Chapter C (3)

COMBMAKERS, a company incorporated by letters patent granted by
Charles I. in the year 1636. They consist of a Master, two Wardens,
and thirteen Assistants; but have neither hall nor livery.

COMES’S _court_, Noble street, Foster lane.†

COMMISTRY’S _alley_, Cock hill, Ratcliff cross.

COMMON COUNCIL. These are the representatives of the commons, and
compose one of the parts of the city legislature, which nearly
resembles that of the kingdom; for as the latter consists of the
King, Lords, and Commons, so this is composed of the Lord Mayor, the
Aldermen and Common Council; the principal difference is, that the
three estates of the kingdom enjoy separately the right of a
negative, while in the city this right is confined to the Aldermen
and Common Council.

Before the year 1347, there were only two Common Council men
returned for each ward, which being thought inefficient to represent
the numerous body of the commons, it was at that time agreed, that
each of the city wards should chuse a number of Common Council men
according to its dimensions; but none to exceed twelve, nor any to
have less than six; which has been since increased to the present
number.

The city is now divided into twenty-five wards, and they into 236
precincts, each of which lends a representative, who is elected in
the same manner as an Alderman; with this only difference, that as
the Lord Mayor presides in the wardmote, and is judge of the poll at
the election of an Alderman, the case is the same with the respect
to the Aldermen in their several wards, at the choice of Common
Council men. _Maitland._

_The Court of_ COMMON COUNCIL, consists of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen,
and representatives of the several wards, who assemble in Guildhall,
as often as the Lord Mayor, by his summons, thinks proper to convene
them, in order to make by-laws for the government of the city. They
annually select six Aldermen and twelve Commoners for letting the
city lands, and this committee generally meet at Guildhall on
Wednesdays. They also appoint another committee of four Aldermen and
eight Commoners for transacting the affairs belonging to Gresham
College, who generally meet at Mercers hall, according to the
appointment of the Lord Mayor, who is always one of the number.
Besides the appointing of these, and several other committees, they
by virtue of a royal grant, annually chuse a Governor, Deputy, and
Assistants, for the management of the city lands in Ireland. They
have likewise a right to dispose of the offices of town clerk,
common serjeant, judges of the Sheriffs court, common crier,
coroner, bailiff of the borough of Southwark, and city garbler.
_Maitland’s Survey._

COMMON _Clerk_. See TOWN CLERK.

COMMON CRIER, an office of the city, who with the serjeant at arms, is
to summon all executors and administrators of freemen to appear, and
bring inventories of their personal estates, within two months after
their decease. He is also obliged to attend the Lord Mayor on
particular days, and to be present at the courts held weekly by his
Lordship and the Aldermen. He is by his place an Esquire.

COMMON HUNT, the chief huntsman of the city, whose principal business
is to take care of the city hounds, and to attend the Lord Mayor and
citizens in hunting whenever desired. This officer has a house
allowed him in Finsbury Fields, where the hounds are kept, and for
their support he has a considerable annual allowance, besides his
perquisites. He is also to attend the Lord Mayor on set days, and is
by his place an Esquire.

COMMON _lane_, in Thames street.

_Court of_ COMMON PLEAS. This is one of the four great courts of the
kingdom, and is so called because in that court are debated the
usual or common pleas between subject and subject, and all civil
causes whatsoever. It was anciently ambulatory, and followed the
King wheresoever he went; but at the confirmation of _Magna Charta_,
by King John, in 1215, it was fixed at Westminster, where it still
continues.

Soon after the fixing of this court at Westminster, such a multitude
of causes were brought before it, that the King for the greater
dispatch of business, found it necessary instead of three, to
constitute six Judges, whom he appointed to sit in two places: but
at present the number being only four, they sit together in
Westminster hall to hear and decide causes; but no Counsellor can
plead before them under the degree of a Serjeant.

The chief Judge in this court is the Lord Chief Justice of the
Common Pleas, who has a salary of 2500_l._ _per annum_. with his
robes and two tons of wine; the other, who are called the three
puisne Judges of this court, and also four Serjeants, are each
allowed fees, reward and robes, the puisne Judges having 2000_l._
_per annum_ each.

The other officers of this court are, the Custos Brevium; three
Prothonotaries and their Secondaries; several clerks, who have their
several counties allotted them, and are to engross the fines levied
on lands in their respective divisions; the Chirographer; the
Register of the fines, and a Clerk of the proclamations. The
Prothonotaries and Chirographer sit in the court covered with black
round caps, which was the fashion before the invention of hats and
wigs. These are all sworn and have their offices for life. See
Custos BREVIUM, PROTHONOTARY, &c.

_Entrance to the House of Lord’s with the Office of Ordnance._

_S. Wale del._
]

_House of Commons._
_C. Grignion sculp._
]

In this court there are three officers unsworn, viz. a clerk of the
treasury, a clerk of the enrollments of fines and recoveries, and a
clerk of the outlawries: there are besides a clerk of the King’s
silver; a clerk of the warrants; a clerk of the juries; a clerk of
the essoins; a clerk of the supersedeas; filazers for the several
counties of England; an exigenter; four criers and a porter.

COMMON SERJEANT, an officer of the city, who is obliged to attend the
Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen on court days, and to be in council
with them on all occasions, both within and without the precincts or
liberties of the city; and formerly he was to take care of the
estates of the city orphans.

_House of_ COMMONS, also called _St. Stephen’s Chapel_, joins to the
south east angle of Westminster hall. The print represents a view as
seen from the Cotton Garden. King Stephen first founded a chapel
here, and dedicated it to St. Stephen the Protomartyr: but Edward
III. rebuilding it in the year 1347, in a very magnificent manner,
converted it into a collegiate church, the revenues of which at its
suppression amounted to 1085_l._ 10_s._ and 5_d_. _per annum_: but
being surrendered to Edward VI. it was appropriated for the
reception of the representatives of the Commons of England, who have
ever since continued to meet there every sessions of parliament,
except when summoned by the King’s writs to Oxford, and it is now
generally called the House of Commons.

