 Author's notes on the history of London, Lessons 21 to 39, Recorded Sections 9 to 16. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, Recording by Ruth Golding. The History of London by Walter Besant. Notes on Lesson 21 The Terror of Leprosy. Leprosy, a terrible disease of the skin and blood once prevalent in Europe, now mostly confined to the East. Laser, a leper, one suffering from a foul disease, like Lazarus in St Luke 16. Congregate, flock together, crowd with. Stringent, strict. Statutes, rules, or laws. Book of the Jewish Law, that is, the book Leviticus. Lazarates, is afflicted with ulcers or sores. Mass, the celebration of the Lord's Supper in the Roman Catholic Church. Burton Lasers, a village one mile from Melton-Mowbray in Leicestershire. Here on account of its excellent sulphur springs, the chief leper hospital was established in the reign of Stephen. Hereditary, transmitted from parents to children. Read of Notes on Lesson 21. Notes on Lesson 22 The Terror of Famine. Twenty-four shillings a quarter. This is not far from the present price of wheat, which gives us cheap bread. But in twelve fifty-seven, twenty-four shillings would be equivalent to at least twenty pounds in our money. Retainers, those in the service of a noble man and wearing his livery and badge. Hansiatic merchants. Merchants trading with the Hansa cities in Germany, among which was Hamburg, who had formed a league for self-protection about the twelfth century. Granary, a place for storing up grain or corn. End of Notes on Lesson 22. Notes on Lesson 23 St Paul's Cathedral Part 1. Four hundred and sixty feet. The loftiest spire in England that of Salisbury Cathedral is about four hundred and four feet. Its length was at least six hundred feet. The present cathedral, the third on the site, is five hundred feet long. Shrine, a receptacle for relics and other sacred things. The word means a chest. Isle is the side or wing of a church. Scribe a writer, in those early times, so few people could read or write that men often had to have recourse to professional writers. Deed, a written document relating to some legal transaction. Conveyance, a writing legally transferring from one person to another, property, especially houses and land. Humphrey Duke of Gloucester was the youngest brother of Henry V, on whose death he was made regent in England in 1422. He died in 1447. St Cuthbert was a monk, missionary, and bishop of Lindisfarne, an island off the coast of Northumberland, where he died in 687 A.D., and was buried in Durham Cathedral. Sacristy, a room adjoining a church, where sacred vessels, vestments, etc., are kept. End of notes on Lesson 23. Notes on Lesson 24 St Paul's Cathedral, Part 2 Inigo Jones, born 1572, died 1652, was a celebrated architect. Portico, a row of columns in front of a building. Exchange, a building where merchants meet to transact business. Nave, the main body of a church, the isles being on each side of the nave. King Charles II returned at the restoration in 1660. Sir Christopher Wren, born 1632, died 1723, the greatest English architect. After the great fire he rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral, fifty London churches and many public buildings. Over his tomb in St Paul's is the inscription in Latin, If you seek for his monument, look round about you. The Peace of Reichsweig, 1697, made by England, Spain and Holland with Louis XIV of France. Dr. Johnson, born 1709, died 1784, one of the great names in English literature and author of a celebrated dictionary. Oriental scholar, or orientalist, is a man who studies Eastern or Indian languages, such as Persian, Arabic, Hindi, Sanskrit, etc. Sarkophagus, a stone chest for holding a corpse. Porphyry, a hard kind of stone-coloured purple and white. Battle of the Nile, 1798. Cape St. Vincent, 1797. Campedown, 1797. Lord Armina, the official who dispenses the royal charities and bounties. Slavonic, a group of kindred languages including Russian, Polish and Bulgarian. End of notes on Lesson 24. Notes on Lesson 25, Paul's Churchyard. Embattled, built with battlements. Minor canons, clergy of the cathedral who intone the services and look after the music. Charnel, containing the bones of the dead. Sinsbury Fields, the Fenney or marshy ground, lying north of the Moorgate of the old city walls. Papal bulls, decrees and orders issued by the