Old and New London, A Narrative of its History, its People and its Places. Illustrated with Numerous Engravings from the Most Authentic Sources. vol 3
Thornbury, Walter
1872-78
Chapter XIX: Charing Cross, The Railway Stations, and Old Hungerford Market.
Chapter XIX: Charing Cross, The Railway Stations, and Old Hungerford Market.
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, as every Londoner knows, is the name given to the open space at the western end of the Strand, from which , , and branch off in different directions; but of late years a considerable portion of it has been absorbed in what is now called . The name is most probably derived from the old village of Charing, which stood here, a sort of halting-place in bygone times for travellers between the cities of London and ; though some fanciful writers have sought its derivation in the words alluding to the cross which was here set up by Edward I. in memory of his Eleanor. The latter, as every reader of a child's History of England knows, accompanied Edward I. to the Holy Land, where, on his It is well known that wherever her bier rested, as at Waltham, Tottenham, and other places, her sorrowful husband erected a cross, or, as Tom Hood whimsically said, in his usual punning vein, of the cross at Tottenham : The original cross was of wood, wholly or to a great extent; but it was built in stone by Richard, and, after his death, by a son or brother, Roger de Crundale. The material used was Caen stone, and the steps were of fine smooth marble. It appears to have been of an octagonal form, and, in an upper stage, ornamented with figures. On [extra_illustrations.3.123.2] is shown a small house occupying the spot where the equestrian statue of Charles I. now stands. This may possibly have been an erection known as , described otherwise as
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says Stow, Mr. Newton, in his tells us that it He also subsequently styles it a The cross itself was sentenced by the Parliament to be taken down in , but its actual demolition was not carried out till some years later, namely, in the summer of . Lilly, in his published in , says that part of the stones of which it was composed were employed in paving the front of , whilst other stones were made into knife-hafts and other articles, which, when polished, looked like marble. | |
The following lines on the downfall of the cross itself, which are quoted from are interesting and amusing :-- | |
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Mr. Wood, in his gives the site of the ancient Hospital of St. Mary of Rounceval (de Roscida valle), at the angle of and the Strand, so that no doubt it formed a part of . Dugdale, in his tells us that the original hospital at was founded for the benefit of but that the date of its foundation is not known. | |
In the year , became the scene of an encounter between the troops of Queen Mary and a band of rebels headed by Sir Thomas Wyatt, who, having taken up arms against the Queen, was advancing against the City. The episode is thus described by the honest chronicler, John Stow:-- | |
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The upshot of the affair, however, was that Wyatt surrendered, not being soldier enough to turn his advantage to account. | |
[extra_illustrations.3.125.2] . at is generally reckoned of the best of our public statues, and certainly is admirably placed. It was modelled by Hubert Le Soeur, a Frenchman who came to England about the year , and the statue was cast by a commission from the Earl of Arundel, in , It was erected just before the beginning of the serious troubles between Charles and the Parliament. A writer in thus sums up its history:-- | |
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It has been said, but we know not with how much of truth, that the sculptor, on finding that he | |
had omitted to put girths to the saddle and trappings of the horse, till it was too late to remedy the defect, put an end to his existence. The omission is stated to have been pointed out by a countryman. Horace Walpole observes of it that
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The sword held by Charles, or rather by his st ue here, is a modern . The story of the substitution of the new sword for the old , which we take from Chambers' is a strange :--In for , Mr. Planche asked, To this query Mr. Street replied, The editor of pointedly added communication, We may conclude then that the present sword of this remarkable statue is a modern substitute. The pedestal upon which this statue stands is very ornamental. The plinth, formerly of Portland stone, was renewed in granite and slightly raised in , restoration being made under the superintendece of Sir Gilbert Scott. | |
The cross was also used for other practical purposes; at its foot royal proclamations were read, and in general any matter of public interest was proclaimed. To this fact Swift alludes:-- Here, also, occasionally culprits stood in the pillory, as being the most public place in the west of the metropolis. Amongst those who so suffered here was the bookseller, Edmund Curll, who lost his ears on the occasion. His memory is embalmed in the of Pope, as the author of sundry pieces which deserved anything but immortality. He died in . | |
We may remark here that some of the regicides, including General Harrison Peters, and Cook, were executed on the very site where the cross had stood; and Wood, in his adds that Harrison was put to death with his face looking towards the Banqueting House at . Pepys, in his this records the event:-- The fanatic Harrison, we may here observe, was the son of a butcher at Newcastle-under- Lyne, appointed by Cromwell to convey Charles I. from Windsor to , in order to stand his trial, on which he sat also as of the judges. | |
