London in 1731

The Lord Mayor is elected on Michaelmas Day (from among the aldermen, by the liverymen of the City, who return two aldermen that have served sheriffs to the Court of Aldermen for their acceptance, who generally declare the first upon the liverymen’s roll to be Lord-Mayor) sworn at Guildhall on Simon and Jude, and before the barons of the Exchequer at Westminster the day following.

The Lord Mayor appears abroad in very great state at all times, being clothed in scarlet robes, or purple richly furred, according to the season of the year, with a hood of black velvet, and a golden chain or collar of S.S. about his neck, and a rich jewel pendant thereon, his officers walking before and on both sides, his train held up, and the City sword and mace borne before him. He keeps open house during his mayoralty, and the sword-bearer is allowed £1,000 for his table. The Lord Mayor usually goes to St. Paul’s, attended by the aldermen in their gowns, and his officers, every Sunday morning; but especially the first Sunday in term-time, where he meets the twelve judges and invites them to dinner after divine service is ended.

The sheriffs are chosen into their office on Midsummer day annually by the liverymen also; to which end the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and sheriffs meet in the council-chamber at Guildhall, about eight in the morning, and coming down afterwards into the Court of Hustings, the recorder declares to the livery men assembled in the hall that this is the day prescribed for the election of these magistrates for the year ensuing: then the Court of Aldermen go up to the Lord Mayor’s Court till the sheriffs are chosen; the old sheriffs, the chamberlain, common serjeant, town clerk, and other City officers remaining in the Court of Hustings, to attend the election. After the sheriffs are chosen, the commons proceed to elect a chamberlain, bridge-masters, auditors of the city and bridge-house accounts, and the surveyors of beer and ale, according to custom. The old sheriffs are judges of these elections, and declare by the common serjeant who are duly chosen. The sheriffs thus elected take the usual oaths in this court on Michaelmas eve, and the day after Michaelmas day are presented to the Barons of the Exchequer, where they take the oath of office, the oaths of allegiance, &c. The chamberlains and bridge-masters are sworn in the court of aldermen.

Where a Lord Mayor elect refuses to serve, he is liable to be fined; and if a person chosen sheriff refuses to serve, he is fined £413 6s. 8d., unless he makes oath he is not worth £10,000.

When the alderman of any ward dies, another is within a few days elected in his room, at a wardmote held for that purpose, at which the Lord Mayor usually presides. Every alderman has his deputy, who supplies his place in his absence. These deputies are always taken from among the Common Council. The aldermen above the chair, and the three eldest aldermen beneath it, are justices of peace in the City by the charter.

The Lord-Mayor’s jurisdiction in some cases extends a great way beyond the City, upon the river Thames eastward as far as the conflux of the two rivers Thames and Medway, and up the river Lea as far as Temple Mills, being about three miles; and westward as far as Colney Ditch above Staine Bridge: he names a deputy called the water-bailiff, whose business is to prevent any encroachments, nuisances, and frauds used by fishermen or others, destructive to the fishery, or hurtful to the navigation of the said waters; and yearly keeps courts for the conservation of the river in the counties it borders upon within the said limits.