Pope, so-called from the seal attached to them. Latimer, born 1470, died 1555, Bishop of Worcester, burnt at the stake for his Protestant opinions, together with Ridley, Bishop of London. Waterhouse, the building where the chapter or clergy belonging to the cathedral meet. Sacrist, the official in a cathedral who copied and took care of the music and books. Paul's Chain, so-called because traffic was stopped by a chain during the hours of service. End of notes on Lesson 25. Notes on Lesson 26. The Religious Houses. Forester, one who has charge of a forest to cut wood, plant new trees, etc. Vicar, one who acts in place of another, hence a priest who on behalf of his monastery conducted services in a parish church. Orders, the different brotherhoods into which monks were divided. Indiscriminate charity, giving without thinking whether the charity is well or ill bestowed. Minorites, monks or nuns belonging to the Franciscan order, who in their humility called themselves the lesser, minores, brethren or sisters. Black friars were the Dominicans, white friars were the Carmelites, grey friars were Franciscans from the colour of their respective dresses. Charter House, the house of the Carthusian monks. Temple, once the house of the Templars, an order of knights whose duty it was to protect the Holy Sepulchre. Part of the church, still to be seen, at Clarkinwell the gate of the priory of St. John's is still standing. End of notes on Lesson 26. Monks, friars and nuns. Indiscriminately, without making any distinctions between them. Hermit, from the Greek, and solitary from the Latin, mean the same thing, one who retires from the world and lives in a lonely place. Monte Cassino in Campania, near Naples, where St. Benedict established his monastery in 529 AD. St. Benedict is often shortened to Bennett, as in the name of several London churches. Osterities, severe rules of life and conduct. Friars, or brethren, French, Frère, Latin, Fratres, those orders that went forth to the people. Assisi, a town in central Italy where St. Francis was born. And Dominic, born in Castile in Spain 1170, died 1221. Founded his order to convert heretics, and procured the establishment of the Inquisition, or court for punishing heretics. Sanctuary, a refuge where criminals were safe from the law. Sir W. Scott, in the fortunes of Nigel, well describes the lawless character of this district in the reign of James I. St. Bernard, a celebrated brother of the Cistercian Order, born 1091, died 1153. End of notes on Lesson 27 Notes on Lesson 28 The London Churches St. Augustine was sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 597 to convert the heathen English. He was the Apostle of the English and First Archbishop of Canterbury. St. Dunstan, who became Archbishop of Canterbury and died in 988, was not only a zealous priest, but a great statesman and ruler. St. Alphage, an Archbishop of Canterbury murdered by the Danes in 1012 AD. Sighs Lane, a lane in the city near Cannon Street. The Basings, an old city family whose name also survives in the Bassishaw Ward of the city and in Basing Hall Street. Bread Street, turning out of Cheapside, shows where the bakers chiefly dwelt in Old London. John Milton, born 1608, died 1674, wrote Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and some beautiful shorter pieces. Three poets, one, the Greek Homer, reputed author of those noble epics The Iliad and Odyssey, about a thousand BC, two, the Roman Virgil, who wrote the Aeneid, born 70 BC, three, the English Milton, the famous Epitaph, was written by John Dryden. William Tyndall assisted the Reformation by translating the New Testament into English 1526 and part of the Old Testament. He was burnt as a heretic at Filvoida near Brussels in 1536. William Cooper, born 1731, died 1800, the author of the Task and Other Beautiful Poems. End of notes on Lesson 28. Notice on Lesson 29 The Streets. Plantagenet, Henry II, 1154 to 1189, was the first of the line of kings bearing this name, so called from the badge worn by Henry's father, a sprig of broom. Chesle was the Anglo-Saxon for pebble, and Kiesel is the German for the same. The Chesle Beach near Weymouth is a remarkable bank of shingle joining Portland Bill to the mainland. Somerset House in the Strand. The palace of the protector Somerset has been pulled down, and public offices erected on its site. Northumberland