“You are next to be informed then,” recommenced the Antiquary, “that we are told by the Rev. John Entick, in his ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 19, that the Committee appointed to repair London Bridge resolved to take down all the buildings and erections which stood upon it, of every kind whatsoever: to remove the great middle pier, and to lay the two adjoining locks into one, by turning an entire new arch, occupying the whole space: to add the depth of the removed houses to the width of the Bridge: and to secure both sides by a stone wall breast-high, surmounted by lofty ballustrades. To effect all this, it was essential to stop up the Bridge, and, at the same time, to provide a convenient passage to Southwark; on which, it was determined to construct a Temporary Bridge of Wood. This edifice consisted of stout unplaned oak timbers, to the amount of £2000; and it was erected on the sterlings in a curved form, on the Western side of the stone one, into which it opened at each end, extending from the water-works to about the fourth arch on the Surrey side of the river. The timber being taken back by the builder, his labour in erecting and removing it being compensated, and one penny per cube foot allowed him for the use of the materials. In Harrison’s ‘History of London,’ page 409, it is stated, that this temporary Bridge was opened in the month of October, 1757,when it was ‘found to be very convenient, not only for foot-passengers, but also for horsemen and carriages;’ but there are few notices to be found of it in the public prints of the period. By ‘Lloyd’s Evening Post and British Chronicle,’ however, a quarto newspaper of several leaves, then published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we are informed, in the paper for Wednesday, September 21st, page 219, that, ‘to-morrow they will begin to lay the first coat of gravel on the Temporary Bridge, so that it will be passable by the end of this month:’ and the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Saturday, October 22nd, thus fixes the time when the Bridge was actually finished. ‘Yesterday, the Committee appointed under the late Act of Parliament for the improvement of London Bridge, met and view’d the Temporary Bridge, and gave orders to have it open’d to-morrow morning for foot-passengers.’ The houses on the stone edifice, indeed, were already began to be removed; for, in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ for 1757, volume xxvii., page 91, it is stated, that on Tuesday, February 22nd, ‘three pots of money, silver and gold, of the coin of Queen Elizabeth, were found by the workmen in pulling down the houses on London Bridge.’ The whole of these buildings, however, were not entirely taken away until some years after this time; for in the ‘London Chronicle’ of Thursday, May 17th, 1759, the name of ‘William Herbert on London Bridge,’ occurs as one of the publishers of ‘The Lives of the Reformers.’ By the same paper, too, for Thursday, August the 14th,1760, page 161, we are informed, that ‘in pulling down the house called the Chapel-House, on London Bridge, there has been found this week a very antique marble font, &c. curiously engraved, and several ancient coins, &c. The stones used in the building of this structure were so strongly cemented with different kinds of mortar, and strong iron clamps, that the workmen found a most difficult task in the demolition of it, which is not yet completed.’ The Committee for altering London Bridge had, however, previously advertised for persons to carry their intentions into effect, to meet at Guildhall on the 1st of February, 1757; as may be seen in the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Monday, January 24th; and in the same authority for Monday, May the 2nd following, it is further stated, that Messrs. Blackden and Flight, the contractors for taking down and clearing away the houses on London Bridge, completed their engagement on the Saturday evening previously: and that from the commencement of their work, there had not occurred a single accident. The view of old London Bridge and its buildings by Scott, to which I have already referred, furnishes us with large and interesting prospects of several of the principal edifices which, after this period, were removed; and I may add, that in the x.th volume of Mr. Crowle’s Illustrated Pennant, there is an enlarged drawing of this picture, executed by John Varley, in colours, measuring 3 feet 9½ inches, by 1 foot 5¾; ruthlessly cut into three parts to fit the size of the book. In these views, one of the mostcurious objects is a prospect of theEastern Exterior of the Chapel of St. Thomas in 1757;a more particular engraving of which you will find in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ for 1753, volume xxiii., page 432. But few remains of the original structure were then perceptible on the outside of this building; though its form of a semi-hexagon might be traced, whilst the old pier of the Bridge, the basement standing on the sterling, and some of the pinnacles and buttresses of the Chapel, were discernible in the centre and at the sides. The greater part of it, however, was scarcely to be distinguished from the other houses, being covered with brickwork or boarding; whilst the Upper Chapel was converted into apartments, and the Lower one into the Paper Warehouse of Messrs. Gill and Wright, having a crane attached to it to take in goods from boats. In front of the Bridge pier, a square fish-pond wasformed in the sterling, into which the fish were carried by the tide, and then detained there by a wire-grating placed over it: and an ancient servant of London Bridge, now verging upon his hundredth summer, well remembers to have gone down through the Chapel to fish in this pond.“The Nonesuch House on London Bridge in 1756,is also represented by Scott in a very dilapidated appearance, especially when contrasted with its splendourin the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; and, when it was taken down, was probably in the occupation of several persons in trade, or perhaps was shut up and allowed to fall into decay. One of the most picturesque and interesting objects in Scott’s View, is that group of buildings formed of theEastern Side of the Modern Southwark Gate and Towers,with the Second Gate beyond it; beneath which is a very perfect representation of one of the original arches, called the Rock Lock, and one of the old piers,whilst above is shewn the third of those open spaces guarded with iron rails, which alone varied the street-like character of old London Bridge, and indicated to its passengers that they were actually crossing a river. I know but of one engraving, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, which gives us any view directly up the Bridge-street; and even that is so slight, that were it not that I am unwilling to lose any fragment relating to old London Bridge, I should omit mentioning it altogether. You will find it, however, in that half-sheet copper-plate, after Antonio Canaletti, published in ‘Bowles’s Perspectives,’ entitled ‘The Monument of London in remembrance of the dreadfull Fire in 1666. Bowles delin. et sculp. Published according to Act of Parliament, 1752. Printed for John Bowles and Son, at the Black Horse in Cornhil.’ This prospect, then, being taken on Fish-Street-Hill, shews the Monument on the left hand, and the termination of the street in the first Northern gate of London Bridge, with some indication of the houses beyond it; though the whole view has certainly a far more spacious appearance, than this part of London ever possessed.“Before I close my notices of the year 1757, I have to observe, from the printed document I have so frequently quoted, that from 1639 until this time, ‘no addition of salary was paid to the Bridge-Masters, nor any other allowance; but when the houses were taken down on London Bridge, the sum of £10 per annum was ordered to be paid to each of the Bridge-Masters, in lieu of fees, &c. arising from the saidhouses. Order of the Committee made May 4, 1757. And also when certain warehouses were taken away, and laid into the Bridge-House, the annual sum of £6. 10s.was ordered to be paid in lieu of the said warehouses to the Senior Bridge-Master. And after the Bridge was finished, lighted, and watched, one of the Bridge-Masters was ordered to superintend the Watchman on the said Bridge, and in the Bridge-Yard, for which he received the sum of £12 by order of the Committee. The whole Income of the Senior Bridge-Master at the present time (1786) £100. 10s.Rental at Christmas 1785, £8280. 1s.4d.Present Income of the Junior Bridge-Master: Salary, &c. as before7200In lieu of a stable400In lieu of fees for the houses lately standing on London-Bridge1000In lieu of Warehouses076Total Income£8676’“So terminates this very curious document, which has furnished so many authentic particulars of the Bridge accounts at different periods, shewing its increasing prosperity and revenues, between the times of Edward the Fourth, and those of George the Third.“Whilst the alteration of London Bridge was being carried rapidly into effect, in the early part of the year 1758, an event occurred, which not only destroyed some portion of the building itself, but alsonearly the whole of the works surrounding it. This was the fatalFire on the Temporary Bridge,which burst out about eleven o’clock, in the night of Tuesday, April 11th, as it is related in Entick’s ‘Continuation of Maitland,’ page 20; in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ volume xxviii., page 192; in John Noorthouck’s ‘History of London,’ 1773, quarto, page 390; and in Harrison’s ‘History of London,’ page 410, where there is an engraving of the fire, probably by Wale, after a drawing by Grignion. From these accounts, we learn that the conflagration brake out suddenly from the two ends of the Wooden Bridge, which, havingbeen dried by several days of bright sunshine, appeared instantly to be in flames, entirely preventing any approach to suppress it. Though Sir Charles Asgill, the Lord Mayor, came very early to the spot, and remained there almost the whole time of the fire, exerting himself exceedingly to stop its progress, it continued raging until the next day, when the burning ruins fell into the river; and Entick observes, that he saw the drawbridge a-light at twelve o’clock at noon. All communication between the City and Southwark being thus suspended, excepting so far as it could be carried on by water, forty additional boats were licensed by the Lord Mayor to work as ferries on the three succeeding Sundays; though the inhabitants of Southwark suffered still greater privation from the destruction of the troughs which conveyed water to them over the Bridge whilst it was repairing, instead of the pipes which had been dug up from the water-works. The navigation was also equally interrupted by the vast timbers that fell across the arches, and the many large stones which almost blocked up the current of the tide; so that the locks at each end only remained entirely clear. As it was very generally suspected that this fire was not accidental, the Lord Mayor waited on Mr. Pitt by nine o’clock the next morning, by whom a Proclamation, dated Whitehall, April the 12th, was issued, containing the King’s Pardon to any of the incendiaries, excepting the person who actually set the Bridge on Fire; with a reward of £200 for hisdiscovery, from the Corporation of London. From the examinations of several persons, there appears to have been considerable grounds for this suspicion. The Watchmen and others in the vicinity, on both sides of the river, declared that about eleven o’clock they observed lights in several places under the Bridge; soon after which, the whole building burst into flames; and it was also reported, that about ten o’clock, on the night of the fire, several persons, apparently intoxicated, were seen coming over the Bridge, with a torch, which, in a struggle between themselves, was flung over the boarded fence, where the light disappeared, till all the timber beneath burst into flames. Another account, contained in the ‘London Chronicle, or Universal Evening Post,’ for April the 11th to the 13th, 1758, page 350, states, that the Watchmen actually saw ‘a person in a boat with a candle in a lanthorn, busy about the stone pier, which is to be taken down to lay two arches into one; and after a short time he was seen to extinguish the candle, and the boat went off, and in a few minutes after the Bridge burst out in flames, and continued so until there was no wood left above the water to burn.’ The deposition, also, of Mary, wife of John Dennis, of George Alley, Thames Street, taken before the Lord Mayor on April 14th, stated, that about ten o’clock on the night of the fire, she was in the Watch House belonging to Dyers’ Hall, near London Bridge, and, looking over the hatch of the door, she saw a lanthorn in the Chapel pier. Soon after, she observedanother, and then, losing sight of both, there presently appeared three in the same place. At first, she supposed that some vessel was at the Bridge, but the appearance of the second light shewed her that they were between the wood-work at the great pier; and when the three lanthorns were visible together, she observed that one was held up and another down towards the timbers. These lights she imagined to proceed from workmen, but in a short time she saw a small flame burst out on the same spot, which was damped, and then brake out again, and, after having been damped a second time, blazed very fiercely; upon which the deponent went to the next wharf, and gave notice that London Bridge was on fire. This testimony of Mrs. Dennis was confirmed by that of several other persons, who declared that they also saw the lanthorns. The City was indeed filled with rumours and suspicions of every description; the lower orders accused the Watermen and Lightermen; another class attributed the fire to the supporters of the new Bridge at Blackfriars; whilst a third party intimated that the scheme lay still deeper, and believed the design to have been long concerted. We know, indeed, that the Temporary Bridge was the object of many an imprecation from the common people, who might be tempted to fire it from the inconveniences which they experienced upon it; as in the Winter it was so excessively dirty, that some supposed the Committee had contrived it so to increase the toll, by obliging all passengers to cross it in carriages:whilst in dry weather it was no less incommoded by dust. The real origin of the fire, however, was never discovered; and Noorthouck observes, that as there were enough of natural causes to have produced it, so it is not probable that persons interested in obstructing the works or creating new ones, would have exposed themselves to detection for such an attempt. ‘In such a mixture of stone and wood,’ says he, ‘a heap of quicklime on the sterlings, accidentally wetted by the tide, might kindle any adjoining timbers: or, as it is usual for servants behind coaches, with flambeaux in their hands, to clear them by striking them on the hinder wheels, it is no forced supposition that some thoughtless fellow might have struck his flambeau on the pallisade of the Bridge for the same purpose; the flaming wax of which, dropping into some joint on the outside, would have been sufficient for such a disaster.’ A curious letter on this subject, from which I have added many particulars to my information, will be found in the ‘London Chronicle’ for April the 13th to the 15th, 1758, page 359. In consequence of this destruction, the Corporation of London addressed the Parliament for relief; and on Friday, April 21st, a resolution passed the House of Commons, that ‘a sum not exceeding £15,000 be granted to his Majesty, to be applied towards the rebuilding of London Bridge.’ This produced the Act to which I have already referred, which made any wilful attempt to destroy the Bridge or its works, to be death without benefit of clergy.London Bridge after the Fire of 1758presented a truly ruinous prospect; for nearly all the centre houses being removed, there appeared a wide vacancy, with a broken chasm in the middle, down to the water’s edge, where the new arch was being constructed. There are three engravings of this edifice taken immediately subsequent to the destruction, the rarest of which is an extremely slight and rude etching, on a small folio half-sheet, entitled ‘The Melancholy Prospect of London Bridge South-East, April 12th, 1758. J. Jump Del. et Sculp. Published according to Act. To be had at the Acorn in the Strand.’ In this most barbarous prospect the buildings are represented in flames; and I have seen it marked so high as 4s.I cannot imagine why Gough, in his ‘British Topography,’ volume i., page 735, calls the next of these engravings ‘a miserable view,’ since it is certainly as good as the generality of the prints of the period, and is very considerably better than the last. It consists of a large half-sheet, entitled ‘An Exact View of London Bridge since the Conflagration of the Temporary Bridge,’ which is a copper-plate of 8 inches by 13¼; and beneath it, in letter-press, is ‘A Chronological and Historical Account from the first building a Bridge across the River Thames from London to Southwark, till the late Conflagration of the Temporary Bridge, the 11th of April, 1758. Sold by William Herbert, under the Piazzas on the Remains of London Bridge. Price One Shilling, Plain. Colour’d, Eighteen Pence.’ The only additional information which we derive from this narrative, is, that‘as the wind providentially blew the whole time at East,—tho’ all the day before it had blown strong from the Southward,—it did no damage to any of the houses at either end.’ But by far the best representation of the effects of this fire, is a half-sheet copper-plate, entitled, in French and English, ‘A View of London Bridge, with the Ruins of yeTemporary Bridge, Drawn the day after the Dreadfull Fire, April the 11th, 1758, by A. Walker. Published according to Act of Parliament, June 28, 1758. London: Printed for John Ryall, at Hogarth’s Head in Fleet Street. A. Walker delin. et sculp.’ All these prospects were taken on the West side of the Bridge, and represent the building horizontally across the picture: Herbert’s extends from Fishmongers’ Hall to the Southwark Gate; but Anthony Walker’s takes in the whole Bridge, and part of the buildings on the Surrey shore.