and marries but very few now without Banns or Licence, but under a colour doth allow his Clark to do w"^ he pleases, his name is Barth. Basset. There is there also one Mr. James Colton a Clergyman, he lives in Leather Lane next door to y^ Coach and horses, he hath bin there these four years to marry, but no Prisoner, he marries in Coffee houses, in his own house, and in and about y^ Fleet gate, and all y^ Rules over, not excepting any part of City and Suburbs. This Clark Basset aforesaid registers wherever Colton marries in y* Fleet Register and gives him Certificates. Colton had a living in Essex till y^ Bishop of London deprived him for this and other ill Practices. There is also one Mr. Nehemiah Rogers, he is a prisoner but goes at larg to his P. Living in Essex, and all places else, he is a very wicked man, as lives for drinking, whoring, and 23 32,^ Fleet Parsons. swearing, he has struck and boxed y* bridegroom in y' Chappie, and damned like any com'on souldier ; he marries both within and without y^ Chappie like his brother Colton. There was one Mr. Alley ; he was a Prisoner, and y* benefit of weddings, but is gone to some other preferm^ The abovesaid Basset rents y* sellers of y^ Fleet, and pays for y' and two watchmen lOO and ^20 p. ann. but he him pays but ^^20 per ann. for y^ Clergy pay all y^ rest, and if they do not, they are threatened to be confined or outed. This Clark hath bin sworn in D""^ Commons not to marry any without Banns or Licence, unless it be such poor people as are recommended by y^ Justices in case of a big belly, but have married since many hundreds, as I and many can testifie who are confined Prisoners. The Chief days to marry are Sundays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays, but evry day more or less. The Clark Basset keeps a Register book, altho he told y^ Bishop of London he had none ; he also antidates as he pleases, as you may see when you look over y^ Registers ; he hath another at his son's ; he does what he pleases, and maintains a great family by these ill practices. £'2.00 p. ann. he hath at least. The Ministers and Clark bribe one Mr. Shirley, I think him to be Collector for y^ Queen's Taxes. I hope. Sir, you will excuse me for concealing my name, hoping y* you will inspect into these base practices. For Dr. Newton Chancel?^ to My Lord of London at D"^^ Commons These." CHAPTER XXVII. BUT the Act of 1712 failed to stop these illicit marriages, for one John Mottram was tried at Guildhall, before Lord Chief Justice Parker, found guilty, was suspended from his ministerial functions for three years, and was fined ;/!i20o. Of this case there is an account in the Weekly Journal, February 13, 17 17. '^John Mottram, Clerk, was tryed for solemnizing clandestine and unlawful marriages in the Fleet Prison, and of keeping fraudulent Registers, whereby it appear'd that he had dated several marriages several years before he enter'd into orders, and that he kept no less than nine several Registers at different houses, which con- tained many scandalous frauds. It also appeared, that a marriage was antedated because of pregnancy ; and, to impose on the ignorant, there was written underneath this scrap of barbarous Latin, " Hi non nupti fuerunt, sed obtinerunt Testimonium propter timorem parentum," meaning that they were not marryed, but obtained this 340 John Gaynam. private Register for fear of their parents. It rather appeared from evidence, that these sham marriages were solemnized in a room in the Fleet they call the Lord Mayor's Chappel, which was furnished with chairs, cushions, and proper conveniences, and that a coal heaver was generally set to ply at the door to recom- mend all couples that had a mind to be marry'd, to the Prisoner, who would do it cheaper than any body. It further appear'd that one of the Registers only, con- tained above 2,200 entrys which had been made within the last year." Pennant, writing at the end of the last century, gives us his personal reminiscences of Fleet Parsons (" Some Account of London," jrded., 1793, p. 232), *'In walking along the street, in my youth, on the side next to the prison, I have often been tempted by the question, Sir^ will you be pleased to walk in and be married? Along this most lawless space was hung up the frequent sign of a male and female hand conjoined, with. Marriages ■performed within^ written beneath. A dirty fellow in- vited you in. The parson was seen walking before his shop ; a squalid profligate figure, clad in a tattered plaid night gown, with a fiery face, and ready to couple you for a dram of gin, or roll of tobacco." Burn gives a list of Fleet Parsons, first of whom comes John Gaynam, who married from about 1709 to 1740. He rejoiced in a peculiar soubriquet, as will be seen by the following. In the trial of Ruth Woodward for bigamy, in 1737, he is alluded to by a witness: — "John Hall. I saw her married at the Fleet to The Bishop of Hell. 341 Robert Holmes ; 'twas at the Hand and Pen, a barber's shop. " Counsel. And is it not a wedding shop too.^* '' Hall. Yes, I don't know the parson's name, but 'twas a man that once belonged to Creed Church, a very, lusty, jolly man. " Counsel. Because there's a complaint lodged in a proper court, against a Fleet Parson, whom they call The Bishop of Hell." Some verses, however, absolutely settle the title upon Gaynam. "THE FLEET PARSON A Tale, BY ANTI MATRIM. ... OF LONDON. Some errant Wags, as stories tell. Assert the gloomy prince of Hell In th' infernal Region has His Officers of all degrees, Whose business is to propagate On Earth, the interests of his State, Ecclesiastics too are thought To be subservient to him brought ; And, as their zeal his service prize, He never fails to make them rise As Dignitaries in his Church, But often leaves them in the lurch; For, if their Fear surmount their Zeal, (They) quickly his resentment feel; (Are) sure to meet with dire disgrace, (And) warmer Zealots fill their place. (To) make these Vacancies repleat, 34^ John Gaynam. He borrows P ns from the Fleet, Long has old G m with applause Obeyed his Master's cursed Laws, Readily practis'd every Vice, And equall'd e'en the Devil for device. His faithful Services such favour gain'd That he, first B p was of H — 1 ordain'd. Dan. W e (rose) next in Degree, And he obtained the Deanery. Ned Ash 11 then came into grace, And he supplied th' Archdeacon's place, But, as the Devil when his ends Are served, he leaves his truest friends ; So fared it with this wretched three. Who lost their Lives and Dignity." There is mention of Gaynam in two trials for bigamy — first in chronological order coming that of Robert Hussey. " Dr. Gainham. The 9th of September, i y^^^ ^ married a couple at the Rainbow CoiFee House, the corner of Fleet Ditch, and entered the marriage in my register, as fair a register as any Church in England can produce, I showed it last night to the foreman of the jury, and my Lord Mayor's Clerk, at the London Punch House. " Counsel. Are you not ashamed to come and own a clandestine marriage in the face of a Court of Justice.'' " Dr. Gainham (bowing). Video meliora, deteriora sequor. " Counsel. You are on your oath, I ask you whether you never enter marriages in that book, when there is no marriage at all ? John Gaynam. 34J ^^ Dr. Gainhatn. I never did in my life. I page my book so, that it cannot be altered." The other case is from the trial of Edmund Danger- field in 1736. " Dr. Gainham. I don't know the prisoner. I did marry a man and woman of these names. Here, this is a true register: Edwd Dangerfield of St. Mary Newington Butts^ Batchelor, to Arabella Fast. When I marry at any house, I always set it down, for I carry one of the books in my pocket, and when I go home I put it in my great book. " Court. Do you never make any alteration ? *' Gainham. Never, my Lord. These two were married at Mrs. Ball's, at the Hand and Pen, by the Fleet Prison, and my name is to her book, *^ Counsel. 'Tis strange you should not remember the prisoner. ^' Gainham. Can I remember persons ? I have married 2000 since that time.'