“In the mean time, the alterations of the Bridge itself were in continual progression; though all the buildings were not even yet removed, and the Temporary Bridge was still standing. The ‘Public Advertiser’ for Thursday, December 25th, 1760, states that ‘notice has been given to the people on the West side of London Bridge, to quit their premises by the 25th of March next.’ In the same paper, for Tuesday, February 3rd, 1761, an advertisement announces, that six houses on the West side of London Bridge, from the North end of the Temporary Bridge to the Toll House, were to be sold by auction at Guildhall, to be put up at £156: and in the paper for Wednesday, February 11th, we are informed that those houses were begun to be pulled down. In your notices, Mr. Barbican, of the tokens issued by the tradesmen of old London Bridge, you mentioned two who lived at the sign of the Bear, at the Bridge-foot, which, perhaps, was the building referred to in the following passage contained in the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Saturday, December 26th, 1761. ‘Thursday last, the workmen employed in pulling down the Bear Tavern at the foot of London Bridge, found several pieces of gold and silver coin of Queen Elizabeth, and other monies to a considerable value.’”
“By no means unlikely,” replied I, “and I may also add, that at this period was probably removed the house of the original manufacturer of Walkden’s Ink-powder, with which we are still familiar. We learn the situation of his dwelling by his Shop-bill, an impression of which is in the possession of Mr. Upcott of the London Institution, engraven on a copper plate, measuring 6¼ inches by 41⁄8. Within a double line, and beneath an ornamented compartment containing a Bell, is inscribed:—‘Richard Walkden, Stationer, at ye Bell on London Bridge, near St Magnus Church, Makes and Sells all Sorts of Accomptants and Shopkeepers Books, ye greatest Variety of Paper-Hangings for Rooms, and all other Sorts of Stationary Wares, Wholesale or Retail at the Lowest Prices. Where may be had Bibles, Common Prayers, Testaments, Psalters, &c. N. B. He is also the Maker of the Fine British Ink-Powder, for making Black Writing Ink, wch is Universally Allowed to Excell all other whatsoever, yet made, and is of the greatest Convenience for Country Shopkeepers to make their own Ink, to Sell again, as Likewise for Merchants and Sea Captains who goe or Send Ventures to Sea, to whom great allowance will be given with printed Directions of its Excellence and Use. At the same place may be had ye best Liquid Ink, in its Greatest Perfection. Customers may Depend on being Serv’d as well by Letter as if present.’ I must also take this opportunity of mentioning another Shop-bill connected with this edifice, communicated to me by Henry Smedley, Esq.; and consisting of a copper-plate executed about the latter end of the 17th century, representing a circle surrounded by fruit and foliage, having two Cupids standing at the upper corners, and containing in the centre, two palm-branches, enclosing a Sceptre surmounted by a Heart. Round the whole are suspended lancets, trepans, saws, &c., and beneath the device is engraven, ‘Samvell Grover, at the Sceptre and heart on London bridge, who maketh all sorts of Chirugeons Instruments, the best sort of Razors, pen-knives, Scissers, and Lancetts: there are also the best Hoans, and fine Fish Skin Cases.’ You may remember, Mr. Postern, that one of my former Shop Bills was that of James Brooke, Stationer, ‘near the Square on London Bridge,’ This Square was formed in the first opening on the Bridge, above the 8th Arch from the North end, called St. Mary’s Lock. It was surrounded by massive iron rails, and Mr. J. T. Smith, in his ‘Antiquities of London,’ page 26, states, that when the houses were taken down, the iron-work was bought by several inhabitants of the Parish of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, and placed upon the dwarf wall on the Eastern side of the Church yard, where it is yet to be seen.”
“I have again to offer you my thanks,” answered the Antiquary, “for your very curious and recherché illustrations; and we will now close up the year 1761 by stating, that we are informed by the ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 35, that on Monday, February 2nd, the tide flowed so short up the Thames, that at high-water there was not sufficient to cover the Sterlings; so that several persons waded over, both above, and a little below, the Bridge at low water. We may, I think, fairly consider the history of Old London Bridge terminated at this place; since the alterations we have recently described, made its features almost such as we now behold them. I should not forget, however, that one of the last pieces of poetry connected with it, was written by the famous Anne Killegrew, celebrated by Dryden, and entitled ‘On my Aunt, Mrs. A. K. Drown’d under London Bridge in the Queen’s Bardge: Anno 1641.’ You will find it printed in Southey’s ‘Specimens of the later English Poets,’ London, 1807, Octavo, volume i., page 15.