“Yet, if this fire were sudden, and its destruction extensive, the exertions of the City Corporation were not less prompt and effectual in repairing of the damage. The Common Council, like Bunyan’s Captains inMansoul, being always true lovers of London, like so many Samsons, shook themselves and came together to consult upon and contrive a remedy. The Court of Common Council met by one o’clock on the day after the fire, and was attended by Mr. Dance, Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Phillips, the builder of the Bridge, whom the Lord Mayor had previously ordered to survey it; and their report was, that with a proper number of workmen, who should be allowed to labour ondays, they would engage to make the old Bridge passable for carriages by the 1st of May. A new Temporary Bridge was ordered to be immediately erected, and upwards of 500 workmen were constantly employed upon it, by whose means, as it is stated in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for 1758, page 193, the Bridge was re-opened for foot-passengers, on Wednesday, the 19th of April; and the whole of the new wooden edifice was ready for carriages in less than a month after the fire. During the erection of this building, there seemed to be discovered an additional proof that the last conflagration was not accidental; for Daniel Capel, the Inspector of the Bridge, having been informed that Mary Dennis, before mentioned, and John Scott, one of the Bridge Watchmen, had seen lights about the new works at an unseasonable hour in the night of the 23rd of August, brought them to give their evidence before Mr. Alderman Francis Cokayne. The Inspector was then ordered to search if there were any appearance of fire, and make his report to the Lord Mayor; upon which he stated, that having carefully surveyed the Bridge with proper attendants, they found the appearance of an attempt in three places, where the new wood work was scorched quite black; and one of the Watchmen also produced the remains of a link found in the unfinished works of the Bridge. To prevent another conflagration, therefore, says Entick, in his ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 21, it was orderedthat two men, well armed, should be placed every night, from sun-set to sun-rise, in a gallery erected from end to end of the Temporary Bridge, just beneath the centre of the works, with lamps lighted, and a bell, to alarm the neighbourhood in case of an attack. This watch was continued under the direction of Mr. Capel, until the whole of the Temporary Bridge was taken down. Before this, however, as we are informed by ‘Owen’s Weekly Chronicle, or Universal Journal,’ for August 26th to September 2nd, 1758, page 173, five watermen, armed with blunderbusses and cutlasses, had watched for a fortnight, from ten at night until five in the morning, in a boat under the great Arch. The opening of the second wooden erection for carriages did not take place until Wednesday, the 18th of October, 1758, as we learn from ‘Owen’s Weekly Chronicle,’ October 14th to 21st, No. 29, page 230: on page 206 of a former number of which, the watch is particularly mentioned; and we are also told that there was a convenient pathway for foot-passengers, railed in and elevated above the carriage-road. Pages 183 and 198 of the same authority, shew that the edifice was strewed over with gravel above the planks; that on each side there were uprights for covering it; and that a month intervened between the gravelling and the opening of the Bridge. In consequence, too, of the recent attempt to destroy the New Bridge, this paper likewise informs us, page 238, that orderswere issued by the Lord Mayor, that no coaches nor foot-passengers should carry any lighted torches over the Temporary Bridge.“It was not, however, until the middle of the year 1759, that the new Arch of London Bridge began to assume its intended form; though we can trace its progress only by slight occasional notices contained in the periodicals of the day. Thus we learn from a paragraph in the ‘London Chronicle,’ of Saturday, July the 28th, 1759, page 88, that ‘the grand Arch at London Bridge is now completed. It is finished in the Gothick taste, and the ballustrades upon it are fixing. The foot-paths will be rather wider than those at Westminster; and it is proposed to fix posts along them with chains from one post to the other, to secure foot-passengers from any damage which might otherwise happen from cattle.’ The strength and complication of the timber used for forming this Arch, are particularly pointed out in an engraving and letter signed E. M., in ‘The London Magazine’ for that year, volume xxviii., page 672; where it is stated, that about 17,000 feet of wood were contained within the arch, which, at some little distance, appeared to be entirely solid, the vacant spaces being exceedingly small in proportion to the beams themselves. Its actual contents were 13,872 cubic feet of timber, forming the centre; and 3570 feet more occupied in booms, guard-piles, struts, and trusses required for the preservation of the old and new works, and for keeping off the River craft,tide-water, and ice. This alteration was carried into effect by Sir Robert Taylor, Architect to the Bank of England, and Mr. Dance, Senior; and the Carpenter employed for the construction of thisCentring of the Great Arch of London Bridge,received 2s.per foot for the use of his timber, including labour, and took it back again at his own expense. It measured 70 feet span, by 48 feet wide, and the rise was 23 feet; it was formed of 16 ribs or frames, and was supported on three Sterlings; namely, the two side ones of about 6 feet each, and that from which the Chapel pier had been removed. The author of the letter which I have referred to, censuring the extraordinary quantity of wood used in the centre, observes that it employed nearly 10,500 feet more than were used at Westminster Bridge; notwithstanding the Arch at London Bridge is 4¾ feet narrower and 12 feet lower, though theBridge itself is 4¾ feet wider. The author’s own plan, which is also annexed to the letter, more resembles that adopted by the late Mr. Rennie, in his alteration of Rochester Bridge, in the year 1821. It consisted of five radii, supporting as many timbers placed pentagonally; occupied only 7000 feet of timber, and would have amounted to £1000 less than the plan actually adopted.“Many months had not elapsed, however, when it was discovered, that, by the removal of the large centre pier, the excavations around and underneath its Sterlings were so considerable, as to place the adjoining piers, and even the new arch itself, in very imminent danger. The presentiments of many, and the apprehensions of almost all, were consequently so great, that but few persons would pass either over or under it; the Surveyors themselves were not prepared with any adequate remedy; and Mr. John Smeaton, the celebrated Engineer, was instantly summoned express from Yorkshire to relieve the difficulty. Having immediately proceeded to survey the Bridge, and to sound about the dangerous Sterlings, he advised the Corporation to buy back again the stones of the City Gates, and throw them into the water, to guard the Sterlings; preserve the bottom from farther corrosion; raise the floor under the Arch; and restore the head of the current required for the Water-works, to its original power. These City Gates, you will remember, had been previously sold and taken down, in 1760 and 61, as appears bythe ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for those years; volume xxx., pages 390, 440, 591, and volume xxxi., page 187: where we are informed, that on Wednesday, July 30th, were sold to Mr. Blagden, a Carpenter in Coleman Street, before the Commissioners of City Lands, the edifice of Aldgate for £177: 10s.; Cripplegate for £91; and Ludgate for £148. Two months were allowed for the removal of each, the latter being begun on Monday, August 4th, and Aldgate on Monday, September 1st. Bishopsgate was sold on Wednesday, December 10th; and on Wednesday, April 22, 1761, Moorgate was also sold for £166, and Aldersgate for £91. It was probably the materials of the first of these, which lay in Moorfields, when Mr. Smeaton advised their being thrown into the Thames: and with so much promptitude was that advice followed, that the stones were bought the same day; horses, carts, and barges were instantly procured, and the work commenced immediately, although it was Sunday morning. These particulars are related in the Life of this Engineer, attached to his ‘Reports made on various Occasions,’ volume i, London, 1812, quarto, page xix.“Whilst we are speaking of this alteration of London Bridge, it seems to be a proper place to say something of the massive features of our ancient edifice, and the oldest contrivances used for the support of Bridges in general. First, then, the Piers are said to be raised, so far as their nature can at present be known, upon rough piles of oak and elm,shod with iron, and driven very close, but apparently not fastened. Upon the heads of these are frequently found pieces of plank, chiefly oak, 4 to 6 inches in thickness; and the insides of the Piers are filled up with rubble laid in mortar. This kind of building is supposed to have been anciently used when the bed of the river could not be laid dry; and the stilts or piles were then surrounded by a row of other piles and planks, like a wall, called a Sterling or Jettee, the vacant spaces of which were filled with loose stones, &c. to the top. The inconveniences attending such a method are, however, so great, that it is now entirely disused: as, on account of the very loose composition of the Piers, they must be made both large and broad, to prevent their entire destruction upon drawing the centre of the Arch. This great breadth, also, very materially contracts the water-way, and incommodes navigation; whilst the Sterling itself is in considerable danger of bursting.”“But, Mr. Postern,” said I, as the Antiquary arrived at this part of his narrative, “although Maitland tells us, in his ‘History,’ volume i., page 46, and volume ii., page 1349, that the use of Coffer-dams, orCaissons, for building of the Piers of Bridges, was first introduced into the Thames at the erection of Westminster Bridge, yet it has been supposed that even this of London was constructed somewhat after the same plan; and that those Sterlings are but the upper parts of the machines themselves, left in the water to guard the Piers;though it is certain, that in most of the Reports, illustrative of the great repair of London Bridge, the Sterlings are mentioned as additions to the original structure for the support of the Piers. I have been obligingly furnished, however, with an interesting drawing, and extract from the MS. Journal of Mr. William Knight, of Mr. Rennie’s office, by which we are enabled to understand the construction of these parts of the Bridge in a much clearer and more perfect manner. Mr. Knight observes, that having received several different statements as to the way in which the Piers of the old London Bridge had been erected, he determined upon convincing himself by an actual survey. This he effected on August 14th, 1821, when an excavation was made for ascertaining whether the original structure would support new Arches of a larger span; and he then found it to be built in the following manner. ‘The foundation of the Piers on the North side,—between the Great Lock and what is called the Long Entry Lock,—and in the Sterling round it, appeared to be about 3 feet above low-water mark. The bottom of the masonry originally laid of the pier, is about 2 feet 3 inches above low-water mark; and the first course is laid upon a sill of oak, 16 inches wide, by 9 in thickness, and perfectly sound. Immediately beneath this is a mass of Kentish rubble, mixed with flint, chalk, &c., thrown in irregularly, but not mixed with any cement. The masonry above the sill seems well bonded together, with good mortar joints, but thereareno piles under the oak sill. The external parts of the pier seem to have been new-fronted at some period,—probably at the time when the centre Arch was formed in 1759,—as the base of this new fronting projects about 1 foot before the original Pier. There areno piles under the original part of the Pier; but to thenew part there are some small ones driven into the rubble,—which can be of little service,—with some planks laid upon their edges. The new masonry is well bonded into the old work.’ Mr. Knight concludes, by observing that, in all the accounts which he has hitherto met with, the old Piers of this Bridge are described tostand upon piles; but that, as he found this to be erroneous in the present instance, he considers it to be a fair conclusion that all the other Piers were constructed upon the same principle. His drawing represents aSection of the North Pier of the Great Arch of London Bridge,shewing the original manner of constructing it, and the Sterling, or ancient Coffer-dam, standing aroundit; which, it thus appears unquestionably evident that, not having the art to pump dry, was filled up with loose stones. The Arch on the right hand is denominated the Long Entry Lock, and that on the left is a part of the Great Arch in the centre. I should remark also, that Mr. Knight has examined several other parts of this edifice with no less care and industry, in order to ascertain the plans adopted at the famous alteration of London Bridge, of which we are now speaking; of all of which observations he has made interesting sketches and memoranda. He states that he has felt with his measuring rods the timber, &c., placed in the river to strengthen the piers of the Great Arch, and that his sounding leads have been broken by catching in it. In April, 1826, the opening of the roadway of London Bridge for throwing of two more Arches into one, to increase the water-way during the building of the New Bridge, also made a curious discovery of many of the more ancient parts of the original building. The crowns of the old Arches, observes Mr. Knight, were about 8 feet 6 inches from the present surface of the ground, which appeared to have been raised at different periods; and five several strata were evidently to be traced over the centre of the original Bridge, which was 20 feet in width. Immediately over the crowns of the Arches was a layer of fine gravel, about 20 inches in depth, perhaps the ancient roadway, as its upper surface had the appearance of being trodden down and dirty, when contrasted withthat beneath it. The next stratum consisted of mixed chalk and gravel; the third of made ground of various materials; the fourth, a thick layer of burnt wood, ruins, and black earth; and the last another bed of different substances, over which was the granite paving. The filling-in between the Arches was composed of chalk and mortar, of so hard a nature that it was taken out with great difficulty. With respect to the building itself, he observes, that the stone of which the Arches were formed consists of two courses: that of the soffits or flying ribs, being Merstham Fire-stone, and the course above very similar to the stone of Caen, or Normandy. In the additions, or casings, on each side of the original structure, Portland stone has been used, as well for the facing, as for the Arches; whilst the backing and filling-in, between the spandrils of the Arches, was composed of chalk and mortar; which latter was evidently of a very bad quality and carelessly applied. Indeed, the ashler facing had been so little attended to in the bonding of the work together, that it is surprising, with the great weight behind, the careless manner of throwing in the backing, and the slight nature of the facing itself, that the whole work has not been thrown outwards some time since. Having thus, Mr. Barnaby, added these curious observations to your narrative, I must once more entreat you to proceed.”“After making you my acknowledgments,” recommenced the Antiquary, “for the very curiousillustration you have now furnished; and before quitting the Great Arch of London Bridge, let me observe, that it contains the Trinity Standard of High Water, which is placed there for the benefit of persons erecting buildings on the banks of the Thames, and originally inscribed upon a metal plate, affixed under the Great Arch upon the North East side, as it may be seen beneath the centre Arch of Blackfriars Bridge. It is at present engraven in the centre of each Pier of the Great Arch, in black Roman letters, about 7½ feet above the springing line of the Arch, or 8½ feet over the sterling; and consists of the inscription,—Trinity.H. W.1800.Λthe character beneath being the average point of the ordinary rise of a Spring Tide at High Water, which, above Bridge, is 14½ feet or 15 feet, being 5 feet 3 inches above the Neap Tides. At high Spring Tides, however, it has risen 16 feet and upwards; and in that remarkable one combined with a land-flood on December 28th, 1821, it rose 2 feet, 10 inches, and five parts, above the mark below Bridge. From the official tidal observations of the Trinity Company, it has been ascertained, that, from Blackwall to LondonBridge, the High Water ascends to the same level; and that from the upper side of London Bridge to that of Westminster the River is likewise generally level, excepting under the influence of winds or land-floods. During that of 1821, to which I have just referred, the banks of the River, and the marshes and gardens above Westminster, were overflowed and damaged to a very considerable extent; which has been attributed to the obstruction offered by the present London Bridge to the passage of the water towards the sea, as we learn from the ‘Report of Ralph Walker, delivered into the House of Commons, 11th of April, 1823,’ octavo, page 9; where he states, that the tides below this edifice during the flood, rose only to the ordinary height, whilst at Low water the fall was increased by several feet. This celebrated fall is, of course, most evident at Low water, when it is about 4 feet 6 inches, or 6 feet in the Winter season; and the most hazardous time for passing through any of the Bridge Locks, is probably half an hour previous to, or, for barges, the last two hours before, Low water below Bridge. The safest time of the tide is at High water, or slack Low water: but boats may pass with safety for 2½ hours after flood, and the last half hour of the drain of the tide at ebb, above Bridge; the tide having then flowed nearly 4 feet below. Deeply laden barges also take the drain through at Low water. The Great Arch is doubtless one of the safest to pass under, and is always used by craft and barges; but before the erection of the New Bridgeworks, most of the other Locks were employed at the flood tide, when the fall is extremely trifling. When the tide is on the ebb, the Arches which are chiefly used for boats are, the Draw-Lock,—the 4th from the Great Arch,—on the South; and St. Mary’s Lock,—adjoining the Great Arch,—on the North, which is always taken on the first part of the ebb. The Long-Narrow, once a favourite Lock, is now nearly abandoned; but the Draw-Lock is perhaps considered the safest, and is the most generally used since the erection of the New Bridge Coffer-dams. The approach, however, is dangerous, and requires a skilful waterman, who is obliged to pull his boat into the draft or eddy of the dam before he can make the Lock. Though the works of the New Bridge have at present closed several of the Arches of the ancient edifice, yet the 4th and 5th Locks from the Southwark end have been thrown into one, with a strong wooden vaulting, parapet, and roadway above, to increase the water-way beneath. Since the commencement of these works, the fall of the river has also become less dangerous for barges, from the returning tide sooner meeting with resistance; and instead of a direct fall of 6 feet in 50, it is now only about 6½ feet in 250. The draft of the tide, however, round the Coffer-dams, makes it very difficult for lightermen to enter the Locks fairly; and some of the outer rows of piles are driven inwards from their barges being carried against them. In 1820 and 1822, the average fall at High water was only from 8 to 13 inches; and in 1823, after theremoval of the London Bridge Water-works, it decreased to between 3 and 4.