Where little villains must submit to fate
That great ones may enjoy the world in state;
There stands a dome majestic to the sight,
And sumptuous arches bear its oval height;
A golden globe, placed high with artful skill
Seems, to the distant sight, a gilded pill.
Whatever its exterior defects may have been, the theatre within was arranged with masterly skill so as to enable all the students to see and hear during the lectures and demonstration. The difficult science of acoustics was one to which Wren gave much attention, and his churches are, in this respect, very successful. The Physicians retained the college Wren built for them until very recent times, when they moved into the present building which does not adorn Trafalgar Square.
Not all the Halls belonging to the City Companies perished by the fire, though many suffered severely. Wren, and Jarman, the City Architect, rebuilt and repaired some seventy-nine of them.[205]
Of these, a large number have been altered or pulled down, but a few may be mentioned.
The Mercers’ Hall in Cheapside; the Grocers’, a portion of which was long used by the Bank of England; the Haberdashers’, where the rich ceiling was its great ornament; the Tallow Chandlers’, with its interior colonnade and its fountain; the Apothecaries’, one of the largest in the City; the Stationers’; and, last but not least, the Alderman’s Court adjoining Guildhall, rebuilt almost immediately after the fire; a very handsome room, rich in carving, and finely proportioned.