Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/619

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LONDON 613 is the site of the scaffold, and most of the eminent persons executed there were buried in the adjoining St. Peter's church. The lieu- tenant governor resides in the bell tower, IB The Tower. and the governor is called constable; the duke of Wellington held the latter office for some time. The former banqueting hall and council chamber have been appropriated to a collection of 60,000 stand of rifles, and the old St. John's chapel has been converted into a record and archive office. (See " Historical Memorials of the Tower," by Lord de Eos, Lon- don, 1866-'7.) The Wellington barracks, a large and rather clumsy building, was established in 1845 by the duke of Wellington, on the N. side of the white tower, on the site of the great storehouse laid out by William III., which had been burned in 1841, together with about 300,000 stand of muskets and small arms. At the present time there are vast stores of ord- nance in the tower. The number of soldiers in the various barracks is over 8,000. The duke of Wellington frequently called attention to the exposed condition of the metropolis in the event of a foreign invasion. The Franco- German war of 1870-'71, and the appearance of a publication entitled "The Battle of Dor- king," with an imaginary description of a Ger- man invasion, revived these discussions, and resulted in an increasing efficiency of the mi- litia, and in forming organizations of volun- teers. The metropolitan cattle market, Co- penhagen Fields, between Islington and Cam- den Town, which has replaced old Smithfield market, was opened in 1855, and extends over 30 acres, half of which is enclosed for the ac- commodation of the animals ; the annual sale of cattle, sheep, and pigs is estimated at near- ly 5,000,000. The foreign cattle market is near the Commercial docks. The new metro- politan meat and poultry market, Smithfield, opened Dec. 1, 1868, has superseded Newgate as the great carcass market of London. It is a fine building flanked by four corner towers, covering 3^ acres, 630 ft. long by 246 wide, with a roof of iron and glass 30 ft. high, sup- ported on wrought- iron pillars. It is provided with stalls for the sale of meat. Underneath the build- ing is a railway depot, with cellars for sto- ring meat, which com- municate with under- ground railways and with the cattle mar- ket. Leadenhall mar- ket is a large market for meat, poultry, and live stock. Of the minor markets, the Hungerford and Far- ringdon are the lar- gest. The latter is the great market for water cresses, and is crowded with the masses of the poor- er population, particularly early on Monday morning. Oxford and King's Cross are the other principal general markets. The Great Northern railway market, York road, King's Cross, and that of Spitalfields, are for pota- toes. The exhibition of cattle by the Smith- field club and agricultural shows are held at Christmas in the capacious agricultural hall, between Liverpool road and Islington green, which was opened in 1861. Owing to the com- pulsory closing of private slaughter houses, additional public ones will be erected near the metropolitan cattle market. Inferior horses are sold every Friday in the cattle market, and the most valuable horses are sold at Tatter- sail's, Grosvenor place, so called after Eichard Tattersall, originally a training groom of the duke of Kingston, who made his fortune by pur- chasing for 2,500 the celebrated horse High- flyer. During the races Tattersall's presents a most animated appearance, the betting there regulating that of the whole country. In con- nection with Tattersall's is a subscription room under the superintendence of the Jockey club in Old Bond street, which is attended by all the patrons of the turf. Billingsgate, the great fish market, a little below London bridge, has been famous since the days of Queen Eliza- beth, though it was not formally established as a market till 1699, under William III. Fish of all kinds, but especially salmon and shell fish, are sold here in immense quantities. The corner stone of a new market was laid in Bil- lingsgate in the autumn of 1874. Columbia market, a gift of Lady Burdett-Coutts, was pub- licly accepted by the lord mayor and corpora- tion for use as a fish market, .Nov. 4, 1871.