Maps Of Old London Part 1

Maps of Old London.

by Anonymous.

EDITOR'S NOTE

An atlas of Old London maps, showing the growth of the City throughout successive centuries, is now issued for the first time. Up to a recent date the maps here represented had not been reproduced in any form, and the originals were beyond the reach of all but the few. The London Topographical Society has done admirable work in hunting out and publis.h.i.+ng most of them; but these reproductions are, as nearly as possible, facsimiles of the originals as regards size, as well as everything else. It is not every one who can afford to belong to the society, or who wishes to handle the maps in large sheets. In the present form they are brought within such handy compa.s.s that they will form a useful reference-book even to those who already own the large-scale ones, and, to the many who do not, they will be invaluable.

The maps here given are the best examples of those extant, and are chosen as each being representative of a special period. All but one have appeared in the volumes of Sir Walter Besant's great and exhaustive "Survey of London," for which they were prepared, and the publishers believe that in offering them separately from the books in this handy form they are consulting the interests of a very large number of readers.

The exception above noted is the map known as Faithorne's, showing London as it was before the Great Fire; this is added for purposes of comparison with that of Ogilby, which shows London rebuilt afterwards. Besides the maps properly so called, there are some smaller views of parts of London, all of which are included in the Survey.

The atlas does not presume in any way to be exhaustive, but is representative of the different periods through which London pa.s.sed, and shows most strikingly the development of the City.

I must acknowledge the valuable a.s.sistance I have received from Mr. George Clinch, F.G.S., in the many difficulties which arose in the course of its preparation.

G. E. MITTON.

PANORAMA OF LONDON

BY ANTONY VAN DEN WYNGAERDE

DESCRIPTION.--This is the earliest representation of London that has come down to our time. Accurately speaking, it is not a map, but a picture; but as many of the old maps are more or less in the same category, we need not exclude it on that account. Such topographical drawings are apt to be misleading, owing to the immense difficulties of perspective--witness the wretched samples hawked about the pavements at the present time. But, considering the difficulties, this map of Wyngaerde's is wonderfully accurate, and it has the advantage of being full of architectural details which no true map could give.

DESIGNER.--Of Wyngaerde himself little is known. He is supposed to have been a Fleming, and may have come to England in the train of Philip II. of Spain. He is known to have made other topographical drawings. The date of the one here reproduced cannot be fixed with perfect certainty, but must have been between 1543 and 1550.

ORIGINAL.--The original is in the Sutherland Collection at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and it measures 10 feet by 17 inches, and is in seven sheets. A tracing of it, made by N. Whittock, can be seen in the Crace Collection, Prints Department, British Museum, or in the Guildhall Library.

The present reproduction is from that made by the London Topographical Society, which photographed the original.

It is reduced, and is here placed in three sections, which overlap for convenience in handling.

I.

DETAILS.--If we examine the first section, which is that to the extreme west, we see the Abbey, very much as it is at present, with the exception of Wren's western towers. On the site of the present Houses of Parliament is the King's Palace at Westminster. It is impossible here to treat this in detail, for if that were attempted for all the buildings in this atlas, s.p.a.ce would fail. A concise account of Westminster may be found in the book of that name in the _Fascination of London_ Series. The chief point to note in the palace is St. Stephen's Chapel, of which the crypt now alone remains. About fifteen or twenty years previous to the date of this map King Henry VIII. had claimed Whitehall from Wolsey, and transferred himself to it from the old palace, which was growing ruinous.

Across the river opposite to Westminster is Lambeth, standing in a grove of trees.

Beyond Westminster westward all is open ground, in the midst of which we see St. James's Hospital, where is now St. James's Palace. Though still marked "Hospital," it had already been annexed by the King. Where is now Trafalgar Square we are shown in the map the King's Mews, built by Henry VIII. for his hawks. Charing Cross is marked by the cross put up in memory of Queen Eleanor. Along the river banks is a fringe of fine houses and foliage. We may pick out one or two of these princely buildings--namely, Durham House, Savoy Palace, and Somerset House (see _The Strand_ in the above series). The church of St. Clement Danes is only separated from the open country by a single row of houses.

On the west side of the Fleet River is Bridewell, built by Henry VIII. in 1522 for the entertainment of the Emperor Charles V. Here, in 1529, Henry and Katherine stayed while the legality of their marriage was being disputed in Blackfriars across the Fleet. Then we come to Old St. Paul's, still carrying its tall spire, destined so soon to topple down. Between it and the river is one of the most famous of the old strongholds, Baynard's Castle. On the extreme right of the map is the port of Queenhithe, which can be seen to-day by any wanderer in the City.

II.

Turning the page, we see the old City as it was before the Fire, made up of gable-ended wooden houses with overhanging stories, crowded close together, and diversified by the numerous pinnacles and spires of the City churches, many of which were never rebuilt. The embattled line of the wall hems the City in on the north, and Cheapside cuts it laterally in a broad highway.