The sheriffs also are sheriffs of the county of Middlesex as well as of London. And here I shall take an opportunity to observe, that the number of aldermen are twenty-six; the number of Common-Council men two hundred and thirty-four; the number of companies eighty-four; and the number of citizens on the livery, who have a voice in their elections, are computed to be between seven and eight thousand. The twelve principal companies are: – 1. The Mercers; 2. Grocers; 3. Drapers; 4. Fishmongers; 5. Goldsmiths; 6. Skinners; 7. Merchant-Tailors; 8. Haberdashers; 9. Salters; 10. Ironmongers; 11. Vintners; 12. Clothworkers. The others: – are 13. The Dyers; 14. Brewers; 15. Leather-Sellers; 16. Pewterers; 17. Barber-Surgeons; 18. Cutlers; 19. Bakers; 20. Wax-Chandlers; 21. Tallow-Chandlers; 22. Armourers; 23. Girdlers; 24. Butchers; 25. Saddlers; 26. Carpenters; 27. Cord-wainers; 28. Painter-stainers; 29. Curriers; 30. Masons; 31. Plumbers; 32. Innholders; 33. Founders; 34. Poulterers; 35. Cooks; 36. Coopers; 37. Tilers and Bricklayers; 38. Bowyers; 39. Fletchers; 40. Blacksmiths; 41. Joiners; 42. Weavers; 43. Woolmen; 44. Scriveners; 45. Fruiterers; 46. Plasterers; 47. Stationers; 48. Embroiderers; 49. Upholders; 50. Musicians; 51. Turners; 52. *Basket-makers; 53. Glaziers; 54. *Horners; 55. Farriers; 56. *Paviours; 57. Lorimers; 58. Apothecaries; 59. Shipwrights; 60. *Spectacle-makers; 61. *Clock-makers; 62. *Glovers; 63. *Comb-makers; 64. *Felt-makers; 65. Frame-work Knitters; 66. *Silk throwers; 67. Carmen; 68. *Pin-makers; 69. Needle-makers; 70. Gardeners; 71. Soap-makers; 72. Tin-plate Workers; 73. Wheelwrights; 74. Distillers; 75. Hatband-makers; 76. Patten-makers; 77. Glasssellers; 78. Tobacco-pipe makers; 79. Coach and Coach-harness makers; 80. Gun-makers; 81. Gold and Silver Wire-Drawers; 82. Long Bow-string makers; 83. Card-makers; 84. Fan-makers.

The companies marked with an * before them have no liverymen, and all the freemen of the rest are not upon the livery, that is, entitled to wear the gowns belonging to the respective companies, and vote in elections, but a select number of freemen only. Every company is a distinct corporation, being incorporated by grants from the crown, or acts of parliament, and having certain rules, liberties, and privileges, for the better support and government of their several trades and mysteries: many of them are endowed with lands to a great value, and have their masters, wardens, assistants, clerks, and other officers, to direct and regulate their affairs, and to restrain and punish abuses incident to their several trades; and when any disputes arise concerning the due execution of these charters, the Lord Mayor has a supreme power to determine the case and to punish the offenders.

The military government of the City of London is lodged in the lieutenancy, consisting of the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and other principal citizens, who receive their authority from his majesty’s commission, which he revokes and alters as often as he sees fit. These have under their command six regiments of foot, viz.: – 1, The White; 2, the Orange; 3, the Yellow; 4, the Blue; 5, the Green; and 6, the Red Regiment – in every one of which are eight companies, consisting of one hundred and fifty men each; in all, seven thousand two hundred men: besides which there is a kind of independent company, called the artillery company, consisting of seven or eight hundred volunteers, whose skill in military discipline is much admired by their fellow-citizens. These exercise frequently in the artillery ground, engage in mock fights and sieges, and storm the dunghills with great address.

The Tower Hamlets, it has been observed already, are commanded by the lieutenant of the Tower, and consist of two regiments of foot, eight hundred each: so that the whole militia of London, exclusive of Westminster and Southwark, amount to near ten thousand men.

London, like other cities of the kingdom, is, or ought to be, governed by its bishop in spirituals, though his authority is very little regarded at present. The justices of peace at their sessions may empower any man to preach and administer the sacraments, let his occupation or qualifications be never so mean; nor do they ever refuse it to a person who is able to raise the small sum of – pence being less a great deal than is paid for licensing a common alehouse. A clergyman indeed cannot be entitled to a benefice without being, in some measure, subject to his diocesan; but he may throw off his gown, and assemble a congregation that shall be much more beneficial to him, and propagate what doctrines he sees fit (as is evident in the case of orator Henley): but to proceed.

The diocese of London is in the province of Canterbury, and comprehends the counties of Middlesex and Essex, and part of Hertfordshire; the British plantations in America are also subject to this bishop. To the cathedral of St. Paul belongs a dean, three residentiaries, a treasurer, chancellor, precentor, and thirty prebendaries. The Bishop of London takes place next to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, but his revenues are not equal to those of Durham or Winchester. The deanery of St. Paul’s is said to be worth a thousand pounds per annum, and each of the residentiaries about three hundred pounds per annum.

The parishes within the walls of London are ninety-seven; but several of them having been united since the Fire, there are at present but sixty-two parish churches, and consequently the same number of parish priests: the revenues of these gentlemen are seldom less than £100 per annum, and none more than £200 per annum. They appear to be most of them about £150 per annum, besides their several parsonage houses and surplice fees; and most of them have lectureships in town, or livings in the country, or some other spiritual preferment of equal value.