House, now demolished, has given its name to Northumberland Avenue near Charing Cross. Southwark to many inns, in particular the Tabard, where Chaucer's pilgrims assembled. Medieval, living in the Middle Ages, that is some time before about 1500 AD. Ironmongers in their lane, that is ironmonger lane, turning out of Cheapside. End of notes on Lesson 29. Notes on Lesson 30, Whittington, Part 1. Mercer, a merchant who sells silken or woollen goods. Executors, those who are appointed to carry out the last will and testament of a dead man. Leventine, in the Levant or eastern part of the Mediterranean. Guinea, on the west coast of Africa. Pizarro, a Spanish adventurer who conquered Peru from its native rulers or incas, and was murdered in his palace at Lima in 1541. A piece of eight dollars, that is about thirty shillings. Assessment, the value put upon hassle property, in order to fix the amount of taxes to be paid. End of notes on Lesson 30. Notes on Lesson 31, Whittington, Part 2. Vintner, a wine-seller. Wycliffe, born about 1324, was a learned theologian and rector of Lutterworth in Leicestershire. For preaching Protestant doctrines, he was summoned to appear at St Paul's to answer a charge of heresy in 1377. John of Gaunt, thus made the second attempt to deprive London of its liberties into charter. Matilda, the opponent of Stephen, had tried long before, but it ended in her overthrow. The Marshal was the commander of the royal forces. To put London under him was to destroy its liberty. This office is hereditary in the family of the Duke of Norfolk, and like other royal offices became unimportant when it became hereditary. Men of the peasants, 1381, against overtaxation and being bound to the soil as serfs by their landlords. John Ball, the popular preacher, used to ask, when Adam delved and Eve span, who was then a gentleman? The Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon of Sudbury, had, as Chancellor, proposed the taxes complained of, therefore the peasants murdered him. Descending, repealing of a law. End of notes on Lesson 31 Notes on Lesson 32, Whittington, Part 3 Burning of Heretics and Lollards In 1401, in the reign of Henry IV, an act of parliament was passed for burning heretics. Lollards were those who differed from the church before the Reformation. The name comes from a German word, lollon, to sing, from the custom of these reformers. Mansion House, the official home of the Lord Mayor. The present building was begun in 1739. Previously a house in Cheepside was used for the purpose. Bond, a written obligation binding someone to pay a sum of money. When money was needed the king used to borrow from wealthy citizens and give a bond or promise to repay. St. Michael's Paternoster Royal is in College Hill near Cannon Street. The church was so-called from the Tower Royal, given by Edward III, in 1331, to his Queen Philippa, for her wardrobe. End of notes on Lesson 32 Notes on Lesson 33, Gifts and Bequests Mark, a coin now obsolete, worth thirteen shillings and fourpents. Interdicted, forbidden, prevented. Technical school, where useful and practical arts and trades are taught. Aqueduct, an artificial channel for water. Seven Oaks in Kent. Highham Ferris is a small town in Northamptonshire. End of notes on Lesson 33 Notes on Lesson 34, The Palaces and Great Houses The King-maker Warwick was so-called because he helped Edward IV to become king in 1461, and restored Henry VI for a time in 1470. He was slain at the Battle of Barnet, 1471. Quadrangle, an open court, square with buildings all round it. College of Heralds, a government office under the Earl Marshall, which looks after pedigrees and armorial bearings. Hampton Court, a royal palace begun by Cardinal Woolsey. St. James's Palace, the official residence of the Queen in London, Buckingham Palace being her private residence. Buttery, a storeroom where liquors and other provisions were kept. Baynard's Castle has given its name to one of the city wards. The Duke of Buckingham secured the crown for Richard III, and then, being insufficiently rewarded, rebelled against him, and was executed in 1483. George, Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV, first sided with his father-in-law the Earl of Warwick, then joined his brother in 1471. With justice, therefore, Shakespeare called him false, fleeting, purgant Clarence. He was accused