“Mr. Barnaby! Mr. Barnaby!” exclaimed I, fretted by this long digression in the Antiquary’s narrative, “I protest you really put me out of all patience: there’s no keeping you to one subject; for the last of your annals referred to that most wearisome alteration and repair of London Bridge which began in 1757, and now you are bewildered in a discourse on the navigation and tides of the Thames! Truly, it’s intolerable!”“I am aware,” replied the placid Mr. Postern, whom there seemed to be actually no putting into a passion, “I am aware how much these observations serve to lengthen and interrupt our history; but still they are vastly important to its illustration. ‘Our life,’ says an interesting and romantic author, ‘cannot be like an Arabian manuscript, all flowers and gold,’ and neither can history be composed only of the facts which naturally belong to it. There must be various incidental notices, seemingly unconnected with it, which are at last found to combine with the story, and to render it much more intelligible; and if ever, Mr. Barbican, you publish these Chronicles of London Bridge, make my words both your defence and your apology. The fact is, I really am half unwilling to proceed to the close of the alterations of this edifice, because we have subsequently so few interesting particulars on record concerning it; and other events,—excepting the usual unhappy accidents beneath itsArches,—are almost entirely wanting. At the time of the formation of the Great Arch, it appears that the wooden Draw-Bridge was first taken away,—though it had then long ceased to be used,—and the present Stone Arch, entitled the Draw-Lock, about 30 feet in width, or 16 feet between the Sterlings, was erected instead of it. This we learn from the ‘Public Ledger,’ of Monday, January 28th, 1760, which states ‘that the centre of the new Draw-Lock Arch of London Bridge is struck; so that there is now a free passage for boats, &c.’ In this very Lock, however, only a few months afterwards, an accident occurred which might have almost proved fatal to the Bridge itself; and it is thus related in the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Monday, December 29th, 1760. ‘On Tuesday, a large old French ship, that was coming through the Draw-Lock at London Bridge, to be broken up above Bridge, stuck in the Lock, and still continues there, having done considerable damage to the same; and it is thought that she cannot now be got out, but must be broken up where she now lies.’ The same paper for Friday, January 9th, 1761, states, that ‘yesterday the workmen, who have been employed, for this fortnight past, in breaking up the large French ship that stuck in the Draw-Lock at London Bridge, as she was going up the river, endeavoured, on the strong flow of the tide, to get her through the Bridge, but could not effect it. This ship, it appears, was but 18 inches wider than the Lock.’ At length, however, in the same paper for Friday, January 30th,it was announced that ‘Yesterday the watermen cleared the Draw-Lock at London Bridge, of the large French ship that stuck there some weeks ago.’“The destruction of part of St. Magnus’ Church, by most authors attributed to the year 1759, but which actually took place in 1760, was the cause of a further improvement of the North-East end of London Bridge; by the opening of that arched passage beneath the Church Steeple, which the wisdom of Sir Christopher Wren had foreseen, and provided for, fifty-five years before. This destruction then, took place by a fire, which brake out between 9 and 10 o’clock, in the morning of Friday, April 18th, at the house of Messrs. Barrow and Reynolds, Oilmen, in Thames street, adjoining to the Church. It consumed seven dwelling-houses, all the warehouses on Fresh Wharf, with a considerable quantity of goods contained in them, and the roof of the Church itself; which, falling in, very much damaged the pews and altar-piece. The organ, the excellence of which we have already noticed, was taken away, but was considered to have received very serious injury in the removal. The whole of this destruction was estimated at £40,000; and it was occasioned, says Entick, in his ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 29, by the neglect of a servant, who was appointed to watch the boiling of some inflammatory substances, and who left his charge on the fire, whilst he went to see the famous Earl Ferrers returnfrom his trial and condemnation. Before he could get back, the whole shop was in flames. Some of these particulars you will also find recorded in the ‘Public Advertiser’ for Saturday, April 19th, 1760; and in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for that year, volume xxx., page 199. Before this fire, the main body of St. Magnus’ Church extended to the tower, which was originally about equal with the houses on London Bridge; but when they were taken away, the West end so greatly interfered with the foot-path, that it was proposed to take down so much of the building as enclosed the tower on each side, and to form a passage under the steeple by arches. This plan, however, does not appear to have been proposed, until after the Church had been repaired; because the first notice of it which we meet with, is in the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Monday, September 29th, 1760, in the following terms. ‘The workmen have paved a great part of the foot-path on the lower side of London Bridge; and the tower part of St. Magnus’ Church has been lately surveyed, in order to make some alteration in the lower part thereof, conducive to the convenience of the passage of the Bridge.’ The danger which was supposed to be attendant upon its alteration, was probably the cause of delay in its execution; but the surveyor who was employed, had the ingenuity to discover, that Sir Christopher, conceiving that such a convenience must be required at some future period, had contrived the arch on which the steeple stood, of such strength, that it was essential only toclear away the intermediate space to perfect the alteration. Still the work proceeded but slowly, since the next notice of it is contained in the ‘Public Advertiser’ for Wednesday, August 4th, 1762. ‘The North and West Porticoes adjoining to the tower of St. Magnus’ Church at London Bridge, are taking down, in order to form a passage to and from that building, through the spacious arch upon which the steeple is built; the South Portico is also down, which fronts the Bridge, and makes a very agreeable appearance; and the taking down of the West Portico, to compleat that useful work, is in great forwardness.’ It was yet, however, almost another twelvemonth before this improvement was perfected, as we learn by the following notice, from the last mentioned paper of Thursday, June 30th, 1763. ‘On Saturday last,—25th,—the foot-passage under the arch of St. Magnus’ steeple was opened; which, besides the convenience for foot-passengers, makes a very pretty appearance. A vestry, built of stone, is to be erected in the Church-yard, to front the new Toll-house, just erected at the corner of London Bridge.’ Before we finally part with St. Magnus’ Church, I must not forget to state, that Malcolm, in his ‘Londinum Redivivum,’ volume iv., page 31, observes,—though without citing his authority,—that‘in October, 1713, the Rector received an anonymous letter, which discovered a design of setting fire to London Bridge, for the purpose of plundering the inhabitants. The greatest precautions were adopted in consequence, and nothing uncommon occurred.’ I find, however, no notice of this letter in any of the periodical prints of the time.“In the mean time, the alterations of the Bridge itself were in continual progression; though all the buildings were not even yet removed, and the Temporary Bridge was still standing. The ‘Public Advertiser’ for Thursday, December 25th, 1760, states that ‘notice has been given to the people on the West side of London Bridge, to quit their premises by the 25th of March next.’ In the same paper, for Tuesday, February 3rd, 1761, an advertisement announces, that six houses on the West side of London Bridge, from the North end of the Temporary Bridge to the Toll House, were to be sold by auction at Guildhall, to be put up at £156: and in the paper for Wednesday, February 11th, we are informed that those houses were begun to be pulled down. In your notices, Mr. Barbican, of the tokens issued by the tradesmen of old London Bridge, you mentioned two who lived at the sign of the Bear, at the Bridge-foot, which, perhaps, was the building referred to in the following passage contained in the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Saturday, December 26th, 1761. ‘Thursday last, the workmen employed in pulling down the Bear Tavern at the foot of London Bridge, found several pieces of gold and silver coin of Queen Elizabeth, and other monies to a considerable value.’”“By no means unlikely,” replied I, “and I may also add, that at this period was probably removedthe house of the original manufacturer of Walkden’s Ink-powder, with which we are still familiar. We learn the situation of his dwelling by his Shop-bill, an impression of which is in the possession of Mr. Upcott of the London Institution, engraven on a copper plate, measuring 6¼ inches by 41⁄8. Within a double line, and beneath an ornamented compartment containing a Bell, is inscribed:—‘Richard Walkden, Stationer, at yeBell on London Bridge, near StMagnus Church, Makes and Sells all Sorts of Accomptants and Shopkeepers Books, yegreatest Variety of Paper-Hangings for Rooms, and all other Sorts of Stationary Wares, Wholesale or Retail at the Lowest Prices. Where may be had Bibles, Common Prayers, Testaments, Psalters, &c. N. B. He is also the Maker of the Fine British Ink-Powder, for making Black Writing Ink, wchis Universally Allowed to Excell all other whatsoever, yet made, and is of the greatest Convenience for Country Shopkeepers to make their own Ink, to Sell again, as Likewise for Merchants and Sea Captains who goe or Send Ventures to Sea, to whom great allowance will be given with printed Directions of its Excellence and Use. At the same place may be had yebest Liquid Ink, in its Greatest Perfection. Customers may Depend on being Serv’d as well by Letter as if present.’ I must also take this opportunity of mentioning another Shop-bill connected with this edifice, communicated to me by Henry Smedley, Esq.; and consisting of a copper-plate executed about the latter end of the 17th century, representinga circle surrounded by fruit and foliage, having two Cupids standing at the upper corners, and containing in the centre, two palm-branches, enclosing a Sceptre surmounted by a Heart. Round the whole are suspended lancets, trepans, saws, &c., and beneath the device is engraven, ‘Samvell Grover, at the Sceptre and heart on London bridge, who maketh all sorts of Chirugeons Instruments, the best sort of Razors, pen-knives, Scissers, and Lancetts: there are also the best Hoans, and fine Fish Skin Cases.’ You may remember, Mr. Postern, that one of my former Shop Bills was that of James Brooke, Stationer, ‘near the Square on London Bridge,’ This Square was formed in the first opening on the Bridge, above the 8th Arch from the North end, called St. Mary’s Lock. It was surrounded by massive iron rails, and Mr. J. T. Smith, in his ‘Antiquities of London,’ page 26, states, that when the houses were taken down, the iron-work was bought by several inhabitants of the Parish of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, and placed upon the dwarf wall on the Eastern side of the Church yard, where it is yet to be seen.”“I have again to offer you my thanks,” answered the Antiquary, “for your very curious andrecherchéillustrations; and we will now close up the year 1761 by stating, that we are informed by the ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 35, that on Monday, February 2nd, the tide flowed so short up the Thames, that at high-water there was not sufficient to cover the Sterlings; so that several persons waded over,both above, and a little below, the Bridge at low water. We may, I think, fairly consider the history ofOldLondon Bridge terminated at this place; since the alterations we have recently described, made its features almost such as we now behold them. I should not forget, however, that one of the last pieces of poetry connected with it, was written by the famous Anne Killegrew, celebrated by Dryden, and entitled ‘On my Aunt, Mrs. A. K. Drown’d under London Bridge in the Queen’s Bardge: Anno 1641.’ You will find it printed in Southey’s ‘Specimens of the later English Poets,’ London, 1807, Octavo, volume i., page 15.“As we are informed by the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Monday, June 7th, 1762, that the workmen had then begun to lay down the iron pipes, for the conveyance of water from London Bridge into the Borough, we may conclude that the stone-work of the edifice was then perfect; although from those pipes leaking between the stones, there arose a report that the new Bridge was falling to pieces, which was, some years after, the origin of a particular inquiry.“The destructive effects of some very high tides which happened early in 1763, are the principal events connected with London Bridge at that period; as the ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 48, informs us that, on Tuesday, February 15th, the tide rose to such a height in the River, that many parts of Westminster were overflowed; and, below London Bridge, the inhabitants of Tooley Street were obligedto keep to their upper rooms. In the ‘Public Advertiser’ of the following Thursday, it is stated that the damage done to goods in warehouses adjoining the Thames, was estimated at upwards of £20,000; the great land-floods having occasioned the water to rise higher than it had ever been known. That the Bridge itself was in some danger, may be inferred from the same paper of Wednesday, February 23rd, where it is recorded that ‘three engines are at work driving piles, for the security of the large Arch of London Bridge; some of the small ones, it is said, will be entirely stopt, to prevent the water from ebbing away too fast.’ It was probably this circumstance that was alluded to by Mylne, the Architect, in his Report to the Corporation of London, concerning a new grant to the Water-works, made in June, 1767; and which you will find in the ‘Public Advertiser’ for Friday, July 17th. He there states, that in the beginning of 1763, the first winter after taking up the Pier from under the Great Arch, when the other Arches were stopped up with ice, the whole force of the tide rushed so violently through it, as to tear up the bed of the river, and the Sterlings, being deprived of their support, gave way, and left the foundation-piles entirely exposed to the water. He adds, too, that only to repair this damage, the sum of £6800 was expended by the Bridge Committee. Mr. Smeaton’s answers on the best manner of enlarging and improving London Bridge, delivered on March 18th, 1763, may also be seen in the paper last referred to,for Monday, July 20th, 1767, and subsequent numbers. In the same journal of Tuesday, April 15th, 1763, it had been related, that ‘the water in the Thames rose so high on Sunday, that many houses on the Surrey shore were two or three feet deep in water; and at Lambeth, the long walk by the Bishop’s Palace was overflowed, and boats were employed in the town to carry people from house to house.’“Although the famous winter of 1766-67 continued with remarkable severity until January 16th, we find but few particulars of it connected with London Bridge; excepting that the ‘Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser’ for Monday, January 12th, states that several of its Arches were then stopped by the ice, and some accidents, which happened there, are recorded in the subsequent numbers of the same paper. In a notice of the proceedings of a Court of Common Council on Wednesday, July 30th, 1766, also contained in the ‘Gazetteer’ of the following Friday, it is stated that the Committee for conducting the recent repairs of London Bridge, made the last report of their works; in which they set forth, that they had executed the several trusts reposed in them by the Acts of Parliament which I have recited to you, and at the same time rendered an account of the money then owing for the alterations. Of these it is observed by John Gwynn, in his ‘London and Westminster Improved,’ London, 1766, quarto, page 120,Note, that they amounted to nearly £100,000, beside the materials of the houses, many of which were new. Headds, too, that the Bridge was rendered worse than it had been, by the exceeding rapidity of the stream under the Great Arch; and condemns both the appearance and effects of the Water-works. Of the remaining debt, then, the Court ordered that £3000 in the Chamberlain’s hands should be immediately paid; and that bonds should be given for the remainder, not exceeding £12,000, redeemable by the City, and bearing interest at 4 per cent. The Committee was then dissolved, and the concerns of London Bridge were again restored to that belonging to the Bridge-House Estates.