* We have heard of Alley, who married from 1681 to 1707; ofElborrow, 1698 to 1702; and of Mottram, who flourished between 1709 and 1725. Of Daniel Wigmore, the Dean of the previous poem, we know little except that he married between 1723 and 1754. The Daily Post of May 26, 1738, says of him. " Yesterday Daniel Wigmore, one of the parsons noted for marrying people within the Rules of the Fleet, was convicted before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, of selling spirituous liquors contrary to law." 344 Edward Ashwell. The third dignitary, Edward Ashwell, the Arch- deacon, was notorious, and some of his misdeeds are recounted in a letter from Wm. Hodgson, to his brother, a Clergyman. (Lansdowne MSS., 841, fol. 123). June 21, 1725. "Reverend Sir, — There was lately, at Southam, in Warwickshire, one Edward Ashwell, who, in my absence, got possession of our School, and preach'd in Several Churches in this Neighbourhood. I take the Liberty to Inform you. Since I hear he is at Kettering, that he is A Most Notorious Rogue and Impostor. I have now certificates on my hand, of his having two wives alive at this present time, and he was very Near Marrying the third, in this Town, but the fear of a prosecution upon the Discovery of the flaming and Scandalous Immoralities of his life, forc'd him away from us. In a short time Afterwards, in a Village not far from us, he attempted to Ravish a Woman, but was prevented by a Soldier then in the house. I Can assure you he is in no Orders, tho' the Audacious Villain preaches when he Can get a pulpit. I have a whole packet of Letters by Me, all tending to the Same Character, which I think Exceeds, for variety of all Manner of Inormous practices, what Can be Charg'd upon the very Scum of Mankind. The Accounts are from persons of integrity and known Reputation. " I prevented him preaching one Day at Brawnstin, Mr. Somes's parish. It would be A very kind and Christian Office to give some information among the Clergy, that they may not be Impos'd upon by him. Edward Ashwell. 24-S particularly to Mr. Heyrick, for 1 Married Mr. Alli- cock's sister of Loddington. I know you will pardon this trouble if the fellow be amongst you. " I am, your affectionate Brother, W. Hodgson." We hear occasionally of this " professional beauty " in the Registers, and give two or three examples : — "June 2 1st, 1740, John Jones of Eaton Sutton in Bedfordshire, and Mary Steward of the same, came to Wood's in Fleet Lane about six o'clock in the morning. Mr. Ashwell and self had been down the Market. Wood called him, and I went with him there, found the said man and woman, offer'd Mr. Ashwell 3 shilling to marry him ; he would not, so he swore very much, and would have knocked him down, but for me. was not married, took this memorandum that they might not Pretend afterwards they was married, and not Register'd." "July 15 (1744). Came a man and wooman to the Green Canister, he was an Irishman and Taylor to bee married. Gave Mr. Ashwell 2 : 6. but would have 5s., went away, and abused Mr. Ashwell very much, told him he was a Thief, and I was worse. Took this account because should not say they was married, and not Registered. N.B. The Fellow said Mr. Warren was his relation." It was the custom for these Fleet Parsons to carry with them pocket books, in which were roughly entered the names of the Married Couple, and, occasionally, if 34^ John Floud. they wished their names to be kept secret, and paid, of course, a proportionate fee, their full names were not transcribed into the larger Register, as the following shows : — " September y^ nth, 1745. Edwd. and Eliza- beth were married, and would not let me know their names, y* man said he was a weaver, and liv'd in Bandy leg walk in the Borough. Pr. E. Ashwell." He was so famous that he was honoured with an obituary notice in the press, vide the General Advertiser^ Jan. 15, 1746. ^^ On Monday last, died, in the Rules of the Fleet, Doctor Ashwell, the most noted operator in Marriages since the death of the never-to-be-forgotten Dr. Gaynam." John Floud, or Flood, did a good business from the time of Queen Anne, 1709, to Dec. 31, 1729, when he died within the Rules of the Fleet. He was a very queer Character, keeping a mistress who played jackal! to his lion, and touted for couples to be married. He died suddenly whilst celebrating a wedding. Yet even he seems to have had some compunction as to his course of life, like Walter Wyatt : for, in one of his pocket books is the following verse. ." I have Liv'd so long I am weary Living, I wish I was dead, and my sins forgiven : Then I am sure to go to heaven, Although I liv'd at sixes and sevens." John Floud had a peculiarity ; if ever he wanted to make memoranda, which were not convenient to intro- John Floud. 34-7 duce into his ordinary Register he partially used the Greek character, as being " Caviar to the general," thus : "13 Jan. 1728. fiapp: i-hp»;»; fhTWTryt,- & ovi] C"' X'/,'""l/«X«''')- Th;/ fiplSrjypoon wag rh/j /3porh»jp of rh?] fiij^opaSXi} Jovarhai' Wi\o ExJ/x*""'/^ ar Ty€vp%'." Marr. : three shillings and one ditto Certificate. The bridegroom was the brother of the memorable Jonathan Wild, Executed at Tyburn. "8 Mar. 1728. NorhTi'v €vt a 7>ot7] of havS fop rhif fiapp'iayrj whixh vi]V7]p wag ^aTo." Nothing but a note of hand for this marriage, which never was paid. "27 August, 1728. nappXayi] Thlprtjr]!' ffhtXATj'yc & oj'jj Sc g'iX'pV^'XI XWt/^X'^''''* ''h'/ wojuaj' I'OT )(^apivy to 6// fxapphiS Iv rh?; $X/;j/r I hao rh»;ju napph]0 ar ftp (ipov^'vq ar fip YiapplqovQ Iv iptldyijovi] xoi'pr Ir rhj/ O\o BaiX/jy ar fovp o-X^oxx ''' Thj? jiopr~ivy" Marriage thirteen shillings, and one and sixpence Certificate. The woman not caring to be married in the Fleet, I had them married at Mr. Brown's, at Mr. Harrison's in Pidgeone Court, in the Old Bailey at four a'clock in the morning. "12 Aug. 1729. (j>o fivi] fhi\\Ti/yc 0>/p ToraX. N.B. Thi] 28tli 0/' A^pTX 1736 fipQ (itjKK X"F'i ^^^ Eapi/»/erXy XvrptjartjS fin to Epagij Thij fiappXayi] ovr of rh?/ jSoox for rhor hi)p hufgaj'O haS €t]ar avc aivgriS hrjp Iv a €ap€apovg fiavvijp. ... 1 fxav?] hj/o €i]\dvt] I Cic go, fop whTxh I had ha\f a yvtvija, avS ghij ar rhtf gafii} t'i/xi] cti\ivj]pi)d fit] V(p hijp XiP^lfixaTT]. No (p)jpeoi' (ppjjgijVT (Axxop^''7 ro hijp ciig'tpi]). Paid five shillings per total. N.B.— The 28th of April, 1736, Mrs. Bell came and earnestly intreated me 348 Walter Wyatt. to erase the Marriage out of the book, for that her husband had beat and abused her in a barbarous manner. ... I made her believe I did so, for which I had half a guinea, and she, at the same time, delivered me up her certificate. No person present (according to her desire). Perhaps, next to Dr. Gaynam, the bishop, no one did more business in Fleet Marriages than Walter Wyatt. We have already read some of his moral apothegms. He made a large income out of his Marriages, and, looking at the value of money, which was at least three times that of the present time, his profession was highly lucrative. Take one Month for instance. October, 1748 — Oct. y^ I at home 2 1 1 6 abroad nil. 2 „ 5 13 6 55 1 1 6 3 2 15 6 55 16 4 .. 12 3 55 10 5 » I 5 6 55 nil. 6 „ 10 6 I 4 6 7 ,, I 8 6 55 nil. ■ 17 19 Total 3 From 8th to 15th 5) • 17 6 6 ?5 15th „ 2ISt 55 10 6 „ 2ISt „ 27th 55 6 17 55 28th „ 31st 55 • 5 9 6 £S7__ 12 ^ Or nearly jC'] 00 a year — equal to about ^2,500 of our Currency. No wonder then, that when he died, March 13, 1750, he left a will behind him, which was Walter Wyatt. 349 duly proved ; and by It he left his children in ward to his brother, and different legacies to his family — to his married daughter Mary, he bequeathed five pounds, and his estate at Oxford. He describes himself, on the cover of one of the Registers, as " Mr. Wyatt, Minister of the Fleet, is removed from the Two Sawyers, the Corner of Fleet Lane (with all the Register Books), to the Hand and Pen near Holborn Bridge, where Marriages are solem- nized without Imposition." But there seem to have been other establishments which traded on Wyatt's sign, probably because he was so prosperous. Joshua Lilley kept the Hand and Pen near Fleet Bridge. Matthias Wilson's house of the same sign stood on the bank of the Fleet ditch ; John Burnford had a similar name for his house at the foot of Ludgate Hill, and Mrs. Balls also had an establishment with the same title. He seems to have attempted to invade Parson Keith's peculiar in May Fair, or it may only be an Advertising ruse on the part of that exceedingly keen practitioner, in order to bring his name prominently before the public. At all events there is an Advertisement dated August 27, 1748. '^ The Fleet Parson (who very modestly calls himself Reverend), married at the Fleet, in Mr. L yl's house, Mrs. C k's, at the Naked Boy, and for Mr. W yt, the Fleet Parson. And to shew that he is now only for Mr. W yt, the Fleet Parson's deputy, the said W yt told one in May Fair, that he intended to set up in opposition to Mr. Keith, and send goods to furnish the house, and main- 35^ Walter Wyatt. tains him and the men who ply some days at the Fleet, and at other times at May Fair. But not to speak of the men, if he himself was not a Fleet Parson, he could never stand in Piccadilly, and run after Coaches and foot people in so shameful a manner, and tell them Mr. Keith's house is shut up, and there is no Chapel but theirs ; and to other people he says, their Fleet Chapel is Mr. Keith's