It is at present a spacious room wainscotted up to the ceiling,
accommodated with galleries, supported by slender iron pillars
adorned with Corinthian capitals and sconces, from the middle of the
ceiling hangs a handsome branch or lustre. At the upper end, the
Speaker is placed upon a raised seat, ornamented behind with
Corinthian columns, and the King’s arms carved and placed on a
pediment; before him is a table, at which the Clerk and his
Assistant sit near him on each hand, just below the chair; and on
each side, as well below as in the galleries, the members are placed
promiscuously. The Speaker and clerks always wear gowns in the
house, as the professors of the law do in term time; but no other of
the members wear robes, except the four representatives for the city
of London, who, the first day of every new parliament, are dressed
in scarlet gowns, and sit all together on the right hand of the
chair, next to the Speaker.

The time of sitting is upon any day in the morning, except on
Sundays, or some other high festivals or fast days, upon which it is
not usual to assemble, unless upon the most urgent occasions: but
tho’ the Speaker always adjourns the house to nine o’clock of the
morning of the day when they agree to meet again, the house seldom
meets till twelve.

This house has an equal share with the Lords in making laws, and
none can be made without the consent of the Commons, who are the
guardians of the liberties of the people; and as they are the grand
inquest of the nation, they have a power to impeach the greatest
Lords in the kingdom, both spiritual and temporal.

On the day prefixed by the King in the writ of summons, his Majesty
goes in person to the house of Lords, where being seated with the
crown on his head, and cloathed in his royal robes, he sends for the
Commons by the Gentleman Usher of the black rod, who coming to the
bar of the house, bows, and advancing a few steps, repeats this mark
of respect a second and a third time, saying, “Gentlemen of the
house of Commons, the King commands this honourable house to attend
him immediately in the house of Peers;” and then retiring backwards,
bowing, withdraws: the Commons then immediately attend his Majesty
in the house of Lords, where the Lord Chancellor or Keeper commands
them in the King’s name to chuse a Speaker, upon which they return
to their own house. One of the members then standing up in his
place, and making a short introductory speech, moves that such
member as he then names, may take the chair, and his motion being
seconded by some other member, if no contest happens, they lead the
person mentioned from his seat to the bar of the house, from whence
they conduct him bowing thrice, up the chair; where being placed, he
stands up, and returns thanks to the house for the honour done him,
and modestly acknowledging his inability to discharge so great a
trust, desires they would make choice of a more *able person, which
being disapproved, he submits to their pleasure; and after receiving
the directions of the house, on the usual requests to be made on his
appearing before his Majesty, adjourns to the day appointed for that
purpose.

But before the Commons can enter upon any business, or even the
choice of a Speaker, all the members enter the court of wards,
where they take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, with those
appointed by the act of the 1st of William and Mary, in the
presence of an officer appointed by his Majesty, who is usually
the Lord Steward of the houshold; and after they have chosen the
Speaker, they take the same oaths again in the house, at the
table, and subscribe their opinions against the doctrines of
transubstantiation, the invocation and adoration of Saints, and
the sacrifice of the mass; and before they can give any vote in
the house, except for the choice of a Speaker, they are obliged
also to abjure the Pretender.

Upon the day appointed, the Usher of the black rod is again sent for
the Commons, when he alters his stile, and addresses himself to the
Speaker. The members, obeying this summons, return to the house of
Lords, and present their Speaker to the King, who is again seated on
the throne, and having obtained his approbation, the Speaker
desires, that the Commons, during their sitting, “may have free
access to his Majesty, freedom of speech in their own house, and
freedom from arrests.” After which the King makes his speech to both
houses, the whole house of Commons being supposed to be at the bar
of the house of Lords.

After the Speaker and members have taken the oaths, the standing
orders of the house are read, and grand committees appointed to sit
on usual days: which being done, the house generally begins with
reading some bill left unfinished the sessions before. Any member of
parliament is at liberty to move for a bill to be brought in; which
being agreed to by the house, the person who made the motion, with
some of those who seconded it, are ordered to prepare, and bring it
in. When the bill is ready, some of the members who were ordered to
prepare it, read the order at the side bar of the house, desiring
leave to bring the bill to the table; which upon the question being
agreed to, it has a first reading by the clerk at the table; and
then the Speaker taking the bill in his hand, reads the abbreviate
or abstract of it: which one, after the debate upon the bill, if any
happens, he puts the question, Whether it shall have a second
reading; and sometimes upon a motion being made appoints a day for
it.

When the bill has been read a second time, the question is put,
Whether it shall be committed, which is either to a committee of the
whole house, if the bill be of importance; or to a private
committee, any member at pleasure naming the persons to be of that
committee; and their names being read by the clerk at the table,
they are ordered to meet in the Speaker’s chamber, and report their
opinion to the house. Accordingly meeting there, they chuse their
Chairman, and either adjourn to some other time, or proceed upon the
bill, which in this last case, the Chairman orders a clerk who
attends them to read, then taking the bill himself, and reading it
paragraph by paragraph, he puts every clause to the question, fills
up the blanks, and makes amendments according to the opinion of the
majority of the committee, of whom there must be eight of the
persons named, to proceed regularly, though five may adjourn.

When the committee have gone through the whole bill, the Chairman by
their desire makes his report at the side bar of the house, reading
all the alterations made by the committee, and how any of these
amendments have altered the scope of the bill, the clerk having
before written down in what page and line of the bill those
amendments are to be found; and if the committee have thought fit to
add any clauses, they are marked alphabetically, read by the
Chairman, and delivered to the clerk, who reads all the amendments
and clauses. The Speaker then puts the question, Whether they shall
be read a second time, and if this be agreed to, he then reads them
himself, and particularly as many of them as the house agrees to.
After which the question is put, Whether the bill so amended shall
be engrossed, that is, written fair on parchment; and read the third
time some other day. It being at length read the third time, the
Speaker holds the bill in his hand, and puts the question, Whether
the bill shall pass, and if the major part be for it, the clerk
writes on the bill _Soit baillé aux Seigneurs_, i. e. Be it
delivered to the Lords.

When an engrossed bill is read, and any clauses referred to be added
to it, they must be on parchment engrossed like the bill, which are
then called _riders_; and if agreed to, they are added to the bill.

Petitions are offered like bills at the bar of the house, and
brought up and delivered at the table, by the member who presents
them.

