the occasion, at this tavern; and here the corporation of the Trinity House, the Marine Society, and other large societies, hold their annual dinners, in a spacious hall appropriated to that purpose.

Opposite the church of St. Martin Outwich, is the City of London Tavern, a large and magnificent building, of equal celebrity with the tavern above-mentioned.

In clearing away the rubbish caused here by the fire of 1765, the remains of an ancient church or chapel were discovered, which had long served for the uses of cellaring to the four houses that covered this relic of antiquity; but when, or by whom, this old church was founded, cannot be traced. The inside of it measured forty feet in length and twenty-six in breadth. The roof was only ten feet nine inches from the floor, occasioned by the raising of the ground in this part of the city, before noticed in our account of Aldgate Ward.

It was conjectured, that the premises here mentioned were the remains of a church, which once stood at the top of, or above, Cornhill, dedicated to St. Andrew the Apostle; from which the other church at the corner of St. Mary Axe, dedicated to the same saint, was distinguished by the addition of Undershaft (vide Aldgate Ward.)

About twelve feet farther to the north, and under the house where the fire was supposed to have begun, there was another stone building thirty feet long, fourteen feet broad, and eight feet high, with a door on the north side, a window at the east end, and the appearance of another at the west end. This building was covered with a semicircular arch, made of small pieces of chalk, in the form of bricks, and ribbed with stone, resembling the arches of a bridge; but this structure did not appear to have any connection with the first, nor does any ancient history give us the least account thereof, nor of any religious or other remarkable foundation in this neighbourhood, that could be so strangely buried.*

On the east side of Bishopsgate Street within, is Crosby Square, in which are the remains of

* Lambert,

erected by sir John Crosby in 1466. This gentleman was a grocer, woolstapler, and sheriff of London in 1470. The ground on which the house was built, was leased to him by Alice Ashfield, prioress of St. Helen's. In this house, Richard, duke of Gloster, was residing when he had his nephews conveyed to the Tower, and was devising the means of their murder. In Shakespeare's Richard II. we have this mention of it:

'Buckingham. Good Catesby, go effect this business soundly.

Catesby. My good lords both, with all the heed I can.

Gloster. Shall we hear from you, Catesby, ere we sleep?

Catesby. You shall, my lord.

Gloster. At Crosby Place, there you shall find us both."

ting the citizens of London to press on him the acceptance of the

crown,

"The golden hope he looked for ;"

which was tendered to him in the council chamber of this mansion.

Sir John was knighted with eleven other citizens for the successful repulse of the attack of the bastard Falconbridge on the city, of which we have made mention in Aldgate Ward. "Stow says, "This house he builded of stone and timber, very large and beautifull, and the highest at that time in London: hee was one of the sheriffes, and an alderman in the yeere 1470, knighted by Edward IV. in 1471, and deceased in the year 1475, so short a time enjoyed he that his large and sumptuous building.

"He was buried in St. Helen's, the parish church, a faire monument of him and his lady is raised there he gave towards the reforming of that church 500 marks, which was bestowed as appeareth by his armes, both in the stone worke, roofe of timber, and glasing. I holde it a fable said of him to be named Crosbie, of being found by a crosse." He bequeathed many legacies for various purposes in the Ward of Bishopsgate, and £100 towards erecting a new tower of stone at the south-west of London Bridge.

The mansion was afterwards granted by Henry VIII. to Antonio Bonavica, an Italian merchant. Henry being a great encourager of the merchants of that country, for the sake (says Rymer) "of magnificent silks, velvets, tissues of gold, jewels, and other luxuries for the pleasure (says the uxorious monarch) of us, and our dearest wyeff, the quene." Alderman Bond, during his residence here, increased the height of the house by building a turret on the top. In the reign of Elizabeth it was appropriated to the chancellor of Denmark, ambassador to this country, and also to various other ambassadors.

