London, Volume 1
Knight, Charles
1841
The Monument.
The Monument.
In the sold by its keeper, we are told the view from the top and no doubt the prospect is correctly described : a matter of not very common occurrence. In provokingly close neighbourhood to the foregoing passage we find a statement of the hours of admission, from which it appears the Monument is open from in the morning from Lady-day to Michaelmas-day, and the remainder of the year from , till sunset. Thus, the only period when London can be properly seen, that of sunrise, when, in the noble lines of Wordsworth,--
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430 | This period is carefully shut out; and we can only look at the great metropolis through the dense and discoloured medium of the smoke arising from the habitations of millions of people. Well, until the Corporation in its goodness shall direct some alteration, we must make the best of the matter as it is; and so we are now ascending with many a pause the spiral staircase, with its black marble steps, which leads to the summit. This is well lighted in the base by or large openings, and above by narrow slits in the wall. The breadth of the interior, feet from wall to wall, appears somewhat surprising to who sees it for the time, and has formed his notions of it from the exterior view. We are still ascending, and now the steps are growing sensibly shorter, the walls approach nearer to each other, we are not far from the top. With renewed vigour we are about to run up the little remaining distance, when the attendant lays his stick across in front to debar all advances without him. This conduct he explains by stating that, in consequence of the recent cases of suicide (which every will remember), he has imposed on him the duty of being always present when there are any visitors on the balcony. We have gained the top at last, and what a scene is before, around, beneath us! The wind is blowing freshly and vigorously, and, to add to the self-possession of the visitor, the attendant encouragingly observes he would not stand there for a trifle if the railings were absent. With a shiver we assent to the pertinency of the remark; and placing our back for greater safety against the continuation of the pillar in the centre, and reminding ourselves that it is true that the very edifice itself is, as has sometimes been considered, dangerous, and that the idea arose from the fact of the Monument having been at used for astronomical observations, for which it was soon found unfit from the vibrations natural to such an erection, however secure in its build, we commence our brief survey. Though the view is not, and cannot be under such an atmosphere, very extensive, it is that (out of London) the world cannot parallel. It is not beautiful--that sea of house-tops, with and countless other churches and public buildings rising up from its surface as from so many islands;--it is not sublime, in the physical idea of the words;--yet indeed in whose mind no sense of beauty and sublimity was raised as he gazed on that wonderful congregation of human homes. | |||||||||||||||
The door from the staircase to the balcony faces the east; in that direction therefore we are now sending our inquiring glance. The Tower, with its great keep, is the object of attention, of which we remember Fitz-Stephen says, To the left of the Tower the long facade of the Mint arrests the eye, whilst to the right aye see the roof of the , and the tiers of shipping moored in far away into the distance. Near, and directly in front of us, is the fairy-looking spire of St. Dunstan's in the East, of the many churches we see around whose history is connected with that of the Monument by a close tie, as having arisen like the latter from the ashes of the Great Fire. Beyond, interminable lines of docks are dimly descried, and on a clear day the hills of Kent, or miles off. On the other side of the river a bright column of smoke and the sharp whistle of the engine direct us to the train of the Greenwich Railway just starting. Turning the corner of the pillar, we behold on the south | ||||||||||||||||
431 | the countless chimneys of the breweries and other manufactories of rising up against the background of the Surrey hills, and the lofty piles of warehouses which edge the river bank, over of which the church of St. Mary Overies rears its lofty and proud-looking tower, as though indignant at the unfitness of its humbler neighbours for such antique and romance-honoured walls. The bridges, those glorious architectural triumphs, and the curving Thames which they bestride, form a highly picturesque feature from the Monument. There is , the youngest, and perhaps the noblest of the whole, with the Fishmongers' Hall at its foot; and Blackfriars in a tolerably straight line; then comes Waterloo crossing the curve; and beyond, the Thames, with the black sluggish barges so characteristic of this part of the river, is lost to our smoke-bedimmed vision. But though the bridge of is invisible, not so its famous Abbey: there it