When a member speaks to a bill, he stands up uncovered, and
addresses himself only to the Speaker; but if he be answered by
another, he is not allowed to reply the same day, unless personally
reflected on: for nobody is to speak to a bill above once in a day,
unless the whole house be turned into a committee, and then every
number may reply as often as the Chairman thinks proper. But if a
bill be rejected, it cannot be any more proposed, during the same
sessions.

Messengers from the Lords, and all persons appearing at the bar of
the house, are introduced by the serjeant attending the house, with
the mace upon his shoulder.

While the Speaker is in the chair, the mace lies upon the table,
except when sent upon any extraordinary occasion into Westminster
hall and the court of requests, to summon the members to attend. But
when the members resolve themselves into a committee of the whole
house, the mace is laid under the table, and the Chairman to that
committee takes the chair where the clerk of the house usually sits.

Forty members are necessary to make a house, and eight a committee.
But the Speaker is not allowed to vote, except the house be equally
divided: nor is he to persuade or dissuade in passing a bill; but
only to make a short and plain narrative.

The members of the house of Commons vote by yeas and noes; but if it
appear doubtful which is the greater number, the house divides. If
the question relates to any thing already in the house, the noes go
out; but if it be to bring any thing in, as a bill, petition, &c.
the ayes go out: where the house divides, the Speaker appoints four
tellers, two of each opinion, who after they have told those within,
place themselves in the passage between the bar and the door, and
tell the others who went out; which done, the two tellers who have
the majority take the right hand, and placing themselves within the
bar, all four advance bowing three times; and being come up to the
table deliver the number, saying, the ayes who went out, are so
many; the noes who staid, so many; or the contrary: which is
repeated by the Speaker, who declares the majority.

In a committee of the whole house, they divide by changing sides,
the ayes taking the right hand of the chair, and the noes the left;
and then there are only two tellers.

If when a bill is passed in one house, and sent to the other, they
demur upon it; a conference is then demanded in the Painted Chamber,
where certain members deputed from each house meet, and debate the
affair, while the Lords sit covered at a table, and the Commons
stand without their hats. If they disagree, the affair is dropped;
but if they come to an agreement, it is at length brought, with all
the other bills that have passed both houses, to receive the royal
assent, in the house, where the King being seated in the chair of
state, the Clerk of the crown reads the title of each bill; and as
he reads, the Clerk of the Parliament, according to the instructions
he hath received from his Majesty, pronounces the royal assent; if
it be a public bill by saying, _Le Roy le veut_, _i. e._ The King
will have it so; or if a private bill, _Soit fait comme il est
désiré_; _i. e._ Be it done as is desired. But if his Majesty does
not approve the bill, the answer is, _Le Roy s’avisera_: that is,
The King will consider of it.

Money bills always begin in the house of Commons; because the
greatest part of the supplies are raised by the people, and for this
reason the Commons will not allow the Lords to alter them; and on
the presenting these bills to his Majesty, the answer is, _Le Roy
remercie ses loyaux sujets, accepte leur benevolence, & aussi le
veut_: that is, The King thanks his loyal subjects, accepts of their
benevolence, and therefore grants his consent.

A bill for a general pardon has but one reading in each house;
because they must take it as the King will please to give it: and
when this bill is passed, the answer is, _Les Prélats, Seigneurs, &
Communes, en ce parlement assemblez, au nom du tous vos autre
sujets, remercient_ _très humblement vôtre Majesté, & prient Dieu
vous donner en santé, bonne vie & longue_: that is, The Bishops,
Lords, and Commons in this Parliament assembled, in the name of all
your other subjects, most humbly thank your Majesty, and beseech God
to grant you a long and healthful life.

The King, without his personal presence, may, by a commission
granted to some of his Nobles, give his royal assent to any bill
that requires haste.

When his Majesty prorogues or dissolves the Parliament, he generally
comes in person, and being seated with the crown on his head, sends
the Black Rod for all the house of Commons to come to the bar of the
house of Lords; and then the speech being read by the Lord
Chancellor, he, by the King’s special command, pronounces the
Parliament prorogued or dissolved.

The Parliament was formerly dissolved at the death of the King; but
to prevent tumults and confusion, it is now expressly provided by a
solemn act, That a Parliament sitting, or in being at the King’s
demise, shall continue; and if not sitting shall meet expressly, for
keeping the peace of the realm, and preserving the succession. See
_House of_ LORDS.

COMPASS _alley_, Spitalfields market.*

COMPTER _alley_, near Compter court.

COMPTER _court_, near Tooley street.

COMPTER _lane_, St. Margaret’s hill.

COMPTERS, two prisons, for the confinement of all who are arrested
within the city and liberties; one in the Poultry, belonging to one
of the Sheriffs of London, and another in Wood street, Cheapside,
which belongs to the other Sheriff. Both these prisons are of the
same nature, and have the like officers, each being a place of
security both for debtors and criminals.

Under the Sheriffs there are the following officers in each Compter,
who give security to the Sheriff, for the faithful discharge of
their respective trusts.

I. The principal officer, next to the Sheriff, is the Secondary, who
returns writs, marks warrants, and impannels juries for the courts
both above and below, and also for the sessions.

II. The Clerk of the Papers: whose office is to impannel juries, for
the Sheriffs court; and who enters upon judgment, and makes out all
processes for the Sheriffs court.

III. Four Clerks Sitters, who enter actions, take bail, receive
verdicts after trial, &c.

IV. Sixteen Serjeants at mace, each of whom has his yeoman, or
follower. Their office is to arrest persons for debt, to execute all
processes, to serve writs, executions upon actions, and summonses
from above, as well as from the courts below. Each of these
serjeants give 400_l._ security to the Sheriff, for the due
execution of his office. Four of these serjeants, and as many yeomen
out of each Compter, wait upon their respective Sheriffs daily; and
during the time of sessions, double the number. At which time in the
morning they bring the prisoners down from Newgate to the sessions
house; put them in the dock; and after waiting all day, return the
prisoners back to the jail at night: they also attend at the
execution of prisoners. Upon their days of waiting, they always wear
blue cloth gowns, which are given them annually by the Sheriffs.

To each Compter also belong a Master keeper, two turnkeys, and other
servants.

The prisoners in the common side, in both Compters, receive daily
relief from the Sheriffs table, of all the broken meat and bread;
and there are also several benefactions made by charitable persons,
settled upon the Compters for their relief. _Maitland._

COMPTING HOUSE _court_, Christ’s hospital.

