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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


■■'MTtki-^ 


^J^' 


(9     ..  -V 


■Q.       /?.r  /£/./: 


,^^^  ,  M^\  [^^Cc.-^^  . 


Edward  VI. 
Front  an  Oil  Painting  in  Christ's  Hospital. 


Bribewell  IRo^al  Ibospital 

TAST  AND   TRESENT 


A  SHORT  ACCOUNT  OF  IT  AS 


Palace,  Hospital,  Prison,  and  School 

JSJEttJj  a  Colkttion  of  Entcrtsting  ffltmorania 
Ijiti^crto  Sanpubltsijcli 


By  ALFRED  JAMES  COPELAND,  F.S.A. 

TRKASURER    OF    THE    KOVAI.    HOSPITALS   OF    BRIDEWEIX    AND    BETHLEHEM 


ILnnUon 
WELLS    GARDNER,    DARTON,   &    CO. 

PATERNOSTER   BUILDINGS 
1888 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/bridewellroyalhoOOcopeiala 


TO 

THE  PRESIDENT  AND   GOVERNORS 

OF 

THE  TWO  ROYAL  HOSPITALS 

'"■  OF 

BRIDEWELL  AND  BETHLEHEM 
3^  &eMcate 

THIS    BOOK. 


1156328 


PREFACE. 

The  present  volume  is  the  outcome  of  an  attempt 
to  put  into  interesting  shape  and  form,  some  of  the 
old  records  and  facts,  respecting  one  of  our  ancient 
Royal  Foundations. 

After  the  lapse  of  three  hundred  years,  notwith- 
standing their  somewhat  altered  conditions,  the 
three  institutions  termed  the  "  Royal  Hospitals  "  of 
Christ's,  Bridewell,  and  St.  Thomas's  still  remain  no 
mean  portion  of  the  inheritance  bequeathed  to  the 
citizens  of  London ;  and  it  is  matter  of  congratula- 
tion, that  great  good  is  still  being  done  by  them  to 
the  community  at  large. 

Whether  for  the  sick  and  needy,  or  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  middle  classes,  and  the  poor  and  neces- 
sitous, our  Royal  Hospitals  are  noble  monuments  in 
these  times  of  the  thought,  care,  and  unselfishness 
of  our  forefathers  for  the  benefit  of  others. 

In  the  compilation  of  this  work  I  have  consulted 
all  the  available  authorities  on  the  subject;  and  to 
all  those  who  have  so  kindly  assisted  me  I  desire 


▼i  preface. 

to  make  my  warm  acknowledgments.  I  have  drawn 
largely  from  Stow  (Strype's  edition),  Pennant,  and 
Maitland,  and  from  "  Remembrancia,  or  Records 
Preserved  among  the  Archives  of  the  City  of  London, 
A.D.  1 5 79-1 664." 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Anderson  of  the  British 
Museum,  and  Mr.  Overall  of  the  Guildhall  Library, 
for  much  that  is  most  interesting. 

Such  books  as  the  "Autobiography  of  Thomas 
EUwood,"  "Ned  Ward's  London  Spy,"  and  Mr. 
Dixon's  work  upon  Prisons,  have  interesting  and 
valuable  allusions  to  the  old  Bridewell ;  and  Mr. 
Ottley  Martin's  extensive  Parliamentary  Report,  issued 
in  1837,  has  been  of  the  utmost  service  to  me. 

I  have  to  express  my  thanks  to  my  friends  the 
Rev.  E.  Rudge,  the  late  Chaplain,  and  the  Rev. 
E.  C.  Hawkins,  Vicar  of  St.  Bride's,  for  many  useful 
hints ;  to  Mr.  St.  John  Hope  of  the  Antiquarian  Society, 
for  assistance  respecting  the  old  Palace  inventory  of 
soldiers'  ^^  Harness ^^  given  on  page  9,  and  Mr.  Allan 
Barraud  for  the  drawings  of  the  present  schools ;  and 
to  the  Rev.  Hayman  Cummings,  F.R.Hist.Soc,  for 
the  valuable  aid  he  has  rendered  me  in  the  literary 
compilation  of  the  work. 

In  these  days  when  corporate  bodies,  the  magnifi- 
cent old  Companies  and  Foundations  of  the  City  of 
London  in  particular,  are  from  time  to  time  subjected 
to  attack  from  without,  every  effort  to   show  their 


preface.  vii 

usefulness  is  to  be  welcomed ;  and  it  cannot  be  too 
widely  known  that  these  institutions  are  doing  muni- 
ficent and  charitable  work  of  the  most  valuable  kind, 
in  the  most  unostentatious  way. 

This  book  bears  evidence  that  Bridewell,  in  spite 
of  altered  times  and  circumstances,  such  as  never 
could  have  been  even  guessed  at  by  its  royal  founder, 
is  still  fulfilling  his  intention,  in  the  amelioration  of 
the  condition  of  the  poor  and  necessitous. 

A.  J.  C 


BRmEWELL  Royal  Hospital, 
May  30,  1888. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP. 

I.    "THE   OLD   palace" 

II.    THE  FLEET 

III,  THE   FOUNDATION    (TEMP.    ED.   VI.) 

IV.  PARTICULARS    AND     USES     OF    THE     HOSPITAL    AS 

FOUNDED . 
V.    PENAL   DISCIPLINE   .  , 

VI.    "ELLWOOD'S  EXPERIENCES 
VII.    REMINISCENCES   OF  THE  PRISON 
VIII.   REPORTS  ON   PRISON,    1855-1887 
IX.    ART-MASTERS  AND  APPRENTICES 
X.    REPORT   OF   A.D.    1818       . 
XI.    KING   EDWARD'S   SCHOOLS 
XII.    ENDOWMENTS   OF  THE   HOSPITAL 

XIII.  EXTRACTS   FROM    "  REMEMBRANCIA 

XIV.  JOTTINGS   FROM   OLD   NEWSPAPERS 


PAGE 
I 

10 

22 

39 
55 
65 

74 
84 
92 

98 
106 

113 

130 

143 


ERRATA. 

Page    lOO  (fool-note).— /br  "a  mother,"    read    'another";    after 
railings,"  insert  "  outside  "  ;  after  "  contempt,"  insert  "  for  the  place." 


Bti&ewell  Ibospital 

CHAPTER  I. 

''THE  OLD  PALACE." 

Bridewell  Hospital !  What  was  it  ?  What  is  it 
now? 

The  answer  to  these  questions  contains  much  that 
will  interest  those  who  have  a  taste  for  the  old 
chronicles  of  past  days  and  the  history  of  the  years 
that  are  gone,  written  in  the  stones  and  foundations 
of  our  city  walls;  enabling  them  (in  the  words  of  the 
Rev.  E.  C.  Hawkins,  in  his  monograph  of  "The 
Church  and  Parish  of  S.  Bride's")  "to  realise  how 
this  neighbourhood  looked  and  how  men  Hved  when 
the  great  parishes  of  S.  Margaret's,  Westminster,  and 
S.  Dunstan's,  Stepney,  came  close  up  to  Aldgate  and 
Ludgate,  and  everything  outside  the  city  walls  was 
not  London,  but  a  suburb." 

At  that  angle  in  the  river  Thames  which  was 
formed  by  the  estuary  of  the  Fleet  Ditch,  stood  for 

A 


Cbc  01&  B>alace.*' 


many  years  the  Eastern  Arx  Palatina  or  Castellated 
Palace  of  the  City  of  London, 

So  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  this  once  royal  pre- 
cinct occupied  the  space  which  at  present  is  bounded 
by  Fleet  Street,  New  Bridge  Street,  and  the  Thames 
Embankment. 

To  the  parish  is  given  the  name  of  the  Danish 
Saint  Bridget,  and  here  is  the  only  church  in  London 
dedicated  to  Saint  Bride. 

A  holy  spring  once  was  here,  supposed  to  possess 
miraculous  curative  power;  it  also  bore  the  Saint's 
name,  and  in  course  of  time  the  royal  palace  hard  by 
was  termed  "  Bridewell." 

Difificult  as  it  may  be  to  realise  now,  there  was  a 
time  when  this  spot  was  a  beautiful,  well-wooded 
retreat,  separated  from  the  busy  scenes  of  the  adjacent 
city  by  the  swiftly  flowing  stream,  bearing  on  its 
bosom  the  contents  of  the  Turnmill  and  Oldbourne 
brooks,  and  hence  called  "  Fleet,"  whilst  its  main 
bank  was  washed  by  the  tidal  waters  of  the  Thames. 

The  discovery  of  relics  from  time  to  time  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  proves  that  it  was  known  to  the 
Romans,  but  the  earliest  records  extant  lead  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  first  building  of  repute  was  a  tower 
or  castle  pertaining  to  the  King.  "  For  I  read,"  says 
Stow,  "that  in  1087,  the  20th  of  William  I.,  the  city 
of  London  with  the  Church  of  S.  Paul  being  burned, 
Mauritius,  then  Bishop  of  London,  afterward  began 


**XLbc  ©I&  ffialacc." 


the  foundation  of  a  new  church,  whereunto  King 
William  gave  the  choice  stones  of  his  castle  standing 
near  to  the  bank  of  the  river  of  Thames,  at  the  west 
end  of  the  citie.  After  this  Mauritius,  Richard  his 
successor  purchased  the  streets  about  Paul's  Church, 
compassing  the  same  with  a  wall  of  stone  and  gates. 
King  Henry  I.  gave  as  many  of  the  stones  from  the 
walls  of  the  castle  yard  as  served  to  enclose  and  form 
the  gates  and  precincts  of  the  church."  This  tower 
or  castle  being  thus  "  destroyed  or  dismantled,  stood 
as  it  may  seem  in  place  whereon  standeth  the  house 
called  Bridewell." 

"  For,  notwithstanding  the  destruction  of  the  said 
castle  or  tower,  the  house  remained  large,  so  that  the 
kings  of  the  realm  long  after  were  lodged  there  and 
kept  their  courts." 

"  For  until  the  9  yeare  of  Henry  HI.  the  Courts 
of  Law  and  Justice  were  kept  in  the  King's  house 
wheresoever  he  was  lodged,  and  not  elsewhere,  and 
that  this  may  be  proved,  I  quote  the  following 
record  : — 

"  Hsec  est  finalis  concordia,  facta  in  Curia  Dom. 
Regis  apud  Sanct.  Bridgid.  Lond.  a  die  Sancti  Michaelis 
in  15.  dies  Anno  regni  Regis  Johannis  7.  Cora  G. 
FiL  Petri.  Eustacio  de  Fauconberg,  Johanne  de 
Gesilinge,  Osbart  filio  Hervey,  Walter  de  Crisping, 
Justiciar,  et  aliis  Baronibus  Domini  Regis." 

In  the  year  12 10,  King  John's  necessities  increas- 


**Zbc  015  palace.' 


ing  by  the  intrigues  of  the  Church  of  Rome  with 
his  ecclesiastical  subjects,  he  announced  a  parliament 
to  meet  him  at  S.  Bride's  or  at  his  palace  in  S. 
Bride's  parish,  London,  where  he  exacted  of  the 
clergy  and  religious  persons  a  sum  of  ;^  100,000,  and 
;^4o,ooo  in  particular  from  the  White  Friars  or 
monks. 

Soon  after,  the  city,  together  with  all  other  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  were,  by  the  Bishops  of  London, 
Ely,  and  Worcester,  interdicted  by  the  insolence 
and  order  of  Pope  Innocent,  as  the  King  would  not 
obey  his  unjust  and  imperious  command.  Where- 
upon all  churches  and  churchyards  were  shut  up; 
divine  service  ceased  in  all  places;  there  was  no 
administration  of  sacraments  except  to  infants  and 
dying  persons ;  and  all  ecclesiastical  rites  being 
omitted,  the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  buried  in  the 
highways  and  ditches  without  the  performance  of 
funeral  service. 

Stow,  who  wrote  about  1655,  further  relates  that 
the  palace  of  Bridewell  in  "  aftertimes "  was  not 
used,  but  fell  into  ruins,  insomuch  that  the  very 
platform  thereof  remained  for  the  most  part  waste 
and  as  it  were  but  a  lay  stall  for  filth  and  rubbish, — 
only  a  fair  well  remained  there.^ 

1  When  that  part  of  the  Royal  Hotel  where  the  large  dining- 
room  is  situate  was  being  built,  Mr.  Gruning,  the  architect,  dis- 
covered two  of  the  old  bastions  of  the  ancient  Bridewell  Palace. 


**Zbc  ©12)  ipalacc." 


A  great  part  of  this  house,  on  the  western  side, 
was  given  to  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  and  hence 
Salisbury  Square ;  the  other  remaining  waste  until 
the  time  of  King  Henry  VIII. 

The  Holy  Well  of  S.  Bride  has,  with  others  in  and 
about  London,  declined;  but,  inasmuch  as  it  gave 
its  name  to  the  adjoining  palace,  hospital,  prison, 
and  at  last  to  almost  every  house  of  correction 
throughout  the  kingdom,  until  quite  recently,  its 
fame  may  be  said  to  be  perpetuated  in  the  fact 
that  the  whole  property  is  termed  to  this  day, 
"  The  Township  of  Bridewell,"  or  Bridewell  Pre- 
cincts. 

Hone's  "Everyday  Book"  asserts  that  the  last 
public  use  of  the  water  of  S.  Bride's  Well  drained 
it  so  much  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  parish  could 
not  get  their  usual  supply. 

The  occasion  was  a  sudden  demand.  Several 
men  were  employed  in  filling  thousands  of  bottles 
a  day  or  two  before  the  19th  July  1821,  on  which 
day  His  Majesty  George  IV.  was  crowned  at  West- 
minster, and  Mr.  Walker,  of  the  Hotel,  10  Bridge 
Street,  obtained  it  by  the  only  means  now  remain- 
ing, from  the  cast-iron  pump  over  the  well  in  Bride 
Lane. 

After  various  vicissitudes,  Bridewell  Palace  and 
Precincts  appear  to  have  passed  into  the  posses- 
sion of  Cardinal  Wolsey,  but  on  the  downfall  of  the 


"XTbe  Qlt>  palace.' 


great  prelate  and  statesman  again  reverted  to  the 
crown.^ 

It  has  been  asserted  that  Wolsey  copied  the 
example  of  King  John,  and  mulcted  the  heads  of 
religious  houses  in  England  in  enormous  sums,  but 
this  is  too  much  like  the  story  related  on  page  4  to 
obtain  a  ready  credence. 

Cavendish  says  in  his  life  of  Cardinal  Wolsey  : 
*'  He  found  means  to  be  made  one  of  the  King's 
Council,  and  to  grow  in  good  estimation  and  favour 
with  the  King,  to  whom  the  King  gave  a  house 
at  Bridewell  in  Fleet  Street,  sometime  Sir  Richard 
Empson's,  where  he  kept  house  for  his  family,  and 
daily  attended  upon  the  King  in  the  Court." 

In  1522  Henry  VIII.  repaired  in  the  small  space 
of  six  weeks,  the  old  palace  which  had  been  much 
neglected,  for  the  reception  of  the  Emperor  Charles 
v.,  and  that  at  considerable  expense.  Charles  V,, 
however,  lodged  in  the  Black  Friars  and  his  suite 
in  the  palace,  a  gallery  of  communication  being 
flung  over  the  Fleet  estuary,  and  a  passage  cut 
through  the  city  wall  into  the  Emperor's  apartments. 

After  Wolsey's  fall,  Henry  VIII.  resided  at  Bride- 
well, particularly  in  1529,  and  during  the  agitation 
at  Blackfriars,  concerning  the  monarch's  marriage 
with  Queen  Catherine  of  Aragon. 

1  yide  Shakespeare,  King  Henry  VIII. 


"  Cbe  01&  ipalacc' 


"  The  most  convenient  place  that  I  can  think  of 
For  such  receipt  of  learning  is  Blackfriars  ; 
There  shall  ye  meet  about  this  mighty  matter." 

— Shakespeare,  Henry  VII I.,  Act  ii. 

Shakespeare  makes  the  whole  of  the  third  Act  of 
this  play  pass  in  the  palace  of  Bridewell,  and  this 
is  historically  correct. 

"  It  was  there,"  says  Cavendish,  "  that  the  unhappy 
Catherine  received  Wolsey  and  Campeggio,  having 
a  skein  of  red  silk  about  her  neck,  being  at  work 
with  her  maidens." 

Hall,  in  his  Chronicle,  narrates  it  thus  :  "In  1528 
Cardinal  Campeius  was  brought  to  ye  Kinge's  pre- 
sence, then  living  at  Brydewell,  by  ye  Cardinal  of 
Yorke,  and  was  caryed  in  a  chayer  of  crimson  velvet 
borne  between  iiii  persones,  for  he  was  not  able  to 
stand,  and  the  Cardynall  of  Yorke  and  he  sat  both 
on  the  ryght  hand  of  the  Kinge's  throne,  and  there 
was  one  Francisci,  Secretary  to  Cardinal  Campeius, 
made  an  eloquent  oracion  in  the  Latin  tongue. 
And  the  same  King  caused  al  his  nobilitie,  judges, 
and  counsaylors,  w'  divers  other  persons  to  come  to 
his  palace  of  Brydewell  on  Sunday  the  viii  day  of 
November  at  after  none  in  his  great  chamber,  and 
there  delivered  a  speech  to  them  concerning  his 
marriage  with  Catherine  of  Aragon." 

In  the  following  year  Henry  and  his  queen  resided 
at  the  Bridewell  Palace  while  the  question  of  their 


Zbe  ©ID  ipalace." 


marriage  was  pending  at  the  Blackfriars,  after  which, 
taking  a  dislike  to  the  place,  the  King  allowed  it  to 
fall  into  decay,  in  which  state  it  remained  until  its 
appropriation  to  charitable  uses  in  the  following 
reign. 

In  1525  a  parliament  was  held  in  Blackfriars,  and 
in  Bridewell  Palace  the  King  created  states  of  nobility, 
to  wit : 

Henry  Fitzroy,  a  child  (whom  he  had  by  Elizabeth 
Blunt)  to  be  Earl  of  Nottingham,  Duke  of  Richmond 
and  of  Somerset,  Lieutenant- General  from  Trent 
Northward,  Warden  of  the  East,  Middle,  and  West 
marshes  for  anenst  Scotland. 

Henry  Courtney,  Earl  of  Devonshire,  cousin-german 
to  the  King,  to  be  Marquis  of  Exeter. 

Henry  Brandon,  a  child  of  two  years  old,  son  of 
the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  to  be  Earl  of  Lincoln. 

Sir  Thomas  Manners,  Lord  Rosse,  to  be  Earl  of 
Rutland. 

Sir  Henry  Clifford  to  be  Earl  of  Cumberland. 

Sir  Robert  Ratcliffe  to  be  Viscount  Fitzwater. 

Sir  Thomas  Belvin,  Treasurer  of  the  King's  house- 
hold, to  be  Viscount  Rochfort. 

There  is  a  curious  MS.  in  the  possession  of  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries,  which  gives  a  list  of  the  har- 
ness for  horse  and  footmen  in  Bridewell  Palace  on  the 
death  of  King  Henry  VIIL 


"Zbc  ®lt>  ipalace/*  9 

It  runs  as  follows  : — 

Horsemen' s  Harness. 

Remaining.  Wanting. 

Bridwel. 

.XX 

Demilaunces  brests  backes       .        .       iiij.  80 

Collars 60  20 

Vambraces 73  pairs.  7  pairs. 

Cusshes    ......  80  ,, 

Gauntletts 80  ,, 

Poldernes 72  ,,  8    ,, 

Headpieces 40  ,,  40    „ 

Fotemen's  Harness. 

Almaynes  rivetts,  brests,  and  backs  .  150  )   the  sallets 

Splints 150  pairs.  )  and  gorgets 

The  Odd  Harness  Remaining  for  Horsemen. 

Cusshes 62  pairs. 

Hand  hammers    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  48     ,, 

Gauntletts 14    .. 

Backs 9    II 

Headpieces  (broken) 2    ,, 

The  Odd  Harness  for  Footmen. 

Brests 127  pairs. 

Splints 207     ,, 

Skulls 7    ,, 

All  which  parcells  remain  in  the  custody  of  Thomas  Wolner,  the 
King's  armourer. 


(     lo    ) 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  FLEET. 

The  stream  running  hard  by  the  old  palace  shared  in 
the  gradual  changes  that  came  over  the  city  suburbs 
as  the  years  rolled  on.  Fed  by  the  upper  rivulets,  it 
became,  by  the  time  it  reached  the  old  Bridewell 
Palace,  a  river  that  joined  the  Thames  at  this  very 
spot 

Stow  says  that  it  was  called  the  "river  of  wells," 
certainly  as  early  as  the  time  of  Edward  I.  The 
Conqueror,  in  his  Charter  to  the  College  of  S.  Martin 
le  Grand,  had  given  as  a  boundary  "  from  the  North 
Corner  of  the  Wall  by  the  portion  of  Cripplegate  (as 
the  river  of  the  bed  then  neere  running  departeth  the 
same  moore  from  the  wall)  into  the  running  water 
which  entereth  the  city." 

At  a  parliament  held  at  Carlisle  in  1307,  a  com- 
plaint was  laid  before  King  Edward  I.,  by  Henry 
Lacy,  Earl  of  Lincoln,  that  "  whereas  (in  times  past) 
the  course  of  water  running  at  London  under  Old- 
bourne  Bridge  and  Fleet  Bridge  into  the  Thames  had 


XLbc  jplect.  II 

been  of  such  bredth  and  depth  that  lo  or  12  ships, 
navies  at  once  with  merchandises  were  wont  to 
come  to  the  foresaid  bridge  of  Fleet,  and  some  of 
them  unto  Oldbourne  Bridge,  now  the  same  course 
(by  filth  of  the  Tanners  and  such  others)  was  sore 
decayed,  also  by  raising  of  wharves  but  especially  by 
a  diversion  of  the  water,  made  by  them  of  the  New 
Temple,  for  their  milles  standing  without  Baynard's 
Castle  in  the  first  year  of  King  John,  and  by  others 
divers  impediments,  so  that  the  said  ships  could 
not  enter  as  they  were  wont  and  as  they  ought. 
Wherefore  he  desired  that  the  Alaior  of  London,  with 
the  Sheriffs,  and  other  discreet  Aldermen,  might  be 
appointed  to  view  the  said  course  of  the  said 
water,  and  that,  by  the  oaths  of  good  men,  all  the 
aforesaid  hindrances  might  be  removed,  and  is  to  be 
made  as  it  was  wont  of  old. 

"  Whereupon  Roger  le  Brabason,  the  Constable  of 
the  Tower,  with  the  Maior  and  Sheriffs,  were  assigned 
to  take  with  them  honest  and  discreet  men,  and  to 
make  diligent  search  and  enquiry  how  the  said  river 
was  in  former  time,  and  that  they  leave  nothing  that 
may  have  hurt  or  stoppe  it,  but  keep  it  in  the  same 
estate  that  it  was  wont  to  be." 

The  river  was  cleansed,  the  mills  removed,  and 
other  things  done  for  the  preservation  of  the  course, 
but  never  to  its  old  breadth  and  depth;  the  name 
"river"  ceased,  and  it  was  termed  a  "brook,"  e.g., 


12 


Cbe  gleet. 


Turnemill  or  Treemill  Brooke,  and  this,  obviously, 
from  the  number  of  mills  erected  on  it. 

It  was  "cleansed"  very  often,  but,  last  of  all,  to 
any  effect,  in  the  year  1502,  the  17th  of  Henry  VII., 
when  the  whole  course  of  "  Fleet  Dike  "  was  scoured 
down  to  the  Thames ;  and  boats,  with  fish  and  fuel, 
were  rowed  to  the  Fleet  Bridge  and  Oldbourne  Bridge, 


THE   OLD   FLEET   BRIDGE. 


as  of  old  time,  and  to  the  great  accommodation  of  the 
citizens. 

In  1589  another  cleansing  and  scouring  was  en- 
forced ;  but,  although  much  money  was  collected  for 
the  purpose,  the  result  was  onlyfailure,  and  in  afewyears 
it  became  more  cloyed  than  ever  it  had  been  before. 


tlbc  jflcet  13 

Pennant  writes,  that  over  the  tidal  Fleet  were  four 
stone  bridges,  and  on  the  banks  extensive  quays  and 
warehouses;  and  so  great  was  its  utility,  that  in  1606 
no  less  a  sum  than  ^^28,000  was  spent  in  keeping 
the  channel  clear. 

Over  the  Fleet  without  Ludgate,  was  a  bridge  ot 
stone  coped  with  iron  pikes  on  either  side ;  on  the 
south  side  were  placed  lanthorns,  which  were  lighted 
in  winter  evenings  for  commodity  of  travellers. 

Stow  writes  of  it : — "  This  bridge  hath  been  farre 
greater  in  times  past,  but  lessened  as  the  water- 
course hath  been  narrowed ;  next  this  there  is  a  breach 
in  the  walls  of  the  city"  [the  city  wall  was  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Fleet,  now  New  Bridge  Street], 
"  and  a  bridge  of  timber  over  the  Fleet  Dyke  betwixt 
the  Fleet  Bridge  and  the  Thames,  directly  over  against 
the  House  of  Bridewell." 

In  1608  twelve  large  granaries  were  erected  in  the 
Hospital  precincts  at  the  expense  of  the  City  (capable 
of  holding  6000  quarters  of  corn),  and  two  houses  for 
coals.  These  storehouses  for  coal  in  James  the  First's 
time  held  4000  loads  of  coal:  a  certain  Alderman 
Leman  took  great  care  and  pains  in  the  contriving 
this  useful  work. 

Among  the  records  preserved  among  the  archives 
of  the  City  of  London,  a.d.  1579-1664,  there  are  one 
or  two  letters  referring  to  this  interesting  matter. 

One  from  the  Lords  of  the  Council  to  the  Lord 


14  trbe  fleet. 

Mayor,  requiring  him  to  see  that  the  several  Com- 
panies speedily  provided  their  full  proportion  of  corn, 
and  expressing  their  belief  that  he  would  act  therein 
as  might  be  most  desirable,  according  to  what  had 
been  so  worthily  performed  by  his  predecessors,  by 
whose  care  had  of  late  been  built  fair  and  large 
granaries  for  storage  at  Bridewell.  The  Council 
further  required  him  to  take  measures  that  neither 
regrators  nor  forestallers  enhanced  the  markets  and 
thereby  raised  the  price  of  corn. 

This  letter  is  dated  21st  January  161 2,  and  refers 
to  a  preceding  letter  (7th  January  1612),  acquainting 
the  Lord  Mayor  that  a  petition  having  been  presented 
to  the  Lords  of  the  Council  by  the  Company  of 
Eastland  Merchants  for  bringing  in  of  corn  from 
abroad  free  of  custom,  they  had  given  orders  accord- 
ingly, with  this  addition,  that  if  by  reason  of  plenty 
such  corn  could  not  be  sold  by  them  at  remunerative 
rates,  they  might  transport  it  elsewhere  within  the 
kingdom,  or  into  foreign  parts,  free  of  custom. 
Special  order  should  be  taken  that  the  granaries  at 
the  Bridge  House  and  Bridewell  should  be  ready  for 
the  stowage  of  corn. 

Another,  twelve  years  later,  14th  January  1624, 
from  the  Lords  of  the  Council  to  the  Lord  Mayor 
and  Aldermen,  requests  them  to  give  directions  for 
the  delivery  to  Sir  Allen  Apsley,  one  of  the  sur- 
veyors-general   for    victualling    the    navy,    of    2000 


Zbc  jfleet.  15 

quarters  of  wheat  from  the  storehouses  at  the  Bridge 
House,  Bridewell,  and  elsewhere,  to  be  made  into 
biscuit  with  all  expedition,  to  be  repaid  by  him  so 
soon  as  he  could  purchase  it,  he  in  the  meantime 
leaving  such  a  sum  of  money  in  the  hands  of  the 
treasurer  of  the  subsidies  as  the  wheat  should  be 
indifferently  praised  at.  And  further  requesting  them 
to  permit  the  said  surveyor  to  use  the  granaries,  bake- 
houses, and  cellars  at  the  Bridge  House  and  Bride- 
well, as  he  might  require  for  His  Majesty's  service, 
between  then  and  Midsummer  following. 

By  an  Act  of  Parliament  passed  in  1756  the  magis- 
trates of  the  City  of  London  were  empowered  to  erect 
a  stone  bridge  across  the  river  Thames  from  Black- 
friars  to  the  opposite  shore  in  the  county  of  Surrey. 
They  were  also  authorised  to  fill  up  the  channel  of  the 
Fleet  Ditch,  and  to  purchase  and  remove  such  build- 
ings, the  removal  of  which  might  be  thought  proper 
for  forming  and  widening  streets  and  avenues. 

The  limpid  stream  had  become  a  public  nuisance 
and  scandal;  it  formed  a  subject  for  the  lampoons 
and  literary  satires  of  the  day. 

Pope,  in  the  "  Dunciad,"  ii.,  thus  alludes  to  it : — 

"  This  labour  past,  by  Bridewell  all  descend, 
As  morning  prayer  and  flagellations  end, 
To  where  Fleet  Ditch  with  disemboguing  stream 
Rolls  the  large  tribute  of  dead  dogs  to  Thames, 
The  King  of  Dykes !  than  whom  no  sluice  of  mud 
With  deeper  sable  blots  the  silver  flood." 


I6 


Zbc  fflcct. 


Swift's  trenchant  but  unsavoury  lines  in  his  '*  City 
Shower "  showed  it  was  time  to  fill  up  the  Fleet 
Ditch. 

Strype  enters  at  length  into  the  Act  for  making 
the  Fleet  Ditch  navigable. 


FLEET   DITCH,    I749. 


The  cost  was  to  be  borne  and  first  defrayed  "  out 
of  the  fourth  part  of  the  imposition  to  be  raised 
on  coals ;  and  in  the  next  place,  after  the  charge 
before  mentioned  shall  be  borne  out  of  the  said 
fourth  part,  satisfaction  shall   be   made  out  of  the 


ZTbc  jflcct.  17 

said  fourth  part  to  the  proprietors  whose  ground 
shall  be  laid  open,  or  from  whom  ground  shall  be 
taken ; "  in  fact,  composition  was  to  be  made. 

The  work  of  making  the  channel  navigable,  begun 
in  1668,  lasted  five  years,  and  was  finished  in 
1673. 