stands, with its dark body and lofty towers advanced city-wards, as if to defend its sacred precincts from the inroads of irreligion and wickedness, ever rife in populous places. But the great feature of the scene is the view westwards of . Its vast size and noble proportions are perhaps from no other spot so strikingly developed. Instead of looking down upon it, as we do, or appear to do, upon every other object, we have rather the sense of looking up to it even from this elevation of feet. Neither does the mass of houses around it appear at all to lessen its height or form. It might stand upon them; so grandly does it appear to rise--base, cupola, and cross-above all obstructions. On the north there is little to attract attention: churches and house-roofs, house-roofs and churches, extend from the farthest point of sight down to the base of the column on which we stand, and require no more particular notice; unless we may just mention that, among the other buildings particularly conspicuous, stand the lofty to the left, and the tall tower of the Railway to the right. We may conclude this hasty sketch of our view from the Monument on a gusty August afternoon by or general remarks. What has been called the natural basin of London may thence be seen very clearly, although its edges are not distinctly definable in some parts. Looking round from , we have Highgate, Hampstead, the elevated land to the left of , the Surrey and Kent hills. And nearly the whole of this vast area is occupied by London! for few indeed are the spaces vacant of houses which the eye can detect even from the balcony of the Monument. How different would have been the view presented from the same spot prior to the erection of the Monument, and the event which it commemorates, years ago, had there then been any means of obtaining such an elevation; when , Hackney, , and were suburban villages, with many a pleasant field between them and London; when and showed more trees than habitations; and when was a long building with transepts projecting from the centre, north and south, and with a square tower rising upwards at the point of their intersection! A and still more extraordinary view has yet to be mentioned--the view which met the eye of the well-known diarist Pepys, when he went up to the top of Barking Church, and there saw the perhaps ever beheld. But let us not anticipate. | |||||||||||||||
It was on the says Pepys, the , that | ||||||||||||||||
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The conflagration, which in so short a space had exhibited its destructive character, broke out some time after midnight, in the house of Farryner, the King's baker, in . This person stated, in his evidence before a Committee of the , that he had, after o'clock on Saturday night, gone through every room, and found no fire but in chimney, where the room was paved with bricks, which fire he diligently. raked up in embers. As a matter of fact, this was all he could state: as to his opinions, he expressed himself as decidedly satisfied that his house must have been purposely fired. Whatever its origin, the progress of the fire was most startling,--we should say wonderful, but that the construction of the houses-generally timber, pitched over on the outside--the thatched roofs, and the narrowness of the streets, where the buildings of the opposite sides almost touched each other, were all evidently calculated to facilitate in the very highest degree the ravages of the fearful element. Nor was this all. The month of August had been characterised by an extraordinary drought, and the timber of the houses had been as it were half burnt already by the continual heat; and lastly, during nearly the whole time the fire lasted, a furious east wind blew; making in all such an unhappy conjunction of circumstances, that we need not wonder that other than pious people looked with fear and trembling on the event, as some more than ordinary visitation of an offended Deity. | ||||||||||||||||
The then Lord Mayor, on whose steadiness, judgment, and boldness so much depended, appears to have been unequal to the occasion; and thus, the few hours being lost without any decisive measures, all was lost. Early in the forenoon Pepys went to , and received from the King a command to bid the Mayor After long search, Pepys Soon after he Pepys's observing eye noticed also that the
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In the afternoon Pepys is on the The peculiar form of the great body of flame is also referred to by the Rev. T. Vincent, in his tract called who says finely, Evelyn, who, like Pepys, Was an eye-witness, and described only what he saw, | ||||||||||||||||
434 | was also at the , , but later in the evening, when he beheld an awful picture. he says, Mr. Vincent also says,-- From the same authority we obtain or other interesting glimpses of the splendid horrors of this the night:--
