538 LON 
he nearly' level with the Strand; but the fouth end will 
require a long Hope to make an eafy afcent. The orna¬ 
ments will eonfift of a couple of Tufcan columns before 
each pier; and the badutiers will be executed in the mod 
elegant manner. We are forry that fome very preponde¬ 
rant reafons weigh againft ornamenting our bridges with 
the ftatues of_our heroes and worthies ; and vve hope to 
v fee thole reafons loon removed. 
Between Durliam-houfe and the Strand, was the old 
(tabling belonging to the manfion, which being a great 
eyefore in lo confpicucus a fituation, Robert earl of Sa- 
iifbr.ry, lord high treasurer to James I. purchafed it, 
and, under the aufpices of his royal mailer, in the year 
ifioS, erected a magnificent done building upon the 
fite, nearly on a limilar plan to that of the Royal 
Exchange ; there being an open paved walk, with rows 
of Slops below and above, and cellars beneath. When 
this building was finilhed, the king, attended by the royal 
family, and many lords and ladies of his court, honoured 
its opening with their prefence, and bellowed on it the 
name of Britain's Burfe, which was afterwards changed to 
that of the New Exchange. The building was taken down 
in the year 1737, and a handfome and uniform row of 
houfes erected in its (lead, which forma part of the ftreet. 
Weltward from the Adelphi are feveral llreets, which 
are included under the denomination of York Buildings, 
from having been built upon the fite of the town man- 
fion of the archbilhope of York. This had originally be¬ 
longed to the bilhops of Norwich ; but, about the year 
1556, Nicholas Health, archbifliop of York, purchafed it 
for the ufe of himfelf and his lucceiTors, in confequence 
of Whitehall, their ancient palace, having been fold by 
Wolfey to Henry VIII. Mathew Toby, who had before 
exchanged Durliam-houfe with the crown, alio exchanged 
this, and received feveral manors in lieu of it. After 
this, it was granted to Villiers duke of Buckingham, whole 
fon George difpofed of it to builders; and they converted 
it into ftreets and alleys, in which his name and title are 
Bill preferved ; they being called George-ftreet, Villiers- 
ftreet, Duke-ftreet, Of-alley, and Buckingham-lireet. 
At the bottom of tliefe ltreets, next the river, is a neat 
gravelled walk, or terrace, for the inhabitants and their 
children to promenade in. There is a lodge at one end 
of it, where a porter is kept, to open aud (hut the gates, 
and to prevent the intrufion of improper company. This 
polt was enjoyed for many years by Mr. Hugh Hewfon,a 
man or no mean celebrity, though no funeraL efcutcheons 
adorned his hearfe, or heir expectant graced his cbfequies. 
He was no lefs a perfonage than the identical Hugh Strap, 
whom Dr. Smollett has rendered lb confpicuoufly intereft- 
ing in his Life of Roderic Random. He had kept a bar¬ 
ber’s fliop in the parilh of Sf. Martin for mere than forty 
years. He was a very intelligent man, and took delight 
in recounting the adventures of his early life. He fpoke 
with pleafure of the time he paffed in the fervice of the 
doctor; and it was his pride, as well as hoaft, to fay that 
he had been educated in the lame feminary with lo ciil- 
tinguifhed a character. His (hep was hung round with 
Latin quotations; and he would frequej. ly point out to 
his cuftomers and acquaintances the leveral fcen.es in Ro¬ 
deric Random, relating to himfelf, which had their foun¬ 
dation, not in the doctor’s inventive fancy, but in truth 
and reality. The meeting in a barber’s lhop at Newcastle-. 
upon-Tyne, the lubfequent miltake at the inn, their ar¬ 
rival together in London, and the afliltance they expe- 
1 fenced from Strap’s friend, were all of that defeription. 
We underhand, that Hevvfon left behind him an inter¬ 
lined copy of Roderic Random, pointing out thefe faCts, 
Blowing how far they were indebted to the genius of the 
doctor, and to what extent they were founded in reality. 