“As we are informed by the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Monday, June 7th, 1762, that the workmen had then begun to lay down the iron pipes, for the conveyance of water from London Bridge into the Borough, we may conclude that the stone-work of the edifice was then perfect; although from those pipes leaking between the stones, there arose a report that the new Bridge was falling to pieces, which was, some years after, the origin of a particular inquiry.
“The destructive effects of some very high tides which happened early in 1763, are the principal events connected with London Bridge at that period; as the ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 48, informs us that, on Tuesday, February 15th, the tide rose to such a height in the River, that many parts of Westminster were overflowed; and, below London Bridge, the inhabitants of Tooley Street were obliged to keep to their upper rooms. In the ‘Public Advertiser’ of the following Thursday, it is stated that the damage done to goods in warehouses adjoining the Thames, was estimated at upwards of £20,000; the great land-floods having occasioned the water to rise higher than it had ever been known. That the Bridge itself was in some danger, may be inferred from the same paper of Wednesday, February 23rd, where it is recorded that ‘three engines are at work driving piles, for the security of the large Arch of London Bridge; some of the small ones, it is said, will be entirely stopt, to prevent the water from ebbing away too fast.’ It was probably this circumstance that was alluded to by Mylne, the Architect, in his Report to the Corporation of London, concerning a new grant to the Water-works, made in June, 1767; and which you will find in the ‘Public Advertiser’ for Friday, July 17th. He there states, that in the beginning of 1763, the first winter after taking up the Pier from under the Great Arch, when the other Arches were stopped up with ice, the whole force of the tide rushed so violently through it, as to tear up the bed of the river, and the Sterlings, being deprived of their support, gave way, and left the foundation-piles entirely exposed to the water. He adds, too, that only to repair this damage, the sum of £6800 was expended by the Bridge Committee. Mr. Smeaton’s answers on the best manner of enlarging and improving London Bridge, delivered on March 18th, 1763, may also be seen in the paper last referred to, for Monday, July 20th, 1767, and subsequent numbers. In the same journal of Tuesday, April 15th, 1763, it had been related, that ‘the water in the Thames rose so high on Sunday, that many houses on the Surrey shore were two or three feet deep in water; and at Lambeth, the long walk by the Bishop’s Palace was overflowed, and boats were employed in the town to carry people from house to house.’
“Although the famous winter of 1766-67 continued with remarkable severity until January 16th, we find but few particulars of it connected with London Bridge; excepting that the ‘Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser’ for Monday, January 12th, states that several of its Arches were then stopped by the ice, and some accidents, which happened there, are recorded in the subsequent numbers of the same paper. In a notice of the proceedings of a Court of Common Council on Wednesday, July 30th, 1766, also contained in the ‘Gazetteer’ of the following Friday, it is stated that the Committee for conducting the recent repairs of London Bridge, made the last report of their works; in which they set forth, that they had executed the several trusts reposed in them by the Acts of Parliament which I have recited to you, and at the same time rendered an account of the money then owing for the alterations. Of these it is observed by John Gwynn, in his ‘London and Westminster Improved,’ London, 1766, quarto, page 120, Note, that they amounted to nearly £100,000, beside the materials of the houses, many of which were new. He adds, too, that the Bridge was rendered worse than it had been, by the exceeding rapidity of the stream under the Great Arch; and condemns both the appearance and effects of the Water-works. Of the remaining debt, then, the Court ordered that £3000 in the Chamberlain’s hands should be immediately paid; and that bonds should be given for the remainder, not exceeding £12,000, redeemable by the City, and bearing interest at 4 per cent. The Committee was then dissolved, and the concerns of London Bridge were again restored to that belonging to the Bridge-House Estates.
