chapter 3

, section xli., it is ordained: ‘that it shall and may be lawful for the Water-House, called Mr. Thomas Morris his Water-House, formerly adjoining to London Bridge, to be rebuilt upon the place it formerly stood, with timber, for the supplying the South side of the City with water, as it for almost an hundred years hath done.’ Most of the ancient engravings of London Bridge, after the Fire, present us with a view of this Water-House, by which it appears that it was a lofty narrow wooden building, standing close to the North West corner of the Bridge. On its Western side, a flight of stairs led down to the river; and its front looked on to the wooden stage which supported the Water-works. Strype, in his ‘_Stow’s Survey_,’ volume i., page 500, says, that ‘by wheels, iron chains, &c., it drinketh, or rather forceth up water through leaden pipes to the top, where there is a cistern, and from thence descendeth in other leaden pipes to the bottom, and thence, received by other pipes, is conveyed under the pavements of the streets, and so serveth many families in this part of the City with water; who have branches, or small pipes, laid from the main ones unto their houses, to their great convenience, and no small profit to the City.’ In the very amusing ‘_Voyages_’ of Mons. Aubri De la Motraye, Hague, 1727-32, folio, volume iii., pages 360-362, and plate iv., we have an engraving of the interior mechanism of a public fire-engine erected near this building, with an account of the means employed in it for raising of the water. One of the most picturesque and interesting representations of this modern WATER-HOUSE at LONDON BRIDGE,

[Illustration]

is contained in a series of five views by S. and N. Buck, which forms a sort of panoramic prospect of London, from Westminster to below the Tower; each being taken from a different point of observation. They are dated September the 11th, 1749, and the Bridge as it then appeared, covered with buildings, forms a very prominent feature. I have to add only, that you will find a set of these prints in volume xiii. of Mr. Crowle’s Illustrated Pennant in the British Museum.”

“Well, Master Barnaby,” said I, as well as I was able for yawning, “though _you_ can find no more to say about this Water-House, I must add a few fragments which would otherwise be lost; even as the song says,

‘Mister Speaker, though ’tis late, _I_ must lengthen the debate.’

I have been informed, upon the evidence of a very ancient servant of the present London Bridge, that the water rose in this Tower to the height of 128 feet, through a pipe 12 inches in calibre, often bringing very fine fish up with it; and that from beneath the cistern at the top, issued nine main pipes which supplied all London. As the

## particular direction of each of these pipes was, of course, entirely

different, in the event of a fire, all of them were stopped excepting the one which led immediately through that district; and thus the whole weight of water was thrown towards any place desired. From the same source, I have also received a curious and very particular drawing upon vellum, in colours, representing the North end of London Bridge, the Water-House and works, and the directions of the pipes issuing therefrom, taken from actual measurement, and executed, as I should suppose, before the fire by which they were destroyed, on Sunday, October the 31st, 1779; but this view shall be referred to hereafter. The fire to which I have alluded, brake out in the warehouse of Messrs. Judd and Sanderson, Hop Merchants, at the foot of London Bridge, and having speedily communicated to the Water-works, in less than an hour they were reduced nearly to a level with the river. The wooden Water-Tower having been pitched but a few days before, all the efforts of its engines were, therefore, ineffectual. But enough of water, Mr. Postern: what say you to another draught of sack, and then another spell at the history of London Bridge itself?”

“I like your motion mightily,” replied my companion, “and, once more, here’s your health. In speaking of the Great Fire of London, its consequences, and the new buildings to which it gave birth, I have brought forwards many fragments of our Bridge annals, and anticipated several events, because I wished to draw my information, as much as possible, into one focus. We next pass to the year 1669, though I should not mention to you the short notice of London Bridge by Lorenzo Magalotti, which occurs in ‘_The Travels of Cosmo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, through England, during the reign of King Charles II. 1669_,’ London, 1821, quarto; but that it affords something like a proof that the destruction occasioned by the Fire of London was not extensive, so far as it regarded this building, which by that time seems to have been repaired. You will find the passage at page 317, and it runs thus. ‘On the morning of the 27th’--of May,--‘after hearing Mass, his Highness went through the City as far as London Bridge, on which are erected many large buildings, almost half of which escaped the fire there; and those which were consumed have been rebuilt of smaller size, the upper part being used as dwellings, and the lower part as Mercers’ shops, all of which are abundantly filled with goods of various sorts. We crossed the Bridge with some difficulty, owing to the number of carts which are constantly passing and repassing.’ He then proceeds to speak of the Marshalsea, the prisoners of which, he adds, have liberty to take a walk over the Bridge, their promise being first taken that they will not pass the limits, which they very rarely infringe.

