Old and New London, A Narrative of its History, its People and its Places. Illustrated with Numerous Engravings from the Most Authentic Sources. vol 2
Thornbury, Walter
1872-78
Chapter XXXIX: Hockley-In-The-Hole.The Coronation of Edward VII. and Queen Alexandria
Chapter XXXIX: Hockley-In-The-Hole.The Coronation of Edward VII. and Queen Alexandria
This place was formerly of those infamous localities only equalled by , at , and , in the valley of the Fleet. It was the resort of thieves, highwaymen, and bullbaiters. Its site was marked by , itself almost demolished by the Clerkenwell improvements of -. The ill-omened name of Hockleyin-the-Hole seems to have been derived from the frequent overflows of the Fleet. Hockley, in Saxon, says Camden, means a there is a Hockley-in-the-Hole in Bedfordshire; and Fielding makes that terrible thief-taker, Jonathan Wild, son of a lady who lived in Scragg Hollow, Hockleyin-the-Hole. In this wretched locality was narrow, and surrounded by ruinous houses, but the road was soon after widened, raised, and drained. In the navvies came upon an old pavement near , and oak piles, black and slimy, the site of a city mill. | |
The upper portion of the thoroughfare in con- | |
p.307 p.308 | tinuation of was, says Mr. Pinks, formerly called Rag Street, in allusion, it may be, to the number of marine-store shops. In the notorious and polluted name of Hockley-in-the- Hole was formally changed to that of . |
On the site of the in , once stood the Bear Garden of Hockleyin- the-Hole, which, in Queen Anne's time, rivalled the Bear Garden of Elizabethan days. Here, in , the masters of the noble science of self-defence held their combats. | |
The earliest advertisement of the amusements at Hockley occurs in the of the . In the spring of the following year it was announced that men were The same year a presentment of the grand jury for the county of Middlesex, dated the , complained of this place as a public nuisance, and prayed for its suppression.
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says Mrs. Peachum to Filch, in Gay's . On Mondays and Thursdays, the days of the bull and bear baitings at this delectable locality, the animals were paraded solemnly through the streets. | |
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When the bull and bears were paraded in the street, or swordsmen were to fight, bills such as the following were distributed among the crowd:-- | |
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In the Indian kings mentioned by Addison came to Hockley-in-the-Hole, to see the rough playing at backsword, dagger, single falchion, and quarter-staff. In Steele described a combat here, in the . The result of these fights was, it appears, often arranged beforehand, and the losing man often undertook to receive the cuts, provided they were not too many or too deep. About this time the proprietor of the Bear Garden left Hockley, and started a new garden at Marylebone, and for a time Hockley-in-the-Hole fell into disrepute with In , however, there was a great backsword player here, who boasted he had cut down all the swordsmen of the West, and was ready to fight the best in London. In a wild bull was baited with fireworks, and bears were baited to death; and, in , people came to Hockley to see sparring and eat furmenty and hasty-pudding. | |
In we find swordsmen having bouts with single sword, their left hands being tied down. When a favourite dog was tossed by a Hockley-in-the-Hole bull, | |
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[extra_illustrations.2.309.1] his master and his friends used to run and try to catch him on their shoulders, for fear he should be hurt in the fall. Good sensitive creatures! It was also the custom to stick ribbon crosses on the foreheads of favourite bull-dogs, and when these were removed and stuck on the bull's forehead, the dog was cheered on till he had recovered his treasured decoration. Cowardly dogs stole under the bull's legs, and often got trampled to death. The really dog pinned the bull by the nose, and held on till his teeth broke out or he was gored to death. There was cockfighting here too, and, in , says Mr. Pinks, the prize was a large sow and pigs. No game-cock was to exceed and an ounce in weight. | |
The old dwelling-house that adjoined the Bear Garden was, in later years, the public-house. The place is so old that the present large room over the bar was originally on the storey, and the beer-cellars were habitable apartments. Many years ago a small valise, with wooden ends, and marked on the lid (perhaps the famous Dick Turpin, the highwayman) was found here, and also several old blank keys, such as thieves wax over to get impressions of locks they wish to open. For the use of such there used to be a vaulted passage, now closed, that communicated with the banks of the Fleet. | |
Footnotes: [extra_illustrations.2.309.1] St. Mark, the Evangelist |