"I am always desirous of recurring to the advice and assistance of my parliament on any public emergency; and, previous to receiving your petition, I had given directions for convening my parliament for the dispatch of business."
In the course of this year it was moved and carried in the affirmative, that 1,500l. per annum, should be granted to the lord mayor, in addition to his allowance by the city, as requisite to support the dignity of the office.
THUS have we deduced our HISTORY to the close of the year eighteen hundred. We certainly exceed the compass prescribed; but to have said less, would depreciate our subject. Some unavoidable errors may have escaped; but they are not wilful, and therefore we hope for excuse and candid correction. We however, take upon us to assert, that as we, have in no instance wandered from our purpose of detailing circumstances peculiarly attached to the HISTORY OF THE BRITISH METROPOLIS, we may venture a claim to confidence in the authenticity and correctness of our TOPOGRAPHICAL department.
Printed by W. Stratford, Crown Court, Temple Bar.
ADDLE-STREET, anciently Athelstan, Adelstan, or King Addle-
street, and formerly the residence of king Athelstan; p. 47.
Adelphi buildings, their erection; 599; bill passed in parliament for the
purpose deemed an invasion of the property of the city; ibid.
Alfred, his regular government of the kingdom; 45, n. divides it into
counties, hundreds, and tythings; and the city into wards and pre-
cincts, over which he places officers analogous to our aldermen and
common council men; ibid;-builds men of war, improves mercantile
shipping, and encourages the use of stone and brick in the erection of
houses; ibid.
Apprentices, ancient instructions contained in their indentures; 118, n.
their extravagant and improper mode of attire, produces an act of com
mon council restraining the same; 149.
Arts and sciences, in the reign of Henry VIII. begin to flourish; 113;
are fostered and encouraged by Cardinal Wolsey; 115.
Royal academy of, its institution; 583.
Bakers, laws enforced against their mal-practices, in the reign of Ed-
ward I.; 3.
company of, supposed to be one of the most ancient guilds; 88.
Balmerino, Lord, full account of his execution for high treason in 1746; 401.
Bank of England, its establishment; 312.
Bartholomew fair, first mention of it; 168;-is suspended, with other
fairs, to prevent the extension of the plague; ibid.
Bartholomew, St. priory of, founded, A.D. 1102; 59.
Bible, the first English translation of it; 122.
Billingsgate market, its establishment; 314.
Blackfriars bridge, act passed for its erection; 438;-estimate of the ex-
pence, and other particulars; 443;-the first stone laid: description of
the ceremony attending it; 456.
Boadicea, the British heroine, account of, 31;-confederates with the Tri-
nobantes, defeats the Romans, and sets fire to the metropolis; ibid.
Bow bridge, its erection; 61.
Bow church, the curious construction of its steeple, the top of which, before
the great fire of London, supported a lantern, intended as a direction for
travellers, and for the market people that came from the northern parts
to London; 21.
Bridge, the first mention of one; 51, n.
British museum, its establishment; 428.
Buildings, in the time of the Romans, descriptions of them; 12;-the
use of chimnies introduced, and also of tiles and slates; ibid;-their
windows, furnished with lattices of wood, or sheets of linen; ibid.-
State of the buildings in the metropolis in the reign of Charles I. with
Sir William Davenant's whimsical description of them; 178.
Butchers, their small number in London in the beginning of the sixteenth
century; 119;-consumption of meat at that period; ibid; and its
price; 120.-Butchers refuse to pay the toll hitherto exacted of them;
433;-farmers of the toll commence an action against them, and are
nonsuited; 437.-Number of cattle killed, in 1767, for the use of the
metropolis; 570.
Cabal, its singular derivation, from the names of the persons whose initials
combined form the word; 274.
Canterbury, styled the metropolis of England, in the time of the Saxons;
43-plundered and burnt by the Danes; 144;-and rebuilt by king
Alfred; ibid.
Canute, his invasion of Britain, 50; is crowned at Southampton; ibid;—
his tyrannic disposition; relaxes in favour of the English; ibid;-be.
comes a powerful, spirited, and wise king; 52;-his death; 53.
Cardinal Wolsey, fosters and improves the arts and sciences; 115; is op-
posed in his exactions on the citizens; 116.
Caxton, William, citizen and mercer, introduces the art of printing; 104;
-soine account of him; ibid; title of the first book printed; ibid, n.
Charing cross, formerly a village lying between the cities of London and
Westminster; 78.
Charter-house, formerly a Carthusian monastery; 30.
