Other cities have shifted their centres, but London remains as it always was. The Bank, the Royal Exchange and the Mansion House occupy ground which has been the ‘Eye of London’ since Roman times.
There is no greater mistake than to suppose that things were quiescent during the Middle Ages, for these pages at least will show that that was a time of constant change, when great questions were fought out.
The first seven chapters of this book refer to life in the Old Town. Here we see what it was to live in a walled town, what the manners of the citizens were and what was done to protect their health and morals. The following five chapters deal with the government of the city. Some notice is taken of the governors and the officials of the Corporation, the tradesmen and the churchmen.
The subject of each chapter is of enough importance to form a book by itself, and it is therefore hoped that the reader will not look for an exhaustive treatment of these subjects. There is more to be said in each place, but I have been forced to choose out of the materials that which seemed most suitable for my purpose.
During the editing of this volume a vivid picture of the mediæval life has ever been before my mind, and I can only regret that it has been so difficult to transfer that picture to paper. I can only hope that my readers may not see the difference between the conception and the performance so vividly as I do myself.
In the preparation of these pages I have received the kind assistance of more friends than I can mention here, but I wish especially to thank Mr. Hubert Hall, Mr W. H. St. John Hope, Mr. J. E. Matthew, General Milman, C.B., Mr D’Arcy Power, Sir Walter Prideaux, Sir Owen Roberts, Mr. J. Horace Round, Dr Reginald Sharpe and Sir William Soulsby, C.B.
CONTENTS
| [CHAPTER I] | |
|---|---|
| PAGE | |
| Introduction: Early History of London to the Norman Conquest | [1] |
| [CHAPTER II] | |
| The Walled Town and its Streets | [21] |
| [CHAPTER III] | |
| Round the Town with Chaucer and the Poets of his Time | [71] |
| [CHAPTER IV] | |
| The River and the Bridge | [90] |
| [CHAPTER V] | |
| The King’s Palace—The Tower | [108] |
| [CHAPTER VI] | |
| Manners | [131] |
| [CHAPTER VII] | |
| Health, Disease and Sanitation | [161] |
| [CHAPTER VIII] | |
| The Governors of the City | [218] |
| [CHAPTER IX] | |
| Officials of the City | [264] |
| [CHAPTER X] | |
| Commerce and Trade | [277] |
| [CHAPTER XI] | |
| The Church and Education | [330] |
| [CHAPTER XII] | |
| London from Mediæval to Modern Times | [375] |
| Index | [405] |
ILLUSTRATIONS
| PAGE | |
| Map of London in 1588, from William Smith’s MS. of the ‘Description of England’ (Reproduced in Colours by Lithography) | [Frontispiece] |
| Heading to Chapter I | [1] |
| Norden’s Plan of London, 1593 | [facing 21] |
| Aldgate and Priory of the Holy Trinity, from Newton’s Map of London | [facing 28] |
| Chaucer’s Pilgrims issuing from the Tabard, from Pennant’s ‘London’ | [71] |
| Old St. Paul’s, from a Drawing by Walter H. Godfrey, reconstructed from information obtained from leading authorities | [facing 86] |
| Visscher’s View of London, 1616 | [facing 90] |
| Old London Bridge from St. Olave’s Church, from a Drawing by Herbert Railton | [facing 102] |
| The Tower of London, from a Drawing by Hanslip Fletcher | [108] |
| St. John’s Chapel in the Tower, from a Drawing by Katharine Kimball | [122] |
| Duke of Orleans in the Tower, from a copy of MS. in British Museum | [facing 126] |
| North or Inside View of Traitor’s Gate, from a Drawing by Herbert Railton | [129] |
| Cheapside Cross, from a Painting of the sixteenth century | [138] |
| Seal of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and Obverse of the Common Seal of the City of London, cir. 1225 | [facing 180] |
| Rahere’s Tomb in St. Bartholomew’s Church, from a Drawing by Hanslip Fletcher | [184] |
| St. Giles’ in the Fields, from Plan in the British Museum | [193] |
| ‘London Stone,’ Cannon Street, from a Drawing by Walter H. Godfrey | [230] |
| Seal of Fitz-Ailwin, first Mayor of London | [231] |
| Seal of Robert Fitz-Walter | [269] |
| The Crypt of the Guildhall, from a Drawing by Walter H. Godfrey | [273] |
| Cloth Fair, from a Drawing by Katharine Kimball | [283] |
| Sir William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, Temple Church, from a Drawing by Hanslip Fletcher | [330] |
| Paul’s Cross, from an Original Drawing in the Pepysian Library, Cambridge | [facing 336] |
| Interior of Old St. Paul’s, from a Drawing by Walter H. Godfrey, reconstructed from information obtained from leading authorities | [339] |
| Doorway, St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate, from a Drawing by Hanslip Fletcher | [346] |
| St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, from a Drawing by Walter H. Godfrey | [347] |
| Bow Church Crypt, from a Drawing by Walter H. Godfrey | [349] |
| Church of St. Bartholomew the Great, from a Drawing by Hanslip Fletcher | [350] |
| Hall of the Charterhouse, from a Drawing by Herbert Railton | [353] |
| The Temple Church—The Round, from a Drawing by Hanslip Fletcher | [357] |
| St. John’s Gate, Clerkenwell, from a Drawing by Herbert Railton | [361] |
| The Crypt, St. John’s, Clerkenwell, from a Drawing by Walter H. Godfrey | [369] |
| Charing Cross, from the Crace Collection, British Museum | [facing 375] |
| Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey, from a Drawing by Herbert Railton | [377] |
| The Gate House and Church Tower, Lambeth Palace, from a Drawing by J. A. Symington | [379] |
| Norden’s Plan of Westminster, 1593 | [facing 385] |
| Butcher Row and Temple Bar, from a Drawing by Herbert Railton | [390] |
| Lincoln’s Inn Gateway, Chancery Lane, from a Drawing by Hanslip Fletcher | [393] |
| Gray’s Inn Hall, from a Drawing by Katharine Kimball | [395] |
| Staple Inn, from a Drawing by Herbert Railton | [397] |
| Sir Paul Pindar’s House, from a Drawing by Herbert Railton | [399] |