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LOKDON. 



LONDON. 



•nd AoKUirt* ; bj the BritOM it wm otlled Utindayne, ssd by the older 

 Saxou* Lumleooewter, ' oaxter ' ngnifyiog a forti6ed place. The wall 

 ap|>eani, froin careful exaniinstiona of certain portiune, to have been 

 origriiiallT built by the Romiiun, and to hare extended from the Tower 

 to Cripplegnte, whence it wan carried direct south to the Tbamea. 

 Fitzatephen, writing of the wall in the reign of Henry II., aaya : — 

 " The wall of the dty is high and manaiTC ; it has saTen gatea with 

 doable doom, and on the north tide towan set at proper diataneea 

 apart. In like manner London baa alao walla and toweni on the aoath 

 nde ; but that great river, the Thamea, which abonnds in flab, and 

 in which the tide ebba and flowa, running on that aide, haa in conraa 

 of time looaened, overthrown, and waahed away the walls on that part." 

 Stow, in his ' Survey of London,' deacribea iht oircuit of the wall as 

 it existrd in his time, specifying the distances from place to place in 

 pardies, which are here converted into yards. " B'rom the Tower of 

 London to AMgate, 451 yards ; from Aldgate to Bisbopegnte, 470 

 yanis ; from Bishopagate to Cripplegate, 891 yards ; from Cripplegiite 

 to Aldersgate, 4124 yards; '^■^'° Aldersgate to Newgate, 863 yards; 

 from Newgate to Ludgate, 231 yards ; from Ludgate to the Fleet Dyke, 

 330 yards ; from the Fleet Bridge to the Thames, 835 yards : total, 

 S536i yar<)s, or 2 miles 164 yards." Excavations which have been 

 made at various times show that the genpral level of the streets of 

 Roman London was from 15 to 20 feet below the present level ; and 

 that Spitalfields and other districts eastward outside the walls were 

 used as a cemetery. Many sepulchral remains have been discovered 

 in these portions. Within the walls have been discovered tegselated 

 paveccente, foundations of buildings and other architectural remains, 

 coins, uma, pottery, utensils, tools, and omamenh of a great variety 

 of kinds. A collection of the remains of Roman London has recently 

 been formed under the auspices of the corporation. London does not 

 seem to have extended much beyond the limits of the present city 

 and liberties up to the time of Stow, who, in his ' Survey,' which bears 

 the date of 1603, states that there were then 110 churches in the City 

 and Liberties of London, and ouly 13 churches in the suburbs, including 

 Westminster and Southwark. 



The great ftre, which occurred in the year 1666, destroyed almost 

 the whole of London within the walla, including 84 churches. It is 

 stated that the number within the walls was previously S)7, so that 

 only 1 3 escaped. Some of tliese afterwards became ruinous, and were 

 taken down and rebuilt Sir Christopher Wren, besides St Paul's 

 cathedral, rebuilt 53 of the parish churches, and 34 were never rebuilt, 

 the parishes being respectively united to adjoining parishes which had 

 chnrchea Other churches have since been taken dowu, and the parishes 

 united to others in like manner. Thus one was taken down when the 

 present Bank of England was built, one for making the approaches to 

 London Bridge, and two to make room for the present Royal Exchange. 

 The number of parishes is now 109, but the number of the parish 

 churches is reduMd to 70. The area of the whole and the respective 

 areas of the parishes are probably nearly the same as they were in 

 Stow's time. The entire area (including the Inns of Court, most of 

 which are extra-parochial) is 600 acres, or 40 acres less than a square 

 mile. 



After the great 6re Sir Christopher Wren proposed a plan for 

 rebuilding the city which would have secured a convenient width for 

 the streets, a sufiBcient degree of regularity, and open places for venti- 

 lation and as sitae for public structures. Wren's plan was not adopted ; 

 and the actual process of rebuilding left only the great linea of tho- 

 roughfare of a proper width, while all the rest of the city consisted of 

 narrow streets, lanes, and alleys. Most of Wren's churches are built 

 in the sides or at the angles of these narrow streets and lanes, and in 

 order to fit them for their respective situations they are built in a 

 great variety of ways, of smaller or larger siae according to the extent 

 of the respective parishes, and with more or less of solidity and archi- 

 tectural decoration acoording to the funds allowed him by the parish 

 authoritiea Some are domed, some have towers, some have towers 

 and spires, some have the interior divided by columns into a nave 

 and aislrs, and some are simple rectangular buildings of four walls 

 with a small belfry. Several of the tower* and spires are eminently 

 beautiful. 



The City and Liberties of London comprehend the City of London 

 within the Walls and the City of London without the Walls. London 

 within the Walls is limited to the area formerlv inclosed by the walla 

 London without the Wnlls extends westwarn to Holbom Bars and 

 Temple Bar, northward some distance beyond Aldgate and Bishopa- 

 gate, eaatward to the Minories, and southward over London Bridge so 

 br aa to ioolade a portion of ground on the Surrey side of the river. 

 London within the Walls comprises an area of 870 acres, and in 1851 

 had 7174 h^.uses inhabited, 1127 uninhabited, 17 building, and a popu- 

 lation of 54,702. Ixmdon without the Walls comprises an area of 

 230 acres, and bud 7406 houN>s inhabited, 382 uninhabited, 12 building, 

 and a population of 73,167 : total population, 127,869. 



The City and Liberties of London cmtain a Inrse number of public 

 buildins*. We can only notice briefly the most important of them. 