The regicides Cook and Peters suffered together; and the body of Harrison having hung the due time, was cut down, and the process of quartering commenced, when, at the suggestion of Colonel Turner, Peters was brought forward that he might be witness of the horrible mutilation. The hangman, rubbing his bloody hands, asked him how he liked it. was the reply; and a few minutes later his strangled body was quivering beneath the knife of the executioner. If the accounts of the last moments of the daring men who suffered at this time be true, it will be seen that, whatever crimes might be laid to their charge, the guilt of cowardice could not be imputed to the regicides. | |
was of the places most frequented by shows and exhibitions in the days of Charles II. and James II. In , Samuel Pepys writes in his
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It was at the tavern, , that, in , the men of Cumberland and Westmoreland in the metropolis met together, and resolved to found the Annual North Country Wrestling Matches, which have ever since that time been celebrated year by year on Good Friday, and which we shall mention more fully hereafter. | |
We are reminded by the author of that, in -, an Italian puppet-player set up his booth at , and probably introduced into England. He paid a small rent to the overseers of parish, and is called in their book,
adds Mr. Cunningham, In the Harleian MSS. there is still extant a song in rather rugged verse, written to ridicule the long delay in setting up the king's statue; it is curious as containing an allusion to --
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Milton, we are told, lodged at Thomson's, | |
p.129 | next door to the at , close to the opening into , during the time that he was writing his
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Thornton, in his published in , tell us that on the north side of there is a large square, on side of which is a handsome building, used as stabling for his Majesty's horses, and generally [extra_illustrations.3.129.1] . The word is derived, as every antiquary knows from the of the young of the falcon and hawk tribe. It appears that, as early as the year , this place was used for the purposes of the king's hawks and falconers, the sport of falconry being then of the most favourite pastimes of the aristocracy, and the Chief Falconer being of the most important members of the Royal Household. This office, which is hereditary, was granted by Charles II. to Charles, Duke of St. Albans, his son by and and it still continues attached to the title. At time it would seem that the king's stables were at Lomesbury, or, as it is now styled, Bloomsbury; but these stables being burnt down in , King Harry ordered the hawks to be removed, and the altered and enlarged for the reception of his steeds; so from that day down to the reign of George IV. the royal stables stood here, and the word in London at least, has become equivalent to a range of stabling. | |
It would appear, from such books of London topography as we have been able to consult, that the old building of Henry VIII.'s time having become decayed, a new and handsome edifice was begun in , by George II. It was built in the classical style, with central columns and a pediment, and adorned with cupolas and lanterns; but the effect of this architectural display was spoiled by the narrow space in front, and on either side of it, and by the small and mean buildings with which it was hemmed in. It stood as nearly as possible on the site of the front of the present , as is clear from a print in Thornton's
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[extra_illustrations.3.129.2] , which stands a little to the east of at the junction of and , was built from the designs of Mr. Decimus Burton. It is of the general hospitals of the metropolis, and was founded in . The general hospitals, as distinguished from the special hospitals or dispensaries, are The present hospital was erected in . By this institution not only are patients treated both as out-patients and in-patients, but such as require it are attended at their homes, particularly midwifery cases, and children suffering under contagious disorders. There are about beds in the hospital; in-patients with letters are admitted on Monday at ; cases of accident at all times immediately. The annual revenue is about , raised almost entirely by voluntary contributions, on which the hospital almost wholly depends. | |
Close by, in , is the Eye Hospital, or, to give it its full title, This institution is most cosmopolitan in the bounty which it distributes, for patients are treated here without letters of recommendation. | |
Theatre, in , is a small building used occasionally for dramatic performances, and also for entertainments other than theatrical. It was formerly used as a chapel and residence by the Fathers of the London Oratory of St. Philip Neri (-), before their removal to Brompton. In Dr. Newman delivered here his celebrated
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The previous to the days of railroads, was a busy and important coaching hotel; in fact, it was called Of late years it has degenerated into a railway parcel-office. The author of tells us that, It may be well to note here that the old Inn, at the door of which Charles Dickens represents Mr. Pickwick to have had the memorable encounter with the philosophic cabman, stood several yards to the west of its present position, and was removed to make way for the laying out of . | |
Re-crossing the Strand at this point, we come to Railway Station and Hotel; and here we may pause to say a few words about the metropolitan railways. The vast strides that have been made in railway communication in the metropolis within the last few years, have been such as almost to encircle London and its suburbs with distinct lines. The havoc that has been made during this time by the railways which have entered and intersected the metropolis is far greater than could have been imagined; and to describe it we cannot do better than quote the words of a writer in of the principal illustrated newspapers:-- | |
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he says, | |
