I cannot walk through Southwark without thinking of Chaucer and Shakespeare.--Leigh Hunt.

We have already mentioned, in a previous chapter, the temporary church dedicated to St. Thomas by the canons of St. Mary Overy's, whose priory had been partly or entirely burnt down in the reign of King John. About the same time-or to give the exact date, in -Richard, Prior of , with the consent of the convent, founded close by it, in the land appropriated to the cellarer, an

almery,

Hospital of St. Thomas the Martyr.

At the Dissolution, this hospital, or almery, was surrendered to the king. At this time its members were a master and brethren, and lay sisters. They made beds for poor infirm people, who also had victuals and firing supplied to them. The institution, however, was suffered to go to decay; but in , Ridley, Bishop of London,

The citizens of London purchased the [extra_illustrations.6.90.1] , and after having repaired and enlarged it,

In , part of was used as a military hospital, as we learn from the following entry in John Evelyn's

Diary,

We deliver'd the Privy Council letters to the Governors of St.

Thomas's Hospital, in

Southwark

, that a moiety of the house should be reserv'd for such sick and wounded as should from time to time be sent from the Fleete during the war.

Much injury was done to the property belonging to this establishment by the fires which, as already stated, took place in in the Stuart times, although the hospital itself received no damage on either occasion. However, towards the close of the century the building had become so much decayed that a public subscription was made in order to re-edify and enlarge it, and the stone of the new edifice was laid by Sir John Fleet, who was Lord Mayor of London in . The whole was executed at different times, and the work was not completed till the year .

The following description of the edifice is given in Brayley's , published in :--

The hospital buildings now consist of several quadrangles; in the centre of the first of which, facing Wellington Street, is a brazen statue of Edward VI., by Scheemakers, bearing this inscription, on one side in Latin, on the other in English:-- This Statue of King Edward the Sixth, a most excellent Guy's Hospital. Prince of exemplary piety, and wisdom above his years, the glory and ornament of his age, and most munificent Founder of this Hospital, was erected at the expense of Charles Joyce, Esq., in the year MDCCXXXVII.

Through the first court is the entrance to the second, by a descent of steps. This court has a Doric colonnade with a cornice, on which is the basement to nine pilasters. On the north side is the chapel for the use of the patients, in which service is performed daily; on the south, the parish church; on the east, the hall, elevated on Tuscan columns, with compartments for the chaplain, treasurer, steward, &c.; in the north-east corner is the kitchen. The court-room is over the colonnade.

The third court is surrounded by a colonnade of the Tuscan order, with an entablature, from which ascends a long range of pilasters of the Ionic order. In the centre is a statue of Sir Robert Clayton, in his robes as Lord Mayor, with the following inscription, in Latin and in English:-- To Sir Robert Clayton, Klt., born in Northamptonshire, Citizen and Lord Mayor of London, President of this Hospital, and Vice President of the new Workhouse, and a bountiful benefactor to it; a just Magistrate, and brave Defender of the Liberty and Religion of his Country; who (besides many other instances of his charity to the poor) built the Girls' Ward in Christ's Hospital; gave first toward the rebuilding of this house £ 600; and left by his last Will £ 2,300 to the poor of it. This statue was erected in his life-time by the Governors an. Dom. MDCCI. as a monument of their esteem of so much worth; and, to preserve his memory after death, was by them beautified anno Dom. MDCCXIV.

In a small court, farther to the east, are two wards for salivation (now little used), and what is called the cutting-ward. Here also are the surgery, bathing-rooms, theatre, and dead-house, in which corpses are deposited until the time of interment. In the court-room are portraits of Edward VI., William III., and Queen Mary; Sir Robert Clayton, by Richardson; Sir Gilbert Heathcote; Sir Gerard Conyers; Sir John Eyles, by Vanloo; Sir James Campbell, &c. The gentlemen here named were presidents, and most of them patrons also, of the foundation.

In the midst of judgment God remembered mercy, and by His goodness in remembering the poor and the distressed, put a stop to the fire at this house, after it had been touched several times therewith; by which, in all probability, all this side of the Borough was preserved.

Northouck tells us that the reason why this fire was so wide in its devastation was the fact that the houses there were chiefly built of timber, lath, and plaster; he adds that afterwards commissioners were appointed for rebuilding them regularly and substantially with brick,

as now (

1773

) appears from the Bridge-foot up to

St. Margaret's

Hill beyond it.