The Tower of London lies Just outside the city and liberties, but 

 may be noticed here, as it has in reality formed the nucleus of modem 

 London. It oonaista of a number of structures inrlosed within a wall 

 and ditch. The oldest part is the White Tower, which stands nearly 

 in the eentre of the qoadimn^e, and is known to have been built by 



Onndnlph, bishop of Rocherter, for the Conqueror, about the 

 1078. "The area within the walls of the Tower exceeds 12 aoreai The 

 ditch is now dry. Round the qiuulrangle are several towers wUeh 

 have distinctive names, and at the north-western oomer is the ohordh 

 of St Petorad-Vincula. Several of the kings of England ooeaaionaUf 

 resided in the Tower, and courts, ooronation-fMee and toumamanta 

 were held in it. For five or six centuries however it was chiefly need 

 a* a state-prison ; and in it were retained as captives kings, qasen% 

 statesmen, philosophers, and patriots. Many of the priaoners were 

 publicly executed, and not a few were privately tortured and mnr- 

 dered. The horse armoury. Queen Elixabeths armoury, and the 

 regalia are now exhibited in the Tower. Large portions of the Tower 

 buildings have been rebuilt within the lost few years.. 



St Paul's cathedral wa« built by Sur Christopher Wren on the site 

 of a former St Paul's catbe Iral, of gothic architecture, which waa 

 burnt by the great fire in 1666. Sir Christopher laid the first stone 

 June 21st 1675, and he completed it in 1710, being then in his 78th 

 year. It is the only English cathedral built in the classic style. It is 

 built in the usual form of a crosa. The length from east to west is 

 500 feet ; the length of the trantiept is 285 feet Over the intersection 

 of the nave and transept rises a dome surmounted by a lantern, globe, 

 and cross. The height to the summit of the oroaa is generally stated 

 to be 404 feet, but some authorities reduce it to 36S feet from the 

 ground. Two campanile towers, 220 feet high, flank the great western 

 portico. In the interior are many monuments and statues erected in 

 honour of naval and military commanders, and a few in honour of 

 philanthropists, lit«rary men, nnd artists. In the crypt the remaiiu 

 of Nelson and Wellington are deposited — those of Nelson in the 

 saroopfaagus originally prepared by Cardinal Wolsey, and intended by 

 him for his own intement in the chapel at Windsor; those of WeUin|>- 

 ton lie about 20 feet east of Nelson's. 



The Mansion House, the official residenoe of the Lord Mayor 

 during his year of dffice, was erected by Dance between 1739 and 

 1753. The principal room is the Egyptian Hall, in which the civio 

 banquets are held. The justice room, in which the Lord Mayor site 

 as a police magistrate, is on the left of the principal entrance. The 

 Mansion House is richly furnished, and contains a large supply of 

 valuable plate. The Guildhall was originally built in 1411, but oon> 

 tinued to receive additions and decorations till about the commence- 

 ment of the 16th century. The great fire destroyed all within and 

 near it, but left the walls so far uninjured that they still stand. The 

 Guildhall as it now stands was almost entirely lubuilt in 1789 by 

 Dance. The entrance-porch is a part of the original structure, and 

 the crypt is still in its original state. The Hall is 152 feet in length, 

 50 feet in breadth, and 55 feet in height Variotu courts are held in 

 other apartments of the Guildhall. 



The Royal Kxchange stands on the site of the old Royal Exchange^ 

 with some additional area. It was erected by Mr. Tite. The first 

 stone was laid by Prince Albert, January 17, 1 842, and the structure 

 was opened by Queen Victoria, Octotier 28th, 1844. The length from 

 the portico at the west end to the columns of the east entrance is 308 

 feet; the width of the west end is 119 feet, of the east end 174 feet 

 The interior quadrangular area is 170 feet by 112 feet, of which 111 

 feet by 53 feet is uncovered, leaving 21 feet for the width of the 

 ambulatory clear of the plinths. The height of the bell-tower to the 

 top of the vane is 177 feet In front of the grand or western entranoe 

 is a bronae equestrian statue by Chantry of the Duke of Wellington. 



The Bank of England was originally erected from a design by 

 Mr. George Sampson, 1732 to 1734, and then oomprised only the 

 centra of the south front, the hall, bullion court, and court-yard. The 

 east and west wiugs were added by Sir Robert Taylor between 1766 

 and 1786 ; and the remainder of the structure was completed by Sir 

 John Soane, who was appointed the architect to the Bank in 1788. 

 He rebuilt many of the parts constructed by Sampson and Taylor, and 

 the whole of the edifice, as it now stands, may be said to be from his 

 desiiins. The exterior appearance has since been improved by Mr. 

 CockerelL It now covers an irregular space of four acres. Near the 

 Bank, on the east side, is the Stock Exchange, in Cat>el Court. 



The Central Criminal Court, in the Old Bailey, consists of two 

 courts, the Old Court and the New Court, which meet monthly, and 

 both sit at the same time for the greater deapatoh of business. The 

 Recorder and Common Serjeant are the presiding judges in most 

 cases, but one of the judges of the superior courts assists occasionally ; 

 and a third court is sometimes presided over by one of the chief law 

 officers of the corporation. 



In the angle between the Old Bailey and Newgate-street stands 

 the prison of Newgate, built by Dance, and completed in- 1738. It ia 

 a maasive and prison-like structure. In Giltspnr-Ktrect, on the opposite 

 side of Newgate-street, stood the Oiltapur-street Compter, also by 

 Dance; it was also a prison for criminals, but having been superseded 

 by the new city prison at Holloway, it is now (November, 1854) being 

 taken down. Whitecross-street Prison is for debtors ; and Bridewell 

 is a place of confinement for persons summarily convicted before the 

 Lorn Mayor and Aldermen. 



The General Post Office, St Martin's-le-Grend, was built between 

 1824 and 1829 from the designs of Sir Robert Smiriie. The buililing 

 Is of the Ionic order, 889 feet long, 130 feet wide, and 64 feet high. 

 The Hall, in which letters and newspapers ore delivered, is 80 feet 



