LON 
jurns fiom thence through Holywell-ftreet, including all 
Butcher-row, (when Handing,) to Temple Bar. Beyond 
the may-pole, the liberty begins again in Catharine-ftreet, 
at the Fountain-tavern, and reaches from thence into the 
Strand, as far as Exeter Change; then turning up Bur- 
leigh-ftreet, it runs to within four houfesof Exeter-ftreet, 
whence it paftes through the buildings to the Fountain- 
tavern. Anciently this fpot was occupied by the palaces 
of the chief nobility, the names of which are Hill pre- 
ferved in the ftreets, &c. built on the files of thefe man- 
lions, and the gardens belonging to them. Hence we find 
here, Eflex-rtreet, Devereux-court, Arundel-ftreet, Nor¬ 
folk-ftreet, Howard-ftreet, Surrey-ftreet, Burleigh-ftreet, 
Exeter-ftreet, Craven-buildings, Drury-lane, &c. 
Since the improvement lately made, the firft objeft which 
ftrikes the eye, as we leave Temple-bar, is the parirti- 
church of St. Clement, and its fteeple; which contains a 
fet of bells, and a barrel-chime that plays every three 
hours a pfalm-tune, the 104th, in fo melancholy a mood, 
that the neighbours, waking in the dead of night, mult 
have been long tired of the too-often repeated ftrain.— 
Thefe chimes were frequent here anciently, and are Hill 
common in Germany and the Netherlands.—Cripplegate- 
church and St. Clement’s are the only ones in London, 
if we are not miftaken, which have retained the old and 
ufelefs falhion of fetting church-bells to play mufical tones 
to the deeping parifnioners in the night, or to the “ va¬ 
cant air” in the day, when the over-powering buttle and 
rattling of the ftreets make it impofiible for the drawling 
melody to be heard. To St. Clement’s chimes, however, 
we have no particular objection, as the facred bells per¬ 
form a facred tune; but what can the good citizens of Sa- 
lilbury think, when they llatedly hear the well-known 
tune of the anti-chriftian fong “ Life let us cherith” played 
©ff by the bells of one of their churches > 
This church was dedicated to St. Clement, a dlfciple 
of St. Peter—but whence the diftinftive appellation of 
“ Danes?” Baker fays it derived this name from having 
been the place of re-interment of Harold, whofe brother, 
Hardicanute, had caufed his body to be dug up and 
thrown into the Thames, where it was found by a fiflier- 
rnan, who “buried it in the church-yard of St. Clement, 
without Temple-bar; then called the church of the Danes.” 
William of Malmeflmry mentions a church here, before 
the arrival of the Danes, which, he fays, they burnt, to¬ 
gether with the monks and abbot; and that they con¬ 
tinued their favage and facrilegious fury throughout the 
land. He then goes on ; “ Defirous at length, to return 
to Denmark, they were about to embark; when they were, 
by the juft judgment of God, all (lain at London, in a 
place which hasjfozce been called the Church of the Danes.’* 
There is alfo another reafon given for the denomination 
of this church; namely, that, when moft of the Danes 
were driven out of this kingdom, thofe few that remained, 
being married to Englifli women, were obliged to live be¬ 
tween the Ifle of Thorney (Wellminfter) and Caer Lud 
(Lud-town, or London), where they built a fynagogue, 
which was afterwards confecrated, and called, “Ecclerta 
dementis Danornm.” This is the account given by 
Fleetwood, the antiquary, recorder of London, to the 
lord-treafurer Burleigh, who refided in this parilh. The 
old church was taken down in 1680, and the prefent 
ftruflure erefted in 1682, under the direction of firChrif- 
topher Wren ; but the fteeple was not added to it till 
fome years after. It is a very handfome ftrufture, built 
entirely of ftone. The body of it is lighted by two feries 
of windows ; the lower plain, but the upper well orna¬ 
mented ; and the termination is by an attic, whofe pilaf- 
ters are crowned with vafes. The entrance, on the fouth 
fide, is by a portico, to which there is an afeent of a few 
fteps ; the portico is covered with a dome, fupported by 
Ionic columns. On each fide the bafe of the fteeple, in 
the weft front, is a finall fquare tower, with its dome. 