Chapel, and this he hath said in the hearing of Mr. Keith's clerk, and it is known to most of the people about May Fair, and likewise Mr. Keith appeals to the generality of people about the Fleet and May Fair, for proof of Mr. Reverend's being only W yts, the Fleet parson's deputy." CHAPTER XXVIII. OF JAMES STARKEY, who married from 1718 to 1730, very little is known, except that he had run away to Scotland, and could not be produced when wanted at a trial in the Old Bailey. And also of Robert Cuthbert, 1723-30 — very little is known except through the medium of his pocket books, and they recount his love of horse flesh, and the prices he paid for his mounts. Of Thomas Crawford, 17 23- 1748, we hear some- thing from a letter in that curious mdlange of News, the Gruh Street Journal^ June 10, 1736 : — '* Gentlemen, Having frequently heard of the many abominable practises of the Fleet, I had the Curiosity, May 23, to take a view of the place, as I accidently was walking by. *' The first thing observable was one J L ,^ ^ Joshua Lilly, who kept one of the Hand and Pen houses, and said that he had been appointed Registrar of Marriages, by the 2S1 The Lilleys. by trade a Carpenter (whose brother, it is said, keeps the sign of the B and G r),i cursing, swearing. Lord Chancellor, and had paid ;^i,ooo for the post. He did not marry people, but kept presumable Clergymen to do so. He is mentioned several times in the Registers and Pocket-books. Once, at all events, he was in danger of the judgment seat, as Ashwell writes in one of his pocket-books : "N.B. On Sunday, November y® 6, 1740, at y*" hour of 9, in my house declared that, if he had not come home out of y° country, being fled for punishment, having Cut of his hair (to prevent being known), y' y° indictment for marrying James Hussey to Miss Henrietta Arnold, he had (been) ruin'd but y' he swore it ofF and y^ attorney promis'd to defend him, and it cost him only a treat of 10/ ; had I staid, says the s^ Joshua Lilley, where I was, viz, , the indictment would have stood good against me, but my taking y® side of the prosecutor, y° young ladies, I have got safe off." In a Register is a notice re- lating to him. "June y" 13th, 1744. Whereas one Joshua Lilley, being a noted man for having more marriages at his house than the generality of y^ people could have, he the said Joshua Lilley keeping several plyars, as they are call'd, to gett these weddings, I have put his marriages down in a separate book, but findend ill- convenience arise thereby, fro' this 13th instant, do insert it w"* y^ rest." And one of his handbills describes him as 'L Lilley, at y'^ Hand and Pen, next door to the china shop, Fleet Bridge, London, will be perform'd the solemnization of marriages by a gentleman regularly bred att one of our Universities, and lawfully ordain'd according to the institutions of the Church of England, and is ready to wait on any person in town or countrey." ^ This was John Lilley, who kept a public-house, called the Bull and Garter. In 1717 he was found guilty, and fined five pounds, for acting as Clerk at a Fleet Marriage. He was a turnkey at the Fleet Prison, and in his house he had a room for solemniz- ing marriages — which he called a Chapel — issuing certificates bearing the City Arms, and purporting to be the Lord Mayor's Certificates. Fleet Parsons. jrj and raving in the street in the time of divine service, with a mob of people about him, calling one of his fraternity (J. E.),^ a Plyer for Weddings, an informing rogue, for informing against one of their Ministers for profane cursing and swearing, for which offence he paid three pounds odd money : the hearing of which pleased me very well, since I could find one in that notorious place which had some spark of grace left ; as was manifested by the dislike he shewed to the person that was guilty of the profanation of God's sacred name, " When the mob was dispersed, I walked about some small time, and saw a person, exceeding well-dress'd in flower'd morning gown, a band, hat and wig, who appeared so clean that I took him for some worthy divine, who might have, accidentally, be making the same remarks as myself; but upon inquiry was sur- pris'd at being assured he was one T C 2 ^ watchmaker, who goes in a Minister's dress, personating a Clergyman, and taking upon him the name of Doctor, to the scandal of the Sacred function. He may be seen any time at the Bull and Garter, or the Great Hand, and Pen and Star, with these words under written. * The old and true Register ' near the Rainbow Coffee House. — T. S." Peter Symson, who married 1 731-1754, describes himself in his handbill, as " educated at the University of Cambridge, and late Chaplain to the Earl of Rothes." ^ Probably John Evans, who married from 1689 to 1729, both, at the King's Bench and Fleet. ^ I am unable to identify these initials. 24 354 Fleet Parsons. His " Chapel " was at the Old Red Hand and Mitre, three doors from Fleet Lane, and next door to the White Swan. As were most of his fellows, he was witness in a bigamy trial in 1751. He was asked, " Why did you marry them without license ? " Symson. Because somebody would have done it, if I had not. I was ordained in Grosvenor Square Chapel by the Bishop of Winchester — the Bishop of Lincoln. Can't say I am a prisoner in the Fleet. Am 43 years old. Never had a benefice in my life. I have had little petty Curacies about ^20 or ^30 per year. I don't do it for lucre or gain. " Court. You might have exposed your person had you gone on the highway, but you'd do less prejudice to your country a great deal. You are a nuisance to the public ; and the gentlemen of the jury, it is to be hoped, will give but little credit to you." When Keith of Mayfair was committed to the Fleet, Symson married for him from 1750 to 1754. There' was another Fleet Parson named William Dare, 1732- 1746, who had such a large connection that he employed a Curate to help him ; but then, his marriages were 150 to 200 a month. James Lando is somewhat shrouded in mystery, for it is possible that he was identical with the gentleman who is described at the end of one of the Fleet Registers as *' John Lando, a French Minister, in Church Street, Soho, opposite att a French pastry or nasty Cook's. His Land- lord's name is Jinkstone, a dirty chandler's shop : he is to be heard of in the first flower next the skye." Fleet Parsons, ^SS He really was a " Chaplain of the Fleet," for he was Chaplain on board H.B.M.S. Falkland from May 29, 1744, to Jan. 17, 1746. He had a house in Half Moon Court, the first house joining to Ludgate, which was at the Corner of the Old Bailey. This he called St. John's Chapel, and here he not only solemnized marriages, but taught Latin and French three times a week. An advertisement of his states that " Marriages with a Licence, Certificate, and a Crown Stamp, at a Guinea, at the New Chapel, next door to the China Shop, near Fleet Bridge, London, by a regular bred Clergyman, and not by a Fleet Parson, as is insinuated in the public papers ; and that the town may be freed (from) mis- takes, no Clergyman being a prisoner in the Rules of the Fleet dare marry ; and to obviate all doubts, this Chapel is not in the verge of the Fleet, but kept by a Gentleman who was lately on board one of his Majesty's men of war, and likewise has gloriously distinguished himself in defence of his King and Country, and is above committing those little mean actions that some men impose on people, being determined to have every- thing conducted with the utmost decency and regu- larity, such as shall be always supported in law and equity." Burn gives a list of others who married in the Fleet, but does not pretend it to be exhaustive. Still, the list is a long one. Bates ... ... Bray field, Sam. ... 1754 Becket, John ... 1748 Bynes, Bcnj. ... 1698101711 Buckler, Sam. ... 1732101751 Barrett, Mich. ... 1717 „ 1738 S6 Fleet Parsons. Colton, James ... 1 68 1 to I72I Roberts, Edward 1698 Callow, Jos. 1752 Reynolds, E. 1749 Clayton ... 1720 Rogers, Nehemiah 1700 to 1703 Colteman 1688 Shadwell, Ralph 1733 ,, 1734 Draper ... 1689 to I7I6 Shaw, James 1723 Denevan, Francis 1747 » 1754 Sindrcy, Richard 1722 to 1740 Davis, Wm. 1718 Stacy, Edmund... I7I9 Evans, John 1689 to 1729 Shelburn, Anthony 1722 to 1737 Evans, Ed. 1727 Stainton, John ... 1730 Farren, John 1688 Simpson, Anthony 1726 to 1754 Gower, Henry ... 1689 to I7I8 Stanhope, Walter I7II Hodgkins, Thos. 1674,, 1728 Standly ... 1747 to 1750 Hanson, Anthony I73I „ 1732 Skinner,Nathaniel I7I6 Jones, John I7I8 „ 1725 Town, I. 1754 Loveday, Wm. ... 1750 Tomkings 1740 Morton ... 1720 Tarrant, John ... 1688 Marston, Edward 1713 to I7I4 ,, fi • • • 1742 to 1750 Marshall, John ... 1750 Townsend, Jacob 1754 Murry, D. I7I9 Vice, Jo. 1689 to I7I3 Nodes ... 