494 LON 
fmile to think that their anceftors could have endured fo 
long fuch prepofterous fort of entertainment! 
King Henry II. granted to the priory of St. Bartho¬ 
lomew the privilege of a fair to be kept annually at Bar- 
tholomew-tide, on the eve, the day, and the morrow, to 
which the clothiers England and the drapers of Lon¬ 
don repaired, and had their booths and handings in the 
church yard within the priory, which was feparated from 
Smithfield by walls and gates that were locked every 
night, and watched, for the fafety of the goods depofited 
there; and the narrow lfreet or lane afterwards built 
where the cloth was fold hill retains the name of ClothFair. 
Fairs of this defcription originated in Roman-catholic 
countries on account of “ pilgrims and other devout men” 
coming to do homage to the flirine of a faint on the day 
of his commemoration, which was called thefeajl . Their 
number beinggenerally very confuierable,and theircoming 
from a certain dihance out of the country making them 
need refrefhrnent previous to entering the church, the ob- 
jefl of their journey, or at any rate previous to their re¬ 
turn home, —hence many people came with halls lining 
the avenues to the facred fpot, and offering gingerbread, 
paKies, See. for travellers and others, befides toys for the 
children, and fmall images and books for the more reli¬ 
gious among them. What a fpirit of religion had fug- 
gelled was foon adopted and extended by a lpirit of trade ; 
and, under proper regulations, produced the moh bene¬ 
ficial effedls ; as fo which, fee the article Fair, vol. vii. 
p. 165. But fairs are not now of that utility or neceffity 
that they were in former days; and therefore Bartholo¬ 
mew-fair, which was chartered for three days, but had ex¬ 
tended by fufferance to a fortnight or more, was again 
reduced to three days by an order of council in the year 
1708.—The ceremony of proclaiming the fair, by the lord- 
mayor in perfon, takes place on the eve of St. Bartholo¬ 
mew’s day, old ftyle; that is, on the 3d of September, 
new ltyle. It is performed about twelve o’clock at noon ; 
—and it is curious to fee all kinds of inftruments falfely 
called mufical, ready to ftrike up, and as if fufpended till 
the laft words of the proclamation are pronounced ; then 
begins the mighty din, and a fudden buftle pervades all 
Smithfield. 
We need not recall the painful remembrance of thofe 
days of horror when parties of bigots threw their adver- 
faries into the flames, while the furrounding walls re- 
i'ounded with the fereams of martyrs burnt at the flake 
for their adherence to principles of religion adverfe to the 
reigning doflrines. See the article England, vol. vi. 
p. 637—41, 647. 
Advancing towards the eaft from Smithfield Bars, we 
find Long-lane, which communicates with Charter-Houfe- 
fquare, the area of which, though far from being uniform, 
as furrounded with many decent houfes, and planted with 
Jhrubs. See p. 49a. 
On the fame fide, between Cloth-fair and Duke-ftreet, 
(formerly Duck-lane,) Hands the parilh-cliurch of St..Bar¬ 
tholomew the Great. It was originally a parifli-church 
adjoining to the priory of St. Bartholomew ; but, when 
the latter was pulled down to the choir, that part was an¬ 
nexed by the king’s order, for the enlargement of the old 
ihurch ; in which manner it continued till queen Mary 
gave the remnant of the priory-church to the Black 
Friars, who ufed it as their conventual church till the 
firfl year of queen Elizabeth, when the friars were turned 
out, and the church wasreflored, by ad of parliament, to 
ihe parilh. The prefent church is the fame as it flood in 
the reign of Edward VI. except the fteeple, which, being 
of timber, was taken down in the year 1628, and a new 
one, of brick and Hone, ereded. It is a fpacious edifice 
of the Gothic and Tufcan orders, one hundred and thirty- 
two feet long, fifty-feven broad, and forty-feven high ; 
and the altitude of the tower is feventy-five feet. On the 
north fide of the chancel is an elegant monument of Ra- 
Siere, beneath an arch, fupported by tabernacle-work. 
His effigy is recumbent, with his hands joined over his 
■fereaft. There is an angel at his feet, and a friar in the 
D O N. 
attitude of prayer en each fide of him. This monutnene 
was repaired and beautified by William Bolton, the lad 
prior. The patronage of this church, which, in all pro¬ 
bability, was anciently in the prior and canons of St. 