The  distance  is  2100  feet  from  the  Thames  to 
Holborn  Bridge,  but  the  work  reached  only  to  Fleet 
Bridge,  the  rest  being  arched  over,  and  covered  with 
a  new  market.  "It  is  wharfed  on  both  sides  with 
stone  and  brick  laid  with  terras.  It  hath  a  strong 
campshot  all  along  on  both  sides,  over  the  brick 
wharfing,  with  land  ties  in  several  places.  It  hath 
rails  of  oak,  breast-high  above  the  campshot,  to 
prevent  danger  at  night. 

"  There  is  5  feet  water  at  Holborn,  and  that  at  a 
five  o'clock  tide,  which  is  a  slack  one,  but  more  at 
spring  and  other  nepe  tides.  The  wharfs  are  35 
feet  broad,  with  fair  buildings.  The  charge  of  sink- 
ing, clearing,  wharfing,  &c.,  ;^  2  7, 7  7  7,  beside  what 
was  paid  as  composition." 

In  the  "  Remembrancia "  there  is  preserved  a 
letter  from  William  Herbert  (third  Earl  of  Pembroke) 
to  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  dated  Amesbury, 
15th  July  1624,  requesting  them  to  give  directions 
for  the  necessary  repair  of  the  City  wall  near  Bride- 
well, which  ran  along  his  house  and  garden  in  Black- 
friars,  and  which  was  marvellously  broken  down  and 


i8  Zbc  jflect. 

decayed  through  the  daily  resort  of  barges  into  that 
dock. 

The  two  bridges,  one  at  Fleet  Lane  and  the  other 
at  Bridewell,  stood  on  stone  arches  over  the  river, 
having  steps  to  ascend  and  descend  on  the  other 
side,  and  half  a  pace  over  the  arches,  all  of  Purbeck 
and  Portland  stone. 

So  comes  it  that  the  bridge  now  existing  at 
Blackfriars  fills  the  mouth  of  the  once  filthy  Fleet 
Ditch  or  Bridewell  Dock.  This  bridge  was  origi- 
nally named  Pitt's  Bridge,  in  honour  of  William  Pitt, 
Earl  of  Chatham. 

Sir  Thomas  Chitty,  Knight,  Lord  Mayor,  laid  the 
first  stone,  October  30,  1760,  Mr.  Mylne  designed 
and  built  the  structure,  which  consisted  of  nine 
arches,  that  in  the  centre  being  100  feet  in  span ;  the 
whole  length,  995  feet,  with  a  carriage-way  of  28 
feet,  and  side-walks  7  feet  each. 

It  was  completed  at  the  end  of  the  year  1768; 
the  total  cost  being  ;j^r52,840,  3s.  lod.,  defrayed 
by  certain  tolls  ;  upon  the  credit  of  which  the  City 
magnates  were  directed  to  raise  a  sum  not  exceed- 
ing ;;^3o,ooo  in  one  year  till  ;^i 60,000,  the  given 
limit,  was  raised. 

A  hundred  years  later  a  new  and  finer  bridge 
was  erected  by  Cubitt,  and  is  called  Blackfriars 
Bridge,  forming  a  fitting  termination  to  the  Thames 
Embankment. 


XLbe  yieet 


19 


In  1812  the  following  was  the  number  of  persons, 
horses,  and  carriages,  &c.,  passing  over  the  bridge  in 
one  day  : — 


Foot-passengers     . 

,     61,069 

Horses 

...          822 

Coaches 

890 

Waggons 

533 

Gigs,  &c. 

590 

Carts,  &c      . 

•       1,502 

This  presents  something  of  a  contrast  with  the 
figures  which  represent  the  traffic  of  the  present 
day,  represented  in  part  by  the  following  figures  : — 

On  the  30th  April  1888,  between  the  hours  of 
8  A.M.  and  6  p.m.,  there  passed  over  the  bridge  some 
6155  vehicles  going  north,  and  6090  going  south. 

Considering  the  number  of  these  drawn  by  two 
horses,  and  heavy  waggons  with  three  or  more,  we 
may  fairly  take  an  average  of  say  two  and  a  half 
horses  for  each,  which  gives  30,612  as  the  number 
of  horses  passing  in  1888.  And  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  in  181 2  there  were  only  three  bridges 
over  the  Thames  for  the  City  of  London;  in  1888 
there  are  thirteen,  besides  five  railway  bridges. 

There  are  a  few  curious  reminiscences  of  Bride- 
well Dock  in  some  well-known  tradesmen's  tokens 
of  the  seventeenth  century. 

It  was  formerly  a  landing-place  for  Thames  water- 


20  c;be  Jlect. 

men,  and,   as  might  be  expected,   abounded  with 
houses  of  entertainment. 

In  Lodowick  Barry's  "Ram  Alley,  or  Merrie 
Tricks"  (printed  in  1611,  4to),  Will  Smallbankes 
and  the  rest  of  his  fellows,  while  being  conducted 
after  supper  by  torchlight  from  the  Mitre  in  Fleet 
Street  to  the  Savoy,  are  set  on,  swords  drawn,  by 
Throat  and  his  desperadoes,  who  carry  off  the  pre- 
tended heiress  unperceived  towards  St.  Giles.  Thos. 
Smallbankes,  nettled  at  this  ill-luck,  affirms  that 
she  had  run  off  towards  Fleet  Bridge ;  but  Will 
asserting  it  as  a  thing  not  possible,  Thomas  reite- 
rates—  „ .,  ,.^ 

"  Upon  my  life, 
They  went  in  by  the  Greyhound,  and  so  strooke 
Into  Bridewell,— to  take  water  at  the  dock." 

The  "Greyhound"  was  a  well-known  tavern  on  the 
south  side  of  Fleet  Street. 

The  following  are  the  tokens  in  Beaufoy's  list  con- 
nected with  Bridewell : — 

Bridewell  Dock. 

No.  230.  At  ye  Pyd  Bull  In.  A  bull  in  the  field.  Rev. : 
Ould  Brid-well  1652.     In  the  field,  M.  A.  E. 

No,  231.  Robert  Chapman  at  Bride,  Woodmonger's  Arms. 
Rev. :  Well-Dock.  His  halfpenny.  In  the 
field,  R.  E.  C. 

No.  233.  Gile  Ray,  Woodmong.  Woodmonger's  Arms 
in  the  field.  Rev. :  At  Bridewell  Dock.  In 
the  field,  G.  I.  R. 


JLbc  iFlect.  21 

Bridewell  Steps. 

No.  234.  At  the  Sun  Tavern.  The  sun  in  rays  in  the 
field.  Rev. :  Upon  Bridewell  Steps.  In  the 
field,  A.  E.  C. 

Bride  Lane,  Fleet  Street. 

No.  239.  Will  Hearne  at  y"  Whit.  A  bear  in  the  field.^ 
Rev. :  In  Bride  Lane.     In  field,  W.  M.  H. 


1  As  early  as  1252  a  white  bear  was  sent  from  Norway  as  a  pre- 
sent to  King  Henry  III.  It  was  kept  at  the  Tower,  and  fourpence 
a  day  for  his  keep  was  directed  to  be  paid  by  the  Sheriffs  of  Lon- 
don. A  white  bear,  with  collar  and  chain  and  muzzled,  was  the 
badge  of  Anne,  consort  of  Richard  III.  The  bear  was  the  badge 
of  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  who  was  supposed  to  have  derived  it  from 
Urso  d'Abilot. 


(      22      ) 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  FOUNDATION  (Temp.  Ed.  VI.) 

King  Henry  VHL,  upon  the  petition  of  Sir  John 
Gresham,  granted  charters  of  Bethlehem  ^  and  St.  Bar- 
tholomew Hospitals  to  the  City  a  very  few  days  before 
his  -death  in  January  1547.  The  circumstances  which 
led  to  this  are  full  of  interest. 

After  the  suppression  of  the  monasteries  and  other 
religious  houses,  London  became  filled  with  multi- 
tudes of  dissolute  and  necessitous  persons,  who  before 
that  period  had  depended  on  ecclesiastical  charity 
for  their  support.  It  therefore  became  necessary 
to  adopt  some  plan  for  the  correction  of  offenders, 
and  to  afford  a  refuge  and  relief  to  such  as  were  in 
actual  want. 

The  first  effort  towards  this  laudable  and  charitable 
end  was  made  by  the  pious  Bishop  of  London,  Nicho- 
las Ridley,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  So  interest- 
ing is  the  account  of  Bridewell  in  connection  with 
this  in  Strype's  "Stow,"  vol.  i.  p.  197,  that  it  is  tran- 
scribed here. 

1  In  the  charter  the  name  is  throughout  spelt  "  Bethlem." 


From  an  Oil  Painting  ly  A.  Van  der  Werff. 


Jibe  jfounDation.  23 

"There  were  also  in  the  city  many  others  of  the 
poor  necessitous  sort  that  liad  neither  house  nor  har- 
bour to  put  tneir  heads  in,  but  were  fain  to  lie  abroad 
in  the  open  streets,  and  divers  families  of  other  poor 
fain  to  lie  under  one  roof. 

"This  did  closely  affect  many  good  citizens,  and 
particularly  Ridley,  the  good  Bishop  of  London,  who 
by  some  means  was  informed  of  it,  and  moved  in  it. 
And  considering  that  Bridewell,  an  old  decayed  house 
of  the  King's  situate  in  the  city,  being  very  large  and 
capacious,  might  be  extremely  serviceable  to  this 
charitable  purpose,  he  endeavoured  to  find  a  way  to 
beg  it  of  the  King,  especially  at  this  time,  when  one 
was  about  buying  it  of  the  King  to  put  it  down  and 
convert  it  to  his  own  use.  And  for  the  compassing 
of  this,  in  the  month  of  May,  this  charitable  year 
1552,  he  wrote  a  very  pathetical  letter  to  Sir  William 
Cecyl,  Knight,  the  King's  secretary,  whom  he  knew  to 
be  of  a  pious  disposition,  as  well  as  much  about  the 
King,  having  promised  the  citizens  to  move  him  in  the 
matter,  because  he  took  him  for  one,  as  he  told  him 
in  his  letter,  that  feareth  God." 

His  moving  letter  ran  to  this  tenor  : — 

"  Good  Master  Cecyl, — I  must  be  a  suitor  with 
you  in  our  Master  Christ's  cause.  I  beseech  you  to 
be  good  unto  Him.  The  matter  is,  Sir,  that  he  hath 
been  too,  too  long  abroad,  without  lodging,  in  the 


24  ^bc  jfounDation. 


streets  of  London,  both  hungry,  naked,  and  cold. 
Now  thanks  be  to  Almighty  God,  the  citizens  are 
wiUing  to  refresh  Him,  and  to  give  Him  meat,  drink, 
clothing,  and  firing.  But  alas  !  they  lack  lodging  for 
Him,  for  in  some  one  house,  I  dare  say,  they  are  fain 
to  lodge  three  families  under  one  roof.  Sir,  there  is 
a  wide  large  empty  house  of  the  King's  Majesty, 
called  Bridewell,  which  would  wonderfully  well  serve 
to  lodge  Christ  in,  if  He  might  find  friends  at  court 
to  procure  in  His  cause. 

"  Surely  I  have  such  a  good  opinion  in  the  King's 
Majesty,  that  if  Christ  had  such  faithful  and  hearty 
friends  that  would  heartily  speak  for  Him,  He  should 
undoubtedly  speed  at  the  King's  Majesty's  hands. 

"  I  have  promised  my  brethren  the  citizens  to  move 
you,  because  I  do  take  you  for  one  that  feareth  God, 
and  would  that  Christ  should  be  no  more  abroad  in 
the  street." 

He  prayed  him  also  for  God's  sake  that  he  would 
stop  the  sale  of  the  house,  in  case  any  were  about 
buying  it,  as  he  had  heard  there  was,  and  that  he 
would  speak  in  our  Master's  cause. 

The  said  Bishop  wrote  also  to  Sir  John  Gates, 
another  great  man  at  court,  about  the  business  more 
at  large ;  and  he  joined,  he  said,  Cecyl  with  him  and 
all  others  that  loved  and  looked  for  Christ's  final 
benediction  on  the  latter  day :  meaning  that  in  the 


^be  3foun5atfon.  25 

Gospel,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  My  Father,  inherit  the 
kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  :  for  I  was  an  hungered,"  &c.,  &c. 

He  also  sent  instructions  by  the  bearer  of  this 
letter  to  confer  further  with  Cecyl  in  this  affair;  so 
that  Ridley's  name  must  not  be  forgotten  as  a  great  in- 
strument to  the  procurement  of  Bridewell  to  the  City. 

"Afterwards,  this  house  being  obtained  to  the  City, 
it  was  employed  for  the  correction  and  punishment 
of  idle  vagrant  people  and  dissolute,  and  for  setting 
them  to  work,  that  they  might  in  an  honest  way  take 
pains  to  get  their  own  livelihood." 

"  And  here  I  cannot  omit  to  leave  upon  record,  to 
their  eternal  honour,  the  names  of  the  two  good  Mayors 
of  London,  Dobbs  and  Barnes,  the  former  a  main 
instrument  of  procuring  the  foundation  of  this  and 
the  other  hospitals,  the  latter  of  furthering  the  good 
estate  of  them ;  whom  in  this  most  Christianly  affec- 
tionate manner  the  aforesaid  good  Bishop  of  London 
accosted  in  one  of  the  letters  he  wrote  out  of  prison 
a  little  before  his  death." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  letter  here  referred 
to:— 

"  O  Dobbs,  Dobbs,  Alderman  and  Knight,  thou  in 
thy  year  didst  win  my  heart  for  evermore  for  that 
honourable  act,  that  most  blessed  work  of  God,  of 
the  erection  and  setting  up  of  Christ's  holy  hospi- 


a6  Ubc  ^ounDation. 


tals  and  truly  religious  houses,  which  by  thee  and 
through  thee  were  begun.  For  there,  like  a  man  of 
God,  when  the  matter  was  moved  for  Christ's  poor 
silly  members  to  be  holpen  from  extreme  misery, 
hunger,  and  famine,  thy  heart,  I  say,  was  moved  with 
pity ;  and  as  Christ's  high  honourable  officer  in  that 
cause,  thou  calledst  together  thy  brethren  the  Alder- 
men of  the  City,  before  whom  thou  breakest  the  matter 
for  the  poor.  Thou  didst  plead  their  cause  ;  yea,  and 
not  only  in  thine  own  person  thou  didst  set  forth 
Christ's  cause,  but  to  further  the  matter,  thou  brought- 
est  me  into  the  Council  Chamber  of  the  City,  before 
the  Aldermen  alone,  whom  thou  hadst  assembled  there 
together  to  hear  me  speak  what  I  would  say  as  an  ad- 
vocate by  office  and  duty  in  the  poor  man's  cause. 

"  The  Lord  wrought  with  thee,  and  gave  thee  the 
consent  of  the  brethren,  whereby  the  matter  was 
brought  to  the  Common  Council,  and  so  to  the  whole 
body  of  the  City,  by  whom,  with  an  uniform  consent, 
it  was  committed  to  be  drawn,  ordered,  and  devised 
by  a  certain  number  of  the  most  witty  citizens  and 
politic,  endued  also  with  godliness  and  with  ready 
hearts  to  set  forward  such  a  noble  act,  as  could  be 
chosen  in  all  the  whole  City. 

*'  And  they,  like  true  and  faithful  ministers  both  to 
the  City  and  their  master  Christ,  so  ordered,  devised, 
and  brought  forth  the  matter,  that  thousands  of  poor 
silly  members  of  Christ,  that  also  for  extreme  hunger 


^be  foundation.  27 


and  misery  should  have  famished  and  perished,  shall 
be  relieved,  holpen,  and  brought  up,  and  shall  have 
cause  to  bless  the  Aldermen  of  that  time,  the  Com- 
mon Council,  and  the  whole  body  of  the  City,  and 
especially  thee,  O  Dobbs,  and  those  chosen  men  by 
whom  this  honourable  work  of  God  was  begun  and 
wrought. 

"And  thou,  O  Sir  George  Barnes,  thou  wast  in 
thy  year  not  only  a  furtherer  and  continuer  of  that 
which  before  thee  by  thy  predecessor  was  well  begun, 
but  also  thou  didst  labour  so  to  have  perfected  the 
work  that  it  should  have  been  an  absolute  thing  and 
a  perfect  spectacle  of  true  charity  and  godliness  unto 
all  Christendom. 

"Thine  endeavour  was  to  have  set  up  an  house 
of  occupation,  both  that  all  kind  of  poverty,  being 
able  to  work,  should  not  have  lacked  whereupon  pro- 
fitably they  might  have  been  occupied,  to  their  own 
relief  and  to  the  profit  and  commodity  of  the  com- 
monwealth of  the  City,  and  also  to  have  retired  thither 
the  poor  babes  brought  up  in  the  hospitals,  when 
they  had  come  to  a  certain  age  and  strength,  and 
also  all  those  which  in  these  hospitals  aforesaid  have 
been  cured  of  their  diseases. 

"  And  to  have  brought  this  to  pass  thou  obtainedst, 
not  without  great  diligence  and  labour,  both  of  thee 
and  thy  brethren,  of  that  godly  King  Edward,  that 
Christian  and  peerless  prince,  the  princely  palace  of 


28  Cbe  youn&atlon. 


Bridewell,  and  what  other  things  to  the  performance 
of  the  same,  and  under  what  conditions,  it  is  not 
unknown. 

"  That  this  thine  endeavour  hath  not  had  like  suc- 
cess, the  fault  is  not  in  thee,  but  in  the  condition  and 
state  of  the  time." 

By  the  contents  of  which  letter,  may  be  understood 
more  particularly  than  perhaps  any  history  hath  yet 
told  us,  what  was  that  course  and  method  which  the 
citizens  took,  in  their  first  attempts  in  founding 
Bridewell  and  Christ's  Hospitals. 

But  while  these  before-mentioned  good  motions 
were  in  hand  in  the  City,  the  King  was  excited  to 
these  charities  by  good  sermons  preached  before 
him. 

Such  was  that  of  Mr,  Lever,  a  learned  and  pious 
preacher  in  those  days,  and  Master  of  St.  John's 
College,  Cambridge,  who,  in  a  Lent  sermon  before 
His  Majesty,  used  these  words  : — 

"  O  merciful  Lord,  what  a  number  of  poor,  feeble, 
halt,  blind,  lame,  sickly,  yea,  with  idle  vagabonds 
and  dissembling  caitiffs  mixed  among  them,  lie  and 
creep,  begging  in  the  miry  streets  of  London  and 
Westminster?  It  is  too  great  pity  afore  the  world, 
and  to  utter  damnation  afore  God,  to  see  these 
begging  as  they  use  to  do  in  the  streets. 

"  For  there  is  never  a  one  of  these  but  he  lacketh 


Zbc  youn^atfon.  29 

either  thy  charitable  alms  to  relieve  his  need,  or 
else  thy  due  correction  to  punish  his  fault 

"  These  silly  souls  have  been  neglected  throughout 
all  England,  and  especially  in  London  and  West- 
minster; but  now  I  trust  that  a  good  overseer,  a 
godly  bishop — Bishop  Ridley,  I  mean — will  see  that 
they  in  these  two  cities  shall  have  their  needs  relieved 
and  their  faults  corrected,  to  the  good  ensample  of  all 
other  towns  and  cities. 

"  Take  heed  that  there  be  such  grass  to  sit  down 
there,  as  ye  (speaking  to  the  King)  command  the 
people  to  sit  down ;  that  there  be  sufficient  housing 
and  other  provision  for  the  people  there,  as  ye  com- 
mand them  to  be  quiet  '  The  men  sat  down  above 
5000  in  number,'"  which  words  were  part  of  the 
Gospel  for  the  day,  out  of  which  he  took  his  text 

And  Ridley,  that  zealous  and  charitable  prelate, 
and  a  true  father  of  his  flock  in  London,  was  season- 
ably called  also  to  preach  before  the  King  at  West- 
minster, when  he  so  closely  and  affectionately  pressed 
persons  in  high  place  and  calling  to  be  instruments  in 
helping  and  succouring  the  poor,  that  the  King  was 
exceedingly  moved  with  his  discourse,  and  presently 
sent  for  him,  taking  notice  to  him  of  his  sermon, 
and  that  he  supposed  he  had  him  chiefly  in  his 
eye,  as  being  the  highest  of  those  in  great  place  and 
calling,  that  he  the  Bishop  spake  to. 

Then  the  King  assured  him  of  his  own  readiness 


30  Zbc  3foun^ation. 


to  promote  such  good  purposes,  desiring  him  to 
direct  him  therein,  and  what  he  would  advise  him 
to  do  in  that  part. 

How  the  Bishop  hereupon  referred  the  King  to 
the  City,  and  how  the  King  presently  caused  a  letter 
to  be  penned  and  sent  to  the  Mayor  and  his  brethren 
to  enter  into  consideration  about  it,  and  how  the 
Mayor,  the  Bishop,  and  other  eminent  citizens  met 
together  to  prepare  something  for  the  King  on  behalf 
of  their  poor,  and  the  report  thereof  made  to  the 
King,  and  other  matters  relating  hereunto,  are  all  set 
down  under  "  Christ  Church  "  in  the  Ward  of  Farring- 
don  Within  as  follows  : — 

"Doctor  Ridley,  then  Bishop  of  London,  came 
and  preached  before  the  King's  Majesty  at  West- 
minster, in  which  sermon  he  made  a  fruitful  and 
godly  exhortation  to  the  rich,  to  be  merciful  unto 
the  poor,  and  also  to  move  such  as  were  in  authority 
to  travel  by  some  charitable  ways  and  means  to 
comfort  and  relieve  them. 

"Whereupon  the  King's  Majesty,  being  a  prince 
of  such  towardness  and  virtue  for  his  years  as  Eng- 
land before  never  brought  forth,  and  being  also 
so  well  retained  and  brought  up  in  all  godly  know- 
ledge, as  well  by  his  dear  uncle  the  late  Protector 
(Edward  Seymour,  Duke  of  Somerset),  as  also  by 
his  virtuous  schoolmasters,  was  so  careful  of  the 
good  government  of  the  realm,  and  chiefly  to  do 


Zbc  jFounDation.  31 

and  prefer  such  things  as  most  especially  touched 
the  honour  of  Almighty  God ;  and  understanding 
that  a  great  number  of  poor  people  did  swarm  in 
this  realm,  and  chiefly  in  the  City  of  London,  and 
that  no  good  order  was  taken  for  them,  did  suddenly 
and  of  himself  send  to  the  said  Bishop  as  soon  as 
his  sermon  was  ended,  willing  not  to  depart  until 
that  he  had  spoken  with  him. 

"  And  this  that  I  now  write  was  the  very  report  of 
the  said  Bishop  Ridley,  who,  according  to  the  King's 
command,  gave  his  attendance. 

"As  soon  as  the  King's  Majesty  was  at  leisure, 
he  called  for  him,  and  caused  him  to  come  unto  him 
in  a  great  gallery  at  Westminster,  where  to  his  know- 
ledge, and  the  King  likewise  told  him  so,  there  were 
present  no  more  persons  than  they  two ;  and  there- 
fore made  him  sit  down  in  one  chair,  and  he  himself 
in  another,  which,  as  it  seemed,  were  before  the  com- 
ing of  the  Bishop  there  purposely  set,  and  caused  the 
Bishop,  in  spite  of  his  teeth,  to  be  covered,  and  then 
entered  communication  with  him  in  this  manner. 

"First,  giving  him  hearty  thanks  for  his  sermon 
and  good  exhortation,  he  therein  rehearsed  such  spe- 
cial things  as  he  had  noted,  and  that  so  many  that  the 
Bishop  said,  '  Truly,  truly  ' — for  that  commonly  was 
his  oath — '  I  could  never  have  thought  that  excellency 
to  have  been  in  His  Grace,  but  that  I  beheld  and 
heard  it  in  him.' 


32  XLbc  3founJ)atfon. 


"  At  the  last,  the  King's  Majesty  much  commended 
him  for  his  exhortation  for  the  relief  of  the  poor. 

"The  Bishop,  thinking  least  of  that  matter,  and 
being  amazed  to  hear  the  wisdom  and  earnest  zeal  of 
the  King,  was,  as  he  said  himself,  so  astonished,  that 
he  could  not  tell  what  to  say ;  but  after  some  pause 
said  that  he  thought  at  this  present  for  some  entrance 
to  be  had,  it  were  good  to  practise  with  the  City  of 
London,  because  the  numbers  of  the  poor  there  '  are 
very  great,  and  the  citizens  also  are  many  and  wise,' 
and  he  doubted  not  but  that  they  were  also  both  piti- 
ful and  merciful,  as  the  Mayor  and  his  brethren,  and 
other  the  worshipful  of  the  said  City ;  and  that  if  it 
would  please  the  King's  Majesty  to  direct  his  gracious 
letters  unto  the  Mayor  of  London,  inviting  him  to 
call  in  such  assistants  as  he  should  think  meet  to 
consult  of  this  matter  for  some  order  to  be  taken 
therein,  he  doubted  not  but  good  would  follow 
thereon. 

"And  he  himself  promised  the  King  to  be  one 
himself  that  should  earnestly  assist  therein. 

"  The  King  forthwith  not  only  granted  his  letter, 
but  made  the  Bishop  tarry  until  the  same  was  written, 
and  his  hand  and  signet  set  thereto,  and  commanded 
the  Bishop  not  only  to  deliver  the  said  letter  himself, 
but  also  to  signify  unto  the  Mayor  that  it  was  the 
King's  especial  request  and  express  commandment 
that  the  Mayor  should  assist  therein,  and,  as  soon  as 


tTbe  jFounDatlon.  '       33 

he  might  conveniently,  give  him  knowledge  how  far 
he  proceeded  therein. 

"  The  Bishop  was  so  joyous  of  receiving  of  this 
letter,  and  that  now  he  had  occasion  to  assist  in  so 
good  a  matter,  wherein  he  was  marvellous  zealous,  that 
nothing  could  have  more  pleased  and  delighted  him. 

"  Wherefore  the  same  night  he  came  to  the  Mayor 
of  London,  who  was  then  Sir  Richard  Dobbs,  Knt, 
and  delivered  the  King's  letter,  and  showed  his  mes- 
sage with  effect. 

"  The  Lord  Mayor  not  only  joyously  received  this 
letter,  but  with  all  speed  agreed  to  set  forward  the 
matter,  for  he  also  favoured  it  very  much.  And  the 
next  day  being  Monday,  he  desired  the  Bishop  of 
London  to  dine  with  him,  and  against  that  time  the 
Mayor  promised  to  send  for  such  men  as  he  thought 
meetest  to  talk  of  this  matter;  and  so  he  did. 
{See  p.  35.) 

*'  The  order  taken,  and  the  citizens  meeting  to  fur- 
ther the  same,  the  report  was  submitted,  and  His 
Grace  (the  King),  for  the  advancement  thereof,  was 
not  only  willing  to  grant  to  such  as  should  be  over- 
seers and  governors  of  the  said  houses  ^  a  charter  of 
corporation  and  authority  for  the  government  thereof, 
but  also  requested  that  he  might  be  accounted  as  the 
chief  Founder  and  Patron  thereof. 

1  Christ's,  Bridewell,  and  S.  Thomas. 


34  tibe  jfounDatfon. 


"  And  for  the  furtherance  of  the  work  and  the  main- 
tenance of  the  same,  he  of  his  mere  mercy  and  good- 
ness granted  that  whereas  before,  certain  lands  were 
given  to  the  maintaining  of  the  house  of  the  Savoy 
founded  by  King  Henry  VII.  for  the  lodging  of  pil- 
grims and  strangers,  and  that  the  same  was  now  made 
but  a  lodging  for  loiterers,  vagabonds,  and  dissolute, 
that  lay  all  day  in  the  fields,  and  at  night  were  har- 
boured there,  which  was  rather  the  maintenance  of 
beggary  than  any  relief  to  the  poor,  he  gave  the  same 
lands,  being  first  surrendered  by  the  Master  and  Fel- 
lows, which  lands  were  of  the  yearly  value  of  ;^6oo, 
unto  the  City  of  London  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
aforesaid  foundation. 

"  And  for  a  further  relief,  a  petition  being  made  for 
a  license  to  take  in  mortmain  or  otherwise  without 
license,  lands  to  a  certain  yearly  value,  and  a  space 
left  in  the  patent  for  His  Grace  to  fill  in  the  sum  it 
might  please  him,  he  with  his  own  hand  wrote  the 
sum  4000  marks  by  the  year,  and  then  in  the  hearing 
of  the  Council  he  uttered  this  prayer,  '  Lord,  I  yield 
Thee  most  hearty  thanks  that  Thou  hast  given  me  life 
thus  long  to  finish  this  work,  to  the  glory  of  Thy  name.' " 
He  died  two  days  afterwards,  having  by  this,  almost 
the  last  act  of  his  life,  become  the  founder  of  the 
Royal  Hospitals  in  London. 

Perpetuating  the  memory  of  the  young  monarch, 
his  picture  was  to  be  found  in  Strype's  time  hanging 


Zbc  ifoun&ation.  35 

close  to  the  pulpit  in  the  chapel  at  Bridewell,  with 
these  lines  under  it : — 

"This  Edward  of  fair  memory  the  Sixth, 
In  whom  with  greatness,  goodness  was  commixt, 
Gave  this  Bridewell,  a  palace  in  old  time, 
For  a  chastising  house  of  vagrant  crime." 

The  action  taken  by  the  Lord  Mayor,  Sir  R.  Dobbs, 
on  receiving  the  Bishop's  communication,  was  of  the 
promptest  sort.  He  sent  for  his  colleagues,  and  made 
a  selection  of  twenty-four  Aldermen  and  commoners  to 
be  a  committee.  After  several  meetings  they  agreed 
upon  a  scheme. 

In  this  they  considered  nine  especial  kinds  and  sorts 

of  poor  people,  and  those  they  brought  into  these 

degrees  : — 

Three  Degrees  of  Poor. 

1.  Poor  by  impotency. 

2.  Poor  by  casualty. 

3.  Thriftless  poor. 

1.  The  poor  by  impotency  are  also  divided  thus : — 

(i.)  Fatherless  poor  man's  child. 
(2.)  The  aged,  blind,  and  lame. 
(3.)  The  diseased  person  by  leprosy,  dropsy, 
&c. 

2.  The  poor  by  casualty,  thus  : — 

(i.)  The  wounded  soldiers. 

(2.)  The  decayed  householder. 

(3.)  The  visited  with  any  grievous  disease. 


