51 ® LON 
ifland, or tlio want of (kill in the cultivator, was at that 
time nearly loft 5 although there are authentic documents 
to prove that vineyards did flourilh in this country in an¬ 
cient times. About the time mentioned, a gentleman 
named Warner,, obferving that the munitr, or Burgundy- 
grape, ripened early* conceived that it might do in a. 
vineyard, and accordingly procured fome cuttings, which 
he planted as ftandards in his-garden, in Eaft-lane ; and, 
though the foil was not favourable, yet,, by proper care 
and cultivation, his fruit was,, in a few years, io matured* 
as to yield good wine, and his vintage lb ample, as to af¬ 
ford him upwards of a, hundred gallons annually. It is 
believed, that, of the few vineyards which have been.fince 
eftablifhed, the greater part were fupplied from Mr. War¬ 
ner’s cuttings. 
On the right fide, and at the fouth extremity of the Bo¬ 
rough, formerly (food a church dedicated to St. Margaret 
on the Hill, the fite of which is now occupied by a court of 
juftice, or town-hall. It is a modern-built brick edifice, 
the front of which is ornamented with ftone, and confifts 
of a rultic bafement-ftory, above which areaferies of Ionic 
pilafters; and the whole is crowned with a liandfome ba- 
luftrade. The Reward for the -city of London holds a 
court of record here, every Monday, for all debts, damages, 
-and trefpaffes, within his limits. Befides this court, there 
are three court-leets held in the borough, for its three li¬ 
berties, or manors, viz. the Great Liberty, the Guildable, 
and the King’s Manor ; in which are chofen conftables, 
ale-conners, &c. 
From this court, which fronts the fouth, runs a fpacioua. 
well-built ftreet, inhabited by fubftantial tradefimen, live- 
ry-ftab!es, and innkeepers. It was called St. Margaret’s 
Hill, and now the Borough, or Blackman-ftreet; on the 
eaft fide of which is the Marfhalfea Prifon, which is a 
place of confinement for perfons who have committed 
crimes' at fea, as pirates, &c. and alio for debtors. 
In this prifon is the Marftiall'ea Court, the judges of 
which are the fteward of his majefty’s houfehold for the 
time being, the fteward of the court, who muft be a bar- 
rifter-at-law, and a deputy-fteward. In all civil actions 
tried in this court, both plaintiff and defendant muft belong 
to his majefty’s houfehold. The perfons confined in this 
prilon for crimes at fea, are tried at the admiralty-feffions in 
the Old Bailey. In the fame prifon is the Palace Court, 
the jurifdidfion of which extends twelve miles round the 
^palace of Weltniinfter, the city of London excepted. Ac¬ 
tions for debt are tried in this court every Friday ; and 
there are the fame judges as in the Marlhalfea-court, and 
a prothonotary, a fecondary, deputy prothonotary, four 
counfellors, and fix attorneys. But, in this court, neither 
plaintiff or defendant mult belong to his majefty’s houle- 
hold. The buildings of this prifon are greatly decayed, 
but the court-room is Ipacious and convenient. 
Farther to the fouth is iituated the parifti-church of St. 
George; which is of lome antiquity, as appears from its 
having been given by Thomas Arderne to the abbot and 
monks of bermondfey in the year 112a. In the year 1629, 
the old church was repaired and beautified ; but the decays 
of age at length rendered it neceffary to take it down ; the 
parishioners therefore applied to parliament for power to 
erect a new one, and, having obtained an aft for that pur- 
pofe, the fir It Hone of the prefent edifice was laid on St. 
George’s day, in the year 1734, by Dr. Hough, the reftor, 
as proxy for king George II. and the building was com¬ 
pleted in 1736. It is a very handlome itrutture, with 
a lofty and noble Ipire. The afcent to the great door is 
by a flight of Iteps, within a row of plain iron rails, that 
extend along the whole front of the building. The 
dcor-caie, which is of the Ionic order, has a circular 
pediment, ornamented with the heads of cherubs in 
clouds, and, above this pediment, the front is adorned 
with balultrades and vales. From this place riles a plain 
iquare tower, ftrengthened with ruftic quoins, as is the 
body of the building, and on the corners of,the tower 
D O N. 
are again.placed vafes. Above thtsis an oft an -g ular tower 
with arched openings on the four principal faces, and a 
ferits- of. Ionic columns at the corners fupporting the bafe 
of the fpire, which is alfo octangular, and crowned at it® 
apex u ith a ball, from which rites the vane. This church, 
is a reftory, which, as has been obferved before, was anci¬ 
ently belonging to the prior of Bermondfey. It is at pre¬ 
lent in the gift of the crown. 