The city of Westminster, the western part of the town, comes next under consideration which received its name from the abbey or minster situated to the westward of London. This city, if we comprehend the district or liberties belonging to it, lies along the banks of the Thames in the form of a bow or crescent, extending from Temple Bar in the east to Millbank in the south-west; the inside of this bow being about a mile and a half in length, and the outside two miles and a half at least; the breadth, one place with another, from the Thames to the fields on the north-west side of the town, about a mile; and I am apt to think a square of two miles in length and one in breadth would contain all the buildings within the liberty of Westminster. That part of the town which is properly called the city of Westminster contains no more than St. Margaret’s and St. John’s parishes, which form a triangle, one side whereof extends from Whitehall to Peterborough House on Millbank; another side reaches from Peterborough House to Stafford House, or Tart Hall, at the west end of the park; and the third side extends from Stafford house to Whitehall; the circumference of the whole being about two miles. This spot of ground, it is said, was anciently an island, a branch of the Thames running through the park from west to east, and falling into the main river again about Whitehall, which island was originally called Thorney Island, from the woods and bushes that covered it; the abbey or minster also was at first called Thorney Abbey or minster, from the island on which it stood.

St. James’s Park is something more than a mile in circumference, and the form pretty near oval; about the middle of it runs a canal 2,800 feet in length and 100 in breadth, and near it are several other waters, which form an island that has good cover for the breeding and harbouring wild ducks and other water-fowl; on the island also is a pretty house and garden, scarce visible to the company in the park. On the north side are several fine walks of elms and limes half a mile in length, of which the Mall is one. The palace of St. James’s, Marlborough House, and the fine buildings in the street called Pall Mall, adorn this side of the park. At the east end is a view of the Admiralty, a magnificent edifice, lately built with brick and stone; the Horse Guards, the Banqueting House, the most elegant fabric in the kingdom, with the Treasury and the fine buildings about the Cockpit; and between these and the end of the grand canal is a spacious parade, where the horse and foot guards rendezvous every morning before they mount their respective guards.

On the south side of the park run shady walks of trees from east to west, parallel almost to the canal, and walks on the north; adjoining to which are the sumptuous houses in Queen Street, Queen Square, &c., inhabited by people of quality: and the west end of the park is adorned with the Duke of Buckingham’s beautiful seat. But what renders St. James’s Park one of the most delightful scenes in Nature is the variety of living objects which is met with here; for besides the deer and wild fowl, common to other parks, besides the water, fine walks, and the elegant buildings that surround it, hither the politest part of the British nation of both sexes frequently resort in the spring to take the benefit of the evening air, and enjoy the most agreeable conversation imaginable; and those who have a taste for martial music, and the shining equipage of the soldiery, will find their eyes and ears agreeably entertained by the horse and foot guards every morning.

The Sanctuary, or the abbey-yard, is a large open square, between King Street and the Gate-house, north-west of the abbey, and was called the Sanctuary, because any person who came within these limits was entitled to the privilege of sanctuary – that is, he was not liable to be apprehended by any officers of justice.

This privilege, it is said, was first granted to the abbey by Sebert, king of the East Saxons, increased by King Edgar, and confirmed by Edward the Confessor, by the following charter: —

“Edward, by the grace of God, king of Englishmen; I make it to be known to all generations of the world after me, that, by special commandment of our holy father Pope Leo, I have renewed and honoured the holy church of the blessed apostle St. Peter of Westminster; and I order and establish for ever, that what person, of what condition or estate soever he be, from whencesoever he come, or for what offence or cause it be, either for his refuge in the said holy place, he is assured of his life, liberty, and limbs: and over this, I forbid, under pain of everlasting damnation, that no minister of mine, or any of my successors, intermeddle with any of the goods, lands, and possessions of the said persons taking the said sanctuary: for I have taken their goods and livelode into my special protection. And therefore I grant to every, each of them, in as much as my terrestrial power may suffice, all manner of freedom of joyous liberty. And whosoever presumes, or doth contrary to this my grant, I will he lose his name, worship, dignity, and power; and that with the great traitor Judas that betrayed our Saviour, he be in the everlasting fire of hell. And I will and ordain, that this my grant endure as long as there remaineth in England either love or dread of Christian name.”

