490 LON 
which the prefent edifice was, in puriunnce of an aft of 
parliament obtained for that purpofe, erefted in its dead. 
It is a lofty brick building, (lengthened at the corners 
with ruftic quoins of ftone, and lighted by two feries of 
windows. The tower is of ftone, and erefted upon the 
weft end of the church, which is faced with ftone, in or¬ 
der to give it a correfponding appearance: the two fir ft 
flages above- the roof are fquare, and contain the bells; 
above thefe are two open odlangular towers, with pilafters 
of the Doric order at each corner, and from the uppermoft 
riles a ball and vane. It is a curacy, in the gift of the 
parilhioners at large. 
The old priory-clofe ftil 1 retains the name of Clerken- 
well Clofe ; on the left-fide of it is a lofty brick-houfe, 
remarkable for being the reputed dwelling of Oliver Crom¬ 
well, and one of the places where meetings were held for 
the purpofe of ccnfulting on the meafures which termi¬ 
nated in the dethronement and death of Charles I. The 
faft of Cromwell’s refidence here is however not clearly 
afcertained, and in all probability will ever remain in 
doubt; fince the parilh-books of that period are, by fome 
unaccountable accident, loft; although thofe prior to it, 
as well as thofe which fucceeded it, are preferved. 
A little to the fouth-eaft of Clerkenwell Priory, where 
St. John’s Square is now fituated, flood the priory orhof- 
pital of St.John of Jerufalem. What a change! now 
private and not inelegant houfes occupy the place of cloif- 
ters, cells, and chapels ; and carriages thunder on the 
pavement which has taken the place of the brafs-inlaid 
tomb-ftones of crofs-legged knights and monks on the 
floor of filent and awful cloifters! For the hiltory of the 
the Knights of St. John of Jerufalem, fee our article 
Knighthood, vol. xi. 
This houfe was founded by Jordan Brifet and Muriel 
his wife, who purchafed of the priorefs and nuns of Clerk¬ 
enwell ten acres of land, on which he erefted the faid 
hofpital about the year mo; but the church belonging 
to it was not dedicated to St.John till the year 1185. 
This foundation became the chief feat of the Knights 
Hofpitalers in England. See p. 106. All that remains 
of it now is the old gate of the priory, (fill called St. 
John’s Gate; the ornaments of which we at firll de¬ 
spaired of rendering interefting or intelligible to the 
reader. By fubfequent exertions, however, fome re¬ 
mains have been faved from oblivion. See Plate VII/. 
where fig. 1, 2, 3, reprefent the key-ftones of the gate at 
the meeting of the groins.—The lamb and flag relting on 
the book of judgment, as mentioned in the Revelations, 
alluded to St. John. The crofs was the arms of the priory, 
the fame as that of St. George, and of London without 
the dagger. The other arms, a chevron between three 
roundels, with the crofs in chief, are thofe of Thomas 
Docwra, prior in 1502-23, who built the gate. Thefe are 
jftill extant, but nearly obliterated by the nibbling fingers 
of time and the mercilefs brulh of workmen, who have 
painted them red, blue, or green, as their fancies prompted 
them, and who, like pifture-cleaners, deftroy the beauties 
they wilb to bring out. Fig. 4. reprefents a fmall door¬ 
way leading to the top of the gate and the towers; the 
fvveep of the arch is elegant, and has on each fide the arms 
as above, which are alfo on each fide of the louthern front 
of the gate. Fig. 5. reprefents a door lately difcovered 
tinder the great gate, in making apartments for the watch- 
Ivoufe. It was carved in oak, and appeared as perfeft as 
when firft made. The great gate, which has the appear¬ 
ance of a ftone building, is only cafed with ftone, the in¬ 
terior being compoled of hard red brick.—St.-John’s-lane 
continues from the gate iouthwards to the end of Cow 
Crofs. In a parlour of a public houfe called the Baptift’s 
Head,a curious old chimney-piece is ftill exilting; fee fig.- 6. 
It is a frieze ornamented with fruit and flowers; in the 
centre are the arms of the owner, and at each end probably 
his crefts. The arms are impaled. The fide belonging 
to the gentleman is quarterly : firft and fourth a chevron 
between three bugle-horns forDunean; fecond and third 
DON. 
a bend for Radcliffe. The impalement for the wife, is a 
bend indented for Radcliffe, with a crefcent for difference. 
