Chapter I: Front Matter

[Transcriber's Note: The following conventions are used in this text: ~bold text~, _italic text_, [=i]--i with a macron over it.]

* * * * *

THE

HISTORY OF LONDON

BY

WALTER BESANT

AUTHOR OF 'LONDON' 'CHILDREN OF GIBEON' ETC.

_SECOND EDITION_

LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

1894

_All rights reserved_

CONTENTS.

LESSON PAGE

1. The Foundation of London (I) 7

2. The Foundation of London (II) 10

3. Roman London (I) 13

4. " " (II) 16

5. After the Romans (I) 19

6. " " " (II) 23

7. " " " (III) 26

8. The First Saxon Settlement 29

9. The Second Saxon Settlement 32

10. The Anglo-Saxon Citizen 34

11. The Wall of London 38

12. Norman London 42

13. FitzStephen's Account of the City (I) 45

14. FitzStephen's Account of the City (II) 50

15. London Bridge (I) 54

16. " " (II) 57

17. The Tower of London (I) 60

18. " " " (II) 63

19. The Pilgrims 67

20. St. Bartholomew's Hospital 70

21. The Terror of Leprosy 74

22. The Terror of Famine 78

23. St. Paul's Cathedral (I) 82

24. " " " (II) 86

25. Paul's Churchyard 91

26. The Religious Houses 95

27. Monks, Friars, and Nuns 100

28. The London Churches 103

29. The Streets 106

30. Whittington (I) 110

31. " (II) 115

32. " (III) 118

33. Gifts and Bequests 121

34. The Palaces and Great Houses 124

35. Amusements 127

36. Westminster Abbey 131

37. The Court at Westminster 134

38. Justice and Punishments 137

39. The Political Power of London 140

40. Elizabethan London (I) 144

41. " " (II) 147

42. " " (III) 151

43. Trade (I) 155

44. " (II) 158

45. " (III) 164

46. Plays and Pageants (I) 168

47. " " " (II) 170

48. " " " (III) 173

49. " " " (IV) 177

50. The Terror of the Plague (I) 180

51. The Terror of the Plague (II) 183

52. The Terror of Fire (I) 187

53. " " " (II) 192

54. Rogues and Vagabonds 197

55. Under George the Second (I) 201

56. Under George the Second (II) 206

57. Under George the Second (III) 210

58. Under George the Second (IV) 214

59. Under George the Second (V) 218

60. The Government of the City (I) 222

61. The Government of the City (II) 226

62. The Government of the City (III) 228

63. London 230

Notes 235

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

1. The New Houses of Parliament: designed by Barry, opened 1852 _Frontispiece_

2. Early British Pottery 9

3. Roman London 15

4. Remains of a Viking Ship, from a Cairn at Gokstad 22

5. Martyrdom of St. Edmund by the Danes 31

6. Saxon Horsemen 33

7. Saxon Church at Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts 36

8. City Gates 39

9. Remains of the Wall 40

10. Part of the Roman Wall at Leicester 41

11. Tower in the Earlier Style. Church at Earl's Barton 44

12. A Norman Ship 46

13. Building a Church in the later Style 47

14. Lay Costumes in the Twelfth Century 50

15. Costume of Shepherds in the Twelfth Century 51

16. Ecclesiastical Costume in the Twelfth Century 52

17. Royal Arms of England from Richard I. to Edward III. 54

18. Old London Bridge 57

19. The Tower of London 61, 64

20. A Bed in the Reign of Henry III. 67

21. Interior of the Hall at Penshurst, Kent 71

22. The Upper Chamber or Solar at Sutton Courtenay Manor-house 73

23. The Lepers Begging 77

24. London before the Spire of St. Paul's was burned; showing
the Bridge, Tower, Shipping, &c. 83

25. Old St. Paul's, from the East 85

26. Old St. Paul's on Fire 87

27. West Front of St. Paul's Cathedral
Church. (Built by Sir Christopher Wren) 89

28. Paul's Cross 92

29. Bermondsey Abbey 96

30. Ruins of Gateway of Bermondsey Abbey 97

31. Christ's Hospital 99

32. Chepe in the Fifteenth Century 108

33. Large Ship and Boat of the Fifteenth Century 111

34. A Sea-Fight 113

35. Durham, Salisbury, and Worcester Houses 125

36. Bear-baiting 128

37. Shooting at the Butts with the Long-bow 129

38. Tomb of Edward III. in Westminster Abbey 132

39. The Embarkation of Henry VIII. from Dover, 1520 141

40. Coaches in the Reign of Elizabeth 148

41. The City from Southwark 150

42. South-east Part of London in the Fifteenth Century,
showing the Tower and Wall 153

43. King Edward VI. 159

44. Sir Thomas Gresham 161

45. First Royal Exchange 162

46. Shipping in the Thames, _circa_ 1660 166

47. Sir Francis Drake, in his Forty-third Year 167

48. The Globe Theatre 179

49. Civil Costume about 1620 181

50. Costume of a Lawyer 181

Ordinary Civil Costume; _temp._ Charles I.:

51. A Countryman 185

52. A Countrywoman 185

53. A Citizen 187

54. A Citizen's Wife 187

55. A Gentleman 189

56. A Gentlewoman 189

57. Lud-gate on Fire 190

58. Paul Pindar's House 191

59. London, as Rebuilt after the Fire 193

60. Coach of the latter half of the Seventeenth Century 195

61. Waggon of the second half of the Seventeenth Century 195

62. Ordinary Dress of Gentlemen in 1675 197

63. Dress of Ladies of Quality 199

64. Ordinary Attire of Women of the Lower Classes 199

65. Group showing Costumes and Sedan Chair, about 1720 202

66. Temple Bar, London 203

67. Fleet Street and Temple Bar 205

68. A Coach of the Middle of the Seventeenth Century 207

69. View of School connected with Bunyan's Meeting House 209

70. Grenadier in the time of the Peninsular War 211

71. Uniform of Sailors, about 1790 213

72. Costumes of Gentlefolk, about 1784 215

73. Vessels unloading at the Customs House, at the beginning
of the Eighteenth Century 217

74. The Old Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, 1803 221

LONDON

1. THE FOUNDATION OF LONDON.