purpose; penalty on any person making bread for sale without taking such oath 57. A return must be made by the meal weighers every Monday of the quantities, sorts, and prices of all such meal and flour made of wheat, as shall be mentioned in the bakers accounts for the preceding week, and the average price thereof; every buyer or seller of wheat, meal, or flour made of wheat, upon request made by the meal weighers, &c. to disclose the true prices; it is lawful for the mayor or court of aldermen, to order bills of parcels of meal or flour to be produced; in case of non-compliance, the fine to be 51. the weekly returns to be in lieu of those of 31 Geo. II. as far as relates to wheat and flour; the quantities to be ascertained by the Winchester bushel; the assize of bread to be every Tuesday, either from the price of wheat or flour, and to take place on Thursday, in London and the bills of mortality, except Westminster, and Surrey; before any advance or reduction can be made: the meal-weighers are to leave at Baker's Hall, a copy of the last returns; the assize according to a table regulated by this act; no six-penny, twelve-penny, or eighteen-penny loaves to be sold at the same time as pecks, half-pecks, and quarterns, under a penalty of 20 to 40s. any corn-meter, factor, baker, &c. who neglects his duty, shall forfeit 10l.; any buyer who shall refuse to disclose the true prices, to forfeit 107. upon suspicion of false returns, the court may summon any person likely to give information; persons forswearing themselves, subject to prosecution for perjury; bakers, &c. using alum in making bread for sale, to forfeit from 51. to 10l. or imprisonment from two to six months; wardmote inquests may search bakers shops, &c. to weigh and try bread, and seize such as shall be found deficient, which shall be disposed of by the magistrates; penalty on obstructing such search, from 57. to 10. but the returns are not to be inspected or made known, except to such magistrates, officers, &c. as such returns are intended to be inspected or examined by, on penalty from 10l. to 201." There are a number of lesser irrelevant clauses. This act took place on the first of August, 1797.

The

The following statement is an accurate extract of the price of the quartern loaf, wheaten bread, at the commencement of the several mayoralties herein stated, from the year 1735. to the year 1805, as entered at the Town Clerk's Office, Guildhall.

The price at the commencement of each mayoralty, shews the price at the conclusion of the preceding mayoralty.

1

*This year the quartern loaf was at 4d. for two weeks.

In this mayoralty the bread was at 94d. the quartern loaf.

VOL. II. No. 39.

M m

1793

THE prelate to whom this church is dedicated was born at Glastonbury, towards the beginning of the tenth century. It is said that previously to his birth a divine presage foreshewed how great a light he should be in God's Church; when in the solemn office of Candlemas Day, in the church of the blessed Virgin in Glastonbury, all the lights being suddenly extinguished, the taper which his mother held in her hand was lighted from heaven, and all the rest borrowed their light from her. The same was also declared after his birth by a heavenly oracle; when his parents carrying him in his childhood to that same church to

During the year 1795, the quartern loaf was 1s. 3d, for five weeks. Whilst Sir William Staines was mayor, the quartern loaf was at its highest price, being Is. 104d. for three weeks in March. This worthy magistrate, however, when he found that he could not reduce the price, by any other means, published the price of corn every week; so that at the end of his mayoralty, bread was reduced to 101d.

present

present him, as it were, to God, and passing the night there in prayer, were favoured with a vision of an angel, foretelling them the future sanctity of their son, and how illustrious that same place should become by his means. He made for himself a small cell, joining to the church of our Lady of Glastonbury, which Osbern, who had seen it, declares to have been but five feet long and two and a half broad, with a small window in the door to let in the light. In this little hut, in which he could not lie at full length to take his rest, the saint spent his hours in fasting, prayer, and manual labour, and by these arms got the better of his spiritual enemies, who ceafed not to trouble and molest him.

His eminences were painting, graving, musick, and as an admirable worker in iron and brass: He was accused to king Athelstane for a magician, and that he made his harp not only to have motion, but make musick of itself.

St. Dunstan's harp fast by the wall

Upon a pin did hang a,

The harp itself with Ly and all

Untouch'd by hand, did twang-a,

And being hereupon banished the court, he returned tq Glastonbury, where he made himself another cell; and (the monks who wrote his life) as he was making some iron utensils, a Proteus deyil appeared to him in the shape of a woman; which Dunstan perceiving, plucked his tongs glowing hot out of the fire, and with them kept the devil a long time by the nose roaring and bellowing.* After Athelstan's death, Dunstan was recalled to court, but was by king Edmund soon rebanished, and afterward sent out of the kingdom by king Edwy, who dying, St. Dunstan was again recalled by king Edgar, and made bishop both of Worcester and London at once, and then archbishop of Canterbury.

The monkish writers of the life of this redoubted saint assert divers instances of his miracles, visions, and divine revelations. They also inform us, that one day as he was celebrating mass in his church of Canterbury, a milk white

* A tavern formerly exhibiting this circumstance on its sign near Tem ple-Bar, was profanely called, The Devil Tavern! Mm 2

dove

dove was seen hovering over his head till the end of the sacrifice, and then went and sat upon the pyramid that stood over the monument of St. Odo, which the saint seeing, con、 ceived from that time so great an esteem for this his holy predecessor, that he never named him without calling him Odo the Good, and always knelt down when he passed by his monument. St. Dunstan died at the age of seventy years, having been archbishop twenty-nine years.*

This church is denominated in the East, to distinguish it from another of the same name in Fleet-Street; though in antient records it is wrote juxta Turrim London. It is of very antient foundation; but being in a state of decay, it was, as Stow says, repaired and worthily beautified in the year 1633, amounting almost to a new building, for it cost upwards of 2400/. to which many worthy parishioners largely contributed.

The unhappy flames of 1666, however, reduced it nearly to rubbish, and left only the walls standing; a lofty spire of timber was also consumed. The piety of Lady Williamson, of Hales Hall, in Norfolk, restored the fabric. The walls being still firm, were substantially repaired, in consequence of her benefaction of 4000l. The remains of the old tower were taken down and another built in 1698, as it now appears.

The church is situated on a declivity leading to Thames. Street, called St. Dunstan's Hill, within a large burial ground, in which are many tall and flourishing trees, which answer all the purposes of a rookery.

Externally the structure is very plain, except the tower and steeple, which is built in the modern Gothic style, eightyseven feet in length, sixty-three in breadth, and thirty-three in height to the roof, and contains eight fine bells. The steeple is one hundred and twenty-five feet high, and well constructed in the Gothic manner. The tower is light, supported by out-works at the angles, and divided into three stages, terminating at the corners by four handsome pinnacles, in the midst of which rises the spire on the narrow crowns of four Gothic arches; a bold attempt in architecture, and one

*Britannia Sancta, &c.

proof,