The creft on the right is a ftag ftatant; on the left, a tal- 
bot’s head erafed and collared.—This curious piece of 
workmanfhip is in the parlour of the houfe ; and, had it 
not been for the rage of white-wafhing, would ftill ex¬ 
hibit proofs of a fkilful chifel. The frieze is fupported by 
two pilafters in the fame ftyle; and above there is a pan- 
nelling of a curious kind, of which we give a fpecimen at 
fig. 7. It feems as if anciently the houfe had been wain- 
fcoted all over with this fort of ornament, a large piece 
of which ferves now as a partition in a paflage from the 
bar to the yard.—This lane has ftill a folitary and reli¬ 
gious appearance, on account of the gate which terminates 
it, and ftill feems to be the facruvi limen, the awful en¬ 
trance to thofe venerable and religious abodes where piety 
and filence ought to have dwelt, but where the vices op- 
pofite to them (not without other caufes) brought on the 
ruin and diffolution of houfes, the original purpofe and 
intention of which had been fo laudable. Under the 
gateway we find, on the left the watch-houfe, and on the 
other a wine-vault. 
Turning the corner of Cow Crofs, we are led to 
Turnmill-Jlreet, fo called from the various mills which 
were put in motion by the river Wells ; which ufed to pafs 
through it. The river Wells had its name from the nu¬ 
merous wells in the neighbourhood, whofe fprings at 
length formed the river; it ftill runs under ground, and 
dilembogues itfelf into the Thames on the welt fide 
of Blackfriars-bridge by Chatham Place. It is not even 
now a very inconliderable ftream ; and, at low water, 
it is feen rulhing down and finding its way through 
the pebbles and lands on the bank to the Thames. But, 
according to Stow, it was once fo large a river, that it 
ufed to be navigable.—“In a faire book of parliament- 
records,” fays he, “ it appeareth, that, a parliament being 
holden at Carlifle in the yeare 1307, Henry Lacy earl of 
Lincolne complained, that whereas in times paft the courlc 
of water running at London under Oldborne-bridge and 
Fleet-bridge into the Thames, had beene of fuch bredth 
and depth that ten or twelve Ihips were wont to come to 
the forefaid bridge of Fleet, and fome of them unto’Old- 
borne-bridge; now the fame courfe, by filth of the tan¬ 
ners and others, was fore decayed ; alfo by railing of 
what'fes ; but efpecially by a diverfion of the water made 
by them of the New Temple for their rnilles (landing 
without Baynard’s Caftle in the firft yeer? of king John, 
&c. fo as the find Ihips could not enter as they were wonr, 
and as they ought. Wherefore he defired that the mayor 
of London, with the (heriffes and other difereet aldermen, 
might be appointed to view the faid courfe of the faid wa¬ 
ter; and that, by the oathes of good men, all the forefaid 
hindrances might be removed, and it to be made as it was 
wont of old.” Roger le Barbafon, conftable of the Tower, 
and the lord-mayor and flieriffs, were appointed, with 
others; and the river was cleanfed, the mills and other 
hindrances removed ; but they could not fink the bed to 
its former depth ; upon which the river loft its title to 
the name, and was called fimply Turn mill or Tremill-brooke, 
down to Oldborne-bridge, and hence, on account of its 
rulhing on fafter upon the declivity towards the Thames, 
it alfumed the name of Fleet. It was cleanfed feveral 
times, and great expenfes bellowed upon it; till at lall it 
was entirely built over, as we mentioned above. We may 
remark, however, that before the left bank of the vale, ia 
the bofotn of which the brook hailed its courfe, was eo- 
vered with houfes, the Hope was interfefted with penfolds 
where lheep and cattle were kept againlt market-day. 
At the north end of Turnmill-llreet, and weft of Clerk¬ 
enwell, we find the Sefiions-houl'e for the county of Mid- 
dlefex. The former feflions-houfe was fituated in St. 
John Street, at the opening of St. Peter’s lane; where an 
infeription on a neat ftone tablet is put up in the wall, 
and begins with thefe words—“Oppofite this place Hicks’s 
Hall formerly Hood, &c. &c.” This hall was fo denomh- 
J aateti 
