magnate: a great man, a man of great wealth and rank. (Latin magnus, great.)
metropolitan: the bishop of a metropolis or chief cathedral city, as Canterbury is the metropolis of England in this sense.
ordinances: laws, commands.
[15. LONDON BRIDGE. PART I.]
Architect: one who designs buildings and superintends the building of them.
Jewry: the district in a town inhabited by the Jews; for in early times the Jews were not allowed to live where they liked, but only in quarters assigned to them. The street now called Old Jewry turns out of the Poultry, on the north side.
essential: something very important and that cannot be done without.
intercommunication: intercourse; dealings between people which are made much easier by having good roads and bridges to travel on.
La Rochelle: a seaport in France on the Atlantic, some distance north of Bordeaux.