The fteeple is carried to a great height in feveral ftages ; 
where it begins to diminilh, the Ionic order takes place,. 
DON, 527 
and its entablature fapports vafes. Tfat next fiage is of 
the Corinthian order; and above that Hands the Com po¬ 
lite, fupporting a dome, which is crowned with a fmaller 
one, whence rifes the ball and its vane. This church is 
a reflory, the patronage of which was anciently in the 
Knights Templars; but, after paffing through feveral 
hands, it at length came to the earls of Exeter, in whom 
it Hill remains. The length of this church is ninety-fix 
feet, its breadth fixty-three, and its height, to the roof,' 
forty-eight feet; and the altitude of the fteeple is about 
a hundred and forty feet. 
From the weft end of St. Clement’s, the Strand con¬ 
tinues on the fouth ; and Holywell-ftreet and Wych-ftreet, 
on the north, run up to St. Mary’s, commonly called the 
New Church in the Strand. The original church belong-* 
ing to this parifh is mentioned fo.early as the year 1222, 
when it was named “ St. Mary and the Innocents of the 
Strand but how long it had ftood before that time is 
uncertain. It was then fituated on the fouth fide of the- 
Strand, nearly oppofite to the prefent edifice ; but was 
taken down in 154.9, by order of Ed ward Seymour, duke 
of Somerfet; which depriving the parilhioners of a place 
of worfhip, they joined themfelves to the church of St. 
Clement Danes; and afterwards to that of St. John Eap- 
tift in the Savoy, where they continued till the year 1723. 
At length, the aft having parted forerefting the fifty new 
churches within the bills of mortality, one was appointed 
for this parifh, and the firft ftone laid on the 25th of Fe¬ 
bruary, 1714. It was finiftied in three years and a half, 
though it was not confecrated till the firft of January, 
1723, when, inftead of its ancient name, it was called St. 
Mary-le-Strand. It was the firft built of the fifty new 
churches; and is a very fuperb, though not a very exten¬ 
sive, edifice : it is mafly, without the appearance of being 
heavy, and formed to ftand for ages. At the entrance 
on the weft end is an afeent by a flight of fteps cut in the 
fweep of a circle. Thefe lead to a circular portico of 
Ionic columns covered with a dome, which is crowned 
with an elegant vafe. The j columns are continued along 
the body of the church, with pilafters of the fame order 
at the corners, and in the intercoluminations are niches 
handfomely ornamented. Over the dome is a pediment 
fupported by Corinthian columns, which arc alfo con¬ 
tinued round the body of the ftrufture, over thofe of the 
Ionic order beneath ; between which are the windows 
placed over the niches. Thefe columns are fupported on . 
pedeftals, and have pilafters behind with arches fprung 
from them, and the windows have angular and circular 
pediments alternately. A handfome baluftrade is- carried 
round the top, and its fummit is adorned with vafes, one 
of which fell down a few years fince, and killed a man on 
the fpot. The fteeple is light though folid, and orna¬ 
mented with compofite columns and capitals. The whole 
building is furrounded by a dwarf Itone wall, ornamented 
with very ftrong and handfome iron rails.-- This church 
is a reftory, the patronage of which is in the biftiop of 
Winchefter. The value of the living is two hundred and 
twenty-five pounds per annum, befides furplice-fees ; of- 
which fum one hundred pounds'was fettled by aft of par¬ 
liament, and one hundred and twenty-five pounds is raifed 
by a pound-rate upon the inhabitants in lieu of tythes. 
On the fite of this church, until its ereftion, ftood a 
maypole, which on May-morning, as well as on other 
days of feftivity, was decorated with ftreamers and garw 
lands of flowers, and much referred to by the maidens 
and youths of London and YVeftminfter; when taken 
down, it was found to be one hundred feet in length. It 
was obtained by fir Ifaac Newton, and conveyed to Wan- 
ftead Park in EiTex, at that time the feat of-fir Richard- 
Child, afterwards lord Caftlemain, where, under the di- 
reftion of the Rev. Mr. Pound, it was placed for the erec¬ 
tion of a teleficope one hundred and twenty-five feet long, 
the largeft then in the world, which was given to the 
Royal Society by Monf. Hugon, one of its members. 
Pope has immortalized this maypole in the following lines ■„ 
Amidft 
