London

Cockney

Sally — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:51:15 +0000

The name Cockney—a spoilt or effeminate boy— one cockered and spoilt—is generally applied to people born within the sound of Bow bells. Hugh Bigot, a rebellious baron of Henry III.’s reign, is said to have exclaimed—
“If I were in my Castell of Bungeie Tpon the water of “Wauenc.ie, I wold not set a button by the King of Cockneie.”
When a female Cockney was informed that barley did not grow, but that it was spun by housewives in the country—“I knew as much,” said the Cockney, “for one may see the threads hanging out at the ends thereof.”

Court and Street Guides

Sally — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:50:02 +0000

The best West-end books are Boyle’s Court Guide and Webster’s Royal Red Book. The latter is a very commendable work. The Post Office Directory, published every year, is an extremely thick and valuable volume, and is at once an Official, Street, Commercial, Trades, Law, Court, Parliamentary, Postal, City, Conveyance, and Banking Directory. All three may be obtained of any respectable bookseller.

Source: A Handbook for London, Past and Present. Peter Cunningham. Published by John Murray 1849.

Bankers in London

Sally — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:48:30 +0000

The oldest banking-houses in London are Child’s, at Temple Bar; Hoare’s, in Fleet-street; Strahan’s, (formerly Snow’s), in the Strand; and Gosling’s, in Fleet-street. None date earlier than the Restoration of Charles II. The original Bankers were Goldsmiths — “Goldsmiths that keep running cashes “—and their shops were distinguished by signs. Child’s was known by “The Marygold”—still to be seen where the cheques are cashed ; Hoare’s by the “The Golden Bottle”—still remaining over the outer door ; Snow’s by “The Golden Anchor”—to be seen inside ; and Gosling’s by “The Three Squirrels”—still prominent in the iron-work of their windows towards the street.

Fire and Life Insurance Offices

Sally — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:46:52 +0000

At a fire in Broad-street in the City in 1623, Sir Hugh Myddelton let open “all the sclucea of the water cisterne in the fielde, whereby,” says Howes, ” there was plenty of water to quench the fire. The water he adds hath done many like benefits in sundry like former distresses.” The first Insurance Office for fire was the Phoenix, at the Rainbow Coffee-house, in Fleet-street, established in 1682 ; and the first for lives was that of the Mercers’ Company in 1698. The oldest now existing is The Hand-in-Hand, established in 1696. The second was the Sun Fire, projected and established by Charles Povey, author of the Present State of Great Britain with respect to its Trade by Sea and Land, 8vo, 1714. In 1806 there were only eight life offices in London; in 1839 there were seventy-two. The London Fire Brigade was established in 1833.

Source: A Handbook for London, Past and Present. Peter Cunningham. Published by John Murray 1849.

Lighting of the Streets of London

Sally — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:44:18 +0000

The first street in London lighted with gas was Pall Mall, in 1807, and the last street or square lighted with oil was Grosvenor-square, in 1842. The cry of the old London watchman was—“Lantern and a whole candle— Light ! hang out your lights here,” and this cry and kind of lighting (lanterns with cotton-wick candles) continued till the introduction of the glass lights or convex lights in 1694. The first glass lights in use among us were placed on the road between the two palaces of Whitehall and Kensington, and, after the first season of their use, Sir Christopher Wren was instructed to build a shed for their preservation through the summer.

Omnibus Routes in London

Sally — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:42:54 +0000

A Red ‘Favorite’, 1901 p. 110 of s:Omnibuses and Cabs 1902Omnibus Routes in London lie principally north and south, east and west, through the central parts of London, to and from the extreme suburbs. The majority commence running at nine in the morning, and continue till twelve at night, succeeding each other during the busy parts of the day every five minutes. Most of them have two charges—threepence for part of the distance, and sixpence for the whole distance. It will be well, however, in all cases to inquire the fare to the particular spot; wherever there is a doubt the conductors will demand the full fare. The Atlas omnibuses (marked “Atlas”) run from St. John’s-wood down Oxford-street, Regent-street, past Charing Cross, over Westminster Bridge, to Camberwell-gate. The Waterloo omnibuses (marked “Waterloo”) run from the north-east extremity of the Regent’s Park, down Regent-street, Strand, and over Waterloo Bridge to Camberwell-gate.

Old London Visitors

Sally — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:41:42 +0000

Lord Clarendon relates that his mother (though her husband sat as a burgess in Parliament) never was in London in her life, “the wisdom and frugality of that time being such, that few gentlemen made journeys to London, or any other expensive journeys, but upon important business, and their wives never.” Addison’s Tory Fox Hunter would never have come to London “unless he had been subpoenaed to it.”

Source: A Handbook for London, Past and Present. Peter Cunningham. Published by John Murray 1849.

The Pavements of London

Sally — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:39:54 +0000

The streets of London had no pavement in the eleventh century. In 1090, the avenue of Cheapside, the heart of the City, was of such soft earth, that when the roof of St. Mary-le-Bow was blown off by a violent gale of wind, four of the beams, each six-and-twenty feet long, were so deeply buried in the street, that little more than four feet remained above the surface! The first toll we know of in England, for repairing the highways, was imposed in the reign of Edward III. for mending the road between St. Giles’s and Temple Bar. It was not till 1417 that Holborn was paved, though it was often impassable from its depth of mud ; it appears, indeed, that during the reign of Henry VIII. many of the streets of London were “very foul and full of pits and sloughs, very perilous and noyous as well for the King’s subjects on horseback as on foot and with carriage.” Smithfield was not paved till 1614.

The Civil Government of London

Sally — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:37:29 +0000

The entire civil government of London is vested, by successive charters of English sovereigns, in one Corporation, or body of citizens ; confirmed for the last time by a charter passed in the 23rd of George II. As then settled, the corporation consists of the Lord Mayor, twenty-six aldermen, two sheriffs for London and Middlesex conjointly, the common councilmen of the several wards, and the livery; assisted by a recorder, chamberlain, common serjeant, comptroller, City remembrancer, town clerk, and various other officers.

Source: A Handbook for London, Past and Present. Peter Cunningham. Published by John Murray 1849.

The London Police

Sally — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:22:29 +0000

Before the year 1829, when the present excellent Police Force (for which London is wholly indebted to Sir Robert Peel) was first introduced, the watchmen, familiarly called “Charlies,” who guarded the streets of London, were often incompetent and feeble old men, totally unfitted for their duties. The Police is now composed of young and active men, and the force that has proved perfectly effective for the metropolis (having saved it more than once from Chartist and other rioters, and from calamities such as befel Bristol in 1831), has since been introduced with equal success nearly throughout the kingdom.