HISTORICAL

AND

TOPOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS

08

London and its Environs.

ST. BRIDE'S CHURCH.

ST. BRIDE'S CHURCH, Fleet Street, derives its name from its dedication to St. Bridget, a celebrated Irish saint, eminent for the purity of her life and conversation.

Stowe states that "this church was anciently very small, and was afterwards only the choir to the body of the church and side aisles, which were built at the charge of William Venu Esq., Warden of the Fleet, in the year 1480, and John Westhorp, William Evesham, John Wigan, &c., founders of several charities.

This church was destroyed by the fire of 1666, but was rebuilt in 1680 by Sir Christopher Wren, who bestowed the greatest care in its erection. In 1796 it underwent a thorough repair by authority of parliament, and in 1797 an elegant vestry room was annexed to it at the south-west corner.

On the 18th of June 1764, about three o'clock in the afternoon, during a dreadful storm, part of the spire was shattered by lightning, and the west and north-west side of the steeple much injured. One of the stones on the west side was started a considerable distance from its place; another was driven from the bottom of the spire and passed through the roof of the church into the north gallery; and another three-quarters of a hundred in weight torn from the steeple quite over the east end of the church, and cast upon the roof of a house in Bride Lane. The roofs and the windows of other houses on the north side were materially damaged, and several large pieces of stone were precipitated as far as

Fleet Street, to the terror of the passengers. Part of a column under the spire was almost chipped away, as was also a large portion of the north-east angle at the bottom of the spire, with some of the vases, and one of the chain bars split asunder. A window in the belfry was much injured; and one of the great bells (which are always fixed in stays with the mouths uppermost, when not used for ringing) almost filled with pieces of stone, and the clapper greatly battered. Several places in the steeple were cracked, and there was as large a heap of rubbish in the upper part as if a number of masons had been at work for a week. The damages at that time were estimated at 30007. A similar accident happened in 1805: but the steeple has been again repaired in a substantial and excellent manner.

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The body of the church is a plain, well built, and regular structure; but it is in the lofty spire that the taste and skill of the architect are displayed; it is adorned with pilasters, entablature, arched pediments, and lamps, &c., of the Corinthian order, with lanterns of the Tuscan order. The tower, which is plain, contains a fine peal of twelve bells.

The interior of the roof is camerated, elegantly adorned with arches of fret-work, between each of which is a panel of crocket and fretwork, and a port-hole window, and is supported on columns and arches of the Tuscan order. The groovings of the arches are neatly carved, having a rose between two large moulded buttresses, on the key-stone of each arch a seraph, and in the centre a shield, with compartments and imposts beautifully executed.

The north and south side contain each two entrances of the Composite order. The west side contains a very spacious entrance, adorned with pilasters, entablature, and arched pediment of the Ionic order, executed in wainscot, likewise a strong outer door-case of the Ionic order, ornamented with seraphs, and containing the words Domus Dei.

The church is well pewed and wainscoted with oak to the height of eight feet. The symmetry of the church is much injured by the spacious galleries on the north, south, and west side.

The altar-piece is beautiful. The lower part consist of six carved columns, painted in imitation of stone, with entablature and circular pediment of the Corinthian order, embellished with lamps, cherubim, &c., gilt. Above the circular pediment are the arms of England finely carved, gilt, and painted, with the supporters. The window over this is well stained in imitation of a glory. The upper part over the decalogue, &c., is painted and consists of six columns (three on each side of a handsome arched five light window, adorned with a neat scarlet silk curtain edged with gold fringe), with their architrave, frieze, and cornice finely executed in perspective. In the front of these are the

portraitures of Moses with the two tablets in his hands, and Aaron in his priest's habit. The whole is enclosed with a rail and banister, and the floor paved with black and white marble. The church is richly illuminated with patent lamps, and warmed during the winter season with spiral stoves.

The length of the edifice is one hundred and eleven feet, breadth fifty-seven, height forty-one feet, and the altitude of the steeple was two hundred and thirty-four feet, but on account of various accidents that have happened it has been lowered very considerably.

ST. MICHAEL'S, CROOKED LANE.

ALTHOUGH situated in Miles's Lane, this church is better known under the name of St. Michael's Crooked Lane. The date of its foundation is uncertain; but it must be of great antiquity, as there are records of one John de Borham holding the rectorship in the year 1300; but at that time it was a very ordinary small building and stood on the ground occupied by the parsonage house.

In 1318, William de Burgo obtained a licence from Edward II. to found a chantry. In 1366 John Loufkin, four times lord mayor of London, obtained a grant of the land occupied by the lay-stalls, upon which he erected a handsome and capacious church. This church received considerable additions from Sir William Walworth, lord mayor,* who also founded a college in this church for a master and nine priests, settled his own new-built house adjoining to the church for a habitation of the said master and chaplains or priests for ever, and was buried in the north chapel.

At the suppression of the religious foundation, this college fell into the king's hands, and on the 29th of May i. Mariæ was granted with the cloisters and appurtenances to George Cottin and Thomas Reeve in soccage, who let the premises upon building leases. In the third year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the yearly value of the tenth belonging to the rectory was granted to the Archbishop of Canterbury and his successors, in whose hands the patronage still continues and is numbered among the thirteen peculiars of that see.

Having been new roofed in the year 1621, at the expense of 500l., it shared the common calamity of 1666: but was re-edified and finished in 1698, under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren.

The roof of the church is covered with lead, and is ornamented by a cornice of crocket work extending around it. The side walls are hand

Sir William Walworth arrived at that wealth and dignity from being a menial servant to John Loufkin.

some but plain, and contain a series of large arched windows. The interior is well wainscoted and pewed with oak; the floor is of stone, the chancel being one step higher than the other parts of the fabric. The altar is adorned with four columns and entablature of the Corinthian order. The inter columns are filled by the decalogue, creed, &c. The tower is carried square a considerable height, and the uppermost window in the centre of each face is ornamented with a head, and handsome festoons. Hence instead of a balustrade is a range of open Gothic work, with vases at the corners. From within this part the tower ascends circular, diminishing in three stages, with an open buttress rising from each corner of the square tower to the top of the first stage; above this buttress is a large scroll to the top of the second, and a smaller to the top of the third stage, above which is a short round spire of a peculiar kind, swelling out at the bottom, and then rounding off to a small height, where it is terminated by a gilt ball and vane.

There are no monuments worthy of notice; the following lines were on the tomb of Sir William Walworth :

"Here under lyeth a man of Fame,
William Walworth called by name,
Fishmonger he was in life-time here,

And twice Lord Mayor, as in Books appear;
Who with courage stout and manly might
Slew Wat Tyler, in King Richard's sight,
For which act done, and true intent,
The King made him knight incontinent,
And gave him arms, as here you see,
To declare his fact and Chivalry.

He left his life the year of our Lord

Thirteen hundred fourscore three and odd."

Weever has recorded this inscription on one of the monuments :

Here lyeth wrapt in clay

The body of William Wray,

I have no more to say.

Among the rectors of this church, mention is made of John Poynet, who held this living in commendam with the see of Rochester, until he was translated to the bishopric of Winchester in the year 1551, upon the degradation of Bishop Gardener. Being of the Protestant persuasion, upon the accession of Mary I. he fled to Strasbourg, and died an exile in 1556, being scarcely forty years of age. He was a prelate of extensive erudition, and an excellent mathematician, having presented to Henry VIII. a dial of his own invention, which showed the hour, day of the month, sign of the sun, planetary hour, change of the moon, ebbing and flowing of the tide, &c. These accomplishments, and his