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During Monday, the , the fire extended as far as the Middle Temple westwards, and eastwards, including, besides the streets already mentioned, all , the , , , Newgate, , , , and ; the stones of Paul's flying, says Evelyn, its melting lead flowing through the streets in a stream, the pavements everywhere and the east wind all the time still driving the flames impetuously forward. writes the reverend gentleman before mentioned,
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By Tuesday, the , the fire had reached the end of in , and the entrance of Smithfield. But now the wind somewhat abated, and the spirits of the people rose in a still greater proportion. Instead of pulling down houses by as they had before done, gunpowder was used, which soon produced gaps too wide to be overleaped by the fire; a measure that, according to Evelyn, About noon the fury of the flames began sensibly to abate in most parts, although they burned as fiercely as ever towards Cripplegate and the Tower. But the fire was gradually checked here also by the same means. | ||||||||||||||||
On the Pepys was once more waked by , a species of alarm that continued for some days to distract the attention of the miserable population when the great conflagration was dying away among the ruins it had made. He was, however, able to walk through some of the principal streets; and on the his fellow diarist took a still longer and more careful survey. The description of the scene which met his eye appears to us of the most painfully interesting pictures of desolation we ever read. From the inscription on the north side of the Monument it appears that the total amount of destruction was [n.437.1] The limits of the fire may be thus traced :--Temple Church, Bridge, Pye Corner, Smithfield, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, near the end of , at the end of by the Postern, at the upper end of , in , by the Standard in , at the Church in , by the Clothworkers' Hall, at the middle of , and at the Tower Dock. The part of the City left standing within the walls contained parishes, occupying an area of acres. And this was all that the Great Fire had left of London! A table of estimates of the loss is given in Maitland's which amounts to nearly | ||||||||||||||||
We have seen from the preceding extracts that the King and his brother exerted themselves greatly in endeavouring to check the progress of the fire, to preserve as far as possible something like order in the midst of so much inevitable confusion, and to ameliorate the unhappy condition of the inhabitants thus suddenly deprived of their homes, and dispersed through the open country, [n.437.2] In a manuscript from the secretary's office, quoted by Dr. Echard in his we have a picture of the which places him in a very favourable light.-- Conduct like this was calculated to attract the popular favour, as it deserved; and the poets were not slow in commemorating it in verse sufficiently panegyrical, whatever other defects it might exhibit. Here is specimen from The Conflagration of London Poetically Delineated, by Sir J. L., Knight and Baronet, , which must make the most serious smile, in spite of the awful nature of the subject :
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We return to more serious matters. The origin of so awful a calamity was of course the very object that engaged the attention of the King and the Parliament after the lapse of the few anxious days. A Committee was appointed on the of the same month. The report was made on the d of January following, by Sir Richard Brook, chairman, who stated that they had received which they now laid before the House. The evidence was of the , New Style, written from Dural to a gentleman lodging in the house of of the ministers of the French Crown in London, called Monsieur Herault: these were the expressions :-- Mrs. Elizabeth Styles informed the Committee that a French servant of Sir Vere Fan had said to her in April last, and, on her answering, he replied, William Tinsdale heard Fitz-Harris, an Irish Papist, say, about the beginning of July, other witnesses reported conversations of a very similar nature, in each case being the prophets. This was line of evidence. The next, could it be depended on, was very much more to the purpose. This was the confession of at the instigation of Stephen Piedloe, who came out of France with him, by putting a fire-ball at the end of a long pole, and lighting it with a piece of match which he put in at a window. He had also, he said, Mr. Graves, a French merchant, living in , declared he knew Hubert to be and that, having visited him in gaol, the latter had confessed himself guilty, remarking he had not done it which Piedloe had promised him on his return to France. remarks the report, The well-informed Mr. Graves was also acquainted with Piedloe, who was The baker, Farryner, being examined, said it was impossible any fire could happen in his house by accident; for he had, as before mentioned, after of the clock that night, gone through every room thereof, and found no fire but in chimney, where the room was paved with bricks, which fire he diligently raked up in embers. Lastly, Hubert was sent under guard to which he did with perfect accuracy. | ||||||||||||||||