This privilege of sanctuary, as far as it related to traitors, murderers, and felons, was in a great measure abolished by a statute of the 32nd Henry VIII.: and in the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, every debtor who fled to sanctuary, to shelter himself from his creditors, was obliged to take an oath of the following tenor, viz.: – That he did not claim the privilege of sanctuary to defraud any one of his goods, debts, or money, but only for the security of his person until he should be able to pay his creditors.

That he would give in a true particular of his debts and credits.

That he would endeavour to pay his debts as soon as possible.

That he would be present at the abbey at morning and evening prayer.

That he would demean himself honestly and quietly, avoid suspected houses, unlawful games, banqueting, and riotous company.

That he would wear no weapon, or be out of his lodging before sunrise or after sunset, nor depart out of the precinct of the sanctuary without the leave of the dean, or archdeacon in his absence.

That he would be obedient to the dean and the officers of the house.

And lastly, that if he should break his oath in any particular, he should not claim the privilege of sanctuary.

And if any creditor could make it appear that he had any money, goods, or chattels that were not contained in the particular given in to the dean and the church, the sanctuary man was to be imprisoned till he came to an agreement with his creditors.

The Abbey-Church of St. Peter at Westminster appears to be very ancient, though far from being so ancient as is vulgarly reported.

Some relate, without any authority to support the conjecture, that it was founded in the days of the Apostles by St. Peter himself; others that it was erected by King Lucius about the year 170. And by some it is said to have been built by King Sebert, the first Christian king of the East-Saxons (Essex and Middlesex), anno 611. But I take it for granted the church was not built before the convent or abbey it belonged to. People did not use to build churches at a distance from town, unless for the service of convents or religious houses. But neither in the times of the Apostles, nor in the supposed reign of King Lucius, in the second century, was there any such thing as a convent in England, or perhaps in any part of Christendom. During the dominion of the Saxons in this island, monasteries indeed were erected here, and in many other kingdoms, in great abundance; and as the monks generally chose thick woods or other solitary places for their residence, where could they meet with a spot of ground fitter for their purpose than this woody island called Thorney, then destitute of inhabitants? But I am inclined to think that neither this or any other monastery was erected in South Britain till the seventh century, after Austin the monk came into England. As to the tradition of its having been built upon the ruins of the temple of Apollo, destroyed by an earthquake, I do not doubt but the monks were very ready to propagate a fable of this kind, who formed so many others to show the triumphs of Christianity over paganism, and to induce their proselytes to believe that heaven miraculously interposed in their favour by earthquakes, storms, and other prodigies. But to proceed. When the convent was erected, I make no doubt that there was a church or chapel built as usual for the service of the monks; but it is evident from history that the dimensions of the first or second church that stood here were not comparable to those of the present church.

We may rely upon it that about the year 850 there was a church and convent in the island of Thorney, because about that time, London being in the possession of the Danes, the convent was destroyed by them (not in the year 659, as some writers have affirmed, because the Danes did not invade England till nearly 200 years afterwards). The abbey lay in ruins about a hundred years, when King Edgar, at the instance of Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury (and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury), rebuilt this and several other monasteries, about the year 960. Edward the Confessor, a devout prince, enlarged this church and monastery, in which he placed the Benedictine monks, ordered the regalia to be kept by the fathers of the convent, and succeeding kings to be crowned here, as William the Conqueror and several other English monarchs afterwards were, most of them enriching this abbey with large revenues; but King Henry III. ordered the church built by Edward the Confessor to be pulled down, and erected the present magnificent fabric in the room of it, of which he laid the first stone about the year 1245.

That admired piece of architecture at the east end, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was built by Henry VII., anno 1502, and from the founder is usually called Henry the VII.’s Chapel. Here most of the English monarchs since that time have been interred.

