4W- LON 
the height of the roof thirty-fix feet, ami that of the tower 
feventy-nve feet. Within it is well paved, has a handfome 
pulpit, an organ-loft, and a gallery. The attendance at this 
church is not very numerous, fince molt of the parilhioners 
pafs their Sundays out of town; and we are told that the 
clergyman fometimes reads-the fervice to the fexton, the 
pew-opener, the organift and his man, without any other 
congregation. 
St. Mary Colec’nurch flood at the fouth-weft corner of 
fthe Old Jewry. The diffir.&ive appellation of Cole ori¬ 
ginated from no faint, but from the name of the architect. 
It is reported that Thomas Becket, archbifhop of Canter¬ 
bury in 1162, was baptized^in that church ; it was a cu¬ 
racy in the gift of the company of mercers ; it was de- 
ftroyed by the fire with all the others in the neighbour¬ 
hood, and never rebuilt. 
Between this fpot and St. Mildred’s, is a gloomy open¬ 
ing, through which the eye is led to iron grates and other 
ominous objefits. Here is the Poultry Compter, fo called, it 
is faid, as well as the prifon in Giltfpur-Areet, on account 
of the people confined there being obliged to account for 
the caufeof their commitment before they are difeharged. 
But this is an erroneous idea : the name originates from 
ihefe having been at the beginning nothing elfe but com¬ 
mon lock-up houfes, where debtors, previous to their 
being fully committed, were detained in order to give 
them time to fee their creditors, and fettle the matter of 
account with them. The poorer fort of prifoners in thefe 
compters receive fome afiiflance from the fheriffs, who ge¬ 
nerally go round the refpeftive markets of the city twice 
a-year, to gather contributions for their fupport 5 and 
ahere are feveral benefaftions, made by charitable perfons, 
for the relief of thofe who may happen to be detained for 
•want of being able to difeharge the prifon-fees. 
A little to the weft of the Poultry Compter is Grocers’ 
Alley; at the upper or north end of which is Grocers’ 
Hall, fimated on a fpot of ground purchafed by the Gro¬ 
cers’ Company., in the year 1411, of Robert Fitz-Walter, 
for three hundred and twenty marks. It is well defigned 
and executed for the purpofes of a common-hall; ftately, 
ornamental, and fo capacious, that, for many years, it 
feived for the ufes of the Bank of England, which was 
kept in this hall till there was an office built on purpofe 
in Threadneedle-ftreet. This hall contains a portrait and 
jftatue of fir John Cutler, who is faid to have built the 
parlour and dining-room over it. The ancient (tone and 
brick building, at the north-weft corner of the garden, 
inhabited by the beadle of the company, is very probably 
part of the ancient city-manfion of tire noble family of 
Fitz-Walter, and, confequently, the oldeft building within 
the city-walls. 
From Grocers’ Alley there is a paffage, called Dove- 
court, which leads weftward into the Old Jewry. This 
ftreet was originally called The Jewry, from being the re- 
/^dence j of the Jews in this city, prior to their banifhment 
by Edward I. but when, on their re-admiflion into Eng¬ 
land, they fettled near Aldgate, in a place called, from 
them and their then poverty, Poor Jewry-lane, this, their 
ancient place of abode, received the appellation of the 
Old Jewry, 
A little farther weft, is Mercers’ Hall and Chapel.-— 
This building is fituated on the fpot once occupied by an 
hofpital dedicated to St. Thomas of Acors, or Aeons, 
founded, fora mafterand brethren of the Auguftine order, 
by Thomas pitz-Tbeobald de Heili, and his wife Agnes, 
lifter to Thomas-a-Becket, in the reign of Henry II. 
On the diflohuion of religious houfes, in the reign of 
Henry VIII. this hofpital was purchafed by the Mercers’ 
Company, who had the gift of the mafterfliip, and was 
opened by them, immediately, under the name of Mercers’ 
Chapel. They were both deltroyed by the fire of London; 
jfoon after which the prel'ent ftrueture was erefted. 