“There seems, however, to have been but little satisfaction given by the extensive alterations and improvements of this edifice; for, at the very same Court, a petition for relief was presented from the Watermen’s Company, stating that the navigation through the Great Arch of London Bridge was very dangerous, from the two adjoining Arches on the North side being stopped up; and vessels being caught in the eddy it occasioned, received considerable damage before they could escape, which had sometimes occasioned the loss of life. It was soon discovered, too, that the iron pipes belonging to the Water-works, laid across the Bridge, had greatly injured the stone-work and crowns of the Arches, by frequent leaking; whilst the piers of the Great Arch were weakened, and the current of the tide was altered, by a new Arch being granted to the Water-works. These particulars are noticed in the ‘Gazetteer’ of Thursday, October 23rd, 1766; whilst in the ‘Public Advertiser’ for Tuesday, November 4th, and the former paper for Saturday, November 22nd, a report is mentioned of entirely removing both the Bridge and Water-works, and greatly improving the whole of their vicinity. In the ‘Gazetteer,’ too, for Friday and Monday, December 5th and 8th, the dirty and dusty state of the Bridge is mentioned as arising from total neglect of cleaning and watering it, though the usual advertisements for their performance were then publishing.
“For the consideration and removal of these defects, a very fair opportunity was now offered; a Committee of the Proprietors of the Water-works having presented a petition to the Corporation, for renting, and erecting a wheel in, the 5th Arch at the North end of London Bridge, which had been referred to a Committee, to examine, and report upon. This petition was read at the Court of Common Council on Thursday, November 28th, 1765, as we learn by the ‘Public Advertiser’ of the following day; and you will find a copy of it in the same paper for Friday, July 3rd, 1767, forming part of a series of 13 official documents, on the subject, inserted in that journal down to Thursday, July 23rd, of the same year. I have already had occasion slightly to notice these proceedings, of which you may find several particulars in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for 1767, volume xxxvii., pages 337, 407; but I shall now give you some account of them from these more authentic sources, and close up my history of the Water-works with a short description of their mechanism, and final removal.
“The petition alluded to, contains a curious historical outline of the Water-works at London Bridge, tracing their gradual extension from one to four of its Arches; the leases of all which were to terminate in the year 2082, being 500 years from the time when the original grant was made, the remainder taking only the unexpired term. The 1st and 2nd Northern Arches were let for 500 years, from November 24th, 1582, at 10s. per annum; and the 4th Arch, from August 24th, 1701, for 381¼ years, also at 10s. per annum, and a fine of £300. The lease of the 3rd Arch, however,—formerly stopped up and let to a Wharfinger,—did not commence until Michaelmas day, 1761, when it was granted for the term of 321 years, at the old rent; though the Proprietors of the Water-works had made proposals for it in 1731 and 1743, when it was unoccupied, the last tenant having quitted it at Lady-day, 1718. These leases were the more readily granted, as it was supposed that the Water-works were a protection to the Bridge and the vessels below it; whilst it was asserted that the Arches they occupied were but very seldom used, and the lessees covenanted to secure their engines by piles, as well as to keep the Piers and Sterlings built upon, in proper repair. Their fire-plugs, too, were to be under the direction of the Committee of City-Lands; the Works were not to rise higher than the cellars of the buildings on London Bridge; and houses in general, in the City and its liberties, were to be supplied with water at 20s. per annum. In petitioning for a fifth Arch, it was represented, that, notwithstanding the great expense incurred for the Water-works, the engine was yet inadequate to the furnishing at all times a sufficient supply of water. The wheels under the other four Arches would never act with the same velocity as they did before the late alteration of the Bridge; but as the 5th Arch stood nearer the central current of the River, the continual flowing of the tide would give the works additional power, without being any obstacle to the navigation. On the other hand, however, several counter-petitions were presented from the Wharfingers and Lightermen, stating the dangerous eddy at the Great Arch, arising from the closing of those Arches called the Long Entry and Chapel Locks, to give force to the current at the Water-works; and praying that they might be opened, the middle of the River kept free, or that two Arches at the South end might