auguft fites intermingled with the fteeples of thofe edifices; and the turrets of the monasteries must have given to the city, even in thofe times, a peculiar air of grandeur and dignity. The most eaft ward of thofe fabrics was the church and hofpital of St. Catherine upon the Thames, founded by Queen Matilda, the wife of King Stephen, upon land granted by the Prior and Canons of the, Holy Trinity within Aldgate.

The church of the Holy Trinity, to the brotherhood of which this land appertained, had been erected about half a century before. The idea of its foundation emanated from the piety of another Matilda, the wife of Henry the Ift, in confequence of a charter granted by William Rufus *. Soon after the

lace, called the King's Attrice. This building is recognized as belonging_to the King, in a record, 14th Edward Ift. Another large manfion was alfo fituated in the fame freet, which was the refidence of Lord Neville; appertaining to which were a chapel on the fouth, and a garden on the eatt fide, which was after. wards called the garden of the Leadenball. Bembridge's Inn, a very large houfe, ftood at the north-weft, corner of this treet. In the high street (Leadenhall) was fituated the manfion of Lord Zouch. Upon the dilapidation of this houfe, Richard Withel, Merchant Taylor, conftructed one equally large and magnificent, though built entirely of timber. This houfe was rendered ftill more remarkable by having in its centre a very high tower. It was faid alfo to have been the first wooden building of fo large a Gize that ever any perfon had the curiofity to erect to overlook his neighbours in the city. On this spot (Leadenhall-ftreet) was another ancient fabric, recognized in a donation of Richard the IId to Roger Cropthal and Thomas Bromflet, Efqis., by the name of the Green Gate. In the time of Jack Cade's inturrection, it was ishabited by Philip Malpas, one of the Sheriffs, and, in confequence, plundered by the rebels. Next to this was another divided houfe, called the Leaden Porch; the one half of which was a tavern, the other the refidence of a merchant. Close to which was the Leadenha.l. This, in the year 1309, belonged to Sir Hugh Neville, Knight.

This charter is curious, as it seems to allude to an establishment antecedent.. It is directed to that great epifcopal

The

architect, Maurice, Bishop of London, (rebuilder of St. Paul's), to Godfrey.de Magnum, and Richard de Parre: and while it recognizes the customs as they had been in the time of Edward the Con feffor and William the Conqueror, it allo confirms them. Henry the Ift granted a charter to the fame effect.

* In this Magazine for September, 1802, Vol. XLII, there is a view of a. very curious vault difcovered upon digging in the ruins occafioned by a fire which happened at the corner of Mitrecourt, near Aldgate, on the night of the 31 of Oober, 18co, and fome ob fervations thereupon. This vault, or rather thefe vaults, for the view exhibits more than one, and in exploring them there were evidently paffages that led to others, though to choaked up with rubbish as to be rendered impaffable, were, there is no doubt, parts of a quadrangular feries, which formed the fourdation, and, could they have been traced, would unquestionably have exhibited the plan of the priory erected upon them. One of these vaults is ftated to be in perfect prefervation, uceer a houfe facing the pump at. Aldgate. There have been other veftiges of the fame defcription, though not in the fame tate of prefervation, found in digging foundations in Duke's-place and its vicinity. The fame fpecies of crypts, which I have reafon to think were not always intended as cemetaries, were to be obferved at the lat total dilapidation of the priory of St. Helen's. One of the fame nature, as

has

The beautiful little church of St. Andrew Undershaft has been already defcribed in this Magazine, Vol. XLII, page 174. The parish was united with that of St. Mary Axe, (which obtained that name from the fign of an axe at the eaft end of the treet wherein the church formerly food,) by the 2d of Elizabeth. In this freet (St. Mary Axc) was a houfe denominated the Papey, which belonged to a fraternity founded in the metropolis 1430. The brethren devoted themfelves to St. Charity and to St. John the Evangelift. It appears they had good reason to appeal to their first patron, as they are ftated to have been the poorest of all the mendicant

orders.

At the fouth east corner of Fenchurch-street food the monaftery of Crouched, or Croffed, Friars. Upon the fite of this houfe, and its appurtenances, was built the Navy Office.