A very uleful and elegant improvement has been made 
near this church, by opening a turnpike-road toward* 
Greenwich and the louth-eaftern communications:, as far 
at the Bricklayers’ Arms, in order to avoid the ill-paved 
•Kent-ftreet and the round-about way by the Elephant and! 
Caltle. Befides-its noble appearance, it gives a free circu¬ 
lation to the air ; and Dover-ftreet will in time*moft likely* 
be one of the fineft ftreets in the Borough. 
On the fouth fide of the ftreet we find the large open¬ 
ing called Union-ftreet; in which we remark Union-hall* 
one of the police-office-s. The building is of brick, boC 
faced elegantly with ftucco, and having two niches, on& 
of each fide of the entrance, it retires a little from the 
line of building in .the ftreet* and the next neighbours, 
in adorning and facing alfo with ftucco the front of their 
houfes, feem to have emulated between themfelves who 
could render his.houfe moft ornamental to the ball. At the 
corner of Union-ftreet and Redcrofs-ftreet is.a neat fquare 
building confecrated to the inftrudfion of children, and 
called St. Saviour’s Charity-fchool; annexed to which is 
a church-yard, belonging to the faid parilh, and denomi¬ 
nated molt curioufly, “ Raw-bones church-yard.”—Union- 
ftreet, crofting Redcrofs-ftreet, part of which is entirely- 
inhabited by brokers, extends now as far as Gravel-lane, 
and, opening into Charlotte-ftreet, runs by Rowland Hill’s 
chapel, then enters the marlh of Lambeth, and thus makes 
a free and exceedingly-good communication between the 
three bridges ; it was formerly called Duke-ftreet from 
Gravel-lane to the Roebuck public-lioufe; then Queen- 
ltreet to Redcrofs-ftreet j and then Union-ftreet to Black- 
man-ltreet; but now it continues this laft denomination 
all through, and very properly, lince it unites the ealtera 
with the weftern parts of Southwark. 
Blackman-ftreet, which we left a few lines above, bears 
that name from the church to Stones End. It has on the 
weft feveral openings, of which Mipt-ftreet, oppofite to the 
church, is the narrow-eft; and leads to the place where 
Hood anciently a magnificent manfion belonging to Charles 
Brandon, duke of Suffolk, the favourite of our fickle 
king Harry the Eighth. After the death of the duke 
it fell into the king’s hands, who erected there a royal 
mint. At that time it was called Southwark-place; and 
was afterwards given by queen Mary to the archbilhop of 
York, as an inn or relidence for him and his fuccefiors, 
whenever they repaired to London. This place continued 
for many years an afylum for fraudulent debtors, who took 
refuge here with their effefts, and fet their creditors at de¬ 
fiance; but, becoming at length a pelt to the neighbour¬ 
hood, by giving Ihelter to villains of every defeription, 
the attention of parliament was directed to it, and in the 
reign of George I. all its privileges were totally fuppreffed. 
The place now called the Mint, contains leveral dirty 
narrow Itreets, inhabited by very low people, many of 
them employed in the ledenrary and unprofitable bull nets 
of pin’s-head making.—A place between four little ftreets 
is emphatically called Mint-fquare, but fcarcely deferves 
notice. Between this place and the northern walls of the 
King’s-Bench prifon, hardly one houle was to be feen 
about lix years ago. It was bought upon building-leales 
by Mr. Spiller, (the great diltiller in the Surry Road ;) and 
now it is covered with ftreets and lanes interkdting each 
other at right angles, and crofted through by Lant-ltre*t 
and Great Suffolk-ltreet, the lalt fo called in remembrance 
of the duke’above mentioned, inlfead of its ancient and. 
moft appropriate denomination of Dirty-lane .—Oppofite to 
this ftreet another opening is making, to have a continu¬ 
ation 