Cheap living, extraordinary instance of, in the year 1306; 75, n.—value
of commodities at that time; ibid.
Chess, a treatise on, the first book printed in England; 104, n.
Christ's hospital, its erection and endowment; 132.
City feast, a grand one given by a citizen of London to Edward III. and
three other kings; 80;-first one given at Guildhall; 111;-a great
entertainment given by some gentlemen of the law, on assuming the
dignity of the serjeant's coif; 119;-the expences attending it; 120;-
act of the common council to check the immoderate luxury of the civic
table; 134.-Great entertainment given by the benchers of the inns of
court to Charles I. and the royal family; 178;-immense expence
thereof; ibid.—The Lord Mayor gives another, equal to the former;
ibid.-Lord mayor and aldermen entertain the great duke of Marlbo-
rough, and several of the nobility, after the battle of Ramillies; 318.-
Grand dinner given to George I. the royal family, and many of the
nobility, on Lord Mayor's day, on which occasion the chief magistrate
was created a baronet; 333.-Sumptuous entertainment given by the
lord mayor to their present majesties soon after their coronation, and to
the royal family and principal nobility; 507;-report of the committee
appointed to provide that entertainment; 510.-Lord mayor and court
of common council invite the king of Denmark (then on a visit at St.
James's) to an entertainment at the Mansion house; 579;-particulars
of the royal procession to the city by water, &c. &c. 580 to 582.
City magistrates, present mode of electing them established; 104;—ex-
tent of their jurisdiction in 1526; 117.
Coals, when first used; 74;-regular measures for established; 217;—
further regulations respecting them; 326.
Cock lane ghost, full account of that deception, means employed to effect
it, and the trial and punishment of the contrivers; 515.
Colchester, its ancient name, and founder; 10.
Coinage, the first sterling; 67.
Combination amongst journeymen and labourers, first act passed on that
subject; 124;further proceedings against combinations; 337.
Compton, Dr,, bishop of London, his honourable appellation, and noble
and spirited character; 275, n.-is suspended from the functions and
exercise of his episcopal office; 277.
Conduits, list of, and when erected, 70, n.
Coram, Mr. Thomas, brief memoirs of him; 384, n.-his benevolent ex-
ertions to establish a Foundling hospital in or near the metropolis; 385;
draws up a memorial to his majesty in its favour; form of that instru-
ment; ibid; and names of the nobility annexed to it; 386.-The king
grants a charter for its establishment; 387.
Coronation ceremony, the first recorded to have been performed in the
metropolis; 50.-Full account of the coronation of his majesty, George
III. and his consort; 467;-oath administered to the king; 478;—
ceremony of the anointing; 479;-of the investing; 482;-the crown-
ing; 483; and inthroning and homage, 486.-Description of the
anointing, crowning, and inthroning of the queen; 487.
Court of conscience, its establishment; 114.
Covent Garden first built; 181.
Danegelt, description of the nature, quantity, and assessment of that tax;
48; is repealed by Henry II. ibid. (vide p. 192, n.)
Danes, after pillaging various quarters of the kingdom, plunder and burn
the cities of London and Canterbury; 44.-Defeated, and expelled
the kingdom by Alfred, who rebuilds the desolated cities; ibid.-Again
invade England in the reign of Ethelred II. and plunder the country;
48;-and again under Swein, their king, and Olave, king of Norway;
ibid; are bought off by Ethelred, who imposes a tax called Danegelt;
ibid-description of the tax; ibid, n.
Davenant, Sir William, his whimsical and ludicrous, but faithful descrip-
tion of London in the reign of Charles I.; 178; complains of the close-
ness and crookedness of the streets; the inequality in the height and
breadth of the houses; suggests the idea, that the garrets of houses
meeting at the top must have been designed "through abundance of
amity, that opposite neighbours might shake hands without stirring from
home" 179.-Complains of the citizens' black bread, thick drink, and
unwashed glasses; of the narrow beds and their scanty furniture; 180;
-compares the coaches to sedans hung on wheels; and compliments
the carts on the dignity of their appearance; 181.
Derwentwater, Charles Katcliffe, earl of, his execution in 1746, on Tower
Hill, for joining the Pretender in 1715; 406.
Diana, temple of, (the residence of Fair Rosamond) description of, 26.
Dress, the extravagance of, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, induces her
to issue a proclamation restraining its excess; 147;-further order on
the same subject; 165.-Improper mode of attire of the city appren→
tices produces an act of common council restraining the same; 149.-
Humourous description of the dress of the Londoners in 1646; 186.