There were at the above period wards for the reception of patients, each under the care of a sister or female superintendent, and or nurses. The number of beds was . The grand entrance, with its gates, lodges, &c., was from , between the north and south wings. In front was a dwarf stone wall, surmounted by lofty and massive iron railings, which were carried on and flanked the north side of the north wing, running along , up to the offices of the South-Eastern Railway.

Imposing as the building was, it seems to have had its drawbacks; for we read in a topographical account of it published many years ago, that

The magnitude of

St. Thomas's Hospital

, with the relief of its many colonnades, will not permit us wholly to exclude the character of the edifice from a species of grandeur. But it is time to rebuild this hospital in a better style; and with this improvement might commence a system of decorating the borough of

Southwark

and its vicinity, which at present are more than a century behind the northern bank of the river in the progress of refinement; and to this it may be added, that if the practice of wholly surrounding a space with buildings, so as to stagnate the air within the quadrangle, is as unhealthy as we deem it to be, no plan can be so unfit for an hospital as an accumulation of courts behind each other.

Of the

inner life

ye Priore of Bermondseye.

disestablished,

On the north side of St. Thomas's Street-the turning from the southward of the Station-stands [extra_illustrations.6.93.1] . It is a donative, in the gift of the governors of , the church having been originally part of the hospital-as, indeed, it continued down to the time of the removal of the hospital as above mentioned-forming a part of the south side of it. The old church having become ruinous and dilapidated, it was rebuilt early in the last century, at an expense of granted out of the coal duty, with the further assistance of the governors and others. The present edifice is a plain and unsightly building of red brick, with stone dressings, of a nondescript character, having a square tower in storeys attached to the south side. In the south side of the church, which is open to the street, are lofty circular arched windows, the key-stones of which are carved with cherubim; its elevation is finished with an attic over a cornice; in the centre is a pediment. The ground-floor of the tower forms a porch to the church. The interior of the church is exceedingly plain. The altar-screen is composed of oak, and encircled with Corinthian pilasters, surmounted by their entablature and a segmental pediment. This is crowned by

the royal arms of George I., and over them a crest; on the side pilaster is the lion and unicorn; the whole executed in dark oak.

Gerard Johnson, a Hollander, who made the monumental bust and tomb of Shakespeare in Stratford-on-Avon Church, lived in the parish of St. Thomas, as ascertained by Mr. Peter Cunningham and Mr. J. O. Halliwell. Dugdale assures us that Gerard Johnson must often have Shakespeare.

On the south side of , and covering a large space of ground, stands Guy's Hospital-perhaps the noblest institution in London founded by man. It was founded, along with other charities, by an eccentric but philanthropic individual, Thomas Guy, a bookseller of London, of whom we have spoken in a previous volume, in our account of the Stock Exchange. The son of a lighterman and coaldealer, he was born in , , in . He was apprenticed to a bookseller in , and having been admitted a freeman of the Stationers' Company in , was received into their livery in . He began business with a stock of about , in the house which, till about the year , formed the angle between and , but which was pulled down for the improvements then made in that neighbourhood. His success was owing to the great demand for English Bibles printed in Holland, in which he dealt largely; but on the importation of these being stopped by law, he contracted with the University of Oxford for the privilege of printing Bibles; and having furnished himself with types from Holland, carried on this branch of business for many years, with great profit.

It has been stated by other writers, and also in the previous volume of this work, referred to above, that whatever foundation he might have laid for his future wealth, in the usual course of trade, no small portion of his property arose from his purchase of seamen's tickets. These, it is asserted, he bought at a large discount, and afterwards subscribed in the South Sea Company, which was established in , for the purpose of discharging those tickets, and giving a large interest. Here, it is added, Mr. Guy was so extensively, as well as cautiously, concerned that in he was possessed of stock, by disposing of which when it bore an extremely advanced price, he realised a considerable sum. But Charles Knight, in his

Shadows of the Old Booksellers,

With regard to the South Sea Stock,

Mr. Guy had no hand in framing or conducting that scandalous fraud; he obtained the stock when low, and had the good sense to sell it at the time it was at its height. Never, indeed, can we approve of that speculative spirit which leads men to step out of the line of a particular calling, and to

make haste to be rich;

nor, while we admire the

mode

in which a fortune has been spent, and contemplate some splendid endowment that has derived its origin from the

bad success

of gambling or avarice, can we be so far misled as to allow that the end justifies the means. Gay, who, under the form of a fable, often couched just and biting satire, alluding to the large fortunes suddenly made by means of the

South Sea Bubble,

remarks--

How many saucy airs we meet, From Temple Bar to Aidgate Street! Proud rogues who shared the South Sea prey, And sprung, like mushrooms, in a day.

