On the bite of Exeter-house, now Exeter-change, was formerly

that the messuage, cartilage, and garden, situate over against the hospital of the Savoy, excepted and foreprized,

one

house called the parsonage-house, wherein

one

Francis Nicholas then dwelt.

It is to be noted that lord Burleigh kept principally

two

houses or families,

one

at London, the other at Theobald's, though he was also at charge both at Burleigh and at court, which made his houses in a manner

four

. At his house, in London, he kept ordinarily in household fourscore persons; besides his lordship and such as attended him at court. The charge of his housekeeping at London amounted to

thirty pounds

a week. And the whole sum yearly to

1,560l.

and this in his absence. And in term time, or when his lordship lay at London, his charge increased

ten

or

twelve pounds

more. Besides keeping these

four

houses, he bought great quantities of corn in times of dearth, to furnish markets about his house at under prices, to pull down the price to relieve the poor. He also gave, for releasing of prisoners, in many of his latter years,

forty

and

fifty pounds

in a term. And, for

twenty

years together, he gave yearly, in beef, bread, and money, at Christmas, to the poor of

Westminster

,

St. Martin's

,

St. Clement's

, and Theobald's,

thirty-five

, and sometimes

forty pounds

per annum. He also gave yearly to

twenty

poor men lodging at the Savoy,

twenty

suit of apparel. So as his certain alms, besides extraordinaries, was cast up to be

500l.

yearly,

one

year with another.

My lord, we make use of you not for the badness of your legs, but for the goodness of your head.

For your master's sake I will stoop, but not for the king of Spain.

Lord Burleigh died here in . Being afterwards possessed by his son, Thomas, earl of Exeter, it assumed that title, which it has retained till the present period. After the fire of London, it was occupied by the doctors of civil law, &c. till ; and here the various courts of arches, admiralty, &c. were kept. Being deserted by the family, the lower part was converted into shops of various descriptions; the upper contains a collection of wild beasts, birds, and reptiles, the celebrated menagerie and museum of Polito, (late Pidcock's) and now in the occupation of Mr. Cross. The shop below is a public thoroughfare, belonging to Mr. Clark, toyman, &c.

Nearly on the site of the church of was a large May-pole, often noticed in the periodical publications of the century; it was removed in , and a new , feet high, was erected , opposite , which had gilt balls and a vane on the summit, decorated on rejoicing days with flags and garlands. When the -pole was taken down in , sir Isaac Newton procured it from the inhabitants, and afterwards sent it to the rev. Mr. Pound, rector of Wanstead, Essex, who obtained permission from lord Castlemain, to erect it in Wanstead park, for the support of the largest telescope in Europe, made by Monsieur Hugon, and presented by him to the Royal Society, of which he was a member.

[] Desiderata Curiosa, vol. i. book i. p. 29.