Almost in the centre of the picture is the Guildhall. The interest reaches its culmination in the spectacle of Old London Bridge, with its irregular houses, its archways, and its chapel. Note that the engraver has not omitted to indicate the decaying heads on poles, a succession of which adorned the bridge throughout the centuries (see _The Thames_ in above series).

On the south side of the water is St. Mary Overies (see _Mediaeval London_, vol. ii., p. 297). It has as neighbours Winchester and Rochester Houses, the residences of the respective Bishops of those sees; while the proud cupolas of Suffolk House--built _circa_ 1516, and later used as the Mint--are clearly shown. The houses running from it up to the foreground of the picture are beautifully delineated, and may be taken as models of Elizabethan architecture; while the man with the harp and the horseman are quite clearly enough drawn to show their period by the style of their dress. From some point behind here must Wyngaerde have made his survey, as it is manifestly impossible it could have been done from Suffolk House, as stated by one authority.

III.

There are three objects so striking in this picture that attention is at once claimed by them to the exclusion of all else--the Abbey of Bermondsey, the Tower of London, and Greenwich Palace. In Bermondsey two Queens died--Katherine, consort of Henry V., and Elizabeth, consort of Edward IV.

Only a year or two before this map was made had the grand old Abbey been surrendered to the King (for a full account see _Mediaeval London_, vol.

ii., p. 288).

The Tower, taken as a whole, is very much as we still know it; it is one of the oldest remaining relics of the past. Note the gruesome place of execution near by, and the guns and primitive cranes at work upon the wharf. Just beyond it eastward rise the fretted pinnacles of St.

Katherine's by the Tower, on the spot now covered by St. Katherine's Docks.

Stepney Church stands far away on the horizon, cut off from the City by an ocean of green fields.

Returning to the south side, we see Says Court, Deptford, between Bermondsey and Greenwich. This was for long the home of John Evelyn, and was ruinously treated by Peter the Great, who tenanted it during his memorable stay in this country in 1698. (For Greenwich Palace or Placentia, see _London in the Time of the Tudors_.)

CIVITAS LONDINUM

DESCRIPTION.--This is the earliest map of London known to be in existence, for though Wyngaerde's survey preceded it in date, as we have seen, that is a panorama and not a map proper. The present map, which is known as that of Ralph Agas, itself has a good deal more of the panoramic nature than would be allowed in a modern one, and is on that account all the more interesting. The first to connect Agas's name with this map was Vertue (1648-1756), and he stated its date to be 1560; but, as will be seen in the description of the next plate, Vertue's claims to strict veracity have now been shaken, therefore his testimony must be accepted with caution.

DESIGNER.--Ralph Agas, land surveyor and engraver, died in 1621, and he is described in the register as "an aged." Of course, it is possible that Agas lived to the age of eighty-five or over, in which case he might not have been too young to execute this work in 1560, and he himself says, in a doc.u.ment dated 1606, which has been preserved, that he had been in work as a surveyor for upwards of forty years. There are two branches into which the enquiry now resolves itself. First, did Agas really make the map? And, second, if he did, at what date did he make it? There is no conclusive evidence on either hand. There is a survey of Oxford, similar in character, signed by him, and though this is not dated, it is known to have been completed in 1578, and published ten years later. On the original copy of this, which is at the Bodleian, there are the following lines:

"Neare tenn yeares paste the author made a doubt Whether to print or lay this worke aside Untill he firste had London plotted out Which still he craves, although he be denied He thinkes the Citie now in hiest pride, And would make showe how it was beste beseene The thirtieth yeare of our moste n.o.ble queene."

ORIGINAL.--The two earliest known copies of the Agas map, which was first engraved on wood, are both of the same issue; one is at the Pepysian Library, Magdalen College, Oxford, and the other at the Guildhall. Edward J. Francis made a careful reproduction of that at the Guildhall in 1874, and it is from that our present plate is taken. It is, of course, reduced, for the original is 6 feet and inch long, by 2 feet 4 inches wide. The notes attached to this issue are by W. H. Overall, F.S.A., one of the leading authorities on the question. He doubts Agas's connection with the map, but thinks if he were the originator it could not have been done before 1591. The arms in the corner on the two oldest extant maps are those of James I., but as the arms on the royal barge in the river are those of Elizabeth, it has been conjectured that the maps are themselves copies of a later edition, wherein the arms were altered in conformity with conventional opinion. The chief points which give data from internal evidence are as follows: St. Paul's Cathedral is bereft of its spire. This was struck by lightning in 1561, so the map must be subsequent to that date. The Royal Exchange is apparently built. This was opened in 1570.

Northumberland House, built about 1605, has not been begun. We may take it, therefore, generally that the original map, which was engraved on wooden blocks, was made some time in the latter half of Elizabeth's reign, and it is probable that it was done by Agas.

DETAILS.--The map abounds in interesting detail.

