Canonbury was most pleasantly and conveniently situated. We can imagine the beautiful view they had from thence, standing, as it did, in the midst of the country, and surrounded by trees and orchards; in the far distance, in one direction, the silver Thames might be traced for miles; on the other, the old city lying quietly in its picturesque antiquity, and the tower of the Priory Church seen in advance of St. Paul’s, the intervening space not covered as now by buildings, and the atmosphere darkened by dense clouds of smoke.
At the general dissolution of Abbeys and religious houses under Henry VIII., the Priory of St. Bartholomew, with the Manor of Canonbury, was surrendered to the King, Oct. 25, 1539.
The Manor was, in 1539, bestowed on Thomas, Lord Cromwell, Lord Great Chamberlain of England, the chief instrument in dissolving the Monasteries and depressing the Clergy, Jan. 6th, 1539-40. Cromwell was created Earl of Essex, April 17th, 1540; committed to the Tower, July 9th; accused of high treason and heresy, July 19th; and beheaded, July 28th, when Canonbury reverted to the Crown. It was granted by Edward VI., 1547, in exchange for the site of the Priory of Tamworth, and in consideration of the sum of £1252 6s. 3d., to John Dudley of Warwick. This nobleman mortgaged it in 1549 to John Yorke, Esq., Citizen and Merchant Tailor of London, for £1660, but redeemed it in a very short time, and by deed of conveyance, dated July 18th, 4th of Edward VI., conveyed it back to the King, who after keeping it two years, restored it by a fresh grant to John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland; who in a few months was attainted and beheaded, August 22nd, 1553, under Queen Mary, who then granted it in 1557 to Thomas Lord Wentworth; who alienated it in 1570 to John, afterwards John Spenser, Knight and Baronet of Walsingfield, Suffolk, from his great wealth called rich Spenser; of whom is related the following anecdote:—In Queen Elizabeth’s time a pirate of Dunkirk laid a plot with twelve of his mates to carry off Sir John Spenser, which, if he had done, £50,000 had not redeemed him. He came over the seas in a shallop, with twelve musketeers, and in the night arrived at Barking Creek, leaving the shallop in custody of six of his men; with the other six he came as far as Islington, and there hid themselves in ditches near the path along which Sir John always came to his house; but by the providence of God, Sir John, upon some extraordinary occasion, was forced to stay in London that night, otherwise they had taken him away; and they, fearing they should be discovered, in the night-time returned to their shallop, and so came safe to Dunkirk again. He died at an advanced age, March 30th, 1609, and was buried at St. Helen’s, Bishopgate.
Sir John had by his Lady, Alice Broomhall, one sole daughter and heiress, Elizabeth; according to tradition, carried off from Canonbury House in a baker’s basket, by contrivance of William second Lord Compton, Lord President of Wales, to whom, in 1594, she was married.
Lord Compton met with a very singular death; after he had waited on the King at supper, and had also supped, he took a boat to wash himself in the Thames; as soon as he was up to his knees in the water, he was attacked with the colic, and cried out, “Have me into the boat again, or I am a dead man,” and died a few hours afterwards, June 24, 1630. He was created Earl of Northampton twelve years before his death.
Canonbury Tower has still a very quaint appearance; its walls are in some parts covered with ivy, and in the garden at the back may still be seen some mulberry trees, probably planted by Bolton, or, at all events, produced from the trees he planted. Undoubtedly he passed many pleasant hours in these grounds. From a fish-pond, formerly in these premises, well stocked with the finny tribe, was the supply drawn to furnish the good Prior’s table on Fridays, when he fasted, or on other days when forbidden to eat meat. The edifice, with its domestic offices, spacious garden grounds and park, covered nearly the whole site of what is now called Canonbury Place.
One large house, having a tower of brick 17 feet square and 60 feet high, which still retains much of its original character, is the most striking remains; Prior Bolton is supposed to have erected this portion.
The two principal rooms are situate on the first and second storeys, facing Canonbury Lane; are each 20 feet square and 12 feet high, handsomely fitted with a wainscot of oak from floor to ceiling in a complete state of preservation, which appears to have been done by Sir John Spenser during his residence at Canonbury.