36  XLbc  3foun&atfon. 


3,  The  thriftless  poor,  thus  : — 

(i.)  The  rioter,  that  consumeth  all. 
(2.)  The  vagabond,  that  will  abide  in  no  place. 
(3.)  The  idle  person,  as  dissolute  women  and 
others. 

For  these  sorts  three  several  houses  were  pro- 
vided : — 

Jnrsf,  For  the  innocent  and  fatherless,  the  house 
that  was  the  late  Grey  Friars  in  London,  but 
now  called  by  the  name  of  Christ's  Hospital. 

Secondly,  Were  provided  the  Hospital  of  St  Thomas 
in  Southwark  and  St  Bartholomew  in  West 
Smithfield. 

Thirdly,  Bridewell,  for  the  vagabond,  idle,  and 
dissolute. 

They  also  provided  outdoor  relief  for  the  decayed 
householder,  and  pensions  for  the  leper. 

The  Charter  granted  by  the  King,  sets  forth  the 
particulars  of  the  royal  gift  and  the  various  goods, 
chattels,  furniture,  linen,  &c.,  from  the  Savoy.  *'  Uten- 
sils, beddings,  and  necessaries  lately  belonging  and 
appertaining  unto  our  said  late  Hospital  of  the  Savoy," 
(reserving  "one  great  bell,  and  one  small  bell,  and 
one  chalice,")  and  revenues  unto  the  yearly  value  of 
4000  marks,  unto  the  said  Mayor  and  commonalty 
and  citizens  of  the  city  aforesaid,  and  to  their  succes- 
sors for  ever." 


Zbc  3founC»ation.  37 

"  In  strains  melodious,  the  trump  of  Fame, 
Enamour'd,  echoes  the  Sixth  Edward's  name  ; 
A  name  which  charity  has  firm  impressed 
On  the  warm  feelings  of  the  grateful  breast." 

In  the  "Memorials  of  the  Savoy,"  by  Loftie,  is 
the  following  passage  : — 

"Sir  Roger  Cholmely,  Lord  Chief  Baron,  was 
appointed  visitor  to  report  upon  the  state  of  the 
hospital  and  its  revenues ;  this  he  did,  and  his 
report  was  unfavourable." 

Ralph  Jackson  was  appointed  Vice-Master,  9th 
June  1553,  but  had  to  surrender  the  hospital  to 
the  King,  who,  on  the  26th  June,  made  over  the 
estates,  with  the  implements  and  utensils,  to  Bride- 
well. 

In  1558  the  Hospital  of  the  Savoy  was  refounded ; 
and  it  is  said  that  all  the  beds  having  been  taken 
away,  the  "ladies  of  the  court,"  for  "the  better 
attaining  the  Queen's  good  grace,"  refurnished  them 
in  a  very  ample  manner. 

The  charter  of  Bridewell  was  confirmed  26th  June 
1553,  and  in  1555,  during  the  February  of  that  year, 
Sir  W.  Gerard,  Mayor,  and  the  Aldermen,  entered 
Bridewell  and  took  possession  thereof,  according  to 
the  gift  of  the  said  King  Edward  VI., — the  same 
being  confirmed  by  Queen  Mary. 

The  following  is  an  abstract  of  an  Act  of  Common 
Council,  the  last  of  February,  the  second  and  third 
of  Philip  and  Mary,  concerning  Bridewell : — 


38  Zbc  ^oun&atfon. 

"  Forasmuch  as  King  Ed.  VI.  had  given  his  house 
of  Bridewell  unto  the  City,  partly  for  the  setting  of 
idle  and  lewd  people  to  work,  and  partly  for  the 
lodging  and  harbouring  of  the  poor,  sicke,  and 
weake,  and  sore  people  of  the  city,  and  of  poor  way- 
faring people  repairing  to  the  same ;  and  had  for 
this  last  purpose  given  the  bedding  and  furniture 
of  the  Savoy  to  that  purpose :  Therefore,  in  con- 
sideration that  very  great  charges  would  be  required 
to  the  fitting  of  the  said  house  and  the  buying  of 
tooles  and  bedding,  the  money  was  ordered  to  be 
gotten  up  among  the  rich  people  of  the  Companies 
of  London." 


(    39    ) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PARTICULARS  AND  USES  OF  THE  HOSPITAL 
AS  FOUNDED. 

The  education  of  destitute  children  and  the  cure  of 
paupers  afflicted  with  disease  having  been  provided 
for  by  the  erection  of  the  Hospitals  of  Christ  Church, 
St.  Bartholomew,  and  St.  Thomas,  the  citizens  turned 
their  attention  to  the  establishment  of  a  place  for  the 
reception  of  those  vagrants  and  mendicants  who  were 
not  the  objects  of  these  institutions,  and  with  this 
view  this  petition  (referred  to,  p.  ^^)  was  presented 
to  the  King,  Edward  VI.,  praying  for  a  grant  of  the 
ancient  palace  of  Bridewell,  which  appeared  suitable 
for  their  purpose. 

"  J  Supplication  made  by  the  Assent  of  the  Governors 
of  the  Poor  in  the  name  of  the  same  Poor,  to  the 
King's  Majesty  for  the  obtainifig  of  the  House  of 
Bridewell,     a.d.  1552. 

"For  Jesu  Christ's  sake,  right  dear  and  most 
dread  Sovereign  Lord,  we,  the  humble,  miserable,  sore 


40       particulars  an&  IHses  ot  tbe  "IbospltaL 

sick,  and  friendless  people,  beseech  your  gracious  Ma- 
jesty to  cast  upon  us  your  eyes  of  mercy  and  compas- 
sion, who  now  by  the  operation  of  the  Almighty  God, 
the  citizens  of  London  have  already  so  lovingly  and 
tenderly  looked  upon,  that  they  have  not  only  pro- 
vided help  for  the  maladies  and  diseases  and  the  vir- 
tuous education  and  bringing  up  of  our  miserable  and 
poor  children,  but  also  have  in  a  readiness,  most  pro- 
fitable and  wholesome  occupation  for  the  continuing 
of  us  and  ours  in  godly  exercise,  by  reason  whereof 
we  shall  no  more  fall  into  that  puddle  of  idleness, 
which  was  the  mother  and  leader  of  us  into  beggary 
and  all  mischief,  but  from  henceforth  shall  walk  in 
that  fresh  field  of  exercise  which  is  the  guider  and 
begetter  of  all  wealth,  virtue,  and  honesty. 

"But  also,  most  gracious  Lord,  except  we  find 
favour  in  the  eyes  of  your  Majesty,  all  this  their  tra- 
vail and  our  hope  of  deliverance  from  that  wretched 
and  vile  state  cannot  be  attained,  for  lack  of  harbour 
and  lodging,  and  therefore,  most  gracious  Sovereign, 
hear  us,  speaking  in  Christ's  name  and  for  Christ's  sake, 
have  compassion  on  us,  that  we  may  lie  no  longer 
in  the  street  for  lack  of  harbour,  and  that  our  old 
sore  of  idleness  may  no  longer  vex  us,  nor  grieve  the 
commonweal.  Our  suit,  most  dear  Sovereign,  is  for 
one  of  your  Grace's  houses  called  Bridewell,  a  thing 
no  doubt  both  unmeet  for  us  to  ask  of  your  Majesty 
and  also  to  enjoy,  if  we  asked  the  same  for  our  simple 


particulars  and  Tildes  of  tbe  IbospftaL       41 

living  and  unworthiness-sake,  but  we,  as  the  poor 
members  of  our  Saviour  Jesu  Christ,  sent  by  Him, 
most  humbly  sue  to  your  Majesty  in  our  said  Master's 
name,  Jesu  Christ,  that  we  for  His  sake,  and  for  the 
service  that  He  hath  done  to  your  Grace  and  all  the 
faithful  commons  of  your  realm,  in  spending  His  most 
dear  and  precious  blood  for  you  and  us,  may  receive 
in  reward  at  your  Majesty's  hands,  given  to  us,  His 
members  (which  of  His  great  mercy  He  accounteth 
and  accepteth  in  our  behalves,  as  granted  and  given 
to  Himself),  the  same,  your  Grace's  house  as  a  most 
acceptable  gift  and  great  obligation  offered  unto  Him, 
and  then,  not  we  but  He,  our  said  Master  and  Sa- 
viour, which  already  hath  crowned  your  Majesty  with 
an  earthly  crown,  shall,  according  to  His  promise, 
crown  your  Grace  with  an  everlasting  diadem,  and 
place  you  in  the  palace  of  eternal  glory,  and  not  we 
only,  but  the  whole  congregation  and  Church  spread 
throughout  the  whole  world,  shall  and  will  night  and 
day,  call  and  cry  incessantly  unto  our  said  loving  and 
sweet  Saviour  and  Master  to  preserve  and  defend 
your  Majesty  both  now  and  for  ever." 

It  was  ordered  that  the  Bishop  of  London  should 
go  with  the  deputation,  amongst  whom  were — 

Sir  Martin  Bowes,  goldsmith. 
Sir  Rowland  Hill,  mercer. 
Sir  Andrew  dfnd,  skinner. 

<71U 


42       particulars  an^  Tildes  of  tbe  f)ospitaL 

Sir  John  Gresham,  mercer. 

Sir  John  Ayleph. 

Master  Chester,  and  others. 

The  Bishop  delivered  the  supplication  with  his 
own  hands  unto  the  King's  Highness,  in  his  inner 
closet,  kneeling  on  his  knees,  and  then  made  a  long 
and  learned  oration  to  the  commendation  of  the 
citizens  in  the  travail  of  their  good  work,  and  greatly 
stirred  by  wonderful  persuasion  the  King's  Majesty 
to  be  patron  and  founder  thereof,  and  to  further  all 
their  suits.  ^ 

The  King's  consent  having  been  obtained,  a  state- 
ment was  presented  to  the  King's  Majesty's  most 
Honourable  Council,  a.d.  1552,  setting  forth  the 
objects  of  the  Institution. 

Heartily  thanking  the  King  and  the  Council  for 
their  sympathy,  they  proceed  to  name  how  the  same 
shall  be  used  and  how  managed. 

That  beggary  and  thieving  abounded ;  how  many 
statutes  had  been  made  for  the  redress  of  the  same, 
and  little  amendment  followed;  the  conclusion  that 
idleness  was  the  cause  of  all  this  misery ;  therefore 
work  was  recommended,  that  beggary  might  be  re- 
formed. 

That  general  provision  of  work  should  be  made  for 

1  The  last  chapter,  iii.,  p.  22,  relates  more  particularly  Ridley's 
communications  with  the  King. 


particulars  an5  Xlecs  of  tbe  Ibospftal.       43 

the  willing  poor,  as  well  as  for  the  strong  and  sturdy 
vagabond. 

That  the  work  had  already  been  begun  to  succour 
the  indigent  child,  the  sick  and  the  impotent.  And  for 
the  idle,  that  a  house  of  occupation  should  be  erected, 
wherein  the  child,  "  when  he  is  grown  up  and  found 
unapt  to  learning  and  unable  to  take  service,  may  be 
exercised  and  occupied,  the  sturdy  and  idle  set  to 
work,  and  prisoners  who  are  quit  at  the  sessions." 
And  as  room  is  required  for  these  purposes,  the 
House  of  Bridewell  is  requested. 

And  for  the  use  of  the  house,  it  is  set  forth  that 
profitable  occupations  be  sought,  such  as  making  of 
caps  more  substantial  than  those  made  in  France. 

That  those  lame  of  leg  but  whole  of  hand,  should 
be  occupied  in  making  feather  bed-ticks,  wool  cards, 
drawing  of  iron,  spinning,  carding,  knitting,  and 
winding  of  silk,  &c. ;  and  that  the  stubborn  and 
fouler  sort  be  set  to  making  of  nails  and  other  iron- 
work. 

That  as  the  citizens  had  given  large  sums  for  the 
furnishing  of  Christ's  Hospital  and  St.  Thomas',  so 
they  would  do  the  needful  for  the  third  house. 

That  the  whole  charge  be  committed  to  thirty 
governors,  of  whom  six  are  to  be  Aldermen,  none  to 
receive  fee  or  reward,  and  one  of  their  number  to  be 
appointed  Treasurer  for  a  year. 

Taskmasters  and  mistresses  to  be  appointed  at 


44       particulars  an&  "Qlses  of  tbe  Uospftal. 

convenient  stipends,  and  other  officers,  as  steward, 
porters,  cook,  &c. 

That  a  perfect  confidence  in  the  munificence  of 
those  desirous  to  do  good  would  enable  the  continu- 
ance of  the  house  to  be  maintained  in  the  future. 

That  if  the  House  of  Bridewell  be  not  thought 
proper  and  meet  to  be  converted  for  the  object  in 
view,  then  to  sue  for  the  house  and  lands  of  the 
Savoy,  &c.,  &c. 

The  indenture  of  covenant  was  made,  and  a 
charter  granted  to  the  Royal  Hospitals,  which  pur- 
ports to  confer  those  powers  of  police  which  were 
essential  to  give  effect  to  the  intention  and  objects 
of  the  citizens,  and  to  enable  them  to  clear  the  city 
of  the  vagrants  and  mendicants  by  whom  it  was  in- 
fested. 

The  union  of  Bridewell  with  Bethlehem  was  made 
at  a  court  held  at  Christ's  Hospital  on  27th  Septem- 
ber 1557.  Although  the  objects  of  the  two  hospitals 
were  and  are  essentially  different,  the  same  governors 
acted,  and  do  still  act,  for  the  two  hospitals,  as  a  matter 
of  convenience. 

There  is  in  existence  a  small  black-letter  volume, 
1557,  which  gives  the  "Ordinances  for  the  Good  of 
the  Hospitals ; "  among  other  things,  directions  to 
the  beadles  to  walk  through  their  wards,  staff  in  hand, 
two  and  two,  and  apprehend  and  convey  to  Bride- 
well all  vagrants  and  idle  persons ;  if  aid  be  required, 


particulars  an&  "tUses  of  tbe  ftospltaL       4S 

to  call  the  first  constable  to  assist ;  to  report  if  the 
constable  does  not  do  his  duty ;  to  see  that  no  rogue 
or  idle  person  resort  to  trouble  the  street  whenever  a 
citizen  lies  dead  within  their  walks  ;  to  receive  re- 
ward gratefully  for  their  work ;  to  call  the  assistance 
of  other  beadles,  if  need  require,  to  help  to  clear  the 
streets,  and  to  pay  them  accordingly ;  to  attend  at 
St.  Paul's  Cross  at  sermon-time;  to  apprehend  all 
vagrants  and  idle  persons,  women  and  children,  to 
Bridewell ;  and  if  found  negligent,  to  have  their  staffs 
taken  from  them  and  excluded  for  ever  from  serving. 
The  Ordinances  and  Rules  drawn  out  for  the  gover- 
nors (or  rather  almoners)  of  Bridewell  are  very  long 
and  wordy,  but  the  pith  and  marrow  of  them  is — the 
importance  of  succour  and  relief  for  the  poor,  sick, 
and  aged ;  to  yield  alms  to  the  poor  and  honest  de- 
cayed householder ;  to  train  up  the  beggar's  child  in 
virtuous  exercise,  and  to  compel  the  wilfully  idle  and 
dissolute  to  better  ways,  for  which  purposes  the  houses 
of  Christ's  and  St.  Thomas'  and  Bridewell  were  pro- 
vided. For  the  latter  house,  such  and  such  of  the 
governors  are  appointed,  some  for  the  oversight  of 
cloth-making,  others  to  the  smithy  and  nail-making, 
and  some  to  the  millhouse  and  bakehouse ;  some  to 
receive  offenders,  and  examine  and  punish  the  same ; 
to  visit  taverns,  alehouses,  dicing-houses,  bowling- 
alleys,  tennis-plays,  and  all  suspected  places  of  evil 
resort  in  and  about  London. 


46       particulars  and  TSises  of  tbe  1}0dpital. 

And  by  consent  of  a  full  court,  to  make  altera- 
tions from  time  to  time  in  the  rules  and  management 
of  the  estates. 

Jufr  the  clothmaking. — Women  might  be  employed 
in  spinning  or  carding,  and  the  whole  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  chief  workmaster,  who  was  to  correct 
anything  that  might  be  unseemly. 

For  the  nailhouse. — Apprentices  were  to  be  brought 
in  and  taught.  An  inventory  of  all  stock  was  to  be 
most  carefully  kept,  and  provision  of  iron  and  sea-coal 
to  be  provided  for  the  occupying  of  "  our  people." 

For  the  millhouse  and  bakehouse. — To  permit  no 
loitering  of  the  vagabonds  employed  in  them.  To 
appoint  eight  persons  to  the  less  mill,  ten  to  the 
greater,  and  each  to  grind  daily  two  bushels.  To 
observe  good  order,  and  certain  told  off  to  keep  the 
place  thoroughly  sweet  and  clean,  and  to  work  at 
making  tile-pins  if  any  sat  at  leisure. 

About  250  quarters  of  wheat  were  required  for  the 
use  of  the  three  hospitals,  and  the  stewards  of  Christ's 
and  St.  Thomas'  were  to  be  careful  in  their  tallies  for 
what  was  issued  to  them  from  the  Bridewell  Mills. 

A  comptroller  of  the  diet  of  the  house  to  be 
appointed,  to  whom  only  the  care  and  provision  of 
victuals  was  committed.  He  was  to  buy  wood  and 
not  provide  charcoal  {"  for  that  is  unprofitable  ").  He 
was  to  be  very  careful  about  keeping  stores  under  lock 
and  key,  to  see  that  the  wards  and  their  contents  be 


fftarticulars  an&  xases  of  tbe  IbospitaL       47 

clean,  to  keep  a  strict  inventory,  and  make  proper 
provision  for  sheets,  shirts,  or  any  other  necessary; 
"and  this  is  your  charge,  which  God  grant  you  to 
perform  and  reward  your  pains." 

All  these  charges  are  quaintly  drawn  up.  That  of 
the  bailiff  of  the  Mill  and  Bakehouse  is  as  follows  : — 

"And  this  your  charge,  wherein  if  ye  travail  dili- 
gently, and  chiefly  now  at  the  first,  for  good  order's 
sake,  good  men  will  commend  you,  all  the  worthy 
governours  must  love  you,  and  God  Almighty  will 
bless  you  here  with  worship,  and  reward  you  in  heaven 
with  the  crown  of  glory  everlasting." 

In  the  report  above  cited  there  is  a  record  of  the 
Order  of  Common  Council  made  4th  August  1579. 

In  it  there  are  53  orders  and  13  additional  precepts 
for  provision  and  money,  to  be  had  for  good  uses. 
Among  the  orders  it  sets  forth  that  there  are  to  be  set 
up  in  Bridewell  certain  arts,  occupations,  works,  and 
labours,  stock  and  tools  for  those  works  to  be  pro- 
vided, also  bedding,  apparel,  and  diet.  Great  care  to 
be  taken  that  vagrants  not  belonging  to  the  city,  depart 
for  their  own  places  of  birth  or  last  abode,  and  to  be 
apprehended  when  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  after 
the  proclamation  to  this  effect  had  been  made.  If 
any  returned  in  a  roguish  manner  he  was  to  be  openly 
whipped  at  a  cart's  tail  and  sent  off  with  passport  for 
the  second  time.  If  any  one  "eft  sones"  (often) 
return  to  be  used  as  a  rogue  of  the  first  degree,  and 


48       l>artfculars  an&  "Clses  of  tbc  Ibospital. 

if  offending  again  as  a  rogue  in  the  second  degree, 
viz.,  as  a  felon  according  to  the  law. 

Should  any  be  sick,  the  Hospitals  of  St.  Bartholomew 
and  St.  Thomas  to  receive  such.  Those  whom  the 
City  was  charged  by  law  to  provide  for  and  able  to 
work,  to  be  received  into  Bridewell  and  kept  to  work 
on  very  meagre  diet,  and  to  be  punished  if  they  were 
idle.  If  any  run  away  or  escape,  and  be  retaken  as  a 
vagrant,  he  is  to  be  whipped  at  the  cart's  tail,  and 
on  a  repetition,  to  be  treated  as  a  rogue  of  the  first 
degree  and  have  his  ear  bored,  and  at  the  third  similar 
offence,  he  is  to  be  used  as  a  felon. 

Citizens  may  take  clever  vagrants,  skilful  in  any 
occupation,  into  their  service.  Children  of  those 
chargeable  to  the  City  and  unable  to  keep  them,  to 
be  sent  to  Christ's  Hospital.  The  parish  to  provide 
for  the  aged  and  impotent,  and  if  these  be  found 
begging,  punishment  to  be  administered  to  such  in 
Bridewell. 

No  one  to  leave  children  or  other  belonging  to 
other  places  in  the  City  under  pain  and  penalty. 
Citizens  to  hand  over  beggars  to  the  beadles  under 
pain  of  3s.  4d.,  and  constables  to  apprehend  the 
same,  in  pain  of  6s.  8d.  both  by  night  and  day ;  if 
at  night  to  convey  the  offender  to  the  cage  or 
counter  (cages  were  first  set  up  in  1503  by  order  of 
Sir  William  Capell,  Lord  Mayor,  in  every  ward  for 
the  punishment  of  rogues  and  vagabonds),  and  to 


particulars  anD  "Glscs  of  tbc  IbospitaL       49 

Bridewell  the  next  day.  Aldermen  to  hold  inquisi- 
torial wardmotes  under  pain  of  40s.  as  a  safeguard 
against  vagrants,  and  for  the  better  reformation  of 
the  idle  youth  and  unthrifty  poor. 

A  vestry  to  be  held  a  week  previous  to  the  ward- 
mote "to  enquire  and  understand  of  all  idle  per- 
sons, vagabonds,  rogues,  disordered  parents  or 
masters  of  houses,  disordered  children  of  the  poor, 
disordered  alehouses,  and  such  like;  absences  from 
church,  and  other  misdemeanours  of  the  parish." 

No  relief  to  be  granted  to  the  idle  but  able-bodied, 
but  work  to  be  found  for  the  willing  unemployed. 

Unruly  youth,  if  incorrigible,  to  be  punished  at 
Bridewell. 

The  Governors  of  Bridewell,  by  virtue  of  their 
charter,  to  render  all  assistance  possible  to  the 
Aldermen  and  their  deputies  in  the  execution  of  their 
duties,  should  deahng  with  these  exceed  their  powers. 

Two  Governors  to  be  appointed  for  every  art, 
science,  or  labour,  as  overseers,  and  four  to  attend 
two  hours  a  day  for  the  examination  and  direction 
of  those  brought  to  the  house  after  the  first  search. 

Certain  fines  to  be  levied  upon  those  appointed 
to  see  the  works  at  Bridewell  properly  carried  on, 
for  non-attendance,  but  due  notice  of  attendance 
to  be  given. 

The  Savoy  to  be  searched  as  to  proper  persons 
taking    advantage    of    this    temporary  asylum  and 

P 


so       iparticulars  an^  "Clses  of  tbe  Ibospltal. 

refuge;    and  the  like  abuse  to  be  seen  to  at  St. 

Thomas'  Hospital. 

Alehouses,  tippling-houses  to  be  reformed;  not 
too  many  permitted,  and  the  number  abridged  to 
a  reasonable  proportion  in  each  ward. 

Only  those  allowed  to  be  open  which  bear  a  good 
character.  Bonds  to  be  enforced  for  the  good  ob- 
servance by  victuallers  against  these  orders;  and 
where  large  houses  are  converted  into  smaller,  and 
alleys  farmed  out,  all  victualling  and  drinking  shops 
to  be  disallowed  to  the  landlords.  Punishment  by 
whipping  to  be  at  the  discretion  of  the  Governors 
without  waiting  for  the  Guildhall  Sessions. 

The  following  arts  and  occupations,  labours,  and 
works  to  be  set  up  in  Bridewell : — 

The  work  in  the  mills. 

The  work  in  the  lighters   and   the   unlading 

of  sand. 
The  carrying  of  sand. 
Making  of  gloves. 
Making  of  combs. 
Making  of  inkle  and  tape. 
Making  of  silk  lace. 
Making  of  apparel  for  the  house. 
Spinning  of  woollen  yarn. 
Knitting  of  hose. 
Spinning  of  linen  yarn. 
Spinning  of  candlewick. 


particulars  aiiD  "Glscs  of  tbe  "toospital.       51 

Making  of  packthread. 
Drawing  of  wire. 

Making  of  pins. 
Making  of  shoes. 

Thicking  of  caps  by  hand  and  foot. 
Making  of  woolcards. 
Making  of  nails. 
Making  of  points. 
Making  .of  knives. 
Making  of  baize. 
Making  of  brushes. 
Making  of  tennis  balls. 
Making  of  felts. 
Picking  of  wool  for  felts. 
Or  any  other  that  may  fall  in  practice. 

Reformation,  and  not  perpetual  servitude,  was  the 
real  object  to  be  attained  if  possible,  and  every  effort 
to  be  made  that  youths  who  might  be  sent  to  Bride- 
well should  be  apprenticed  there  to  a  trade,  sent  to 
service,  or  to  sea. 

Employers  in  various  trades  to  be  encouraged  to 
send  work  to  Bridewell,  so  as  not  to  let  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  house  be  injurious  to  trade.  To 
be  careful  about  the  foreigners,  lest  they  become 
burdens  to  the  City. 

Faulty  and  forfeited  leather  to  be  used  up  solely 
for  the  poor  in  Christ's  Hospital  and  Bridewell. 

Then  follow  the  rules  and   regulations   for  pro- 


52       iparticulars  an&  THees  of  tbc  fjospitaU 

vision,  and  money  to  provide  for  diet,  bedding,  tools, 
and  stock.  Two-fifteenths  to  be  assessed  and  levied 
in  usual  manner  by  the  body  of  the  City,  foreigners 
to  be  taxed,  and  assessments  to  be  received  according 
to  circumstances  from  time  to  time. 

Playing  of  interludes  considered  degenerating  to 
the  morals  of  the  youthful,  risky  by  reason  of  con- 
course as  regards  the  plague,  wasteful  of  time,  and 
drawing  folk  away  from  the  service  of  God,  so  must 
be  interdicted  in  the  time  of  Lent  and  Easter,  and 
every  holiday  and  Sunday  in  the  year. 

Forfeiture  of  bonds  to  be  strictly  enforced,  and  money 
to  be  obtained  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Hospital  by 
sermons  at  the  Cross,  and  other  legitimate  means. 

Citizens,  artificers,  farmers,  and  gentlemen  to  be 
solicited  for  situations  for  servants  and  children  out 
of  Christ's  Hospital  and  Bridewell  for  their  kitchen 
and  service,  with  the  offer  to  provide  them  with  con- 
venient apparel,  and  bind  them  for  any  competent 
number  of  years,  and  as  a  further  inducement,  to  give 
them  thorough  instruction  in  reading,  writing,  gram- 
mar, and  music. 

In  September  21,  1579. — Governors  were  appointed 
for  the  several  offices. 

3  to  be  surveyors  of  shoemakers. 

4  for  the  house. 

4  for  land  and  lime,  &c. 


particulars  an5  iHecs  of  tbe  Ibospital.       S3 

From  this  it  is  clearly  evident  that  sand  and  gravel 
were  raised  from  the  bed  of  the  river,  but  the  lime- 
kilns were  discontinued  by  order  of  Chancery  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth. 

The  Order  of  Common  Council,  October  ii,  1587, 
calls  attention  to  the  advisability  of  clearing  the  City 
of  vagrants  with  which  it  was  infested,  and  after 
proclamation  to  cause  all  who  had  not  been  resident 
for  three  years  past,  to  depart  to  their  last  place  of 
residency. 

The  stout  and  strong  vagabonds  to  work  at  scour- 
ing the  town  ditches,  and  to  be  fed  from  Bridewell; 
the  sick  to  be  sent  to  St.  Thomas',  and  the  infants 
and  little  children  to  be  kept  at  Christ's. 

And  to  the  better  avoiding  idle  beggars  and  vaga- 
bonds, humble  suit  be  made  to  the  Privy  Council, 
that  letters  be  written  to  the  heads  of  the  neighbour- 
ing counties  to  pass  them  on  to  their  settlements. 

The  object  of  the  citizens  in  the  erection  of  the 
Royal  Hospitals,  and  the  necessity,  in  order  to  its 
attainment,  of  an  entire  co-operation  between  them,  is 
apparent ;  but  Bridewell  was  gradually  separated  from 
the  other  hospitals,  and  became  a  prison  and  a  place 
for  the  reception  of  apprentices. 

The  powers  of  police  which  the  Charter  purported 
to  confer,  extended  equally  to  all  the  hospitals,  though 
the  peculiar  province  assigned  to  Bridewell,  caused 
the  exercise  of  them  to  devolve  chiefly  upon  the 


54       particulars  atiD  TUses  of  tbe  tJOspitaL 

governors  of  that  establishment,  and  rendered  it  more 
permanent  there  than  in  thfe  other  hospitals. 

Mere  immorality  was  thought  within  their  cog- 
nisance, and  people  were  frequently  taken  into  the 
house  on  slight  and  insufficient  grounds,  and  on 
charges  which  ultimately  were  proved  to  be  false ;  very 
often  considerable  oppression  and  injustice  occurred, 
inasmuch  as  prisoners  were  received  upon  simple 
complaint  and  without  legal  warrant. 

The  exercise  of  this  power,  and  a  practice  that 
prevailed  from  the  period  of  its  Foundation,  of 
sending  people  to  Bridewell  merely  to  receive  cor- 
poral punishment,  in  course  of  time  caused  one  part 
of  the  establishment  to  assume  the  character  of  a 
mere  prison;  while  the  trades  and  manufactures, 
already  alluded  to,  by  degrees  degenerated  into  an 
expansive  and  useless  establishment  of  persons  called 
"  art  masters,"  to  whom  boys,  in  a  sense  quite  foreign 
to  the  purpose  of  the  charter,  were  bound  apprentice. 
And  these  "art  masters"  were  not  got  rid  of  until 
a  much  later  period.     ( Vide  chap,  ix.) 

Christ's  Hospital,  doubtless,  was  intended  for  chil- 
dren, who  in  infancy  might  receive  a  virtuous  educa- 
tion and  bringing  up,  while  Bridewell  was  for  "the 
child,  when  grown  up,"  so  that  in  full  age  he  should 
not  lack  matter  whereon  he  might  virtuously  occupy 
himself  in  some  good  occupation  or  science,  profit- 
able to  the  common  weal. 