of treason, and found dead in the tower in 1478. End of notes on Lesson 34 Notes on Lesson 35 Amusements A sham fight at which knights mostly on horseback used to show their skill. Twelfth Day Twelve days after Christmas, formerly an occasion of great festivities which have now nearly died out. Moorish Dance A moorish dance to an accompaniment of bells and tambourines. Cressit, a kind of lantern, formed of an open brazier filled with combustible materials. Hemilants, a kind of horse-soldier armed with a short lance. Mummeries, entertainments performed by men in masks. Curfew, the bell rang at eight o'clock at night as a sign to put out all lights. Ancient towns having much wood were liable to serious fires. End of notes on Lesson 35 Notes on Lesson 36 Westminster Abbey Thorny, Isle of Thorns, E.Y. and E.A. meaning Island, as in Anglesey, Chelsea, Wintlesey Precinct, the limit of the ground belonging to a church or other institution. Commissioner appointed to see that the work was carried out. Sir G. Gilbert Scott, born 1811, died 1878, was the greatest modern English architect. Luke Sanctuary, fled for shelter to the Abbey whence she could not be taken without violating the privileges of the church. William Caxton set up in 1476 the first printing press in England. Coronation Chair, under this is the famous Stone, brought from Schoon by Edward I, over which all the Scottish kings had been crowned since about 800 A.D. End of notes on Lesson 36 Notes on Lesson 37 The Court at Westminster Star Chamber Court, in which cases were tried before some members of the Privy Council and two judges without a jury. This was established in 1487 to restore order, because great lords and landowners used to frighten juries from giving true verdicts. Bear and ragged staff, the arms of the Earl of Warwick, consisted of a bear erect and hugging a rough steak. Arras, tapestry for hanging, so called from Arras in the north of France, where it was made. Refectory, the hall where the monks or nuns took their meals. End of notes on Lesson 37 Notes on Lesson 38 Justice and Punishments Executive officers, those whose duty it is to enforce the law. Contrition, repentance. Securities, stocks and shares, papers which can be of no use to the ordinary thief. Bridewell, the site of a prison, now demolished. It adjoined whitefriars, and may be seen in the map to the west of blackfriars. Amande honorable, French, when one who has done wrong gives satisfaction without loss of honour. Pillory, a framework supported by an upright pillar. In it were holes through which the head and hands of offenders were thrust. In this uncomfortable position they had to stand exposed to the insults of the mob. Cogged, loaded so as always to fall in a certain way. Title Deeds, writings drawn up in proper legal form to prove the possession of property. End of notes on Lesson 38 Notes on Lesson 39 The Political Power of London Françard, an early French chronicler or historian who visited England in the reigns of Edward III and Richard II and died in 1401. Besotted with, stupidly and excessively fond of. Commonalty, the common people. Barclay Castle in Gloucestershire where Edward II was murdered in 1327. A son was born, Edward, Prince of Wales, born in 1453. After the Yorkist victory of Northampton in 1460, Edward's claim to the throne was set aside in favour of Richard Duke of York, father of Edward IV. The Prince was slain at the Battle of Tewkesbury, 1471. Benevolences, loans of money supposed to be voluntary, really compulsory, made by merchants and other rich men to the king. Papers, blank checks, orders on the bank for money with all except the amount required filled up and properly signed. Factor, if two times three makes six, two and three are each factors of six, hence it is something which helps to bring about some result. End of notes on Lesson 39 End of notes for Lessons 21 to 39 Author's notes on the history of London, Lessons 40 to 63, recorded Sections 17 to 25. