LONDON. 
44jfc 
clerk, who is to fee that the money he made to the juft af¬ 
file, and to overfee the officers. 4.. The affay-mafter, w'ho 
weighs the-filver and gold, and fees whether it be ftand- 
»rd. This officer, called the king’s affay-mafter, has un¬ 
der him a clerk. 5. The mafter’s affay-mafter, and the 
probationer affayer. 6. The furveyor of the melting, 
who is to fee the filver call out, and that it be not al¬ 
tered after it is delivered to the inelter, i. e. after 
the affay-mafter has made a trial of it. 7. The clerk of 
■the irons, who is to fee that the irons be clean, and fit to 
work with. Thefe two offices are united in one perfon, 
who has a deputy and clerk. 8. The chief engraver, who 
engraves the dyes and iiamps for the coinage of money; 
there is alfo an affiftant engraver, and a probationer en¬ 
graver; with a fmith, affiftant to the engravers. 9. The 
melfers, who melt the bullion before it comes to coining, 
so. The blanchers, who anneal, or boil and clean fa, the 
money. 11. The porter and office-keeper, who keep the 
gate, &c. iz. The provoft to the company of moneyers, 
acting as an engineer, who provides for all the moneyers, 
#nd overfees them. And, laftly, the company of moneyers, 
tome of whom (bear the money, fome forge it, fome ftamp 
or coin it, and fome round and mill it. In this office 
there are alfo the weigher and teller; receiver; king’s 
clerk, and clerk of the paper; furveyor of the money- 
preffes ; folicitor and affiftant; warden’s deputy, mafter’s 
deputy, comptroller’s deputy, and fubordinate clerks. 
Before the Norman conqueft, the kings of this nation 
■eftablifhed their mints in different monafteries, from a 
prefumption, it is fuppofed, that in fuch fanftified places 
the coinage would be fecured from fraud and corruption. 
In time, however, we find mints fet up in almoft all the 
principal towns of England ; and in fome of the largeft 
there were different mints. Thus the ftate of the coin 
was perpetually fluctuating, owing to the removal, ordifi- 
continuance, of the old mints, or the eftabliffimer.t of 
new ones, according to the caprice, or, fometimes, the cu¬ 
pidity, of the reigning prince; for there is no doubt that 
this privilege was frequently granted, in confideration of 
an advance of money, or in recompenfe for fervices. This 
promifcuous coinage of money was attended with fo many 
inconveniencies, that, in the early part of her reign, queen 
Elizabeth endeavoured to remedy them, by eltablilhing 
one mint only, in the Tower of London, for the ufe of 
the whole kingdom ; and thus it has remained ever fince, 
except in the latter part of Charles the Firft’s reign, who 
was reduced Co the neceffity of coining money wherever 
he was quartered; and in the beginning of that of Wil¬ 
liam III. who found the coin in fuch a ftate of debafe- 
ment, that lie called it all in, and re-coined it; and, in 
order to accomplifh this with greater facility, eredfted 
mints in fome of the diftant parts of the kingdom, fuch 
as Exeter, Briftol, York, and Winchefter. 
On the oppofite fide of Tower-hill, near the great weft- 
ern entrance, a new Excife-office has lately been erected. 
It is merely aflittant to the other in Broad-ftreet; and 
chiefly for the export, or drawback, bufinefs. 
Without the Tower are certain diftridts called the 
Tower Liberties, the government of which is under the 
fame jurifdidlion as the Tower itfelf, and for the admi- 
niftration of which a court is held, by prefcription, on 
Great Tower-hill, by a fteward appointed by the confta¬ 
ble of the Tower. Thefe liberties include both Tower- 
hills, part of Ealt Smithfield, Rofemary-lane, Wellclofe- 
iquare, and the Little Minories ; and all the ftreets, lanes, 
and alleys, in Spitalfields, built on the old Artillery-ground, 
which formerly belonged to the Tower. 
Great and Little Tower-hill are two irregular open 
fpaces, without the ditch, on the weft and north fides of 
the Tower, and are feparated from each other by Poftern- 
row ; which is fo called from the Pollern-gate, formerly 
landing there. See p. 106. 