“Having mentioned to you, Mr. Geoffrey, several famous Frosts which occurred in the earlier periods of our history, I must not omit to notice that which overspread the Thames from the beginning of December, 1683, until the 5th of February, 1684. ‘It congealed the River Thames,’--says Maitland, in his ‘_History_,’ volume i., page 484,--‘to that degree, that another City, as it were, was erected thereon; where, by the great number of streets, and shops, with their rich furniture, it represented a great fair, with a variety of carriages, and diversions of all sorts; and, near Whitehall, a whole ox was roasted on the ice.’ Evelyn, however, who was an eye-witness of this scene, furnishes the most extraordinary account of it in his ‘_Diary_,’ volume i., page 568; where, on January the 24th, 1684, he observes that ‘the frost continuing more and more severe, the Thames before London was still planted with boothes in formal streetes, all sorts of trades and shops furnish’d, and full of commodities, even to a printing-presse, where the people and ladyes tooke a fancy to have their names printed, and the day and yeare set down when printed on the Thames: this humour tooke so universally, that ’twas estimated the printer gain’d £5. a day, for printing a line onely, at sixpence a name, besides what he got by ballads, &c. Coaches plied from Westminster to the Temple, and from several other staires to and fro, as in the streetes; sleds, sliding with skeetes, a bull-baiting, horse and coach races, puppet-plays, and interludes, cookes, tipling, and other lewd places, so that it seem’d to be a bacchanalian triumph, or carnival on the water.’”

“It is singular, Master Postern,” said I, as he finished this extract, “that the author whom you have now quoted, never once mentions that King Charles the Second visited these diversions, and even had his name printed on the ice, with those of several other personages of the Royal Family. The author of some curious verses, entitled, ‘_Thamasis’s Advice to the Painter, from her Frigid Zone: or Wonders upon the Water. London: Printed by G. Croom, on the River of Thames_,’ 74 lines, small folio half sheet, says,

“‘Then draw the _King_, who on his _Leads_ doth stay, To see the _Throng_ as on a _Lord Mayor’s day_, And thus unto his _Nobles_ pleas’d to say;

With these _Men_ on this _Ice_, I’de undertake To cause the _Turk_ all _Europe_ to forsake: An Army of these _Men_, arm’d and compleat, Would soon the _Turk_ in _Christendom_ defeat.’

“The original of this poem is in the possession of my friend, Mr. William Upcott, of the London Institution, whose invaluable collection of rarities can also boast one of the very papers on which the King and his Royal companions had their names printed! This truly interesting document consists of a quarter sheet of coarse Dutch paper, on which, within a type border, measuring 3-1/4 inches by 4, are the magnificent names of

[Illustration:

CHARLES, KING. JAMES, DUKE. KATHERINE, QUEEN. MARY, DUTCHESS. ANN, PRINCESSE. GEORGE, PRINCE. HANS IN KELDER.

_London_: Printed by _G. Croom_, on the ICE, on the River of _Thames, January 31, 1684_.]

“Here, then, we have King Charles the Second; his brother James, Duke of York, afterwards James the Second; Queen Catherine, Infanta of Portugal; Mary D’Este, sister of Francis, Duke of Modena, James’s Second Duchess; the Princess Anne, second daughter of the Duke of York, afterwards Queen Anne; and her husband, Prince George of Denmark: and the last name, which I think was doubtless a touch of the King’s humour, signifies ‘Jack in the Cellar,’ alluding to the pregnant situation of Anne of Denmark. This most remarkable paper may, with great probability, be considered _unique_; and not to mention several of a similar nature containing common names, I may notice to you that there is in the same collection another bearing the noble titles of ‘Henry, Earl of Clarendon,’ son of the Chancellor; ‘Flora, Countess of Clarendon,’ and ‘Edward, Lord Cornbury.’ The date of this is February the 2nd, and I will conclude these notices of printing on the ice, by some lines from the poem I have already quoted, which tell its readers

‘---------------- to the _Print-house_ go, Where _Men_ the _Art of Printing_ soon do know: Where, for a _Teaster_, you may have your _Name_ Printed, hereafter for to shew the same; And sure, in _former Ages_, ne’er was found, A _Press_ to _print_, where men so oft were dround!’”

“I am very much bounden to you, honest Mr. Geoffrey,” recommenced the Antiquary, as I concluded, “for these most appropriate and interesting illustrations: for although the sports of this frost can hardly be said to form an immediate portion of the history of London Bridge, yet so memorable an event on the Thames well deserves some pains to be bestowed in recording it.