1753 Wagstaffe, James 1689,, 1729 Oswald ... 1712 Wise, J 1709 Oglesby... 1728 to 1740 Wilkinson 1740 Privavaul Williams, Wm. ... Patterson 1732 Walker, Clem. ... 1732 to 1735 Ryder, Thos. ... 1722 to 1743 Wodmore, Isaac 1752 Which of these is the one referred to in the Gentle- man s Magazine for April 1809.^ "I should be much obliged to you also, Mr. Urban, if you, or any of your numerous and intelligent correspondents, could acquaint me with the name of a tall black clergyman, who used to solicit the commands of the votaries of Hymen at the door of a public-house known by the sign of the Cock in Fleet Market, previously to the Marriage Act." Before dismissing the subject of Fleet parsons, refe- rence must be made to the Rev. Alexander Keith of Parson Keith. 35-7 Mayfair Chapel, who has a claim to be noticed here, as he was an inhabitant of the Fleet. The Chapel in Mayfair was built somewhere about 1736, to meet the wants of the increasing neighbourhood, which was then becoming fashionable, after the abolition of the fair in Brook-field, and the first incumbent was the Rev. Alexander Keith, who claimed to have been ordained priest by the Bishop of Norwich, acting on Letters Dimissory from the Bishop of London, in June, 1731. He also stated that at the time of his appointment as preacher in the Chapel, he was Reader at the Roll's Chapel. He did a roaring trade in irregular marriages, and it was at Mayfair Chapel that the Duke of Hamil- ton espoused the youngest of the beautiful Miss Gunnings, " with a ring of the bed curtain, at half an hour past twelve at night." He had also a private chapel of his own, as we read in an advertisement of his, April, 1750. "Several persons belonging to Churches and Chapels, together with many others, supposing the Marriages at May Fair New Chapel to be detrimental to their interest, have made it their Business to rave and clamour, but in such a Manner, as not to deserve to Answer, because every Thing they have said tends to expose their own Igno- rance and Malice, in the Opinion of People of good Sense and Understanding. We are informed, that Mrs. Keith's Corpse was removed from her Husband's House in May Fair, the Middle of October last, to an Apothe- cary's in South Audley Street, where she lies in a Room hung with Mourning, and is to continue there till Mr. Keith can attend her Funeral ! The way to Mr. 358 Parson Keith. Keith's Chapel is thro' Piccadilly, by the End of St. James's Street and down Clarges Street, and turn on the Left Hand. The Marriages (together with a Licence on a Five Shilling Stamp, and Certificate) are carried on as usual, any time till Four in the Afternoon, by another regular Clergyman, at Mr. Keith's little Chapel in May Fair, near Hyde Park Corner, opposite the great Chapel, and within ten Yards of it. There is a Porch at the Door like a Country Church Porch." His wife died in 1 749 whilst he was in the Fleet prison, which accounts for his inability to attend her funeral. Why he was imprisoned is as follows. By advertising, and other means, his Marriages at Mayfair were very popular, and interfered greatly with the Vested Interests of the neighbouring clergy, one of whom, Dr. Trebeck, rector of St. George's, Hanover Square, brought a lawsuit against him, in the Ecclesias- tical Court. He defended himself, but unsuccessfully, for a sentence of excommunication was promulgated against him on Oct. 27, 1742. Two could play at that game, so Keith excommuni- cated, at his Chapel in Mayfair, his bishop, the judge who condemned him, and the prosecutor, Dr. Trebeck, but none of them seem to have been any the worse for the operation. Such, however, was not the case with Keith, for, on Jan. 24, 1743, a decree was issued for his apprehension. This did not take effect till April, 1743, when he was committed to the Fleet ; the marriages at Mayfair being continued, as we have seen, by Symson and Denevan. He lay in the Fleet about fifteen years, and in 1753, Parson Keith. 2S9 when Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act was being dis- cussed, he thence issued a pamphlet of thirty-two pages, with his portrait attached, entitled, " Observations on the Act for preventing Clandestine Marriages." In it he gives what seems to be *' a plain, unvarnished tale " of Fleet Marriages. "As I have married many thou- sands, and, consequently, have on those occasions seen the humour of the lower class of people, I have often asked the married pair how long they had been acquainted ; they would reply, some more, some less, but the generality did not exceed the acquaintance of a week, some only of a day, half-a-day, &c. . . . Another inconveniency which will arise from this Act will be, that the expence of being married will be so great, that few of the lower class of people can afford ; for I have often heard a Flete parson say, that many have come to be married when they have but half-a-crown in their pockets, and sixpence to buy a pot of beer, and for which they have pawned some of their cloaths. ... I remember once on a time, I was at a public-house at Radcliffe, which was then full of Sailors and their girls, there was fiddling, piping, jigging, and eating ; at length one of the tars starts up, and says, * D — m ye, Jack, I'll be married just now ; I will have my partner, and ' . . . The joke took, and in less than two hours ten couple set out for the Flete. I staid their return. They returned in coaches ; five women in each coach ; the tars, some running before, others riding on the coach box, and others behind. The Cavalcade being over, the couples went up into an upper room, where they con- cluded the evening with great jollity. The next time I 360 Parson Keith. went that way, I called on my landlord and asked him concerning this marriage adventure ; he first stared at me, but, recollecting, he said those things were so fre- quent, that he hardly took any notice of them ; for, added he, it is a common thing, when a fleet comes in, to have two or three hundred marriages in a week's time, among the sailors." The Marriage Act was passed, and came into force on March 26, 1754. On the 25th Sixty-one Couples were married at Mayfair Chapel. It was a death blow to the Reverend Alexander, although he tried to laugh it off, if Horace Walpole may be believed. In a letter to George Montagu, Esqr. (June 1 1, 1753), he says : " I shall only tell you a bon mot of Keith's, the marriage broker, and conclude. ' G — d d — n the Bishops,' said he (I beg Miss Mon- tagu's pardon), * so they will hinder my marrying. Well, let 'em, but I'll be revenged : I'll buy two or three acres of ground, and by G — d, I'll under bury them all.'" This may have been true, but it was mere bravado, for he appealed from his prison to the benevolent, as we see by the following advertisement. " To the Corn-pas- sionate, By the late Marriage Act, the Rev. Mr. Keith, from a great Degree of Aflluence, is reduc'd to such a deplorable State of Misery in the Fleet Prison, as is much better to be conceiv'd than related, having scarce any other thing than Bread and Water to subsist on. It is to be hoped he will be deemed truly unde- serving such a Fate, when the Publick are assured, that not foreseeing such an unhappy Stroke of Fortune, as Parson Keith. j6i the late Act, he yearly expended almost his whole Income (which amounted to several Hundred Pounds per Annum) in relieving not only single distress'd Per- sons, but even whole Families of wretched Objects of Compassion. This can be attested by several Persons of the strictest Character and Reputation, as well as by Numbers who experienced his Bounty. Mr. Keith's present calamitous Situation renders him perhaps as great an Object of Charity himself, as all Circumstances consider'd, as ever in his better Days partook of his own Assistance, or that of others equally compassionate; and is indeed sufficient to awaken Humanity in the most uncharitable. Any Gentleman or Lady may be satisfied of the above by applying to Mr. Brooke, En- graver, facing Water Lane, Fleet Street, by whom Donations from the Publick will be received for the Use of Mr. Keith." CHAPTER XXIX. KEITH'S written description of a Fleet Marriage is graphic, but a contemporary engraving brings it even more vividly before us. This was pub- lished Oct. 20, 1747, and gives an excellent view of the Fleet Market as it then was. It is called " A Fleet Wedding, Between a brisk young Sailor, and his Landlady's Daughter at Rederiff." " Scarce had the Coach discharg'd it's trusty Fare, But gaping Crouds surround th' amorous Pair ; The busy Flyers make a mighty Stir ! And whisp'ring cry, d'ye want the Parson, Sir ? Pray step this way — just to the Pen in" Hand The Doctor's ready there at your Command : This way (another cries) Sir, I declare The true and ancient Register is Here. Th' alarmed Parsons quickly hear the Din ! And haste with soothing words t'invite them in : In this Confusion jostled to and fro, Th' inamour'd Couple knows not where to go : Till slow advancing from the Coache's Side Th' experienc'd Matron came (an artful Guide) She led the way without regarding either. And the first parson spliced 'em both together." The Bunter's Wedding. 