L O N 
whilft palaces were building at Rome for every petty no¬ 
bleman, our noblemen and rich citizens contented them¬ 
selves with a fnug houfe with a garden cn pcnte to the 
Thames, or many finall-paned glafs windows looking to¬ 
wards the bufy ltreet. 
Not far from us, in Mark-lane, we have the Corn Ex¬ 
change, or market.—This lane was anciently the fite of a 
free mart, or market ; and is now enlivened by the pre¬ 
fence of this place of refort for all who have any intereft 
in the corn-trade. The ftreet is well built, and chiefly in¬ 
habited by merchants of opulence. The Corn Exchange 
itfelf is a great ornament; and, though fmall, and having- 
nothing to boaft to the eyes of thole who have feen the 
Corn Market at Paris, yet it is neat and elegant, and well 
adapted tothebufinefs it is intended for. Next to the ftreet 
is an afcent of three fteps to a range of eight lofty Doric 
columns, thofe at the corners being coupled; between 
them are iron rails, and three iron gates. Thefe columns, 
and two others in the infide, fupporta plain building two 
ftories high, containing two coffee-houles, to which there 
are afcents by two flights of ftone Iteps, underneath the edi¬ 
fice. Within the iron gates is a fmall fquare, paved with 
broad (tones : this is furrounded by a colonnade, compofcd 
of fix columns on each fide, and four at the ends. Above 
the entablature is a handfome baluflrade, furrounding the 
whole fquare, with an elegant vale placed over each co¬ 
lumn. Round the colonnade is abroad fpace covered in, 
with window’s in the roof, for the ufe of the corn fa flora, 
who have each a delk, on which the famples of corn are 
fhoivn. We cannot help animadverting, however, upon 
the ufelefs (how of cramped architectural difplay on a fpot 
where room was more wanted than ornament, and upon 
the difproportionate height of the columns in front: the 
whole has the look of a fmall Grecian theatre ; and, 
though it pleafes the eye, does not fatisfy the mind.—The 
market-days are Monday, Wednefday, and Friday. 
Juft by, parallel to this lane, and on the weft, is Min¬ 
cing-lane, anciently Mincheon-lane ; the etymology of which 
we mult leave to others, as we have not been able to fub- 
flantiate our conjectures upon it. It is handfomely built, 
and well inhabited. ' On the call fide, near the north end. 
Hands Clotlnvorkers’ Hall, a neat brick-building, with 
fluted columns of the fame, having Corinthian capitals of 
Hone. The hall is a lofty room, adorned with wainfcot 
to the cieling, which is of curious fret-work. The fcreen 
at the fouth end is of oak, with four pilafters, their enta¬ 
blatures and compafs pediment of the Corinthian order, 
enriched with the arms of the company and palm-branches. 
The weft end is adorned with the figures of king James 
and king Charles I. as large as life, in their robes and re¬ 
galia, richly carved, all gilt and highly finiftied. At this 
end of the hall is a fpacious window of ltained glafs, on 
which are the king’s arms, as alfo thofe of fir John Ro- 
binfon, bart. his majefty’s lieutenant of the Tower of 
London, lord-mayor of the city in the year 1663, and pre- 
fident of the Artillery Company. 
On the fame fide of the way is an elegant pile of build¬ 
ing, called the London Commercial Sale-rooms. The in¬ 
tention of this undertaking was to collect in one eftablifh- 
ment all the conveniences necelTary for the public and pri¬ 
vate fales of merchandifr, and principally colonial produce. 
The building is divided into two principal parts. The 
front confifts of an entirely-new edifice, the firft ftone of 
which was laid by the lord-mayor, on the rft of June, 18 n. 
It is fixty-.four feet fix inches long, and thirty-eight feet 
eight inches broad, with a ftone front ornamented with fix 
columns of the Ionic order, adopted with little variation 
from the Temple of Minerva Polkas at Prienc, as given in 
the Ionian Antiquities. Thefe columns are fupported on 
pedeltals, which reft on the cornice of an inferior order, 
compofed, not of columns, but of piers, forming the 
ground-dory of the building. The (paces between the 
pedeftals are filled up with baluftrades, and above the win¬ 
dows are five reliefs, executed in artificial ftone by Bubb ; 
the middle compartment reprefents the City of London, 
Voi.. XIII. No. 918. 