The church of St. Catherine, in Crutched friars, which once belonged to a fraternity of Dutchmen, was in Stow's time converted into a carpenter's yard and a tennis court, and, fuch are the viciffitudes of human affairs and human eftablishments, the large hall, once the refectory of the friars, was turned into a glass-house. The historian further states, in fubitance, that on the 4th of September, 1575, a terrible fire burst out in thefe premites, which having in them, at that period, about 40,000 billets of wood, the whole of thefe were confumed, together with the interior buildings; yet the tone walls which had formerly bounded the monaftery were (like thofe of fimilar fabrics, which feem to have been well calculated to refift the efforts of time, as well as the attacks of elementary fury,) of fuch an immenfe thickneís and folidity, that they effectually prevented the fire, great as it was, from fpreading further *.

has been already flated in this Magazine, ftill remains; the only vettige leit of the monaftery at Holywell, Shoreditch; and many others will probably be difcovered,, as the prefent pallion for improving the metropolis extends its operations.

* In the year 1567, when, upon the dilapidation of the Great Conduit at the end of Lime freet, it became neceffary to erect a pump in confequence, the work. men digging through the artificial earth, which they were forced to do to the depth

The church of St. Botolph is believed to be of a date at least coeval with the Conqueror; becaufe we find, in the copy of an ancient deed of gift, the donation of Sithon, the fon of Mary: it is mentioned in these words: " I

of two fathom, found, on the surface of the native foil, a complete hearth, formed of British or Roman tiles, each of which was about eighteen inches fquare and two inches thick; they alto found a heap of coals in a perfect state. From thefe circomdances, which thow how much the city has been railed in parts, there is little doubt that an Anglo-Roman house bad ftord upon this fpct.

th

* This Simon, the fon of Mary, a gentleman who, howf ever benevolent, leems to have entertained puritanical ideas, and to have used puritanical language, feveral centuries hef re that celebrated fect was known, was one of the Sheriffs f London in the yea 1246. He called himself Simon Fitzmary; and he intended, 1eablishment of the hofp tai of S. Mary of Bethlehem, that it inculd have been a priory o Canons, with brethren and fier. Edward the 1, in the fourteenth year of his reign, gran ed a rection for the bren Militia buta Maria de Bethlem, aermith for the Morks to wear a far upon their copes and mantles, on cerdition that they received the Bishop of Bethlehem, and the Canons and Mef. lengers of the Church of Bethlehem, whenfoever they should have occafion to travel hither. This priory does not appear to have been rep uiaily converted into an hofpital for lunatics until after the Reformation, when Henry, the VIIIth gave it to the city of London, who applied it to that purpose; but being, in procefs of time, found too small to contain the number of distracted persons that were brought for relief, and its fituation (the treet, &c. now called Old Bethlehem) being objected to, from its being furrounded with fewers, and confequently fubject to damps, the elegant and magnificent ftructure which is, in confequence of an influenza that we should think had emanated from within its walls, half dilapidated, and the remaining half "tettering in its fall," was erected. It was begun in April 1675, and, it is faid, finished in fitteen months, fo as to receive patients, and, what is fill more extraordinary, at the expense of only

17,000!. :

"I have given and granted, and by the prefent charter here have confirm ed, to God and to the church of St. Mary of Bethlehem, all the lands which I have in the parish of St. Botolph without Bishoffgate, of LONDON, which now extends in length from the King's high street east to the great ditch wet, which is called Deep Ditch; and in breadth to the lands of Ralph Downing in the north, and to the land of the church of St. Botolph in the fouth."

Among the vettiges of Saxon churches (page 173 of our laft volume), we have flightly mentioned the church of the Auguftine Friars, part of which is ftill ftanding. This was founded upon the ancient fite in the year 1253, by Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Effex; in which establishment was included a priory for the reception of Friar Eremites of the Order of St. Auguftine. This church, the architec. ture of which must have been extremely elegant, is ftated to have had a moft beautiful fpire fteeple, which was overthrown by a tempeft of wind in the year 1362, but rebuilt, and was ftanding in the year 1603.

The lift of noble perfons buried here, which begins with Edward, firit fon of Joan, mother to Richard the IId, interred 1375, feems almoft as extenfive as that of the Grey Friars.

This church was greatly contracted by Paulet, Marquis of Winchester, who become poffeffed of the priory, and a large eftate, including Winchef ter Place, his manfion. This Nobleman, notwithstanding his immenfe riches, is ftated to have fold the lead and other materials of the church and

17,000l. a fum that, though the buildings at the two ends for the reception of dangerous lunatics were afterwards added, will, we fear, go a very little way toward the expense of the well-timed fabrick that is now in contemplation.