2^S The Context to this is a companion Engraving of *' The Sailor's Fleet Wedding Entertainment," which most aptly illustrates Keith's description, but the poetry attached to it will scarcely bear modern repro- duction. But, if a poetical account of a Fleet Wedding is needed, it may be found in " The Bunter's Wedding." " Good people attend, I'll discover, A Wedding that happen'd of late, I cannot tell why we should smother. The weddings of poor more than great ; 'Twixt Ben of the Borough so pretty. Who carries a basket, 'tis said, And dainty plump Kent street fair Kitty, A Coney Wool Cutter by trade. The guests were all quickly invited, Ben order'd the dinner by noon. And Kitty was highly delighted, They obey'd the glad summons so soon : An ox cheek was order'd for dinner, With plenty of porter and gin, Ben swore on the oath of a sinner. Nothing should be wanting in him. Joe the sandman, and Bessy the buntcr. We hear from St. Giles's did prance, Dick the fiddler, and Sally the Mumper, Brought Levi the Jew for to dance. Tom the Chanter he quickly was present. And squinting black Molly likewise. With Billy the Dustman quite pleasant. And Nell with no nose and sore eyes. Ned the drover was also invited, Unto this gay wedding to come, 366 The Bunter's Wedding. From Smithfield he came quite delighted, Before that the market was done. And Fanny the pretty match maker, A sister to young bunting Bess, She wished the devil might take her If she was not one of the guests. Dolly the rag woman's daughter. From Tyburn road she did stride, And Jenny the quilter came after Whose nose it stood all of one side ; There was Roger the chimney sweeper, No soot he would gather that day. But, because he would look the compleater. His soot bag and brush threw away. There was bandy leg'd sheep's head Susan We hear from Field Lane she did hie. And draggle tail'd Pat with no shoes on. Who pins and laces doth cry ; Ralph the grinder he set by his barrow, As soon as he heard of the news. And swore he would be there to-morrow, Atho' he'd no heels to his shoes. Sam the grubber, he having had warning, His wallet and broom down did lay. And early attended next morning, The bride for to give away ; And Peggy the mop yarn spinner. Her Cards and her wheel set aside. And swore as she was a sinner, She'd go and attire the bride. Nan the tub woman out of Whitechapel, Was also invited to go. And, as she was 'kin to the couple, She swore she the stocking would throw ; The Bunter's Wedding. 367 So having all gather'd together, As they appointed to meet. And being all birds of a feather. They presently flocked to the Fleet. But when at Fleet Bridge they arrived, The bridegroom was handing his bride. The sailors \_P p/yers'\ they all to them drived, Do you want a Parson ? they cry'd ; But as they down Fleet Ditch did prance. What house shall we go to ? says Ben, Then Kitty, in raptures, made answer Let's go to the Hand and the Pen. Then into the house they did bundle. The landlady shew'd them a room. The landlord he roar'd out like thunder. The parson shall wait on you soon : Then so eager he came for to fasten, He staid not to fasten his hose, A fat bellied ruddy fac'd parson. That brandy had painted his nose. But before (he) the couple did fasten He look'd all around on the men. My fee's half a crown, says the parson, — I freely will give it, says Ben : Then Hymen he presently follow'd And the happy knot being ty'd The guests they whooped and hollow'd. All joys to the bridegroom and bride. Like Malt horses home they all pranced. The bride she look'd not like the same. And thus thro' the City they danced ; But, when to the Borough they came. The bride to look buxom endeavour'd. The bridegroom as brisk as an eel ; With the marrow bones and cleavers, The butchers they rang them a peal. 368 The Bunter's Wedding. And, as they were homewards advancing, A-dancing, and singing of songs, The rough music met them all prancing, With frying pans, shovels, and tongs : Tin Canisters, salt boxes plenty. With trotter bones beat by the boys. And they being hollow and empty, They made a most racketting noise. Bowls, gridirons, platters, and ladles, And pokers, tin kettles did bruise. The noise, none to bear it was able. The warming pans beat with old shoes : Such a rattling racketting uproar, Had you but have heard it, no doubt. All hell was broke loose you'd have swore, Arwi the devils were running about. The Mob they all hollow'd and shouted. In the streets as they passed along. The people to see how they scouted. Together in clusters did throng; They made all the noise they was able, And thus they were ushered in, But e'er they all sat down to table. They each had a glass of old gin. Dinner being decently ended. The table was cleared with speed. And they to be merry intended. So strait did to dancing proceed ; But Harry the night man so jolly. With madness he almost cry'd. And all the night sat melancholy. For he had a mind for the bride." There are four more verses, but they are not worth transcribing — besides, there is a very good prose account Fleet Parsons. 369 of the doings at the Fleet, which, certainly, bears the impress of truth. It is in No. 270 of the Grub Street Journal^ Feb. 27, 1735 : — '* Sir, There is a very great evil In this town, and of dangerous consequence to our sex, that has never been suppressed, to the great prejudice, and ruin, of many hundreds of young people, every year ; which I beg some of your learned heads to consider of, and consult of proper ways and means to prevent for the future : I mean the ruinous marriages that are practised in the liberty of the Fleets and thereabouts, by a sett of drunken, swearing parsons, with their Myrmidons that wear black coats, and pretend to be clerks, and registers to the Fleet. These ministers of wickedness ply about Ludgate Hill, pulling and forcing people to some pedling alehouse, or brandy shop, to be married, even on a Sunday, stopping them as they go to church, and almost tearing their cloaths off their backs. To confirm the truth of these facts, I will give you a case or two, which lately hap- pened : — '* Since midsummer last, a young lady of birth and fortune, was deluded and forced from her friends, by the assistance of a very wicked, swearing parson, married to an atheistical wretch, whose life is a continual practice of all manner of vice and debauchery. And, since the ruin of my relation, another lady of my acquaintance had like to have been trapanned in the following manner : — " This lady had appointed to meet a gentlewoman at the Old Play-house in Drury Lane ; but extraordinary business prevented her coming. Being alone, when 25 370 Fleet Parsons. the play was done, she bade a boy call a coach for the City. One drest like a gentleman helps her into it, and jumps in after her. ^ Madam,' says he, ' this coach was called for me : and since the weather is so bad, and there is no other, I beg leave to bear you company ; I am going into the City, and will set you down wherever you please.' The lady begged to be excused ; but he bade the coachman drive on. Being come to Ludgate hill, he told her his sister, who waited his coming, but five doors up the Court, would go with her in two minutes. He went, and returned with his pretended sister, who asked her to step in one minute, and she would wait upon her in the coach. " Deluded with the assurance of having his sister's company, the poor lady foolishly followed her into the house, when, instantly, the sister vanish'd ; and a tawny fellow in a black coat and black wig appeared. ' Madam, you are come in good time, the doctor was just a going.' 'The doctor,' says she, horribly frighted, fearing it was a madhouse ; * What has the doctor to do with me ? ' ' To marry you to that gentleman : the doctor has waited for you these three hours, and will be payed by you or the gentleman before you go.' ' That gentle- man,' says she, recovering herself, ' is worthy a better fortune than mine.' And begged hard to be gone. But doctor Wryneck swore she shou'd be married; or, if she wou'd not, he would still have his fee, and register the marriage from that night. The lady, finding she could not escape without money or a pledge, told them she liked the gentleman so well, she would certainly meet him to-morrow night, and gave them a ring as a pledge : Exchange of Wives. 