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, recording by Ruth Golding. The History of London by Walter Besant Notes on Lesson 40, Elizabethan London, Part 1 Stowe, born 1525, died 1605, a famous writer in Queen Elizabeth's reign on the antiquities of London and other places. White Chapel takes its name from a white chapel of ease, built to relieve Stepney, in which parish this district was till 1763. Tenters, pegs the stretching cloths, sometimes hooks were used, from which we get the phrase to be on tenter hooks, to be on a stretch with anxiety. St. Catharines has given its name to the great docks east of the tower. Bull, bear-baiting, the sport of setting dogs to worry bulls or bears. Alsatia, for a vivid picture of this haunt of rogues in the reign of James I, the reader is referred to Sir W. Scott's Fortunes of Nigel. Austin Friars, the space known as Draper's Gardens, because the Hall of the Draper's Company is adjoining, in Throgmorton Street, is on the site of this monastery. Canwick, now Cannon Street, was so-called because the wax-chandlers and candle-makers lived in that part. End of Notes on Lesson 40 Notes on Lesson 41, Elizabethan London, Part 2 William Shakespeare, born 1564, died 1616, the Prince of Poets, who lived in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. Ruins of the Monasteries, which had been suppressed by Henry VIII, in 1536 to 1540. Cold Harbour, a merchant's mansion, once standing on the bank of the Thames in Thames Street. Geneva and Bands, a kind of collar worn by Protestant clergymen, so-called because Geneva, the home of Calvin, was the centre of Protestantism. Palaces along the Strand If you walk along the Strand, you will notice that many of the short streets leading down to the river bear the names of noblemen, such as Arendall Street, Norfolk Street, Salisbury Street, etc., from the old palaces which once stood there. Staples Inn, a picturesque group of old houses in Holburn, was formerly a wall market. Staple means a fixed market. Which street is near Holywell Street in the Strand? Cloth Fair is now a poor neighbourhood near Smithfield. End of Notes on Lesson 41 It's on Lesson 42, Elizabethan London, Part III. Impressment, in the absence of some orderly arrangement such as conscription, where all serve, or a voluntary system like our own, the press-gang used to kidnap people and force them to serve. Animosity, anger, ill-feeling against. The steel-yard, on the side of which Cannon Street Railway Station now stands, was the house of the Hanser merchants. John Collett, Dean of St. Paul's, born 1466, died 1519, was one of the leaders of the revival of learning in England. St. Paul's school, which he founded in 1512, has been moved to Hammersmith. End of Notes on Lesson 42 Notes on Lesson 43, Trade, Part I. Stapels stalled their market, i.e., to buy things before they arrived at the market so as to sell them at a higher price. Lübeck, a large port in North Germany in the Baltic. Staples, originally all kinds of raw produce, came to be applied only to wool. Staples in was once a wool market. Instead of selling our wool, Edward III brought Flemish weavers into England to encourage manufacturers, till then England produced and exported wool to Antwerp and other manufacturing centres, but did not make it into cloth. Hamburg was a member of the Hansiatic League. The screen was presented to the Church of All Hallows, the great Thames Street, in 1710, by the Hansiatic merchants. End of Notes on Lesson 43 Notes on Lesson 44, Trade, Part II. Incubus, something that weighs down and hinders. Religious Wars in the Netherlands, between the Protestant Dutch and the Catholic Spaniards who were oppressing the country through great part of the sixteenth century. Bourse, the same as exchange, where merchants meet to chanceact their business. British wool, in Bruges, because it was much exported thither from England before the growth of home manufacturers. Flemings, the natives of Flanders, who were the chief manufacturers of Europe, long before England took the lead. 14%. The height of this rate may be seen by comparing it with the two-and-a-half percent, which is all England now pays as interest upon her debt. Bethlehem Hospital, corrupted into Bedlam, is still a hospital, but only for the insane. End of Notes on Lesson 44 Notes on Lesson 45, Trade, Part III. Bruges to Civil Wars, that is, the religious wars referred to in Chapter 44. Venetians, before the discovery of the sea-root to India and the East, Venice was the first maritime and commercial power in the world. The route round the Cape of Good Hope was discovered by Vasco de Gama in 1497. Malakas, a group of tropical islands between Celebes and New Guinea, rich in pearls, spices and precious woods. Calicut, the