(    55    ) 


CHAPTER  V. 

PENAL    DISCIPLINE. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  records  of  the  inflic- 
tion of  corporal  punishment  in  Bridewell : — 

December  1556. — A  woman,  resident  in  South- 
vvark,  was  judged  by  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen 
to  be  whipped  at  Bridewell,  and  sent  to  the  Gover- 
nors of  Christ's  Hospital  for  a  further  reformation, 
and  subsequently  to  be  placed  in  the  pillory  in 
Cheapside  with  a  paper  in  her  hand,  whereon  was 
written — "  Whipped  at  Bridewell  for  leaving  and  for- 
saking her  child  in  the  streets." 

Ju/y  16,  1559. — A  woman  named  Jane  Foster  was 
brought  into  the  house  for  enchanting  Margaret 
Storer,  and  trying  to  bring  her  into  dissolute  and 
evil  ways. 

July  19,  1563. — The  order  devised  and  taken  by 
the  Governors  of  Bridewell  for  cutting  off  the  hair 
of  the  head  of  such  immoral  women  as  were  com- 
mitted to  the  said  house,  and  would  not  be  quietly 


56  penal  Discipline. 

contented  to  reform  and  amend  themselves,  by 
whipping  and  other  punishments,  was  confirmed. 

April  1574. — A  scold  named  Joan  Grove  threa- 
tened with  threescore  stripes  with  a  whip,  if  ever 
again,  she  be  proved  to  exclaim  with  her  tongue 
against  Sir  William  Drury's  man  or  any  other. 

April  24,  1577. — Seven  persons,  being  common 
rogues,  had  correction  and  were  discharged. 

It  would  also  appear  (from  the  following  extracts 
from  Jardine)  that  torture  was  plentifully  used  at 
Bridewell  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth. 

In  the  Council  Book  there  is  a  warrant  dated 
October  25,  159 1,  directing  Dr.  Fletcher  Richard 
Topcliffe  (the  well-known  instrument  of  Government 
for  the  discovery  of  recusants)  and  two  other  persons 
*'  very  straightly "  to  examine  "  Eustace  White,"  a 
seminary  priest,  and  one  "  Brian  Lulsy,"  a  distributor 
of  letters  to  papists,  and  if  they  refuse  to  answer 
directly,  to  put  them  to  the  manacles  and  such  other 
tortures  as  are  used  in  Bridewell. 

This  is  the  first  occasion  on  which  this  instrument 
finds  mention,  but  from  this  time  it  was  by  far  the 
most  usual  kind  of  torture. 

It  seems  to  have  been  kept  at  Bridewell  until  about 
the  year  1598,  after  which  time  it  is  mentioned  in 
warrants  as  one  of  the  tortures  commonly  in  use  at 
the  Tower. 


penal  Discipline.  57 

"  I  cannot  discover,"  says  Jardine,  "  from  any 
credible  authority,  of  what  the  *  manacles '  consisted." 

It  is  perhaps  worthy  of  remark  that  at  the  present 
day  a  variety  of  instruments  of  torture  are  shown  at 
the  Tower,  and  visitors  are  assured  that  they  were 
taken  from  the  Spanish  Armada  in  1598,  the  exact 
date  at  which  the  manacles  were  introduced  at  Bride- 
well. 

One  of  the  instruments  now  at  the  Tower,  which 
compressed  the  neck  of  the  sufferer  down  towards 
his  feet,  might  be  the  "  manacles,"  and  if  so,  Shake- 
speare probably  alludes  to  it  when  he  makes  Prospero 
say  in  the  "  Tempest " — 

"He  is  a  traitor  ! 
I'll  manacle  thy  neck  and  feet  together." 

At  the  Tower,  however,  this  instrument  of  torture 
is  called  the  "scavenger's  daughter." 

October  29,  1591. — A  warrant  issued  to  Attorney 
and  Solicitor  General  (Popham  and  Egerton)  to 
examine  Thomas  Clinton,  a  prisoner  in  the  Fleet, 
and  if  he  does  not  deal  plainly  in  his  answers,  to 
remove  him  to  Bridewell,  "there  to  be  put  to  the 
manacles  and  such  torture  as  is  there  used." 

J^une  4,  1592. — Warrant  issued.  Owen  Edmondes 
to  the  torture  in  Bridewell. 

February  8,  1593. — Austin,  Bagshaw,  Ashe,  to  be 
removed  from   the  Gate  House  and   Newgate,   to 


58  penal  Discipline. 

Bridewell,  to  be  in  case  of  need  punished  with  torture, 
doubtless  to  discover  and  prosecute  Catholic  priests. 

Tumultuous  risings  to  drive  away  foreign  traders, 
was  by  Lord  Coke  technically  termed  "Expulit" 
strangers,  and — 

April  i6,  1593. — Warrant  was  issued  to  the  Lord 
Mayor,  to  torture  if  need  be,  and  he  sees  fit,  to  make 
the  person  reveal  the  suspected  writer  of  a  lewd  and 
vile  ticket  set  upon  a  post,  purporting  determination 
and  intention  on  the  part  of  the  apprentices,  to  attempt- 
violence  on  the  strangers. 

May  II,  1593. — Turbulent  conduct  of  the  appren- 
tices of  London  on  the  same  occasion  of  discontent. 

Divers  lewd  and  continuous  libels  having  been  set 
upon  the  wall  of  the  Dutch  churchyard,  to  apprehend 
and  examine  suspected  persons,  and  to  put  them  to 
the  torture  at  Bridewell,  to  be  used  at  such  times, 
and  as  often  as  they  shall  think  fit. 

November  12,  1595. — Gabriel  Colford  and  his  land- 
lord, Thomas  Foulkes,  tortured  with  manacles  on 
account  of  seditious  books  published  abroad. 

January  25,  1595. — To  examine  John  Hardie,  a 
Frenchman,  for  suspicious  letters  sewn  up  in  his 
doublet,  try  him  by  ordinary  torture  to  get  his  ex- 
planation. 

February  1595. — H.  Hodges  tortured  by  manacles 
to  find  out  where  ;;^ioo  was  hid  in  the  ground,  he 


penal  discipline.  S9 

having  stolen  goods  and  money,  and  secreted  them, 
the  property  of  Sir  H.  Bagnall,  Knight,  attendant 
about  Her  Majesty's  service. 

November  21,  1596. — Eighty  Egyptians  and  wan- 
derers apprehended  in  Northamptonshire,  and  tor- 
tured by  manacles. 

Bradshaw  and  Barton  tortured  for  intention  of  deal- 
ing riotously  with  enclosures,  demolishing  churches, 
instigating  several  hundred  people  of  lower  orders,  in 
Oxfordshire  particularly. 

The  assembly  with  difficulty  suppressed  by  local 
magistrates ;  four  ringleaders  sent  to  London ;  war- 
rants issued.  Mr.  Bacon  and  the  Recorder  of  London 
were  to  examine  the  rioters  upon  such  articles  as  they 
should  think  meet,  and  for  the  better  boulting  forth 
of  the  truth  of  their  intended  plots  and  purposes; 
that  they  should  be  removed  to  Bridewell,  and  put  to 
the  manacles  and  torture. 

February  2,  1596. — To  the  manacles  or  torture 
of  the  rack,  Will  Thompson,  charged  with  a  purpose 
to  burn  Her  Majesty's  ships. 

December  i,  1597. — To  the  manacles.  Thomas 
Travers,  stealing  a  standish  of  His  Majesty,  if  he 
would  not  declare  the  truth. 

December  17,  1597. — Suspicion  against  the  son  of 
an  old  gentleman,  one,  Richard  Armger,  whose  body 
was  discovered  in  the  Thames  with  marks  of  violence 
upon  it,  and  a  porter  of  Gray's  Inn. 


6o  penal  Discipline. 

Richard  Armger,  the  son,  and  Edward  Ingram,  porter, 
if  they  did  not  confess,  to  be  put  to  the  manacles. 

January  4,  1598. — To  examine  at  the  Bridewell, 
and  if  necessary,  to  torture  by  manacles,  Richard 
Denton  and  Peter  Cooper,  suspected  of  dangerous 
designs  against  Her  Majesty. 

A  curious  commentary  on  these  entries  is  in 
another  date — 14th  November. 

All  the  judges  being  assembled  in  Serjeant's  Inn, 
Fleet  Street,  agreed  in  one,  that  he  (Felton),  for 
assassinating  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  might  not  by 
the  law  of  the  land  be  tortured  by  the  rack,  for  no 
such  punishment  is  known  or  allowed,  by  our  law. 

July  6,  1606. — Derick,  the  executioner  at  Newgate, 
for  not  branding  a  culprit,  but  burning  him  with  a 
cold  iron  contrary  to  order,  was  punished  with  twenty- 
four  lashes. 

September  22,  1682. — A  beadle  was  appointed  to 
correct  prisoners  in  the  house,  and  those  who  were 
to  be  punished  through  the  streets  of  the  City,  instead 
of  the  Chapel  Beadle,  who  had  performed  the  office — 
for  the  better  witnessing  the  correction,  the  whipping- 
post to  be  raised. 

The  practice  of  sending  offenders  to  Bridewell 
merely  to  receive  corporal  correction  continued  down 
to  a  late  period.  In  1793  as  much  as  ;^8o,  6s.  was 
paid  to  one  of  the   beadles   for  flogging  prisoners 


Ipenal  Biscipline.  61 

during  the  previous  two  years  at  five  shillings  each, 
which  gives  about  160  as  the  number  of  persons 
annually  punished. 

Only  two  instances  of  corporal  punishment  occurred, 
however,  during  the  ten  years  ending  Christmas 
1836. 

Mr.  Martin,  in  his  report  on  charities,  remarks  : 
"It  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  the  governors  could 
justify  these  acts  of  authority." 

Indeed,  the  powers  of  police  contained  in  the 
charter  seem  to  be  illegal.  Sir  Francis  Bacon's 
opinion  upon  the  Charter  of  Bridewell,  was  that 
accusations  against  people  of  ill  repute  are  not  suffi- 
cient without  indictment  or  other  matters  of  record, 
according  to  the  old  law  of  the  land;  for  Magna 
Charta  maintains  that  no  freeman  shall  be  taken  or 
imprisoned,  but  by  lawful  judgment  of  men  of  his 
degree,  or  by  the  law  of  the  land. 

With  regard  to  the  internal  economy  of  the  house,  it 
appears  that  on  May  2,  1582,  the  mill  for  grinding  corn 
was  let  to  George  Green,  citizen,  and  Brown,  baker, 
to  take  charge  of  the  mill  and  employ  the  prisoners 
on  it,  for  forty  years  at  a  yearly  rent  of  ;!^2o,  to  do 
the  work  thoroughly,  see  that  the  workers  did  not  idle 
away  their  time,  and  to  have  always  corn  and  grain 
ready,  and  should  the  mill  stop  for  any  good  reason, 
1 2d,  out  of  the  yearly  rent  per  diem  to  be  allowed. 

April  30,    1637. — Two  beadles  were  ordered  to 


62  penal  Discipline. 

daily  walk  the  streets  to  clear  them  of  beggars  and 
vagrants. 

In  1656  it  was  found  that  the  beadles  did  not 
do  their  work,  so  the  "  Corporation  of  the  Poor  in 
London "  requested  that  they  might  appoint  six- 
teen beadles,  and  if  beggars  and  vagrants,  young 
or  old,  were  found  on  apprehension  unable  to  work 
in  Bridewell,  to  punish  them,  and  to  pass  them  on 
to  their  place  of  birth,  or  last  settlement,  and  in  May 
19,  1658,  further  stringent  rules  were  laid  down  "that 
the  beadles  be  most  strict  in  apprehending  beggars, 
and  pass  on  those  who  ought  to  be  provided  for 
elsewhere;  the  youngest  beadle  to  punish  some  by 
whipping,  and  others  to  be  kept  at  work  until  legally 
discharged." 

"The  Treasurer  and  Governors  to  examine  the 
women  and  dispose  of  them.  To  have  the  mill  set 
in  order,  and  to  keep  at  work  as  many  hands  as 
were  necessary — presumably  so — and  if  more  room 
was  required  for  a  larger  number  of  prisoners,  to 
provide  the  same." 

In  February  19,  1673,  ^^e  marshal's  men  were 
reproved  for  bringing  in  the  lame,  blind,  and  aged 
persons  and  young  children  unfit  to  be  put  to  labour, 
and  in  future  were  required  to  punish  them  and  pass 
them  on,  and  on  no  account  to  receive  such  into  the 
house. 

The  apprehension  of  vagrants  by  the  beadles  be- 


penal  ©iscfplfnc.  63 

came  obsolete  in  1785,  and  an  order  was  made  (June 
16)  that  for  the  future  the  porter  receive  no  prisoners 
without  a  legal  commitment  by  a  magistrate. 

The  scope  of  the  Governors  was  confined  to 
the  interior  arrangements  and  management  of  the 
prison.  In  18 14  the  Common  Council  petitioned 
the  Governors  to  co-operate  with  them  towards  fur- 
nishing more  accommodation  for  people  of  profli- 
gate character,  but  to  little  purpose;  and  it  was 
a  matter  to  be  regretted,  that  the  prison  was  not 
more  serviceable  to  the  police.  In  fact,  the  state  of 
the  prison  was  anything  but  satisfactory.  The  means 
of  classification  during  the  day,  and  of  air  and  exercise 
were  wholly  wanting ;  beating  hemp,  picking  oakum, 
grinding  corn,  drugs,  and  other  kinds  of  labour  had 
been  abandoned,  and  although  some  employment 
was  provided  for  the  females,  the  male  prisoners 
passed  almost  all  their  time  in  idleness. 

Bridewell  was  occasionally  used  as  a  State  prison. 
On  March  2,  1576,  Martin  Corbet  appeared  before 
the  Court,  for  that  the  Governors  had  received  a  war- 
rant from  Her  Majesty's  Commissioners  for  Causes 
Ecclesiastical,  and  was  conveyed  to  prison  until  such 
time  as  he  had  satisfied  the  effect  of  the  said  warrant. 

January  28,  1656. — James  Naylor  was  committed 
on  a  warrant  from  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, dated  December  15th  previously. 

Prisoners  were  likewise   occasionally  received  on 


64  ipcnal  discipline. 

charges  of  felony,  and  detained  for  safe  custody  till 
trial. 

January  21,  1642. — It  seems  that  several  Turks 
were  then  confined  in  Bridewell  waiting  their  trial  at 
Newgate  on  a  charge  of  piracy. 

November  26,  1658. — Thomas  Bullock  and  another 
were  received  on  suspicion  of  stealing  goods  of  the 
value  of  ;;^i7,  to  work  his  jail  delivery  and  be  thus 
sent  up.  In  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  felons  con- 
victed at  the  Old  Bailey  were  sent  to  Bridewell  for 
punishment;  but  September  9,  17 13,  the  Governors 
refused  to  receive  them  any  more,  and  memorialised 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  that  purpose. 


(    65    ) 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"  ELLWOOD'S  EXPERIENCES." 

Thomas  Ell  wood,  of  Amersham,  born  1639,  and 
so  often  imprisoned  for  attaching  himself  to  the 
Quakers,  in  his  "  History  written  by  himself"  of 
old  Bridewell  gives  the  following  narrative. 

"I  was  that  morning,  which  was  the  twenty-sixth 
day  of  the  eighth  month,  1662,  at  the  meeting  at  the 
Bull  and  Mouth,  by  Aldersgate,  when  on  a  sudden  a 
party  of  soldiers  rushed  in  (of  the  trained  bands  of 
the  City)  with  noise  and  clamour,  being  led  by  one 
who  was  called  Major  Rowsell,  an  apothecary,  if  I 
misremember  not,  and  at  that  time  under  the  ill 
name  of  a  Papist.  He  made  a  proclamation  that 
all  who  were  not  Quakers  might  depart  if  they  would. 

"  It  so  happened  that  a  young  man  named  Dore, 
from  Chimer,  near  Crowell,  in  Oxon,  came  that  day 
in  curiosity  to  see  the  meeting,  and  finding  me  there 
(whom  he  knew)  came  and  sat  down  by  me.  As 
soon  as  he  heard  the  noise  of  the  soldiers  he  was 
much  startled,  and  asked  me  softly  if  I  would  not  try 

£ 


66  "JElIwooys  Bjperlcnces." 

to  get  out.  I  told  him  no ;  I  was  in  my  place  and 
was  willing  to  suffer.  He  turned  away  and  went  out. 
He  that  commanded  the  party  gave  us  first  a  personal 
charge  to  come  out  of  the  room,  but  we  who  *  ought 
to  obey  God  rather  men '  stirred  not,  whereupon  he 
sent  some  soldiers  to  drag  or  drive  us  out,  which  they 
did  roughly  enough.  He  had  gotten  thirty-two  of  us, 
and  ordered  pikes  to  be  opened  before  us,  and  the 
word  to  march  given,  the  soldiers  making  a  lane  to 
keep  us  from  scattering, 

"  He  led  us  up  Martins,  and  so  turned  down  to 
Newgate,  where  I  expected  he  would  have  lodged  us. 
But,  to  my  disappointment,  he  went  on  through 
Newgate,  and  turning  through  the  Old  Bailey,  brought 
us  into  Fleet  Street.  I  was  then  wholly  at  a  loss  to 
conjecture  whither  he  would  lead  us,  unless  it  were 
to  Whitehall,  for  I  knew  nothing  then  of  old  Bride- 
well; but  on  a  sudden  he  gave  a  short  turn,  and 
brought  us  before  the  gate  of  that  prison,  when 
knocking,  the  wicket  was  opened  forthwith,  and  the 
master  with  his  porter  ready  to  receive  us. 

"One  of  those  who  had  been  picked  up  in  the 
street  to  go  with  us,  happened  not  to  have  been 
with  us  in  the  meeting :  this  I  represented  to  the 
Major,  who,  incensed  at  my  previous  question  I 
had  put  to  him  about  a  massacre,  looked  sternly  at 
me  and  said,  '  Who  are  you  that  take  so  much  upon 
you?      Seeing  you   are   so  busy,  you  shall  be  the 


"£llwoo&'0  JEiperlences.'*  67 

first  man  that  shall  go  into  Bridewell,'  and  he  thrust 
me  in  by  the  shoulders. 

"  As  soon  as  I  was  in,  the  porter  pointing  with  his 
finger,  directed  me  to  a  fair  pair  of  stairs  on  the 
further  side  of  a  large  court,  and  bid  me  go  up 
those  stairs,  and  go  on  till  I  could  go  no  further. 
Accordingly  I  went  up  the  stairs,  the  first  flight 
whereof  brought  me  to  a  fair  chapel  on  my  left 
hand,  which  I  could  look  into,  through  the  iron 
grates,  but  could  not  have  gone  into  if  I  would. 

"I  went  a  storey  higher,  which  brought  me  into 
a  room  which  I  soon  perceived  to  be  a  court  or 
justice  room.  Observing  a  door  on  the  farther  side, 
I  opened  it,  but  withdrew  from  going  in,  being 
firightened  at  the  dismal  appearance  of  the  place; 
for,  besides  the  walls  being  laid  all  over  from  top 
to  bottom  in  black,  there  stood  in  the  centre  a 
great  whipping-post,  w^hich  was  all  the  furniture  it 
had. 

"  In  one  of  these  rooms  judgment  was  given,  and 
in  the  other,  it  was  executed  on  those  ill  people,  who 
were  sent  to  this  prison,  and  then  sentenced  to  be 
whipped,  which  was  so  contrived  that  the  court  might 
not  only  hear,  but  see,  if  they  pleased,  their  sentence 
executed. 

"  A  sight  so  unexpected  and  so  unpleasing  gave  me 
little  encouragement  to  rest  or  even  enter,  till  I 
espied  on  the  opposite  side  another  door  which  I 


68  "EUwoo&'s  JEjperiences." 

opened.  This  led  me  into  one  of  the  fairest  rooms 
I  ever  remember  to  have  seen,  for  it  was  the  dining- 
hall  of  the  royal  seat  or  palace  of  the  Kings  of 
England  until  Cardinal  Wolsey  built  Whitehall,  and 
offered  it  as  a  peace-offering  to  King  Henry  VIII., 
who,  until  that  time,  had  kept  his  court  in  this  house 
(Bridewell). 

"The  room,  for  I  lived  in  it  long  enough  to 
measure  it,  was  sixty  feet  in  length,  and  proportion- 
ally broad.  On  the  front  side  were  very  large  bay 
windows  in  it,  and  therein  stood  a  large  table ;  the 
floor  was  covered  with  rushes  for  some  solemn 
festival. 

"  My  thoughts  were  disturbed  by  the  flocking  in 
of  my  other  friends — my  fellow-prisoners — with  whom 
I  had  little  acquaintance,  having  been  so  short  a 
time  in  the  city. 

"  Soon  after  we  had  gotten  together  the  master  of 
the  house  came  up  and  demanded  our  names ;  this  we 
need  not  have  done  until  legally  convened  before 
some  civic  magistrate,  but  we,  being  neither  guileful 
nor  wilful,  gave  our  names  simply.  It  happened  that 
so  great  was  the  storm  that  fell  so  heavily  upon  our 
meetings,  the  prisons  were  very  full  of  our  friends,  who 
had  been  apprehended  at  the  several  meetings,  and 
no  less  care  and  pains  had  the  authorities  to  furnish 
necessary  accommodations  and  provisions. 

"  This  prison  of  Bridewell  was  under  the  care  of  two 


"Bllwooyg  Ejpcricnces."  69 

honest,  grave,  discreet,  and  motherly  women,  whose 
names  were  Anne  Merrick  (afterwards  Vivens),  and 
Ann  Travers,  both  widows.  They  provided  some  hot 
victuals,  meat  and  broth,  for  the  weather  was  cold, 
with  bread,  cheese,  and  beer,  and  gave  notice  to  us 
that  it  was  provided  for  all  those  that  had  any  one  to 
provide  for  them. 

"  For  myself,  I  had  tenpence,  all  the  money  I  had 
about  me,  or  any  when  also  at  my  command.  But 
*■  Natura  pauca  contenta.^  Hungry  as  I  was,  I  felt 
that  I  was  not  included  in  the  invitation,  so  sat  as  far 
from  the  table  as  I  could. 

'*  When  evening  came,  the  porter  told  us  that  we 
might  have  simple  eatables,  as  bread  and  cheese,  eggs 
and  bacon,  &:c.,  from  the  chandler's  shop  in  the 
house,  and  many  gave  him  money  to  pay  for  what 
they  required. 

"  He  brought  me  two  halfpenny  loaves,  with  which 
I  regaled  myself,  reserving  one  for  the  following  day. 
This  was  to  me  both  dinner  and  supper,  and  I  had 
liked  to  have  gone  to  bed  had  there  been  one  ready, 
but  as  there  were  none  of  any  kind,  we  walked  about 
to  keep  ourselves  warm,  and  sat  about  all  night. 
Fortunately  some  one  had  bought  some  candles  to 
prevent  us  being  in  total  darkness. 

"I  made  the  best  of  sleeping  accommodation  by 
spreading  rushes  under  the  table  and  using  one  end 
of  its  frame  for  a  bolster.     I,  who  had  no  one  to  look 


70  "BIlwoo&*6  Bjpcricnccs." 

after  me,  had  to  endure  this  rushy  pallet  for  four 
nights,  to  my  intense  discomfort ;  yet,  thank  God,  I 
rested  well,  enjoyed  health,  and  took  no  cold. 

"  Many  of  my  companions  were  released  by  Sir 
Richard  Brown,  who  was  a  great  man  at  Bridewell, 
at  the  instigation  of  relations  and  acquaintances,  and, 
thanks  to  the  courtesy  of  one  William  Macklaw,  I 
accepted  his  offer  of  his  hammock  whilst  I  was  a 
prisoner.  Several  formed  a  sort  of  club  and  obtained 
from  Anne  Travers  agreeable  provisions,  but  my  means 
were  too  limited  to  permit  me  to  join  them,  for  they 
judged  me  by  my  person,  and  not  by  the  lightness 
of  my  purse.  Yet  Providence  sent  me  supply.  One 
William  Pennington  called  to  see  me,  and  desired 
me  to  accept  twenty  shillings ;  this  I  did  with  thank- 
fulness. And  he,  going  to  Chalfont  to  see  his  brother, 
reported  my  imprisonment,  whereupon  Mary  Pen- 
nington by  him  sent  me  forty  shillings.  Soon  after  I 
received  twenty  shillings  from  my  father,  for  my  sup- 
port in  Bridewell,  and  the  letter  he  forwarded  to  Mr. 
Wray  through  my  sister  I  suppressed,  the  purport 
being  to  get  Mr.  Wray  to  intercede  with  Sir  Richard 
Brown  for  my  release. 

"  Acknowledging  the  goodness  of  God,  I  could  now 
join  the  club,  and  I  became  one  of  their  mess. 

"  The  chief  thing  I  now  wanted  was  employment. 
Many  being  tradesmen,  could  soon  set  to  work,  but  I 
being  a  novice,  could  not  be  trusted,  lest  I  might 


"jeU\voo5'6  Ejperiences."  71 

spoil  the  garments ;  so  I  got  some  from  a  hosier  in 
Cheapside,  and  made  night-waistcoats  of  red  and 
yellow  flannel  for  women  and  children." 

It  appears  that  this  occupation  served  merely  to 
pass  away  EUwood's  time,  for  he  never  got  a  penny 
for  his  work  other  than  one  crown-piece  when  he 
came  out  of  prison,  and  no  more,  although  he  had 
made  many  dozens  of  waistcoats  and  bought  the  thread 
himself. 

He  relates  how  one  poor  fellow,  for  finishing  a  pair 
of  shoes  on  a  Sunday,  was  informed  against,  and 
Richard  Brown  committed  him  to  Bridewell  to  hard 
labour  at  beating  hemp.  This  he  refused  to  do,  as  he 
had  done  no  evil,  and  for  the  refusal  he  was  cruelly 
whipped.  "  The  manner  of  whipping  there  is  to  strip 
the  party  to  the  skin  from  the  waist  upwards,  and 
having  fastened  him  to  the  whipping-post,  so  that  he 
can  neither  resist  nor  shun  the  strokes,  to  lash  the 
naked  body  with  long  but  slender  twigs  of  holly, 
which  now  bend  almost  like  thongs  and  lap  round 
the  body,  and  these  have  little  knots  upon  them,  tear 
the  skin  and  flesh,  and  give  extreme  pain." 

This  poor  man  was  a  Friend,  and  when  his  tor- 
mentors could  make  no  impression  upon  him,  they 
turned  him  in  with  Ellwood  and  his  companions. 

With  some  balsam,  his  skin,  which  was  dreadfully  cut 
and  torn  with  the  rods,  back,  sides,  arms,  and  breasts 
were  dressed,  and  after  a  while  got,  sound  and  well. 


72  "BllwooD's  Eipcrfcnccs." 

From  the  26th  August  to  the  loth  of  October  they 
were  kept  in  prison.  They  then  attended  the  Ses- 
sions at  the  Old  Bailey,  but  the  case  was  not  called ; 
so  they  returned  to  Bridewell  till  the  29th  October. 

They  all  were  sent  then  to  Newgate  for  not  taking 
the  oath  of  allegiance,' which  EUwood  cleverly  fenced, 
for  it  is  to  be  remembered  he  was  a  man  of  gentle 
birth  and  education,  alleging  the  plea  that  being 
a  prisoner,  he  could  not  take  this  oath  freely  and 
without  constraint. 

The  misery  endured  in  Newgate  was  intense,  and 
one  man  died. 

Much  against  his  will,  an  old  citizen  passing  by 
was  made  foreman  of  the  inquest,  and  desiring  to 
see  the  place  where  the  dead  man  had  been  kept, 
was  astonished  at  the  miserable,  pestilential  place. 

The  next  day  Sir  William  Turner,  one  of  the 
Sheriffs,  caused  all  those  who  had  come  from  Bride- 
well to  return  thither,  and  this  they  did  without  a 
keeper^  their  word  being  alone  taken. 

"When  we  were  come  to  Bridewell,  we  were  not 
put  up  into  the  great  room  in  which  we  had  been 
before,  but  into  a  low  room  in  another  fair  court,  which 
had  a  pump  in  the  middle  of  it ;  and  here  we  were  not 
shut  up  as  before,  but  had  the  liberty  of  the  court  to 
walk  in,  and  of  the  pump  to  wash  and  drink  at. 

"  We  could  have  gone  away,  as  there  was  a  passage 
out  into  the  street,  but  we  were  true  and  steady 


**BHwooys  Bjperlenccs/'  73 

prisoners,  and  looked  upon  this  liberty  as  a  kind  of 
parole  upon  us." 

They  were  treated  with  considerable  leniency  and 
indulgence  until  the  court  sat  at  the  Old  Bailey 
again,  when  they  were  all  called  to  the  bar,  and 
without  further  question  discharged. 


(    74    ) 


CHAPTER  VII. 

REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  PRISON. 

Ned  Ward,  in  his  "  London  Spy  "  (a,d.  1703),  gives 
an  account  of  Bridewell,  but  it  is  not  very  enter- 
taining. 

His  experiences  take  the  form  of  unsavoury  dia- 
logues between  the  prisoners  and  himself  or  his 
companions.  Yet  one  poor  fellow  was  detained 
for  being  unable  to  pay  his  fees,  which  amounted 
to  five  groats.  Ward  remarks,  "  Bless  me  !  thought 
I,  what  a  rigorous  uncharitable  thing  is  this  that  so 
noble  a  gift,  intended,  when  first  given  "  (alluding  to 
the  Hospital),  "to  so  good  an  end,  should  thus  be 
preserved,  and  what  was  designed  to  prevent  people 
falling  into  misery  through  laziness  or  ill  courses, 
should  now  be  corrupted  by  such  unchristian  con- 
finement, or  to  starve  poor  wretches  because  he 
wants  to  satisfy  the  demand  of  a  mercenary  Cer- 
berus when  discharged  by  order  of  the  court :  such 
severe,  nay,  barbarous  usage  is  a  shame  to  our  laws, 
an  unhappiness  to  our  nation,  and  a  scandal  to 
Christianity." 


IRcmtnisccnccs  of  tbe  BJrison.  75 

He  praises  the  magnificent,  noble  buildings  which 
composed  the  prison  or  penitentiarj',  and,  in  going 
to  the  female  side,  is  struck  with  its  occupants. 
Some  seemed  so  very  young,  to  be  brought  thus 
early  into  a  state  of  misery,  and  others  so  old  that 
one  would  think  the  dread  of  the  grave  and  thoughts 
of  futurity  were  sufficient  to  reclaim  them  from  vice. 