371 which, says she, * was my mother's gift on her death- bed, injoining that if ever I married, it should be my wedding ring.' By which cunning contrivance, she was delivered from the black, doctor, and his tawny crew. " Some time after this, I went with this lady, and her brother, in a coach to Ludgate Hill, in the day time, to see the manner of their picking up people to be married. As soon as our coach stopt near Fleet Bridge, up comes on of the Myrmidons. ' Madam,' says he, * you want a parson.' * Who are you?* says I. ^ I am the clerk and register of the Fleet.' ' Show me the Chapel.' At which comes a second, desiring me to go along with him. Says he, * That fellow will carry you to a pedling alehouse. Says a third, ' Go with me, he will carry you to a brandy shop.' In the interim, comes the doctor. ' Madam,' says he, * I'll do your jobb for you presently.' * Well, gentlemen,' says I, ' since you can't agree, and I can't be married quietly, I'll put it off 'till another time,' so drove away." Some of the stories of Fleet Marriages read like romances, yet they are all taken from contemporary accounts. Here, for instance, is a fact, scarcely to be believed nowadays : — "Jan. 5, 1742. On Tuesday last two Persons, one of Skinner Street, and the other of Webb's Square, Spittle Fields, exchang'd Wives, to whom they had been married upwards of twelve Years ; and the same Day, to the Content of all Parties, the Marriages were consummated at the Fleet. Each Husband gave his Wife away to the other, and in the Evening had an Entertainment together." 372 Singular Marriage, Or this from the Whitehall Evening Post, July 24, 1739 • — " ^^ Tuesday last a Woman indifferently well dress'd came to the sign of the Bull and Garter, next Door to the Fleet Prison, and was there married to a Soldier ; in the afternoon she came again, and would have been married to a Butcher, but that Parson who had married her in the Morning refused to marry her again, which put her to the Trouble of going a few Doors further, to another Parson, who had no Scruple." Here is another story indicative of the Manners and Morals of those days : — Oct. 1739. '^ Last Week, a merry Widow, near Bethnal Green, having a pretty many Admirers, not to be over Cruel, she equally dispensed her Favours between two, who were the highest in her Esteem. The one, a Butcher, meeting the good Woman, took the Advantage of the others Absence, and pleaded his Cause so successfully, that they tuck'd up their Tails, trudg'd to the Fleet, and were tack'd together. Home they both jogg'd to their several habitations, the Bride- groom to his, and the Bride to her's. Soon after came another of her Admirers, an honest Weaver, who, upon hearing of the Melancholy News, had no more Life in him for some time than one of the Beams of his Loom ; but, recovering himself a little from the Surprize he was seized with a sudden Delirium, swore his Loom should be his Gibbet, and he'd hang himself pendant at the End of his Garter, if he also was not tack'd to his comfort- able Rib : The good Widow, considering that the Butcher had not bedded with her, and desirous of pre- venting Murder, consented, and away she jogg'd to be coupled to the Weaver. On their return home, to Bed Singular Marriage. 373 they went, and the Butcher coming to see his dear Spouse, found her in Bed with the Weaver ; upon which a Quarrel ensued, and the Butcher being the best Man, she left the Weaver and went to the Butcher, being willing to please them both, as well as she could." CHAPTER XXX. THERE are several instances of Committal to the Fleet for meddling with Marriages. One or two will suffice : — 1731. "Thursday, the Master of the Rolls committed a Clergyman to the Fleet for marrying a young Gentleman about 17 years of Age at Eaton School, and intitled to an Estate of ^1500 per Annum, to a Servant Maid : and at the same time committed the person who gave her in Marriage. His Honour had some days since sent as Prisoner to the Fleet, the Person who pretended to be the Youth's Guardian, and who had given a Bond to indemnify the Parson." 1735. "Two Sisters were committed to the Fleet prison, by an order of the high Court of Chancery, for drawing a young fellow into marriage, he being a ward of the said Court." Dec. 28, 1734. " Last Saturday Night Mr. D late Valet de Chambre to a certain Noble Lord near 376 A RuNNAWAY Marriage. Soho Square, went away, as was suspected, with his Lordship s Niece, a young Lady not yet of Age, and a Coheiress to a very large Estate. It seems they took a Hackney Coach soon after they got out of Doors, and upon strict Enquiry, the Coachman was found out, who declared that he took a Gentleman and a Lady up at such a Place, and set them down at the Fleet and by the Description he gave it appeared to be the two Lovers who may therefore be supposed to have been married and bedded that Night. A Warrant was im- mediately obtained for apprehending the Supposed Bridegroom, and he was accordingly taken in Bed with his Lady at a house in Queen Street near Guildhall, on Wednesday Morning last, and immediately carried to Poultry Compter, and the Lady was carried off by her Friends. In the Afternoon he was examined, and after- wards re-committed to the same Prison. So that it '^T^V' Vf"' ^'' endeavouring to get himself a R^cbmfe, which IS a Practice followed by all the youn^ Gentlemen of Quality in England ; but the Difference is That this young fellow has married, or endeavoured to marry an Heiress without the Consent of her Friends whereas the other generally marry or endeavour to marry Heiresses without their own Consent. It has since been found out that they were married by a Roman Catholic There was a faint-hearted protest on the part of the Heet authorities, against the Marriages, but I can find no attempt at prosecution, other than for marrying with- out a stamped licence, in spite of the following advertise- Fortune's Married. 377 " September, 1743. Whereas the Methods hitherto taken to prevent clandestine Marriages at the Fleet have prov'd ineffectual, though legal Notice hath been given by the Warden of the Fleet to such of hisTenants in whose houses it is reputed such Marriages have been suffer'd, to quit the Possession thereof; therefore, and as such Warning cannot immediately have the desir'd Effect, this Publick Notice is given, that, whoever shall make it appear to the Warden's Satisfaction that any of his Pri- soners, shall at any time hereafter clandestinely marry, or be, in any manner however, concern'd in any clandestine -Marriage, or suffer such Marriages to be performed in his, hers, or their Houses, or Lodgings, such Person or Persons making such Discovery, shall receive a Guinea Reward from the Turnkey of the said Prison. "William Manning, Turnkey." There were several people of fortune married by Fleet parsons vide Grub Street Journal^ September 18, 1735, *' Married yesterday Will Adams, Esqr., to Miss Eleanor Watkins, a beautiful young lady, with a fortune of ;^ 1 5,000." And in the Gentleman s Magazine , May 6, 1735, "Married the Lord Robert Montagu, to Mrs. Harriet Dunch of Whitehall, with a fortune of ^15,000." Somewhat of a curiosity is recorded in " Notes and Queries," 4 series, vol. xii. p. 295. "I have before me an engraved medal, bearing the following inscription, about which I should be glad of information. ' May y^ 3, 1 76 1. Thos. Wisely Maried Sarah Boswell in the Fleet Prison.'" This, in all probability, was a half- 37^ Illegal Marriage. crown with one side made smooth, and the above engraved upon it. There is no doubt but that, with a duly stamped licence and until they were specially done away with by Lord Hardwicke's Act of 1753, these marriages were legal ; still there is an instance recorded in the General Evening Postj June ft, 1745, in which a Fleet marriage was ruled to be illegal. ^' Yesterday came on a cause at Doctor's Commons, wherein the plaintiff brought his action against the defendant for pretending to be his wife. She, in her justification, pleaded a marriage at the Fleet the 6th of February, 1737, and produced a Fleet Certificate, which was not allowed as evidence. She likewise offered to produce the minister she pretended married them, but he being excom- municate for clandestine marriages, could not be received as a witness. The Court thereupon pronounced against the marriage, and condemned her in ^^28, the costs of the suit." The Registers in which these marriages were entered have mostly had an eventful and chequered career. Many have, doubtless, disappeared for ever, and it is extremely probable that some are in private hands, one being in the Bodleian Library. They were to be bought by any one interested in them, and the present collection cannot be considered as being at all perfect. We learn the adventures of some of them through the evidence of a Mrs. Olive, who produced one at a trial at Shrewsbury in 1794. This woman was originally a servant to Joshua Lilly, and used to " ply " or tout for him, and at his death married one Owens, who succeeded to one Fleet Marriage Registers. 