port in Madras, where Vasco de Gama first landed in May 1498. The cotton cloth, called Calico, was first brought thence. Moorish Pirates North Africa has always been a haunt of pirates. In 1816 Lord Exmouth had to bombard Algiers, and even as late as 1860 the European powers had to suppress piracy in Morocco. Dordrecht, a commercial town in the south of Holland, near Rotterdam. The South Sea Company is celebrated above the other trading companies for the great speculation in its shares, called the South Sea Bubble, in 1720. End of Notes on Lesson 45 Notes on Lesson 46 Plays and Pageants Part 1 Mummers, men who played in entertainments masked and in various disguises. Mask, a kind of play in which the actors wore masks. Milton's Comus is a well-known mask of high character. Mystery, a name for a religious play representing some scene from the Bible or scenes from the life of a saint. Admonition, warning. Frescoes, paintings on a wall covered with plaster, done while the plaster is still wet or fresh. Sequence, that is, the connection of one event with another. Properties, the articles used in the play, scenery, dress, etc. Realistic, looking as though they really were the persons represented. Tableau, scene. Lessee, one who rents a theatre or holds it on a lease from the owner. End of Notes on Lesson 46 Notes on Lesson 47 Plays and Pageants Part 2 Pageants, grand shows, processions. Sensors, vessels for burning incense. Conduit, a pipe or channel for leading or conducting water. Cross of Cheap, a memorial erected in the centre of the cheap or market in memory of Queen Eleanor. Jerkins, a kind of jacket often made of leather. Canoply, full armour. Bannerette, a little banner. Blackjack's, leather vessels for holding liquor. Marmsey, a strong sweet wine. Marshall, draw up and arrange. Lord Mayor's show on November the 9th, when the people have an opportunity of welcoming the new Lord Mayor on his entering into office. End of Notes on Lesson 47 Notes on Lesson 48 Plays and Pageants Part 3 Libretto, the words of a mask or play set to music. Scenic, on the stage. Ben Johnson, born 1574, died 1637. A great English playwriter and poet and a friend of Shakespeare. Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, born 1561, died 1626, was Lord Chancellor and a great writer on philosophical subjects. Oberon, the King of the Fairies and husband of Titania, as in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. Save James, that is, King James I, a piece of courtly flattery due to Johnson's connection with the court. Prince Henry, who is meant by Oberon in the Mask, died in 1612 to the great regret of the people. Phosphorus, Lucifer, the morning star that brings the day. End of Notes on Lesson 48 Notes on Lesson 49 Plays and Pageants Part 4 Gamma, i.e. Old Mother, Gertens' Needle, is a very rough old play about an old woman who lost her needle while mending a pair of breeches, and after accusing every one of stealing it finds it after all in the garment itself. It was written some time before 1560. Gamma, the French grandmaire, grandmother, contracted into Gamma, and then Gamma. Contortionist, one who twists himself into extraordinary attitudes to amuse the public. Octagonal with eight sides. Prologue, the verses spoken before a play to introduce it to the audience. Golden Lane, a street near the Barbican turning out of Alder's Gate Street. Bankside in Southwark on the southern side of the Thames. End of Notes on Lesson 49 Notes on Lesson 50 The Terror of the Plague Part 1 Pretensions, ambitious claims. Wars of the Roses, a civil war lasting 1455 to 1485. In thinking of the loss of life occasioned by this war, it must be remembered that such loss fell most heavily on the noble families, the mass of the population was not so much disturbed by it. Long Acre, a street near Drury Lane, now chiefly occupied by carriage-makers. Delirium, a wandering in the mind caused by fever. End of Notes on Lesson 50 Notes on Lesson 51 The Terror of the Plague Part 2 A record of names of persons who have died. Such records are now accurately kept by the registrars of birth's deaths and marriages. The King, Charles II, who whatever his faults may have been, was at least good-natured and averse to suffering. Samuel Peeps, born 1632, died 1703, was secretary to the Admiralty in the reigns of Charles II and James II. His famous diary