continue stationary. The barbel is never feen below London bridge. Several of the leffer fpecies of whales have been known to ftray up the Thames; a kind of grampus with a high dorsal fin has been taken within the mouth of the river. A fpecies allied to the delphinus, delphis, or dolphin, twenty-one feet long, was taken in 1783, above London bridge; and the common porpuffes frequently run up the Thames in numbers, and afford an eager diversion to the watermen.

Having thus generally defcribed the Thames, it remains only to notice the bridges thrown over it for the accommodation of the inhabitants of the metropolis, and the prodigious docks which have been recently formed for the fecurity and facility of

commerce.

LONDON BRIDGE. This ftructure claims priority of notice from its antiquity, and from the connexion it establishes between the city of London and its appendage the borough of Southwark. The year of its foundation is not fettled. The first mention of it is in the laws of Etheldred, which fix the tolls of veffels coming to Billingsgate, or ad Pontem. It could not be prior to the year 993, when Unlaff, the Dane, failed up the river as high as Staines, without interruption; nor yet after the year 1016, in which Ethelred died: and the great Canute, king of Denmark, when he befieged London, was impeded in his operations by a bridge, which even at that time must have been strongly fortified, to oblige him to have recourse to the following vaft expedient: he caufed a prodigious ditch to be cut on the fouth fide of the Thames at Rotherhithe, or Redriff, a little to the east of Southwark, which he continued at a diftance from the fouth end of the bridge, in form of a femicircle, opening into the western part of the river. Through this he drew his fhips, and effectually compleated the blockade of the city; but the valour of the citizens obliged him to raise the fiege. Evidences of this great work were found in the place called the Dock-head at Redriff, where it began. Fafcines of hazles and other brufhwood, faftened down with flakes, were difcovered in digging that dock in 1694; and in other parts of its courfe have been met with, in ditching, large oaken planks and numbers of piles.

The bridge originated from the public fpirit of the College of Priests of St. Marie Overie. Before, there had been a ferry, left by her parents to their only daughter Mary; who, out of the profits founded a nunnery, and endowed it with the profits of the boat. This houfe was afterwards converted into the College of Priests, who not only built the bridge, but kept it in repair: but it must be understood, that the first bridge was of timber, the materials at hand, and most probably rudely put together.

5

together. This account is given by Stow, from the report of Bartholomew Linfted, alias Fowle, laft prior of St. Marie Overie; but was doubted, because the work has been fuppofed to be too great and too disinterested for a college of priests, who were to give up the certain profits of the ferry for those refulting precarioufly from an expenfive undertaking. Even the existence of a religious houfe before the conqueft has been fufpected; but the Domesday Book puts that out of doubt, by informing us, Ipfe epifcopus habet unum monafterium in Sudwerche. Numbers of useful as well as pious works, in early days, originated from the inftigation of the churchmen, who often had the honour of being called the founders, when the work itself was performed by their devotees. Neither is it to be supposed that they could keep it in repair: the fame zeal which impelled people to contribute to the building, operated in the veftiture of land for its future fupport; and this appears to have been done in several inftances; yet the endowments were so small, that a fupplementary tax was often raised.

In 1136, the bridge was burned down. By the year 1163, it grew fo ruinous as to occafion its being rebuilt, under the care of one Peter, curate of St. Mary Colechurch, a celebrated architect of thofe times. It was foon afterwards determined to build a bridge of ftone, and about the year 1176, the fame Peter was employed again. It proved a work of thirty-three years; the architect died four years before it was completed; and another clergyman, Ifenbert, mafter of the fchools of Xainctes, was recommended to the citizens by king John, for the honour of finishing it; but they rejected their prince's choice, and committed the work to three merchants of London, who completed it in 1209. Peter was buried in a beautiful chapel, probably of his own conftruction, dedicated to St. Thomas, which stood on the east fide, in the ninth pier from the north end, and had an entrance from the river as well as the street, by a winding ftair-cafe. It was beautifully paved with black and white marble, and in the middle was a tomb, supposed to contain the remains of Peter the architect.

This great work was founded on enormous piles, driven as closely as poffible together; on their tops were laid long planks ten inches thick, ftrongly bolted; and on them was placed the bafe of the pier, the lowermoft ftones of which were bedded in pitch, to prevent the water from damaging the work: round all were the piles which are called the fterlings, defigned for the preservation of the foundation piles. These contracted the fpace between the piers fo greatly, as to occafion, at the retreat of every tide, a fall of five feet, or a number of temporary cataracts, which, fince the foundation of the bridge, have occa VOL. III.

Hh

fioned

fioned the lofs of many thoufand lives. The water at fpring tides rifes to the height of about eighteen feet. The length of this vaft work is 915 feet, the exact breadth of the river. The number of arches was nineteen, of unequal dimenfions, and greatly deformed by the fterlings, and the houses on each fide, which overhung and leaned in a most terrific manner. In moft places they hid the arches, and nothing appeared but the rude piers. The ftreet on London bridge was narrow, darkfome, and dangerous to paffengers from the multitude of carriages; frequent arches of ftrong timber croffed the street from the tops of the houses, to keep them together, and from falling into the river. Nothing but ufe could preferve the rest of the inmates, who foon grew deaf to the noife of the falling waters, the clamours of watermen, and the frequent fhrieks of drowning wretches. Most of the honfes 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. Fuller tells us, that Spanish needles were made here firft in Cheapfide by a negro, who died without communicating the art. Elias Crowfe, a German, in the reign of Elizabeth, was more liberal, and first taught the method to the English. Fuller's definition of a needle is excellent, quafi NE IDLE.