Sick,  amazed,  and  tired  with  the  behaviour  of  these 
unhappy  culprits,  who  had  neither  sense  of  grace, 
knowledge  of  virtue,  fear  of  shame,  or  dread  of 
misery.  Ward  and  his  friend  proceed  to  the  court- 
room, where  they  witness  the  trial  and  punishment 
of  a  young  woman,  who  had  to  strip  to  her  waist 
and  be  flogged  until  the  master  of  the  tribunal  let 
his  hammer  fall  to  show  that  sufficient  punishment 
had  been  administered ;  giving  rise  to  the  old  ex- 
pression, so  often  used,  when  this  same  whipping 
took  place,  by  the  prisoners,  "  Knock,  good  Sir 
Roger,  knock  !  "  The  moral  which  the  author  of  the 
"  London  Spy "  draws  from  the  before-mentioned 
scenes  is  as  follows: — "According  to  my  real  senti- 
ments, I  only  conceive  it  makes  many  bad  women, 
but  that  it  can  in  no  measure  redeem  them;  and 
these  are  my  reasons, — First,  if  a  girl  of  thirteen 
or  fourteen  years  of  age,  as  I  have  seen  some  others, 
either  through  ignorance  or  childishness  of  their 
youth,  or  unhappiness  of  a  stubborn  temper,  should 
be  guilty  of  negligence  in  their   business,  or  prove 


76  iRemfniscences  of  tbc  ptidon. 

headstrong,  humoursome,  or  obstinate,  and  through 
an  ungovernable  temper  take  pleasure  to  do  things 
in  disobedience  to  the  will  of  their  master  and 
mistress,  or  be  guilty  of  a  trifling  wrong  or  injury 
through  inadvertency,  they  have  power  at  home 
to  give  them  reasonable  correction  without  exposing 
them  to  this  shame  and  scandal,  which  is  never  to 
be  washed  off  by  the  most  reformed  life  imaginable, 
which  unhappy  stain  makes  them  always  shunned 
by  virtuous  and  good  people  ;  also  will  neither  enter- 
tain a  servant  nor  admit  of  a  companion,  under  this 
disparagement,  the  one  being  fearful  of  their  goods 
and  the  other  of  their  reputation,  till  the  poor  wretch 
by  her  necessity  is  at  last  drove  into  the  hands  of 
ill  persons,  and  forced  to  betake  herself  to  bad  con- 
versation, till  she  is  insensibly  corrupted  and  made 
fit  for  all  wickedness. 

"  Secondly,  I  think  it  is  a  shameful  indecency  for 
a  woman  to  expose  her  naked  body  to  the  sight  of 
men  and  boys,  as  if  it  was  designed  for  other  pur- 
poses than  to  correct  vice  or  reform  manners ;  there- 
fore I  think  it  both  more  modest  and  more  reason- 
able they  should  receive  their  punishment  in  the 
view  of  women  only,  and  by  the  hand  of  their  own 
sex. 

"  Thirdly,  as  their  bodies  by  nature  are  more 
tender  and  their  constitutions  allowed  more  weak, 
we  ought  to  show  them  more  mercy,  and  not  punish 


IRcminiscences  ot  tbe  prison.  77 

them  with  such  dog-like  usage,  unless  their  crimes 
were  capital." 

The  following  lines  are  added : — 

'*  'Twas  once  the  palace  of  a  prince. 
If  we  may  books  confide  in, 
But  given  o'er  by  him  long  since 
For  vagrants  to  reside  in. 

The  crumbs  that  from  his  table  fell 

Once  made  the  poor  the  fatter, 
But  those  that  in  its  confines  dwell 

Now  feed  on  bread  and  water. 

No  venison  now,  whereon  to  dine, 

No  fricassees,  no  hashes  ; 
No  ball,  no  merriments,  or  wine, 

But  woeful  tears  and  slashes. 

Where  once  the  king  and  nobles  sat, 

In  all  their  pomp  and  splendour, 
Grave  City  grandeur  nods  its  pate. 

And  threatens  each  offender. 

Unhappy  their  ignoble  doom, 

Where  greatness  once  resorted  ; 
Now  hemp  and  labour  fills  each  room. 

Where  lords  and  ladies  sported." 

Only  a  few  more  words  are  needed  respecting 
Bridewell  as  a  prison. 

"  Let  the  sorrowful  sighing  of  the  prisoners  come 
before  thee,"  are  the  words  which  John  Howard  the 
philanthropist  introduces, in  his  work  upon  "Lazarettos 
Abroad  and  Prisons  in  England,"  1789.     In  referring 


78  1Remini0Ccncc0  ot  tbc  |>n0on. 

to  Bridewell,  he  says  : — "  No  alteration  but  the  venti- 
lators taken  down.  Each  sex  has  a  workroom  and  a 
night-room.  They  lie  in  boxes  with  a  little  straw  on 
the  floor.  The  prison  not  being  strong,  the  men  were 
in  irons,  some  picking  oakum,  and  others  were  making 
ropes,  which  is  a  new  and  proper  employment.  Mr. 
Hardwick,  a  hemp-dresser,  has  their  labour,  and  a 
salary  of  twenty  guineas  a  year.  Allowance,  one 
penny  loaf  each,  and  four  days  in  the  week  ten 
ounces  of  beef  without  bone,  &c.  The  allowance 
for  persons  constantly  employed,  is  not  too  much, 
but  would  it  not  be  better  if  they  had  less  meat 
and  more  bread?  The  prison  wants  white-washing, 
and  the  men's  night-room  more  light  and  air.  At 
my  first  visit  two  men  were  in  the  infirmary ;  at  my 
last,  only  one. 

1787,  November  6,        .     .     Men,  26  ;  women,  25. 

1788,  September  13,      .     .     Men,  19  ;  women,  10. 

"  There  are  many  excellent  regulations  in  this  estab- 
lishment. The  prisoners  have  a  liberal  allowance, 
suitable  employment,  and  some  proper  instruction ; 
but  the  visitor  laments  that  they  are  not  more 
separated."  He  adds  in  commendation,  "  In  winter 
they  have  some  firing,  the  night-rooms  are  supplied 
with  straw;  no  other  prison  in  London  has  any 
straw  or  bedding." 

There   are,   very   properly,    solitary   cells    for   the 


"Kcminiscenccs  of  tbe  iprison.  79 

Bridewell   boys,    in   which    one  was    confined    and 
employed  in  beating  hemp. 

Vagrants  and  others  committed  to  the  prison  in 

Year.  Prisoners. 

1783 1597 

1784 2956 

1785 612 

1786 716 

These  numbers  are  from  accounts  made  up  every 
Easter. 

Hepworth  Dixon,  writing  more  than  a  century 
later  in  his  "London  Prisons,"  1850,  thus  refers 
to  Bridewell : — *'  At  present  it  is  a  sort  of  House 
of  Correction  to  the  City  of  London.  Summary 
convictions  and  apprentices  sentenced  to  solitary 
confinement  are  sent  hither,  but  not  many  of  the 
latter  are  to  be  found  there.  Every  care  is  taken  to 
prevent  communication  with  vagrants  or  others  also 
occupying  the  building.  Troublesome  as  some  of  the 
lads  are,  they  are  not  to  be  confounded  with  the 
felons ;  they  probably  proved  good  stuff  after  all. 

"As  a  House  of  Correction  it  was  bad,  unhealthy, 
the  apartments  small  and  straggling,  ill  arranged,  and 
no  sort  of  superior  supervision  worthy  the  name ; 
cells  and  corridors  dark  and  confined,  insufficient 
light  and  air ;  yet  it  is  superior  to  Giltspur  Street 
Compter,  and  Horsemonger  Gaol,  and,  on  account  of 
separate  sleeping  apartments,  better  than  any  gaols  in 


8o  IRemintscenccs  of  tbe  prison. 

London  except  Pentonville  and  the  Middlesex  House 
of  Detention. 

*' The  numbers  were — men,  70;  females,  30;  chiefly 
under  sentences  of  three  months'  hard  labour,  which 
consisted  of  the  tread- wheel  and  oakum-picking,  most 
kept  at  the  wheel,  and  the  straining  figure  of  the 
criminal  may  be  dimly  seen.  The  only  sound  appa- 
rently is  the  dull  soughing  of  the  wheel ;  and  the  dark 
shadows  toiling  and  treading  in  a  journey  which 
knows  no  progress,  force  on  the  mind,  involuntary 
sensations  of  horror  and  disgust. 

"  The  system  of  discipline  pursued  is  a  mere  mockery 
of  the  silent  system.  Communication  is  forbidden 
during  hours  of  work,  but  not  prevented.  The  walkers 
of  the  wheel  are  commanded  not  to  talk,  but  from 
the  straggling  nature  of  the  building  and  the  paucity 
of  prison  officers,  complete  inspection  and  control  are 
out  of  the  question,  and  practically  they  talk  just  as 
much  as  they  think  proper :  as  when  at  work,  only  a 
thin  partition  separates  one  from  another.  Nothing 
less  than  the  presence  of  a  warder  could  prevent  them. 
They  who  are  not  sentenced  to  hard  labour  are  con- 
fined in  the  opposite  wing  of  the  prison.  Under- 
ground are  two  small  miserable  cells,  the  day-rooms 
of  this  department.  They  are  very  cold  and  damp, 
consequently  fires  have  to  be  kept  in  them,  a  circum- 
stance fatal  to  all  discipline. 

"  In  each  of  these  rooms  at  the  time  of  our  visit 


■Reminiscences  of  tbe  prison.  8i 

there  were  eight  or  ten  prisoners  shut  up,  picking 
oakum.  They  were  quite  alone,  that  is,  no  officer  was 
with  them  in  the  room.  Occasionally  they  receive  a 
visit,  but  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  day  they 
are  quite  alone,  talking  over  the  fires,  and  instruct- 
ing each  other  in  their  favourite  arts.  How  different 
this,  to  the  workrooms  of  Millbank  or  Coldbath- 
fields ! 

*'  There  is  no  school  in  this  prison.  This  is  the 
fitting  climax  of  its  many  faults,  the  crowning  absur- 
dity of  the  whole  system  of  mismanagement.  If  book- 
teaching  be  absolutely  required  anywhere,  if  it  promise 
to  be  successful  to  operate  for  good  anywhere,  surely  it 
is  here  in  Bridewell.  Being  summary  convictions,  the 
inference  is  that  persons  come  here,  to  get  their  initia- 
tion into  the  prison  world,  and  the  fact  is  so  generally. 

"  The  ill-directed  youth  of  the  city,  who  commits 
his  first  petty  offence,  is  most  likely  to  be  sent  hither. 
Upon  the  impressions  which  he  takes  away,  may  de- 
pend the  entire  future  of  his  existence  for  good  or 
evil ;  in  a  course  of  reform  or  a  career  of  guilt,  his 
incarceration  in  Bridewell  is  the  starting-point.  One 
thinks  with  pain  and  sorrow  of  the  education  which 
such  a  youth  must  get  here  now,  and  of  the  direction 
most  likely  to  be  given  to  his  energies  by  the  persons 
he  will  meet  with.  Three  months'  imprisonment  here 
is  enough  to  ruin  any  child  for  life.  The  boy  must 
have  powerful  elements  of  good  in  him  who  can  leave 


82  "Reminiscences  ot  tbe  prison. 

it  no  worse  for  ninety  days'  contact  with  its  contamina- 
tions. Instead  of  subjecting  the  unfledged  criminal 
to  the  pollution  of  his  unrestrained  intercourse  with 
offenders  worse  than  himself,  every  care  should  be 
taken  here,  upon  the  threshold  of  his  career,  to  lead 
him  back  from  the  fatal  path  into  more  respectable 
and  honest  courses.  The  negative  act  is  not  enough. 
He  should  not  alone  be  kept  from  peril ;  he  should 
also  be  put  into  the  way  of  good. 

"  Two  means  are  patent  for  this  purpose — work  and 
teaching.  The  work  should  be  severe  but  useful, 
such  as  a  man  in  whom  it  was  sought  to  foster  habits 
of  self-respect,  might  be  asked  to  do.  The  instruction 
should  be  sound  and  regular ;  what  the  criminal  mind 
wants  most  is  discipline.  Formerly  there  was  a  sciiool 
at  Bridewell ;  it  has  for  unknown  reasons  been  given 
up.  Fatal  mistake  !  If  anything  could  atone  for  the 
faults  of  the  City  Bridewell,  it  would  be  the  institution 
attached  to  it,  called  the  House  of  Occupation,  in 
St.  George's  Fields.  This  is,  in  fact,  an  industrial 
school;  and  has  about  200  inmates,  half  male,  half 
female.  It  is  not  a  criminal  establishment.  The 
majority  of  its  scholars  have  not  been  in  prison ;  the 
minority  have,  in  Bridewell. 

"  Children  who  are  idle  merely,  disposed  to  be 
troublesome  to  their  parents  and  to  the  community, 
are  taken  in,  educated  and  instructed  in  a  trade,  and 
after  several  years  of  careful  training  are  placed  in 


"Kemfniscenccs  of  tbe  prison.  83 

situations,  or  permitted  to  go  home  to  their  parents  on 
the  latter  making  proper  application. 

"  The  instruction  given  to  them  is  sound  and  prac- 
tical, the  discipline  enforced  strict,  but  not  rigid,  and 
the  general  result  highly  successful.  The  boys  are 
taught  trades.  At  present  there  is  one  or  more,  learn- 
ing each  of  these  useful  employments — engineering, 
painting,  tailoring,  shoemaking,  masonry,  binding, 
baking,  carpentry,  rug-making,  rope-making.  The 
girls  are  being  taught  every  species  of  domestic  work 
— washing,  sewing,  cooking,  ironing,  knitting,  &c. 

"  Great  care  is  also  taken  with  the  education  of 
their  minds ;  they  are  said  to  make  admirable  domestic 
servants,  and  very  rarely  indeed  does  one  turn  out 
ill.  They  are  in  great  request,  there  being  usually 
from  twelve  to  twenty  applications  for  servants  on 
the  books  of  the  institution. 

"  As  they  are  ready  they  are  put  out  from  Bride- 
well ;  the  Magistrates  have  a  power  of  removal  to  this 
House  of  Occupation,  being  one  of  the  first  Refor- 
matory Schools  established,  and  by  the  change  of 
scene,  this  removal  from  old  haunts,  old  comrades, 
and  old  occupations,  hundreds  of  poor  boys  are 
placed  in  a  position  for  becoming  useful  and  pro- 
ductive, instead  of  dangerous  and  expensive,  members 
of  society." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

REPORTS  ON  PRISON,  1SSS-18S7. 

An  interesting  communication  was  made  in  1886 
(5th  November)  by  General  Adams,  late  Governor  of 
the  prison,  who  wrote  : — 

"  I  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  Superintendent  in 
November  1847,  and  held  it  till  March  1855,  when  the 
prison  was  closed  except  for  the  reception  of  refractory 
City  apprentices  committed  by  the  Chamberlain. 

"  On  my  services  being  no  longer  required,  the 
Governors  granted  me  a  very  liberal  pension,  which 
I  still  enjoy.  The  staff  of  the  prison  consisted,  be- 
sides myself,  of  the  chaplain,  one  chief,  and  four 
assistant  warders  on  the  male  side,  and  of  a  matron 
and  two  female  warders  for  the  female  prisoners, 

"The  prisoners  were  committed  by  the  Lord 
Mayor  and  Aldermen,  and  the  period  of  their  confine- 
ment was  from  three  days  to  three  months. 

"  They  were  principally  pickpockets,  and  very  gene- 
rally gave  as  their  place  of  abode  the  New  Cut  or 
Mint  Street,  in  the  Borough.  Most  of  the  others 
were  vagrants  sent  to  prison  for  begging  in  the  streets. 


IReports  on  iprison,  1855-1887.  85 

"Many  of  the  prisoners  were  well  known  to  the 
officers,  having  been  frequently  inmates  of  the  '  Old 
House,'  as  they  called  Bridewell. 

"  Hard  labour  was  carried  out  by  the  treadmill, 
which,  communicating  with  the  adjacent  mill,  was  the 
motive  power  for  grinding  the  corn  for  the  use  of  the 
two  Hospitals  and  House  of  Occupation. 

"Such  prisoners  as  were  unfit  to  undergo  hard 
labour  were  employed  in  chopping  wood,  or  any  light 
work  about  the  prison. 

"  The  females  did  all  the  lavatory  work,  and  a  few 
of  them  assisted  in  preparing  the  food. 

"  The  conduct  of  the  male  prisoners  was  generally 
good,  and  they  were  always  very  respectful. 

"  The  females  were  not  unfrequently  refractory ;  so 
much  so  as  to  oblige  the  matron  to  call  for  the  assist- 
ance of  the  warders  on  the  other  side.  On  these 
occasions  the  women  would  scream  until  they  were 
quite  hoarse,  and  tear  up  their  clothes  and  bedding 
into  shreds,  and  smash  the  windows  of  their  cells." 

The  Governors'  report  in  February  1855  was  as 
follows  : — 

"  The  Governors  having,  at  an  early  period  of  the 
year,  decided  upon  the  expediency  of  closing  the 
prison  of  Bridewell  and  of  applying  the  large  reve- 
nues of  the  Hospital  to  more  useful  and  beneficial 
purposes,  solicited  the  concurrence  of  the  Court  of 
Aldermen  in  that  arrangement;  and  as  they  practi- 


86  Ucporta  on  prison,  1855-1887. 

cally  acquiesced  in  the  proposal  by  ceasing  to  commit 
any  prisoners  subsequent  to  the  month  of  April,  the 
prison  may  almost  be  said  to  have  been  closed  from 
that  time,  although  at  a  later  date  the  City  apprentices 
committed  by  the  Chamberlain  have  been  received. 

"The  above  statement  was  necessary,  in  order  to 
explain  the  cause  of  the  very  small  number  committed 
in  1854  when  compared  with  those  in  former  years; 
but  it  may  likewise  be  observed,  that  although  the 
committals  of  the  past  year  extend  over  a  period  only 
one-third  of  that  in  previous  years,  the  relative  propor- 
tion is  by  no  means  the  same,  but  was  much  less  than 
in  any  year  that  preceded  it. 

"In  the  years  185 1,  1852,  and  1853,  the  number  of 
committals  from  the  ist  of  January  to  the  30th  April, 
was  respectively  394,  278,  and  418,  whereas  in  1854 
it  was  only  65. 

"  Unfortunately  we  are  not  warranted  in  attributing 
this  decrease  to  any  diminution  of  crime  in  the  Metro- 
polis, but  rather  to  the  preference  evinced  by  the 
City  Magistrates  to  commit  prisoners  to  the  House 
of  Correction  at  Holloway,  in  which  it  is  supposed 
that  the  modern  system  of  prison  discipline  can  be 
carried  out  with  greater  efficiency,  than  in  the  old  and 
obsolete  building  of  Bridewell. 

"  The  number  of  prisoners  committed  during  the 
past  year  amounted,  as  above  stated,  to  65  prior  to 
the  30th  April,  and  the  subsequent  committal  of  two 
apprentices  gives  a  total  of  67. 


•Reports  on  prison,  1855-1887.  87 

"Of  these,  five  were  City  apprentices  committed 
by  the  Chamberlain.  The  remainder  were  chiefly 
either  pickpockets  or  misdemeanants,  of  which  last 
class  of  offenders  the  proportion  was  somewhat  greater 
than  in  former  years ;  but  their  detention  in  prison  was 
generally  only  until  their  friends  could  procure  the 
means  of  paying  the  fines,  in  default  of  which  they 
were  committed. 

"The  number  of  juvenile  offenders  was  twenty- 
four,  being  about  one-third  of  the  whole;  and  of 
these  five  were  recommittals.  Their  ages  varied 
from  eight  to  seventeen  years. 

"The  health  of  the  prisoners  was  as  usual  very 
good,  and  their  conduct  whilst  in  prison  satisfactory. 

(Signed)         "  E.  ADAMS,  Capt, 

Superifitendent. 

"Bridewell  Hospital, 
Stk  February  1855." 


There  are  many  of  the  old  commitment  warrants 
still  in  existence,  dating  from  1828  to  1853.  One  or 
two  have  been  selected  from  among  the  waste  paper 
at  Bridewell,  as  illustrating  the  offence  and  punish- 
ment, the  chief  offences  being  those  of  vagrancy,  idle- 
ness in  the  apprentices,  indecency,  and  thieving,  and 
the  term  of  imprisonment  ranging  from  seven  days  to 
three  months. 


88 


IReports  on  prison,  1855- 1887. 


^     w   CO 

J  .2  '^ 


"Reports  on  prison,  1855-1887.  89 


^^ 


90  IRcpotts  on  prison,  1855-1887. 

The  practice  of  committing  to  Bridewell  for  safe 
custody  had  long  been  discontinued  in  1837,  and  no 
tried  prisoners  had  been  received  since  1828. 

Those  in  the  prison  in  1837  were  : — 

1.  City  apprentices  committed  by  the  Chamber- 

lain for  misconduct 

2.  Ordinary  prisoners   summarily  convicted   by 

the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen. 

The  warrants  by  the  Chamberlain  were  and  are 
even  now  directed  to  the  porter  or  beadle,  according 
to  ancient  practice.  The  confinement  is  solitary ; 
there  are  six  cells,  and  the  beadle  has  charge  of  them. 

The  Vicar  of  St.  Bride's  has  notice  of  the  recep- 
tion, and  visits  the  apprentices  daily  whilst  in  the 
cells. 

A  curious  entry  occurs  in  the  Vestry  Book  of  St. 
Bride's  parish : — 

'*  Af  a  Vestry  held  February  26,  1661. 

"Upon  the  petition  of  younge  Jenninges  wife, 
her  husband  abusing  her,  the  churchwarden  is  to 
chide  him  for  it  and  advise  him  to  behave  other- 
wise ;  if  he  doth  not  amend,  then  a  warrant  to  goe 
out  against  him  that  he  may  be  committed  to 
Bridewell  till  he  gives  security  for  his  good  be- 
haviour." 


IReports  on  lirison,  1855-1887.  91 

There  were  52  recalcitrant  apprentices  in  the 
House  in  1836;  in  1886  and  1887,  only  17. 

The  punishment  is  not  considered  a  criminal  con- 
viction, nor  does  the  Chamberlain  commit  unless 
the  offence  is  really  discreditable,  as  neglect  of  work, 
absconding,  playing  truant,  &c. 


(     92      ) 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ART-MASTERS  AND  APPRENTICES. 

It  seems  that  the  manufactures  originally  introduced 
into  the  House  were  to  be  carried  on,  on  account  of 
the  Hospital,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  more  com- 
plicated operations  were  performed  by  persons  receiv- 
ing wages  for  their  labour,  and  hired  into  the  House 
to  work  up  the  materials  prepared  by  the  inmates, 
the  due  execution  of  the  work,  being  secured  by  the 
selection  for  each  trade,  of  governors  particularly 
acquainted  with  the  requisite  details. 

In  the  ordinances  of  1557  the  word  "apprentices" 
occurs.  And  in  a  report  of  a  committee  in  1657  it 
is  stated  that  by  several  leases  which  were  executed 
about  that  year  (1657),  houses  and  apartments  within 
the  Hospital  were  demised  to  several  persons  who 
were  appointed  "taskmasters  and  taskmistresses "  for 
the  management  and  improvement  of  different  manu- 
factures, and  bringing  up  "  apprentices  to  the  same." 

There  is  extant  a  copy  of  an  indenture  dated  2 2d 
November  1577  (19th  of  Elizabeth),  whereby  certain 


Brt*/iRaster6  anD  apprentices.  93 

houses  were  demised  by  the  Mayor,  Commonalty, 
Sec,  to  Richard  Matthew,  at  Bridewell,  for  ninety-two 
years,  with  a  covenant  that  he  and  his  executors, 
&c.,  should  instruct  and  bring  up  youths  in  the  trade 
of  making  knives,  steel  buttons,  blades,  &c.,  and  the 
lease  to  be  void  if  the  premises  should  come  to  any 
person  not  free  of  the  city. 

Another  instance  occurs  of  such  a  lease,  for  in 
1585  the  Commonalty  demised  certain  houses  to 
Thomas  Dowleyn,  cutler,  who  covenanted  to  receive, 
take,  instruct,  and  keep  at  work,  as  his  daily  servants, 
upon  some  decent  and  good  handicraft,  all  such  poor 
vagrants  as  should  be  sent  by  the  Governors,  and  that 
he  should  lodge  and  board  them,  and  not  permit  them 
to  escape. 

The  precise  date  of  the  introduction  of  art-masters 
and  legally  bound  apprentices  cannot  be  ascertained. 

An  old  weekly  account  book,  says  Mr.  Bowen,  a 
former  chaplain  of  Bridewell,  contains  an  entry,  23d 
May  1 5  94,  of  a  payment  of  12  s.  8d.  for  six  pairs  of  inden- 
tures of  apprenticeship  for  boys  bound  with  the  glover. 

In  February  1597,  again,  that  one  Exton  and 
family,  be  allowed  26s.  8d.  per  week  for  teaching 
boys  pin-making. 

At  a  court  held  February  8,  it  was  ordered  that 
the  Treasurer  should  examine  the  accounts  of  the 
late  "art-masters  of  the  pinners,"  and  this  appears 
to  be  the  first  time  the  word  occurs  in  the  records. 


94  'BtUftsastcve  and  Bpprentices. 

The  first  instance  of  regular  binding  occurred  at  a 
court  held  28th  March  1598,  when  Nicholas  Ling, 
churchwarden  of  St.  Clement's,  Eastcheap,  paid  j^S 
"to  place  Thomas  Scarlet,  apprentice  with  Thomas 
Ellis,  the  glover,  for  seven  years." 

Ellis  was  paid  12s.  more,  and  30s.  for  diet  since 
"  Hallentide"  last,  and  the  court  discharged  the  ward 
of  Candlewick,  of  the  charge  of  Scarlet  during  his 
term  of  apprenticeship. 

By  an  order,  October  10,  1599,  the  Governors 
agreed  to  receive  parish  children  and  children  of 
freemen,  to  be  taught  some  trade ;  and  Richard 
Brooke,  a  fustian  weaver,  was  allowed  a  house  rent 
free  and  to  keep  ten  apprentices. 

March  18,  1600,  it  was  ordered,  with  full  consent 
of  the  Lord  Mayor,  that  Aldermen  might  send  to  the 
Hospital,  parish  children  within  their  wards,  to  be 
placed  under  some  artificer. 

December  8,  1 606,  Churchwardens  of  the  parishes 
of  St.  Sepulchre's,  St.  Giles's  Cripplegate,  St.  Bride, 
St.  Botolph,  Aldersgate  and  Aldgate,  to  be  allowed  to 
send  any  poor  boy,  to  be  set  apprentice. 

This  system  of  apprenticeship  was  fostered  and 
encouraged,  by  the  bequests  of  Locke,  Fowke,  and 
Palmer. 

In  March  1644,  it  was  recommended  that  vagrants 
found  in  the  streets,  should  be  brought  to  Bridewell ; 
and   that  the  small  children  born  in  the  City,  and 


Brts/Bbasters  an&  apprentices.  95 

not  able  to  move,  be  kept  at  Christ's  Hospital,  to  be 
reared  and  taught,  and  on  attaining  the  age  of  twelve 
years  be  sent  back  to  Bridewell  to  be  employed  in 
some  good  occupation. 

About  the  year  1671  the  better  education  of  the 
apprentices  was  considered,  and  a  school  established 
in  the  house  for  them. 

In  1720  the  art-masters  and  apprentices  appear  a 
very  numerous,  and  also  a  very  disorderly  part  of  the 
Hospital. 

The  insubordination  and  irregularities  that  had 
arisen  were  occasioned  by  the  free  liberty  they  pos- 
sessed to  quit  the  precincts  of  the  house,  and  the 
custom  existing  from  an  early  period,  of  permitting 
the  engine  of  the  Hospital  to  attend  all  fires. 

The  Bridewell  engine  was  noted  for  its  efficiency 
and  for  the  courage  and  dexterity  of  the  apprentices, 
called  "Bridewell  boys;"  but  this  practice  resulted 
in  frequent  injuries,  drunkenness,  and  debauchery. 

Hone  mentions  in  the  "  Everyday  Book : " — *'  On 
the  13th  November  1755,  at  a  Court  of  Governors 
of  Bridewell  Hospital,  a  memorable  report  was  made 
for  the  Committee,  who  inquired  into  the  behaviour 
of  the  Bridewell  boys  at  Bartholomew  and  South- 
wark  fairs,  when  some  of  them  were  seriously  cor- 
rected and  continued,  and  others,  after  punishment, 
were  ordered  to  be  stripped  of  the  Hospital  clothing 
and  discharged.     The  Bridewell  boys  were,  within 


96  arts/IBasterg  anD  apprentices. 

recollection,  a  body  of  youths  distinguished  by  a  par- 
ticular dress,  and  by  turbulence  of  manners.  They 
infested  the  streets  to  the  terror  of  the  peaceable ; 
and,  being  allowed  the  privilege  of  going  to  fires, 
did  more  mischief  by  their  audacity  and  perverseness 
than  they  did  good  by  working  the  engines."  It  is 
only  right  to  add  that  some  improvement  must  have 
taken  place  in  their  manners;  for  Hone  concludes 
by  admitting,  that  "  the  Bridewell  boys  at  this  time  " 
(the  book  was  published  in  1827)  "  are  never  heard  of, 
in  any  commotions,  and  may  be  regarded  therefore 
as  peaceable  and  industrious  lads."  Nevertheless, 
their  attendance  at  fires  seems  to  have  been  dis- 
pensed with. 

In  1792  a  strong  opinion  prevailed  that  the  system 
of  art-masters  and  apprentices  was  extravagant  and 
useless,  and  on  the  14th  June,  it  was  resolved  that 
it  should  be  abolished,  and  notice  to  quit  was  actually 
given  to  the  art-masters.  This  was  modified  by  a 
subsequent  report. 

In  1798  there  were  no  apprentices  in  the  House. 

In  1799  a  lengthy  report  contained  suggestions  for 
the  better  classification  of  the  inmates  of  the  House, 
e.g.^  for  the  reception  of  destitute  persons  discharged 
from  prisons  and  hospitals,  and  for  the  institution  of  a 
distinct  establishment  as  a  "  School  of  Occupation  "  for 
the  uneducated  children  of  the  Metropolis,  and  urging 
the  entire  inutility  of  the  art-masters  and  apprentices. 


