83. CARD-MAKERS.-Date of incorporation, 1629. Neither livery nor hall. 84. FAN-MAKERS.-Date of incorporation, 8 Anne, 1709. Neither livery nor hall. 85. 86. WOODMONGERS. This fraternity was incorporated with STARCH-MAKERS.-Date of incorporation, 1622, 20 James I. 87. FISHERMEN.-Date of incorporation, 3 James II. 1687. Neither livery, hall, nor arms. 88. PARISH CLERKS.-Date of incorporation, 17 Henry III. 1233. By a decree of the Star-chamber in 1625, they obtained a privilege to keep a prefs in their hall, for printing the weekly bills of mortality, by the perfon appointed by the archbishop of Canterbury. They are, by their charter, to make a report of all the weekly chriftenings and burials in their feveral parifhes every Tuefday. Hall, Wood-street. 89. THE CARMEN are a fellowship by act of common-council, with the title of free Carmen of the city of London. Neither hall nor livery. ၄၀. THE PORTERS Confifting of tackle and ticket-porters, are another fellowship. Neither hall, livery, nor arms. THE WHERRYMEN AND LIGHTERMEN of this city, and neighbouring places, were by act of parliament in the latter end of the reign of King William, constituted a fociety, to be under the direction of the court of lord mayor and aldermen. This fociety pay to their poor about 800l. per annum, which chiefly arifes from the Sunday ferries. Upon the whole, it appears, that the companies are ninetyone, and they have fifty-two halls. WEST WESTMINSTER. A most important portion of the metropolis, and next in confideration to the city of London, is the city, or perhaps more properly, the borough of Westminster. This divifion of the metropolis is now fo united with London, that in appearance, they form but one city; and in common fpeech they are mentioned only as one. As the very exiftence of Weftminster is derived from the foundation of the abbey, it is neceffary here flightly to trace the circumstances by which they are connected, referving for a fubfequent page, a more particular defcription of that venerable ftructure. The foundation of Westminster abbey, fays Maitland in his Hiftory of London, has been handed to us by many fabulous accounts, invented by the monks for private views: one of their pious frauds was to palm it upon St. Peter, the prince of the apoftles. This is the invention of Abbot Wulfine, in the reign of Edward the Confeffor. Another refers it to the imaginary reign of king Lucius. In this uncertainty we can determine only to adhere to thofe writers who place its foundation by Sebert, on the ruins of a temple, dedicated by the heathen Saxons to Apollo. The place where this magnis ficent and stately ftructure and city are fituate, was anciently an ifland; which, from its being overfpread with thorns, received the appellation of Thorney, or ifland of Thorns; and the branch of the river which furrounded the fame, now denominated Long-ditch, had its outflux from the river Thames, near the east-end of Manchefter-court, Channel-row; and interfecting King-treet, glided along where Gardiner's-lane is fituate, to Long-ditch; and crofling Tothill-ftreet, a little west of the gate-houfe, continued its courfe along the fouth wall of the Abbey garden, to the Thames, where now the common fewer is, which was erected over it. This monaftery, like most others of the kingdom, being deftroyed by the cruel ravages and depredations of the Pagan Danes, was rebuilt by king Edgar, who not only endowed the fame with divers lands and manors, but likewife, by his charter, Anno 969, granted it many ample privileges. This church being again reduced to very great extremities by Danish cruelties, it was restored to a much more flourishing condition than ever, by Edward the Confeffor, who appropriated for that purpose one tenth of his eftate, both real and perfonal; and pulling down the fmall and ruinous building, erected in its ftead a handfome ftructure: then fummoning his minifters and nobility, he cauled it to be confecrated on the 28th of December, 1065, with the greatest pomp and folemnity; and by feveral charters, not only confirmed all its ancient rights and privileges, Gg 4 but but likewife endowed the fame with many rich manors, and additional immunities, viz. Sac and Soc, Thel and Theam, Infangtheof, Gritbrich, Hamfoken, Pontage, Murage, and Forftal. And that all the lands,, tenements, and poffeffions thereunto belonging, in London and elsewhere, fhould be exempt from all jurifdiction whatfoever, other than that of their own; and the convent to be free from the authority of the bishop of London; and the church thereof, by the bull of Pope, Nicholas the Second, conftituted a place for the inauguration of the kings of England. And, by the faid Edward's charter of Sanctuary, it became not only an afylum for bankrupts, &c. but likewife a refuge for traitors, murderers, thieves, and the moft abandoned mifereants, who were fuffered to live there in impunity, and open defiance of juice, to the great reproach of the pretended confeffor. However, the great immunities in the charter drew people from all parts; which occafioned the refugees to increase fo faft, that there was not room fufficient in the Abbey church for the accommodation of the numerous inhabitants without incommoding the monks, wherefore Edward caufed a church to be erected on the north fide of the monastery, for the ufe of the inhabitants, and dedicated the fame to Saint Margaret. The name of Weft-minster was not given, as fome have fuppofed, to diftinguish it from the Abbey of Grace on Tower-hill, called Eafl-minfter: but from the church of Saint Paul in the city of London. William the Conqueror, out of the great veneration he bore to the memory of his late dear friend Edward, no. fooner arrived in London, than he repaired to this church, where he offered a fumptuous pall as a covering to his fhrine, and fifty marks of filver, together with a very rich altar-cloth and two cafkets of gold, and the Chriflmas-day following was folemnly crowned there. He was a great benefactor to this abbey, for, by no less than fixteen charters, he not only confirmed all their ancient rights and immunities, but also granted them