“There seems, however, to have been but little satisfaction given by the extensive alterations and improvements of this edifice; for, at the very same Court, a petition for relief was presented from the Watermen’s Company, stating that the navigation through the Great Arch of London Bridge was very dangerous, from the two adjoining Arches on the North side being stopped up; and vessels being caught in the eddy it occasioned, received considerable damage before they could escape, which had sometimes occasioned the loss of life. It was soon discovered, too, that the iron pipes belonging to the Water-works, laid across the Bridge, had greatly injured the stone-work and crowns of the Arches, by frequent leaking; whilst the piers of the Great Arch were weakened, and the current of the tide was altered, by a new Arch being granted to the Water-works. These particulars are noticed in the ‘Gazetteer’ of Thursday,October 23rd, 1766; whilst in the ‘Public Advertiser’ for Tuesday, November 4th, and the former paper for Saturday, November 22nd, a report is mentioned of entirely removing both the Bridge and Water-works, and greatly improving the whole of their vicinity. In the ‘Gazetteer,’ too, for Friday and Monday, December 5th and 8th, the dirty and dusty state of the Bridge is mentioned as arising from total neglect of cleaning and watering it, though the usual advertisements for their performance were then publishing.“For the consideration and removal of these defects, a very fair opportunity was now offered; a Committee of the Proprietors of the Water-works having presented a petition to the Corporation, for renting, and erecting a wheel in, the 5th Arch at the North end of London Bridge, which had been referred to a Committee, to examine, and report upon. This petition was read at the Court of Common Council on Thursday, November 28th, 1765, as we learn by the ‘Public Advertiser’ of the following day; and you will find a copy of it in the same paper for Friday, July 3rd, 1767, forming part of a series of 13 official documents, on the subject, inserted in that journal down to Thursday, July 23rd, of the same year. I have already had occasion slightly to notice these proceedings, of which you may find several particulars in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for 1767, volume xxxvii., pages 337, 407; but I shall now give you some account of them fromthese more authentic sources, and close up my history of the Water-works with a short description of their mechanism, and final removal.“The petition alluded to, contains a curious historical outline of the Water-works at London Bridge, tracing their gradual extension from one to four of its Arches; the leases of all which were to terminate in the year 2082, being 500 years from the time when the original grant was made, the remainder taking only the unexpired term. The 1st and 2nd Northern Arches were let for 500 years, from November 24th, 1582, at 10s.per annum; and the 4th Arch, from August 24th, 1701, for 381¼ years, also at 10s.per annum, and a fine of £300. The lease of the 3rd Arch, however,—formerly stopped up and let to a Wharfinger,—did not commence until Michaelmas day, 1761, when it was granted for the term of 321 years, at the old rent; though the Proprietors of the Water-works had made proposals for it in 1731 and 1743, when it was unoccupied, the last tenant having quitted it at Lady-day, 1718. These leases were the more readily granted, as it was supposed that the Water-works were a protection to the Bridge and the vessels below it; whilst it was asserted that the Arches they occupied were but very seldom used, and the lessees covenanted to secure their engines by piles, as well as to keep the Piers and Sterlings built upon, in proper repair. Their fire-plugs, too, were to be under the direction of the Committee of City-Lands; the Works were not to rise higher than thecellars of the buildings on London Bridge; and houses in general, in the City and its liberties, were to be supplied with water at 20s.per annum. In petitioning for a fifth Arch, it was represented, that, notwithstanding the great expense incurred for the Water-works, the engine was yet inadequate to the furnishing at all times a sufficient supply of water. The wheels under the other four Arches would never act with the same velocity as they did before the late alteration of the Bridge; but as the 5th Arch stood nearer the central current of the River, the continual flowing of the tide would give the works additional power, without being any obstacle to the navigation. On the other hand, however, several counter-petitions were presented from the Wharfingers and Lightermen, stating the dangerous eddy at the Great Arch, arising from the closing of those Arches called the Long Entry and Chapel Locks, to give force to the current at the Water-works; and praying that they might be opened, the middle of the River kept free, or that two Arches at the South end might be closed instead of them. We have already seen, that these suits made but slow progress; and accordingly we find that the petition from the Water-works was first referred to a Sub-committee by the Committee of City-Lands, on Wednesday, December 4th, 1765; to the Committee itself on Friday, November 28th, 1766: and on Tuesday, December 16th, their Report was delivered to the Court of Common Council. Before these Committees, the Proprietors of the Water-worksappeared on Tuesday, October 21st, and Wednesday, November 19th, 1766; when the complaints of their pipes leaking, and the navigation being endangered, were stated, and remedies ordered to be provided. They were also asked, whether they would undertake, on forfeiture of their lease, ‘to keep their engine at work during the times of dead high and low-water, when their wheels lay still, provided they had leave to raise their tenants 1s.yearly for every house.’ To this they ultimately agreed, the additional rent being made 2s.; and to remedy the leakage of such pipes as lay across the Bridge for the supply of Southwark, it was proposed that they should be entirely removed, the first Arch on the Surrey side of the Bridge being stopped up, and a wheel erected in the second, 10s.per annumbeing paid for each, whilst the Long Entry and Chapel Locks were to be re-opened. Such then were the measures recommended in the Committee’s Report, as being without danger and of general benefit; but before they were acceded to, these particulars were ordered to be printed, and a copy sent to some of the most eminent Surveyors of the time, Messrs. Brindley, Smeaton, Yeoman, Mylne, and Wooler, whose answers were read to the Common Council, on Wednesday, February 25th, 1767. At the same time, too, as we are informed by the ‘Gazetteer’ of the day following, the Proprietors of the Water-works were heard upon the subject of their alterations, though the decision was referred to the next Court. The Engineers generallyagreed, that by opening the Long Entry and Chapel Locks, taking away the water-pipes upon the Bridge, erecting a wheel in the 5th Arch, and occupying the farthest two on the Surrey side, the edifice and navigation would be generally improved. Mr. Mylne, however, recommended that the 5th Arch should not be granted; but that so many Arches at the South end should be wholly stopped, as would be equal to compensate the Water-works for their loss by the Great Arch; adding, that the pipes were slowly, but certainly, ruining the Bridge; and that a Water-company, then established in Southwark, should be encouraged to supply the whole of the Borough. The Corporation, however, did not yet come to a decision, but on Friday, March 13th, 1767, the Town Clerk was again ordered to solicit the Engineers to re-consider the subject, and to point out the course most proper to be followed. The second series of answers, which was read at a Court of Common Council, on Tuesday, June 23rd, chiefly confirmed and referred to the former. Messrs. Wooler and Mylne were, however, decidedly against any new grants to the Water-works, of which they earnestly recommended the removal, as well as the opening of the closed-up Arches; proposing to substitute a horse, or fire, engine, on both sides of the river, or closing up three Arches on the Surrey shore. Mr. Yeoman also recommended the taking away of the Water-works; whilst Mr. Smeaton, considering that the bed of the Thames had become so unequal that itwould require several centuries to restore its level, argued that the stoppage of London Bridge was useful both to the Water-works and navigation in general, and that it remained only to employ the force of water in the most beneficial manner. By his Report the Corporation seems to have been determined; since the ‘Gazetteer’ of June 24th states, that Mr. Mylne was examined, and, after a long debate, the 5th Arch was granted to the Water-works, upon the conditions already mentioned: though there were, subsequently, several disputes on points of law, and particularly upon the power which the Corporation had to grant away the passage of a navigable river.“The ‘Gazetteer’ for Monday, Dec. 28th, 1767, informs us that the two Arches adjoining the South end of the Bridge were, at length, then stopped up, and wheels preparing to be erected in each of them; and on the 30th, most of the Locks at that part of the edifice were entirely closed by the ice. It was not, however, until the year 1770, as we are informed in Concannen’s ‘History of Southwark,’ page 233, that the Borough Water-works were perfected by the erection of a Steam-Engine; though a part of the machinery was originally erected on the River-banks for the supply of Mr. Thrale’s Brewery, when it was worked by horses. These works were then known by the name of their proprietor, which was afterwards changed for that of the Company which bought them: and an engine erected, wherein the pressure of the atmosphere acted upon the Steam-piston.“I proceed now, Mr. Barbican, to give you some account of the Water-works erected at the North end of London Bridge, which were considered to be far superior even to the celebrated hydraulics of Marli, in France. You are already aware, that the wheels beneath the Arches were turned by the common tide-water of the Thames; the axle-trees being 19 feet in length, and 3 in diameter, having 4 sets of arms, 8 in each place, on which were fixed 4 rings, or fellies, 20 feet in diameter, with 26 floats of 14 feet long, and 18 inches deep. The gudgeons, or centre-pins, of these wheels, rested upon brasses, fixed on 2 large levers 16 feet long, the tops of which were formed of arched timber, the levers being made circular on their lower sides to an arch, and kept in their places by 2 arching studs fixed in a stock, through 2 mortices in the lever. To the lower part of the arch on the lever, was fixed a strong triple chain, the links attached to circles of 1 foot in diameter, having notches or teeth, to take hold of the leaves of a cast-iron pinion, 10 inches in diameter, with 8 teeth in it, moving on an axis. The other end of this chain had a large weight hanging from it, to assist in counterpoising the wheel, and to preserve the chain from sliding on the pinion. On the same axis with the pinion, were 2 cog-wheels; one of 6 feet in diameter having 48 cogs, and another of 51 cogs, each working in a trundle of 6 rounds: on this axis there was also a winch, by which one man could raise or lower the wheels as occasion might require. Near the end of the great axle-tree, wasanother cog-wheel of 8 feet in diameter, and 44 cogs, working into a trundle of 20 rounds, 4½ feet in diameter; the axis of which was fixed in brasses at each end of the lever before mentioned, and communicated with iron cranks having 4 necks, each of which raised an iron spear attached to levers 24 feet in length. To the other ends were fastened iron rods and forcing-plugs, working in cast-iron cylinders 4¾ feet long, 7 inches in bore above, and 9 below, where the valves were. These cylinders were placed over a hollow trunk of cast-iron, with 4 valves in it, immediately beneath them; and as one end of the trunk was furnished with a sucking-pipe and grate going into the water, they were each filled alternately, and delivered their supplies through curved pipes into a second trunk, furnished with an iron pipe, through which the water was forced up to any height required. These were, however, only half the works; the whole of the mechanism being double to each wheel. The first wheel in the Arch next the City, worked 16 forcers; and in the third Arch were three wheels, one working 12, the second 8, and another 16 forcers. Their utmost power of raising water was estimated from four of the wheels, to be 2052 gallons per minute; 123,120 gallons—being equal to 1954 hogsheads—in an hour; or 46,896 hogsheads daily, to the height of 120 feet, including the waste, which might be considered as a fifth part of the whole. Every revolution of a wheel, made 2½ strokes in every minute in all the forcers, the wheels turning 6 times in a minuteat high-water, and 4½ times at middle water; and it was stated before a Committee of the House of Commons, that in the year 1820, these Works supplied 26,322,705 hogsheads of water. It is usual to give Dr. Desaguliers as the authority for these particulars, but I have abstracted them from the ‘Philosophical Transactions,’ already referred to; and they are also printed in Maitland’s ‘History,’ volume i., page 51, whence they have been copied into almost every subsequent account of London. After the grant of a fifth Arch to the Water-works, about July 1767, an improved wheel was designed by Mr. Smeaton, to be erected at that part; of which two engravings and several particulars, together with his remarks on the Water-engine, are inserted in the Second volume of his ‘Reports’ already cited, Plates ii.-iii., pages 27-30.“I have in my possession a large and curious old drawing, in colours, representing two elevations, and a ground-plan of these Works and the Water-Tower, executed before the grant of a fifth Arch, or the erection of wheels at the South end of the edifice, which is chiefly interesting, as shewing the courses of the main-pipes then attached to every wheel for conveying water to the various parts of London; which were connected and furnished in the following manner. Bishopsgate Main, supplied from the Wheels under the 3rd Arch, and Western end of the 4th, called ‘the Upper, and Borough Wheels:’ Cheapside Main, from those under the second and 3rd Arches, called the ‘Three-Ringed, and Low Wheels:’ Aldgate Main,from those under the 2nd Arch, and the Eastern end of the 4th, expressed by the same name: Fleet-street Main, from a small Wheel in the 1st Arch, and another at the Western end of the 4th, called ‘the Two-Ringed, and Borough Wheels:’ Newgate-street Main, from those in the 2nd Arch, and the Western end of the 4th, or ‘the Upper, and Three-Ringed Wheels:’ Broad-street Main, principally from ‘the Low-Wheel,’ under the 2nd Arch; though it also derived some water from that at the Western end of the 4th: Grace Church-street Main, from those in the 1st and 2nd Arches, or ‘the Two-Ringed, and Three-Ringed Wheels:’ Cannon-street Main, from ‘the Upper, and Borough Wheels,’ or those beneath the 3rd and 4th Arches: Thames-street Main, from a ‘Low Wheel’ at the Eastern end of the 4th Arch; and the Borough Main, from the proper Wheel, which was situate at its Western extremity, forming ten sets of main-pipes in all. At each end of the Bridge, round the Western-sides of the Water-works, were wooden platforms or galleries, occasionally decorated with plants and flowers; and immediately over the Wheels at the City end, were the work-shops belonging to them. Their history is now, however, fast drawing to a close: in March, 1817, the managers gave notice that they were about to rebuild their largest Water-wheel; but on July 26th, 1822, the third Year of King George IV., an Act was passed for their entire removal, with a view of improving London Bridge, or erecting a new one. You will, of course, find thisdocument in ‘The Statutes of the Realm,’ by John Raithby, Esq., volume viii., London, 1822, quarto, pages 1049-1054; it being chapter cix. of the ‘Local and Personal Acts declared public:’ and I shall now give you a slight idea of its contents. Having declared, that about 260 years of the original grants to the Water-works are yet unexpired, it is enacted that the Corporation of London shall raise £15,000 out of the Bridge-House Estates, for carrying the Act into effect; £10,000 of which should be paid to the Proprietors of the Water-works, for rendering void all their licences, and transferring all their machinery, buildings, &c. to the New-River Company, which Company was entitled to commence receiving rents and defraying expenses connected with the Water, from June 24th, 1822; and it was also licensed to procure leave from the Corporation, to cut the River-banks, &c. below low-water mark, not exceeding 100 feet from the East side of the present Bridge, for laying down pipes, &c., saving the City’s rights in the Thames; paying the sum of 20s.as a fine for so doing, and 20s.annually afterwards. Full powers were likewise granted, that the Company might lay down pipes in the streets, and over the Bridges of London; and that it might resign the supply of a part of a district to another party, and receive a recompence in return; adding that it should neither be compelled to continue the supply, nor be considered to have an exclusive right to it. Upon conclusion of the agreement, the Company was to remove the whole machinery,&c. within the six months following, which was otherwise to be taken up and sold by the Corporation. The New-River Company was also charged with the payment of certain annuities to the former Proprietors of the Water-works, for the remainder of their lease, as well as with the pensions due to their servants, &c. to be defrayed out of the rents received. Such, then, was the end of the London Bridge Water-works; and the only other remarkable event which I find recorded in the year 1767, connected with our edifice is, that on Saturday, November 28th, about 5 o’clock in the morning, the tide ebbed and flowed at this place, and at Greenwich, twice within an hour and a half; as you will find recorded both in the ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 71, and in the ‘Gazetteer’ for Wednesday, December 22nd.