Hrt*/lBaster6  an&  Bpprentfces.  97 

The  report  was  not  confirmed. 

Admission  of  apprentices  was  resumed  after  an 
inquiry  in  May  1799,  and  the  report  confirmed, 
and  they  were  chiefly  taken  firom  the  boys  who  had 
received  at  Christ's  Hospital  the  lower  grade  of 
education. 

None  were  appointed  from  Newgate,  or  taken  from 
the  streets,  yet  nothing  could  be  more  pernicious  than 
assembling  together,  a  large  number  of  young  men 
within  the  same  building  with  abandoned  and  disso- 
lute prisoners  of  both  sexes;  for  though  they  might 
be  completely  separated,  the  inmates  were  lowered  in 
pubUc  estimation,  and  their  prospects  of  future  em- 
ployment prejudiced.  ' 


(    98    ) 


CHAPTER  X. 

REPORT   OF  A.D.    1818. 

The  Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, published  in  1818,  condemned  the  existing  state 
of  things. 

"  Bridewell  is  that  Hospital  of  the  three  named  in  a 
Charter  of  King  Edward  VI.,  nominally  devoted  to  the 
employment  of  the  idle  and  disorderly,  but  in  practice 
effecting  neither.  Although  ostensibly  a  House  of  Cor- 
rection, no  attempt  is  made  to  reclaim  the  prisoners 
or  to  correct  them,  except  by  administering  corporal 
punishment,  which  is  left  in  a  great  measure  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  porter.  No  employment  of  any  de- 
scription is  provided.  A  few  women  work  at  spinning- 
machines,  but  the  men  for  the  most  part  saunter  about. 

"The  revenues,  amounting  to  ;^7ooo  a  year,  are 
not  well  applied.  However  defective  former  arrange- 
ments may  have  been,  the  present  are  useless.  The 
evil  has  grown  by  gradual  progress.  Vagrants  are,  it 
is  true,  received  and  fed  for  a  few  days  until  they  can 
be  passed  on  to  their  proper  settlements.  The  dis- 
orderly are  confinedj  but  ridicule  the  correction. 


TRcport  of  A.D.  1818.  99 

"Apprentices  are  admitted  and  taught  by  art-masters, 
but  they  might  better  gain  a  knowledge  of  their  trades 
elsewhere  at  far  less  expense,  and  a  minute  inquiry  is 
recommended." 

The  Court  held  November  6,  1818,  appointed  a 
Committee,  who,  in  their  report  of  the  20th  October 
1819,  confirmed  the  report  of  the  Parliamentary  Com- 
mittee, that  the  prison,  both  in  structure  and  manage- 
ment, was  defective,  and  that  a  radical  change  was 
necessary ;  but  that  doing  away,  or  immediate  inter- 
ference with,  the  art-masters  was  to  be  deprecated. 

It  appeared  that  in  March  1819  there  were  twenty- 
eight  apprentices  in  the  house,  out  of  ninety-three 
that  had  been  bound  during  the  twenty-one  years 
previous  to  that  date.  On  June  22,  1821,  a  resolu- 
tion was  adopted — "That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
Court,  that  the  prison  of  Bridewell  be  altered,  to 
admit  of  proper  classification  and  superintendence, 
and  that  it  will  also  be  proper,  so  far  as  the  revenue 
and  the  altered  state  of  society  will  admit  thereof, 
to  restore  the  Hospital  to  its  original  condition  of  a 
House  of  Occupation." 

Males  and  females  to  be  received  as  follows  : — 

(i.)  To  be  instructed  in  useful  handicraft,  trade, 
or  occupation,  whereby  an  honest  livelihood  may  be 
obtained  for  the  future. 

(2.)  The  unemployed,  whether  committed  by  the 
magistrates  as  idle,  disorderly,  &c.,  or  being  appren- 


TRcport  of  A.D.  1818. 


tices  committed  by  the  Chamberlain,  or  received  at  their 
own  desire,  to  be  usefully  employed  until  discharged. 

(3.)  Prisoners,  quit  at  the  Sessions,  desiring  tem- 
porary refuge  and  maintenance,  to  be  employed  use- 
fully during  their  continuance  in  the  Hospital. 

Proper  rules  and  regulations  were  to  be  drawn  up 
for  the  classification  and  employment  of  those  com- 
mitted, and  those  admitted  at  their  own  request ;  and 
that  a  rather  lower  scale  of  wages  than  is  usual,  be 
given  to  the  latter  for  work  done. 

That  the  art-masters  be  termed  taskmasters,  and  be 
freemen  of  the  City.  That  a  school  be  estabhshed  for 
the  general  instruction  of  the  children  in  religious  and 
moral  duties. 

A  superintendent  and  other  officers,  as  keeper,  mat- 
ron, and  turnkeys,  were  appointed,  and  considerable 
alterations  were  made,  treadmills,  &c.,  being  provided. 

In  1835  a  new  wing  was  added  to  the  prison. ^ 

The  House  of  Occupation  was  not  resolved  upon 
until  March  7,  1828. 

The  resolution  was  as  follows  : — 


1  Benge,  the  beadle,  December  21,  1887,  told  the  author  that  a 
very  decent  man  conversed  with  him  not  long  since,  who  had  been 
an  apprentice  in  Bridewell,  and  that  it  was  the  happiest  time  of 
his  life. 

A  mother  who  had  been  a  prisoner  long  ago,  told  Benge,  that 
when  the  prisoners  were  discharged,  a  loaf  of  bread  was  given  to 
each,  and  this  they  always  stuck  on  the  railings  to  show  their 
contempt. 


"Report  of  A.D.  1818.  loi 

"  That  a  new  House  of  Occupation  for  the  reception 
of  destitute  objects  of  both  sexes,  should  be  provided. 
That  destitute  people  committed  to  the  House  of  Cor- 
rection at  Bridewell,  and  disposed  to  work,  should  be 
received  at  the  expiration  of  their  time  of  confinement, 
and  remain  at  the  discretion  of  the  Governors." 

A  lease  was  granted  for  sixty-one  years,  at  a  yearly 
rent  of  ;)£"2oo,  from  August  i,  1828,  for  the  House  of 
Occupation,  on  three  acres  of  land  in  St.  George's 
Fields  belonging  to  Bethlehem  Hospital,  and  a  build- 
ing was  erected  at  a  cost  of  ^14,900,  and  opened 
October  1830. 

It  only  remains  to  follow  the  history  of  the  House 
of  Occupation  till  such  time  as  it  was  altered  and 
called  "King  Edward's  Schools." 

The  Report  of  1836  says,  that  youth  only,  of  both 
sexes,  are  admitted,  and  the  inmates  divided  into 
the  following : — 

(i.)  Persons  merely  destitute. 

(2.)  Persons  guilty  of  misconduct.  And  this  class 
included  those,  not  convicted  of  offences  against  the 
law,  but  of  idle,  dissolute,  vicious,  and  bad  habits,  and 
uncontrollable  by  their  parents;  young  women  who 
had  gone  wrong,  and  were  desirous  of  returning  to  a 
better  life ;  young  persons  of  both  sexes  desirous  of 
amendment,  after  committal  on  summary  convictions, 
and  those  convicted  at  Sessions  on  whom  judgment 
had  been  respited. 


"Report  ot  A.D.  1818. 


The  age  was  from  eight  to  nineteen,  and  prefer- 
ence given,  ceteris  paribus,  to  those  discharged  from 
Bridewell. 

Great  attention  was  paid  to  their  cleanliness,  diet, 
and  clothing ;  the  trades  taught  (besides  the  perform- 
ance of  all  the  necessary  economies  of  the  institution), 
appear  to  be  brewing,  baking  (the  flour  came  from 
the  mill  at  Bridewell),  ropemaking,  bootmaking,  and 
tailoring ;  and  one  notices  that  education,  particularly 
religious  instruction,  of  which  the  inmates  were  very 
ignorant,  had  prominent  attention. 

The  total  admission  of  both  sexes  from  1830  to 
1853  were  1632,  842  of  whom  were  males  and  790 
females,  and  of  these  305  had  been  in  prison,  or  had 
been  sent  from  prison,  185  males  and  120  females. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Garrett,  chaplain,  writes  as  follows  in 
his  report,  dated  March  15,  1854: — "It  is  a  very 
remarkable  and  most  interesting  fact,  and  I  trust, 
gentlemen,  you  will  pardon  my  again  drawing  your 
attention  to  it,  that  the  number  of  those  young  per- 
sons of  either  sex  who  have  left  this  House  under 
unfavourable  circumstances,  and  have  taken  a  position 
in  society  honourable  to  themselves,  thus  reflecting  no 
trifling  degree  of  credit  upon  the  labours  of  those,  to 
whom  you  have  confided  so  responsible  a  charge,  very 
greatly  preponderates  over  those,  who  have  again  fallen 
into  a  vicious  course  of  life,  and  this  has  been  more  or 
less  the  certain  results  of  our  inquiries  from  year  to  year. 


TReport  of  a.d.  1818.  103 

"This  fact  evidently  arises,  not  so  much  from  a 
separation  from  their  former  associates  (for  each  com- 
mittee-day adds  to  the  amount  of  moral  delinquency 
already  within  the  walls),  but  is  rather  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  occupation  of  that  time,  which  was  once  a 
weapon  of  mischief  in  their  hands,  in  the  task  of 
storing  their  minds  with  useful  knowledge,  of  instruct- 
ing them  in  their  duty  to  God  and  man,  and  the 
providing  them  with  industrial  pursuits,  which,  when 
they  step  again  into  the  world,  will  afford  them  the 
means,  with  God's  blessing,  of  obtaining  an  honest 
livelihood,  and  also  a  way  to  escape,  when  trials  and 
temptations  assail  them." 

Mr.  Garrett  retired  from  the  chaplaincy  of  Beth- 
lehem and  the  House  of  Occupation,  in  January 
1856,  after  twenty-two  years'  service.  When  the 
Rev.  Edward  Rudge  made  his  first  report  in  the 
following  January,  he  gives  the  number  of  inmates 
as  212, — 114  boys  and  98  girls,  but  the  usual  aver- 
age "rarely  falls  short  of  220;"  and  further  remarks 
"  that  much  of  the  evil  sought  to  be  cured  by  means 
of  the  House  of  Occupation,  might  have  been 
avoided  altogether  by  a  more  conscientious  exercise 
of  parental  responsibility." 

"  Nor  does  the  poverty,  or  even  the  ignorance,  of 
the  parents,  at  all  times  render  this  neglect  in  some 
measure  excusable.  Those  who  are  best  acquainted 
with  the  humbler  classes,  will  bear  ready  testimony 


I04  "Report  of  A.D.  1818. 

to  the  struggles  made  by  the  industrious  and  well- 
principled  among  them,  to  appear  in  decent  apparel 
themselves,  and  to  get  their  children  properly  clothed 
and  educated.  The  neglect  is  often  the  greatest 
amongst  the  well-paid  and  intelligent,  who  spend 
most  upon  personal  and  selfish  indulgences,  and 
least  upon  home  comforts  and  the  education  of  their 
children.  It  is  thus  that  children  become  undiscip- 
lined, and  the  parents,  willingly  or  otherwise  foster- 
ing them  in  evil  courses,  are  by  such  means  relieved 
of  the  charge  of  them  altogether.  The  reformatory 
movement  is  a  hopeful  feature  of  the  present  day, 
but  the  danger  just  presented  is  apparent,  and  sug- 
gests caution." 

"  When  I  first  knew  the  House  of  Occupation,"  he 
adds,  **  it  was  partly  a  Reformatory  School,  and 
partly  what  I  will  call  a  Preventative  School,  i.e.,  a 
school  for  such  destitute  children  as  were  in  danger, 
from  their  unprotected  state,  of  falling  into  crime. 
No  classification  was  attempted,  nor  indeed  was 
possible,  and  the  effect  of  associating  unconvicted 
children  with  others  who  had  been  convicted,  and 
that  more  than  once  (one  boy  of  the  age  of  fourteen, 
admitted  from  the  City  Prison  at  Holloway,  had  been 
convicted  of  pocket-picking  seven  times)  must  have 
been  most  injurious  to  the  former.  The  Governors 
had  no  power  to  help  themselves ;  by  the  terms  of 
their  charter  they  were  bound  to  admit  both  classes. 


IReport  of  A.D.  1818.  los 

The  criminal  children  were  most  difficult  to  manage ; 
they  were  constantly  trying  to  escape ;  skilful  in  the 
art  of  making  skeleton  keys,  and  adepts  in  prison  slang. 

"  Of  course  they  never  saw  the  outside  world  from 
the  day  of  their  admission  to  the  day  of  their  dis- 
charge. They  were  treated  as  kindly  as  circum- 
stances permitted  ;  but  I  must  say  that  I  look  back 
to  my  first  experience  of  the  House  of  Occupation 
with  anything  but  pleasurable  feelings." 

Again,  in  1858,  the  chaplain  writes: — "Your 
House  of  Occupation  differs  from  the  modern  re- 
formatory school  in  these  two  particulars, — first,  that 
conviction  of  crime  before  a  magistrate  is  not  a  neces- 
sary qualification  for  admission  ;  and,  secondly,  that 
the  inmates  are  neither  received  nor  detained,  against 
their  own  wishes.  But  facts  show  that  our  real  and 
actual  work  is  very  similar,  and  the  Governors  may 
fairly  claim  the  credit  of  having  for  many  years  acted 
as  pioneers  to  that  philanthropic  movement  for  the 
recovery  of  the  juvenile  delinquent,  to  which  a  vigo- 
rous impulse  has  in  these  days  been  given."  A  great 
many  boys  at  this  period  were  received  into  the 
Royal  Navy.  Of  140  boys  and  68  girls  discharged, 
62  of  the  former  entered  the  Royal  Navy,  and  12 
the  merchant  service  ;  and  of  the  latter,  50  went  into 
domestic  situations ;  and  the  tone  of  the  girls  was 
much  improved  under  the  firm  but  kind  discipline 
exercised  by  a  new  matron. 


(     io6    ) 


CHAPTER  XL 

KING  EDWARD'S  SCHOOLS. 

In  i860  the  new  scheme  for  the  regulation  of  the 
charity  came  into  operation.  Alterations  in  the  quali- 
fications for  admission  were  made.  The  name  was 
changed  from  that  of  the  "  House  of  Occupation  "  to 
the  more  appropriate  one  of 

"  King  Edward's  Schools." 

The  age  of  admission,  hitherto  from  13  to  16,  was 
lowered  to  from  12  to  15,  and  even  in  some  cases  to 
from  10  to  12.  Nor  were  the  admissions  confined  to 
the  residents  in  the  City  of  London,  the  county  of 
Middlesex,  and  the  borough  of  Southwark,  thus  ren- 
dering the  institution  not  a  local,  but  in  every  sense  a 
national  one.  Its  character  as  a  school  for  the  pre- 
vention of  crime  rather  than  for  the  reformation  of 
juvenile  criminals,  was  more  clearly  defined,  and  no 
criminal  children  will  be  received  except  under  pecu- 
liar circumstances;  and  if  any  be  admitted  of  this 
class,  the  proportion  not  to  exceed  one-sixth  of  the 


■ffing  B5warD's  Scbools.  107 

whole  number  of  inmates.  Mr.  Rudge  greets  these 
features  of  the  new  scheme  as  most  excellent.  For 
the  association  of  children  steeped  in  crime  and  used 
to  prison  ways,  with  those  who  are  simply  destitute 
and  unprotected,  is  manifestly  unfair,  and  calculated 
to  exercise  a  baneful  influence  upon  the  future  course 
of  life  of  the  inmates  generally. 

The  reproach  of  having  belonged  to  the  school  will 
exist  no  longer.  "When  I  became  your  chaplain," 
continues  Mr.  Rudge,  "  five  years  ago,  the  majority  of 
the  inmates  were  criminals.  Out  of  those  admitted 
last  year  (i860),  which  exceeded  200,  only  16  boys 
and  4  girls  had  been  convicted  of  crime :  108  boys 
were  discharged  to  the  Royal  Navy  and  44  girls  to 
situations."  An  officer  commanding  one  of  H.M.'s 
ships  writes  : — "  It  gives  me  very  great  pleasure  to  in- 
form you  that  the  lads  from  King  Edward's  School  who 
have  joined  the  Navy  in  this  ship  have  always  behaved 
much  to  my  satisfaction.  I  only  regret  that,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  number  of  applications  we  receive  from 
other  charitable  institutions,  we  cannot  afford  to  take 
more  from  you."  166  boys  and  36  girls,  who  formerly 
belonged  to  these  schools,  attended  the  Commissioners 
with  certificates  of  good  character  and  received  their 
^i  reward,  in  accordance  with  the  excellent  rule  of 
the  institution:  86  boys  and  19  girls  for  the  first 
time,  48  boys  and  10  girls  for  the  second,  and  30  boys 
and  7  girls  for  the  third  and  last  time.     On  the  3d 


io8  -Ring  B&war&'0  Scbools. 

March  1865  the  first  stone  of  the  new  school  was 
laid  at  Witley,  near  Godalming,  Surrey,  by  the  Pre- 
sident, Alderman  Copeland  (the  silver  implements 
used  in  the  customary  formalities  were  presented 
some  years  later  to  the  Governors  by  one  of  the  late 
Alderman's  sons),  and  the  separation  of  the  boys  from 
the  girls  completed  early  in  1867;  the  new  build- 
ings being  formally  opened  on  the  5th  April. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  1868  there  were  107  boys 
and  no  girls  in  the  schools.  The  intention  of  the 
new  school  at  Witley,  was  for  the  accommodation  of 
150  boys,  and  an  equal  number  of  girls  at  the  old 
school  at  Southwark,  and  these  numbers  were  gradu- 
ally attained.  In  1876  there  was  a  total  of  311 
children  in  the  schools.  The  Admiralty  having 
raised  the  standard,  and  parents  proving  so  unwilling 
to  allow  their  boys  to  go  to  sea,  Mr.  Rudge  bitterly 
laments  his  inability  to  get  lads  into  the  Royal 
Navy.  He  records  that  a  former  inmate,  who  had 
left  eight  years  previously  for  the  Royal  Navy,  had 
been  in  the  Arctic  expedition,  and  gave  on  a  visit 
to  his  old  school  a  most  interesting  account  of  his 
adventures. 

Of  the  eighteen  saved  when  the  Captain  capsized 
in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  three  of  them  were  old  King 
Edward  School-boys.  The  author  saw  the  Volage 
in  the  Portsmouth  Roads  when,  with  Mr.  Rudge, 
endeavouring  to  get  some  lads  taken  on  board  the 


TkUxQ  B&warys  Scbools.  109 

St  Vincent  training-ship.  It  was  the  Volage  which 
brought  home  those  who  were  saved,  and  the  loss  of 
the  Captain  had  a  bad  effect  at  the  time,  these  huge 
ironclads  being  termed  by  the  tars  "  iron  coffins." 

Meanwhile,  the  girls'  school  had  been  progressing 
admirably.  The  number  of  applications  for  girls  for 
private  families  was  in  1877  greatly  in  excess  of  the 
matron's  means  of  supply,  and  it  is  most  satisfactory 
to  record  that  in  nearly  every  instance  these  appli- 
cations are  the  result  of  the  observed  efficiency  of 
the  King  Edward  School-girls — one  lady  recommend- 
ing the  school  to  others  having  vacancies  in  their 
households. 

Those  of  the  Governors  who  have  gone  over  the 
establishment  (which  is  at  all  times  open  to  their 
inspection),  and  who  have  observed  the  modest  and 
cleanly  appearance  of  the  inmates,  and  the  careful 
manner  in  which  they  are  trained  in  all  the  various 
branches  of  domestic  work,  will  feel  no  surprise  at 
this  result.  Further,  in  all  the  little  trials  and  diffi- 
culties which  they  have  to  encounter  at  the  first 
start  in  life,  the  girls  are  encouraged  to  apply  to 
the  matron  for  advice  and  direction,  and  correspond- 
ence with  them  and  visits  to  them  in  their  places, 
whenever  a  personal  interview  seems  desirable,  occu- 
pies a  considerable  portion  of  the  matron's  time — 
time  which,  however,  is  well  employed ;  for  I  attri- 
bute to  this  constant  supervision,  this  kindly  interest 


•Ring  E&warys  Scbools. 


in  their  welfare,  even  after  they  have  ceased  to  be 
scholars,  no  small  portion  of  that  success  which 
this  branch  of  the  institution  has  undoubtedly  ob- 
tained. It  must  be  remembered  that  the  fact  of 
keeping  touch  with  those  discharged  for  three  years 
after  their  leaving  the  school  is  a  most  important 
element  in  their  general  behaviour.  The  system  of 
rewarding  for  good  conduct  in  situations,  whatever 
they  be,  so  long  as  the  chaplain  and  matron  is  cog- 
nisant of  their  being  respectable,  by  ^i  each  year, 
has  been  proved  most  efficacious. 

About  the  management  and  internal  life  of  the 
schools  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  much.  Two 
most  excellent  features  are  noticeable,  the  praise  for 
which  is  due  to  the  Governors,  and  not  to  the  execu- 
tive. The  first  is  the  absolute  impartiality  with  which 
the  candidates  for  admission  are  selected  by  the  sub- 
committee of  Governors — the  most  destitute  cases 
being  invariably  preferred,  and  thus  the  objectionable 
system  of  canvassing,  with  its  expense  and  frequent 
disappointment,  entirely  avoided.  The  second  is  the 
admirable  rule  of  giving  to  former  inmates  who 
attend  the  committees  with  good  characters  from 
their  employers  rewards  of  ^i  for  three  years.  Not 
only  does  the  pecuniary  benefit,  act  as  an  incentive  to 
good  behaviour,  and  as  a  barrier  against  a  restless 
change  of  place,  but  it  gives  an  opportunity  of 
renewing  acquaintance  with  old  scholars,  and  afford- 


Ikim  l£t>vonvi>'3  Scbools. 


ing    such   advice   as   circumstances   might   seem   to 
require. 

The  numbers  in  the  schools  gradually  increased, 
and  in  1881  a  total  of  436  is  reported — 216  boys  and 
220  girls — and  the  enlargement  of  the  premises,  both 
in  London  and  VVitley,  was  completed,  and  the  num- 
bers permitted  as  a  maximum  was  240  of  either  sex. 

The  Lord  Mayor  in  1880  (Sir  R  W.  Truscott) 
visited  the  boys'  school  on  the  annual  examination- 
day  ;  his  example  was  followed  by  Sir  Henry  Knight 
in  his  year  of  office  in  1883,  and  by  Sir  Reginald 
Hanson  in  1887. 

The  present  chaplain  is  the  Rev.  Gerard  M.  Mason, 
who  succeded  Mr.  Rudge  in  March  1886.  Mr. 
Rudge  had  served  thirty  years  with  the  schools,  and 
his  retirement  was  deeply  regretted.  Mr.  Foster,  of 
Fernside,  Witley,  added  a  gymnasium  in  1887  as  a 
Jubilee  offering  and  memento,  and  the  Governors  a 
splendid  playroom  of  large  dimensions  and  a  car- 
penter's shop,  to  enable  the  boys  to  be  further  in- 
structed in  manual  and  instructive  pursuits.  In  the 
last  reports  of  examination  by  Mr.  Waddington,  most 
satisfactory  results  are  recorded  as  to  the  condition  of 
the  inmates  of  both  schools.  The  needlework  of  the 
girls  is  noticed  particularly ;  also  their  examination  in 
religious  subjects  by  the  diocesan  inspector.  The 
drilling  of  the  boys,  their  excellent  play  in  the  band, 
and  their  general  appearance  never  appeared  better. 


Uing  ]E5warys  Schools. 


On  the  day  in  July  for  the  annual  examination, 
many  of  the  Governors  and  their  friends  find  their 
way  down  to  Witley,  and  one  can  testify  to  their 
intense  pleasure  in  witnessing  the  busy  scene  pre- 
sented by  240  boys,  in  and  out  of  school ;  the  prize- 
giving,  the  out-of-door  exercises,  &c. ;  and  the  most 
satisfactory  thing  of  all  is  the  reflection  that  these 
children  have  for  the  most  part  been  taken  from  bad 
influences,  reared  for  years  under  careful  discipline, 
with  simple,  plain,  and  good  education,  founded  upon 
the  tenets  and  principles  of  the  Church  of  England, 
so  as  to  fit  them  to  battle  with  the  world  in  after  life 
like  good  citizens  and  soldiers  in  life's  contest. 


(    113    ) 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ENDOWMENTS  OF  THE  HOSPITAL. 

The  expense  of  the  first  establishment  of  Bridewell 
was  not  defrayed  by  voluntary  contributions,  but  by 
a  compulsory  assessment  of  the  City  Companies.  The 
Hospital,  however,  did  not  share  very  largely  in  the 
bounty  of  the  citizens. 

In  1602  the  fines  and  forfeitures  accruing  from  the 
constables  and  others,  for  not  punishing  rogues  and 
beggars,  according  to  the  statute  39  Elizabeth,  were 
handed  over  for  the  maintenance  of  the  House,  while 
another  privilege  belonging  to  it  was  the  right  of  col- 
lecting rags  and  marrow-bones. 

St.  Thomas's  Hospital  appears  to  have  appropriated 
to  its  use,  the  lands  granted  by  King  Edward  VI.,  the 
precinct  of  the  ancient  palace  being  all  that  was  set 
apart  for  Bridewell,  and  for  years  it  was  a  matter  of 
considerable  anxiety  to  the  Court  of  Aldermen  how 
the  latter  should  be  maintained. 

St.  Thomas's  paid;^2oo  a  year  quarterly  to  Bridewell, 
with  slight  intermission,  from  1589  to  1670;  but  after 
falling  into  arrear,  the  payment  finally  lapsed  in  1684. 


"4  £n&owments  of  tbe  Ibospital. 

Considerable  benefactions  from  time  to  time  have 
been  made  by  way  of  gift  or  grant,  but  the  present 
condition  of  the  Hospital  stands  somewhat  thus  in 
the  possession  of  real  estates  and  annuities : — The 
former  consists  of  houses  in  London  and  Middle- 
sex, a  farm  in  Oxfordshire,  and  an  estate  at  Wap- 
ping;  and  it  shares  with  Bethlehem  the  rents  of  a 
farm  in  Kent. 

Since  the  prison  was  pulled  down  and  demolished, 
and  the  leases  in  New  Bridge  Street  fell  in,  the  old 
Bridewell  precinct  has  been  materially  altered.  A 
good  road  now  passes  through  the  back,  and  the 
whole  available  space  is  covered  with  large  houses  and 
offices,  notably  Messrs.  Spicer  and  Son's  paper  ware- 
houses, and  the  Royal  Hotel,  whose  proprietor  is  Mr. 
Alderman  De  Keyser,Lord  Mayor  of  London,  1887-88. 

No.  14  in  New  Bridge  Street  is  easily  recognised 
as  Bridewell  Royal  Hospital,  and  contains  within  its 
area  the  treasurer's  house,  the  beadle's  lodge,  the 
offices  and  hall,  and  the  receiver's  house,  together 
with  the  cells  for  recalcitrant  apprentices  who  may  be 
sent  for  solitary  confinement  by  the  City  Chamberlain. 

The  lands  at  Wapping  and  the  Rectory  at  North- 
leigh  (Oxon),  with  the  appurtenances  as  described  in 
the  grant  of  Henry  VHL,  to  be  held  in  capite  by 
the  service  of  the  fortieth  part  of  a  knight's  fee,  was, 
for  the  consideration  of  a  fine  of  ;^i84,  5s.,  confirmed 
by  Queen  Elizabeth,  April  12,  1600. 


jEnDowmcnts  of  tbc  Ibospltal.  115 

In  1759,  on  the  enclosure  of  the  parish  of  North- 
leigh,  the  Commissioners  awarded  to  the  Governors 
323  acres  and  16  perches,  and  the  advowson  of  the 
Vicarage  was  vested  in  the  Crown. 

The  estate  at  Wapping,  formerly  a  marsh,  is  now 
covered  with  wharves,  warehouses,  manufactories,  and 
a  few  private  dwellings,  with  a  river  frontage  granted 
by  letters  patent,  Charles  11.,  8th  April  1676. 

The  incidents  connected  with  this  estate  are  fully 
related  by  Mr.  Martin  in  his  report  of  1837,  referred 
to  in  Chapter  X. 

The  north  side  or  entrance  of  the  Old  Thames 
Tunnel  is  situated  on  the  Wapping  estate,  and  it 
has  been  afifirmed,  on  somewhat  doubtful  authority, 
that  the  principal  grant  which  Charles  II.  appears 
to  have  made  at  Wapping  was  of  some  ground 
near  the  Thames,  as  compensation  for  land  lying 
near  "  Bridewell  Dock,"  and  on  which  he  had  pro- 
hibited any  new  buildings  being  erected,  after  the 
Great  Fire,  to  replace  those  which  had  been  destroyed. 

Bridewell  itself  is  situate  in  the  ward  of  Farringdon 
Without,  a  ward  that  occupies  one-fifth  of  the  whole 
City,  and  is  conspicuous  for  the  enormous  interests  it 
contains.  There  are,  besides  those  of  the  Temple, 
banking,  commercial,  and  market  interests,  and  it  is 
also  the  centre  of  the  great  printing  and  publishing 
trades,  from  which  emanate,  besides  general  litera- 
ture, over  130  newspapers,  daily  and  weekly,  for  the 


ii6  En^owmcnt6  ot  tbe  l)O0pftaL 

education  and  amusement  of  the  community  at  large. 
The  present  Lord  Mayor,  Polydore  De  Keyser,  Esq.,  is 
the  Alderman  of  the  ward,  and  the  deputy,  Mr.  Walter, 
has  resided  in  the  ward  seventy  years,  and  represented 
it  in  the  Court  of  Common  Council  for  forty-four  years. 

The  pecuniary  bequests  of  Locke,  Fowke,  and 
Palmer,  for  helping  api)rentices  of  good  character, 
were  administered  up  to  a  recent  date,  and  when  the 
new  scheme  was  adopted,  the  interest  was  absorbed  in 
the  general  fund. 

The  management  or  government  of  the  Hospital, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  Act  22  George 
III.,  c.  77,  is  vested  in  a  president  and  a  treasurer, 
the  Court  of  Aldermen,  twelve  Common  Councilmen, 
elected  as  the  Act  directs,  and  an  unlimited  number 
of  Governors,  who  have  presented  the  Hospital  funds 
with  a  benefaction  of  fifty  guineas. 