Sir William Paulet, created Marquis of Winchefter by Henry the VIIIth, This was the Nobleman who had risen into, and kept, the favour of the most capricious of our English Monarchs through his reign, and alfo preferved his fituation and property through the various concullions of opinions and circumHances in the reigns of Edward the VIth, Mary, and the first fourteen years of Elizabeth, by having been, as he faid, A willow, not an oak."

priory, and (for which we wish he had been configned to a jury of antiquaries) to have even difpofed of a great number of moit beautiful tombs of the Nobility, &c., whofe erection had coft many thoufands, for a hundred pounds!

The parish-church of St. Bartholomew was originally Anglo-Norman ; but falling into decay, it was rebuilt of stone, (from which the inference is, that the ancient edifice was of wood,) in 1231, by Thomas Pike, Alderman, who was, in this pious work, allifted by Nicholas Yeo, one of the Sheriffs.

Adjacent to this fabric was one which many may yet remember; namely, the parith-church of St. Christopher, near the eaft end of which was fituated what is now the centre of the principal front of the Bank of England, in Threadneedle street. Though this church fuffered very confiderably in the fire` of London, the damage was not fufficient to occafion its re-erection; there fore great part of the ancient building, of which there is a notice as early as 1368, when it was repaired, remained t. The body of this church was, from the juft and proper difpofition of the light, very much admired. From the east end there rofe a well proportioned tower, crowned with a bell turret, and four flender, at extremely handsome, pinnacles. 24

Betwixt the weft end of the Bank and the east end of the church was formerly a barbe's fhop; but, alas! the thop and church experienced the fame fate, being both fwept away in the improvement of our national edifice.

The cemetary, which was not only. remarkable for its monuments, but allo for double rows of trees, now forms the fite of the Reduced Three per Cent., Short Annuity, and fome other offices, and alfo a wide area, wherein one of the

As the poet juftly obferves, the study

bett adapted to the genius and capacity of man is the ftudy of himfelf. Hiftory is a narration of the events which men have been engaged in as members of fociety; containing an account of their conduct, virtues, and vices. It is a mirror through which we may obferve the effects that have been produced by different manners, habits, and opinions, enabling ns juftly to appreciate the excellencies of various forms of government by the happinefs they caufed or the mitery they occafioned. By inference from fa&ts it prefents us with the means of tracing the caufes which promoted the grandeur and established the profperity of nations, or accelerated their ruin, and involved them in mifer The wars that have been excited y the paffions and prejudices of men, furnith leffons no lefs inftructive than the tranfactions of civil government. The knowledge of history is abfolutely neceffary to thole who a e defirous of becoming thoroughly acquainted with human na ture, and to obtain enlarged ideas of mankind in their relations to each other: it teaches to compare the events of ancient with the occurrences of modern times, to obferve the effects pro. duced by fimilar caufes; the judgment is guided by experience, and our views extended by practice. The greatest and the wifelt fateimen have been thofe who, in the history of mankind, have #tudied the genius, the character, and difpofition of their fpecies. Cicero, by his extenfive knowledge of human affairs, was at once the ornament and admiration of Rome. Demofthenes roufed the indignation of his country. men again Philip of Macedon, by comparing his machinations and treachery with the practices of the tyrants who had preceded him. When the late Lord Chathamr was but a Cornet in a

regiment of dragoons, that time which was not neceffarily engaged by the duties of his profeffions, was fedulously employed in his favourite ftudy of hif tory; and all the fpeeches of that illuftrious itatefman evince the great profici ency he had made in that inftructive accomplishment. The ftratagems of war, the difcipline of armies, and the renowned battles that have been fought on the theatre of war, afford the foldier an inexhaustible fund of information. Cæfar himself was an accomplished hiftorian; and the great Scipio was ac

companied in all his campaigns by the

hiftorian Polybius, to whole council Rome was partly indebted for the glories her General acquired, and the vic

