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44o LON 
church is fixty-nine feet, and its breadth fixty feet; the 
length of the choir is fixty-three feet, and the breadth 
thirty-two ; and the height of the roof is forty-nine feet. 
The organ is a remarkably-good one.—There are many 
ancient monuments in this church, the mod curious of 
which is that of John Holland, duke of Exeter and earl of 
Huntingdon, and his two wives, on the north fide of the 
choir, under a (lately arch ; his effigy is placed on the ta¬ 
ble, in a recumbent pofture, and thofe of his wives on 
his left hand ; with coronets on all their heads. The 
duke was a great benefactor to the hoTpital, in which he 
founded a chauntry ; arid he bequeathed to the high al¬ 
tar in the church, “ a cuppe of byroll, garnifhed with 
gold, perles, and precious ftones, to be put in the facra- 
rnent,” and a number of other valuable effefts. Ray¬ 
mond Lully, the famous Hermetic philofopher, wrote his 
Tcflamentum Nov’JJimitm in this hofpital. 
On the fouth fide of the Thames, (haded by.an im- 
menfe foreft of mads riling from the innumerable crowd 
of veffels of all nations, loading and unloading, from this 
univerfid mart, all the riches and commodities of both 
the hemifpheres of the globe, winds the well-known dreet 
of Wapping, frequented and inhabited by feamen of all 
defcriptions. It has an appearance peculiar to itfelf, and 
which cannot be matched any-where.—To the north of 
this dreet (lands the parifh-church of St. John, Wapping ; 
fo called from its dedication to St. John the Baptiil, and 
its fitnation. The old church was ereiied, in 1637, as a 
chapel of eafe to St. Mary’s, Whitechapel; but, by the 
great increafe of buildings, the hamlet of Wapping was, 
in 1694., condituted a didinft paridi. The prefent edifice 
was erected in the year 1790. It is built of brick, drength- 
ened with rudic quoins of done, and enlightened by two 
j'eries of windows. The principal entrance, to which 
there is an afcent by a double flight of Heps, is at the wed 
end ; above it riles a fquare tower, in two Itages, crowned 
with a bell-fnaped cupola, from which rifies the vane. 
This church is a rectory, the patronage of which is in the 
principal and fcholars of King’s-hall and Brazen-nole 
college, Oxford. Adjoining to the church is a charity- 
fcbool for fifty boys and forty girls, founded in 1704, and 
rebuilt by voluntary contribution in 1765.. 
The ground on which this paridi dands, was anciently 
within the flux of the Thames; but when, or by whom, 
it was fird .embanked, is not known, though it is fup- 
pofecl to have happened about the year 1544. By fre¬ 
quent inundations of the Thames, its banks in thefe parts 
were at times much injured ; particularly in the year 1565, 
when great breaches were mad (tin various parts of it, which 
were fcarceiy repaired when another happened in 1571, 
which was attended with dill vvorfe conlequences. The 
commiflloners of the (ewers, after viewing the dellmcffion 
made, were of opinion, that the mod effectual way to fe- 
cure the bank of the river, in thofe parts, would be to 
ereft buildings thereon. Accordingly, the ground was 
taken for that purpofe, and the fird foundations of houfes 
were laid on the fpot where Wapping is now fituated. 
At the elbow which the bank of the river makes to¬ 
wards the fouth, is the place called Execution Dock, where 
all pirates, and others condemned at the admiralty-feflions 
for offences committed on the high feas, are executed on a 
gibbet, at low-watermark. 
On t'ne wed is the entrance into the London Docks.—• 
When it is confidered that the port of London commands 
about three-fifths of the commerce of the whole king¬ 
dom, that it has frequently riding within it from J300 to 
1400 fail of veffels at a time, and in the cour.fe of the year 
about 14,000 ; that from the year 170010 1792 its im¬ 
ports had Increafed from 4,785,5.38!. to 12,072,6741. and 
its exports from 5,387,7871. to 14,742,5161. it appears lur- 
prifing that proper accommodations for its commerce 
fhoukl have been fo long wanting. The legal quays, 
which were only 1464 feet long, having remained the 
fame as at the rime of the fire of London, *ere, with the 
aid of the fufferance-wharfs, totally inadequate to the in* 
eretde of its commerce. The iuconveniencies arifitig from 
DON. 