COMPTON _street_, 1. St. John’s street, near Clerkenwell.† 2. Soho.†

CONDUIT _alley_, Quakers street.

CONDUIT _close_, Phenix street.

CONDUIT _court_, Long Acre.

CONDUIT _street_, 1. New Bond street, runs from New Bond street
eastward to Swallow street. 2. Red Lion street, Holborn.

CONNOWAY’S _court_, Nightingale lane, in Limehouse.†

_Court of_ CONSCIENCE, also called the _Court of Requests_, was first
instituted in the reign of Henry VIII. by an act of Common Council,
for the recovery of small debts, under the value of 40_s._ and has
since been confirmed by several acts of parliament. It is of great
use to such poor debtors as are not able to pay their debts
immediately; and also of great benefit to such poor persons as have
small debts owing to them, and are unable to enter into a more
expensive suit. The Lord Mayor and court of Aldermen appoint monthly
such Aldermen and Commoners to sit as Commissioners in this court as
they think fit, and these, or any three of them, compose a court,
kept in Guildhall every Wednesday and Saturday, from eleven till two
o’clock, to hear and determine such causes as are brought before
them. They have the power of administering an oath to the creditor,
of examining witnesses, and of making such orders between the
plaintiff and defendant, the creditor and debtor, as they think most
agreeable to equity and conscience; and if the debtor be unable to
pay the whole sum at once, they appoint it to be paid monthly in
such proportions as they judge to be in his power; but if he
neglects paying monthly into court the small sums appointed, he may
be served with an execution, and carried to prison; or if the person
cannot be found, his goods may be seized.

A cause may be brought and determined in this court for the value of
10_d_. viz. 6_d_. for the plaint and summons, and 4_d_. for the
order; but if the defendant does not appear the second court day
after the summons, an attachment may be awarded against him.

If any citizen shall be arrested for a debt under 40_s._ this court
will grant a summons for the plaintiff in the action; and if he does
not appear on the first court day after the summons is left at his
house, the court will grant an attachment against him, force him to
take his debt, and pay the defendant his costs; and if any attorney
in London shall presume to proceed in any such suit, after notice to
the contrary, or shall refuse to obey the order of this court, upon
complaint thereof to the court of Aldermen, they will suspend such
person from his practice.

The fees taken by the clerks of the court of conscience at Guildhall
are as follow: For every plaint 2_d_. For every appearance 2_d_. For
every order 4_d_. For every remittance to the common law 4_d_. For
every precept or warrant to commit to prison 6_d_. For every search
2_d_. For every satisfaction acknowledged on an order 6_d_. For
warning any person within the liberties 6_d_. For serving any
precept or warrant 6_d_.

Besides the court of conscience held at Guildhall for the city,
there is one in Bedford court, near Covent garden; another in
Fulwood’s rents, High Holborn; another in St. Margaret’s hill,
Southwark; and another in Whitechapel.

_Court of_ CONSERVACY; a court held eight times in the year before the
Lord Mayor, at such places and times as his Lordship shall think
proper to appoint, within the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Kent and
Surry, in which several counties he has the power of summoning
juries, who, for the better preservation of the fishery of the
Thames, and the regulation of the fishermen, are upon oath to make
inquisition of all offences committed in and upon that river from
Staines bridge in the west, to Yenfleet in the east, and to present
all who are found guilty of a breach of certain articles, relating
to unlawful methods of fishing, and the destruction of the young
fry. See WATER BAILIFF.

CONSTABLE’S _alley_, Hoxton.†

CONEY _court_, Gray’s Inn.

COOKS, a company incorporated by Edward IV. in the year 1480, by which
patent every member of the company is to be presented to the Lord
Mayor, before he is admitted into the freedom. They have two
Masters, two Wardens, twenty-five Assistants, and seventy-eight
Liverymen, who upon their admission pay each a fine of 10_l._ They
have an old convenient hall in Aldersgate street.

COOK’S _alley_, Bedfordbury.†

COOK’S _court_, 1. Camomile street.† 2. Searle’s street.†

COOPERS, a company incorporated by letters patent granted by Henry
VII. in the year 1501; and in the succeeding reign impowered to
search and gauge all beer, ale, and soap vessels within the city of
London, and two miles round its suburbs, for which they were allowed
a farthing for each cask. They are governed by a Master, three
Wardens, and twenty Assistants, and have a livery of 244 of their
members, whose fine of admission is 15_l._ Their hall is in
Basinghall street. _Maitland._

COOPER’S _alley_, 1. Wapping dock.† 2. Whitechapel. 3. Whitecross
street, Cripplegate.†

COOPER’S _court_, 1. East Smithfield.† 2. Portpool lane.†

COOPER’S _rents_, East Smithfield.†

COOPER’S _square_, Goodman’s fields.

COOPER’S _yard_, 1. Lower Shadwell.† 2. Green Bank.† 3. Wapping.† 4.
Petticoat lane.†

_English_ COPPER OFFICE, in Bush lane, Canon street, belongs to a
company incorporated by letters patent of the third of William and
Mary in 1691, by the name of _The Governor and Company of Copper
Miners in England_; which was confirmed by Queen Anne in the year
1710; and by subsequent grants their power of working of mines was
extended to all parts of Ireland and New England.

This corporation consists of a Governor, Deputy Governor, and
eighteen Assistants. _Maitland._

COPPICE _row_, or CODPIECE _row_, Petty France, Westminster.

COPT HALL, the seat of John Conyers, Esq; is situated in Essex,
between Epping and the forest, and being built on an eminence above
Waltham Abbey, is seen at a great distance.

COPTHALL _court_, a very handsome well-built court in Throgmorton
street.

COPTICK’S _court_, Poppin’s alley, Fleet street.†

CORAL _court_, Near Southampton street, in the Strand.

CORBET’S _court_, 1. Brown’s lane, Spitalfields.† 2. Gracechurch
street.†

CORBET’S _yard_, Back street, Lambeth.†

CORDWAINERS, or SHOEMAKERS. This company was incorporated by letters
patent granted by King Henry IV. in the year 1410, by the name of
_Cordwainers and Coblers_, the latter of which names was then far
from being a despicable term, as it signified not only a shoemaker,
but a dealer in shoes; and it does not appear that the word
shoemaker was then in use.

