Candlewick Ward,

DERIVES its name from the street now called Cannon Street, but formerly Candlewick, or Candlewright Street, from the principal portion of the inhabitants being makers of wax and tallow candles. It is bounded on the south by Bridge Within and Dowgate Wards; on the west by Dowgate and Walbrook Wards; on the north by Langbourn Ward; and on the east by Bridge Ward Within. It is divided into the seven precincts of St. Mary Abchurch, St. Clement Eastcheap, St. Martin Orgars, St. Lawrence Pounteney, St. Leonard Eastcheap, and the east and west precincts of St. Michael Crooked Lane. The government consists of an alderman and eight common councilmen, including the deputy, with seven constables, thirteen inquest men, and a beadle.

The principal streets are, Great Eastcheap, and part of Cannon Street, as far as Suffolk Lane on the south, and between Abchurch and St. Swithin's Lane on the west side of the street, with many courts and alleys, and parts of the principal lanes leading therefrom.

There were, previously to the great fire in 1666, five parish churches in this Ward, but St. Lawrence Pounteney and St. Martin Orgars not being rebuilt after that event, there are at present only three, viz. St. Michael Crooked Lane; St. Clement Eastcheap; and St. Mary Abchurch.

On the south side of Eastcheap is St. Michael's (or Miles) Lane, in which is the church of St. Michael Crooked Lane, so called

from its dedication to the archangel St. Michael, and its situation at the corner of Crooked Lane. This church is of a very ancient foundation, John de Borham appearing to have been rector thereof in the year 1304, at which time the church was "but a homely thing, standing upon part of that ground, which was a filthy plot, by reason of the butchers in Eastcheap, who made the same their laystall" and slaughter houses.

W. de Burgo gave two messuages to that church, in Candlewick Street, 1317. John Loveken, stock-fish-monger, foure times mayor, builded (in the same ground) this faire church of St. Michael, and was there buried in the quire under a faire tombe, with the images of him and his wife in alabaster; the said church hath been since increased with a new quire, and side chappels of Sir W. Walworth, stock-fish-monger, maior, sometime servant to the said John Loveken. Also the tombe of Loveken was removed, and a flat stone of gray marble, garnished with plates of copper, laid on him.

"This William Walworth is reported to have slain Jack Strawe: but Jack Strawe being afterwards taken, was first adjudged by the said maior, and then executed by the loss of his head, in Smithfield. True it is, that this William Walworth, being a man wise, learned, and of an incomparable manhood, arrested Wat Tylar, a presumptuous rebell, upon whom no man durst lay hand, whereby he delivered the king and kingdome from most wicked tyranny of traytors. The maior arrested him on the head with a sound blow; whereupon Wat Tylar furiously strooke the maior with his dagger, but hurt him not, by reason he was well armed. The maior having received his stroke, drew his basillard, and grievously wounded Wat in the neck, and withall gave him a great blow on the head; in the which conflict an esquire of the king's house, called John Cavendish, drew his sword and wounded Wat twice or thrice, even to the death; and Wat, spurring his horse, cryed to the commons to revenge him: the horse bare him about eight foot from the place, and then he fell downe half dead; and by and by, they which attended on the king, environed him about, so as he was not seen of his company; many of them thrust him in divers places of his body, and drew him into the hospital of St.

Bartholomew, from whence agaire the maior caused him to be drawn into Smithfield, and there to bee beheaded. In reward of this service (the people being dispersed) the king commanded the maior to put a basenet on his head: and the maior requesting why he should so do, the king answered, hee being much bound unto him, would make him knight. The maior answered, that hee was neither worthy nor able to take such an estate upon him; for hee was but a merchant, and had to live by his merchandise only. Notwithstanding, the king made him to put on his basenet, and then, with a sword in both his hands, hee strongly strooke him on the necke, as the manner was then. And the same day he made three other citizens and aldermen knights (for his sake) in the same place. The king gave to the maior £100 land by yeere, and to the others £40 land yeerely, to them and their heirs for ever.