The northernmoft part of Great Tower-hill has been 
called Trinity-fquare, from the new Trinity-houfe, eredt- 
®d on the north fide of it. It is a handfome ftone-fronted 
Vo 1,. XIII. No. 918. 
building, confiding of a main body and two wings ; the- 
latter of which project a little. The bafement ftory is of 
maffy ruftic-work, and in the centre is the entrance, which, 
as well as all the windows in this ftory, is arched. On 
this rifes the principal ftory, of the Ionic order, lupoort- 
ing a plain entablature, on which refts a floping roof!, Irs 
the centre of the main body are the arms of the corpora¬ 
tion, and, on each fide, a circular medallion, containing 
the profiles of their prefent majefties. Above the win¬ 
dows, in the two wings, are fquare medallions, in which 
are groups of genii, exhibiting different nautical inftru- 
ments, with reprefentations of the four principal light- 
houfes on the coaft. This building is feen to great ad¬ 
vantage, by being placed on a riling ground, and having 
an extenfive area in front. The court-room contains por¬ 
traits of the king and queen ; James II. lord Sandwich; 
lord Howe, and Mr. Pitt; and in the fecretary’s office is 
a beautiful model of the Royal William man-of-war. 
The military jurifdidlion of the conftable of the Tower 
extends greatly beyond the liberties of that fortrefs, and 
includes a coniiderable part of the county of Middlefex, 
under the denomination of the Tower Hamlets ; the names 
of which are as follow : 
Hackney. Ratcliff. 
Norton-Fnlgate. Shadwell. 
Shoreditch. Limehoufe. 
Spitalfields. Poplar. 
Whitechapel. Elackwall. 
Trinity-Minories. Bromley. 
Eaft Smithfield. Bow. 
Tower Extra and Infra. Old Ford. 
St. Catharine’s. Mile-End. 
Wapping. Bethnal-Green. 
Thefe twenty-one hamlets are fevered from the county of 
Middlefex, fo far as relates to the railing of the militia, 
by an aCt of parliament palled in the fourteenth year of 
the reign of Charles II. and are obliged to raife two regi¬ 
ments of themfelves, to be the handing militia of the 
Tower; and, for this purpofe, the conftable of the Tower 
is lord-lieutenant of the diftrict. 
Leaving the Tower, we proceed towards the London 
Docks, and vifit in our way the few remarkable objedts 
which are thinly fcattered in this btify part of the great 
eaftern luburb of the metropolis.—The church of St. Ca¬ 
tharine ftands almoft concealed from the view by the fur¬ 
rounding buildings, on the eaft fide of a fmall open place, 
called St. Catharine’s Square. It belonged, originally, to 
an hofpital, founded, in 1148, by Matilda, confort to king 
Stephen. The old foundation was diflolved, and re¬ 
founded, in 1-Z73, by queen Eleanor, relidf of Henry III. 
Philippa, confort to Edward III. was a great benefaclrefs 
to this hofpital, as was Henry VI. who not only confirmed 
all the former grants, and made feveral additional ones, 
but gave an ample charter to it. It was exempt from the 
jurildiftion of the biftiop of London, till its fuppreflion 
by Henry VIII. foon after which, Edward VI. annexed it 
to that diocele; leaving the patronage, however, in the 
hands of the queens of England, according to the difpo- 
fition of its re-fonndrefs. The church, which is a very 
handfome Gothic building, is collegiate, and has a mal- 
ter, whofe fltuation is a valuable finecure, and threa 
brethren, who have forty pounds each ; three lifters, 
who have twenty pounds; and ten beads-women, who 
have eight, pounds per annum each; and fix poor febo- 
lars. This church was repaired and enlarged in 1621; 
and, in 1629, the outfide of it was rough-caft, at the ex- 
penfe of fir Julius Casfsr; about which time the clock- 
tower was added, at the charge of the parilhioners. In 
the choir are feveral handfome (tails, ornamented with 
Gothic carved work, refembling thofe in cathedrals, un¬ 
der one of which is a very good carving of the head of 
queen Philippa, and another of her hulband; and the eaft 
window is very elegant. The pulpit is a great curiofity ; 
-on its eight files are reprefented the ancient building, 
and different gates of the hofpital. The length of the 
.5 X cburck 