Duties paid to Henry III. by the citizens of London, a curious docu-
ment; 71.
Edward the Black Prince, his public entry into London, with his French
prisoners, description of; 79.
Elizabeth, queen of England, commencement of her glorious reign; 140;
-turns her attention to commerce; 141;-restrains the dress of the
citizens of London, now become extravagant and luxurious; 147.-
Great number of foreigners at her court in 1580; 152;-receives many
proofs of the loyalty and liberality of her good city of London; ibid.
Her death and character; 153.-Number of dresses found after her
decease; 154. Her fondness of adulation and compliments to her
beauty, to which she had no pretensions; ibid.-Singular mode of re-
ceiving Sir John Aston, in his different missions to her court, with her
motives for so doing; ibid.-List of her household expences; 155.-
Proclamation issued by her to restrain the building of new houses in the
metropolis; 157.
England, after its invasion by the Romans, is made the theatre of their
improvements, 2;-becomes a prey to the Picts and Scots; 15; and
afterwards to the Saxons, 16; its metropolis compared with Rome; 38;
the preference claimed by the former, 41;-is converted to christianity
by Pope Gregory the Great; 42;-is invaded by the Danes in 852,
and plundered in various quarters; 44; but restored to tranquillity by
the great Alfred; ibid.-Again invaded by the Danes, 45; who are
forced to decamp with much loss, 46. The Danes return, and meeting
with success, impose the tax called Dunegelt; its description; 48.-
England is deserted by Ethelred II. who retires to Normandy, leaving
the kingdom in possession of the Danes; 50. After various struggles
with the brave Edmund Ironside, Canute, the Dane, is crowned king
of England, 50; who reconciles the people to his government by his
justice and impartiality; 51;-his death; 53.-Recapitulation of events
up to the Norman conquest; 54. After a few embecile reigns, Eng-
land is subjugated by William, duke of Normandy; 56;-increases in
wealth and prosperity under Henry I., in whose reign many hospitals
and religious houses are built; 59; in the following reign is much dis-
tressed by a turbulent and unsettled government; 62;-but recovers
her prosperity under Henry H. ibid. Richard I. enacts many laws for
the good of the country; 63;-its blood and treasure wantonly wasted
by king John, who on many occasions oppresses his subjects; 66.--The
great charter, called Magna Charta, granted to the kingdom; ibid.-- .
Value of commodities at this time, and extravagant manner of living:
67-an instance of the latter; and of the early hours of refreshment
and repose; ibid, n.-Henry III. his reign an æra of monastic struc-
tures; 68;-their names recited; ibid. The reign of this prince an
ignominious one: that of his son, Edward I. the most heroic and tri-
umphant; 71;~a comparison between them; ibid. The laws of the
latter against forestalling and regrating; 73;-his charter to foreign
merchants; ibid.-Edward the Black Prince returns from France; de-
scription of his public entry into the metropolis; 79.-England is in-
vaded by a French army of 20,000 men; 79; their expulsion by the
English, who invade their country; ibid. The plague devastates the
kingdom; proclamations issued by Edward III. on that occasion; ibid;
-his death and character; 81.-Richard II. is deposed; consequent
horrors arising therefrom; 89.-Henry, duke of Lancaster ascends the
throne; 90; the kingdom increases in prosperity, notwithstanding the
sanguinary severity of the clergy; ibid.-Henry the Fifth's reign an
æra of happiness; 92.-The country much disturbed during the pro-
tectorate of the regent Bedford, in the infancy of Henry VI. 93.
-The duchess of Gloucester accused of witchcraft, condemned to
penance, and imprisoned for life; 96;-the persecution and death of
her husband, the good duke Humphrey; 97.-The mal-administra
tion of the queen (Margaret of Anjou) excites insurrection, which is
headed by John Cade, of celebrated memory; 98.-Sir Humphrey
Stafford and his followers fall into the hands of the insurgents, and are
put to the sword; 99.-A pardon is offered to the rebels, who, in conse-
quence, desert John Cade; 100;-his apprehension and execution;
ibid.-The embecile reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV. 104.-The
nation groans under the tyranny of Richard, duke of Gloucester (after-
wards Richard III.) 106.-Death of Richard in Bosworth field, and
coronation of Henry VII. ibid.-Henry's extortions on the citizens of
London; 107, n.-Perverts the ends of justice, and occasions a revolt;
198-Treaty of peace and commerce between England and Flanders,
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