Being a single man, Mr. Guy is reported to have spent but a very small portion of his profits as a

For the application of this fortune to charitable uses,

History of the Public Charities of London,

the public are indebted to a trifling circumstance. He employed a female servant, whom he had agreed to marry. Some days previous to the intended ceremony, he had ordered the pavement before his door to be mended up to a particular stone which he had marked, and then left his house on business. The servant, in his absence, looking at the workmen, saw a broken stone beyond this mark which they had not repaired, and on pointing to it with that design, they acquainted her that Mr. Guy had not ordered them to go so far. She, however, directed it to be done, adding, with the security incidental to her expectation of soon becoming his wife,

Tell him I bade you, and he will not be angry.

But she too soon learnt how fatal it is for any

one

in a dependent situation to exceed the limits of his or her authority; for her master, on his return, was enraged at finding that they had gone beyond his orders, renounced his engagement to his servant, and devoted his ample fortune to public charity.

Sir, I always thought myself perfect in the art of getting and husbanding money, but being informed that you far exceed me, I have taken the liberty of waiting upon you to be satisfied on this subject.

If that is all your business, we can as well talk it over in the dark,

The following anecdote which has been told concerning Mr. Guy will bear repetition:--

The munificent founder of

Guy's Hospital

was a man of very humble appearance, and of a melancholy cast of countenance.

One

day, while pensively leaning over

one

of the bridges, he attracted the attention and commiseration of a by-stander, who, apprehensive that he meditated self-destruction, could not refrain from addressing him with an earnest entreaty,

not to let his misfortunes tempt him to commit any rash act;

then, placing in his hand a guinea, with the delicacy of genuine benevolence, he hastily withdrew. Guy, roused from his reverie, followed the stranger, and warmly expressed his gratitude, but assured him he was mistaken in supposing him to be either in distress of mind or of circumstances, making an earnest request to be favoured with the name of the good man, his intended benefactor. The address was given, and they parted. Some years after, Guy, observing the name of his friend in the bankrupt list, hastened to his house; brought to his recollection their former interview; found, upon investigation, that no blame could be attached to him under his misfortunes; intimated his ability and also his full intention to serve him; entered into immediate arrangements with his creditors; and, finally, re-established him in a business which ever after prospered in his hands, and in the hands of his children's children, for many years in

Newgate Street

.

Thomas Guy served in several Parliaments as member for Tamworth, in Staffordshire, where his mother was born, and where he founded almshouses for poor persons, besides bestowing considerable benefactions. To he gave a perpetual annuity of , to receive, on the nomination of his trustees, children yearly, who must be his connections; and there are always applicants. He left to discharge poor prisoners in London, Middlesex, and Surrey, at each, and another to be distributed among poor housekeepers at the discretion of his executors. The erection of the hospital now under notice, the earliest part of which was built by Dance, is said to have cost nearly , the amount of the residue of Guy's personal property being stated at upwards of . His death happened on , in the eightieth year of his age, before which he saw his hospital covered with the roof. Besides his public expenses he gave during life to many of his poor relations or a year, and to others money to advance them in life; to his aged relations in annuities; and to his younger relations and executors the sum of .

Before Guy had founded the hospital to which he gave his name, he had contributed annually to for years, and had erected the stately iron gate with the large houses on each side.

It is now time to speak more of the hospital which bears his name. At the age of Mr. Guy procured from the governors of the lease of a large piece of ground for a term of years, at a rent of a year. Having cleared the space, which was then occupied by a number of poor dwelling-houses, he

Thomas Guy, sole Founder of this Hospital in his life-time, A.D. MDCCXXII.

The centre of the principal front of the hospital is of stone, and consists of a rusticated basement, in which are arched entrances to the quadrangle, and windows. This supports pilasters and Ionic columns, the intercolumniation containing windows and niches, in which are emblematic figures, zEsculapius, the heathen god of medicine, and Hygieia, the goddess of health, daughter of AEsculapius. The tympanum is ornamented with an emblematic relief. This front was new faced about the year , and is, with the statues, the work of Bacon, who was a native of . Passing through the arches, the visitor enters a long corridor, on each side of which are several of the wards for the patients. The court-room, with its painted ceiling, is a handsome apartment; over the president's chair is a portrait of the founder, by Dahl.