The  revenues  of  the  Hospital  being  considerably 
diminished  by  the  present  depression  in  trade  and 
agriculture,  the  treasurer  welcomes  these  benefactions 
with  considerable  interest. 

The  treasurer  has  the  use  of  a  furnished  house  at 
Bridewell,  but  he  receives  no  salary,  and  no  part  of 
the  moneys  of  the  Hospital  passes  through  his  hands. 

All  Governors  have  equal  voice  in  any  election. 

Various  officers  are  appointed  to  do  the  necessary 
business  of  the  Hospital  or  Institution,  as  it  should 
be  more  correctly  called,  and  the  same  administers 


Treasurer's  Residence,  Bridewell, 
14  New  Bridge  Street,  Blackfriars,  E.C. 


Bn&owment0  of  tbe  Ibospital.  117 

to  the  duties  involved  in  Bethlehem  Hospital,  which 
is  incorporated  with  that  of  Bridewell. 

These  include  a  surveyor,  solicitor,  agents  for  the 
Lincolnshire  and  Kent  estates,  steward,  clerk  and 
receiver,  resident  physician,  chaplain  and  superin- 
tendent, with  their  necessary  subordinate  officers. 

Each  Governor,  on  being  admitted,  receives  the 
following  charge,  which  was  written  by  Bishop  Atter- 
bury : — 

"the  charge  to  every  governor  on  his 
admission. 

"  Given  in  the  presence  of  the  President  or  Treasurer , 
and  other  Governors^  assembled  in  Court. 

"  Sir, — You  have  been  elected,  and  are  come  to 
be  admitted,  a  Governor  of  the  Royal  Hospitals  of 
Bridewell  and  Bethlem,  a  station  of  great  honour 
and  trust,  which  will  afford  you  many  opportunities 
of  promoting  the  glory  of  God  and  the  welfare  of 
your  fellow-creatures;  for  in  these  Hospitals  a  pro- 
vision is  made  for  \employing  and  correcting  idle, 
vagrant,  and  disorderly  persons,  and^'\  educating  poor 
children  in  honest  trades,  and  also  for  maintaining 
and  curing  needy  and  deplorable  lunatics. 

"The  distribution  of  the  revenues  designed   by 

1  These  words,  which  are  in  the  original,  are  at  the  present  time 
usually  omitted. 


ii8  JEnOowments  of  tbc  IbospitaL 

royal  bounty  and  many  charitable  persons  for  those 
truly  noble  and  excellent  purposes,  is  now  about  to 
be  committed  to  your  care;  and  you  are  hereby 
solemnly  required  and  earnestly  requested  to  dis- 
charge your  duty  in  this  behalf  with  such  conscien- 
tious regard,  that  you  may  appear  with  joy  at  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ,  when  a  particular  account 
will  be  taken  of  all  the  offices  of  charity  in  which 
we  have  abounded  towards  our  poor  brethren,  and 
a  peculiar  reward  conferred  on  those  who  have  with 
fidelity  and  zeal  performed  them. 

"  In  confidence  that  you  will  diligently  attend  to 
this  good  work,  you  are  now  admitted  a  Governor 
of  the  Hospitals  of  Bridewell  and  Bethlem." 

Atterbury  became  preacher  of  Bridewell  Hospital 
and  Minister  of  Bridewell  Precinct  in  1693.  He 
was  subsequently  appointed  Dean  of  Carlisle.  In 
1 7 13  he  resigned  his  position  at  Bridewell  on  being 
promoted  by  Queen  Anne  to  the  Deanery  of  Christ 
Church,  Oxford.  In  17 14  he  was  elected  a  Governor 
of  the  Royal  Hospitals  of  Bridewell  and  Bethlehem. 
A  few  months  later  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Rochester 
and  Dean  of  Westminster.  On  suspicion  of  being 
implicated  in  a  plot  in  favour  of  Charles  Edward,  the 
Pretender,  he  was  imprisoned  in  1722,  and  by  Act  of 
Parliament  was  deprived  of  all  his  dignities  and  offices 
and  condemned  to  perpetual  exile.     He  died  in  Paris 


Endowments  of  tbe  1bO£5pttaL  119 

in  1732,  but  his  remains  are  laid  in  Westminster 
Abbey. 

Stow  writes  of  the  chapel  at  Bridewell  that  it  "  was 
enlarged  and  beautified  at  the  proper  cost  and  charge 
of  the  Governors  and  inhabitants  of  this  precinct 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1620,  Sir  Thomas  Middleton 
being  then  president,  and  Master  Thomas  Johnson 
treasurer  of  this  Hospital. 

"  This  enlargement  was  by  the  taking  in  of  a  large 
room,  that,  before  the  date  above-named,  joyned 
upon  the  head  of  the  chappell.  This  ground  adding 
to  the  length  of  it  (all  the  full  breadth  going  with  it) 
24  foote  and  belter. 

"  This  room  thus  taken  in,  trimmed,  beautified,  and 
consecrated  is  now  a  beautiful  chapell,  it  being  before 
a  room  unfit,  vast,  rude,  and  unsightly,  though  then 
in  the  use  deserving  a  fair  commendation. 

"For  then  that  ground  that  is  now  a  church  to 
the  prisoners  of  the  house  was  a  chapell,  into  which 
every  Sabbath  (through  a  bye  or  backward  passage) 
they  were  brought  from  their  severall  lodgings  to 
heare  divine  service. 

"So  that  then  and  now  in  that  worthy  use,  and 
this  worthy  alteration  and  beauty  we  may  see  the 
pious  and  religious  care  of  these  worthy  right  wor- 
shipfull  Governours  continually  employed  and  ap- 
plyed  to  things  of  this  excellent  nature." 

Among  the  records  now  at  the  Boys'  School  at 


Endowments  of  tbc  iJospitaL 


Witley  are  the  following    notes,   some  of   passing 
interest 

October  4,  1693. — The  Rev.  Francis  Atterbury, 
elected  preacher  of  Bridewell  Hospital  and  minister 
of  Bridewell  Precinct 

June  15,  1 7 13. — He  resigned,  upon  his  appointment 
to  the  Deanery  of  Christchurch. 

February  26,  1714. — He  was  elected  a  Governor 
of  the  Royal  Hospitals  of  Bridewell  and  Bethlehem. 

June  26,  171 3. — The  Rev.  Thomas  Yalden,  D.D., 
elected  minister  and  preacher. 

October  21, 1 736. — The  Rev.  William  Gibbon,  M.  A., 
elected. 

February  8,  1758. — The  Rev.  Moses  Wright,  M.A., 
elected. 

February  16,  1770, — Elected  a  Governor. 

December?),  1774. — The  Rev.  Thomas  Bowen,M.A., 
elected  reader. 

January  29,  1784. — Elected  a  Governor. 

January  29,  1795. — The  Rev.  Moses  Wright's  de- 
cease reported.  On  his  death  the  offices  of  reader 
and  preacher  were  by  order  of  Court  consoUdated, 
and  the  same  day  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bowen  was 
elected  chaplain  of  Bridewell  Hospital  and  minister 
of  Bridewell  Precinct. 

January  16,  1800. — Rev.  Thomas  Bowen  died, 
cetatis  51.  Following  wise  and  good  men,  he  lived 
in  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  sacred  duties  of  his 


Francis  Atterbury,  Bishof  of  Rochester. 
From  an  Old  Print. 


BnDowments  of  tbc  ibospltaL 


office,  and  manifested  his  zeal  for  the  benefit  of  these 
Hospitals  by  his  able  and  useful  publications. 

February  19,  1800. — The  Rev.  Henry  Budd,  B.A., 
elected  chaplain. 

March  24,  1831. — Resigned.  Elected  a  Governor, 
April  II,  1832. 

April  12,  1 83 1. — The  Rev.  Robert  Monro,  M.A., 
elected  chaplain,  &c. ;  resigned  March  26,  1849. 

April  2,0, 1849. — TheRev.  Frederick  Poynder,  M.A., 
elected  chaplain,  &c. ;  resigned  Michaelmas  1858. 

1833. — Thomas  E.  Garrett,  B.D.,  appointed  chap- 
lain to  House  of  Occupation ;  superannuated  1856. 

May  1856. — Edward  Rudge,  LL.B.,  elected  chap- 
lain; elected  superintendent,  King  Edward  Boys' 
School,  in  November;  removed  to  Witley,  March 
1866;  superannuated  January  1886  on  resignation, 
and  left  March  1886. 

When  the  Boys'  School  was  removed  to  Witley, 
an  assistant  chaplain  was  appointed  for  the  Girls' 
School,  the  present  holder  of  the  office  being  the 
Rev.  B.  West. 

On  St.  Matthew's  Day,  21st  September  in  each  year, 
the  Lord  Mayor  and  the  Sheriffs  and  Aldermen, 
according  to  custom,  go  in  state  to  attend  divine  ser- 
vice at  Christ  Church,  Newgate  Street.  The  Blue 
Coat  Boys  of  Christ's  Hospital  attend  the  service, 
after  which  an  adjournment  is  made  to  the  Hospital, 
and  the  lists  of  the  Governors  of  all  the  Royal  Hos- 
pitals are  presented  to  the  Lord  Mayor, 


Bn&owmcnts  ot  tbc  Ibospttal. 


It  was  also  the  custom  on  Easter  Monday,  altered 
a  year  or  two  since  to  the  Tuesday,  for  a  sermon, 
termed  the  "  Spital  Sermon,"  to  be  preached  by  one 
of  the  Bishops  in  Christ  Church,  Newgate  Street, 
before  the  Lord  Mayor,  the  Corporation,  and  the 
Governors  of  the  Royal  Hospitals. 

The  Blue  Coat  Boys  also  attend,  after  being  regaled 
at  the  Mansion  House  with  a  bun,  a  glass  of  wine, 
and  a  "  tip "  from  the  Lord  Mayor.  They  wear  on 
their  coats  a  piece  of  silk  embroidered  with  the  legend 
"  He  is  risen,"  referring  of  course  to  the  great  event 
commemorated  on  Easter  Day, 

The  Lord  Mayor,  on  a  convenient  evening,  enter- 
tains numerous  guests,  and  the  toast  of  the  Royal 
Hospitals  is  the  great  toast  of  the  evening. 

This  Spital  sermon  derives  its  name  from  the  Priory 
and  Hospital  of  Our  Blessed  Lady  St.  Mary  Spital, 
which  was  situated  on  the  east  side  of  Bishopsgate 
Street,  with  fields  in  the  rear,  which  now  form  the 
suburb  called  Spitalfields. 

Hard  by  this  hospital,  founded  in  1197,  was  a  large 
churchyard  with  a  pulpit  cross  in  it,  from  whence  it 
was  an  ancient  custom  on  Easter  Monday,  Tuesday, 
and  Wednesday,  for  sermons  to  be  preached  on  the 
resurrection  before  the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen, 
Sheriffs,  and  others,  who  sat  in  a  house  of  two  storeys 
for  that  purpose,  the  Bishop  of  London  and  other 
prelates  being  above  them. 


Endowments  ot  tbe  'toospitaL  123 

In  1594  the  pulpit  was  taken  down  and  a  new  one 
set  up,  and  a  large  house  erected  for  the  Governors 
and  children  of  Christ's  Hospital  to  occupy. 

In  April  1550  Queen  Elizabeth  came  in  great  state 
from  St.  Mary's,  Spital,  attended  by  a  thousand  men 
in  harness,  with  shirts  of  mail,  and  corslets,  and  pikes ; 
and  ten  great  pieces  of  ordnance,  were  carried  through 
London  into  the  court,  with  drums,  flutes,  and  trumpets 
sounding,  morris-dancers,  and  two  white  bears  in  a  cart. 

On  Easter  Monday,  161 7,  James  I.  having  gone 
to  Scotland,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Lord 
Keeper  Bacon,  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  certain 
other  lords  of  the  court  and  privy  councillors,  attended 
the  Spital  sermon  with  Sir  J.  Lemman,  the  Lord  Mayor, 
and  Aldermen,  and  afterwards  rode  home  and  dined 
with  the  Lord  Mayor  in  his  house  near  Billingsgate. 

The  Hospital  was  dissolved  under  Henry  VIII. ; 
and  the  pulpit  broken  down  during  the  troubles  of 
Charles  I. 

After  the  Restoration  the  sermons  denominated 
"  Spital "  were  preached  at  St.  Bride's,  Fleet  Street,  on 
the  three  usual  days. 

A  writer  of  the  last  century  speaks  of  a  room 
crammed  as  full  of  company  as  St.  Bride's  Church 
upon  the  singing  a  Spital  psalm  at  Easter  or  an 
anthem  on  Cecilia's  Day.  For  many  years  past  the 
sermons  have  been  preached  at  Christ  Church,  New- 
gate Street. 


124 


Endowments  of  tbe  "fcospital. 


The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Presidents  and 
Treasurers  of  Bridewell  and  Bethlehem  Hospitals 
from  1557  to  the  present  time  : — 


Presidents. 

Year. 

Remarks. 

Sir  Rowland  Hill,  Knt 

ISS? 

Sir  Wm.  Garrett,  Knt 

ISS8 

Sir  Rowland  Hill,  Knt 

1559 

Sir  Roland  Haywood,  Knt. 

1561 

... 

Edward  Gilbart 

1563 
IS64 

Sir  Wm.  Chestie,  Knt 

Sirjno.  White,  Knt 

1568 

Grocer,  and  Lord  Mayor, 
1563.  No  feast  on 
account  of  plague ; 
Thames  frozen  over. 

Sir  Alex.  Avenon,  Knt 

1573 

Ironmonger :  eight  times 
Master. 

Sir  Lionel  Duckett,  Knt. . . . 

1580 

Mercer.  President  from 
1569  to  1573  and  from 
1580-1586. 

SirWm.  Rowt'rRowe,  Knt. 

1592 

Ironmonger :  five  times 
Master. 

SirWm.  Webbe 

1594 

Salter. 

Sir  Stephen  Slaney 

1599 

Skinner.  President  of 
Christ's  Hospital,  1602. 

Sir  Wm.  Ryder 

1600 

Sir  Leonard  Halliday 

1605 

Merchant  Taylor. 

Sir  Thos.  Bennett    

1606 

SirThos,  Middleton 

1613 

Grocer.  His  younger 
brother,  Sir  Hugh,  pro- 
jected the  New  River, 
opened  with  great 
splendour  on  the  day 
Sir  Thomas  was  Lord 
Mayor. 

Sir  Roland  Hayter 

1631 

George  Whitman 

1631 

Sirjno.  Wollaston,  Knt 

164s 

... 

Christopher  Pack 

164Q 

Sir  Richd.  Brown,  Bart 

1661 

Clothmaker. 

Sir  Jas.  Smith,  Knt 

1668 

3en^owmcnts  of  tbe  tospital. 


125 


Presidents. 

Year. 

Remarks. 

Sir  Wm.  Turner,  Knt.i 

1669 

Merchant  Taylor. 

Sir  Robert  Jeffries,  Knt 

l68q 

Sir  Wm.  Turner,  Knt 

1690 

Sir  Robert  Jeffries,  Knt 

1693 

Sir  Samuel  Dashwood,  Knt. 

1701 

Sir  Thos.  Rawlingson,  Knt. 

1701; 

SirWm.  Withers,  Knt 

1708 

Sir  Samuel  Garrard,  Bart... 

1721 

Humphrey  Parsons 

172s 

Robt.  Willemott 

1741 
1746 

Goldsmith. 

Wm.  Benn 

Sir  Richd.  Glynn,  Knt 

17";^ 

Sir  Walter  Rawlinson 

1773 
1777 
1782 

Brackley  Hennett 

Brass  Crosby 

... 

Sir  Jas.  Saunderson,  Knt.... 

1789 

Sir  R.  Carr  Glynn,  Bart.... 

1793 

Sir  Peter  Laurie,  Knt 

I8S3 

Saddler. 

W.  T.  Copeland 

1861 

Goldsmith. 

J.  E.  Johnson 

r868 

Sir  Jas.  C.  Lawrence,  Bart.    l868 

Fishmonger. 

TREASURERS. 

Treasurers. 

Year. 

Treasurers. 

Year. 

Henry  Johnson 

1618 

Will.  Box 

1560 

John  Whitwell 

1626 

John  Buckland 

John  Withers 

1631 

Edwd.  Mabbe 

1572 
1576 
1580 
iS8i 

John  Rawlins 

1637 
1641 
1642 

Thos.  Gardiner 

Robt.  Edwards 

Henry  Isaacson 

John  Ladinjjton 

Harry  Warfield 

Gawin  Gethin 

i6';4 

Gabriel  Newman 

IS92 

Benj.  Ducane 

1672 

Thos.  Caldwell 

1599 

Robt.  Baker 

1681 

Richd.  Arnold 

1600 

Hy.  Ducane 

1688 

Richd,  Wyat 

1602 

Dan.  Baker 

1693 

John  Polland 

1603 

James  Gardiner 

1700 

1  There  is  in  Merchant  Taylors'  Hall  an  excellent  portrait,  by  G. 
Kneller,  of  this  gentleman. 


126 


jen&owmcnts  of  tbe  Ibospital. 


Treasurers. 

Year. 

Treasurers. 

Year. 

Sir  Jas.  Cass,  Knt 

John  Tayler 

Robt.  Alsop 

1709 
1714 
1729 
1737 
1739 
1750 

1755 
1768 

NaihL  Thomas 

1775 
I78r 
1836 
1848 
1868 
1870 
1885 

Richd.  Clarke  1  

Ralph  Price 

Robt.  Bishop 

Edwd.  HoUoway 

Robt.  Alsop 

J.  E.  Johnson'*  

Sir  Chas.  Hood,  Knt.'* 

John  Baggallay* 

A,  J.  Copeland 

John  Wallington 

Wm.  Kinlisioe 

1  Fifty-five  years  Treasurer.  The  bust  of  Mr.  Clarke,  on  the 
staircase  at  Bridewell,  presented  by  Mr.  Hardwick  in  1837,  bears 
the  following  inscription  : — 

SACRED 

TO  THE   MEMORY   OF 

RICHARD    CLARK,    Esq. 

WHO  DIED  16  JANUARY  1831, 

IN  HIS  92ND  YEAR. 


He  filled  the  office  of  Treasurer 
of  Bridewell  and  Bethlem  Hospitals 

for  the  space  of  half  a  century 

with  the  highest  honour  and  integrity, 

and  with  great  advantage  to  those  Institutions. 

He  was  the  legal  pupil  of  Sir  John  Hawkins, 

the  personal  friend  of  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson, 

and  the  respected  associate 

of  many  of  the  literary  and  most  esteemed  characters  of  the 

last  and  present  age. 

He  was  endowed  with  a  mind  of  the  most  amiable  qualities, 

his  manners  were  emmently  attractive  and  engaging, 

and  he  enjoyed  to  the  latest  period  of  a  protracted  life 

the  affection  and  attachment 

of  all  with  whom  he  was  connected, 

either  in  its  private  relations 

or  its  public  duties. 


2  Afterwards  President. 

2  Previously  Head-Physician  at  Bethlehem. 


*  Retired. 


EnDowments  of  tbc  "fcospitaL  127 

Among  the  numerous  addresses  that  were  pre- 
sented to  her  present  Majesty  in  her  Jubilee  year, 
1887,  one  was  included  from  the  Royal  Hospitals, 
drawn  up  by  Mr.  Cross,  of  St.  Bartholomew's,  and 
signed  by  the  four  Presidents  and  Treasurers,  as 
follows : — 

"  To  the  Queen's  Most  Excellent  Majesty. 

"  We,  your  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  the  Presidents, 
Treasurers,  and  Governors  of  the  Royal  Hospitals 
of  St.  Bartholomew,  Christ,  Bridewell,  and  Bethlem, 
and  St.  Thomas  the  Apostle,  of  the  City  of  London, 
humbly  beg  leave  to  be  permitted  to  offer  to  your 
Majesty  our  most  dutiful  and  sincere  congratulations 
on  the  completion  of  the  fiftieth  year  of  your  most 
propitious  and  eventful  reign. 

"  Dedicated  in  bygone  ages  to  works  of  piety  and 
deeds  of  love,  the  care  and  healing  of  the  sick 
poor,  and  the  nurture  and  instruction  of  the  young, 
and  incorporated  and  endowed  by  your  Majesty's 
illustrious  predecessors  King  Henry  the  Eighth  and 
King  Edward  the  Sixth,  the  Royal  Hospitals  have 
conferred,  during  many  generations,  incalculable 
benefits  on  the  several  objects  of  their  bounty. 

"To  your  Majesty  each  one  of  the  Royal 
Hospitals  is  deeply  indebted,  as  we  gladly  acknow- 
ledge, for  many  acts  of  gracious  favour  and  con- 
descension ;   and  we  rejoice   that  of  one   of  them, 


128  j6n&owmcnt0  of  tbe  "fcospitaL 

Christ's  Hospital,  your  Majesty's  name  has  been  for 
many  years  enrolled  as  a  Governor. 

"  It  is  to  us  a  matter  of  the  most  lively  satisfac- 
tion that  that  true  spirit  of  philanthropy  which  led 
to  the  founding  of  the  Royal  Hospitals  is  ever  grow- 
ing amongst  your  people,  and  is  evidenced  not  only 
by  the  continued  and  increased  efficiency  of  these 
our  ancient  foundations,  but  by  the  establishment 
and  maintenance  of  numerous  other  charitable  in- 
stitutions designed  to  meet  the  always  present  wants 
of  the  sick,  the  sore,  and  the  needy, — a  fact  which 
we  cannot  but  recognise  as  in  great  measure  attri- 
butable to  your  Majesty's  noble  example  of  large- 
hearted  and  womanly  sympathy  with  the  sorrows  and 
afflictions  of  all  classes  of  your  subjects. 

"With  feelings  of  sincerely  attached  loyalty  to 
your  Majesty's  person  and  throne,  and  with  grati- 
tude for  your  life's  devotion  to  the  well-being  and 
prosperity  of  your  people,  we  humbly  and  earnestly 
pray  that  it  may  please  Almighty  God  to  continue  to 
guide  and  guard  your  Majesty  with  His  protecting 
hand,  and  to  preserve  your  life  for  many  years  in 
health,  peace,  and  happiness." 

In  the  court-room  of  Bridewell  Hospital  there  are 
some  most  interesting  historical  paintings  and  por- 
traits.    The  following  is  a  list : — 

Presentation  of  the  Charter  of  the  three  Hospitals  of  Christ,  Bride- 
well, and  St.  Thomas  by  King  Edward  the  Sixth.    This  picture 


Bn&owments  of  tbc  Ibospital. 


129 


is  of  great  historical  value,  and  until  comparatively  recently 
was  attributed  to  Holbein. 
Portrait  of  King  Charles  the  Second.     By  Lely. 
King  James  the  Second.     By  Lely. 
Sir  William  Turner,  President  1669.     By  Mrs.  Beale. 
Sir  Robert  Geffery,  President  1693.     By  Kneller. 
Sir  Thomas  Rawlinson,  President  1705.     By  Kneller. 
Sir  Samuel  Garrard,  President  1720.     Unknown. 
William  Benn,  Esq.,  President  1746.     By  Hudson. 
Sir  Richard  Glyn,  President  1755.     ^y  ZofFanni. 
Sir  James  Sanderson,  President  1793.     By  Dupont. 
Sir  Richard  Carr  Glyn,  President  1798.     By  Hoppner. 
Sir  Peter  Laurie,  President  1833.     By  Frazer. 
King  George  the  Third.     Copy  after  Romney. 
Queen  Charlotte.     Copy  after  Romney. 
A  portrait  unknown.     By  Lanskraen. 

Portrait  of  Richard  Clark,  Esq.,  Treasurer  1781.     By  Lady  Bell. 
„         RalphPrice,  Esq.,  Treasurer  1836.   By  R.  P.  Knight,  R.  A. 
,,        John    Edward    Johnson,    Esq.,    Treasurer   1848.1      By 

Tweedie. 
„         William  Taylor  Copeland,   Esq.,    President  1861.     By 
Tweedie. 


1  Subsequently  President. 


(     I30    ) 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
EXTRACTS  FROM  " REMEMBRANCIA." 

The  following  are  curious,  as  having  reference  to 
Bridewell,  whether  as  hospital  or  prison.  They  are 
extracts  from  the  archives  of  the  City  of  London,  a.d. 
1579-1664.  There  is  a  letter,  14th  January  1579, 
from  the  Lord  Mayor  to  Sir  George  Carey,^  bring- 
ing to  his  notice,  the  complaint  made  against  his  ser- 
vant Lucas,  for  using  abusive  and  threatening  words 
towards  Robert  Winch,  Treasurer  of  Bridewell,  and 
requesting  him  to  take  steps  to  prevent  the  repetition 
of  such  conduct ;  likewise  informing  him  that  his 
servant  Gold,  who  had  been  permitted  to  lodge  in 
Bridewell,  had  so  conducted  himself  against  the  City 
that  he  would  not  be  suffered  to  remain  there. 

The  Court  of  Aldermen  had  been  informed  of  his 
intention,  to  make  a  request  for  a  part  of  that  house 

1  Sir  George  Carey,  eldest  son  of  Henry,  Lord  Hunsden,  cousin 
of  Queen  Elizabeth  ;  knighted  1571 ;  succeeded  to  tlie  title  as  second 
Lord  Hunsden  on  the  death  of  his  father  in  1596 ;  made  Lord 
Chancellor,  March  1597  ;  Lord  Chamberlain  of  the  Household, 
1598 ;  K.G.,  April  22,  1592  ;  died,  1603. 


Bjtracts  from  ""Remembrancia."  131 

for  himself.  It  was  the  intention  of  the  City,  to 
employ  the  place  for  the  storage  of  corn  and  other 
such  public  uses. 

A  LETTER  (dated  Somerset  House,  15th  January 
1579)  from  Sir  George  Carey  to  the  Lord  Mayor 
and  Court  of  Aldermen  in  reply,  denying  the  imputa- 
tion made  against  his  servants,  and  alleging  that  the 
Treasurer  was  a  person  unworthy  of  credit.  It  had 
not  been  his  intention  to  request  a  part  of  Bridewell 
for  himself,  but  for  a  friend  who  had  intended  to  pay 
for  the  same. 

A  LETTER  from  the  Lords  of  the  Council,  6th  April 
1582,  to  the  Lord  Mayor,  stating  that  they  had  been 
lately  informed  that  a  gentlewoman  of  good  birth  and 
alliance,  Mrs.  Moody,  had,  upon  some  suspicion  of 
ill-behaviour,  been  committed  to  the  Compter,  and 
from  thence  removed  to  Bridewell. 

Some  of  her  friends  had  caused  her  to  be  rescued 
by  the  way,  in  which  attempt,  one  of  the  beadles  was 
casually  slaia 

The  Council  requested  an  inquiry  into  the  whole 
case  to  be  made,  and  if  it  should  appear  that  she  had 
not  been  a  party  to  the  officer's  death,  she  should  be 
set  at  liberty. 

A  LETTER  from  the  Lord  Mayor  to  the  Lords  of 
the  Council  in  reply. 

They  had  been  misinformed  of  her  faults,  whatever 
had  been  stated  in  her  excuse,  touching  her  privity  to 


133  Bjtracts  from  "■Remembrancla." 

the  rescue,  whereupon  the  murder  or  manslaughter 
ensued  ;  the  plea  "  that  she  would  not  know  of  it 
by  reason  of  her  close  imprisonment,"  had  been 
stated  rather  to  move  their  compassion,  than  for 
matter  of  truth. 

The  poor  woman,  the  wife  of  the  man  that 
had  ■  been  killed,  having  lost  her  husband  and  the 
means  of  sustenance,  desired  justice  against  this 
woman. 

Before  the  receipt  of  their  letter  steps  had  been 
taken  to  release  her,  upon  reasonable  security  being 
given  for  her  appearance  to  answer  the  charge ;  her 
enlargement,  however,  had  been  stayed  until  the 
Council's  further  pleasure  had  been  ascertained. 

A  LETTER  from  the  Lord  Mayor  to  the  Lord  Cham- 
berlain, dated  8th  July  1614,  detailing  the  steps  taken 
by  him  since  his  appointment  for  reforming,  what  he 
found  out  of  order  in  the  City. 

Firstly,  He  had  freed  the  streets  of  a  swarm  of 
loose  and  idle  vagrants,  providing  for  the  relief  of 
such  as  were  not  able  to  get  their  living,  and  keeping 
them  at  work  in  "  Bridewell ; "  not  punishing  any  for 
begging,  but  setting  them  on  work,  which  was  worse 
than  death  to  them. 

Secondly,  He  had  informed  himself,  by  means  of 
spies,  of  many  lewd  houses,  and  had  gone  himself 
disguised  to  divers  of  them,  and  finding  these  nurseries 
of  villainy,  had    punished   them    according   to  their 


iSjtracts  from  "IRemembrancia."  133 

deserts,  some  by  carting  and  whipping,  and  many  by 
banishment. 

Thirdly^  Finding  the  gaol  pestered  with  prisoners, 
and  their  bane  to  take  root  and  be  beginning  at  ale- 
houses, and  much  mischief  to  be  there  plotted,  with 
great  waste  of  corn  in  brewing  heady  strong  beer. 
"  Many  consuming  all  their  time  and  mfeans  sucking 
that  sweet  poison,"  he  had  taken  an  exact  survey 
of  all  victualling  houses,  amounting  to  above  40,000 
barrels ;  he  had  thought  it  high  time  to  abridge  their 
number,  and  limit  them  by  bonds  as  to  the  quality 
of  beer  they  should  use,  and  as.  to  what  orders  they 
should  observe,  whereby  the  price  of  corn  and  malt 
had  greatly  fallen. 

Fourthly,  The  bakers  and  brewers  had  been  drawn 
within  bounds,  so  that  if  the  course  continued,  men 
might  have  what  they  paid  for,  viz.,  weight  and 
measure. 

He  had  also  endeavoured  to  keep  the  Sabbath- 
day  holy,  for  which  he  had  been  greatly  maligned. 

Fifthly,  If  what  he  had  done  were  well  taken,  he 
would  proceed  further,  viz.,  to  deal  with  thieving 
brokers  or  broggers,  who  were  the  receivers  of  all 
stolen  goods.  And,  lastly,  the  inmates  and  divided 
houses  would  require  before  summer  to  be  discharged 
of  all  superfluities  for  avoiding  infection. 