“You are next to be informed then,” recommenced the Antiquary, “that we are told by the Rev. John Entick, in his ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 19, that the Committee appointed to repair London Bridge resolved to take down all the buildings and erections which stood upon it, of every kind whatsoever: to remove the great middle pier, and to lay the two adjoining locks into one, by turning an entire new arch, occupying the whole space: to add the depth of the removed houses to the width of the Bridge: and to secure both sides by a stone wall breast-high, surmounted by lofty ballustrades. To effect all this, it was essential to stop up the Bridge, and, at the same time, to provide a convenient passage to Southwark; on which, it was determined to construct a Temporary Bridge of Wood. This edifice consisted of stout unplaned oak timbers, to the amount of £2000; and it was erected on the sterlings in a curved form, on the Western side of the stone one, into which it opened at each end, extending from the water-works to about the fourth arch on the Surrey side of the river. The timber being taken back by the builder, his labour in erecting and removing it being compensated, and one penny per cube foot allowed him for the use of the materials. In Harrison’s ‘History of London,’ page 409, it is stated, that this temporary Bridge was opened in the month of October, 1757,when it was ‘found to be very convenient, not only for foot-passengers, but also for horsemen and carriages;’ but there are few notices to be found of it in the public prints of the period. By ‘Lloyd’s Evening Post and British Chronicle,’ however, a quarto newspaper of several leaves, then published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we are informed, in the paper for Wednesday, September 21st, page 219, that, ‘to-morrow they will begin to lay the first coat of gravel on the Temporary Bridge, so that it will be passable by the end of this month:’ and the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Saturday, October 22nd, thus fixes the time when the Bridge was actually finished. ‘Yesterday, the Committee appointed under the late Act of Parliament for the improvement of London Bridge, met and view’d the Temporary Bridge, and gave orders to have it open’d to-morrow morning for foot-passengers.’ The houses on the stone edifice, indeed, were already began to be removed; for, in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ for 1757, volume xxvii., page 91, it is stated, that on Tuesday, February 22nd, ‘three pots of money, silver and gold, of the coin of Queen Elizabeth, were found by the workmen in pulling down the houses on London Bridge.’ The whole of these buildings, however, were not entirely taken away until some years after this time; for in the ‘London Chronicle’ of Thursday, May 17th, 1759, the name of ‘William Herbert on London Bridge,’ occurs as one of the publishers of ‘The Lives of the Reformers.’ By the same paper, too, for Thursday, August the 14th,1760, page 161, we are informed, that ‘in pulling down the house called the Chapel-House, on London Bridge, there has been found this week a very antique marble font, &c. curiously engraved, and several ancient coins, &c. The stones used in the building of this structure were so strongly cemented with different kinds of mortar, and strong iron clamps, that the workmen found a most difficult task in the demolition of it, which is not yet completed.’ The Committee for altering London Bridge had, however, previously advertised for persons to carry their intentions into effect, to meet at Guildhall on the 1st of February, 1757; as may be seen in the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Monday, January 24th; and in the same authority for Monday, May the 2nd following, it is further stated, that Messrs. Blackden and Flight, the contractors for taking down and clearing away the houses on London Bridge, completed their engagement on the Saturday evening previously: and that from the commencement of their work, there had not occurred a single accident. The view of old London Bridge and its buildings by Scott, to which I have already referred, furnishes us with large and interesting prospects of several of the principal edifices which, after this period, were removed; and I may add, that in the x.th volume of Mr. Crowle’s Illustrated Pennant, there is an enlarged drawing of this picture, executed by John Varley, in colours, measuring 3 feet 9½ inches, by 1 foot 5¾; ruthlessly cut into three parts to fit the size of the book. In these views, one of the mostcurious objects is a prospect of theEastern Exterior of the Chapel of St. Thomas in 1757;a more particular engraving of which you will find in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ for 1753, volume xxiii., page 432. But few remains of the original structure were then perceptible on the outside of this building; though its form of a semi-hexagon might be traced, whilst the old pier of the Bridge, the basement standing on the sterling, and some of the pinnacles and buttresses of the Chapel, were discernible in the centre and at the sides. The greater part of it, however, was scarcely to be distinguished from the other houses, being covered with brickwork or boarding; whilst the Upper Chapel was converted into apartments, and the Lower one into the Paper Warehouse of Messrs. Gill and Wright, having a crane attached to it to take in goods from boats. In front of the Bridge pier, a square fish-pond wasformed in the sterling, into which the fish were carried by the tide, and then detained there by a wire-grating placed over it: and an ancient servant of London Bridge, now verging upon his hundredth summer, well remembers to have gone down through the Chapel to fish in this pond.
“You are next to be informed then,” recommenced the Antiquary, “that we are told by the Rev. John Entick, in his ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 19, that the Committee appointed to repair London Bridge resolved to take down all the buildings and erections which stood upon it, of every kind whatsoever: to remove the great middle pier, and to lay the two adjoining locks into one, by turning an entire new arch, occupying the whole space: to add the depth of the removed houses to the width of the Bridge: and to secure both sides by a stone wall breast-high, surmounted by lofty ballustrades. To effect all this, it was essential to stop up the Bridge, and, at the same time, to provide a convenient passage to Southwark; on which, it was determined to construct a Temporary Bridge of Wood. This edifice consisted of stout unplaned oak timbers, to the amount of £2000; and it was erected on the sterlings in a curved form, on the Western side of the stone one, into which it opened at each end, extending from the water-works to about the fourth arch on the Surrey side of the river. The timber being taken back by the builder, his labour in erecting and removing it being compensated, and one penny per cube foot allowed him for the use of the materials. In Harrison’s ‘History of London,’ page 409, it is stated, that this temporary Bridge was opened in the month of October, 1757,when it was ‘found to be very convenient, not only for foot-passengers, but also for horsemen and carriages;’ but there are few notices to be found of it in the public prints of the period. By ‘Lloyd’s Evening Post and British Chronicle,’ however, a quarto newspaper of several leaves, then published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we are informed, in the paper for Wednesday, September 21st, page 219, that, ‘to-morrow they will begin to lay the first coat of gravel on the Temporary Bridge, so that it will be passable by the end of this month:’ and the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Saturday, October 22nd, thus fixes the time when the Bridge was actually finished. ‘Yesterday, the Committee appointed under the late Act of Parliament for the improvement of London Bridge, met and view’d the Temporary Bridge, and gave orders to have it open’d to-morrow morning for foot-passengers.’ The houses on the stone edifice, indeed, were already began to be removed; for, in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ for 1757, volume xxvii., page 91, it is stated, that on Tuesday, February 22nd, ‘three pots of money, silver and gold, of the coin of Queen Elizabeth, were found by the workmen in pulling down the houses on London Bridge.’ The whole of these buildings, however, were not entirely taken away until some years after this time; for in the ‘London Chronicle’ of Thursday, May 17th, 1759, the name of ‘William Herbert on London Bridge,’ occurs as one of the publishers of ‘The Lives of the Reformers.’ By the same paper, too, for Thursday, August the 14th,1760, page 161, we are informed, that ‘in pulling down the house called the Chapel-House, on London Bridge, there has been found this week a very antique marble font, &c. curiously engraved, and several ancient coins, &c. The stones used in the building of this structure were so strongly cemented with different kinds of mortar, and strong iron clamps, that the workmen found a most difficult task in the demolition of it, which is not yet completed.’ The Committee for altering London Bridge had, however, previously advertised for persons to carry their intentions into effect, to meet at Guildhall on the 1st of February, 1757; as may be seen in the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Monday, January 24th; and in the same authority for Monday, May the 2nd following, it is further stated, that Messrs. Blackden and Flight, the contractors for taking down and clearing away the houses on London Bridge, completed their engagement on the Saturday evening previously: and that from the commencement of their work, there had not occurred a single accident. The view of old London Bridge and its buildings by Scott, to which I have already referred, furnishes us with large and interesting prospects of several of the principal edifices which, after this period, were removed; and I may add, that in the x.th volume of Mr. Crowle’s Illustrated Pennant, there is an enlarged drawing of this picture, executed by John Varley, in colours, measuring 3 feet 9½ inches, by 1 foot 5¾; ruthlessly cut into three parts to fit the size of the book. In these views, one of the mostcurious objects is a prospect of theEastern Exterior of the Chapel of St. Thomas in 1757;
a more particular engraving of which you will find in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ for 1753, volume xxiii., page 432. But few remains of the original structure were then perceptible on the outside of this building; though its form of a semi-hexagon might be traced, whilst the old pier of the Bridge, the basement standing on the sterling, and some of the pinnacles and buttresses of the Chapel, were discernible in the centre and at the sides. The greater part of it, however, was scarcely to be distinguished from the other houses, being covered with brickwork or boarding; whilst the Upper Chapel was converted into apartments, and the Lower one into the Paper Warehouse of Messrs. Gill and Wright, having a crane attached to it to take in goods from boats. In front of the Bridge pier, a square fish-pond wasformed in the sterling, into which the fish were carried by the tide, and then detained there by a wire-grating placed over it: and an ancient servant of London Bridge, now verging upon his hundredth summer, well remembers to have gone down through the Chapel to fish in this pond.
“The Nonesuch House on London Bridge in 1756,is also represented by Scott in a very dilapidated appearance, especially when contrasted with its splendourin the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; and, when it was taken down, was probably in the occupation of several persons in trade, or perhaps was shut up and allowed to fall into decay. One of the most picturesque and interesting objects in Scott’s View, is that group of buildings formed of theEastern Side of the Modern Southwark Gate and Towers,with the Second Gate beyond it; beneath which is a very perfect representation of one of the original arches, called the Rock Lock, and one of the old piers,whilst above is shewn the third of those open spaces guarded with iron rails, which alone varied the street-like character of old London Bridge, and indicated to its passengers that they were actually crossing a river. I know but of one engraving, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, which gives us any view directly up the Bridge-street; and even that is so slight, that were it not that I am unwilling to lose any fragment relating to old London Bridge, I should omit mentioning it altogether. You will find it, however, in that half-sheet copper-plate, after Antonio Canaletti, published in ‘Bowles’s Perspectives,’ entitled ‘The Monument of London in remembrance of the dreadfull Fire in 1666. Bowles delin. et sculp. Published according to Act of Parliament, 1752. Printed for John Bowles and Son, at the Black Horse in Cornhil.’ This prospect, then, being taken on Fish-Street-Hill, shews the Monument on the left hand, and the termination of the street in the first Northern gate of London Bridge, with some indication of the houses beyond it; though the whole view has certainly a far more spacious appearance, than this part of London ever possessed.
“The Nonesuch House on London Bridge in 1756,
is also represented by Scott in a very dilapidated appearance, especially when contrasted with its splendourin the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; and, when it was taken down, was probably in the occupation of several persons in trade, or perhaps was shut up and allowed to fall into decay. One of the most picturesque and interesting objects in Scott’s View, is that group of buildings formed of theEastern Side of the Modern Southwark Gate and Towers,
with the Second Gate beyond it; beneath which is a very perfect representation of one of the original arches, called the Rock Lock, and one of the old piers,whilst above is shewn the third of those open spaces guarded with iron rails, which alone varied the street-like character of old London Bridge, and indicated to its passengers that they were actually crossing a river. I know but of one engraving, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, which gives us any view directly up the Bridge-street; and even that is so slight, that were it not that I am unwilling to lose any fragment relating to old London Bridge, I should omit mentioning it altogether. You will find it, however, in that half-sheet copper-plate, after Antonio Canaletti, published in ‘Bowles’s Perspectives,’ entitled ‘The Monument of London in remembrance of the dreadfull Fire in 1666. Bowles delin. et sculp. Published according to Act of Parliament, 1752. Printed for John Bowles and Son, at the Black Horse in Cornhil.’ This prospect, then, being taken on Fish-Street-Hill, shews the Monument on the left hand, and the termination of the street in the first Northern gate of London Bridge, with some indication of the houses beyond it; though the whole view has certainly a far more spacious appearance, than this part of London ever possessed.
“Before I close my notices of the year 1757, I have to observe, from the printed document I have so frequently quoted, that from 1639 until this time, ‘no addition of salary was paid to the Bridge-Masters, nor any other allowance; but when the houses were taken down on London Bridge, the sum of £10 per annum was ordered to be paid to each of the Bridge-Masters, in lieu of fees, &c. arising from the saidhouses. Order of the Committee made May 4, 1757. And also when certain warehouses were taken away, and laid into the Bridge-House, the annual sum of £6. 10s.was ordered to be paid in lieu of the said warehouses to the Senior Bridge-Master. And after the Bridge was finished, lighted, and watched, one of the Bridge-Masters was ordered to superintend the Watchman on the said Bridge, and in the Bridge-Yard, for which he received the sum of £12 by order of the Committee. The whole Income of the Senior Bridge-Master at the present time (1786) £100. 10s.Rental at Christmas 1785, £8280. 1s.4d.
“So terminates this very curious document, which has furnished so many authentic particulars of the Bridge accounts at different periods, shewing its increasing prosperity and revenues, between the times of Edward the Fourth, and those of George the Third.
