LONDON
342
LONDON
the successive usurpations of (,'araui?ius (28()) and Al-
lectus (293), and of tho defeat in battle of the last
named. During the latter part of the Roman occupation it was Christianized. The fact that all the
churches ia Thames Street, the oldest part of the city,
were dedicated to the Apostles and not to later saints,
suggests that they occupied the sites of early Christian
churches. In 314 Resti tutus. Bishop of London, was
E resent at the Council of Aries, and Wend purports to ave preserved the names of several of his predecessors and successors (Geoffrey of Monmouth), a claim which the modern historian, Dr. Stubbs (Episcopal Succes- sion), treats with respect.
When the Saxons drove out the Romans and Britons during the fifth century, London was one of the few places which preserved a continuous existence. Prob- ably it had fallen into the hands of the East Saxons be- fore 571 (Lethaby, op. cit. inf., 29-31). In 604 St. Mellitus was sent by St. Augustine to be the first Bishop of London of the restored hierarchy, and w^ith him begins the line of bishoi>s that lasted nearly a thousand years (see list of bishops below). In the time of St. Mellitus the cathedral church of St. Paul and the abbey church of St. Peter at Westminster were founded. But little is known of London during early Saxon times. It suffered much from fires and much from the Danes, being sacked by the latter in 839 and again in 895. Under Alfred however the Londoners defeated the Danes and enjoyed a period of prosperous tranquillity, so that by the time of Athelstan, his grandson, London required as many as eight money- ers, to produce the necessary coinage. But in the eleventh century the Danes again harassed it and it suffered much in the struggle between Canute and Ed- mund Ironside, though it retained its wealth, as during the reign of Canute one-seventh of his entire revenue came from London. From this time it disputed with Winchester the priority among English cities. St. Edward the Confessor during his reign (1042-1066) re- sided chiefly at Westminster where he rebuilt West- minster Abbey, in which his relics are still enshrined. In this minster the coronation of all English sovereigns takes place, and it is the national burying place for great men, statesmen and warriors lying in the north transept, "Poets* comer" occupying the south tran- sept, while nearly thirty kings and queens rest in the choir and side chapels.
London under the Normans, — After the Battle of Hastings the citizens of London, after an indecisive en- gagement with the troops of William the Conqueror in Southwark, submitted to him at Berkhamstead (Herts), and he was crowned in Westminster Abl)ey. in a charter of four and a half lines addressed to the bishop, the portreeve, and the burgesses, he declared that: " I grant them all to be law-worthy as they were in the days of King Edward, and 1 erant that every child shall be his father's heir after his father's days and I will not suffer any man do you WTong." Not trusting the citizens, however, William built the White Tower, the keejp of the Tower of London, to overawe them, and also Baynard's Castle at the western extrem- ity of the city. London at this time consisted of a col- lection of low wooden houses thatched with reeds or straw, thus affording combustible material for the nu- merous and destructive fires which frequently broke out, as in 1087 when the greater part of the city, in- cluding St. Paul's, was burnt. Bishop Maurice inune- diately began a new cathedral which was one of the largest churches in Europe being 600 feet long. It contained the shrine of St. Erconwald to which great crowds of pilgrims journeyed, reaching the cathedral by the thoroughfare still called Pilgrim Street.
At this time a period of building activity set in during which London was enriched with many churches, reiiffious houses and public buildings erected in stone. William Rufus built Westminster Hall, the Tower ram- parts and a new Ix>ndon Bridge to replace that which
was washcil away by the great floods in 1091. In
1 100 the citizens obtained a new charter from Henry I,
which was confirmed by Stephen in 11 35. In Henry's
reign many religious houses were built, including the
Priory of St. John of Jerusalem at Clerkenwell, and the
Priory of St. Bartholomew founded by Habere -in
Smithfield, the noble church of which still survives.
The ICnights Templars established themselves in Hol-
bom in 1 1 18, removing to Fleet Street later in the cen-
tury, where the Temple church (consecrated 1185) yet
remains. Another great fire broke out in 1136, de-
stroying the city from Ludi^te, then the west end
of the town, to St. Paul's. The Civil War between
Stephen and Matilda with which the Norman period
was brought to a close marked the epoch at whicn Lon-
don rose to the position of a capital. For unlike Win-
chester it did not suffer in the war, and when Matilda
deprived it of its charters the citizens rose and drove
her from their city.
London under the PlarUagenets. — Under Hemy II, who viewed the Londoners with disfavour owing to their repulse of his mother, we have our first contem- porary account of London, the vivid description of Fitzstephen, monk of Canterbury, and friend and biographer of St. Thomas. He tells us of a city walled round with the White Tower on the east and Mont- fichet and Baynard's Castle on the west where Black- friars now is. There are seven double gates, Aldsate, Bishopsgate, Cripplegate, Aldersgate, NewgBkte, Lud- gate, and the Bnage. Two miles up the river lay the Royal Palace and Abbey of Westminster connected with the city by the riverside thoroughfare called the Strand. He describes the wealth and power of the citizens, and grows enthusiastic over the plenty in the markets, the Chepe — ^now Cheapside — ^Eastcheap, Bil- lingsgate, and Dowgate. The various trades were as- signed their own localities as the ancient surviving names tell us, — ^Milk Street, Bread Street, Wood Street, Fish Street, Poultry Street, and others. Friday Street was the market for Friday fare— dried fish. In the Chepe were the mercers, goldsmiths, armourers, glovers, and many others. He lingers with delight on the sports of the youn^ citizens, himting in Middlesex Forest, wrestling, leapmg, and playing at ball: and in winter skating and sliding on frozen Moorfields. He describes the beautiful garden and houses occupied by the prelates and barons when they were smnmoned to great councils by the king. Above all he bears wit- ness to the orderly government and careful social ob- servance practised. *' I do not think that there is any city with more commendable customs of church at- tendance, honour to God's ordinances, keeping sacred festivals, almsgiving, hospitality, confirming, be- trothals, contracting marriages, celebration of nup- tials, preparing f caste, cheering the guests, and also m care for funeral and the interment of the dead. The only pest of London are the immoderate drinking of fools and the frequency of fires" (**Descriptio nobi- lissimsB civitatis Londinia" in preface to "Vita St. Thomie").
The city then contained thirteen larger conventual churches and one hundred and twenty-six parish churches. In 1176 Peter of Colechurch, a priest, be- gan the rebuilding of London Bridge ¥rith stone. It took thirty-three years to build and lasted for seven hundred years. At this time the city was governed by a portreeve, two sheriffs, and the alcfermen of the van- ous wards. In 1189 Henry Fitz-alwyne became Uie first Mayor of London under the title of bailiff" and he held the office till 1212. During his tenure of office the citizens obtained from King John a charter em- powering them to elect a lord mayor annually. They nad previously obtained from Richard I Jurisdiction over and conservancy of the Thames. In llfiHd the court of aldermen decreed that in future houses ahoidd be built of stone instead of wood so as to check the dis- astrous fires, but wooden houses continued to be builty