A  LETTER  from  the  Court  of  Aldermen  to  the  Lords 
of  the  Council,  12th  February  1590,  acknowledging 


134  Extracts  from  "TRcmcmbrancia." 

their  letter  on  behalf  of  Ferdinando  Richardson  and 
Mr.  Richard  Tothill,  for  the  renewal  of  the  estate  of 
the  said  Tothill  in  certain  tenements  pertaining  to 
the  Hospital  of  Bridewell. 

They  had  the  Governors  of  the  Hospital  before 
them,  and  commended  the  same  to  their  considera- 
tion, and  had  since  received  their  reply,  from  which 
it  appeared,  that  on  account  of  the  extraordinary 
charges  of  the  charity,  the  Governors  had  already 
granted  a  reversion  of  Tothill's  lease  to  the  several 
tenants,  in  consideration  of  certain  charges  incurred 
by  them,  in  repairing  the  tenements  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Hospital. 

They  regretted  that,  for  the  above  reasons,  they 
were  unable  to  comply  with  the  Council's  request. 

A  LETTER  from  the  Lords  of  the  Council,  31st 
December  1594,  to  the  Lord  Mayor,  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  (Whitgift),  and  others,  concerning  the 
Commission  given  under  the  Great  Seal  to  inquire 
into  the  manner  in  which  the  lands  in  that  county 
(not  named)  belonging  to  the  Hospital  were  employed 
or  abused,  and  to  see  if  any  provision  could  be  made 
for  the  sustentation  and  comfort  of  maimed  soldiers, 
who  were  not  sufficiently  provided  for  by  the  statutes. 

A  LETTER,  about  1600,  from  the  Lord  Mayor  to  Mr. 
Cooke  (Sir  Edward  Coke),  Attorney-General,  beseech- 
ing his  good  offices  in  behalf  of  the  City,  in  the  settle- 
ment of  the  question  referred  to  him  and  the  Recorder, 


Extracts  from  ''IRemembrancia,"  135 

touching  the  lands  and  tenements  in  question  between 
the  Hospitals  of  Bridewell  and  Bethlehem  and  Mr. 
William  Tothill. 

A  LETTER  from  the  Lord  Mayor  to  the  Earl  of 
Dorset,^  23d  September  1608,  touching  a  parcel  of 
ground  lying  on  the  west  part  of  Bridewell  Hospital, 
belonging  to  the  President  and  Governors,  which  of 
late  had  been  enclosed  by  his  father  without  consent 
of  the  Governors,  and  praying  that  the  same  might 
be  restored. 

A  LETTER  dated  28th  March  i6ii  from  the  Lord 
Mayor  to  Lord  Woolton,^  in  reply  to  his  application 
on  behalf  of  Ann  Tisdale  for  a  lease  of  her  dwelling 
in  a  part  of  Bridewell,  stating  that  the  President  and 
Governors  desiring  him  to  acquaint  his  lordship  that, 
for  the  better  government  of  the  said  Hospital  and 
the  relief  of  poor  fatherless  children  there,  they  had 
agreed  that  none  should  inhabit  or  hold  any  part  of 
it  by  lease,  except  officers  of  the  place  and  such  arti- 
ficers as,  having  fitting  trades,  would  be  bound  to  take 
poor  children  as  apprentices ;  but  that  they  had,  in 
consideration  of  her  father  and  grandfather  having 


1  The  old  mansion  and  manor  of  Salisbury  Court,  alias  Sack- 
ville  Place,  alias  Dorset  House,  was  confirmed  to  Richard,  Earl 
of  Dorset,  March  25,  161  r,  the  family  having  held  it  some  years 
previously. 

2  Thomas,  second  Lord  Woolton,  of  Marley,  Kent,  succeeded  to 
the  title,  1604  ;  Treasurer  of  the  Household,  i6i6-i8  ;  died  1630, 
when  the  title  became  extinct. ' 


136  Bjtracts  from  ""Remembrahcia." 


been  dwellers  there,  and  of  their  expenditure  on  the 
premises,  permitted  her  and  her  husband  (who  was 
only  a  tailor,  and  not  bound  or  able  to  take  and 
bring  up  poor  children  as  apprentices)  to  remain  as 
tenants  at  will. 

A  LETTER  from  Lord  Verulam,  Lord  Chancellor,  to 
the  Lord  Mayor,  dated  York  House,  3d  December 
1619.  .^ 

The  French  Ambassador,  Comte  de  Tilliers,  had 
desired  that  the  punishment  to  be  inflicted  upon 
certain  persons,  committed  to  Bridewell  for  their 
insolent  and  outrageous  assault  upon  him  and  his 
people,  might  be  remitted ;  upon  which  the  Lords  of 
the  Council  had  thought  fit,  they  should  be  discharged 
without  further  punishment,  but  that  first  they  should 
be  carried  by  their  keeper  to  the  Ambassador,  if  he 
would  see  them,  otherwise  he  was  to  be  informed  that 
they  were  sent  to  ask  his  forgiveness  on  their  knees, 
and  then  be  set  at  liberty  by  his  Grace. 

This  arose  out  of  an  occurrence  on  28th  October 
1 61 9,  when  a  tumultuous  assemblage  took  place  before 
the  house  of  the  French  Ambassador,  resulting  from 
a  quarrel  between  his  boy  and  a  carman,  in  which  his 
servants  and  others,  passers-by,  took  part.  A  constable 
who  went  to  appease  them,  being  taken  into  the  Am- 
bassador's house,  a  report  circulated  that  he  was  slain 
there,  and  much  uproar  arose,  which  was  stilled  by 
his  reappearance,  when  the  people  dispersed. 


♦ 


BjtractB  trom  ""Kemembrancla."  137 

A  LETTER  from  Sir  Thomas  Smyth  to  the  Lord 
Mayor  recites  the  following,  under  date  13th  Jan. 
1618:— 

That  "  the  King  to  Sir  Thomas  Smyth,  states  that 
the  Court  had  lately  been  troubled  with  divers  idle 
young  people,  who,  though  twice  punished,  still  con- 
tinued to  follow  the  same ;  having  no  other  course  to 
clear  the  Court  from  them,  had  thought  fit  to  send 
them  to  him,  that -at  the  next  opportunity  they  might 
be  sent  to  Virginia  to  work  there,"  and  remarking 
that  some  of  these  persons  had  already  been  brought 
by  the  King's  command  from  Newmarket  to  London, 
and  others  were  coming. 

The  Company  of  Virginians  had  no  ship  ready  to 
sail,  and  no  means  to  employ  them  or  place  to  detain 
them  in,  and  he  requested  the  Lord  Mayor  to  autho- 
rise their  detention  and  employment  in  Bridewell, 
until  the  next  ship  should  depart  for  Virginia. 

The  Lord  Mayor  received  an  intimation  from  the 
Council,  informing  him  that  all  the  ills  and  plagues 
affecting  the  city  were  caused  through  the  number  of 
poor  swarming  about  the  streets,  and  recommending 
the  Corporation  to  subscribe  with  the  Companies  and 
the  several  wards,  and  so  to  raise  a  fund  to  ship  out 
these  persons  to  Virginia ;  and  he  issued  his  precept 
to  the  several  Companies  for  the  purpose,  March  27, 
1609. 

On  April  29  the  Merchant  Taylors'  Company  deter- 


138         Bitracts  from  ""Remcmbrancia." 

mined  to  subscribe  ;;^2oo,  and  the  members  of  the 
Company  advanced  ^^300  more. 

The  Ironmongers  advanced  ;!^i5o.  ;^i8oo  was 
raised  in  the  City  for  the  purpose  of  founding  this 
plantation. 

A  broadside  was  issued  in  16 10  by  the  Council  of 
Virginia  touching  this  plantation ;  another  stating  that 
a  good  fleet  of  ships  under  the  conduct  of  Sir  Thomas 
Gates  and  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  Knights,  would  soon  be 
ready  to  sail,  and  directing  good  artificers  and  others 
desirous  of  joining,  to  repair  to  the  house  of  Sir 
Thomas  Smyth,  in  Philpot  Lane,  before  the  end  of 
January  161 2. 

A  broadside  was  also  issued  in  February  162 1, 
giving  the  numbers  of  the  ships  and  people  (one 
being  the  Mayflower)  sent  out  from  August  1620  to 
February  162 1. 

A  LETTER  from  William,  Lord  Beauchamp  (Netley, 
2 2d  July  1620),  to  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Court  of 
Aldermen,  with  respect  to  the  City's  wall  adjoining 
his  house  and  garden  in  Blackfriars  (in  margin  "  over 
against  Bridewell"),  which  was  in  so  great  ruin  that 
if  not  speedily  taken  in  hand  it  could  not  be  restored 
before  winter. 

He  was  advised  by  counsel  that  he  could  not  con- 
tribute thereto  without  prejudice  to  himself  and  pos- 
terity, but  he  pledged  his  honour,  so  tender  a  care 
had  he  for  the  City's  right,  that  if  anything  were 


Extracts  from  ""Kemembrancia."  139 

justly  proved,  he  would  not  be  unready  to  give  due 
satisfaction. 

When  patents  were  granted  by  King  James  I.  for 
the  issue  of  farthing  tokens,  a  proclamation  was 
issued  in  1633,  by  which  it  was  ordered  that  coun- 
terfeiters of  these  tokens  upon  conviction  should  be 
fined  ;^ioo,  be  set  in  the  pillory  in  Cheapside,  and 
from  thence  whipped  through  the  streets  to  Old 
Bridewell,  and  there  kept  to  work;  and  when  en- 
larged, should  find  sureties  for  their  good  behaviour. 

A  very  curious  reminiscence  of  Bridewell  is  found 
as  follows  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  from 
weekly  reports  by  Mr.  Fletewoode,  Recorder  of  Lon- 
don, to  Lord  Burghley  : — 

"  My  singular  good  Lord,  uppon  Thursdaye  at  even, 
her  Majestie  in  her  coache  nere  Islington  taking  of 
the  air.  Her  Highness  was  environed  with  a  number 
of  roogs.  One  Mr.  Stone  a  footman  cam  in  all  haste 
to  my  Lord  Maior,  and  after  to  me,  and  told  us  of  the 
same.  I  dyd  the  same  nyght  send  warrants  out  into 
the  sayd  quarters  and  into  Westminster  and  the 
Duchie,  and  in  the  morning  I  went  abroad  myselff 
and  tooke  that  day  Ixxiiij  roogs,  whereof  some  were 
blynde  and  yet  great  usurers  and  very  rich ;  and  the 
same  daye  towards  nyght  I  sent  Mr.  Harrys  and 
Mr.  Smithe,  Governors  of  Bridewell,  and  took  all 
the  names  of  the  roogs,  and  then  sent  theym  from 
the  Sessions   Hall    into   Bridewell,   where   they  re- 


140         Extracts  from  "IRcmcmbrancia/' 

mayned  that  nyght.  Uppon  Twelff  daye  in  the  fore- 
noone,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  myselff  and  others, 
receyved  a  charge  before  my  Lords  of  the  Counsell 
as  touching  roogs  and  masterless  men  and  to  have 
pryvie  searche.  The  same  daye  at  after  dyner  (for  I 
dyned  at  the  Rolls)  I  met  the  Governors  of  Bride- 
well, and  so  that  afterwards  wee  examined  all  the 
seyd  roogs  and  gave  them  substantial  payment.  And 
the  stronger  we  bestowed  on  the  mylle  and  the 
lighter;  the  rest  were  dismyssed  with  the  promise 
of  a  double  paye  if  we  met  with  them  agayne.  Uppon 
Soundaye  being  crastine  of  the  TwelfTth  daye,  I  dyned 
with  Mr.  Deane  of  Westminster,  when  I  conferred 
with  hym  touchinge  West^  and  the  Duchie.  And 
then  I  took  order  for  Southwarke,  Lambeth,  and 
Newyngton,  from  whence  I  receyved  a  shoal  of  xi. 
roogs,  men  and  women  and  above.  I  bestowed 
them  in  Bridewell.  I  dyd  the  same  afternoone 
peruse  Pools  (St.  Paul's),  when  I  tooke  about  xxii. 
cloked  roogs  that  there  used  to  kepe  standing.  I 
placed  theym  also  in  Bridewell.  The  next  morning 
being  Mundaye  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  and  the  reste, 
tooke  order  with  the  constables  for  a  privie  searche 
agaynst  Thursdays  at  nyght,  and  to  have  the  offenders 
brought  to  the  Sessions  Hall  uppon  Fridaye  in  the 
mornyng,  where  wee  the  Justices  shold  meete.  And 
agaynst  the  same  tyme  my  Lord  Maior  and  I  did 
the  lyke  in  London   and   Southwarke.     The   same 


Extracts  from  "TRcmembrancfa."  hi 

afternoone  the  master  of  Bridewell  and  I  mett  and 
after  every  man  had  been  examined,  eche  one  receyed 
his  payment  according  to  his  deserts :  at  which 
tyme  the  strongest  were  put  to  worke,  and  the 
others  dismissed  into  their  countries :  the  same  day 
the  Master  of  the  Savoye  was  with  us,  and  said  he 
w^as  sworn  to  lodge,  '  Clandicantes,  egrotantes,  et  peri- 
grinantes,'  and  the  next  morning  I  sent  the  constables 
of  the  Duchie  to  the  Hospitall,  and  they  brought 
unto  me  at  Bridewell  vj  tall  fellows,  that  were  dray- 
men unto  brewers  and  were  neither  '  clandicantes, 
egrotantes,  nor  perigrinantes.'  The  constables,  if  they 
might  have  had  theyre  owne  will,  would  have  brought 
in  many  moor.  The  Master  did  write  a  very  cartese 
letter  unto  us  to  produce  theym,  and  although  he 
wrote  charitably  unto  us,  yet  were  they  all  soundly 
paydd  and  sent  home  to  their  masters.  All  Tues- 
daye,  Wednesdaye,  and  Thursdaye,  there  came  in 
numbers  of  roogs  :  they  were  rewarded  all  according 
to  theyr  deserts.  Uppon  Fridaye  morninge,  at  the 
Justice  Hall,  there  were  brought  in  a  loo  lewd 
people  taken  in  the  private  searche.  The  Master  of 
Bridewell  receyed  theym,  and  immediately  gave  them 
punishment.  The  Saturdaye  after  causes  of  con- 
sciense  herd  by  my  Lord  Maior  and  me,  I  dyned  and 
went  to  Polls  (St.  Paul's),  and  in  other  places,  as  well 
withine  the  libertes  as  elsewhere.  I  founde  not  one 
rooge  styrryng.     Ermongst  all  these  thyngs  I  dyd  note 


142         Bjtracts  from  "IRemembrancfa." 

that  we  had  not  of  London,  Westminster,  nor  South- 
warke,  nor  yett  Middlesex  nor  Surrey  above  twelve, 
and  those  we  have  taken  order  for.  The  residue  for 
the  most  part  were  of  Wales,  Salop,  Cester,  Somerset, 
Barks,  Oxforde,  and  Essex,  and  that  few  or  none  of 
them  belonged  about  London  above  iij.  or  iiij.  months. 
I'd  note  also  that  wee  mett  not  agayne  with  many  in 
all  our  searches,  that  had  receyed  punishment.  The 
chiefF  nurseries  of  all  these  evill  people  is  the  Savoye 
and  the  brick  kilns  near  Islington.  As  for  these 
brick  kilns  we'll  take  such  order  that  they  shalle  be 
reformed,  and  I  trust  by  your  good  Lordships  help, 
the  Savoye  shall  be  amended  as  surelie. 

"  As  by  experience  I  fynd  it  the  same  place  as  it 
is  used  is  not  converted  to  a  good  use  or  purpose, 
and  this  shall  suffice  for  roogs.  W.  E.  C. 

"  The  Savoy  was  the  great  nest  of  these  roogs,  and 
in  consequence  of  objection  being  made  to  it  on  this 
account,  the  Master  comes  to  the  writer  to  excuse 
himself.  Mirror,  xviii.,  p.  337." 


(     143    ) 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

yOTTINGS  FROM  OLD  NEWSPAPERS. 

The  following  jottings  from  old  newspapers  will  be 
found  curious  and  interesting  in  their  references  to 
Old  Bridewell  :— 

December  17 19. — Edmund  Thomas  at  the  "Old 
Brunswick  Mum  and  Spruce  Beerhouse "  against 
Bridewell  Bridge,  Fleet  Ditch,  sells  right  Brunswick 
Mum  and  Spruce  Beer  wholesale  and  retail.  Note, 
he  hath  a  large  quantity  of  new  spruce  just  arrived, 
and  is  the  only  person  in  London  that  deals  in  these 
two  commodities  and  nothing  else. 

October  17 19. — A  Convenient  House  and  Coal 
Wharf  in  Bridewell  Dock  well  accustomed,  to  be 
disposed  of,  with  the  advantage  of  the  Trade,  the 
person  wishing  to  leave  off  his  business. 

Enquire  at  the  Golden  Key,  between  Fleet  Bridge 
and  Bridewell. 

May  1720. — Whereas  in  the  late  fire  on  Sunday 
night,  the  ist  inst.,  in  Bridewell  Precinct,  several 
goods  and  things  of  value  are  missing,  viz.,  a  gold 


144  Jottings  from  ©I&  flcwspapcrs. 

watch  and  chain  marked  on  the  inside  case  Gibraltar, 
made  by  one  Morley,  and  plate,  herein,  &c.  These 
are  to  give  notice,  that  if  any  person  will  bring  them 
or  any  part  thereof,  or  give  information  where  the 
same  may  be  had,  they  shall  be  well  rewarded  by 
Thos.  Arnitt  at  C.  Bateman's,  Bookseller,  in  Pater- 
noster Row,  the  corner  house  next  Warwick  Lane. 

May  19,  1720. — Whereas  it  is  incidentally  reported 
that  Mr.  Theophilus  Arnitt,  woodmonger,  at  the  lower 
end  of  Bridewell  Dock  (who  has  had  a  very  great  loss 
by  fire),  has  left  off  his  trade.  This  is  to  certify  his 
friends  that  he  still  continues  the  woodmonger  trade 
as  before,  at  the  same  place. 

August  1720. — John  Howe,  Esq.,  of  Gloucestershire, 
is-  chosen  one  of  the  Governors  of  the  Hospital  of 
Bridewell  and  Bethlem,  having  given  ;^ioo  to  the 
latter  for  the  use  of  such  distracted  persons  as  are 
declared  incurable. 

March  1722. — On  Saturday  last  at  12  of  the  clock 
a  fire  broke  out  in  the  New  River  Company's  House 
at  the  lower  end  of  Bridewell  Dock,  which  might 
have  been  of  dangerous  consequence  had  it  not  been 
timely  extinguished  by  the  diligence  of  the  watermen 
belonging  to  the  Sun  Fire  Office. 

July  1723. — Mr.  Hart,  formerly  partner  to  Mr. 
Taylor,  a  governor  of  Bridewell,  was  well  in  health 
on  Tuesday  night,  but  found  dead  in  his  bed  the 
next  morning. 


Sottfngs  from  ©ID  "Wewspapcrs.  145 

Being  a  gentleman  of  an  extraordinary  good  char- 
acter, his  death  is  much  lamented  by  all  who  knew 
him. 

September  i^,  1723. — Yesterday  evening,  one  Bird, 
a  watchmaker,  aged  above  20,  living  in  Bridewell 
Precinct,  cut  his  own  throat,  but  not  doing  it  effec- 
tually, hanged  himself  afterwards  on  the  bannister 
of  the  staircase. 

August  6,  1730. — Mr.  Alderman  Parsons  has  wrote 
to  Mr.  Alderman  Child  from  France,  to  desire  he  will 
hold  the  annual  Court  Thursday  at  Bridewell,  where 
a  fine  entertainment  will  be  prepared  at  the  expense 
of  twelve  stewards,  the  said  Alderman  having  put  off 
his  return  to  England  for  some  time. 

1 740. — On  Saturday  last  the  son  of  Mr.  Woolton, 
a  glazier  in  Bridewell  Precinct,  a  youth  of  about  seven 
years  of  age,  playing  with  his  companions  in  a  lighter 
in  Fleet  Ditch,  before  his  father's  door,  unfortunately 
fell  overboard  and  was  drowned,  which  frightful  acci- 
dent so  terrified  his  playmates  that,  with  hastening 
out  of  the  lighter,  they  had  all  like  to  have  shared  the 
same  fate. 

1740. — Thursday  a  Court  was  held  at  Bridewell 
Hospital  for  the  election  of  two  art-masters.  The 
candidates  were — 

Mr.  Thomas  Keil,  engine-weaver. 
Mr.  Wm.  Dell,  weaver. 


146 


jottings  from  ®IJ)  flewspapers. 


Mr.  Wm,  Simmonds,  fanstick-maker. 
Mr.  Cornelius  Mortier,  velvet-weaver. 
Mr.  John  Benchan,  weaver. 

The  Weavers'  Company  in  great  numbers,  masters 
and  journeymen,  attended  a  petition  against  the  ad- 
mission of  Mr.  Thomas  Keil,  and  after  both  sides 
heard,  and  a  ballot,  the  numbers  stood  thus : 


Mr.  Keil      .         .         .         . 

•     52 

Mr.  Dell      . 

.     44 

Mr.  Simmonds     . 

•     25 

Mr.  Mortier 

.     10 

Mr.  Benchan 

.     10 

Upon  which  the  two  first  were  declared  duly  elected. 

The  following  is  an  extempore  on  the  confinement 
of  Bridewell : — 

OxoN,  March  5,  1740. 

' '  O  Bridewell !  Bridewell !  dare  thy  walls  confine 
And  bar  the  flight  of  such  a  soul  as  mine? 
In  vain  thy  walls,  o'er  walls  my  soul  can  fly, 
Scorn  all  thy  power,  and  mock  thy  destiny. 
But  ah  !  my  body  must  thy  force  obey, 
Body  !  too  gross  to  wing  so  light  away  ; 
Then  boast  thy  triumph — triumph  over  clay." 

On  Sunday  evening,  August  17,  1755,  died,  of  a 
mortification  of  his  foot,  William  Benn,  Esq.,  Alder- 
man of  Aldersgate  Ward,  and  President  of  Bridewell 
and  Bethlem  Hospitals. 


Jottings  from  ©15  IRewspapers.  147 

Mr.  Benn  was  chosen  Alderman  on  December  1 2, 
1 740,  on  the  death  of  Richard  Levett,  Esq.  He  was 
Sheriff  of  the  City  and  County  of  Middlesex  in  1742, 
and  while  he  was  Lord  Mayor,  was  on  January  28, 
1746-47,  elected  President  of  the  Bridewell  and 
Bethlem  Hospitals,  in  the  room  of  Sir  Robert  Willi- 
mott,  by  a  majority  of  16  votes  against  the  late  Sir 
Daniel  Lambert. 

1790. — A  set  of  villains  have  for  some  time  infested 
the  neighbourhood  of  Bridge  Street,  Ludgate  Hill, 
who  make  their  depredations  in  the  most  daring 
manner,  by  watching  the  motions  of  servants,  of 
whose  incautiousness  and  neglect  they  are  sure  to 
take  advantage. 

The  house  of  Mr.  Barnard,  in  Bridge  Street,  was 
robbed  last  week  in  the  following  manner. 

Perceiving  the  appearance  of  much  company  in  the 
drawing-room,  one  of  the  gang  knocked  at  the  door, 
and  desired  the  maid-servant  who  answered  it  to 
deliver  a  message  from  a  person  whom  he  named 
to  her  master,  that  he  would  wait  upon  him  in  the 
morning  agreeable  to  his  desire,  and  requested  to 
know  the  more  convenient  hour.  Mr.  B.  imme- 
diately suspected  the  design,  but  before  he  could 
get  downstairs  the  hall  was  stripped  of  a  number 
of  coats,  hats,  &c.,  with  which  they  got  clean  off. 

Last  Saturday,  May  27,  1758. — Ambrose  Head, 
servant  to  Mr.  W.  Cox,  one  of  the  art-masters  at 


1 48  5ottinfi0  from  ®l&  flew0papers. 

Bridewell,  was  sent  with  a  bill  to  receive  a  large  sum 
of  money ;  but  not  returning  with  it  search  was  made 
after  him,  and  yesterday  he  was  taken  and  carried 
before  the  Right  Honourable  the  Lord  Mayor,  who 
committed  him  to  the  Poultry  Compter,  he  having 
embezzled  ;^i9,  iis.  of  the  said  money. 

July  28,  1760. — That  part  of  Bridewell  that  jutS 
out  considerably  into  the  street,  and  all  the  west  side 
of  Fleet  Ditch  from  the  water-side  to  within  two 
doors  of  the  china  shop  at  the  corner,  is  to  be 
pulled  down  in  order  to  widen  the  passage  for  car- 
riages, &c. 

April  II,  1780. — This  day  the  question  to  inquire 
into  the  right  of  the  Corporation  to  become  Governors 
of  the  four  Royal  Hospitals  —  St.  Bartholomew's, 
Christ's,  Bridewell  and  Bethlem,  and  St.  Thomas' — 
came  on  at  Lincoln's  Inn  Hall,  before  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  as  Visitor  of  all  the  royal  foundations. 

The  counsel  for  the  City  of  London  were  the 
Attorney-General,  the  Recorder,  Mr.  Maddox,  and 
Mr.  Pope.  For  the  petitioners  (the  President  and 
Governors),  by  donation,  were  Mr.  Mansfield,  Mr. 
Kenyon,  and  Mr.  Erskine. 

The  former,  in  a  speech  of  an  hour  and  a  half, 
stated  the  object  of  the  petition  and  the  prayer,  and 
a  modern  bye-law  of  the  Corporation  for  sealing 
Hospital  leases  in  the  Court  of  Common  Council,  that 
in  consequence  of  the  new  resolution,  leases  brought 


jottings  from  ©ID  IRewspapcrs.  149 

to  the  Court  of  Aldermen  agreeable  to  former  usage, 
were  refused  the  seal ;  after  which  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor intimated  that  a  matter  of  this  importance 
required  a  deal  of  time,  and  proposed  a  further  day- 
convenient  to  the  Court  and  Council  for  a  complete 
investigation. 

1800. — The  following  is  an  amusing  record  of 
eighty-eight  years  ago  : — 

"  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Committee  of  General 
Purposes  in  the  City,  will  order  Blackfriars  Bridge  to 
be  watered  through  the  summer.  As  the  public  pay 
an  expense  towards  it  by  a  Sunday  toll,  they  ought  to 
be  accommodated. 

"  At  present  the  bridge  is  neither  watered  nor 
swept,  and  is  a  most  intolerable  nuisance." 

Circa,  1792. — In  one  part  of  the  building  about 
20  decayed  artificers  have  houses,  and  about  150 
boys,  distinguished  by  white  hats  and  blue  doub- 
lets, are  put  apprentices  to  glovers,  flaxdressers, 
weavers,  &c,  and  when  they  have  served  their  time 
are  entitled  to  the  freedom  of  the  City  and  Ten 
Pounds  each,  towards  carrying  on  their  respective 
trades.i 

"  The  other  part  of  Bridewell  is  a  prison  and  a  house 
of  correction  for  disorderly  servants  and  vagrants,  who 

1  Locke's,  Fowke's,  and  Palmer's  gifts  were  absorbed  in  the 
general  fund  upon  the  introduction  of  the  new  scheme  for  King 
Edward  schools. 


15°  5ottfng0  from  ®l&  "Kewspapers. 

are  made  to  beat  hemp,  and  are  kept  at  other  hard 
labour. 

"All  the  affairs  of  the  Hospital  are  managed  by 
Governors,  who  are  above  300  in  number,  besides 
the  Lord  Mayor  and  Court  of  Aldermen. 

"  The  Governors  of  this  Hospital  are  likewise  Gover- 
nors of  Bethlem  Hospital,  because  these  two  are  but 
one  Corporation,  and  have  also  the  same  president, 
physician,  surgeon,  and  apothecary.  Bridewell,  how- 
ever, has  its  own  steward,  porter,  matron,  and  four 
beadles." 

There  is  a  song  by  Isaac  Walton,  in  which  he  im- 
mortalises a  certain  "  Old  Rose."  This  is  very  likely 
to  have  been  "Rose,  the  old  viole  maker,"  whom 
Stone  mentions  in  his  Annals  as  the  son  of  John 
Rose,  citizen  of  London,  living  in  Bridewell,  and 
who  invented  a  species  of  lute,  which  he  called  the 
"  Bandon,"  in  the  fourth  year  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

In  1792  the  Grand  Treasury  Committee  investi- 
gated the  affairs  of  the  Hospitals,  extending  their 
inquiries  as  far  back  as  the  year  1775. 

"A  sum  of;£"5957,  iis.  hath  been  expended  on 
the  apprentices,  and  ;^7493,  i6s.  46.  in  maintaining 
the  vagrants  (the  only  two  supposed  objects  of  Bride- 
well). 

"In  the  same  period  ;j£"i9,254,  os.  4d.  has  been 
expended  in  salaries,  &:c.,  ;!^634i,  6s.  id.  for  taxes, 
viens  of  estates,  &;c.,  and  ;^3234,  9s.   id.  in  feasts, 


Jottings  from  ©I&  ■flew0papers.  151 

making  a  total  of  ;^28,829,  15s.  6|d. ;  and  what 
seems  still  more  extraordinary,  the  further  enormous 
sum  of  ;^i  7,332,  19s.  7d.  for  repairs  to  the  Hospital 
alone. 

"  Facts  like  these  clearly  demonstrate  defects  in  the 
system  of  management,  for  which  a  radical  cure 
should  be  provided." 

"The  average  income  for  sixteen  years  past  was 
estimated  at  about  ;^4ooo,  the  average  expenditure 
^37^5)  17s-  8d. ;  and  the  Committee  having  hinted 
at  the  extravagance  and  expense  and  disproportions, 
the  disbursement  might  be  curtailed,  and  the  saving 
more  usefully  and  properly  applied." 

Here  then  we  bring  to  a  close  this  little  volume  of 
reminiscences  of  Bridewell  Hospital,  trusting  that  by 
its  perusal,  some  may  be  moved  to  become  Governors, 
and  so  assist  and  further  the  good  work  that  is  being 
done  by  this  institution — one  of  the  old  Royal  Foun- 
dations of  Edward  VI. 


THE   END. 


WELLS  GARDNER,  DARTON,  AND  CO.,  LONDON. 


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