neral of the ordnance to king Charles I. and in the late civil war, was governour of Chester and Oxford, and upon the happy restauration of the royal family in 1660, was, in consideration of his untainted fidelity to the king, and his many and great sufferings, restored to his place of lieutenant-general of the ordnance, and groom of his majesty's bed chamber by king Charles II. and as a farther mark of his royal favour, superintendant and treasurer of the ordnance. He married Elizabeth, eldest daughter to Sir William Washington, and Ann Villars, daughter to Sir George Vil lars, and sister to the most noble prince George, duke of Buckingham, by whom he had three sons and two daughters. He died October 13, 1672, in the eighty-third year of his age, and lieth in a vault under this place."

A little westward, on the north side of the chancel, is a handsome white and veined marble monument, adorned with a cornice, cartouch pediment, and an urn, under which is the following inscription:

"To the memory of the right honourable George Lord Dartmouth, distinguished by his early and eminent deserts, and many high marks of royal trust and favour; he was governour of Portsmouth, master of the ordnance, privy counsellour and cabinet to king Charles and king James II. and master of the horse to king James. After many singular proofs of his courage, conduct and affection to his country, given in several engagements at sea, he commanded in chief, and carried the flag as admiral of the whole English fleet, in two solemn expeditions.

"He died October 25, 1691. in the forty-fourth year and lies interred near this place.

of his age,

"He married Barbara, daughter and coheir of Sir James Arch bold, in Staffordshire, by whom he had issue one son, and seven daughters, two of which lie in the same vault, as do also his lordship's father and mother (aforesaid) and Philip, eldest son of Sir Christopher Musgrave, of Ednal in Cumberland, who married Mary the eldest daughter, and deceased August 6, 1688."

At the back of this church, in Haydon Square, are large warehouses belonging to the East India Company, one range being appropriated for the housing of tea and drugs; the other for the reception of drugs only.

On

On the south side of this convent was a farm belonging to the sisterhood, which, among other of their possessions, got into private hands: this farm, and and the adjoining fields, having been purchased by one Trolop; and from him bought by a farmer, named Goodman: the latter so increased his property, that he had forty cows for

milking*.

Farmer Goodman's son let out the gsound for grazing horses, and for gardens; by which he attained such property and riches, as to give to the land the name which it bears to the present period. The appellation of Fields, however, is merely nominal; for this vast tract is covered by Mansel, Prescot, Lemon, and other considerable streets, &c. mostly inhabited by rich Jew merchants.

Whilst we are in this quarter, it may not be improper to notice, that in Alie Street, by the Dissenting meeting house, stood the play house, where Garrick, on the 19th of October 1741, first gave proofs of those vast powers which afterwards" astonished and charmed the public." The theatre was first built by a Mr. Odel, in 1728; and rebuilt in a very expensive manner by Henry Giffard, in 1737; but, by means of the licensing act, was suppressed; yet was supported for a few years by evasion, during which, the fascinating powers of Mr. Garrick, drew such audiences, that the whole line of streets from Whitechapel to Temple Bar, were filled with the carriages of the nobility and gentry.

Prescot Street boasts of the first building dedicated to humanity and reformation; the centre of the street, on the south side, was occupied by the Magdalen Hospital, before it was removed to its present situation in Great Surrey Road.

Little Alie Street has a Lutheran chapel, where the benevolent and learned Dr. Wachsel, was, for many years, officiating minister. Of this worthy clergyman we have already made mention in our first volume, p. 538, concerning his benevolent conduct towards the distressed Palatines.

*See Vol. I. p. 172.

By

By the west end of Prescot Street, through narrow alleys, the perambulator is introduced into that theatre of secondhand commerce, called RAG FAIR. In the fullest hour of business it is amusing, and probably instructive, to view this busy scene of vulgarity. "The articles of commerce," observes Pennant, "by no means belye the name. There is no expressing the poverty of the goods; nor yet their cheapness. A distinguished merchant, engaged with a purchaser, observing me to look on him with great attention, called out to me, as his customer was going off with his bargain, to observe that man, for, says he, I have actually clothed him for fourteen pence !" We may encrease the wonder, by remarking, that for the more speedy circulation of this traffic, several exchanges are built; that there are other shops of the better sort, the owners of which are men of property; and that the annual circulation of money, by the multitudes who frequent the purlieus of Rag Fair, amounts to 50,000l. The street where this fair is daily held, is properly called Rosemary Lane; on the north side of which, near the west end, stands the Merchant Taylor's almshouses for fourteen elderly women, who receive 1s. 4d. per week, agreeably to the will of the founder; and 87. 15s. annually from the company. Richard Hills, master of the company, and founder of Merchant Taylor's school, gave, in 1593, certain small cottages towards founding the alms houses; and alderman Ratcliffe, of the same company, added his benefaction of one hundred loads of timber.

