L O N 
whence foever it came, being of a man, as the forme fliew- 
eth, rnuft needs be monftrous, and more than after the 
proportion of five fiianke bones of any man now living 
amongft us.”—Thefe laft words of Stow are obfcure ; for 
certainly he cannot mean that this bone was longer than 
five common thank-bones ; but moft likely that the pro¬ 
portion of the height of a man to his thank is as five to 
one. A man five feet and a half high meafures thirteen 
inches on his thank ; and, following the fame proportion, 
the bone above mentioned mult have belonged to an indi¬ 
vidual eleven feet high. 
On the fouth fide of this church ftood a conduit, ere£l- 
ed by fir William Eaftfield, in 1438, for fupplying the 
neighbouring inhabitants with water from Tyburn; 
which, being dettroyed by the fire in 1666, was toon af¬ 
terwards rebuilt; but, when the plentiful fupply of water 
by other means rendered thefe buildings ufelel's, this, with 
thole in Cheapfide and without Crippiegate, were pulled 
down in 17305 and the ltones employed in repairing the 
gate upon London-bridge. It was propofed in the com¬ 
mon-council toerefl a tfatue of king William in the room 
of the conduit in Cheapfide; but negatived by 77 again(l 
25. “ We have been lately delivered from one nuifance,” 
laid Mr. Birch ; “ and now they want to annoy us with 
another.” Free Bbtonand Gent. Mag. Nov. 1731. 
The accefs to Aldermanbury from Cheapfide is princi¬ 
pally through Milk-(treet, a very narrow patfage, till you 
reach the interlection of Lad-lane and Cateaton-ilreet. At 
the corner of Lad-lane is the famous inn called the Swan 
with two Necks, the ufual refort of mails and ttages from 
and to great part of the kingdom. But we cannot help re¬ 
marking how awkward and dangerous is the entrance into 
the yard; and we really wonder at the dexterity of our 
four-in-hand virtuofi and knights of the whip, who, by 
twiftings and windings, thread the gates of the inn with 
as much apparent facility as a young feamftrefs does her 
needle.—On the eaft tide of Milk ftreet, near the bottom, 
we remarked a curious head carved in ltone, and fixed in 
the brick wall, between the firft and fecond floor of a 
houfe. It appears to have been an old fign of fome pub¬ 
lic houle; and, by the wreath of flowers and dithevelled 
hair, we fuppofe it to be the head of king Lear; but the 
reader may judge for himfelf by inipefling our Plate VII£*. 
fig. 6. 
In Aldermanbury, on the eaft fide, opens Fountain- 
court, which, betides the Baptilt-head coffee-houfe, a place 
of great bufmefs, prefents on the eaft fide a very neat 
building, with a double flight of fteps and iron railings : 
the top is ornamented with a pediment and architrave of 
the Doric order, and in the centre of the tympanum are 
two ferpents entwined within a wreath, elegantly carved, 
probabb in allution to the original purpofe of the edifice, 
though at prefent only a canvas-warehoufe. This court 
has an opening leading to St. Lawrence Jewry, in Guild¬ 
hall-yard. 
Lower down on the fame fide of the ftreet, is another 
court called Three-Nun-court, leading to St. Michael’s 
in Bafinghali ftreet. From this fpot, eroding London 
Wall and Fore-fireet, we proceed northwards towards 
Tenter-ftreet, well known, like other parts of this neigh¬ 
bourhood, for its livery-(fables ; and in a place called 
“Ropemakers-alley,” and “The Ruins,” but now well 
built and refptbtably inhabited, we find the only Roman- 
catholic chapel which efcaped deftruilion or confilcation 
at the time of the reformation. This was owing to its 
having the appearance of a private houfe. It was how¬ 
ever burnt down during the riots of 1780, (fee p. 116.) 