“The principal scene of this Blanket-Fair, indeed,--for so the tents and sports on the Thames were denominated,--was opposite to the Temple stairs, for few, or none, of the festivities approached very near to London Bridge; as we are informed by the many rude, but curious memorials of it, which are yet in existence. One of the most interesting of these is an original and spirited, though unfinished, sketch in pencil, slightly shaded with Indian ink; supposed to have been the production of Thomas Wyck, an artist particularly eminent for his views at this period. In the right hand corner, at the top, the drawing is dated in an ancient hand, ‘_Munday, February the 4_: 1683-4;’ and it consists of a view down the River from the Temple-stairs to London Bridge, the buildings of which are faintly seen in the back ground. In front appear various groups of figures, and a side prospect of that line of tents which stretched all across the Thames, known during the frost by the name of Temple-street. You will find this drawing in volume viii. of Mr. Crowle’s Illustrated Pennant, in the British Museum, after page 262; and it measures 28 inches by 9-3/8. Gough, in his ‘_British Topography_,’ volume i., pages 731, 784,* mentions several other publications ‘illustrative of this frost, some of which are also in the same volume of Mr. Crowle’s Pennant, and the principal particulars of them I shall give you briefly in the following list.

“A large copper-plate, 20-1/2 inches by 16-5/8, entitled ‘_A Map of the River Thames, merrily call’d Blanket Fair, as it was frozen in the memorable year 1683-4, describing the booths, footpaths, coaches, sledges, bull-baiting, and other remarks upon that famous river_.’ Dedicated to Sir Henry Hulse, Knt. and Lord Mayor, by James Moxon, the Engraver.

“A large and coarse engraving on wood, representing the sports, tents, and buildings on the ice, taken from opposite the Temple buildings, which are shewn in the back ground; beneath are 106 lines of very inferior verse, and the title:--‘_A true description of Blanket-Fair, upon the River Thames, in the time of the great Frost. In the year of our Lord 1683._’ Broadside sheet, 12-3/4 inches by 16-1/2.

“‘_Wonders on the deep, or the most exact description of the frozen river of Thames; also what was remarkably observed thereon in the last great frost, which began about the middle of December, 1683, and ended the 8th of February following: together with a brief Chronology of all the memorable strong frosts for almost 60 years, and what happened in the Northern kingdoms._’ A wood-cut.

“‘_A wonderfull fair, or a fair of wonders; being a new and true illustration and description of the several things acted and done on the river of Thames in the time of the terrible frost, which began about the beginning of Dec. 1683, and continued till Feb. 4, and held on with such violence that men and beasts, coaches and sledges, went common thereon. There was also a street of booths from the Temple to Southwark, where was sold all sorts of goods: likewise bull-baiting, and an ox roasted whole, and many other things, as the map and description do plainly shew._’ Engraved and printed on a sheet, 1684.

“A volume of coarse and worthless narratives, entitled ‘_An historical account of the Late Great Frost, in which are discovered, in several Comical Relations, the various Humours, Loves, Cheats, and Intreagues of the Town, as the same were mannaged upon the River of Thames during that season_.’ London. 1684. 12mo.

“‘_Freezland-Fair, or the Icey Bear Garden. 1682._’

“‘_News from the Thames; or the frozen Thames in tears. January 1683-4._’ Half sheet, folio.

“‘_A winter wonder, or the Thames frozen over; with remarks on the resort there. 1684._’

“‘_A strange and wonderfull relation of many remarkable damages sustained, both at sea and land, by the present unparaleled Frost._’ London. 1684. Half sheet small folio, 2 pages.

“Notwithstanding the admiration with which London Bridge had long been regarded, on account of its appearance as an actual street over the Thames; in 1685 its very confined limits seem to have attracted attention, and to have produced at least somewhat of reformation. There is a tradition extant, though I have not as yet been able to trace it to any printed authority, that the cross over the dome of St. Paul’s having been cast in Southwark, the street of London Bridge was too narrow, and its numerous arches too low, to allow of it being that way brought into the City: and Hatton, in his ‘_New View of London_,’ volume ii., page 791, shews us that in his time the enlarging of the Bridge was recorded upon the North side of the Nonesuch House, in the following inscription:--

“‘ANNO MDCLXXXV., ET PRIMO JACOBI II. REGIS,

This Street was opened and enlarged from 12, to the width of 20 foot:

SIR JAMES SMITH, KNIGHT, LORD MAYOR.’