He-could never lucceed in gaining more than a bare fub- 
fifience by his trade; but he pofftfled an independence of 
mind fuperior to his humble condition. At length he 
gained this retreat, where he continued to be much re- 
D O N. 
fpe£ted ; and where be tranquilly ended his days in the 
month of March, 1H09, at the ripe age of eighty-five. 
From this terrace there is a very elegant ftene gate to 
the Hairs. The defign of this gate is greatly admired, 
and is every way worthy of its architect, Inigo Jones. It 
is of the Tufcan order, and ornamented with ruftic work® 
The flairs li3ve fallen into dilufe within the laft twer.tv 
years, from the cauleway to them having been fo long ne¬ 
glected, as to render the approach cf boats alraoft irripof- 
lible, except at high water. Near thefe flairs, at the bot¬ 
tom of Villiers,ftreet, is the machinery of the York-build- 
ings Water-works. The company to whom it belongs, 
were incorporated by ad of parliament in the year ifiot. 
Hungerford Stairs tie a little farther weft, and below 
the market of that name. Several boats ply there, in. 
erder to “ waft over the gentle waves” the calculating 
man, whofinds that a hackney-coach would colt him three- 
times as much to jolt him as far as Blackfriars-bridge.— 
The market is not handfome, but dome good (hops and 
thriving flails are to be found there.—In this piace was 
anciently a large houfe and garden belonging to the Hun- 
gerfords of Fairleigh in Wiltfhire. In the reign of 
Charles II. fir Edward pulled down the family-tnanfion, 
and converted it into feveral buildings, and among them 
this market, which, from its proximity to the Thames® 
and the conveniency of the flairs for gardeners to land 
their goods at, was principally defigned as. a market for 
vegetables : the plan, however, failed, and the market 
never flourifhed. Here is a good market-houfe ; and on 
the north fide of it is (till remaining a bull of one of the 
Hungerfords, in a large wig.. 
The north fide of the Strand does not furnifln us with 
any interefting objeCt from Exeter ’Change down to 
Charing Crofs. Many very handfome drops—Southamp- 
ton-lireet, that leads to Covent-gardc-n—Bedford-itreet, 
whofe entrance is fteep and narrow—the little theatre 
called Sans Pareil, created and almoft entirely fapported 
by Mil's Scott, a young lady of multifarious talent, a 
poetels and an aftrefs, and the very genie of the place— 
thefe are the only objects of attention on that part of the 
Strand.—Behind thefe, farther on. the north, are Maiden- 
lane, well-known for a cellar where every one, for a few 
pence, is entered in a book as a member of a (bciety, 
which is now fo extenfive that it lofts its charafteriflics— 
and farther on, Chandos-ftreet, well known alfo for the 
Society of the Excentrics, who held their evening meet¬ 
ings there for many years, and ufed to amufe tlietnfelves 
and their vilitors with all that extempore wit can produce. 
We fhall not mention a notorious eflabiilhment which 
even the dames of a conflagration could not burn out 
of the place, but, like a deep-rooted difeafe, baffled the 
fkill of the phyfician, and re-appears. A Key to what w« 
mean will be found at p. 142. 
Chandos-ftreet leads us to St. Martin’s lane, which has 
its principal opening at the weft end of the Strand, oppo- 
fite to Norrhumberland-houfe. The origin of St. Martin’s 
church is nearly as ancient as the convent of Weftminfler, 
and is connected with the hiftory of it: but we have, on 
that account, very little upon record We find, however, 
that in 1222 there was a ferious contention between the 
abbot of Weftminfter and the bilhop of London, who 
claimed the jnrifuiction of it; but the abbot and monks 
retained the disputed patronage till the time of Henry VIII. 
when the endowments of the church ihared the fate of the 
monaftery to which it was attached. A finall church was 
built thereat the king’s expen fe; but, this Itrufture not 
being capacious enough to accommodate the parifhioners, 
it was greatly enlarged in 1607, by the addition of a fpa- 
cious chancel, which was ereited at the expenfe of prince 
Henry (fon of James I.) and fbme of the nobility. At 
length, after many expenfive repairs, the whole of that 
building was taken down in 1721, and foon after the firft 
ftone of the prefent edifice was laid. Five years com¬ 
pleted the work, and in 1726 it was confccrated. On iay- 