“Whilst the alteration of London Bridge was being carried rapidly into effect, in the early part of the year 1758, an event occurred, which not only destroyed some portion of the building itself, but alsonearly the whole of the works surrounding it. This was the fatalFire on the Temporary Bridge,which burst out about eleven o’clock, in the night of Tuesday, April 11th, as it is related in Entick’s ‘Continuation of Maitland,’ page 20; in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ volume xxviii., page 192; in John Noorthouck’s ‘History of London,’ 1773, quarto, page 390; and in Harrison’s ‘History of London,’ page 410, where there is an engraving of the fire, probably by Wale, after a drawing by Grignion. From these accounts, we learn that the conflagration brake out suddenly from the two ends of the Wooden Bridge, which, havingbeen dried by several days of bright sunshine, appeared instantly to be in flames, entirely preventing any approach to suppress it. Though Sir Charles Asgill, the Lord Mayor, came very early to the spot, and remained there almost the whole time of the fire, exerting himself exceedingly to stop its progress, it continued raging until the next day, when the burning ruins fell into the river; and Entick observes, that he saw the drawbridge a-light at twelve o’clock at noon. All communication between the City and Southwark being thus suspended, excepting so far as it could be carried on by water, forty additional boats were licensed by the Lord Mayor to work as ferries on the three succeeding Sundays; though the inhabitants of Southwark suffered still greater privation from the destruction of the troughs which conveyed water to them over the Bridge whilst it was repairing, instead of the pipes which had been dug up from the water-works. The navigation was also equally interrupted by the vast timbers that fell across the arches, and the many large stones which almost blocked up the current of the tide; so that the locks at each end only remained entirely clear. As it was very generally suspected that this fire was not accidental, the Lord Mayor waited on Mr. Pitt by nine o’clock the next morning, by whom a Proclamation, dated Whitehall, April the 12th, was issued, containing the King’s Pardon to any of the incendiaries, excepting the person who actually set the Bridge on Fire; with a reward of £200 for hisdiscovery, from the Corporation of London. From the examinations of several persons, there appears to have been considerable grounds for this suspicion. The Watchmen and others in the vicinity, on both sides of the river, declared that about eleven o’clock they observed lights in several places under the Bridge; soon after which, the whole building burst into flames; and it was also reported, that about ten o’clock, on the night of the fire, several persons, apparently intoxicated, were seen coming over the Bridge, with a torch, which, in a struggle between themselves, was flung over the boarded fence, where the light disappeared, till all the timber beneath burst into flames. Another account, contained in the ‘London Chronicle, or Universal Evening Post,’ for April the 11th to the 13th, 1758, page 350, states, that the Watchmen actually saw ‘a person in a boat with a candle in a lanthorn, busy about the stone pier, which is to be taken down to lay two arches into one; and after a short time he was seen to extinguish the candle, and the boat went off, and in a few minutes after the Bridge burst out in flames, and continued so until there was no wood left above the water to burn.’ The deposition, also, of Mary, wife of John Dennis, of George Alley, Thames Street, taken before the Lord Mayor on April 14th, stated, that about ten o’clock on the night of the fire, she was in the Watch House belonging to Dyers’ Hall, near London Bridge, and, looking over the hatch of the door, she saw a lanthorn in the Chapel pier. Soon after, she observedanother, and then, losing sight of both, there presently appeared three in the same place. At first, she supposed that some vessel was at the Bridge, but the appearance of the second light shewed her that they were between the wood-work at the great pier; and when the three lanthorns were visible together, she observed that one was held up and another down towards the timbers. These lights she imagined to proceed from workmen, but in a short time she saw a small flame burst out on the same spot, which was damped, and then brake out again, and, after having been damped a second time, blazed very fiercely; upon which the deponent went to the next wharf, and gave notice that London Bridge was on fire. This testimony of Mrs. Dennis was confirmed by that of several other persons, who declared that they also saw the lanthorns. The City was indeed filled with rumours and suspicions of every description; the lower orders accused the Watermen and Lightermen; another class attributed the fire to the supporters of the new Bridge at Blackfriars; whilst a third party intimated that the scheme lay still deeper, and believed the design to have been long concerted. We know, indeed, that the Temporary Bridge was the object of many an imprecation from the common people, who might be tempted to fire it from the inconveniences which they experienced upon it; as in the Winter it was so excessively dirty, that some supposed the Committee had contrived it so to increase the toll, by obliging all passengers to cross it in carriages:whilst in dry weather it was no less incommoded by dust. The real origin of the fire, however, was never discovered; and Noorthouck observes, that as there were enough of natural causes to have produced it, so it is not probable that persons interested in obstructing the works or creating new ones, would have exposed themselves to detection for such an attempt. ‘In such a mixture of stone and wood,’ says he, ‘a heap of quicklime on the sterlings, accidentally wetted by the tide, might kindle any adjoining timbers: or, as it is usual for servants behind coaches, with flambeaux in their hands, to clear them by striking them on the hinder wheels, it is no forced supposition that some thoughtless fellow might have struck his flambeau on the pallisade of the Bridge for the same purpose; the flaming wax of which, dropping into some joint on the outside, would have been sufficient for such a disaster.’ A curious letter on this subject, from which I have added many particulars to my information, will be found in the ‘London Chronicle’ for April the 13th to the 15th, 1758, page 359. In consequence of this destruction, the Corporation of London addressed the Parliament for relief; and on Friday, April 21st, a resolution passed the House of Commons, that ‘a sum not exceeding £15,000 be granted to his Majesty, to be applied towards the rebuilding of London Bridge.’ This produced the Act to which I have already referred, which made any wilful attempt to destroy the Bridge or its works, to be death without benefit of clergy.
“Whilst the alteration of London Bridge was being carried rapidly into effect, in the early part of the year 1758, an event occurred, which not only destroyed some portion of the building itself, but alsonearly the whole of the works surrounding it. This was the fatalFire on the Temporary Bridge,
which burst out about eleven o’clock, in the night of Tuesday, April 11th, as it is related in Entick’s ‘Continuation of Maitland,’ page 20; in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ volume xxviii., page 192; in John Noorthouck’s ‘History of London,’ 1773, quarto, page 390; and in Harrison’s ‘History of London,’ page 410, where there is an engraving of the fire, probably by Wale, after a drawing by Grignion. From these accounts, we learn that the conflagration brake out suddenly from the two ends of the Wooden Bridge, which, havingbeen dried by several days of bright sunshine, appeared instantly to be in flames, entirely preventing any approach to suppress it. Though Sir Charles Asgill, the Lord Mayor, came very early to the spot, and remained there almost the whole time of the fire, exerting himself exceedingly to stop its progress, it continued raging until the next day, when the burning ruins fell into the river; and Entick observes, that he saw the drawbridge a-light at twelve o’clock at noon. All communication between the City and Southwark being thus suspended, excepting so far as it could be carried on by water, forty additional boats were licensed by the Lord Mayor to work as ferries on the three succeeding Sundays; though the inhabitants of Southwark suffered still greater privation from the destruction of the troughs which conveyed water to them over the Bridge whilst it was repairing, instead of the pipes which had been dug up from the water-works. The navigation was also equally interrupted by the vast timbers that fell across the arches, and the many large stones which almost blocked up the current of the tide; so that the locks at each end only remained entirely clear. As it was very generally suspected that this fire was not accidental, the Lord Mayor waited on Mr. Pitt by nine o’clock the next morning, by whom a Proclamation, dated Whitehall, April the 12th, was issued, containing the King’s Pardon to any of the incendiaries, excepting the person who actually set the Bridge on Fire; with a reward of £200 for hisdiscovery, from the Corporation of London. From the examinations of several persons, there appears to have been considerable grounds for this suspicion. The Watchmen and others in the vicinity, on both sides of the river, declared that about eleven o’clock they observed lights in several places under the Bridge; soon after which, the whole building burst into flames; and it was also reported, that about ten o’clock, on the night of the fire, several persons, apparently intoxicated, were seen coming over the Bridge, with a torch, which, in a struggle between themselves, was flung over the boarded fence, where the light disappeared, till all the timber beneath burst into flames. Another account, contained in the ‘London Chronicle, or Universal Evening Post,’ for April the 11th to the 13th, 1758, page 350, states, that the Watchmen actually saw ‘a person in a boat with a candle in a lanthorn, busy about the stone pier, which is to be taken down to lay two arches into one; and after a short time he was seen to extinguish the candle, and the boat went off, and in a few minutes after the Bridge burst out in flames, and continued so until there was no wood left above the water to burn.’ The deposition, also, of Mary, wife of John Dennis, of George Alley, Thames Street, taken before the Lord Mayor on April 14th, stated, that about ten o’clock on the night of the fire, she was in the Watch House belonging to Dyers’ Hall, near London Bridge, and, looking over the hatch of the door, she saw a lanthorn in the Chapel pier. Soon after, she observedanother, and then, losing sight of both, there presently appeared three in the same place. At first, she supposed that some vessel was at the Bridge, but the appearance of the second light shewed her that they were between the wood-work at the great pier; and when the three lanthorns were visible together, she observed that one was held up and another down towards the timbers. These lights she imagined to proceed from workmen, but in a short time she saw a small flame burst out on the same spot, which was damped, and then brake out again, and, after having been damped a second time, blazed very fiercely; upon which the deponent went to the next wharf, and gave notice that London Bridge was on fire. This testimony of Mrs. Dennis was confirmed by that of several other persons, who declared that they also saw the lanthorns. The City was indeed filled with rumours and suspicions of every description; the lower orders accused the Watermen and Lightermen; another class attributed the fire to the supporters of the new Bridge at Blackfriars; whilst a third party intimated that the scheme lay still deeper, and believed the design to have been long concerted. We know, indeed, that the Temporary Bridge was the object of many an imprecation from the common people, who might be tempted to fire it from the inconveniences which they experienced upon it; as in the Winter it was so excessively dirty, that some supposed the Committee had contrived it so to increase the toll, by obliging all passengers to cross it in carriages:whilst in dry weather it was no less incommoded by dust. The real origin of the fire, however, was never discovered; and Noorthouck observes, that as there were enough of natural causes to have produced it, so it is not probable that persons interested in obstructing the works or creating new ones, would have exposed themselves to detection for such an attempt. ‘In such a mixture of stone and wood,’ says he, ‘a heap of quicklime on the sterlings, accidentally wetted by the tide, might kindle any adjoining timbers: or, as it is usual for servants behind coaches, with flambeaux in their hands, to clear them by striking them on the hinder wheels, it is no forced supposition that some thoughtless fellow might have struck his flambeau on the pallisade of the Bridge for the same purpose; the flaming wax of which, dropping into some joint on the outside, would have been sufficient for such a disaster.’ A curious letter on this subject, from which I have added many particulars to my information, will be found in the ‘London Chronicle’ for April the 13th to the 15th, 1758, page 359. In consequence of this destruction, the Corporation of London addressed the Parliament for relief; and on Friday, April 21st, a resolution passed the House of Commons, that ‘a sum not exceeding £15,000 be granted to his Majesty, to be applied towards the rebuilding of London Bridge.’ This produced the Act to which I have already referred, which made any wilful attempt to destroy the Bridge or its works, to be death without benefit of clergy.
London Bridge after the Fire of 1758presented a truly ruinous prospect; for nearly all the centre houses being removed, there appeared a wide vacancy, with a broken chasm in the middle, down to the water’s edge, where the new arch was being constructed. There are three engravings of this edifice taken immediately subsequent to the destruction, the rarest of which is an extremely slight and rude etching, on a small folio half-sheet, entitled ‘The Melancholy Prospect of London Bridge South-East, April 12th, 1758. J. Jump Del. et Sculp. Published according to Act. To be had at the Acorn in the Strand.’ In this most barbarous prospect the buildings are represented in flames; and I have seen it marked so high as 4s.I cannot imagine why Gough, in his ‘British Topography,’ volume i., page 735, calls the next of these engravings ‘a miserable view,’ since it is certainly as good as the generality of the prints of the period, and is very considerably better than the last. It consists of a large half-sheet, entitled ‘An Exact View of London Bridge since the Conflagration of the Temporary Bridge,’ which is a copper-plate of 8 inches by 13¼; and beneath it, in letter-press, is ‘A Chronological and Historical Account from the first building a Bridge across the River Thames from London to Southwark, till the late Conflagration of the Temporary Bridge, the 11th of April, 1758. Sold by William Herbert, under the Piazzas on the Remains of London Bridge. Price One Shilling, Plain. Colour’d, Eighteen Pence.’ The only additional information which we derive from this narrative, is, that‘as the wind providentially blew the whole time at East,—tho’ all the day before it had blown strong from the Southward,—it did no damage to any of the houses at either end.’ But by far the best representation of the effects of this fire, is a half-sheet copper-plate, entitled, in French and English, ‘A View of London Bridge, with the Ruins of yeTemporary Bridge, Drawn the day after the Dreadfull Fire, April the 11th, 1758, by A. Walker. Published according to Act of Parliament, June 28, 1758. London: Printed for John Ryall, at Hogarth’s Head in Fleet Street. A. Walker delin. et sculp.’ All these prospects were taken on the West side of the Bridge, and represent the building horizontally across the picture: Herbert’s extends from Fishmongers’ Hall to the Southwark Gate; but Anthony Walker’s takes in the whole Bridge, and part of the buildings on the Surrey shore.
London Bridge after the Fire of 1758
presented a truly ruinous prospect; for nearly all the centre houses being removed, there appeared a wide vacancy, with a broken chasm in the middle, down to the water’s edge, where the new arch was being constructed. There are three engravings of this edifice taken immediately subsequent to the destruction, the rarest of which is an extremely slight and rude etching, on a small folio half-sheet, entitled ‘The Melancholy Prospect of London Bridge South-East, April 12th, 1758. J. Jump Del. et Sculp. Published according to Act. To be had at the Acorn in the Strand.’ In this most barbarous prospect the buildings are represented in flames; and I have seen it marked so high as 4s.I cannot imagine why Gough, in his ‘British Topography,’ volume i., page 735, calls the next of these engravings ‘a miserable view,’ since it is certainly as good as the generality of the prints of the period, and is very considerably better than the last. It consists of a large half-sheet, entitled ‘An Exact View of London Bridge since the Conflagration of the Temporary Bridge,’ which is a copper-plate of 8 inches by 13¼; and beneath it, in letter-press, is ‘A Chronological and Historical Account from the first building a Bridge across the River Thames from London to Southwark, till the late Conflagration of the Temporary Bridge, the 11th of April, 1758. Sold by William Herbert, under the Piazzas on the Remains of London Bridge. Price One Shilling, Plain. Colour’d, Eighteen Pence.’ The only additional information which we derive from this narrative, is, that‘as the wind providentially blew the whole time at East,—tho’ all the day before it had blown strong from the Southward,—it did no damage to any of the houses at either end.’ But by far the best representation of the effects of this fire, is a half-sheet copper-plate, entitled, in French and English, ‘A View of London Bridge, with the Ruins of yeTemporary Bridge, Drawn the day after the Dreadfull Fire, April the 11th, 1758, by A. Walker. Published according to Act of Parliament, June 28, 1758. London: Printed for John Ryall, at Hogarth’s Head in Fleet Street. A. Walker delin. et sculp.’ All these prospects were taken on the West side of the Bridge, and represent the building horizontally across the picture: Herbert’s extends from Fishmongers’ Hall to the Southwark Gate; but Anthony Walker’s takes in the whole Bridge, and part of the buildings on the Surrey shore.