Bartholomew, is now in private hands. This parilh ftill 
claims an exemption from the jurifdidion of the city, fo 
far as to protect non-freemen in carrying on their refpec- 
tive trades. 
On the fouth fide of this church is a large open piece of 
ground, called Bartholomew Clofe, where was anciently a 
cemetery, and the court-yard belonging to the old priory 
of St. Bartholomew ; in which the fair was kept till it was 
removed into Smithfield. Part of the cloifters is ftill pre- 
ferved in the Black-horfe livery-ftables, confiding of eight 
arches, ornamented with the rude fculpture of the tiroes ; 
and there are feveral veftiges of the priory to be feen in a 
narrow paflage to the north of the liable; adjacent to- 
which is part of the fouth tranfept, now converted into a 
fmall burial-ground.—In this Clofe is the principal part 
of thofe extenfive buildings formerly called the London 
Houfe, (fee p. 487 ;) now feparately occupied, near Queen- 
fquare by Mr. Willan, the celebrated coach-mafter of the 
Bull-and-Mouth Inn, which we noticed at p.486; and 
in the centre by Mr. J. Adlard, of Duke-llreet, who has 
converted his detached part into a commodious printing- 
office, whence, among other refpedtable periodical works, 
iffues the Encyclopaedia Londinenfis. 
This neighbourhood contains many remains of the ftyle 
of building which generally obtained two centuries ago. 
They appear as an aggregate of the rude dwellings of our 
forefathers, inhabitants of the metropolis—the uncouth- 
nefs of the ffiape, the combuftibility of the materials of 
which they are compofed,and the narrownefs of the ftreets, 
made ftill narrower by the odd cuftom of erecting one ftory 
flielving over another, as if fpace had been wanted in the 
wide world to build a city—are molt aftonilhing, and 
have contributed undoubtedly to the frequency and ex¬ 
tent of conflagrations, as well as of peftilential difeafee 
with which London was formerly afflicted. Not very 
many of thefe curious fabrics have refilled the tafteful 
zeal for improvement lately evinced in London; and,, 
although we like to fee memoranda of them in neat en¬ 
gravings, we wiffi it were our lot to publilh a likenefs 
of the laft remnant of that prepofterous ftyle. 
On the fouth-eall fide of Smithfield is the magnificent 
hofpital of St. Bartholomew, which appears to have been 
the firfteftablilhmentof this nature in London, having been 
founded in the year 1102, by Rahere, mentioned above, min- 
ftrelto Henry I. who, quitting his gay life, founded a priory 
of black canons, which he dedicated to St. Bartholomew, 
and became himfelf the firft prior. He afterwards ob¬ 
tained from the king a piece of wade ground, on which 
he built an hofpital, fora mailer, brethren, and filters, and 
for the relief of the difeafed and maimed poor, which he 
placed under the care of the priory. Both the priory and 
hofpital were furrendered to Henry VIII. who, in the laft 
year of his reign, re-founded the latter, and endowed it 
with an annual revenue of five hundred marks, on condi¬ 
tion that the city Ihould pay an equal fum ; which pro- 
pofal being accepted, the new foundation was incorpo¬ 
rated by the name of “ The Hofpital of the Mayor, Com¬ 
monalty, and Citizens, of London, Governors for the 
Poor, called Little St. Bartholomew’s, near Welt Smith- 
field.” Since this time the hofpital has received confi- 
derable benefaftions from charitable perfons, by which 
means the governors have been enabled to admit all indi¬ 
gent perfons maimed by accident, at any hour of the day 
or night, without previous recommendation ; and the fick 
on Thurfdays, on which days a committee of governors 
fit to examine perfons applying for admiffion. The pa¬ 
tients, whether fick or maimed, are provided with lodg¬ 
ing, food, medicine, and attendance, and have the advice 
and afiiliance of fome of the molt eminent phylicians and 
furgeons in the kingdom. 
Notwithftanding the old building efcaped the dreadful 
fire in i 664 , yet, the chief part of its revenue* being in 
he tile9, 