tories he achieved. But it is not ftatef men and foldiers alone who derive advantage from the perufal of hiftory; it is calculated to produce benefit on all who confer on it their attention; it enlarges the mind, expands the heart, removes many of thofe illiberal prejudices which attach themselves to men who confine all their obfervations to the country in which they were born, or the circle in which they are accuf tomed to move; it abforbs every mean and telfifh idea in the principle of univerfal benevolence. The actions of great and good men, who are recorded as illuftrious examples of wisdom and virtue, are calculated to excite imita tion in minds that are fufceptible of virtuous impreffions, and not corrupted by the influence of fashion, or enervated by the prevalence of licentiousness of manners." I fill my mind," fays Plu tarch, "with the fublime images of the best and greatest men by attention to hiftery; and if I contract any blemish or ill cuftom from other company which I am unavoidably engaged in, I correct and expel them by calmly and difpaffionately turning my thoughts to thefe excellent examples."-In the pages of history are delineated the characters of men who displayed in every incident of life the moit fervent piety, intrepid courage, heroic fortitude, and confummate virtue. By imitating fuch bright examples, we may attain the fame felicity and compofure of mind which accompanied them in all the viciffitudes of fortune, and rendered them fuperior to all the frowns of def. tiny. The unfpotted integrity of Arif tides fhould ftimulate us to the acquifition of the fame difinterested probity, and teach us to difdain every allure

ment

ment of intereft and corruption when placed in competition with an honeft heart and an unblemished character. The pious fortitude of Socrates fhould teach us to fubmit with refignation to all the difpenfations of Heaven. The determined refolution and manly courage of Leonidas and the three hundred Spartans, who devoted themselves to certain deftruction to preferve Greece from being enflaved by an ambitious tyrant, fhould animate us with the fame generous patriotifm whenever our country ftands in need of our affiftance. History is too frequently neceffitated to record the commiffion of enormous crimes, by cruel, ambitious, and abandoned men; yet by fhowing the miferies of which they were productive, it creates an abhor. rence and deteftation of vice and its univerfally pernicious effects. Thus vice itself is rendered fubfervient to the cause of virtue. When learning and philofophy were introduced into Europe in the fifteenth century, they difpelled the darkness of Monkish barbarifm, and diffipated the ignorance which fuperftition had engendered. The inestimable writings of the an cient hiftorians, likewife, had no inconfiderable effect in deftroying the abfurd tyranny of the times, and in producing that civil freedom of govern. ment which is at prefent happily eitab lished in civilized Europe. Mankind, when they contrafted the enslaved and ignominious fituation in which they were involved with the perfonal and political freedom enjoyed by the ancients, became ardently defirous of enjoying the fame bleffings and privileges. "A new ftudy," fays Dr. Robertion, introduced at this time, added great force to the fpirit of liberty. Men became more acquainted with the Greek and Roman authors, who defcribe exquifite models of free government far fuperior to the inaccurate and oppreffive fyftem eftablished by the feudal law, and produced fuch illuftrious examples of public and private virtue as wonderfully fuited the circumstances and fpirits of that age; it rendered men attentive to their privileges as fubjects, and jealous of the encroachments of their Sovereigns." This fpirit too revived in this country, incited our forefathers to make vigorous exertions to obtain redrefs for the injuries they had received from the

VOL. XLIX. Jan. 1806.

cruel injuftice of the Monarch, and to procure fecurity against future oppreffions: and fo long as their descendants continue to read of their exploits with admiration, it will infpire them with an invincible determination to preserve them free from the violences of anarchy, as well as the encroachments of tyrants. Hiftory will alfo teach us, if properly attended to, that happiness is more impartially diffeminated than we are apt generally to imagine. We shall find that the happinefs of Kings, as well as individuals, does not confift in grandeur or outward appearance, but arifes only from integrity of conduct and uprightness of intention; that the cares attendant on royalty equal, if not exceed, the troubles which private individuals have to fuftain; that the cottage is frequently the habitation of contentment and peace, when the palace is distracted with anxiety, perturbation, and trouble; that when governed by a restless and unwarrantable ambition, we wander into a sphere of action where crime becomes neceffary and innocence ufelefs, where we muft rife upon the ruin of others, and that they must fuffer degradation and poverty that we may be enriched. Whilft reading the history of mankind, we fhould attentively obferve the regulating wifdom of Providence: we may perceive his controul and direction in the rife and fall of nations. This is one of the most important, as well as beneficial, leffons, that this amufement inftructs us in. Happiness is the infeparable attendant on the practice of virtue. Primitive Rome found her glory to confift in the fimple but fubitantial virtues of her citizens; and while the continued fo, fhe was refpected by her allies, and feared by her enemies. The nations and provinces remained happy under the mild restraints of her government; but no fooner did luxury introduce her attendant vices, than the citizens became rapacious and indolent, and were no longer able to retain under their autho rity and dominion the conquests that had been obtained by the valour of their ancestors. They themselves were expofed to the depredations of barbarians, and were fubdued by those enemies over whom their fathers had fo frequently triumphed. History, therefore, by demonstrating how virtue is conducive to happiness, and vice productive

D