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At we have railway stations within a stone's-throw of each other: is the West-end terminus of the South-Eastern Railway, and the other is a station on the Metropolitan District Railway. The former, which was built about the year , occupies the site of what was once Hungerford Market, and, with the vast building forming the booking-offices and hotel, covers a large space of ground. In the centre of the enclosure facing the Strand, and in front of the hotel and entrance to the railway station, there is a very handsome and elaborate cross, in the decorated Gothic style of the and centuries, erected in . It is built on or near the spot whereon, if tradition be correct, formerly stood the cross erected by Edward I., to which we have already alluded above. It is a reproduction, as near as possible, of the old ; it is from the designs of Mr. Edward M. Barry, R.A., based on the scanty guidance of or scarce and indistinct prints. The height from the base to the summit is about feet, and it cost between and . It is of Portland and Mansfield stone, and Aberdeen granite, and the sculptor was Mr. Thomas Earp. Unfortunately, it is dwarfed and obscured by the huge hotel under whose shadow it nestles. It is thus described in the --
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The [extra_illustrations.3.130.1] by which the lines of railway are carried over the Thames consists of spans- of feet, and of feet-and is supported by cylinders sunk into the bed of the river, and by the piers and abutments of the old suspensionbridge, the site of which it occupies. The superstructure of each of the -feet openings consists of main-girders, to the outer side of which are suspended cross-girders for carrying the roadway platform. The cross-girders extend beyond the main-girders, and form a series of cantilevers on the outer side, for supporting a foot-path feet in | |
p.131 [extra_illustrations.3.131.1] [extra_illustrations.3.131.2] | width, by which foot-passengers pass over for a halfpenny toll. The superstructure of the -feet openings is fan-shaped, and forms the connection of the bridge with the railway station. A beautiful view of the Thames is obtained from the north end of bridge. Looking eastward, the water-gate, built by Inigo Jones for Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, alluded to in an earlier chapter, appears half hid behind an artificial mound covered with foliage; whilst westward we have a magnificent view of the Houses of Parliament, , , and other historical buildings. |
The station of the Metropolitan District Railway is at the bottom of , and near the stairs leading to the footway over the bridge. The railway, which passes under the roadway of , affords a communication between the City and the extreme western suburbs, by way of , , and South Kensington. | |
The site of [extra_illustrations.3.131.3] , which existed from the close of the century down to , when it was [extra_illustrations.3.131.4] to make room for the . Hotel and [extra_illustrations.3.131.5] Station, was formerly the property of a family of the same name, whose landed estates were at Farley Castle, on the borders of Wiltshire and Somersetshire, not many miles from Bath, and whose tragic fortunes have often been told, but by no more eloquently than by Sir Bernard Burke, in his Sir Edward Hungerford, who was made a Knight of the Order of the Bath at the coronation of Charles II., had here a magnificent mansion, which, on the break--up of Durham Yard, was cut up and converted into small tenements, which together formed a market, being connected by a covered piazza of not very attractive appearance. Over the market was a large room called from having been used as a place of worship by the Protestant refugees expelled from that country on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. This building afterwards became a charityschool for the parish of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, but at the beginning of the present century was in a very dilapidated state. It was subsequently converted into a tavern and music-hall. On the north side of the building stood a very poor bust of Charles II., marking the date of the erection. | |
The greatness of the Hungerford family ceased with Sir Edward Hungerford, who, by his excessive extravagance, squandered a princely fortune, and died a poor Knight of Windsor in the year , at the advanced age of . The town house of the Hungerford family was destroyed by fire during his life, and.the circumstance is thus mentioned by Pepys in his -- Sir Edward obtained permission to hold a market days a week on the site of his former mansion, and this was the origin of the Hungerford Market. | |
The market was rebuilt early in the present century, in a very heavy Italian style of architecture, by Mr. Fowler, the architect of . The upper part of the market consisted of avenues, with shops on each side, the whole roofed into mass. The business done in the sale of fish was very considerable, and there were also shops or stalls for the sale of fruit, vegetables, and butchers' meat. | |
The failure of Hungerford Market as a commercial speculation was but the perpetuation of the unhappy fate which seems always to have overhung the fortunes of that name. More than centuries and a half ago, in , a member of the Hungerford family--Dame Agnes, or Alice, Hungerford--was hung at Tyburn for the murder of her step-son; and some curious details concerning the household stuff remaining at her husband's house at may be found in the volume of the The Sir Edward Hungerford of years later, known in history as gave guineas for a wig in which to figure at a court ball at St. James's; and to satisfy his fondness for play, he sold no less than manors. It was this Sir Edward who pulled down the town mansion of the Hungerfords. The glory, or shame, of Sir Edward was not forgotten in the market-house which arose on its site, for in a niche on its northern side was placed a bust of that gentleman in a large wig, probably intended to immortalise the extravagant purchase which we have recorded above. | |
writes Mr. J. T. Smith, in ;