the crowded date of the Thames at all times, btif partf- 
cularly at thofe periods when (hips arrive in large fleets, 
were iong felt and complained of by all the principal mer¬ 
chants; and, from reference to the reports of committees, 
and other publications on the improvement of the port of 
London, it appears that different plans had been frequent¬ 
ly .fuggefted to extend the convenience of the legal quays 
both above and below London-biidge. -It was not, how¬ 
ever, till the year 1793, that a plan was (irft projected for 
making wet docks for the port of London, in Wapping, 
the Ifie of Dogs, and at Rotherhithe ; .the preference wag- 
intended to have been given, in the fird indance, to Wap¬ 
ping, from its vicinity to the city, the feat of bufinefs, and 1 ’ 
to the cuftom-boufe; one end of the fpot fixed upon be¬ 
ing within a quarter of a mile of tlie Tower of London, 
and the eaflern extremity of it about one mile. The plan 
of docks meeting with approbation and encouragement, 
they were circulated generally to all the great leaning in- 
tereds in and out of parliament, and to all the principal 
perfons connected with the commercial intered. 
In 1794, a genera! meetingof merchants was convened, 
to confider the great inconveniences of the port of London, 
arifing from the crowded date of the river, and the con¬ 
fined extent of the legal quays ; when a committed was 
appointed to confider of the belt mode of relief, who took 
into confederation all the plans which had been fuggefted ; 
and at length they approved of the plan for making wet 
docks in Wapping, with wharfs and warehoufes on their 
borders, as the moil effectual means of remedying the 
evils of the port. In confequence of this determination, 
Mr. Daniel Alexander, an ingenious architect and fur- 
veyor, who had been making great alterations at Rochef- 
ter-bridge, and who was converfant with operations con¬ 
nected with the tide, was directed to make a furvey, and 
prepare plans and eftimates for forming docks at Wapping, 
with the addition of a cut or canal leading to them, from 
that part of Blackwall where the prelent Eaft-India docks 
have been made, and along a line where the Weft-India 
docks have been (ince formed. The plans and eftimates 
were laid before a general meeting of merchants on the 
2zd of December, 1795, when they were unanimoufly ap¬ 
proved, and a fubfeription of 800,ood. was filled in a few 
hours, for carrying the fame into execution. A committee 
was appointed to make application to parliament, who pre- 
fen ted a petition in January 1796, which was referred to 
a feleCt committee of the houfe of commons, who were 
directed “ to enquire into the bed mode of providing ;uf- 
ficient accommodation for the increafed trade and (hip¬ 
ping of the port of London.” The application of the 
merchants experienced great oppofition both from the 
corporation of the city of London and front private in- 
terefts;. and a great variety of plans and projects were 
brought forward for the exrenfton of the legal quays above 
and below the bridge, and the improvement of the river, 
with or without docks. This caufed much delay ; bus 
the necefiity of providing fome additional accommodation 
for the increafing multitude of (hips which filled the river 
became every day more evident; and, upon a companion- 
of the various plans for making docks in different litua- 
tions, it was generally admitted, that wet docks might be 
formed in various fituatfions at a much lefs expenle than 
on the fpot fixed upon for the London docks at Wapping ; 
but that the iltuation of the latter, from its vicinity to 
the feat of commerce, would much more than counterba¬ 
lance the additional expenfe of their formation. Through, 
t'ne great exertions and perfeverance of William Vaughan, 
efq. allilted by other highly-refpeCtable mercantile cha¬ 
racters, the various obftacles to the plan of the London 
Docks were lucceftively overcome.;, and, in Augult 1798, 
the fublcribers gaye notice, that in the enduing leftion of 
parliament they meant to renew their application for form¬ 
ing docks at Wapping, and in December following they 
petitioned for leave to bring in a bill for this purpole. 
A few days after a petition was prefented by the corpora¬ 
tion of London, with a view to fimilar objects, and by 
making a navigable canal or paffage acrois the ifie of Dogs 
from 