During the civil wars, this structure, which was worthy of the name of a palace from its size and beauty, was used as a prison, and many loyalists confined there. On the Restoration, considerable portions of the building were destroyed, and the houses of Crosby Square erected on their site; but the great hall was granted to the Non-conformists, and used as a meeting-house for upwards of a

century, for which it was admirably calculated, on account of its great extent. It is now occupied by a large packer.

Thus from a palace it became a dungeon, and by the mutation of time a place of worship; and could the stones of the wall have tongues as well as ears, how many a tale might they not narrate of political intrigue, midnight plottings, religious persecution, bigotted oppression, or heated fanaticism! But generations have passed away 66 as a tale that is told," and the time-worn structure alone remains to call up the memory of the past, and afford ample scope for reflection on the future.

The hall to which we have alluded, improperly called Richard the Third's chapel, is still entire, though divided by its present occupiers into floors. The length is 87 feet, the width 28, and the height 36 feet. It is lofty and majestic, and the west side affords a range of beautiful Gothic windows: a handsome circular window has undoubtedly been an ornament to this building from its early foundation. The whole hall is formed with much elegance, and was considered as a fine specimen of the architectural taste of the period. The roof, which is of timber, is divided into compartments by three rows of pendants, which range along it, connected by pointed arches. The whole of this large hall is decked with florid ornament, and the coup d'œil is imposing and beautiful. Every heart of true feeling must regret, that a building so dear to the lover of history and antiquity should be desecrated to the "vile use" of a packing and lumber room. But this is a vain lament, and we may console ourselves with the reflection, that its utility may be its preservation, and, like the skull cup of lord Byron, although the days of animation and glory be over,.

"This chance is theirs

To be of use."

On the other side of this square are the BAGGAGE WAREHOUSES. of the EAST INDIA COMPANY, erected for the reception of contraband goods previously to their sale.

On the left hand side of the entrance into Great St. Helen's, are the almhouses founded by sir Andrew Jud, knt. as appears by a tablet in front of the building, although it has been asserted that he was only the executor of lady Holles, the relict of sir W. Holles, lord mayor in 1531. They are for the reception of

six poor persons, and the Skinners Company are trustees of the charity, and the original pension of eight pence a week to each inhabitant has been much increased by subsequent bequests.

In the immediate vicinity of St. Ethelburga's church, is Little St. Helen's, so called as being the site of the house belonging to the nuns of St. Helen's, some remains of which were visible about twenty-five years since. This priory existed before the reign of Henry III, and William Basing, dean of St. Paul's, the first founder, was buried there. After the Dissolution, the Company. of Leathersellers purchased the priory of queen Elizabeth, and on the site built with part of the materials the largest and most elegant hall at that time in London, having a magnificent screen adorned with six lonic columns, and a ceiling of beautifully carved fretwork: this was pulled down to make room for the handsome range of buildings called St. Helen's Place, in some of the cellars of which are the only remains of the old priory.

The Company of Leathersellers is an ancient fraternity, incorporated in the sixth year of Richard II. They had a charter from Henry VI in 1442, in which they are styled “The wardens and society of the mystery or art of Leathersellers of the city of London:" and by a grant from Henry VII, the wardens of this company were empowered to inspect sheep, lamb, and calf leather throughout the kingdom, in order to prevent frauds, in those commodities. It is a livery company, and the corporation consists of a prime and three wardens, with twenty-six assistants. Since their ball has been pulled down, they have transacted the business of the company in a house belonging to themselves in Little St. Helen's, built at the same period with their hall, of which the upper panes of the windows on the first floor were formed of painted glass, said to have belonged originally to the priory. The house was a perfect specimen of the architecture of queen Elizabeth's time:

In the reign of this good queen, when monopolies were much in vogue, Edward Darcy obtained a patent for searching and sealing all leather throughout England, for which he was to be handsomely remunerated. The Leathersellers of London denied - the validity of the patent; and being heard on the subject before the queen's council, submitted to them in very homely terms,