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In the row of houses fronting the market, and forming the commencement of the Strand, at No. , where his father was a bookseller, [extra_illustrations.3.132.1] saw the light in . The shop, at that time, was the favourite resort of the leading Nonconformist ministers of the time, including Rowland Hill, Dr. Adam Clarke, &c. | |
[extra_illustrations.3.132.2] , the approach to which was through the market, was constructed in upon the suspension principle, and was the work ot the late Mr. Brunel. The centre span was, perhaps, the largest of any existing work of the kind, being no less than feet, whilst the total length of the bridge was feet. The chains to which the suspending-rods were fastened were double on each side of the bridge; the piers were of ornamental brickwork, whilst the clear height, of the bridge above high water in the centre was feet, and at the sides feet, thus giving a rise of feet. The span of the centre division of the bridge was the only part worthy of any particular notice. The bridge, which is said to have cost , opened up a communication between Hungerford Market and the worst part of . On its removal, to make room for the present railway | |
bridge, it was transferred to Clifton, near Bristol, where it now spans the waters of the Avon. | |
Nearly opposite the railway station, and running diagonally towards , is the . It is nearly feet in length, and has shops on either side for the sale of fancy goods. As the admission is free, and the place is considered of the of London, it is continually thronged with children and their attendants, buying toys at the French, German, and Swiss shops. The Lowther Bazaar, which flourished for a time at the period of the great Exhibition in , was on the other side of the Strand. Besides stalls for the sale of fancy articles, it had many other objects of interest for the amusement of visitors. | |
Adjoining the , with its entrance in , is the Adelaide Gallery, originally intended as a place of amusement and instruction combined. It was opened in the year , and named after Queen Adelaide, the consort of William IV. Its varied fortunes, from the day when it was opened as a temple of science, down to its transformation into a casino, are thus cleverly sketched by the late Mr. Albert Smith in his little book on -- | |
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In , the next turning westwards after passing the railway station, No. , on the west side, as the passer-by is informed by a tablet affixed to the front, was at time the [extra_illustrations.3.134.2] . It was afterwards used as the headquarters of the The abolition, however, of imprisonment for debt in ordinary cases has rendered the work of this society unnecessary. The society was mainly established by the influence of the celebrated Dr. Dodd. It is stated, as a proof of the hardship of the former laws in respect of debtors, that in months from its commencement the society was enabled to discharge no less than persons, many of whom were confined only for their fees, and who together had dependent on them as many as wives and children. says an old prospectus,
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, as we learn from the rate-books of , was known until as It is the property of the Earl of Craven, who gave it his name. According to account, Grinling Gibbons, whose exquisite wood-carving adorns , was a native of this street, but the fact is disputed. Here, too, lived the Rev. Mr. Hackman, who shot Miss Ray in Covent Garden, as we shall relate hereafter. And here, too, lived and died James Smith, of the brothers to whose wit we owe the In his day, as in our own, the street was largely tenanted by solicitors as offices, a fact which served as the basis of a double epigram; for a friend, noticing the fact, and also the pleasant view of the Thames at the bottom of the street, expressed himself thus- In answer to which James Smith remarked, offhand, that there was no necessity to make any such rapid exodus, and why?-
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It was in that Sir Edmundbury Godfrey was living at the time when he was murdered: he was a wool merchant, and his wharf was at the bottom of . | |
, which runs down from the Strand, a few doors to the east of , was formerly known as Hartshorne Lane. Here lived Ben Jonson in his schoolboy days, going to a private school near , and afterwards to School. In has been published the since its appearance in . In Northumberland Court, hard by, Nelson lodged, when a young lieutenant. | |
It is worthy of note that the house next door to , eastwards (answering to No. , Strand), was for many years the official residence of the Secretary of State. Sir Harry Vane, as we know, lived here, as also did several of his predecessors and successors in that office. | |
In concluding our notice of the Strand, we may be pardoned for adding that we love to think of it as it appeared years ago, when it was an open highway, with here and there a great man's house with gardens to the water-side. The scene has now indeed changed, both in the appearance of the great thoroughfare, and in the people by whom it is frequented, so that we are tempted to exclaim with Charles Lamb,
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p.135 [extra_illustrations.3.135.1] | |
Footnotes: [extra_illustrations.3.123.2] Aggas' map [extra_illustrations.3.125.2] The bronze equestrian statue of Charles I [extra_illustrations.3.129.1] known as the Mews, or Meuse [extra_illustrations.3.129.2] Charing Cross Hospital [extra_illustrations.3.130.1] bridge [extra_illustrations.3.131.1] R.R. Works [extra_illustrations.3.131.2] London Improvements [extra_illustrations.3.131.3] Hungerford Market [extra_illustrations.3.131.4] pulled down [extra_illustrations.3.131.5] Railway [extra_illustrations.3.132.1] Charles Mathews [extra_illustrations.3.132.2] Hungerford Bridge [extra_illustrations.3.134.2] abode of Benjamin Franklin [extra_illustrations.3.135.1] Constitutional Club, Northumberland Ave. Sron House |