"After this, in the same yeere, the said sir William Walworth founded in the said parish church of St. Michael, a colledge, of a master, and nine priests or chaplains, and deceasing 1385, was there buried in the north chapell by the quire : but his monument being (amongst others, by bad people) defaced in the reigne of Edward VI., and againe since revived by the Fishmongers, for lacke of knowledge whatsoever before had beene written on this epitaph, they followed a fabulous booke, and wrote Jack Strawe, instead of Wat Tylar: a great error, meet to be reformed there, and elsewhere, and therefore have I the more at large discoursed of this

matter.

"It hath also been, and is now growne to a common opinion, that in reward of this service done by the said William Walworth against the rebell, that king Richard added to the armes of this city a sword or dagger, whereof I have read no record, but to the contrary I finde, that in the fourth yeere of Richard II., in a full assembly made in the upper chamber of the Guildhall, summoned by this William Walworth, then maior, as well of aldermen as of the common councell in every ward, for certain affairs concerning the king, it was there by common consent agreed and ordained that the old seale of the office of the maioraltie of the city, being very small, old, unapt, and uncomely for the honour of the city, should be broken, and one other new should bee had, which the said maior commanded to be made artificially, and honourable for

the exercise of the said office thereafter, in place of the other. In which new seale, besides the images of Peter and Paul, which of old were rudely engraven, there should bee under the feet of the said images, a shield of the armes of the said city, perfectly graven, with two lines supporting the same, and two sergeants of armes, in the other part one and two tabernacles, in which, above should stand two angels, between whom (above the said images of Peter and Paul) should be set the glorious Virgin. This being done, the old seale of the office was delivered to Richard Odiham, chancellor, who brake it, and in place thereof was delivered the new seale to the said maior, to use in his office of maioraltie, as occasion should require. This new seale seemeth to bee made before William Walworth was knighted, for he is not there intituled sir, as afterwards he was; and certaine it is, that the same new seale then made, is now in use, and none other, in that office of the maioraltie. Which may suffice to answer the former fable, without shewing of any evidence sealed of the old seale, which was the crosse and sword of St. Paul, and not the dagger of sir William Walworth."*

On the monument of sir William Walworth, were the following lines, preserved by Weaver, in his " Funeral Monuments.”

Here under lyeth a man of fame,
William Walworth, called by name,
Fishmonger he was in life-time here;
And twice lord-mayor, as in books appear;
Who, with courage stout, and manly might,
Slew Wat Tyler in king Richard's sight:

For which act done, and true intent,
The king made him knight, incontinent,
And gave him arms, as here you see,

To declare his fact and chivalry.

He left this life the year of our Lord

Thirteen hundred four score three and odd.

Weaver also records the following pithy epitaph, which is as

* Stowe.

concisely comprehensive as the greatest hater of prolixity could desire.

Here lyeth wrapt in clay,

The body of William Wray:

I have no more to say.

A severe accident occurred to the old church on the 5th of July 1560. Two men came to Crooked Lane to purchase guns, one of which burst on being tried, and some of the sparks unfortunately flying into the house of Adrian Arten, a Dutchman, residing there, set fire to a barrel of gunpowder, which exploding, destroyed five houses, threw down great part of the church wall, and broke all the windows; besides killing eight men and one woman, many others, being severely wounded, died within a week.

This church was entirely destroyed by the fire of 1666, and the present church built in 1688 from the design of sir Christopher Wren. The advowson of the living was anciently vested in the prior and convent of Canterbury, with whom it remained till 1408, since which time it has belonged to the archbishop of that see, and is one of his thirteen peculiars in the city.

The church is a plain stone-built structure, enlightened by a series of large arched windows. The tower, which is at the west end, is carried square to a considerable height, and the uppermost window in the centre of each face is decorated with a head, and ornamental festoons; hence, instead of a balustrade, is a range of open work of the Gothic kind, with vases at the corners. From within this part, the tower rises circular, diminishing in three stages, with an open buttress rising from each corner of the square tower to the top of the first stage; from this buttress rises a large scroll which extends to the top of the second, and a smaller to the top of the third stage, above which rises a short round spire of a peculiar kind, swelling out at the bottom, and then rounding off to a small height, when it is terminated by a gilt ball and vane. The length of this church is seventy-eight feet, its breadth forty-six feet, height to the roof thirty-two feet, and to the top of the pinnacle one hundred feet.

The interior, which is very plain, is nearly square. The west