Fairly we marched on, till our approach Within the spacious passage of the Strand Objected to our sight a summer broach Yclep'd a Maypole, which, in all our land,

No city, town, nor street can parallel; Nor can the lofty spire of Clerkenwell- Although we have the advantage of a rock- Perch up more high his turning weather-cock.

It is said by all the antiquaries who have written on the subject of London topography, that the present church of [extra_illustrations.3.84.1]  the site of the spot on which in the olden time was set up the Maypole which the sour-visaged Puritans pulled down as dangerous to the morals of youth. It was called

St. Mary's

as a matter of course, because its predecessor, which stood on the south side of the Strand, and was demolished by the Protector Somerset, was dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin.

In accordance with an Act passed in the reign of Queen Anne, for building new churches in and around the metropolis, this site was fixed on for the of these sacred edifices, which must have been much needed, on account of the growth of the population westward of St. Clement Danes. The stone of it was laid in , but it was not till years later, as we have said, thatit was actually consecrated. Gibbs was the architect, and in his own account of says it was the building he was employed upon after his

A sad accident happened at this spot during the procession of royalty to on the proclamation of peace in . Just as the heralds came abreast of the building, a man who was standing on the roof of the church happened to lay his hand on of the stone arms upon the parapet, knocked it down upon the crowd below, and so killed persons.

If we may believe the statement of David Hume, it was in this church that [extra_illustrations.3.86.2] ,I

the Young Pretender,

The author of

Walks through London

at the digging the foundation for the

St. Mary-le-Strand

Church, the virgin earth was discovered at the depth of

nineteen

feet; a proof that the ground in this neighbourhood originally was not much higher than the Thames. This village was, therefore, truly denominated the Strand, from its situation on the bank of the river. Where

Catherine Street

now stands a stream of water ran into the Thames. Over this, in the Strand, was a bridge called Strand Bridge.

Nearly opposite to is the Strand Theatre. The house is small, and at time was commonly known as the

Bandbox.

The original Church of was built under the dedication of

The Nativity of our Lady and the Innocents,

St. Ursula of the Strand.

a stone building or conduit over a spring.

The Maypole, to which we have already referred as formerly standing on the site of the church of , was called by the Puritans of the

last remnants of vile heathenism, round which people in holiday times used to dance, quite ignorant of its original intent and meaning.

The Citie's Loyaltie Displayed,

This tree was a most choice and remarkable piece; 'twas made below bridge and brought in

two

parts up to

Scotland Yard

, near the king's palace, and from thence it was conveyed,

April 14, 1661

, to the Strand, to be erected. It was brought with a streamer flourishing before it, drums beating all the way, and other sorts of musick. It was supposed to be so long that landsmen could not possibly raise it. Prince James, Duke of York, Lord High Admiral of England, commanded

twelve

seamen off aboard ship to come and officiate the business; whereupon they came, and brought their cables, pullies, and other tackling, and

six

great anchors. After these were brought

three

crowns, borne by

three

men bareheaded, and a streamer displaying all the way before them, drums beating and other musick playing, numerous multitudes of people thronging the streets, with great shouts and acclamations, all day long. The Maypole then being joined together and looped about with bands of iron, the crown and cane, with the king's arms richly gilded, was placed on the head of it; a large hoop, like a balcony, was about the middle of it. Then, amid sounds of trumpets and drums, and loud cheerings, and the shouts of the people, the Maypole, far more glorious, bigger, and higher than ever any

one

that stood before it, was raised upright, which highly did please the Merrie Monarch and the illustrious Prince, Duke of York; and the little children did much rejoice, and ancient people did clap their hands, saying golden days began to appear.

finely decked with purple scarfs, in their half-shirts, with a tabor and a pipe, the ancient music, and danced round about the Maypole.

The setting up of this Maypole is said to have been the deed of a blacksmith, John Clarges, who lived hard by, and whose daughter Anne had been so fortunate in her matrimonial career as to secure for her husband no less a celebrated person than General Monk, Duke of Albemarle, in the reign of Charles II., when courtiers and princes did not always look to the highest rank for their wives. With her is connected a story which may best be told, perhaps, by a brief outline of a certain in which her name figures prominently :--

During the trial of an action for trespass between William Sherwin, plaintiff, and Sir Walter Clarges, Baronet, defendant, at the bar of King's Bench, in

November, 1700

, the following circumstance occurred :--The plaintiff, as heir and representative of Thomas Monk, Esq., elder brother of George, Duke of Albemarle, claimed the manor of Sutton, in Yorkshire, and other lands in Newton, Eaton Bridge, and Shipton, as heirat- law to the said duke, against the defendant, to whom they had been left by his only son and successor, Christopher, the

second

duke, who died without issue in

1688

.

In the course of the trial some very curious particulars were disclosed with respect to the family of Anne Clarges, the wife of George, the Duke of Albemarle.