gives a graphic picture of life during these reigns. End of Notes on Lesson 51 Notes on Lesson 52 The Terror of Fire Part 1 Coleman Street runs northward from Lothbury, behind the Bank of England, to Moorgate. The name goes back even to Saxon times, and probably comes from one Keolmund, who had a farm near. St. Urkinwald, an early Saxon bishop of London, who encouraged the citizens to restore their ruined city, and himself built the bishop's gate, named after him. His shrine in St. Paul's was long an object of reverence. Paternoster Row, always a great centre of the book trade, it was a row immediately adjoining the precincts of the cathedral before encroachments were made. Naturally, much of the booksellers' wares was religious, Paternoster's, Arvet's, Credo's, etc. Chancell, the east end of a church in which is the altar, separated from the rest of the church by a screen or railings. Latin can celli a grating. Transept, the part of a cathedral projecting on either side. Cathedrals are generally built in the shape of a cross. The transept is the arms of the cross in the ground plan. End of Notes on Lesson 52 Notes on Lesson 53 The Terror of Fire Part 2 Astronomer, one who studies the stars or heavenly bodies John Evelyn, born 1620, died 1706. A gentleman of the reign of Charles II was made one of the commissioners for the restoration of London after the Great Fire. He wrote a diary which is not so amusing as that of peeps. St. Dunstan in the east in Tower Street was the first church restored by Wren after the fire. John Dryden, born 1631, died 1700, one of the greatest English poets. He was a supporter of the House of Stuart and was made poet laureate. Obnoxious Exposed to End of Notes on Lesson 53 Notes on Lesson 54 Rogues and Vagabonds Vagabonds wanderers who have no settled home living, called Wapping Wash or Marsh in the time of Queen Elizabeth when it was first drained and banked in, lies on the north bank of the Thames in Middlesex near the Thames Tunnel. Lambeth, facing Westminster on the south bank of the river, is low-lying, and was called in Saxon times Lamb Highs, meaning low-me or muddy landing-place. On the south bank of the Thames, one mile south-east of St. Paul's, is a centre of the Leather and Wall trade. Rotherhithe, or Redriff, on the south bank of the Thames, lies east of Bermondsey and faces Wapping. The south end of the Thames Tunnel is in Rotherhithe. Stringent, strict, impotent, powerless, unable to work. Stocks, a wooden frame in which the legs of criminals were confined. The Barbican, a street near the site of the Old Alder's Gate. Barbican means defensive works for a gate. Turnmills Street is near Farringdon Railway Station. End of Notes on Lesson 54 Notes on Lesson 55 under George II, Part I, The Wealth of London. Essayists, people who write essays, that is short compositions on any subject. Picture-esqueness, beauty and grace, qualities which might be supposed to make anything a good subject for a picture. Ruffles, pieces of some white material plaited and attached as a frill to the collar and sleeves of garments. Ostentation, making a great show. Puritanism, the more sober style of life and thought introduced by the Puritans, who were a religious party in the times of Elizabeth and the Stewards, and were desirous of a purer and simpler doctrine and mode of living. End of Notes on Lesson 55 Notes on Lesson 56 under George II, Part II. Predecessors, those that went before them. Cruciform in the form of a cross. The ground-plan of many churches is shaped like a cross. St. Stephen's Wallbrook stands behind the mansion-house where the Wallbrook used to flow. Lectureship, the office of a lecturer, one who gives lectures, discourses or, as in this case, sermons. Many was left to pay for these sermons, that is, the lectureships were endowed. Harboring, sheltering. Organisers, those who get up and arrange anything. Haymarket, obviously once a haymarket, is near Trafalgar Square and Coventry Street near Leicester Square. Innovations, novelties, new things. End of Notes on Lesson 56 Notes on Lesson 57 under George II, Part III. Broad Street between the Royal Exchange and Liverpool Street. White Cross Street is near the Barbican Aldersgate Street. White Chapel, in which is Middlesex Street, commonly known as Petticoat Lane, is reached through Aldgate. Hogarth, born 1697, died 1764, a celebrated