Quay between the row of houses and the River, which should have been left open for passage, was everywhere enclosed either with pales or brick walls; and covered with stacks of timber, faggots, and coals. The cranes erected West of the Bridge, he states to be unhandsome, and larger than were required, boarded down to the ground, and having warehouses beneneath them. The old towers of Baynard's Castle, he observes, were also still standing upon the wharf; the walls, wharfings, and landing-stairs, were, for the most part, unrepaired; and, in some places, the Quay was likely to be broken by bridges and docks. Sir Christopher's report also mentions numerous other obstacles, in consequence of which, their immediate removal was ordered, and the construction of the Quay directed, by an Act of Parliament, in the 22nd of Charles II., 1670, c. 11. sec. xliv.-xlix. ; as well as by a patent passed in the year following.

"The impediments to this design, however, were never entirely removed; and, in modern times, their number has considerably increased. Of these, Calvert's Brewery is one of the most prominent, which is supposed to occupy the exact site of the mansion anciently called Cold Harbour; where it now forms the two sides of Champion-lane, formerly called Quay-Wharf-lane, which, with All-hallows and Red-bull lanes, was once open to the river. The last important remains of Sir Christopher's grand Civic esplanade was shown in a line of wharf 40 feet in width, and extending from London Bridge to the Steelyard, entitled New Quay; and it may be seen in the plans in Strype's 'Stow's Survey,' vol. i., pp. 486, 510; and in Maitland's ' History,' vol. ii., pp. 790, 1046.

"The Act of Parliament which I have recently cited, also contains a very considerable portion of information relative to the new buildings of London; and from section liii. we learn, that the Water-House at London Bridge was not renewed at the time of its being passed,

though in the Act for rebuilding London, passed in 1667, the 19th of Charles II., chap. 3, sect. 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,' vol. i. p. 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, fol., vol. iii., pp. 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 (see the engraving on the next page) 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 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 of 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?"

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"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 forward 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 27thof 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,' vol. i. p. 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,' vol. i. p. 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 took a fancy to

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