Mr. Stow observes, that King Richard II. marrying the daughter of
Wenceslaus King of Bohemia, the English by her example wore long
peaked shoes tied to their knees with silk laces, or silver chains
gilt. This preposterous fashion occasioned the passing of an act of
parliament, in the reign of Edward IV. in which it was enacted, that
no cordwainer or cobler within the city of London, or three miles of
it, should make any shoes, galoshes or huseans, that is, boots or
buskins, with any pyke or poleyn, exceeding the length of two
inches, to be adjudged by the Wardens or Governors of the same
mystery in London: nor should they presume to sell, or put upon the
legs or feet of any person, any shoes, boots or buskins on Sundays,
or on the feasts of the nativity and ascension of our Lord, or on
_Corpus Christi_ day, on the penalty of paying twenty shillings for
each offence.

By a late charter, this company is stiled, _The Master, Wardens and
Commonalty of the mystery of Cordwainers of the city of London_.
They are governed by a Master, four Wardens, and sixteen Assistants,
and have 180 liverymen, whose fine on admission is 10_l._

CORDWAINERS _Hall_, is situated on the north side of Great Distaff
lane, and is a handsome brick building. The large hall is adorned
with the pictures of King William, and Queen Mary his consort.

CORDWAINERS _court_, Great Distaff lane.☐

CORDWAINERS STREET WARD, took its name from the employment of its
principal inhabitants, who were cordwainers, or shoemakers,
curriers, and other workers in leather. It is bounded on the north
by Cheap ward; on the west by Bread street ward; on the south by
Vintry ward, and on the east by Wallbrook ward.

The principal streets and lanes in this ward are, Bow lane, Queen
street, Budge row, Little St. Thomas Apostle’s, Pancrass lane, with
a small part of Watling street and Basing lane; and the most
remarkable buildings are the parish churches of St. Antholin, St.
Mary Aldermary, and St. Mary le Bow.

This ward has an Alderman, and nine Common Council men, fourteen
wardmote inquest men, eight scavengers, eight constables, and a
beadle. The jurymen returned by the wardmote inquest for this ward,
serve in the courts in Guildhall in the month of December.
_Maitland._

CORK _alley_, Turnmill street.

CORK _street_, Burlington Gardens.

CORKCUTTERS _alley_, Long ditch.

CORNER _court_, Spitalfields market.

CORN EXCHANGE, a very handsome building on the east side of Mark lane.
Next the street is an ascent of three steps to a range of eight
lofty Doric columns, those at the corners being coupled; between
them are iron rails, and three iron gates. These columns, with two
others on the inside, support a plain building two stories high,
which contains two coffee houses, to which there are ascents by a
flight of handsome stone steps on each hand underneath the edifice.
On entering the iron gates you pass by these steps into a small
square paved all over with broad stones; this is surrounded by a
colonade, composed of six columns on each side, and four at the
ends, reckoning the corners twice. Above the entablature is a
handsome balustrade surrounding the whole square, with an elegant
vase placed over each column. The space around within the colonade
is very broad, with sash windows on the top, to give the greater
light to the cornfactors who sit round the court below. Each has a
kind of desk before him, on which are several handfuls of corn, and
from these small samples, are every market day sold many thousand
quarters.

CORNHILL, extends from the end of Bishopsgate street to the Mansion
house.

CORNHILL WARD, is so called from the principal street in it, which was
named Cornhill from the corn market anciently kept there. This ward
is bounded on the north by Broad street ward; on the east by
Bishopsgate ward; on the south by Langborne ward; and on the west by
Cheap ward.

This ward contains only one principal street, which is Cornhill. Its
most remarkable buildings are, the Royal Exchange, and the parish
churches of St. Michael, and St. Peter.

It is governed by an Alderman and six Common Council men, including
the Deputy; to which are added, sixteen wardmote inquest men, four
scavengers, four constables, and a beadle. The jury returned by the
wardmote inquest serve in the several courts of Guildhall in the
month of January. _Maitland._

CORONER, an officer of great antiquity, who is to enquire into the
causes of all sudden deaths, where there is the least suspicion of
murder, and for that purpose he impannels a jury, to whom he gives a
charge, and takes evidence upon oath. The Lord Mayor for the time
being is coroner of the city; but he appoints a deputy for the
discharge of that office. The coroner’s jury have a right to examine
the body of the deceased, and to call in the assistance of
physicians or surgeons. They are to try the supposed murderer; and
if they acquit him of all guilt, and concern in the death of the
deceased, he is set at liberty; but if they find him guilty, their
sentence is not final; the supposed murderer being sent to prison to
take his trial at the Old Bailey. The coroner is likewise to enquire
into the escape of a murderer, and also concerning found treasure,
deodands, and wrecks at sea.

There are several other coroners, who hold courts out of the
liberties of the city, as for Westminster, the Tower Hamlets, &c.

CORONER’S _court_, Cross lane.

CORPORATION _lane_, Bridewell walk, Clerkenwell.

CORTEN’S _yard_, New North street.†

CORTES’S _gardens_, Shoreditch.†

COTE’S _yard_, Skinner street, Bishopsgate street without.†

COTTERELL’S _Almshouse_, situated in Chapel yard, Hog lane, Soho, was
endowed by Sir Charles Cotterell, with a perpetual annuity of 20_l._
a year, towards the support of eight poor women.

COTTON LIBRARY, consisting of a curious collection of valuable
manuscripts, relating to the antiquities of Great Britain and
Ireland, &c. was collected by that excellent antiquary Sir Robert
Cotton, who left it to his son Sir Thomas, and after his decease to
Sir John Cotton, his grandson, who giving it to the public, an act
of parliament was passed in the year 1701, for securing it, for the
benefit of the public. Pursuant to which the library, together with
the coins, medals and other rarities, were, upon the death of Sir
John Cotton, vested in trustees, who appointed a librarian, well
read in antiquities; but on the 23d of October 1731, this valuable
collection suffered greatly by fire; by which ninety nine volumes
were destroyed, and an hundred and eleven much damaged.