“Yet, if this fire were sudden, and its destruction extensive, the exertions of the City Corporation were not less prompt and effectual in repairing of the damage. The Common Council, like Bunyan’s Captains inMansoul, being always true lovers of London, like so many Samsons, shook themselves and came together to consult upon and contrive a remedy. The Court of Common Council met by one o’clock on the day after the fire, and was attended by Mr. Dance, Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Phillips, the builder of the Bridge, whom the Lord Mayor had previously ordered to survey it; and their report was, that with a proper number of workmen, who should be allowed to labour ondays, they would engage to make the old Bridge passable for carriages by the 1st of May. A new Temporary Bridge was ordered to be immediately erected, and upwards of 500 workmen were constantly employed upon it, by whose means, as it is stated in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for 1758, page 193, the Bridge was re-opened for foot-passengers, on Wednesday, the 19th of April; and the whole of the new wooden edifice was ready for carriages in less than a month after the fire. During the erection of this building, there seemed to be discovered an additional proof that the last conflagration was not accidental; for Daniel Capel, the Inspector of the Bridge, having been informed that Mary Dennis, before mentioned, and John Scott, one of the Bridge Watchmen, had seen lights about the new works at an unseasonable hour in the night of the 23rd of August, brought them to give their evidence before Mr. Alderman Francis Cokayne. The Inspector was then ordered to search if there were any appearance of fire, and make his report to the Lord Mayor; upon which he stated, that having carefully surveyed the Bridge with proper attendants, they found the appearance of an attempt in three places, where the new wood work was scorched quite black; and one of the Watchmen also produced the remains of a link found in the unfinished works of the Bridge. To prevent another conflagration, therefore, says Entick, in his ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 21, it was orderedthat two men, well armed, should be placed every night, from sun-set to sun-rise, in a gallery erected from end to end of the Temporary Bridge, just beneath the centre of the works, with lamps lighted, and a bell, to alarm the neighbourhood in case of an attack. This watch was continued under the direction of Mr. Capel, until the whole of the Temporary Bridge was taken down. Before this, however, as we are informed by ‘Owen’s Weekly Chronicle, or Universal Journal,’ for August 26th to September 2nd, 1758, page 173, five watermen, armed with blunderbusses and cutlasses, had watched for a fortnight, from ten at night until five in the morning, in a boat under the great Arch. The opening of the second wooden erection for carriages did not take place until Wednesday, the 18th of October, 1758, as we learn from ‘Owen’s Weekly Chronicle,’ October 14th to 21st, No. 29, page 230: on page 206 of a former number of which, the watch is particularly mentioned; and we are also told that there was a convenient pathway for foot-passengers, railed in and elevated above the carriage-road. Pages 183 and 198 of the same authority, shew that the edifice was strewed over with gravel above the planks; that on each side there were uprights for covering it; and that a month intervened between the gravelling and the opening of the Bridge. In consequence, too, of the recent attempt to destroy the New Bridge, this paper likewise informs us, page 238, that orderswere issued by the Lord Mayor, that no coaches nor foot-passengers should carry any lighted torches over the Temporary Bridge.
“It was not, however, until the middle of the year 1759, that the new Arch of London Bridge began to assume its intended form; though we can trace its progress only by slight occasional notices contained in the periodicals of the day. Thus we learn from a paragraph in the ‘London Chronicle,’ of Saturday, July the 28th, 1759, page 88, that ‘the grand Arch at London Bridge is now completed. It is finished in the Gothick taste, and the ballustrades upon it are fixing. The foot-paths will be rather wider than those at Westminster; and it is proposed to fix posts along them with chains from one post to the other, to secure foot-passengers from any damage which might otherwise happen from cattle.’ The strength and complication of the timber used for forming this Arch, are particularly pointed out in an engraving and letter signed E. M., in ‘The London Magazine’ for that year, volume xxviii., page 672; where it is stated, that about 17,000 feet of wood were contained within the arch, which, at some little distance, appeared to be entirely solid, the vacant spaces being exceedingly small in proportion to the beams themselves. Its actual contents were 13,872 cubic feet of timber, forming the centre; and 3570 feet more occupied in booms, guard-piles, struts, and trusses required for the preservation of the old and new works, and for keeping off the River craft,tide-water, and ice. This alteration was carried into effect by Sir Robert Taylor, Architect to the Bank of England, and Mr. Dance, Senior; and the Carpenter employed for the construction of thisCentring of the Great Arch of London Bridge,received 2s.per foot for the use of his timber, including labour, and took it back again at his own expense. It measured 70 feet span, by 48 feet wide, and the rise was 23 feet; it was formed of 16 ribs or frames, and was supported on three Sterlings; namely, the two side ones of about 6 feet each, and that from which the Chapel pier had been removed. The author of the letter which I have referred to, censuring the extraordinary quantity of wood used in the centre, observes that it employed nearly 10,500 feet more than were used at Westminster Bridge; notwithstanding the Arch at London Bridge is 4¾ feet narrower and 12 feet lower, though theBridge itself is 4¾ feet wider. The author’s own plan, which is also annexed to the letter, more resembles that adopted by the late Mr. Rennie, in his alteration of Rochester Bridge, in the year 1821. It consisted of five radii, supporting as many timbers placed pentagonally; occupied only 7000 feet of timber, and would have amounted to £1000 less than the plan actually adopted.
“It was not, however, until the middle of the year 1759, that the new Arch of London Bridge began to assume its intended form; though we can trace its progress only by slight occasional notices contained in the periodicals of the day. Thus we learn from a paragraph in the ‘London Chronicle,’ of Saturday, July the 28th, 1759, page 88, that ‘the grand Arch at London Bridge is now completed. It is finished in the Gothick taste, and the ballustrades upon it are fixing. The foot-paths will be rather wider than those at Westminster; and it is proposed to fix posts along them with chains from one post to the other, to secure foot-passengers from any damage which might otherwise happen from cattle.’ The strength and complication of the timber used for forming this Arch, are particularly pointed out in an engraving and letter signed E. M., in ‘The London Magazine’ for that year, volume xxviii., page 672; where it is stated, that about 17,000 feet of wood were contained within the arch, which, at some little distance, appeared to be entirely solid, the vacant spaces being exceedingly small in proportion to the beams themselves. Its actual contents were 13,872 cubic feet of timber, forming the centre; and 3570 feet more occupied in booms, guard-piles, struts, and trusses required for the preservation of the old and new works, and for keeping off the River craft,tide-water, and ice. This alteration was carried into effect by Sir Robert Taylor, Architect to the Bank of England, and Mr. Dance, Senior; and the Carpenter employed for the construction of thisCentring of the Great Arch of London Bridge,
received 2s.per foot for the use of his timber, including labour, and took it back again at his own expense. It measured 70 feet span, by 48 feet wide, and the rise was 23 feet; it was formed of 16 ribs or frames, and was supported on three Sterlings; namely, the two side ones of about 6 feet each, and that from which the Chapel pier had been removed. The author of the letter which I have referred to, censuring the extraordinary quantity of wood used in the centre, observes that it employed nearly 10,500 feet more than were used at Westminster Bridge; notwithstanding the Arch at London Bridge is 4¾ feet narrower and 12 feet lower, though theBridge itself is 4¾ feet wider. The author’s own plan, which is also annexed to the letter, more resembles that adopted by the late Mr. Rennie, in his alteration of Rochester Bridge, in the year 1821. It consisted of five radii, supporting as many timbers placed pentagonally; occupied only 7000 feet of timber, and would have amounted to £1000 less than the plan actually adopted.
“Many months had not elapsed, however, when it was discovered, that, by the removal of the large centre pier, the excavations around and underneath its Sterlings were so considerable, as to place the adjoining piers, and even the new arch itself, in very imminent danger. The presentiments of many, and the apprehensions of almost all, were consequently so great, that but few persons would pass either over or under it; the Surveyors themselves were not prepared with any adequate remedy; and Mr. John Smeaton, the celebrated Engineer, was instantly summoned express from Yorkshire to relieve the difficulty. Having immediately proceeded to survey the Bridge, and to sound about the dangerous Sterlings, he advised the Corporation to buy back again the stones of the City Gates, and throw them into the water, to guard the Sterlings; preserve the bottom from farther corrosion; raise the floor under the Arch; and restore the head of the current required for the Water-works, to its original power. These City Gates, you will remember, had been previously sold and taken down, in 1760 and 61, as appears bythe ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for those years; volume xxx., pages 390, 440, 591, and volume xxxi., page 187: where we are informed, that on Wednesday, July 30th, were sold to Mr. Blagden, a Carpenter in Coleman Street, before the Commissioners of City Lands, the edifice of Aldgate for £177: 10s.; Cripplegate for £91; and Ludgate for £148. Two months were allowed for the removal of each, the latter being begun on Monday, August 4th, and Aldgate on Monday, September 1st. Bishopsgate was sold on Wednesday, December 10th; and on Wednesday, April 22, 1761, Moorgate was also sold for £166, and Aldersgate for £91. It was probably the materials of the first of these, which lay in Moorfields, when Mr. Smeaton advised their being thrown into the Thames: and with so much promptitude was that advice followed, that the stones were bought the same day; horses, carts, and barges were instantly procured, and the work commenced immediately, although it was Sunday morning. These particulars are related in the Life of this Engineer, attached to his ‘Reports made on various Occasions,’ volume i, London, 1812, quarto, page xix.
“Whilst we are speaking of this alteration of London Bridge, it seems to be a proper place to say something of the massive features of our ancient edifice, and the oldest contrivances used for the support of Bridges in general. First, then, the Piers are said to be raised, so far as their nature can at present be known, upon rough piles of oak and elm,shod with iron, and driven very close, but apparently not fastened. Upon the heads of these are frequently found pieces of plank, chiefly oak, 4 to 6 inches in thickness; and the insides of the Piers are filled up with rubble laid in mortar. This kind of building is supposed to have been anciently used when the bed of the river could not be laid dry; and the stilts or piles were then surrounded by a row of other piles and planks, like a wall, called a Sterling or Jettee, the vacant spaces of which were filled with loose stones, &c. to the top. The inconveniences attending such a method are, however, so great, that it is now entirely disused: as, on account of the very loose composition of the Piers, they must be made both large and broad, to prevent their entire destruction upon drawing the centre of the Arch. This great breadth, also, very materially contracts the water-way, and incommodes navigation; whilst the Sterling itself is in considerable danger of bursting.”
“But, Mr. Postern,” said I, as the Antiquary arrived at this part of his narrative, “although Maitland tells us, in his ‘History,’ volume i., page 46, and volume ii., page 1349, that the use of Coffer-dams, orCaissons, for building of the Piers of Bridges, was first introduced into the Thames at the erection of Westminster Bridge, yet it has been supposed that even this of London was constructed somewhat after the same plan; and that those Sterlings are but the upper parts of the machines themselves, left in the water to guard the Piers;though it is certain, that in most of the Reports, illustrative of the great repair of London Bridge, the Sterlings are mentioned as additions to the original structure for the support of the Piers. I have been obligingly furnished, however, with an interesting drawing, and extract from the MS. Journal of Mr. William Knight, of Mr. Rennie’s office, by which we are enabled to understand the construction of these parts of the Bridge in a much clearer and more perfect manner. Mr. Knight observes, that having received several different statements as to the way in which the Piers of the old London Bridge had been erected, he determined upon convincing himself by an actual survey. This he effected on August 14th, 1821, when an excavation was made for ascertaining whether the original structure would support new Arches of a larger span; and he then found it to be built in the following manner. ‘The foundation of the Piers on the North side,—between the Great Lock and what is called the Long Entry Lock,—and in the Sterling round it, appeared to be about 3 feet above low-water mark. The bottom of the masonry originally laid of the pier, is about 2 feet 3 inches above low-water mark; and the first course is laid upon a sill of oak, 16 inches wide, by 9 in thickness, and perfectly sound. Immediately beneath this is a mass of Kentish rubble, mixed with flint, chalk, &c., thrown in irregularly, but not mixed with any cement. The masonry above the sill seems well bonded together, with good mortar joints, but thereareno piles under the oak sill. The external parts of the pier seem to have been new-fronted at some period,—probably at the time when the centre Arch was formed in 1759,—as the base of this new fronting projects about 1 foot before the original Pier. There areno piles under the original part of the Pier; but to thenew part there are some small ones driven into the rubble,—which can be of little service,—with some planks laid upon their edges. The new masonry is well bonded into the old work.’ Mr. Knight concludes, by observing that, in all the accounts which he has hitherto met with, the old Piers of this Bridge are described tostand upon piles; but that, as he found this to be erroneous in the present instance, he considers it to be a fair conclusion that all the other Piers were constructed upon the same principle. His drawing represents aSection of the North Pier of the Great Arch of London Bridge,shewing the original manner of constructing it, and the Sterling, or ancient Coffer-dam, standing aroundit; which, it thus appears unquestionably evident that, not having the art to pump dry, was filled up with loose stones. The Arch on the right hand is denominated the Long Entry Lock, and that on the left is a part of the Great Arch in the centre. I should remark also, that Mr. Knight has examined several other parts of this edifice with no less care and industry, in order to ascertain the plans adopted at the famous alteration of London Bridge, of which we are now speaking; of all of which observations he has made interesting sketches and memoranda. He states that he has felt with his measuring rods the timber, &c., placed in the river to strengthen the piers of the Great Arch, and that his sounding leads have been broken by catching in it. In April, 1826, the opening of the roadway of London Bridge for throwing of two more Arches into one, to increase the water-way during the building of the New Bridge, also made a curious discovery of many of the more ancient parts of the original building. The crowns of the old Arches, observes Mr. Knight, were about 8 feet 6 inches from the present surface of the ground, which appeared to have been raised at different periods; and five several strata were evidently to be traced over the centre of the original Bridge, which was 20 feet in width. Immediately over the crowns of the Arches was a layer of fine gravel, about 20 inches in depth, perhaps the ancient roadway, as its upper surface had the appearance of being trodden down and dirty, when contrasted withthat beneath it. The next stratum consisted of mixed chalk and gravel; the third of made ground of various materials; the fourth, a thick layer of burnt wood, ruins, and black earth; and the last another bed of different substances, over which was the granite paving. The filling-in between the Arches was composed of chalk and mortar, of so hard a nature that it was taken out with great difficulty. With respect to the building itself, he observes, that the stone of which the Arches were formed consists of two courses: that of the soffits or flying ribs, being Merstham Fire-stone, and the course above very similar to the stone of Caen, or Normandy. In the additions, or casings, on each side of the original structure, Portland stone has been used, as well for the facing, as for the Arches; whilst the backing and filling-in, between the spandrils of the Arches, was composed of chalk and mortar; which latter was evidently of a very bad quality and carelessly applied. Indeed, the ashler facing had been so little attended to in the bonding of the work together, that it is surprising, with the great weight behind, the careless manner of throwing in the backing, and the slight nature of the facing itself, that the whole work has not been thrown outwards some time since. Having thus, Mr. Barnaby, added these curious observations to your narrative, I must once more entreat you to proceed.”