English painter, chiefly famous for moral, satirical and humorous pictures, drawn from everyday life. Asphalt, a kind of mineral, pitchy substance which melts in heat and can be laid down so as to form a hard, smooth roadway. Vauxhall, in Surrey, in the parish of Lambers, on the south of the Thames, there was once an old manor house here, called Forks or Fox Hall. Hermansy Spa, so-called from a mineral spring, discovered there in 1770. Spa, a place where there is a mineral spring, gets its name from a celebrated watering place in Belgium of that name. Punch, a drink containing five ingredients, water, spirits, sugar, lemon juice, spice. End of Notes on Lesson 57 Notes on Lesson 58, under George II, Part 4 Decorus behaving in a decent and respectable way Appreciation, estimate, judgement about Congregation gathering together Benjamin Franklin, born 1706, died 1790, a native of Boston, USA, who lived for some time in England. As a scientist, he is famous for electrical experiments, as a politician for the share he took in upholding the independence of the American states. Transmission, handing down from father to son. Externally, outwardly. St. Catherine's Ratcliffe, Shadwell, Stepney are all in the East End of London. Jurisdiction, legal authority. End of Notes on Lesson 58 Notes on Lesson 59, under George II, Part 5 Lighters, large boats or barges used in unloading ships. Bleaching grounds, where cloth was laid out to be bleached or whitened by the wind and sun. Hopp Bines, the stalks of hop plants. Transportation, conveying convicted criminals abroad. Till 1869 convicts were sent to Australia, now they are kept in convict prisons at home. Classification, dividing and arranging into classes. In Bezel, to steal something entrusted to one's care. Press Gang, a party of sailors under an officer who forcibly took men to serve in the Royal Navy. Anarchy, absence of rule, disorder. Gordon Riots, in 1780 led by the fanatic Lord George Gordon. The mob raised the cry of no popery on account of a law then proposing to remove hardships from Roman Catholics. Riots and plunder were the real object of the mob. The disorder had to be suppressed by military force. Organised in 1829 by Sir Robert Peale, after whom the members of the force were called Bobbies and Pealers. End of notes on Lesson 59. Notes on Lesson 60, the Government of the City, Part 1. Denominations, religious bodies or sects, the members of which are all called by the same name. Latin, no men, a name. Every conceivable topic, every subject you can think of. Community, a people, the public. Achieved, one by effort. End of notes on Lesson 60. Notes on Lesson 61, the Government of the City, Part 2. Symbol of, the representative of, the presence of a policeman as the outward form taken by the law in the eyes of the people. Moat, meeting. Hence, folks moat, meeting of the folk or people. Ward moat, meeting of those living in the same ward or city division. The companies, such as those of the Goldsmiths, Merchant-Taylors, Drapers, etc. Quarter sessions, the sessions or sittings of the law courts in a county or city held every quarter. Archives, public records. Sergeant means servant, officer, here of the law. Ordinarily it is a rank in the army. End of notes on Lesson 61. Notes on Lesson 62, the Government of the City, Part 3. Advocate, argue in favour of. Tenacity, perseverance holding on. Latin, teneo, to hold. Livery, because the members of the different trade companies used to wear a distinguishing uniform or livery. Fletcher's, arrow-makers, French, flesh and arrow. Trust money, money entrusted for a certain purpose for which alone it can be used. Technical, where useful trades and sciences are taught. End of notes on Lesson 62. Notes on Lesson 63, London, Greater London. Conservative, preserving so far as convenient the present state of things. Functions, powers and duties. Reformatory schools, where boys and girls who have committed some crime are sent to be reformed to better ways. Assets, property actually held so that it can be set off against a debt. Democratic, giving power and influence to the people. Oligarchic, giving power and influence to the few. Lawworthiness, right to assist in the making of laws. End of notes on Lesson 63. End of notes for Lessons 40 to 63. End of notes and end of The History of London by Walter Besant. Recording by Ruth Golding.