This is the highest court for civil affairs belonging to the church, to which appeals are carried from the spiritual courts; for upon the abolishing of the papal power within this kingdom, by Henry VIII. in the year , it was enacted by parliament, that no appeals should from thenceforward be made to Rome; and in default of justice in any of the spiritual courts, the party aggrieved might appeal to the king, in his court of chancery, upon which a commission under the great seal should be directed to such persons as his majesty should think fit to nominate. These commissioners, to whom the king thus delegates his power, generally consist of noblemen, bishops, and judges, both of the common and civil law; and as this court is not fixed, but held occasionally, these commissioners, or delegates, are varied at the pleasure of the lord chancellor, who appoints them. No appeals lie from this court; but, upon good reasons assigned, the lord chancellor may grant a commission of review.

The practisers in these courts are of sorts, viz. advocates and proctors.

The advocates are such as have taken the degree of doctor of the civil law, and are retained as counsellers or pleaders. These must, , upon their petition to the archbishop, obtain his fiat; and then they are admitted, by the judge, to practise. The manner of their admission is solemn. senior advocates, in their scarlet robes, with their mace carried before them, conduct the doctor up the court with reverences, and present him with a short Latin speech, together with the archbishop's rescript; and then, having taken the oaths, the judge admits him, and assigns him a place or seat in the court, which he is always to keep when he pleads. Both the judge and advocates, if of Oxford, wear, in court, scarlet robes, and hoods lined with taffaty; but, if of Cambridge, white minever, and round black velvet caps.

The proctors, or procurators, exhibit their proxies for their clients; and make themselves parties for them, and draw and give pleas, or libels and allegations, in their behalf; produce witnesses, prepare causes for sentence, and attend the advocates with the proceedings. These are also admitted by the archbishop's fiat, and introduced by senior proctors. They wear black robes and hoods lined with fur.

The terms for the pleading and ending of causes in the civil courts are but little different from the term times of the common law. The order, as to the time of sitting of the several courts, is as follows: The court of arches having the preeminence, sits in

In this college is a library, well stocked with books of all sorts, especially in civil law and history; for which they are generally indebted to James Gibson, esq. who gave a great number of the books, and to the benefactions given by every bishop at his consecration, to purchase books for this library.

This learned body was originally situated in : but that situation being found very inconvenient, Dr. Henry Harvey, dean of the arches, purchased and provided a large house in , which, at that time, was an old stone building, belonging to, and let out by, the canons of .

The present college was built upon the ruins of that house, which was burnt down in the general conflagration of this city, in ; on which occasion, the business of the institution was transferred to, and carried on at Exeter-change, in the Strand, till the new college was finished in a more convenient and elegant manner.

Upon , within a great gate, and belonging to that gate next to the , were many fair tenements, which, in their leases made from the dean and chapter, went by the name of , i. e. Diana's Chamber, so denominated from a spacious building, that in the time of Henry II. stood where they were. In this Camera, or arched and vaulted structure, full of intricate ways and windings, this Henry II. (as sometime he did at Woodstock) kept, or was supposed to have kept,

that jewel of his heart, fair Rosamund; she whom there he called

Rosa-mundi,

and here by the name of Diana; and from hence had this house that title.

On the north side of is Dean's-court, which is small, on the west side of which is a large house, the seat of the deans of successively; it is inclosed within a wall, and has behind a large garden.

Great is divided from Little by . On the south side of this lane is a place called , corruptly for Shermonier's-lane, this having once been the place where the silver was prepared, cut, and rounded for the coiners in the Old-change. On the east side of this lane are the ward schools; on the front of the house are these inscriptions:

To the glory of God and for the benefit of poor children of the Ward of

Castle Baynard, this house was purchased at the sole charge of John Barber, esq. Alderman of the Ward in the year of our Lord, .

A. D. MDCCLXI. This house was repaired and beautified by the liberal benefaction of John Cossins, esq. late of Redland Court, near Bristol, many years a worthy inhabitant of this parish, and a generous contributer to the support of this ward school.

From this lane, the elegance and majesty of the dome and cupola of is particularly striking and worthy observation.

On the south side of Little is a celebrated meetinghouse for the sect of Swedenborgians.

In this neighbourhood is Do-little-lane, so named, says Strype, from not being inhabited by artificers or tradesmen.

The site of St. Paul's-head tavern was brew-house, and as being attached to the church, claimed sanctuary.

In the Henry III. William Hilary watched the going out of John de Codington, clerk, being then Baynard castle, and insulted him. And as a clerk convict, he was delivered over to the bishop. This clerk had fled hither for sanctuary.

On the west of is St. Mary Magdalen's churchyard. It was given to the parish by John Iwarby, an officer in the exchequer in the Henry VI. By the grant, it would appear, that there was a

convent of the Holy well

On the west side of are almshouses for poor women; above the gate of entrance is the following inscription: In memory of Mr. David Smith, citizen of London, and imbroyderer to queene Elizabeth who, in ye year , built tenements upon this ground for poore widdows under ye care of ye governours of Christ's hospitall,

London, and in memory of sir Thomas Fitch, knt. who, on ye behalfe of the said hospitall, after the late dreadull fire in , rebuilt the same at his owne proper cost and charges.

On the east side of the same lane was the inn or town residence of the abbot of St. Mary, in York.

St. Gregory's church stood at the south-west corner of . It is so called from pope Gregory. This was a very

The college of the

twelve

petty canons of

St. Paul's church

,

This is of the peculiars belonging to the dean and chapter of ; where they are both patrons and ordinaries; and it is not charged with fruits and tenths, but only with procurations yearly to the commissary of the dean and chapter aforesaid.

Behind the site of this demolished church, at the very extremity of the south side of church-yard, is college, or the college or place of residence for the minor canons, which is a small court backwards, consisting of houses, the rents of which belong to the minor canons of the cathedral. Directly facing this college, at the north west corner of the said church, which is now called London-house-yard, and covered with houses, that pay a ground rent to the bishop of London, there once stood the bishop of London's palace, a very large and magnificent house, till it was destroyed by the fire of London in . In the year the admiral of France, the French ambassador, lodged here; and, before that, here Edward V. took up his lodging when he was brought to London to take possession of the crown; and, under king Edward VI. the Scotch queen was here entertained.

At each corner of the west end of was a strong tower of stone, made for bell-towers; of them, viz. that next the bishop's palace, was used by the palace in Stow's time, and the other, towards the south, was called the Lollard's tower, and used as the bishop's prison, for such as were detected in opinions in religion contrary to the faith of the church.

It was in this tower that an independent and honest citizen Richard Hunn was murdered by the clergy in ; a full account of this atrocious action has been given in another part of this work.

[] This worthy citizen has been introduced by Pope into the Dunciad, and severely castigated by the same satirist, in an epigram on the monument which alderman Barber erected to the memory of the poet Botler, in Westminster-abbey. It is lamentable to see good men included in a sweeping satire, as it might be expected this charity of the alderman ought to have spared him.

[] St. Gregory by St. Paul.

[] See vol. i. p. 200.