The chapel, in the west wing, is plainly fitted up. At the end opposite the entrance is a marble statue of Guy. It was executed by Bacon, in , and is said to have cost . Mr. Guy is represented in his livery gown, holding out hand to raise a poor invalid lying on the earth, and pointing with the other to a distressed object, carried on a litter into of the wards, the hospital being in the background. On the pedestal is this inscription:--

Underneath are deposited the remains of

Thomas Guy

,

Citizen of London, Member of Parliament, and the sole

founder of this hospital in his life-time.

It is peculiar to this beneficent man to have preserved,

during a long course of prosperity and industry, in

pouring forth to the wants of others, all

that he had earned by labour,

or withheld from self.

indulgence.

Warm with philanthropy, and exalted by charity, his mind

expanded to those noble affections which grow but

too rarely from the most elevated pursuits.

After administering with extensive bounty to the claims of

consanguinity, he established this asylum for that stage

of languor and disease, to which the charity of

others had not reached: he provided a

retreat for hopeless insanity, and

rivalled the endowments

of kings.

He died the

27th of December, 1724

, in the

80th

year

of his age

The hospital was founded for the reception of patients, but having been enlarged through the aid of a munificent bequest in , from Mr. William Hunt, of Petersham, it now contains beds; an additional wing having been constructed accommodating more patients. The hospital buildings form an extensive and handsome range, and, with the large airing-grounds attached, occupy an area of abou.t acres. The administration of its affairs is under the care of governors; the treasurer being the general acting manager, and having the especial direction of the Medical School. The annual income of the institution is about , of which nearly are available for hospital purposes.

The ordinary medical staff consists of physicians and assistant-physicians for general medical cases;, obstetric physicians; surgeons, and lthree assistant-surgeons for general surgical cases; also ophthalmic, dental, and aural surgeons; besides other professors not engaged in the care of patients, who assist as lecturers and demonstrators in the school.

The school department comprises anatomical, pathological, and comparative anatomy museums, materia medica museum, model-room, dissectingroom, electrifying-room, chemical laboratories, library, besides every appurtenance that modern science has devised for medical institutions of the magnitude. Close by, a commodious theatre was erected by Dr. Edward Grainger, whose early death, in , was a loss to the medical world. At the age of , he commenced here a course of lectures on anatomy and physiology; but his pupils increasing beyond the capacities of his

Passing to the rear of the hospital buildings, amidst trees which flourish well and give a look of cheerfulness, so delightful to many a languid sufferer when permitted to walk forth into the air, the visitor reaches the museum. This is a neat edifice, comprising a valuable surgical collection, the principal feature of which is a vast variety of wax models, illustrative of the wonders of the human frame, and of remarkable cases of disease.

, we need scarcely add, has long held a prominent position among the philanthropic institutions in this country, both in respect to the great scope of the charity it dispenses as a hospital,

It should also be stated that a fund has been established for relieving the families of deserving and very poor patients in , by gifts of coal and other provisions, and in some instances by money. The chief distress of mothers and children must be during the absence of tlhei

bread-winner

Between East and , and covering some considerable part of the ground formerly occupied by , is the cluster of stations, irregularly combined, and without any unity of plan or architectural beauty, forming the terminus of the following railways:-- The Crystal Palace; the London, Brighton, and South Coast; the South-Eastern; the North Kent; the South London, &c. From the approach is by an inclined road, which passes under an iron bridge, over which is carried the and extension of the South-Eastern Railway, which originally had its terminus here. , previous to the above-mentioned extension, was bounded on the south-west by and grounds, and on the north-east by a range of shops, communicating with . The south-western portion of the station comprises the booking-offices of the Brighton and South-Coast line, and also the offices of the Crystal Palace and of the South London lines. On the extreme south is the Railway Hotel, of those monster establishments of which we have already had occasion to speak in our notices of the Midland and other railway stations.

The London and was the line opened here, and, indeed, in the neighbourhood of London. It is remarkable as standing upon continuous series of brick arches, and is interesting to engineers from the experiment tried upon it as regards the respective value of stone sleepers (or square slabs) at intervals, or continuous bearers of wood, for the support of the rail. Stones were used, but with such unsatisfactory result, that they were taken up and replaced with timber. The improvement, it is said, has been most decisive. With reference to its formation, we read that in the substructions of this work were advancing rapidly, and so great was the quantity of bricks required for them, that the price of brickwork in and about London had been

materially affected by this extraordinary consumption of that material.

Wonders of Nature and Art

We have anticipated this line to be a failure, unless it be extended to Dover, in which case an immense advantage would be secured to the public. Colonel Landmann. the engineer, estimated the cost at

£ 400,000

, but the expenditure thus far has exceeded

£ 600,000

, and a considerable sum is still required in order to complete it.