“Even until the time, however, when London Bridge was entirely cleared of its houses, the street over it has always been described as dark, narrow, and dangerous. ‘The houses on each side,’--says Pennant, page 320,--‘overhung, and leaned in a most terrific manner. In most places they hid the arches, and nothing appeared but the rude piers.--I well remember the street on London Bridge, narrow, darksome, and dangerous to passengers, from the multitude of carriages: frequent arches of strong timber crossing the street, from the tops of the houses to keep them together, and from falling into the river. Nothing but use could preserve the repose of the inmates, who soon grew deaf to the noise of falling waters, the clamors of watermen, or the frequent shrieks of drowning wretches. Most of the houses were tenanted by pin or needle-makers, and economical ladies were wont to drive from the St. James’s end of the town, to make cheap purchases.’

“The ‘_New and Universal History, Description, and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster, the Borough of Southwark, and their adjacent parts_,’ by Walter Harrison, London, 1776, folio, furnishes some few additional features to this scene: although the work itself is, perhaps, anything but reputable; being chiefly a compilation from Stow and Strype, without much acknowledgment of the originals. Some

## particulars of London Bridge, however, the compiler himself actually

knew, and on page 24, he says,--‘Across the middle of the street there were several lofty arches, extending from one side to the other, the bottom part of each arch terminating at the first story, and the upper part reaching near the top of the buildings. These arches were designed to support the houses on each side the street, and were therefore formed of strong timbers bolted into the houses, which, being covered with lath and plaister, appeared as if built with stone.’ The Rev. J. Motley, in his ‘_Seymour’s Survey of London_,’ volume i., page 48, also says,--‘On each side, between the houses, are left three vacancies, opposite to each other, two with stone walls, upon which are iron rails, that people passing along may take a view of the river East and West, and may also step out of the way of carts and coaches, the passage being formerly very narrow, and the floors of the houses that lay cross the streets being low, they not only rendered those places dark, but likewise obstructed the free passage of carts, if they were loaded any way high, and coaches, so that they could not pass by one another, which oftentimes occasioned great stops upon the Bridge, and was a great hindrance to passengers.’ As there was no regular foot-way over the Bridge, it was therefore the most usual and safest custom to follow a carriage which might be passing across it. The brief notice of London Bridge in Hoffmann’s ‘_Lexicon Universale_’ is not worth repeating, but you will find it in volume iii., page 833, column i., character ξ [Greek: x]: and though a much better account of it in 1697 appears in Motraye’s ‘_Voyages_,’ volume i., page 150, it contains nothing new. He calls it ‘one of the strongest buildings which he had seen in this nation.’

“A very melancholy instance of suicide which took place in April, 1689, bears testimony to the power of the torrent at London Bridge at that period; and you will find it recorded in that very interesting work, entitled ‘_The Travels and Memoirs of Sir John Reresby, Baronet_,’ best edition, with a Preface by Edmund Lodge, Esq., London, 1813, 8vo. page 406.--‘About this time,’--says the Author of this volume,--‘a very sad accident happened, which, for a while, was the discourse of the whole town: Mr. Temple, son to Sir William Temple, who had married a French lady with 20,000 pistoles; a sedate and accomplished young gentleman, who had lately by King William been made Secretary of War; took a pair of oars, and drawing near the Bridge, leapt into the Thames and drowned himself, leaving a note behind him in the boat, to this effect: ‘My folly in undertaking what I could not perform, whereby some misfortunes have befallen the King’s service, is the cause of my putting myself to this sudden end; I wish him success in all his undertakings, and a better servant.’ Pennant, in repeating this anecdote in his ‘_Account of London_,’ page 323, adds that it took place on the 14th of April; that the unhappy suicide loaded his pockets with stones to destroy all chance of safety; and that his father’s false and profane reflection on the occasion was, ‘that a wise man might dispose of himself, and make his life as short as he pleased!’

“From a very remote period, the City of London has protected the persons and property of its Orphans; and so early as the year 1391 the Orphans’ Fund was possessed of very considerable wealth, since the sum of 2000 marks, or £1333. 6_s._ 8_d._, was then borrowed from it to procure corn during a dearth. In the year 1693, the City stood indebted to the same source, as well as to other creditors, in the amount of £747,500, and an Act of Parliament was at length procured, establishing a fund for their re-payment; by which all the City estates, excepting those belonging to the Hospitals, London Bridge, and such places as were liable to its repairs, were charged with raising the annual sum of £8000, clear of all deductions, as a perpetual deposit for paying an interest of 4 per cent. to the said creditors. The act itself is in volume iii. of Owen Ruffhead’s ‘_Statutes at Large_,’ London, 1770, 4to., the 5th of William and Mary, 1694,