379 of Lilly's marriage houses, and who, probably, bought his Registers from his representatives. At this Trial^she said : " My first husband was Thos. Owens. I had the Register Books of Fleet Marriages in my possession from my Marriage in 1761 till I went to America eleven years ago. I then sold them to Mr. Panton. My husband Owens died about 1773. My husband made a will. I had the possession of the books myself, as my husband had other business. I heard my husband say he purchased these books. He had a Marriage House in Fleet Lane. I used the books to grant certificates upon parish affairs." After her Marriage with Olive she still made use of o these Registers, for we read in an Advertisement that " All the original Register Books containing the marriages solemnized at the Fleet, May Fair, and the Mint, for upwards of one hundred years past, may be searched by applying to George Olive, at the Wheat Sheaf, in Nicholls Square, near Cripplegate. The great utility of these Collections prevents any encomiums." About 1783 a Mr. Benjamin Panton bought of Mrs. Olive some five or six hundred of these books, weigh- ing more than a ton, and used to produce them occa- sionally on trials at law, and they were always accepted as evidence. At his death in 1805 he left these to his daughter, who still utilised them as her father had done, as a hand- bill shows. "All the original Register Books of the Marriages in the Fleet, May Fair, and Mint, are now in the possession of M. Panton (Register Keeper), No. 50, Houndsditch, by whom they are examined, and Certificates of Marriages granted." 380 Fleet Marriage Registers. In 1 8 1 3 she sold them to a Mr. William Cox, who, in 1 82 1, sold them to the Government for ^^260 6s. 6d., and the following letter shows us what became of them. "Whitehall, April 25, 1821. " Sir, — It having been judged expedient to purchase a set of books containing the original Entries of Marriages solemnized in the Fleet Prison, and Rules thereof, from the year 1686 to the year 1754. I have been honoured with his Majesty's commands to desire that you will receive the said books from Mr. Maule the Solicitor to the Treasury, and give him a receipt for the same, and deposit them in the Registry of the Consistory Court of London. " I have the honour to be, Sir, " Your most obedient humble Servant, "SiDMOUTH. "The Registrar of the Consistory Court of London, or his Deputy." Here they remained until the abolition of the Court in 1840, by Act of Parliament, 3 and 4 Vic. cap. 92, when they were declared inadmissible as evidence in law. Sec. 6 says, " And be it enacted That all Registers and Records deposited in the General Register Office by virtue of this Act, except the Registers and Records of Baptisms and Marriages at The Fleet y and King's Bench Prisons, at May Fair^ at the Mint in Southwarky and elsewhere, which were deposited in the Registry of the Bishop of London in the Year One Thousand Eight Fleet Marriage Registers. 381 Hundred and Twenty One, as hereinafter mentioned, shall be deemed to be in legal Custody, and shall be receivable in Evidence In all Courts of Justice, subject to the Provisions hereinafter contained." And Section 20 provides thus, ^'And be it enacted, That the several Registers and Records of Baptisms and Marriages performed at the Fleet " (&c., &c., as in Section 6) '^ shall be transferred from the said Registry to the Custody of the Registrar-General, who is hereby directed to receive the same for safe custody." And it recapitulates that they shall not be received as evidence at law. They are kept at Somerset House, where they can be examined for a small fee. A great number of them are memorandum books, and Burn, when he examined them at Doctors Commons, in 1833, did not much like his job. " It is to be wished that they were better arranged and indexed. There are several very large indexes, which only requires a little time and attention to ascertain to what Registers they refer. The Pocket books also, might be bound together, and preserved from dust and dirt ; and if Government would give about ;/^300 these objects might be attained. It was a labour of many months to go through so many hundreds of dusty, dirty, and sometimes ragged books." The entries in the pocket-books are quainter than those in the registries, as they are the first Impressions, and the others are polished up. We find from them that it was not infrequent to antedate the Registers, and Lilley did so on one occasion, "■ there being a vacancy in the Book suitable to the time." And, again, *' These 382 Extracts from Registers. wicked people came this day, Peter Oliver, of St. Olave's, carpenter, and Elizabeth Overton, would have a certificate dated in 1729, or would not be married if it was not to be dated to this time — went to Lilley's and was married." Perhaps the most extraordinary entries in these books are those of two women going through the ceremony of marriage with each other — "20 May, 1737. J"° Smith, Gent, of S' James Wesf Batch-^ & Eliz. Huthall of S' Giles's Sp-" at Wilsons. By y^ opinion after Matrimony, my Clark judg'd they were both women, if y^ person by name John Smith be a man, he's a little short fair thin man, not above 5 foot. After marriage I almost c'd prove y"" both women, the one was dress'd as a man, thin pale face, & wrinkled chin." "1734 Dec. 15. John Mountford of S' Ann's Sohoe, Taylor. B., Mary Cooper. Ditto. Sp. Suspected 2 Women, no Certif." " I Oct. 1747. John Ferren, Gent, Ser. of S' Andrew's Holborn B"" and Deborah Nolan. D° Sp". The supposed John Ferren was discovered after y^ Cere- monies were over, to be in person a woman." There is one entry, " The Woman ran across Lud- gate Hill in her shift." In the Daily Journal of November 8, 1725, a woman went to be married in that sole garment, at Ulcomb, in Kent ; and in the Parish Register of Chiltern All Saints in October 17, 17 14, it says : *' The aforesaid Anne Sell wood was married in her I Extracts from Registers. 383 Smock, without any clothes or head gier on." This was a vulgar error, but the idea in so acting was that the husband was not liable for any of his wife's pre-nuptiai debts. The candidates for matrimony were occasionally not over-honest, as — " Had a noise for foure hours about the Money." " N.B. Stole a Silver Spoon." "Stole my Cloathes Brush." " N.B. Married at a Barber's Shop next Wilsons viz., one Kerrils for half a Guinea, after which it was extorted out of my pocket, and for fear of my life delivered." " They behaved very vilely, and attempted to run away with M" Crooks Gold Ring." But then, again, these Fleet parsons had customers of a higher grade, as " Dec. i, 1716. Dan Paul, S' James's, Capt" in y" Horse Guards." "March y" 4'^ 1740. William — and Sarah — he dress'd in a gold waistcoat like an Officer, she a Beautifull young Lady with 2 fine diamond Rings, and a Black high Crown Hat and very well dressed." " Nov. y^ 24, 1733 att y^ Baptized hed Tavern to go to M"" Gibbs for to marry him in y® coun- trey — Wife worth ^^i 8,000." "Sept' 5, 1744 Andrew Mills, Gent, of the Temple, & Charlotte Gail lairdy of S' Mildred, Poultry at M' Boyce's, King's head. N.B. One gentleman came first in a merry manner to make a bargain w"" the Minister for the marriage, and imme- diately came the parties themselves, disguising their dress by contrivances, particularly buttning up the coat, because the rich wastecoat should not be seen, &c." The Church of England Marriage Service was gene- rally used, but, in one instance, as shown by a pocket- 384 End of Fleet Marriages, book, it was somewhat modified, as when the ring is given the Trinity is not mentioned, but the words are altered to " from this time forth for evermore. Amen;" and when the couple promise to hold together " accord- ing to God's holy ordinance," it was rendered " according to law." There seems to have been but one example of the officiating Clergyman administering the Sacra- ment at a Marriage, and that was done by the Rev. W. Dan, who describes himself as " priest of the Church of England." " October 2"*^ 1743 John Figg, of S' John's the Evang^ Gent, a Widower, and Rebecca Woodward, of Ditto, Spinster, at y^ same time gave her y'' Sacra- ment." The Scandal of Fleet Marriages remained unchecked until 1753, when the Lord Chancellor brought forward and passed '■'An Act for the better preventing of clan- destine marriages" — 26 Geo. III. cap. 23 — which, in its different sections, provides that the Banns of Matri- mony are to be published according to the rubric, &c., the marriage to be solemnized in one of the churches where the banns had been published. Marriage by licence could only take place in the church or chapel of such parish, &c., where one of the parties should have resided for four weeks previously. This was the death-blow to the Fleet Marriages, as any contravention of the law was made punishable by transportation " to some of his Majesty's plantations in America for the space of fourteen years, according to the laws in force for the transportation of felons." The Act came into force on March 26, 1754, but people took advantage of the Fleet Marriages until the End of Fleet Marriages. 