Beginning in the extreme left-hand lower corner, we see St. Margaret's Church, St. Stephen's Chapel, and Westminster Hall. In the river are swans of monstrous size. King Street, now merged in Whitehall, is very clearly shown, also the two heavy gates barring the way. The most northern of these, designed by Holbein, was called after him, and stood until the middle of the eighteenth century. North of it, on the west, is the tilting-ground; and stags browse in St. James's Park. Between the gates, on the east, are the Privy Gardens, overlooked by the Palace of Whitehall--most unpalatial in appearance.

Piccadilly is "the Waye to Redinge," and Oxford Street "the Waye to Uxbridge." Near Whitcomb Lane and the Haymarket women are spreading clothes in the fields to dry, while cows as large as houses graze around. St.

Martin's Lane leads up to St. Giles, more particularly dealt with in the description of the next plate. The irregular buildings of St. Mary Rouncevall, a religious house, had not yet been taken down to make way for Northumberland House, itself to be replaced by Northumberland Avenue. The houses of great n.o.bles, with their magnificent gardens stretching down to the waterside, are still in evidence. North of the well-laid-out Covent Garden, owned by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, are nothing but trees and fields. Pa.s.sing on quickly down the Strand, we find Temple Bar blocking the way to the City. This is the old Temple Bar, replaced after the Great Fire by the one much more familiar to us, which stood until 1878. A very fine ill.u.s.tration of the old one is given in Sir Walter Besant's _London in the Time of the Tudors_, p. 245. This book should certainly be studied by anyone desirous of understanding the map. From Temple Bar past the back of St. Clement's Church runs a broad road roughly corresponding with our new Kingsway. Further eastward the Fleet River still flows strongly down from its northern heights, crossed by many bridges, and just where it joins the Thames is Bridewell Prison. Further along, on the other side, is Baynard's Castle, and in front of it, in the river, the Queen's barge, with the royal arms of Elizabeth in the centre. Some way back from Baynard's Castle a bridge crosses a street, and is marked "The Wardrop." This was in very truth the wardrobe or repository of the royal clothes! Drawing a line northward for some way, we come to Smithfield, where tilting is represented as in animated progress. Not far northward is St. John's, Clerkenwell, and its neighbouring nunnery; to the west is the Charterhouse. Turning south again, past St. Bartholomew's Church, we see the building of Christ's Hospital, founded by Edward VI. This, it may be noted, is one of the buildings erected since Wyngaerde's time. Then we come to St. Paul's, shorn of its spire, with St. Gregory's Church, quite recognizable, in front of it. There were continual edicts against building in the Tudor and Stuart reigns, for it was feared London would grow out of hand; but, in spite of this, houses have enormously increased since Wyngaerde made his survey. The battlemented wall still encloses the City, but hamlets have sprung up outside, notably at Cripplegate.

But within the wall there are still some fine gardens and open s.p.a.ces, one of which remains to this day in Finsbury Circus. Many roads meet in the heart of London, where now the Bank, Mansion House, and Royal Exchange stare across at each other. It is difficult to make out from the medley of buildings in the map if Gresham's first Royal Exchange is there or not, but it seems to be so. This was opened in 1570 by the Queen in person. St.

Christopher le Stock's square tower may be seen on the ground now absorbed by the Bank of England.

Crossing over now to the Surrey side, we see conspicuously the two round pens for bull- and bear-baiting respectively. There are many pleasure-gardens, for the Surrey side was for long the recreation-ground of the Londoner. On the river there are innumerable wherries, and below the bridge at Billingsgate many s.h.i.+ps cl.u.s.ter; one has even managed to get above the bridge. Off the Steelyard and at the Tower are men and horses in the water. This is a most interesting point. In those at the Tower it may be clearly seen that the man is filling the water-casks on the animals'

backs with a ladle. This gives a glimpse into the discomforts endured by our ancestors before water-pipes were laid on as a matter of course to all houses. In the eighteenth-century reproductions of this map, oddly enough, in one instance this detail has disappeared, and in the other it is turned into a man driving cows into the water with a whip; thus doing away with all its significance. Far to the north in Spitalfields men are practising archery; while Aldgate, for long the home of Geoffrey Chaucer, is conspicuous a little north of the Tower.

As became a man living in days of the Reformation, Agas does not point out the religious houses then falling into decay or occupied by laymen, yet what a number of them must have been still in existence! Standing on the White Tower, and looking north and to the right hand, there must have been visible outside the wall St. Katherine's by the Tower, Eastminster, and the Sorores Minores, whose name still remains in the Minories, here marked.

Within the City was Holy Trinity, close to Aldgate--of this a couple of most rare and interesting plans and a full account may be found in _Mediaeval London_, vol. ii.--and not far off was St. Helen's Nunnery; also Crutched Friars, Austin Friars, Grey Friars, and, in the extreme west, near the Fleet, Blackfriars. Of these and many others full accounts may be found in the volume indicated above.

THE PARISH OF ST. GILES IN THE FIELDS