It is with great fatisfadtion that we fee this elegant 
front, which can now boalt of fome antiquity, thoroughly 
xepaued aqd beautified at the expenl'e of the worfhipful 
DON, 
company to which it belong*. The front next Cheap*. 
fide is very handfome, and has been defigntd and exe¬ 
cuted with care. The principal gate is an arch, at the 
key-ftone of which are the arms of the Mercers’ Company, 
being the head of a woman iffuing out of clouds. In the 
corner are two genii, or winged boys, holding a drapery; 
and the poAs on each fide are curioufly carved. Above 
this is a fort of eornice, or architrave, fupporting a.bal- 
cony, with an iron railing elegantly wrought. An arched 
■window in the centre is accompanied by two figures. 
Faith and Hope, and two pilafters of the Ionic order* 
fupporting alfo an architrave or cornice with a circular 
broken pediment, in the centre of which is the third theo¬ 
logical virtue. Charity, represented by the figure of 3 
woman with three children, in allufion, mod probably, to 
the eleemofynary milts of which this company are the 
patrons, particularly that of Dr. Colet’s fchool, now called 
St. Faul’s fchool. See p. 412. On each fide of the niche, 
in whieh the figure of Charity is placed,.there are two 
circular windows furrounded with wreaths. All the ac¬ 
counts of this curious frontifpiece hitherto publifhed being 
very erroneous, we can allure our readers, that the prel'ent 
was written after a Iketch carefully taken on the fpot.™ 
The inner court is adorned with piazzas formed of co¬ 
lumns of the Doric order. The hall-room and great par¬ 
lour are wainfeoted with oak, and ornamented with Ionic 
pilaAers ; and the ceiling is beautifully decorated with 
fret-work. The chapel is neatly wainlcoted, and paved 
with black and white marble. The entrance into this 
hallj from Ironmonger-lane, is decorated with ruftic ftone 
pillars, fupporting an arch, on the key-Aone of which are 
the company’s arms. The door is pannelled, and the up¬ 
per compartment, on each fide, is alfo filled with the arms 
carved in wood. 
Farther north, on the fame fide of Ironmonger-lane, 
formerly Hood the parilh-church of St. Martin, Iromnon- 
ger-larve, which received its name from being dedicated to 
one Martin, an Hungarian, who, for ftrenuoully oppoling 
the riling herefy of Arius, was deemed worthy of being- 
canonized.—This church, being deltroyed by the fire of 
London, was not rebuilt; and the parifti was annexed to 
that of St. Olave Jewry. . 
On the fouth fide of the ftreet runs downwards to the 
vale of Wallbrook, a Ihort ftreet called Bucklerlbury ; at 
the opening of which, at the boundary of Cheapfide and 
the Poultry, formerly ltood the great conduit, which was 
firft eredted for the reception of water conveyed hither 
from Paddington by leaden-pipes under ground,_The 
ftreet received its name from one Buckle, lord of the ma¬ 
nor, who refided, and kept his court, in a lpacious ftone 
building, called the Old Barge, from fuch a fign being in 
front of it. The fite of his manfion is now occupied by 
Barge-yard ; to which place, according to tradition, boats 
and barges came from the Thames, up the Wall-brook, 
when its navigation was open. Oppofite to Barge-yard, 
on the north fide of Bucklerlbury, was a royal manfion, 
denominated Sernes or Sewete’s Tow'er. In 1J44, king 
Edward III. conftituted this his exchange, of market¬ 
place, for bullion; and, in 1358, he granted it, with all 
its appurtenances, to the dean and canons of the collegiate 
church of St. Stephen at Weltminlter. 
Advancing towards the centre of our perambulations, 
through Cheapfide, we find on our right King-ftreet; at 
the northern extremity of which is Guildhall. This 
building merits attention on many account's. It is the 
hall in which all the affairs belonging to the corporation 
of London are tranfafted. From its fize, it is.welladapted 
for affembling the livery, for the election of members of 
parliament, the lord-mayor, fheriffs, and other city-offi¬ 
cers ; and in this hall the corporation give public enter¬ 
tainments to our kings and other great perfonages. 
The original Guildhall Aood in the ftreet called Alder- 
manbury from their meeting there, and is fuppofed to 
have been built by Edward the Confelfor ; it being known 
by that name in the year 1189. Stow remembered its 
Juin^ 