be closed instead of them. We have already seen, that these suits made but slow progress; and accordingly we find that the petition from the Water-works was first referred to a Sub-committee by the Committee of City-Lands, on Wednesday, December 4th, 1765; to the Committee itself on Friday, November 28th, 1766: and on Tuesday, December 16th, their Report was delivered to the Court of Common Council. Before these Committees, the Proprietors of the Water-works appeared on Tuesday, October 21st, and Wednesday, November 19th, 1766; when the complaints of their pipes leaking, and the navigation being endangered, were stated, and remedies ordered to be provided. They were also asked, whether they would undertake, on forfeiture of their lease, ‘to keep their engine at work during the times of dead high and low-water, when their wheels lay still, provided they had leave to raise their tenants 1s. yearly for every house.’ To this they ultimately agreed, the additional rent being made 2s.; and to remedy the leakage of such pipes as lay across the Bridge for the supply of Southwark, it was proposed that they should be entirely removed, the first Arch on the Surrey side of the Bridge being stopped up, and a wheel erected in the second, 10s. per annum being paid for each, whilst the Long Entry and Chapel Locks were to be re-opened. Such then were the measures recommended in the Committee’s Report, as being without danger and of general benefit; but before they were acceded to, these particulars were ordered to be printed, and a copy sent to some of the most eminent Surveyors of the time, Messrs. Brindley, Smeaton, Yeoman, Mylne, and Wooler, whose answers were read to the Common Council, on Wednesday, February 25th, 1767. At the same time, too, as we are informed by the ‘Gazetteer’ of the day following, the Proprietors of the Water-works were heard upon the subject of their alterations, though the decision was referred to the next Court. The Engineers generally agreed, that by opening the Long Entry and Chapel Locks, taking away the water-pipes upon the Bridge, erecting a wheel in the 5th Arch, and occupying the farthest two on the Surrey side, the edifice and navigation would be generally improved. Mr. Mylne, however, recommended that the 5th Arch should not be granted; but that so many Arches at the South end should be wholly stopped, as would be equal to compensate the Water-works for their loss by the Great Arch; adding, that the pipes were slowly, but certainly, ruining the Bridge; and that a Water-company, then established in Southwark, should be encouraged to supply the whole of the Borough. The Corporation, however, did not yet come to a decision, but on Friday, March 13th, 1767, the Town Clerk was again ordered to solicit the Engineers to re-consider the subject, and to point out the course most proper to be followed. The second series of answers, which was read at a Court of Common Council, on Tuesday, June 23rd, chiefly confirmed and referred to the former. Messrs. Wooler and Mylne were, however, decidedly against any new grants to the Water-works, of which they earnestly recommended the removal, as well as the opening of the closed-up Arches; proposing to substitute a horse, or fire, engine, on both sides of the river, or closing up three Arches on the Surrey shore. Mr. Yeoman also recommended the taking away of the Water-works; whilst Mr. Smeaton, considering that the bed of the Thames had become so unequal that it would require several centuries to restore its level, argued that the stoppage of London Bridge was useful both to the Water-works and navigation in general, and that it remained only to employ the force of water in the most beneficial manner. By his Report the Corporation seems to have been determined; since the ‘Gazetteer’ of June 24th states, that Mr. Mylne was examined, and, after a long debate, the 5th Arch was granted to the Water-works, upon the conditions already mentioned: though there were, subsequently, several disputes on points of law, and particularly upon the power which the Corporation had to grant away the passage of a navigable river.
“The ‘Gazetteer’ for Monday, Dec. 28th, 1767, informs us that the two Arches adjoining the South end of the Bridge were, at length, then stopped up, and wheels preparing to be erected in each of them; and on the 30th, most of the Locks at that part of the edifice were entirely closed by the ice. It was not, however, until the year 1770, as we are informed in Concannen’s ‘History of Southwark,’ page 233, that the Borough Water-works were perfected by the erection of a Steam-Engine; though a part of the machinery was originally erected on the River-banks for the supply of Mr. Thrale’s Brewery, when it was worked by horses. These works were then known by the name of their proprietor, which was afterwards changed for that of the Company which bought them: and an engine erected, wherein the pressure of the atmosphere acted upon the Steam-piston.