385 last moment, and that In great numbers, for in one Register alone there is a list of 2 1 7 weddings celebrated on the 25 th of March ! The last Fleet Wedding is recorded in the Times of July 10, 1840 : " Mr. John Mossington, aged 76, and a Prisoner in the Fleet, more than 15 years, was, on Wednesday, married to Miss Anne Weatherhead, aged 62, at St. Bride's Church, The Lady had travelled 36 Miles to meet her bridegroom, who is, without excep- tion, one of the most extraordinary men in this County. He takes his morning walks round the Fleet prison yard, which he repeats three or four times a day, with as much rapidity as a young man could do of the age of 20. The Road from Farringdon Street to the Church, was lined with Spectators who knew of the event, and the Church was equally filled to hear the Ceremony performed. The Courtship first com- menced 41 years ago, and Mr. Mossington has now fulfilled hi* promise." The End. 26 INDEX. Aldgate Pump, I Alsatia, 223, 224 Annis (Dame) the Cleare, 10 Antiquarian Discoveries, 18, 19 Apothecaries Hall, 205 Apprentices and City Authorities, 216, 217, 218 Archer, J. W., 81 Archery, 116, 117 Artillery Ground, 116 Ashwell, E., 344, 345, 346 Bagnigge House, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 Bagnigge Wells, 4, 73, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 120 Bambridge, Thos., 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 296 Basset, Bartholomew, 337, 338 Battle Bridge, 38, 39 Baynard's Castle, 5-15 Bear baiting, 139, 140, 141 Begging Grate, 275, 276 Billingsgate, fountain at, 14 Black Mary's Hole, 77, 78, 79, 85 Bleeding Heart Yard, 164 Boughton, 247, 250, 251, 252, 253 "Boy" (Prince Rupert's Dog), 154 Brabazon, Roger Ic, 6-15 Brent, the, 21 Bridewell, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221 Brill, the, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43 Brooke Street, Hanover Square, 2 Brothers, 105 Brown's Dairy, 34 Bull baiting, 139, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147 Burner's Wedding, the, 365, 366, 367, 368 388 Index. Cantelows, 32, 35, 49 Chad's, St., Well, 45,46, 47, 48, 49' 5O' Sh 52 Chcapc Conduit, 14 City Authorities and Apprentices, 216, 217, 2l8j Clement's Well, 8, 9 Clerken Well, 4, 8, 9, 45, 183, 184,^185 Cobham's Head, 115 Cock, a man eats a live, 70 Coldbath, 4, III, 112 Coldbath Fields, lii, 118, 119 Coldbath Fields Prison, 99, 100, loi, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, no Coin, stinks at, 16 Conduits, 13, 14 Conduit, White, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 120 Coppin, Edward, 255, 256, 257 Cornhill, the Tun in, 14 Court Room at Bridewell, 219, 220, 221 Cresswell, Mother, 219 Cripplegate, fountain at, 14 Cripplegate Pool, 8, 1 1 Cruikshank, Isaac Robert, 309, 310 Dustman, the Literary, 44, 45 Election, a mock, 308, 309 "Elephant," skeleton of, found, 17 Ely Place, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 1 68, 169, 170 Everett, John, 41, 42 Fagin, 158, 159, 160, 161 Fag's Well, 8, 10 FalstafF, Sir John, 240 Field Lane, 158, 160, 161 Fighting, 137, 138, 139 Fleet Bridge, 189, 190, 191, 193 Fleet, derivation of name, 2 Fleet Ditch, 1-7, 14, i6, 17, 18, 19, 20, 176, 226 Fleet Market, 186, 187, 188 Fleet Marriages, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 333, 335» 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 359, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385 Fleet Prison, the, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325 Fleet Registers, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384 Index. 389 Fleet River, 26, 27, 28, 29, 100, 155, 172, 185, 186, 188, 225, 227 Floud, John, 346, 347, 348 Forcer, proprietor of Sadler's Wells, 71 Foster, Sir Stephen, 201, 202 Fountain at Billingsgate, 14 Fountain at Paul's Wharf, 14 Fountain at St. Giles, Cripple- gate, 14 Garnish, 293, 294, 295 Garth, Dr., 205 Gaynam, John, 340, 341, 342, 343 Gordon, Lord George, 25, 301, 302 Gospel Oak, 29, 30, 31 Griffith, Chas., 91 Gwynne, Nell, 32, 81, 82, 83 Hampstead, 7-14, 26 Hampstead Ponds, 27 Harris, Alex., Warden of the Fleet, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259 Hatton Garden, 163 Hatton, the Chancellor, 163, 164 Hemp beetling at Bridewell, 210, 211, 213 Hockley-in-the-Hole, 137, 139, 146, 147, 148, 152 Hogarth, 274 Holborn Bridge, 170, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176 Holy Well, 8, 9, 10 Horse Pool, 8, 1 1 Howard, John, 214, 216, 295, 296, 297 Huggins, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 272, 275 "Humours of the Fleet," 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291 Hunt, "Orator," 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134 Huntingdon, Lady, 122, 123, 124, 125 Keith, Parson, 349, 35°. 354' 3 5^, 357, 358, 359' 360, 361 Ken Wood, 25 Kentish Town, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 35 King's Cross, 38, 43, 44 Ladies' ablutions, 113 Lamb's Conduit, 4, 179, 180, 181, 182 Lando, James, 354, 355 Langbourne, 8 Leveland, Nathaniel de, 229 Lilley, John, 352 Lilley, Joshua, 349, 351, 352, 378 Loders Well, 8, 10 Ludgate Prison, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203 Macklin, 72 Man drowned in the Fleet River, 226 Man frozen in the Fleet River, 226 Mansfield, Earl of, 25 39° Index. Marriages, 330, 331, '332. 372, 375 Mary Ic Bourne, St., 2 Mayfair Chapel, 357, 358, 360 Merlin's Cave, 129 Miles' Musick house, 69 Mill at Bridewell, 209, 210 Moat, the Fleet Prison, 235, 236 Montfitchet Castle, 208 Mottram, John, 339 Nelson, Lord, 35 Northampton Chapel, 123 Oastler, Richard, 325 Old Bourne, 5, 8 Oldcastle, the Sir John, 17, 112, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118 Pancras, St., 29, 36, 37 Pancras Wash, 38 Pantheon, the, 119, 120, 121, 122 Parliament Hill, 31, 36 Parsons, Fleet, 328, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339' 340, 341, 342. 343, 344, 345, 34^, 347, 348, 349. 350, 35i> 352, 353, 354, 355, 356 Paul's Wharf, fountain at, 14 Peerless Pool, 1 1 Periless Pond, 1 1 Physicians, College of, 205 Pickwick and Hampstead Ponds, 27 Pindar of Wakefield, 73, 74, 75 Pools, 8-1 1 Prisoners, Poor, 324, 325 " Punch" and Bagnigge Wells, 93, 94, 95, 96 Rackets, 303, 304, 305 Rad Well, 8, 10, 80 Rhone, 48, 51 Riots, no Popery, 25, 26, 301, 302, 303 Rules of the Fleet, 263 Rupert, Prince, 154 Rush boats, 21 Rye House Plot, 188, 189 Sadler's Wells, 53, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 120 Saffron Hill, 155, 156, 157 Schools, King Edward's, 218, 219 Sedley Place, Oxford Street, 1 3 Shepherd's Well, Hampstead, 22 Skinner's Well, 8-10 Small Pox Hospital, 118, 119 Spa Fields Chapel, 123, 124 Spa Field Riots, 127, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135 "Spence's Plan," 127, 128 Springs, 1-7, 8, 9, 10 "Steel," The, 102 Sword Play, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152 Symson, Peter, 353, 354 Tod Well, 10 Tonne, or Tunnc, the, in Corn- hill, 14 Toxophilite Society, 116 Traitor's Hill, 31, 36 Treadmill, Early, 209, 210 Turnmill Brook, 6 Ind EX. 39^ Turnmill Street and Brook, 170 Tyebourne, The, 2, 13, 22, 23 Waithman, Alderman, 193, 194 Walbrook, 2-8 Ward, Ned, on Bridewell, 212, 213, 214 Wardens of the Fleet, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 237, 245, 247, 24S, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253» 254, 2SS, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 304, 313, 314 Wardens of the Fleet — Ladies^ 231, 232 Warwick, Earl of, 205 Wells, River of, 4, 7, 8, 53 Westbournc, the, 23 West Street, 155, 156, 157, 158 Whipping at Bridewell, 212,213, 214 Whistling Shop, a, 306, 307, 308 Whitbrooke, Sir John, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253 White Conduit, 4, 53 Whitefriars, 223, 224, 225 Whittington, Sir Rd., 1 1 Wilkes, John, 193, 194, 195 Wolscy, Cardinal, 240, 241, 242 Wyatt, Walter, 333, 348, 349, 350 "Zigzag," 81 £c UNWIN BROTHERS, THE GRESHAM PRESS, CHILWORTH AND LONDON. •^.. .V ^^^ -^^^ -^. ^^ '. ,^^ c'^ ^^■^ >• t'. 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