It appeared that she was daughter of John Clarges, a farrier in the Savoy, who was farrier to the duke, then Colonel Monk. She was married in

1632

, in the church of St. Lawrence Pountney, to Thomas Ratford, son of another man of the same name, who had been a farrier and a servant in the employment of Prince Charles, and resident in the Mews (no doubt the

King's Mews

at

Charing Cross

). She had a daughter who was born in

1634

, and who died at

four

years old. She lived with her husband at the

Three

Spanish Gipsies, in the New Exchange, in the Strand, and sold such things as washballs, powder, and gloves, and also taught girls plain work. About

1647

she was acting as sempstress to Colonel Monk, and used to carry him his linen. In

1648

her father and mother died, and in the following year she and her husband fell out and parted, but no certificate from any parish register could be produced to prove his burial. However, in

1652

, she was married at the church of St. George,

Southwark

, to General George Monk, and was delivered in the following year of a son, Christopher, who, as stated above, became, or at all events was called, the

second

duke, and who died in

1688

. Several witnesses were brought forward to swear that they had seen Thomas Ratford, her Grace's

first

husband, alive as lately as

January, 1669

-

70

, many years after her marriage with the

first

duke and the birth of the

second

. In opposition to this evidence, it was alleged that all along, during the lives of Dukes George and Christopher, this matter was never questioned; that the latter was universally received as the son of the former; and further, that the matter had been thrice already tried at the bar of the King's Bench, and the defendant had gained

three

verdicts. A witness swore that he owed Ratford

five

or

six pounds

, which he had never demanded; and a man who had married a cousin of the Duke of

Albemarle had been told by his wife that Ratford died

five

or

six

years before the duke married. In summing up, Lord Chief Justice Holt told the jury, If you are certain that Duke Christopher was born while Thomas Ratford was living, you must find for the plaintiff. If you believe that he was born after Ratford was dead, or that nothing appears what became of him after Duke George married his wife, you must find for the defendant. In the end a verdict was given for the defendant,. who was only son to Sir Thomas Clarges, Knight, brother of the duchess, and who was created a baronet in

1674

.

, at the north-east corner of the church of , was formerly called Maypole Alley, but early in the last century was changed to its present name, after John Holles, Duke of Newcastle, the then owner of the property, and the name has been transferred to another place not far off. At the junction of and , on the north side, close to the Olympic Theatre, is a narrow court, which is now known as Maypole Alley, near which stood the forge of John Clarges, the blacksmith, alluded to above as having set up the Maypole at the time of the Restoration.

As all earthly glories are doomed in time to fade, so this gaily-bedecked Maypole, after standing for upwards of years, had become so decayed in the ground, that it was deemed necessary to replace it by a new . Accordingly, it was removed in , and a new erected in its place a little further to the west, nearly opposite to , where now stands a drinking fountain. It was set up on the in that year, with great joy and festivity, but it was destined to be short-lived. When this latter Maypole was taken down in its turn, Sir Isaac Newton, who lived near Leicester Fields, bought it from the parishioners, and sent it as a present to his friend, the Rev. Mr. Pound, at Wanstead in Essex, who obtained leave from his squire, Lord Castlemaine, to erect it in Wanstead Park, for the support of what then was the largest telescope in Europe, being feet in length. It was constructed by Huygens, and presented by him to the Royal Society, of which he was a member. It had not long stood in the park, when morning some amusing verses were found affixed to the Maypole, alluding to its change of position and employment. They are given by Pennant as follows:--

Once I adorned the Strand, But now have found My way to Pound On Baron Newton's land;

Where my aspiring head aloft is reared, T' observe the motions of th' ethereal Lord. Here sometimes raised a machine by my side, Through which is seen the sparkling milky tide Here oft I'm scented with a balmy dew, A pleasant blessing which the Strand ne'er knew. There stood I only to receive abuse, But here converted to a nobler use; So that with me all passengers will say, I'm better far than when the Pole of May.

Of the old cross in the Strand, Mr. Newton tells us, in his

London in the Olden Time,

Allen, in his

History of London,

opposite to Chester Inn

Strand Inn,

stood an ancient cross, at which the judges occasionally used to sit to administer justice outside the City walls.

The origin of the judges administering justice in public is of very remote antiquity, as is evident from the frequent allusion to the custom made in Holy Scripture, where judges are spoken of as sitting

in the gate;

Inns of Court,

that their proceedings might be generally seen, and that none might go out of the common way to seek for justice.

Strand Inn

Mr. Newton tells us, in his

London in the Olden Time,

Strand Inn

a part of it became separated, and let off to students of the law, in whose occupation it was known both as Chester Inn and Strand Inn.

for some time kept his court there.

Bishop of Worcester's Inn,

[extra_illustrations.3.84.1] St. Mary-le-Strand covers

[extra_illustrations.3.86.1] Stuart medals

[extra_illustrations.3.86.2] Prince Charles Edward Stuart

[extra_illustrations.3.86.3] Departure of Pretender from Scotland