greater privileges and additional revenues. In 1257, Henry III. granted to the abbot and convent of Weftminiter a market and fair; and in 1352, Westminster was by act of parliament conftituted one of the ten towns in England, where the ftaple, or market for wool, leather, woolfels, lead, and other ftaple commodities, fhould be perpetually held. Yet with all thefe inftances, of royal favour and protection, Westminster was nothing more than a fmall town entirely dif tinct from London, The Strand, which was the road leading from the one to the other, was open on cither fide to the Thames and to the fields. In 1385, this road was paved as far as the Savoy; and, many years alter Sir Robert Cecil build ing a house at Ivy-bridge, his intereft brought the pavement of the road to be extended thither, and many of the houses of the nobility were erected in the Strand. At the general fuppreffion of religious houfes by Henry VIII. the abbey was furrendered to him, by William Benson, the abbot, and feventeen of the monks, on the 16th of January, 1539, at which time, it appeared to be near double the value any other religious foundation in the kingdom; for its annual revenues amounted to 3977..6s. 434. The monaftery thus diffolved, Henry erected it into a college of fecular canons, under the government of a dean, and appointed William Benfon, the lait abbot, the firft dean. But in the 37th year of his reign, an act was paffed to authorize him, either by letters patent, or proclamations, to make it an honour, a title of dif tinction, which he was impowered by the fame act to confer upon Kingston-upon-Hull, St. Ofyth's in Effex, and Donnington in Berkshire; and he afterwards converted it into a bishopric, with a dean and twelve prebendaries, and appointed the whole county of Middlefex, except Fulham, which was ftill to belong to the bishopric of London, as its diocese; upon this occafion, Westminster became a city; it had many years before been the feat of the royal palace, the high court of parliament, and of our law tribunals; most of our fovereigns had been crowned, and had their fepulchres in the Abbey church, and the ancient palace being almoft deftroyed by fire, the laft mentioned prince had here his palace of Whitehall, which he purchased of Cardinal Wolfey; he also built the palace of St. James, and inclofed a fine fpot of ground, which he converted into a park, for the accommodation of both palaces; and this was no fooner finished, than he erected a stately gate near the banquetting-house, and added to it a magnificent gallery for the accommodation of the royal family, the nobility and gentry to fit in, in order to fee the juftings and other military exercifes in the tilt-yard; and foon after the fame prince erected a tennis-court, cock-pit, and places for bowling. From that time the buildings began to extend every way, but the palace was burned down foon after. It never had but one bishop, the fee being tranflated to Norwich, by Edward VI., in the year 1550; though by courtefy, it has ftill retained the title of city. The city of Westminster is comprized in the two, now united parishes of Saint Margaret and Saint John; besides which there are feven in the liberties, St. Martin's-in-the-fields, St. James's, St. Anne's, St. Clement Danes, St. Mary-le-Strand, St. George's, Hanover-fquare, and St. Paul's, Covent-garden, with the precinct of the Savoy. ST. MAR ST. MARTIN'S-LE-GRAND. A portion of the liberties of Weftminster, fituated indeed within the limits of the city of London, is the precinct of Saint Martin's-le-grand. On this fite was anciently a college, confifting of a dean and priests, or fecular canons. It owed its origin to the piety of two brothers, Ingebricus and Edvardus, or Gerardus, our hiftorians are undecided which, in the year 1056. Twelve years afterwards. William of Normandy confirmed the foundation, by a charter, dated in the fecond year of his reign. This exempted the dean and canons from almost all ecclefiaftical and temporal jurifdiction, and gave them the privilege of a fanctuary. ~ All thefe immunities were confirmed and increased by several fucceffors of the conqueror. Henry VII. conveyed to the abbot of the Abbey church of Weftminster, the advowson of the deanery of Saint Martin's-le-grand, its canonries, prebends, churches, chapels, and all profits (except the prebend of Newlonde, founded by Herbert). His fucceffor, in the thirty-fecond year of his reign, granted it to the new fee of Weftminster, and two years afterwards to the dean and chapter. When Edward VI. diffolved the bishopric, he conveyed St. Martin's with the jurifdiction of the fite and precinct to the bishop of London; but an act of parliament restored it to the dean and chapter, as the abbot and convent of Westminster had enjoyed it, their fucceffors are ftill in poffeffion of the fite; but the church was taken down foon after 1548, and the place covered with buildings, long fince perifhed, and fucceeded by others, fome few of which are refpectable, but the generality of the meanest defcription. The dean and chapter hold a court, and have a prifon, a steward, and attornies, for this precinct. GOVERNMENT OF WESTMINSTER. Until the reformation, Westminster was under the arbitrary governinent of the abbot and monks; as it was afterwards under that of the bishop, and the dean and chapter; till fettled by act of parliament, 27 Elizabeth, 1585, whereby the civil government is lodged in the hands of the laity; though the dean is impowered to nominate the chief officers. Weltminster, with its liberties, being by the faid authority divided into twelve wards, the dean or the high fteward, or his deputy, are impowered yearly, on Eafter-Thursday, to elect twelve fufficient merchants or tradefmen to be nominated burgeffes, with a like number of perfons for their deputies, or affiftants, to prefide over the refpective wards for one year, and fo from year to year during life, good behaviour or refidence in the city or liberties. They who refufe to ferve as burgeffes forfeit ten, deputies five pounds each. And the dean and his fucceffors, the high fteward, or his de puty, |