The dimensions of the abbey-church, according to the new survey, are as follows, viz.: – The length of the church, from the west end of it to the east end of St. Edward’s Chapel, is 354 feet; the breadth of the west end, 66 feet; the breadth of the cross aisle, from north to south, 189 feet; the height of the middle roof, 92 feet; the distance from the west end of the church to the choir, 162 feet; and from the west end to the cross aisle, 220 feet; the distance from the east end of St. Edward’s Chapel to the west end of Henry VII.’s Chapel, 36 feet; and the length of Henry VII.’s Chapel, 99 feet: so that the length of the whole building is 489 feet; the breadth of Henry VII.’s Chapel, 66 feet; and the height, 54 feet. The nave and cross aisles of the abbey-church are supported by fifty slender pillars, of Sussex marble, besides forty-five demi-pillars or pilasters. There are an upper and lower range of windows, being ninety-four in number, those at the four ends of the cross very spacious. All which, with the arches, roofs, doors, &c., are of the ancient Gothic order. Above the chapiters the pillars spread into several semi-cylindrical branches, forming and adorning the arches of the pillars, and those of the roofs of the aisles, which are three in number, running from east to west, and a cross aisle running from north to south. The choir is paved with black and white marble, in which are twenty-eight stalls on the north side, as many on the fourth, and eight at the west end; from the choir we ascend by several steps to a most magnificent marble altarpiece, which would be esteemed a beauty in an Italian church.

Beyond the altar is King Edward the Confessor’s Chapel, surrounded with eleven or twelve other chapels replenished with monuments of the British nobility, for a particular whereof I refer the reader to the “Antiquities of St. Peter, or the Abbey-Church of Westminster,” by J. Crull, M.D. Lond. 1711, 8vo, and the several supplements printed since; and shall only take notice of those of the kings and queens in the chapel of St. Edward the Confessor, which are as follows, viz., Edward I., King of England; Henry III.; Matilda, wife of Henry I.; Queen Eleanor, wife of Edward I.; St. Edward the Confessor, and Queen Editha, his wife; Henry V., and Queen Catherine of Valois, his wife; Edward III., and Queen Philippa, his wife; Richard II., and Queen Anne, his wife. And on the south side of the choir, King Sebert, and Queen Anne of Cheve, wife to Henry VIII. East of St. Edward’s Chapel is that of Henry VII., dedicated to the blessed Virgin Mary, to which we ascend by twelve stone steps. At the west end whereof are three brazen doors finely wrought, which give an entrance into it. The stalls on the north and south sides are exquisitely carved. The roof is supported by twelve pillars and arches of the Gothic order, abounding with enrichments of carved figures, fruit, &c. At the east end is a spacious window with stained glass, besides which there are thirteen other windows above, and as many below on the north and south sides. Under each of the thirteen uppermost windows are five figures placed in niches, representing kings, queens, bishops, &c., and under them the figures of as many angels supporting imperial crowns. The roof, which is all stone, is divided into sixteen circles, curiously wrought, and is the admiration of all that see it.

The outside of this chapel was adorned with fourteen towers, three figures being placed in niches on each of them, which were formerly much admired; but the stone decaying and mouldering away, they make but an odd appearance at present.

In this chapel have been interred most of the English kings since Richard III., whose tombs are no small ornament to it, particularly that of Henry VII., the founder, which stands in the middle of the area towards the east end.

The tomb is composed of a curious pedestal whose sides are adorned with various figures, as the north with those of six men, the east with those of two cupids supporting the king’s arms and an imperial crown; on the south side, also, six figures, circumscribed – as those on the north side – with circles of curious workmanship, the most easterly of which contains the figure of an angel treading on a dragon. Here is also a woman and a child, seeming to allude to Rev. xii.; and on the west end the figure of a rose and an imperial crown, supported with those of a dragon and a greyhound: on the tomb are the figures of the king and queen, lying at full length, with four angels, one at each angle of the tomb, all very finely done in brass.

The screen or fence is also of solid brass, very strong and spacious, being in length 19 feet, in breadth 11, and the altitude 11, adorned with forty-two pillars and their arches; also, twenty smaller hollow columns and their arches in the front of the former, and joined at the cornice, on which cornice is a kind of acroteria, enriched with roses and portcullises interchanged in the upper part, and with the small figures of dragons and greyhounds (the supporters aforesaid) in the lower part; and at each of the four angles is a strong pillar made open, or hollow, composed in imitation of diaper and Gothic archwork; the four sides have been adorned with thirty-two figures of men, about a cubit high, placed in niches, of which there are only seven left, the rest being stolen away (one Raymond, about the 11th of Queen Elizabeth, having been twice indicted for the same); and about the middle of the upper part of each of the four sides is a spacious branch adorned with the figure of a rose, where might on occasion be placed lamps. This admirable piece of art is open at top, and has two portals, one on the north, the other on the south side, all of fine brass.