The species of evidence related to the fireballs and other combustible matter said to be thrown into various houses during the days: Daniel Weymanset, Esq., Dr. John Parker saw some thrown into a shop in the ; witnesses all agreed that they saw a person flinging something into a house near St. Antholine's church, and that thereupon the house was on fire .... and when this was done there was no fire near the place. Testimony of a somewhat similar nature was offered by other persons. Lastly, Mr. Freeman, of , brewer, found in his house, which had been lately burnt, about a quarter of an hour before that happened, a paper with a ball of wild-fire in the nave of a wheel; and Mr. Richard Harwood, being near the Feathers tavern, by , on the , Thus far the report. Additions were subsequently made of a similar, but certainly not more trustworthy, character. Then follows the report of the The very heading of this last report shows the of the then Parliament; yet the Committee of that House, in making the report before mentioned, . This is surely a significant fact. Hubert have fired the house; there have been wicked, mischievous, and discontented individuals who endeavoured to increase the horrors of the time in the modes described in the evidence; yet how much of this evidence might not be explained by the general excitement of mind in which all the witnesses must have participated, and by the important remark of Pepys already transcribed concerning the which he expressly says set fire to houses which the conflagration had not reached! But, at all events, that no large body of people, whether foreigners or Papists, were concerned in the affair, seems to us to be partly proved by the very absence of such a charge in the Committee's report; but still more by the facts that, , it is impossible to discover how the body chiefly suspected, could have been benefited by | ||||||||||||||||
440 | the destruction of the metropolis of their country; and secondly, that , when--on the hypothesis of their guilt-success had rewarded their atrocious efforts, and they had only to reap the harvest they desired. As to Hubert, although, according to Clarendon, neither the judge nor any person present at his trial believed his story, but all saw that he was a poor distracted wretch, weary of his life, and anxious to part with it, yet the jury found him guilty, and the King and the judges, notwithstanding their conviction of his insanity, allowed him to be executed! says Bishop Kennet, in his
And Mr. Hawles, in his remarks upon Fitz-Harris's trial, is bold to say that, We must add still more important piece of evidence. Maitland says that The truth appears to be that Hubert was insane; and yet the poor creature was executed! This is dreadful work to have taken place in England only years ago. Nor does it seem to have been done as a sacrifice to the popular frenzy. It is stated in the [n.440.2] and we find no evidence to the contrary, that It is gratifying to be able to add, from the same authority, that during this unhappy period
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In addition to the distress and alarm felt by all during the fire, and the loss and physical privations it entailed for some time on the greater part of the population, it left an immense amount of difficulty and trouble behind in connexion with the arrangements necessary for the rebuilding. The King and the Government had now a painful duty to perform. On the hand, they saw the necessity of preventing a new London from arising on the ruins of the old, liable to all the same dangers and inconveniences; and, in an affair of such magnitude, some little time for consideration was indispensable:--on the other, they beheld persons bivouacking without the ruins of their late homes, all clamorous for the re-erection of their dwellings, shops, and warehouses, and who, in their extremity, were unwilling to listen to any schemes of amelioration which should cause a single day's delay. There was also the very delicate task to perform of carefully restoring to each person his own land or situation, for the general destruction had erased so many of the ordinary marks that official supervision and control were indispensable. This part of the business was intrusted to a court of judicature, consisting of the principal judges, who fortunately gave such general satisfaction that the City caused all their portraits to be painted. As to the rebuilding, the man was at hand who could have enabled the King without delay to devise | ||||||||||||||||
441 | whatever measures were required for the safety and splendour of the new metropolis. When Evelyn, who formed a plan for the rebuilding, took it to Charles a few days after the fire, he found Sir Christopher Wren had been before him; and we cannot but observe that there was something more than ordinarily remarkable in the fact that an architect of Wren's genius should have appeared at the precise moment that he was so much wanted, and when such a | |||||||||||||||