Before this misfortune, the Cotton library consisted of 958 volumes
of original charters, grants, instruments, registers of monasteries,
remains of Saxon laws; the letters of Sovereign Princes,
transactions between this and other kingdoms and states, the book of
Genesis, said to have been written by Origen, in the second century,
and to be the most ancient Greek copy extant; and the curious
Alexandrean manuscript of the Old and New Testament, in Greek
capitals, said to have been written in the third century.

For the care of this library, seven trustees were appointed, viz.
the Lord Chancellor, or Keeper, the Speaker of the house of Commons,
and the Lord Chief Justice of the court of King’s Bench, for the
time being; with four others, nominated by the heir male of the
Cotton family. The books were deposited in the Old Dormitory at
Westminster, but agreeably to a late act of parliament they are now
placed with Sir Hans Sloane’s Museum in Montague House, Bloomsbury.
See the article BRITISH MUSEUM.

COTTON’S _Wharf_, Bridge yard passage, Southwark.†

COVELY’S _alley_, Grey Eagle street, Spitalfields.†

COVENT GARDEN, received its name from its being formerly a garden
belonging to the Abbot and Monks of the convent of Westminster,
whence it was called Convent Garden, of which the present name is a
corruption. At the dissolution of religious houses it fell to the
Crown, and was given first to Edward Duke of Somerset; but soon
after, upon his attainder, it reverted again to the Crown, and
Edward VI. granted it in 1552 to John Earl of Bedford, together with
a field, named the Seven Acres, which being now built into a street,
is from its length called Long Acre.

Covent Garden would have been without dispute one of the finest
squares in Europe, had it been finished on the plan designed for it,
by that excellent architect Inigo Jones. The piazza is grand and
noble; besides the convenience of walking dry under it in wet
weather, the superstructure it supports is light and elegant. In the
middle is a handsome column supporting four sun dials, and on the
west side of the square, is the church, erected by Inigo Jones, and
esteemed by the best judges one of the most simple, and at the same
time most perfect pieces of architecture, that the art of man can
produce. But the market before it diminishes the beauty of the
square.

COVENT GARDEN _Church_, was erected in the year 1640, as a chapel of
ease to St. Martin’s in the Fields, at the expence of Francis Earl
of Bedford, for the convenience of his tenants, who were then vastly
increased.

This church is remarkable for its majestic simplicity, and the gates
on each side are suitable to the structure and very elegant. This
church never fails to attract the eye of the most incurious, and, as
we observed before, if Inigo Jones’s original design had been
compleated, it would have had a most noble effect.

_Covent Garden._
]

In 1645, the precinct of Covent Garden was separated from St.
Martin’s, and constituted an independent parish, which was confirmed
after the restoration in 1660, by the appellation of St. Paul’s
Covent Garden, when the patronage was vested in the Earl of Bedford:
and as it escaped the fire in 1666, which did not reach so far, it
remains as it came from the hands of the great architect.

In the front is a plain, but noble portico of the Tuscan order,
executed in the most masterly manner; the columns are massy, and the
intercolumniation large, which has an air of noble simplicity, that
if compared with the most ornamented Gothic structures, shews the
superiority of the Roman architecture in its plainest form, over the
finest barbarism. The building, tho’ as plain as possible, is
happily proportioned; the walls are of brick covered with plaister,
and the corners of stone; the roof is flat, and though of great
extent, is supported by the walls alone, without columns. The
pavement is stone; the windows are of the Tuscan form like the
portico, and the altar piece is adorned with eight fluted columns of
the Corinthian order, painted in imitation of porphyry. But this by
some is thought a defect, the lightness of the altar piece in their
opinion giving the church an air of heaviness.

COVENT GARDEN _Market_, Covent Garden.

COVENTRY _court_, Coventry street.

COVENTRY _street_, Hay Market.

COVERLEAD _fields_ Spitalfields.

COULSDON, a village in Surry, near Croydon, which anciently belonged
to the abbey of Chertsey.

COUNCIL _Office_, in the Cock-pit. See the article PRIVY COUNCIL.

COUNSELLORS _alley_, Great Pearl street.

COUNTER _alley_, 1. Grocer’s alley, in the Poultry.☐ 2. Southwark.

COUNTER _lane_, St. Margaret’s hill.

COUNTINGHOUSE _yard_, Christ’s hospital.

COURTS. See the several courts held in London under their respective
names; those of the government, under the articles ADMIRALTY,
ARCHES, CHANCERY, COMMON PLEAS, DELEGATES, _Dutchy of_ LANCASTER,
KING’S BENCH, &c. and those of the corporation under the articles
CHAMBERLAIN, COMMON COUNCIL, CONSCIENCE, CONSERVACY, CORONER,
ESCHEATOR, HUSTINGS, &c.

COURT _street_, Whitechapel.

COUZEN’S _lane_, Thames street.†

COUZEN’S _rents_, Rosemary lane.†

COUZEN’S _yard_, Blue Anchor alley, Rosemary lane.†

COW _alley_, Freeschool street.*

COW _court_, 1. Jamaica street.* 2. Old street.* 3. Rotherhith wall.

COW _cross_, near West Smithfield.*

COW _lane_, 1. Cow yard, Artichoke lane.* 2. Liquorpond street,
Leather lane.* 3. New Gravel lane.* 4. Snow hill.* 5. Trinity
street, Rotherhith.*

COWDEN’S _rents_, Little Trinity lane.†

COWLEY _street_, by Wood street, Westminster.†

COWLEY’S _rents_, Long alley, Moorfields.†

COWLING _street_, behind the Abbey, Westminster.†

COWPER’S _bridge_, Old Horselydown.†

COWPER’S _court_, 1. East Smithfield.† 2. Portpool lane.†

COWPER’S _rents_, East Smithfield.†

COWPER’S _square_, Goodman’s fields.†

COX’S _alley_, Leather lane, Holborn.†

COX _hole_, Spring street.†

COX’S _court_. 1. Aldersgate street.† 2. Kent street.† 3. Shore
ditch.†

COX’S _entry_, Leather lane.†

COX’S _garden_, Wapping Wall.†

COX’S _key_, near Thames street.†

COX’S _key entry_, Thames street.†

COX’S _rents_, 1. St. Catharine’s.† Crow alley, Whitecross street.†

COX’S _square_, Spitalfields.†

COX’S _wharf_, Tooley street.†

COX’S _yard_, Pennington street.†

COXAN _court_, Dorset street, Shoreditch.†

CRAB _court_, 1. New Gravel lane. 2. Ratcliff Highway. 3. Woolpack
alley, Houndsditch.