D O N. 437 
the four others, Navigation, Commerce, Agriculture, and 
tlie Fine Arts. The whole of the ground-floor was intended 
for a magnificent coffee-room, at one end of which, be¬ 
tween two fcagliola columns,- appear the flairs leading to 
the upper floors. The fecond building, behind the one 
already delcribed, formerly confided of three houfes, which, 
are now thrown into one ; the lower floors are divided 
into a number of fmall rooms for counting-houfes ; the 
upper into five rooms, the largeft fixty feet long, and com¬ 
municating by a gallery with the rooms of the front build¬ 
ing. Particular attention has been paid to the lights in 
thefe rooms ; as, by a fucceflicn of fkylights (loping to the 
north, the perfeft light of day is admitted, and the fun 
excluded. The fpace between thefe buildings, and that 
behind the latter, on the ground-floor, are occupied by a 
number of rooms lighted in the fame way. The buildings 
and alterations were defigned by Mr. Jofeph Woods, and 
executed under his direction. 
The recent conflagration of the Cuftom-houfe has oc- 
cafioned great alterations in the prefent ufe of this edi¬ 
fice, as the opportunities it afforded for tranfailing 
public bufinefs determined the commifiioners to take 
the principal part of the buildings for that purpofe, till 
the new Cuftom-houfe is finiflied. We have therefore 
given a view of it, in conjunction with the old Cuftom- 
houfe, on Plate VII c. and the bas-relief in the centre, re- 
prefenting the City of London and her attributes, is fhowa 
on a larger fcale on Plate VII b*. fig. 2. 
Palling through a narrow court, we return to Hart-ftreef, 
which has been lately confiderably improved by new 
buildings, and chiefly by the round corner which widens 
the opening confiderably. This new mode of blunting., 
by a round fweep, the ancient (harp elbow of a ftreet, de- 
ferves our peculiar notice, and is worthy of the higheffc 
praife. This circular fliape is now very generally adopted : 
and its convenience is no-where more evident than in 
this region of narrow and crowded flreets. 
Hart Jlrcet, the name of which originates moft probably 
from one of thofe numerous public-houfes which adopted 
the badge of Richard II. (fee p. 112.) opens into Crutched 
Friars, fo called from a convent of thofe religious deno¬ 
minated Fratres San£la Crucis, the Brothers of the Holy 
Crofs. We ftippofe thefe friars to have been originally 
under the rule of St. Anthony; and, though we differ 
here from our prectirfors, we will in a few words explain 
our reafons. The monks of the eftablifhments made by 
the great hermit of the Thebai'd in Egypt, ufed to wear, 
in remembrance of their old and infirm founder, the figure 
of a crutch upon their garment; (fee the article Knight¬ 
hood, vol. xi. p. 788.) from whence they were called 
molt likely Crutched Friars. This crutch nearly refembling 
the letter T, the friars who wore it were called in France 
Thealins ; and, indeed, a quay on the bank of the Seine has 
prefevved that name fince the dellruftion of religious 
houfes. Ever fond of puns, theParifians ufed to fay that 
“ thefe friars took their tea (T) before breakfaft,” allud¬ 
ing to the crutch fliaped like a T upon their drefs. It is 
not generally known that the Greek crofs is in the fhape 
of a T. 
Theconventerefled in this neighbourhood, was founded 
in the year 1298, by Ralph Holier and William Saberr.es, 
who became friars in it. We are told that they wore a 
red crofs on their garment, which mult have been miilaken 
for the crotch. A prior of this houfe, not fo obfervant as 
he (hould have been of the rules of continence preferibed 
by the order, was caught in the apartment of a courtezan 
by fome of the vilitors appointed by the vicar-general 
Cromwell, (the worthy predeceffors, we fuppofe, of the 
worthier members and ferrets of the worfhipful Society 
for the Suppreffion of Vice.) The bufy and fcandalized 
vifitors, however, difpofed to litten a little to the whifpers 
of enticing mammon, pocketed a bribe of thirty pounds, 
a great fum for lnifh-money at that time; but even this 
was not fufficient to quiet the confluences of thefe worthy 
vifitors. They took the modey, as we faid—but (till re- 
5 T ported 