it appears that he was now Evelyn's plan, we may here observe, also included several piazzas of various forms, of which would have formed an oval, with in the centre. It differed from Wren's chiefly in proposing a street from the church of St. Dunstan's in the East to the cathedral, and in having no quay or terrace along the river. | ||||||||||||||||
continues the author of the
Thus [n.442.1] The best, however, was done under the circumstances that could be done; and the result was that, when London was rebuilt, which was accomplished in an almost incredibly short space of time ( houses being erected in the years), it was found little more convenient than before, but a good deal more magnificent as far as the public buildings were concerned, and, being built of brick and stone, altogether infinitely more safe. It appears also to have become in the transformation more healthy; the plague, which the year before had carried off persons, disappeared from that time. | ||||||||||||||||
Instead of the present Monument, which was commenced in and completed in , after the design here shown was proposed by Sir Christopher, and it is unfortunate that the authorities could not be convinced of its superior fitness for the object desired. It was of somewhat less proportion than the existing Monument, namely, Not only was this most happy, because most appropriate, design rejected, but in that which followed an alteration was made, | ||||||||||||||||
443 | decidedly injurious to its effect, and in opposition to the architect's wishes. He had proposed to place a colossal statue in brass gilt of the King, as founder of | |||||||||||||||
the new city, on the top of the pillar, or else a figure erect of a woman crowned with turrets, holding a sword and cap of maintenance, with other ensigns of the City's grandeur and re-erection. The flames, however, we suppose, pleased the learned persons who sat in judgment, though the design of which they formed so characteristic a feature did not; so, like other architectural judges nearer our own day, they cut off the feature from where it was appropriate, and placed it where it was not-hence the gilt bunch, representative of flames, of the present structure; On the completion of the Monument, the genius of Cibber, the well-known sculptor of the figures of the lunatics on the gates of old Bethlehem Hospital, was put in requisition to decorate the front part of the pedestal with an emblematical representation of the destruction and restoration of the City. It is not, however, of the happiest of his efforts. The work is in alto and bas-relief, and contains numerous figures, symbols, and decorations. We have already transcribed a portion of the inscription on the north side of the Monument; that on the south commemorates what was done for the improvement of London in its rebuilding; another, on the east, the names of the Mayors of London who held office during its erection; and beneath this was originally a , ascribing the fire to the which was cut away in the reign of James, then restored in deep characters during that of William III., and again erased a few years ago by a vote of the Corporation. Our readers are of course aware that it is to this Pope refers in his famous line where he says the Monument,
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In conclusion, it may be observed that Wren's plan would undoubtedly have secured to us both of the great objects which should be sought in all our Metropolitan improvements, namely-complete and universally uninterrupted communication between all parts, and the increase of architectural beauty. But is it not too often forgotten, whilst the failure of that plan is being regretted, that it may in all its essential features? We do not mean to say that London can ever be brought to correspond with the design shown in our pages, nor is it necessary. or great lines of communication from end of London to the other; streets broad in proportion to their use, and the narrowest not too narrow for health or convenience; a quay along the bank of the river; and insulation of public structures, that is to say those worthy of such distinction; | ||||||||||||||||
444 | are, we consider, the chief features of the great architect's proposals. What is to prevent us from realising all these now? Considerable progress has been made, or is making, already, with regard to the points; we hope yet to inhale the fresh breezes by the side of the pleasantest, because most of and with regard to the better display of our public edifices, we are willing to look upon the improvements made around the Monument since the following drawing was taken as the commencement of a good work, of which the opening of the area around the same architect's greatest work, , shall be the next and more important fruit. | |||||||||||||||
Footnotes: [n.437.1] From the translation of the Latin inscription given in Maitland. [n.437.2] Evelyn. [n.440.2] Book viii. p. 899. [n.442.1] Wren's Parentalia, p. 269. |