In the bridge were three openings on each fide, with balluftrades, to give paffengers a fight of the water and shipping. In one part had been a draw-bridge, ufeful either by way of defence or for the admiflion of fhips into the upper part of the river. This was protected by a strong tower. It ferved to repulfe Fauconbridge, the baftard, in his general affault on the city, in 1471, with a fet of banditti, under pretence of rescuing the unfortunate Henry, then confined in the Tower. Sixty houfes were burnt on the bridge on the occafion. It alfo ferved to check, and in the end annihilate, the ill conducted infurrection of Sir Thomas Wyatt, in the reign of queen Mary. The top of this tower, in the fad and turbulent days of this kingdom, ufed to be the fhambles of human flesh, and covered with heads or quarters of unfortunate partizans. Even fo late as the year 1598, Hentzner, the German traveller, with German accuracy, counted on it about thirty heads. The old map of the city in 1597, reprefents them in a moft horrible cluster.

At the north end of the bridge, one Peter Corbes, a Dutchman, in the year 1582, invented and placed an engine to force the water of the Thames into leaden pipes, to fupply many of the adjacent parts of the city. It has fince that time been fo greatly improved, by the fkill of the English mechanics, as to

become

become a most curious as well as ufeful piece of machinery, and to be extremely worthy the attention of perfons profeffing that branch of fcience. On this bridge an unparalleled calamity happened, within four years after it was finished. A fire began on it at the Southwark end; multitudes of people rushed out of London to extinguish it; while they were engaged in this charitable defign, the fire feized on the oppofite end, and hemmed in the crowd. Above 3000 perfons perifhed in the flames, or were drowned by overloading the veffels which were hardy enough to attempt their relief.

WESTMINSTER BRIDGE. The first petition for a new bridge was prefented to the House of Commons, December 15, 1721, by the inhabitants and parts adjacent; and another from the counties of Kent, Suffex, Surrey, and Southampton; and á bill was paffed in purfuance of the tenor of the request, but not without confiderable oppofition. Mr. Charles Labelye, a native of Switzerland, but a naturalized fubject of England, was the architect employed for this great undertaking. He was highly esteemed for his probity and honour, and grateful for the attentions he ever received in England, felt proud in the name of an adopted Briton; but finding our climate prejudicial to his health, he was under the neceffity of retiring to the more congenial air of France, in the capital of which country he refided for feveral years, and died there in 1762, at an advanced age. The French government were fully acquainted with his fkill; but they never could prevail on him to undertake any of the works at Cherbourg, or elsewhere, which he conceived would be injurious to England. The ballaft-men of the Trinity-houfe commenced the operations, by digging five feet below the bed of the river, in order to obtain a certain foundation. When this was accomplished, a huge boat or well, formed of oak, caulked to the exclufion of every drop of the furrounding element, was moored directly over the foundation of the intended first pier, where it was fixed immoveably, by piles driven close to the fides. As this machine floated exactly in the manner of a lighter or boat, any given weight would operate on it as the loading in a fhip; which being placed gradually, and with the ftricteft attention to the equilibrium of every part, carries her down into the water equally till fhe is filled. It was thus with the western middle pier, the first stone of which was laid by the earl of Pembroke, January 29, 1738-9, in the machine, and on its bottom. The workmen then proceeded, gradually finking with each day's labour, till the weight of itone had rivetted the pier to the native earth over which the Thames glides; when the boat or machine was taken to pieces, and the pier made its appearance completed.

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completed. The wooden bottom neceffarily remains between the ftones and the earth; and by this fimple contrivance the whole foundation was effected, but at various depths. Every precaution had been adopted to render the conftruction everlafting, by building the piers perfectly folid, and uniting the vaft blocks of Portland ftone by ftrong bars of iron, let into each from its neighbour, and cemented by liquid lead, which will prevent a poffibility of corrofion. On the 20th of April, 1739, the pier was completed, probably to high-water-mark; and about the fame time the houfes in New Palace-yard and King-ftreet, which were to be removed for the intended way to the bridge, were valued by twelve men of the city and li berties. In May 1742, the House of Commons granted the fum of 20,000/. for this noble bridge; and on the 13th of July following a perpetuity was paffed to Sir Jofeph Ayloffe and Thomas Lidiard, their heirs and fucceffors for ever, to hold in free and common focage the crown lands from Westminfter-bridge to Charing-crofs, in truft for the commiffioners of the new bridge. In 1743, 15,000l. were granted for the works by parliament. In the following year a machine invented by a perfon named King, for cutting the piles off clofe to the bottom, was tried, and one fevered in four minutes. One hundred and thirty-one houses are faid to have been taken down in 1748, in order to make the approach to the bridge what it now is; by which year one of the piers was discovered to reft on an infecure foundation. The arch from it was immediately removed, and articles weighing 12,000 tons were placed on it, which caufed a finking of five inches. This circumftance led to an examination of the texture of the foil beneath it, which was found to be very far from folid for feveral feet in depth. In this unpleasant dilemma the architect had the pier taken up below low-water-mark, and turned an arch over it from two abutments. The whole was at length completed, and the commiffioners gave public notice of the day when they intended to open it for ufe. That day was, by fome strange overfight, fixed for Sunday, November 18th, 1750. Senfible of their error, they endeavoured to revoke the notice; but as that was found to be impracticable, they adopted the curious expedient of performing the ceremony at midnight, The flambeaux illumined the air, which refounded with drums, trumpets, and cannon, and with the fhouts of the populace, who rushed in mighty crowds from each fhore, during all the fucceeding and many enfuing days. The whole expence of this magnificent national structure was raifed by the voluntary tax of lotteries, and amounted to 389,500l. The length is faid to be 223 feet, and the breadth 44, allowing feven feet to

each