The original Act of the South-Eastern Railway Company was obtained in , for the express purpose of constructing a railway from London to Dover, the expenses of which were calculated at , to be raised in shares; but by subsequent Acts the company was authorised to form branch lines, and for that purpose to make loans and issue new shares, involving for the Maidstone and Isle of Thanet branches an expenditure of ; besides which there has been a further outlay of about , to complete the Hastings branch and that from Reigate, through Dorking and Guildford, to Reading.

The Greenwich Line, as stated above, had been previously constructed; and the Croydon Company had obtained the sanction of Parliament to pass over miles thereof to New Cross, whence they continued their line miles and a half to Croydon. The next miles and a quarter, as far as Red Hill, or the Reigate Junction, belonged originally to the South-Eastern and Brighton Companies in joint shares; but the whole has subsequently, as sanctioned by Act of Parliament, been purchased by the South-Eastern Company; so that the whole line, together with the Greenwich Line, which it holds on a lease of years, belongs to this company. More recently, also, besides constructing several branch lines, the South-Eastern Company has purchased the North Kent Line, thus becoming master of the whole railway communication for Kent, East Surrey, and a part of Sussex.

The railway was opened as far as Tunbridge, miles from London, in ; from thence to Ashford in the following December; as far as Folkestone in ; and to Dover in . The branch line to Maidstone was opened in September of the same year; that to Hastings, in ; and the junction line to Reading in . This railway has tunnels on its main line to Dover, and on its branch lines, some of them of a stupendous nature, involving not only very great engineering skill, but a vast outlay of capital; besides which, there are numerous embankments, deep cuttings, viaducts, and bridges, which bespeak no ordinary skill. Since , however, the greater number of the main-line trains to Hastings, Dover, Margate, &c., pass over a part of the North Kent Line by a more direct route to Tunbridge; the original main line to Red Hill being used for the Dorking and Reading trains, as well as by the Brighton Company.

The construction of the London and Brighton Railway seems to have been a somewhat slow and laborious undertaking; at all events, we read in

Wonders of Nature and Art,

After the immense bustle in Parliament, and the shameless stock-jobbing of some of the directors and managers of this line of road, we are unable to report the progress of it. That it has been commenced and is proceeding is quite true; but it is proceeding slowly, and as yet the public is quite in the dark as to its present expenditure and its anticipated cost.

On either side of the booking-office of the [extra_illustrations.6.99.2] , when it was erected, was a screen, masking the gateway of the carriage-road arrival side of this railway, and the other giving access to the carriage-road of the Dover line. The South-Eastern booking-office faces the approach road, and forms the main portion of the facade. Beyond it are the North Kent and Greenwich booking-offices. On the -floors of these several buildings are the offices, board-rooms, and other accommodations for the chief officials. There are spare lines for the reception of empty carriages under the same roofs as the respective arrival and departure lines. The roofs themselves are somewhat remarkable; and there are particular details connected with the roadway of a nature to merit prolonged examination. Immediately in the rear of the station are several elevated signalboxes, furnished with the latest and most approved appliances for signalling the arrival and departure of the several trains; so that, notwithstanding the large number of the lines of rail entering the station there is scarcely any room for accidentsindeed, an accident here is very rarely heard of.

A few words concerning the various lines of railway from Station may not be out of place here. By the line, miles in length, that favourite watering-place has been made a

suburb of London:

At the entrance to Duke Street--which leads from down to , by the side of the railway approach-might have been seen during -, a lofty building bearing this inscription,

Watson's Telegraph to the Downs.

Before closing this chapter, and making our way into , we may be pardoned for saying a word or concerning the water-supply of about half a century ago. In the for , we read that

the

Southwark

Water Works

(the property of an individual) are supplied from the middle of the Thames, below

Southwark

and London Bridges; and the water thus taken is sent out to the tenants without standing to settle or any filtration, further than that it receives from passing through wire grates and small holes in metallic plates. The number of houses supplied by these works is about

7,000

, and the average daily supply about

720,000

gallons.

[] See ante, p. 21.

[extra_illustrations.6.90.1] old building

[extra_illustrations.6.93.1] St. Thomas's Church

[] See Vol. I., p. 474.

[extra_illustrations.6.95.1] his new building

[extra_illustrations.6.95.2] a bronze statue of the founder

[extra_illustrations.6.99.1] Old South-Eastern Railway Station

[extra_illustrations.6.99.2] Brighton and South-Coast Railway