History of the Company. 87 



" At this Court upon a petlcon exhibited vnto this 



Court by the inhabitants of the p'ish of St. 



A.D. 1630. George in Southwarke for reHefe towards 



St. George's, \-\^q re-edifvinge of their p'ish Church and 



Southwark. t • i ^ ^ i - r^ , 



bteeple It is ordered by this Court that 

 there shalbe given them towards it Fortie ShilHngs to 

 be paid by the Renter Warden." 



In 1 63 1, Bishop Laud, who three years before 

 ^ ^ ,^^, had been raised to the see of London, 

 St. Paul's took in hand a project for the res- 

 Cathedrai. ^^j-^tion of St. Paul's Cathedral, then 

 imperfect and in decay. In April of the same 

 year he obtained a commission for that purpose 

 from Charles I., who was strongly interested in 

 the undertaking, not only from his attachment to 

 Laud, but by reason of his own personal in- 

 clinations and tastes — being a great lover of the 

 aits. The work, consisting chiefly of a new west 

 portico, was entrusted to Inigo Jones, but the 

 undertaking, although liberally subscribed to by 

 the City, by Laud, and the King himself, was not 

 popular, and gave great offence to the Puritans. 

 The work got on but slowly. The Lord Mayor 

 received an exhortation from the King, to assist 

 in raising the funds for the purpose, and the Com- 

 panies were, as usual, called upon to contribute. 

 The following are the Company's records : — 



163 1. February l6th. 



" At this Court the Bishop of London's Ire was read 

 for repairinge of Paule's Church To give an answere 

 the next Court daie." 