CRABTREE _lane_, Castle street. ‡

CRABTREE _orchard_, Clare market.

CRACKBRAIN _court_, Rosemary lane.║

CRADLE _alley_, 1. Cow Cross.* 2. Cut-throat lane, Shadwell.* 3. Drury
lane.* 4. Golden lane.* 5. Gray’s Inn lane.*

CRADLE _court_, 1. Aldersgate street.* 2. Cow Cross.* 3. Fenchurch
street.* 4. Fore street, Moorgate.* 5. Golden lane.* 6. St Mary Ax.*
7. Redcross street, Cripplegate.*

CRAIG’S _court_. Charing Cross.†

CRANBURN LODGE, a fine house in Berkshire in the middle of Windsor
Forest. It was built by the late Earl of Ranelagh; and is now in
possession of his granddaughter the Countess of Coventry. As it is
seated on a hill, it commands a most delightful prospect.

CRANE _alley_, 1. Chancery lane.* 2. Old Change, Cheapside.*

CRANEBOURN _alley_, Little Newport street, Leicester fields.†

CRANEBOURN _passage_, Cranebourn alley.†

CRANE _court_, 1. Aldersgate street. 2. Fleet street. 3. Lambeth hill.
4. Old Change.

CRANFORD, a village on the north west side of Hounslow. It has a
charity school, and a bridge over the river Crane; and here the Earl
of Berkley has a seat.

CRAVEN _buildings_, Drury lane, from the house of the noble family of
Craven at the end of Drury lane.

CRAVEN _court_, Craven street.†

CRAVEN _mews_, Drury lane.† See MEWS.

CRAVEN _street_, in the Strand.†

CRAVEN _wood yard_, May-pole alley, Wych street.

CRAVEN _yard_, Drury lane.†

CRAWFORD’S _court_, Rosemary lane.†

CRAY. There are several villages of this name in Kent, situated on the
small river Cray, from which they take their names. This stream
rises a little to the south west of St. Mary Cray, runs by that
town, and passing by Paul’s Cray, Foot’s Cray, and North Cray, runs
into the Darent, near its conflux with the Thames at Dartford creek,
opposite to Purfleet. The principal of these places is St. Mary
Cray, about which are many woods of birch, from which the
broom-makers in Kent street, Southwark, are supplied.

CRAYFORD, a town near Dartford in Kent, is 14 miles from London, and
obtained its name from its having anciently a ford over the river
Cray, or Crouch, a little above its influx into the Thames. In the
adjacent heath and fields are several caves, supposed to have been
formed by the Saxons as places of security and shelter for their
wives, children, and effects, during their wars with the Britons.

CREECHURCH _court_, Creechurch lane.☐ See ST. CATHARINE _Creechurch_.

CREECHURCH _lane_, Leadenhall street.☐

CREED _lane_, Ludgate street. See PATERNOSTER ROW.

CRIPPLEGATE, so named from some cripples who anciently begged there,
appears to have been one of the original gates of the city, and is
situated 1032 feet to the west of Moorgate. It has been many times
rebuilt, but the present structure, which was repaired in 1663,
seems to have stood between two and three hundred years. It is a
very plain solid edifice, void of all ornament. It has only one
postern, and has more the appearance of a fortification than any of
the others.

CRIPPLEGATE WARD, is very large, and consists of two parts, one lying
within Cripplegate and London Wall, and the other reaching to the
extent of the city liberties. The whole ward extends from Cheapside
on the south, to beyond Bridgewater square in the north; and from
Jewin street in the west, to Back street, Moorfields, in the east;
it being bounded on the north by the parish of St. Luke, without the
freedom; on the west by Aldersgate ward; on the south by Cheap ward;
and on the east, by little Moorfields, part of Coleman street ward,
Bassishaw ward, and Cheap ward.

The principal streets, &c. within the walls are, Milk street,
Aldermanbury, Love lane, Wood street, Silver street, Addle street,
and a very small part of Cheapside, containing 170 feet eastward
from Wood street. The chief places without the walls are, Fore
street, Moor lane, Whitecross street to beyond Beech lane, Redcross
street, Beech lane, part of Barbican, and all Bridgewater square.

The principal buildings in this ward are the parish churches of St.
Giles Cripplegate, St. Alphage, St. Alban’s Wood street, St.
Michael’s Woodstreet, and St. Mary Aldermanbury; Lamb’s chapel, Sion
college, Dr. Williams’s Library; and the halls of the Haberdashers,
Waxchandlers, Plaisterers, Brewers, Curriers, Bowyers, and Loriners
companies.

This ward is governed by an Alderman, and within the gate are eight
Common Council men, fifteen wardmote inquest men, twelve scavengers,
nine constables, and a beadle. Without the gate there are four
Common Council, seventeen wardmote inquest men, four scavengers, two
constables, and a beadle. The jurymen returned by the wardmote
inquest serve in the several courts in Guildhall in the month of
March.

CRISPIN’S _alley_, Holiwell street.*

CRISPIN _street_, Smock alley, Spitalfields.*

CROFT’S _yard_, East Smithfield.†

CROOKED BILLET _court_, Long alley, Moorfields.*

CROOKED BILLET _wharf_, Millbank.*

CROOKED _lane_, 1. Mint street. 2. New Fish street.

CROPP’S _alley_, Back street, Lambeth.†

CROPP’S _yard_, Back lane, Lambeth.†

CROSBY’S _court_, Charterhouse street.†

CROSBY’S _square_, Bishopsgate street. Here was anciently a very large
house, built by Sir John Crosby, grocer and woolman, called _Crosby
Place_.

CROSBY SQUARE _passage_, St. Mary Ax.☐ Crosby street, 1. Free School
street. 2. St. Mary Ax.

CROSS _alley_, 1. George alley, Shoe lane. 2. Marigold street. 3. One
Gun alley, Wapping. 4. Upper Well alley, Wapping.§

CROSS _court_, 1. Beaufort Buildings in the Strand, 2. Carnaby street.
3. London Wall. 4. Russel street.

