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into the ground as much as twenty feet — which does not say much 

 for the condition of the thoroughfare ! 



The great change in the aspect of London by the establishment 

 of large numbers of monasteries, was continued and increased in 

 the 13th century under the Plantagenets, the various orders of the 

 rriafrs estabUshing themselves there. The Benedictine monks 

 preferred secluded sites, the Augustinians did not cultivate seclusion 

 so strictly : but the Friars chose the interior of towns from prefer- 

 ence. The Black, Preaching, or Dominican Friars settled near 

 Holborn, in what was afterwards Lincoln's Inn. The Grey Friars, 

 or Franciscans, got an estate, and erected their convent on the site 

 now occupied by the Blue-Coat School. The White Friars, or 

 Carmellites, settled between Fleet Street and the Strand, which 

 liberty still retains their name. The Austin Friars, or Friars 

 Eremites, were founded in Broad Street Ward ; and the last of 

 the Friaries to be established was that of the Crutched or Crossed 

 Friars, in 1298. These localities are now known by these names. 

 By the establishment of these religious houses, two-thirds of the 

 entire area of London was occupied by convents and hospitals. 

 This is the most marked characteristic of Plantagenet London. 



The rebuilding of London Bridge in stone was commenced in 

 1 176. It consisted of twenty stone arches, a draw-bridge with a 

 gate-house at each end, and a chapel or crypt in the centre. 

 Fitzstephen, the monk of Canterbury, who lived at this time, has 

 left us a vivid description of London. He speaks of its wealth, 

 commerce, grandeur, and magnificence, of the mildness of the 

 climate, the beauty of the gardens, the sweet, clear, and salubrious 

 springs, the flowing streams, and pleasant clack of the water-mills. 

 Even the vast forest of Middlesex, with its densely wooded thickets, 

 its coverts of game, stags, fallow deer, boars, and Avild bulls, is 

 pressed into the description, to give a contrast which shall enhance 

 the prosperous beauty of the city itself He tells how, when the 

 great marsh on the north of the city was frozen over, the young 

 men went out to slide, skate, and sport on the ice. Skates made 

 of bones have been dug up of late years in this district. This 