Rosemary Lane was formerly called Hog Lane, and reached to Whitechapel. In the year 1574, eight acres of adjoining land were in the possession of Benedict Spinola, a rich Italian merchant, who converted them to tenter grounds and gardens; and to display in striking colours the estima tion in which mercantile speculations were held, at such a late date, these eight acres were presented, because they were an annoyance to the archers, and to all the queen's Liege people; and a precept was awarded to the tenants and occupiers of the premises to remove their pales and fences, and all buildings made thereon! VOL. II. No. 35.

B b

Such

Such an invasion urged the inhabitants to present to lord treasurer Burleigh the following particulars: "The same field, before it was so converted as it then was, had been a distinct piece of ground, not common, nor never commonly used by any archers, being far unmeet for archers to shoot in, by reason of standing puddles, most noisome laystalls, and filthy ditches in and about the same. Also the way called Hog Lane, was so foul and deep in the winter time, that no man could pass by the same; and in summer time men would not pass thereby for fear of infection, by means of the filthiness that lay there. So that the presenters were utterly deceived, and not well informed in their presentments. Afterwards Benedict Spinola bestowed great cost and charges upon levelling and cleansing the premises, and made divers tenter yards, by means whereof the common ways and passages about the said eight acres were greatly amended and enlarged, that all people might well and safely pass. And poor clothworkers by the tenter yards were greatly relieved: for that of late time divers tenter yards in and about London were decayed and pulled down, and the ground converted to other uses. And, because the queen had lately by proclamation restrained all future buildings and inclosures in the suburbs, they shewed that these tenter yards and gardens were made long before the said proclamation." Such representations according with the prudential measures of Lord Burleigh, Spinola met no further molestation in his useful undertakings; and the tenter grounds, till very lately, were existing in and about Goodman's Fields.

A narrow street in Rosemary Lane, called King Street, forms a passage to the Tobacco Warehouses, lately the Victualling Office. Its present state is very different from its antient designation: here stood a magnificent religious foundation, denominated the NEW ABBEY.

Previous to our account of the foundation of this abbey, it may be necessary to mention, that in 1349 John Cory, a priest, procured of Nicholas, prior of the Holy Trinity, near Aldgate, one toft of ground near East Smithfield,

which he enclosed, for the purpose of burying those who died of a new disease, called the Pestilence*: this enclosure he denominated the church yard of the Holy Trinity, and it was dedicated to that purpose by Ralph de Stratford, bishop of London.

The year preceding, was that in which Edward II. had besieged Calais; after the famous surrender of which, the monarch, with his queen, eldest son, and the prime of his nobility, returning by sea to England, the fleet was surprised by a tempest, in which he lost many of his ships, and

with

* In Stow's Chronicle, this new disorder is peculiarly described: "There began amongst the East Indians and Tartarians, in 1348, a certain pestilence, which at length waxed so general, infecting the middle regions of the air so greatly, that it destroyed the Saracens, Turks, Syrians, Palestinians, and the Grecians, with a wonderful, or rather incredible death; insomuch that those people, being exceedingly dismayed with the terror thereof, consulted among themselves, and thought it good to receive the Christian faith and sacraments; for they had intelligence that the Christians which dwelt on this side the Greekish sea, were not so greatly (more than the common custom was) troubled with sickness and mortality. At length this terrible slaughter passed over into those countries which are on this side the Alps, and from thence to the parts of France, which are called Hesperia, and so by order along into Germany and Dutchland. And the seventh year after it began, it came into England, and first began in the towns and ports joining on the sea coasts, in Dorsetshire, where, even as in other counties, it made the country quite void of inhabitants, so that there were almost none left alive.

From thence it passed into Devonshire, and Somersetshire, and even unto Bristol, and raged in such sort, that the Gloucestershire men would not suffer the Bristol men to have any access unto them, or into their country, by any means: but at length it came to Gloucester, yea, and to Oxford, and London; and, finally, it spread over all England; and so wasted and spoiled the people, that scarce the tenth person of all sorts was left alive when church yards were not sufficient and large enough to bury their dead in, they chose certain fields appointed for that pur pose.

Walter Manny, purchased a piece of ground, called Spital Croft, belonging to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, containing thirteen acres and a rod, in which were interred, during the next year, fifty thousand persons; and John Cory, enclosed another by East Smithfield, for the same purpose. Stratford, bishop of London, dedicated both the grounds.