but was foon rebuilt, and is now a large and commodious 
place of worihip. The entrance has (fill the appearance 
of a private houfe. The fubjeft of the prefent altar-piece 
is the Baptifin of Chrifl ; it is an indifferent imitation of a 
famous painting of Tintoretto; the one which preceded 
this about ten years a 6 o reprefented Chrifl: curing the Sick 
of the Parly ; and had much more merit. On the light fide 
of the altar is a painting of St. Paul, and one on the left 
Vol, XIII. No. 921, 
DON. 481 
of St. Peter; both larger than life. The congregation 
attending this chapel is very numerous ; and the fervice is 
performed with as much pomp and folemnity as theircir- 
cumftances will allow.—It is remarkable that the fouth 
fide of the ftreet, oppofite to the chapel, is in the city, 
vvhilfl the chapel it fell' is in pomario, out of it. We mult 
alfo obferve, that rope-makers generally take their walks 
under the northern walls of fortified towns, or in the dry- 
ditches below them, moft likely 011 account of the (hade 
which is necefiary for their purpofe; the rays of the fun 
would dry up the rnoifture of the tow or oark too foon, 
and confequently put an end to its required flexibility. 
In Little Moorfields we remarked an old public houfe, 
the front of which is curioully decorated with flowers; 
but thefe have been fo often white-wafhed, that they re¬ 
tain little of their former elegance. On one fide remains 
a tall ifolated ftalk, with a large flower at top, which had 
moft probably a companion on the other fide ; but this 
has difappeared. The fign of the houfe is the King’s 
Arms; and feems to date from the reign of James or 
Charles I. 
At the north-weft corner of Aldermanbury and Lon¬ 
don Wall (lands the pari(h-church of St. Alphage, io called 
from its dedication to St. Alphage, or Elpbage, a noble 
Anglo-Saxon faint, bifhop of Winchefter, and afterwards 
archbilhop of Canterbury, who was put to death by the 
Danes, at Greenwich, on the 17th of April, 1014. The 
firft church in London dedicated to this faint ftood ad¬ 
joining to the city-wall, near the eaft fide of Crippiegate. 
But, being demoli(hed at the fuppreflion of religious houfes 
by Henry VIII. and the fite thereof turned into a carpen¬ 
ter’s yard, the fouth aide of the church of St. Mary Filing 
Spital was converted into the parifli-church. The advow- 
fon of tiiis church, which is a rectory, was anciently in 
the dean and canons of St. MartinVle-Grand, in whom 
it continued till Henry VII. annexed it to St. Peter’s, 
Weftminfter, when the abbot and convent became the 
patrons of it; but, that convent being diliblved, queen 
Mary, in the year 1553, granted the patronage thereof to 
Edmund bifhop of London, and his fucceflors, in whom 
it Hill remains. This church efcaped the fire of London ; 
but became lb ruinous, that it was rebuilt in 1770. It is 
a very fmall but neat edifice, of brick and ltone, and well 
lighted. It has neither tower or any other ornament on 
the top; but the doors of entrance, one of which is on 
the fouth fide of London Wall, and two others at the 
north end of Aldermanbury, are very neatly ornamented ; 
and each front is crowned with a pediment. On the 
fides of the front, next London Wall, are handlbme 
ftone pillars; and in the centre of the front, in Alder- 
manbury, is a fpacious arched window, with a Final 1 port¬ 
hole window on each fide, and a neat balultrade beneath 
it. Part of the old church remains at the north-well cor¬ 
ner of the prefent one. The body of the church is en¬ 
tirely concealed by houfes ; the eaft front is in a fort of- 
recefs, which prevents paflengers from taking notice of it; 
and the opening on the fouth fide of London Wall looks 
like the entrance to a private houfe. 
Adjoining the weft end of this church, Hands Sion Col¬ 
lege ; (fee the article College, vol. iv. p.776.) We are 
told that in the year 1632, the governors and clergy agreed 
upon having a common leal, on which was the figure of 
the Good Samaritan, with this infeription, Fade et fac Jimi- 
liler ; “Go and do likewiie.” It may be alked, What has 
the Good Samaritan to do with the clergy of London, or 
indeed with any clergy ? The parable is rather a fort of re¬ 
proach to the minitters of the altar; and, unlefs the motto 
were a kind ot humane injundlion to them, which we could 
not approve as being needlels; or a larcalm, which we 
fhould reprove as unmerited; we- cannot find the fenfe 
of it. We mull therefore recur to very old times for a 
folution of the difficulty. The foundation of William 
Elfing, in 1329, was intended for the relief of a hundred 
blind men: the Good Samaritan would have been a very- 
proper device for an hofpital of this kind. We conclude 
6 G - therefore 