CROSS _lane_, 1. Bush lane. 2. Cartwright street. 3. St. Dunstan’s
hill. 4. Hartshorn lane in the Strand, 5. Long Acre. 6. Love lane,
Little Eastcheap, 7. Marigold street. 8. St. Mary hill. 9. Parker’s
lane, Drury lane. 10. Shad Thames.

CROSS _row_, Islington.

CROSS _street_, 1. Carnaby street. 2. Essex street in the Strand. 3.
Hatton Garden, 4. Islington. 5. King’s street, Oxford street. 6.
Lukener’s lane. 7. Rotherhith.

CROSS DAGGERS _court_, Grub street, near Moorfields.*

CROSSED GUNS _court_, Rosemary lane.*

CROSS HARPER’S _court_, Whitecross street.

CROSS KEYS _alley_, 1. Barnaby street.*. 2. Blackman street.* 3.
Norton Falgate.* 4. Without Temple Bar.* 5. Watling street.* 6.
Whitechapel.* 7. Whitecross street, Cripplegate.*

CROSS KEYS _court_, 1. Chick lane.* 2. Grape street.* 3. Little
Britain.* 4. London Wall.* 5. Queen street, Cheapside.* 6. Watling
street.* 7. Whitechapel.* 8. Whitecross street, Cripplegate.*

CROSS KEYS _yard_, Whitecross street, Cripplegate.*

CROSS KEYS _Inn yard_, Whitecross street, Cripplegate.*

CROSS SHOVEL _alley_, Blackman street.*

CROW _alley_, Whitecross street, Cripplegate.*

CROWD _alley_, Salisbury court, Fleet street.

CROWDER’S _rents_, Narrow street, Ratcliff.†

CROWDER’S WELL, a spring of clear water admired for its medicinal
virtues. It is on the back of the church yard of St. Giles’s
Cripplegate.

CROWDER’S WELL _alley_, Jewin street.☐

CROWFOOT’S _court_, Rosemary lane.

CROWN _alley_, 1. Back side.* 2. Broad St. Giles’s.* 3. Dorset street,
Fleet street.* 4. King Tudor street.* 5. In the Minories.* 6.
Petticoat lane.* 7. Tooley street.* 8. Upper Moorfields.* 9.
Whitecross street, Old street.* 10. White street, Horselydown.* 11.
White’s yard.*

CROWN _court_, 1. Aldersgate street.* 2. Angel hill.* 3. Bank side.*
4. Back lane.* 5. Broad street, Moorfields. 6. Butcherhall lane.* 7.
Butcher row, Temple Bar.* 8. St. Catharine’s lane.* 9. Chancery
lane.* 10. Cheapside.* 11. Chick lane.* 12. Church lane, Rag Fair.*
14. Cock lane, Shoreditch.* 15. Cow lane, West Smithfield.* 16.
Crown alley. 17. Dancing Bridge lane.* 18. Dean’s street, Soho.* 19.
Dorset Gardens.* 20. Duke street, Westminster.* 21. Dunning’s alley,
Bishopsgate street.* 22. East Smithfield.* 23. Fleet street.* 24.
French alley.* 25. Gerrard street.* 26. St. Giles’s Broadway.* 27.
Golden lane.* 28. Gracechurch street.* 29. Grub street.* 30.
Horselydown.* 31. King John’s court.* 32. King street, St. James’s.*
33. King’s street, Tooley street.* 34. Knaves Acre.* 35. Little
Moorfields.* 36. Little Pearl street.* 37. Little Russel street,
Drury lane.* 38. Long Acre.* 39. Long Walk, Christ’s Hospital.* 40.
Narrow Wall, Deadman’s place. 41. Newgate street.* 42. New Gravel
lane.* 43. Newington Butts.* 44. Old Change.* 45. Petticoat lane.*
46. Pickleherring street.* 47. Portpool lane.* 48. Princess street,
Soho.* 49. Quaker street.* 50. Rosemary lane.* 51. Seething lane.*
52. Sherwood street.* 53. Ship street.* 54. Sun Tavern fields.* 55.
Thieving lane. 56. Threadneedle street.* 57. Tower ditch.* 58.
Trinity lane.* 59. Turnagain lane.* 60. Warwick lane, Newgate
street.* 61. White’s alley.* 62. Whitecross street.* 63. White
Friars, Fleet street.* 64. Worcester street.*

CROWN AND CUSHION _court_, West Smithfield.*

CROWN AND SCEPTRE _court_, St. James’s street, Pall Mall.*

CROWN AND SHEERS _court_, Rosemary lane.*

CROWN _Office_, in Bell yard, Chancery lane. This is an office of
great importance, under the Clerk of the crown, who is either by
himself, or his deputy, continually to attend the Lord Chancellor,
or Lord Keeper, for special matters of state; he has therefore a
place appointed for him in the house of Lords. He makes all writs
for the election of members of parliament, upon a warrant directed
to him on the death or removal of any member; and also commissions
of oyer and terminer, jail delivery, commissions of peace, and many
other commissions for distributing justice to the King’s subjects.
This office is sometimes executed by a deputy. _Chamb. Pres. State._

CROWN OFFICE _row_, Inner Temple.

CROWN _street_. 1. Hoxton.* 2. Wapping.*

CROWN _yard_, 1. Bishopsgate street without.* 2. Nightingale lane.*

CROYDON, a large and populous town in Surry, situated on the edge of
Bansted Downs, ten miles and a half from London. ’Tis said there was
once a royal palace in this place, which was given with the manor to
the Archbishops of Canterbury, who converted it into a palace for
themselves; but it is now much decayed. Archbishop Whitgift founded
an hospital here, which he endowed with farms for the support of a
warden, and twenty-eight men and women, decayed house-keepers of
Croydon and Lambeth, with a school for ten boys, and as many girls,
with 20_l._ a year and a house for the master, who must be a
clergyman. The church, which is esteemed the finest and largest in
the county, has several stately monuments, particularly one for
Archbishop Grindall, another for Archbishop Sheldon, and another for
Mr. Francis Tyrrel, a grocer in London, who generously gave 200_l._
to build the market house. Here is a great corn market on Saturdays,
chiefly for oats and oatmeal for the service of London; and the
adjacent hills being well covered with wood, great quantities of
charcoal are made and sent to this city.

CRUCIFIX _lane_, Barnaby street.