Memorials of the Counties of England
General Editor:
Rev. P. H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.S.L., F.R.Hist.S.
Memorials of Old London
VOLUME I.
MEMORIALS
OF OLD LONDON
EDITED BY
P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A.
Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Author of
The City Companies of London and their Good Works
The Story of our Towns
The Cathedral Churches of Great Britain
&c. &c.
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I.
With many Illustrations
LONDON
BEMROSE & SONS LIMITED, 4 SNOW HILL, E.C.
AND DERBY
1908
[All Rights Reserved]
TO
THE RIGHT HON.
Sir John Charles Bell, bart.
LORD MAYOR OF LONDON
THESE MEMORIALS OF THE ANCIENT
CITY OVER WHICH HE RULES
ARE DEDICATED, WITH HIS LORDSHIP'S
KIND PERMISSION,
BY
THE EDITOR
PREFACE
In the year of grace one thousand nine hundredand nine the citizens of London are celebratingtheir Pageant, a mighty spectacle representing someof the stately scenes of splendour and magnificencewhich London streets have witnessed from the days ofAlfred to the nineteenth century. It is perhaps fortunatethat these volumes of the Memorials of Old Londonshould appear when the minds of the people of Englandare concerned with this wonderful panorama of the pasthistory of the chief city of the Empire. The Pageantwill be all very beautiful, very grand, instructive andedifying, and profoundly interesting; but, after all,London needs no Pageant to set forth itsattractions, historical and spectacular. London isin itself a Pageant. The street names, the buildings,cathedral, churches, prisons, theatres, the river withits bridges, and countless other objects, all summonup the memories of the past, and form a Pageant thatis altogether satisfying. Many books have been writtenon the greatest city of England's Empire—some learnedand ponderous tomes, others mere guide books; somedevoted to special buildings and foundations, others{viii}to the life, manners, and customs of the citizens. Thiswork differs from other books in that each chapter iswritten by an expert who has made a special study ofthe subject, and is therefore authoritative, and containsall the information which recent investigations havebrought to light. It is not exhaustive. London containsso much that is of profound interest, that manyadditional volumes would be needed in order to describeall its treasures. The