“But, Mr. Postern,” said I, as the Antiquary arrived at this part of his narrative, “although Maitland tells us, in his ‘History,’ volume i., page 46, and volume ii., page 1349, that the use of Coffer-dams, orCaissons, for building of the Piers of Bridges, was first introduced into the Thames at the erection of Westminster Bridge, yet it has been supposed that even this of London was constructed somewhat after the same plan; and that those Sterlings are but the upper parts of the machines themselves, left in the water to guard the Piers;though it is certain, that in most of the Reports, illustrative of the great repair of London Bridge, the Sterlings are mentioned as additions to the original structure for the support of the Piers. I have been obligingly furnished, however, with an interesting drawing, and extract from the MS. Journal of Mr. William Knight, of Mr. Rennie’s office, by which we are enabled to understand the construction of these parts of the Bridge in a much clearer and more perfect manner. Mr. Knight observes, that having received several different statements as to the way in which the Piers of the old London Bridge had been erected, he determined upon convincing himself by an actual survey. This he effected on August 14th, 1821, when an excavation was made for ascertaining whether the original structure would support new Arches of a larger span; and he then found it to be built in the following manner. ‘The foundation of the Piers on the North side,—between the Great Lock and what is called the Long Entry Lock,—and in the Sterling round it, appeared to be about 3 feet above low-water mark. The bottom of the masonry originally laid of the pier, is about 2 feet 3 inches above low-water mark; and the first course is laid upon a sill of oak, 16 inches wide, by 9 in thickness, and perfectly sound. Immediately beneath this is a mass of Kentish rubble, mixed with flint, chalk, &c., thrown in irregularly, but not mixed with any cement. The masonry above the sill seems well bonded together, with good mortar joints, but thereareno piles under the oak sill. The external parts of the pier seem to have been new-fronted at some period,—probably at the time when the centre Arch was formed in 1759,—as the base of this new fronting projects about 1 foot before the original Pier. There areno piles under the original part of the Pier; but to thenew part there are some small ones driven into the rubble,—which can be of little service,—with some planks laid upon their edges. The new masonry is well bonded into the old work.’ Mr. Knight concludes, by observing that, in all the accounts which he has hitherto met with, the old Piers of this Bridge are described tostand upon piles; but that, as he found this to be erroneous in the present instance, he considers it to be a fair conclusion that all the other Piers were constructed upon the same principle. His drawing represents aSection of the North Pier of the Great Arch of London Bridge,
shewing the original manner of constructing it, and the Sterling, or ancient Coffer-dam, standing aroundit; which, it thus appears unquestionably evident that, not having the art to pump dry, was filled up with loose stones. The Arch on the right hand is denominated the Long Entry Lock, and that on the left is a part of the Great Arch in the centre. I should remark also, that Mr. Knight has examined several other parts of this edifice with no less care and industry, in order to ascertain the plans adopted at the famous alteration of London Bridge, of which we are now speaking; of all of which observations he has made interesting sketches and memoranda. He states that he has felt with his measuring rods the timber, &c., placed in the river to strengthen the piers of the Great Arch, and that his sounding leads have been broken by catching in it. In April, 1826, the opening of the roadway of London Bridge for throwing of two more Arches into one, to increase the water-way during the building of the New Bridge, also made a curious discovery of many of the more ancient parts of the original building. The crowns of the old Arches, observes Mr. Knight, were about 8 feet 6 inches from the present surface of the ground, which appeared to have been raised at different periods; and five several strata were evidently to be traced over the centre of the original Bridge, which was 20 feet in width. Immediately over the crowns of the Arches was a layer of fine gravel, about 20 inches in depth, perhaps the ancient roadway, as its upper surface had the appearance of being trodden down and dirty, when contrasted withthat beneath it. The next stratum consisted of mixed chalk and gravel; the third of made ground of various materials; the fourth, a thick layer of burnt wood, ruins, and black earth; and the last another bed of different substances, over which was the granite paving. The filling-in between the Arches was composed of chalk and mortar, of so hard a nature that it was taken out with great difficulty. With respect to the building itself, he observes, that the stone of which the Arches were formed consists of two courses: that of the soffits or flying ribs, being Merstham Fire-stone, and the course above very similar to the stone of Caen, or Normandy. In the additions, or casings, on each side of the original structure, Portland stone has been used, as well for the facing, as for the Arches; whilst the backing and filling-in, between the spandrils of the Arches, was composed of chalk and mortar; which latter was evidently of a very bad quality and carelessly applied. Indeed, the ashler facing had been so little attended to in the bonding of the work together, that it is surprising, with the great weight behind, the careless manner of throwing in the backing, and the slight nature of the facing itself, that the whole work has not been thrown outwards some time since. Having thus, Mr. Barnaby, added these curious observations to your narrative, I must once more entreat you to proceed.”
“After making you my acknowledgments,” recommenced the Antiquary, “for the very curiousillustration you have now furnished; and before quitting the Great Arch of London Bridge, let me observe, that it contains the Trinity Standard of High Water, which is placed there for the benefit of persons erecting buildings on the banks of the Thames, and originally inscribed upon a metal plate, affixed under the Great Arch upon the North East side, as it may be seen beneath the centre Arch of Blackfriars Bridge. It is at present engraven in the centre of each Pier of the Great Arch, in black Roman letters, about 7½ feet above the springing line of the Arch, or 8½ feet over the sterling; and consists of the inscription,—
Trinity.H. W.1800.Λ
the character beneath being the average point of the ordinary rise of a Spring Tide at High Water, which, above Bridge, is 14½ feet or 15 feet, being 5 feet 3 inches above the Neap Tides. At high Spring Tides, however, it has risen 16 feet and upwards; and in that remarkable one combined with a land-flood on December 28th, 1821, it rose 2 feet, 10 inches, and five parts, above the mark below Bridge. From the official tidal observations of the Trinity Company, it has been ascertained, that, from Blackwall to LondonBridge, the High Water ascends to the same level; and that from the upper side of London Bridge to that of Westminster the River is likewise generally level, excepting under the influence of winds or land-floods. During that of 1821, to which I have just referred, the banks of the River, and the marshes and gardens above Westminster, were overflowed and damaged to a very considerable extent; which has been attributed to the obstruction offered by the present London Bridge to the passage of the water towards the sea, as we learn from the ‘Report of Ralph Walker, delivered into the House of Commons, 11th of April, 1823,’ octavo, page 9; where he states, that the tides below this edifice during the flood, rose only to the ordinary height, whilst at Low water the fall was increased by several feet. This celebrated fall is, of course, most evident at Low water, when it is about 4 feet 6 inches, or 6 feet in the Winter season; and the most hazardous time for passing through any of the Bridge Locks, is probably half an hour previous to, or, for barges, the last two hours before, Low water below Bridge. The safest time of the tide is at High water, or slack Low water: but boats may pass with safety for 2½ hours after flood, and the last half hour of the drain of the tide at ebb, above Bridge; the tide having then flowed nearly 4 feet below. Deeply laden barges also take the drain through at Low water. The Great Arch is doubtless one of the safest to pass under, and is always used by craft and barges; but before the erection of the New Bridgeworks, most of the other Locks were employed at the flood tide, when the fall is extremely trifling. When the tide is on the ebb, the Arches which are chiefly used for boats are, the Draw-Lock,—the 4th from the Great Arch,—on the South; and St. Mary’s Lock,—adjoining the Great Arch,—on the North, which is always taken on the first part of the ebb. The Long-Narrow, once a favourite Lock, is now nearly abandoned; but the Draw-Lock is perhaps considered the safest, and is the most generally used since the erection of the New Bridge Coffer-dams. The approach, however, is dangerous, and requires a skilful waterman, who is obliged to pull his boat into the draft or eddy of the dam before he can make the Lock. Though the works of the New Bridge have at present closed several of the Arches of the ancient edifice, yet the 4th and 5th Locks from the Southwark end have been thrown into one, with a strong wooden vaulting, parapet, and roadway above, to increase the water-way beneath. Since the commencement of these works, the fall of the river has also become less dangerous for barges, from the returning tide sooner meeting with resistance; and instead of a direct fall of 6 feet in 50, it is now only about 6½ feet in 250. The draft of the tide, however, round the Coffer-dams, makes it very difficult for lightermen to enter the Locks fairly; and some of the outer rows of piles are driven inwards from their barges being carried against them. In 1820 and 1822, the average fall at High water was only from 8 to 13 inches; and in 1823, after theremoval of the London Bridge Water-works, it decreased to between 3 and 4.
“Mr. Barnaby! Mr. Barnaby!” exclaimed I, fretted by this long digression in the Antiquary’s narrative, “I protest you really put me out of all patience: there’s no keeping you to one subject; for the last of your annals referred to that most wearisome alteration and repair of London Bridge which began in 1757, and now you are bewildered in a discourse on the navigation and tides of the Thames! Truly, it’s intolerable!”
“I am aware,” replied the placid Mr. Postern, whom there seemed to be actually no putting into a passion, “I am aware how much these observations serve to lengthen and interrupt our history; but still they are vastly important to its illustration. ‘Our life,’ says an interesting and romantic author, ‘cannot be like an Arabian manuscript, all flowers and gold,’ and neither can history be composed only of the facts which naturally belong to it. There must be various incidental notices, seemingly unconnected with it, which are at last found to combine with the story, and to render it much more intelligible; and if ever, Mr. Barbican, you publish these Chronicles of London Bridge, make my words both your defence and your apology. The fact is, I really am half unwilling to proceed to the close of the alterations of this edifice, because we have subsequently so few interesting particulars on record concerning it; and other events,—excepting the usual unhappy accidents beneath itsArches,—are almost entirely wanting. At the time of the formation of the Great Arch, it appears that the wooden Draw-Bridge was first taken away,—though it had then long ceased to be used,—and the present Stone Arch, entitled the Draw-Lock, about 30 feet in width, or 16 feet between the Sterlings, was erected instead of it. This we learn from the ‘Public Ledger,’ of Monday, January 28th, 1760, which states ‘that the centre of the new Draw-Lock Arch of London Bridge is struck; so that there is now a free passage for boats, &c.’ In this very Lock, however, only a few months afterwards, an accident occurred which might have almost proved fatal to the Bridge itself; and it is thus related in the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Monday, December 29th, 1760. ‘On Tuesday, a large old French ship, that was coming through the Draw-Lock at London Bridge, to be broken up above Bridge, stuck in the Lock, and still continues there, having done considerable damage to the same; and it is thought that she cannot now be got out, but must be broken up where she now lies.’ The same paper for Friday, January 9th, 1761, states, that ‘yesterday the workmen, who have been employed, for this fortnight past, in breaking up the large French ship that stuck in the Draw-Lock at London Bridge, as she was going up the river, endeavoured, on the strong flow of the tide, to get her through the Bridge, but could not effect it. This ship, it appears, was but 18 inches wider than the Lock.’ At length, however, in the same paper for Friday, January 30th,it was announced that ‘Yesterday the watermen cleared the Draw-Lock at London Bridge, of the large French ship that stuck there some weeks ago.’
“The destruction of part of St. Magnus’ Church, by most authors attributed to the year 1759, but which actually took place in 1760, was the cause of a further improvement of the North-East end of London Bridge; by the opening of that arched passage beneath the Church Steeple, which the wisdom of Sir Christopher Wren had foreseen, and provided for, fifty-five years before. This destruction then, took place by a fire, which brake out between 9 and 10 o’clock, in the morning of Friday, April 18th, at the house of Messrs. Barrow and Reynolds, Oilmen, in Thames street, adjoining to the Church. It consumed seven dwelling-houses, all the warehouses on Fresh Wharf, with a considerable quantity of goods contained in them, and the roof of the Church itself; which, falling in, very much damaged the pews and altar-piece. The organ, the excellence of which we have already noticed, was taken away, but was considered to have received very serious injury in the removal. The whole of this destruction was estimated at £40,000; and it was occasioned, says Entick, in his ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 29, by the neglect of a servant, who was appointed to watch the boiling of some inflammatory substances, and who left his charge on the fire, whilst he went to see the famous Earl Ferrers returnfrom his trial and condemnation. Before he could get back, the whole shop was in flames. Some of these particulars you will also find recorded in the ‘Public Advertiser’ for Saturday, April 19th, 1760; and in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for that year, volume xxx., page 199. Before this fire, the main body of St. Magnus’ Church extended to the tower, which was originally about equal with the houses on London Bridge; but when they were taken away, the West end so greatly interfered with the foot-path, that it was proposed to take down so much of the building as enclosed the tower on each side, and to form a passage under the steeple by arches. This plan, however, does not appear to have been proposed, until after the Church had been repaired; because the first notice of it which we meet with, is in the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Monday, September 29th, 1760, in the following terms. ‘The workmen have paved a great part of the foot-path on the lower side of London Bridge; and the tower part of St. Magnus’ Church has been lately surveyed, in order to make some alteration in the lower part thereof, conducive to the convenience of the passage of the Bridge.’ The danger which was supposed to be attendant upon its alteration, was probably the cause of delay in its execution; but the surveyor who was employed, had the ingenuity to discover, that Sir Christopher, conceiving that such a convenience must be required at some future period, had contrived the arch on which the steeple stood, of such strength, that it was essential only toclear away the intermediate space to perfect the alteration. Still the work proceeded but slowly, since the next notice of it is contained in the ‘Public Advertiser’ for Wednesday, August 4th, 1762. ‘The North and West Porticoes adjoining to the tower of St. Magnus’ Church at London Bridge, are taking down, in order to form a passage to and from that building, through the spacious arch upon which the steeple is built; the South Portico is also down, which fronts the Bridge, and makes a very agreeable appearance; and the taking down of the West Portico, to compleat that useful work, is in great forwardness.’ It was yet, however, almost another twelvemonth before this improvement was perfected, as we learn by the following notice, from the last mentioned paper of Thursday, June 30th, 1763. ‘On Saturday last,—25th,—the foot-passage under the arch of St. Magnus’ steeple was opened; which, besides the convenience for foot-passengers, makes a very pretty appearance. A vestry, built of stone, is to be erected in the Church-yard, to front the new Toll-house, just erected at the corner of London Bridge.’ Before we finally part with St. Magnus’ Church, I must not forget to state, that Malcolm, in his ‘Londinum Redivivum,’ volume iv., page 31, observes,—though without citing his authority,—that‘in October, 1713, the Rector received an anonymous letter, which discovered a design of setting fire to London Bridge, for the purpose of plundering the inhabitants. The greatest precautions were adopted in consequence, and nothing uncommon occurred.’ I find, however, no notice of this letter in any of the periodical prints of the time.
“In the mean time, the alterations of the Bridge itself were in continual progression; though all the buildings were not even yet removed, and the Temporary Bridge was still standing. The ‘Public Advertiser’ for Thursday, December 25th, 1760, states that ‘notice has been given to the people on the West side of London Bridge, to quit their premises by the 25th of March next.’ In the same paper, for Tuesday, February 3rd, 1761, an advertisement announces, that six houses on the West side of London Bridge, from the North end of the Temporary Bridge to the Toll House, were to be sold by auction at Guildhall, to be put up at £156: and in the paper for Wednesday, February 11th, we are informed that those houses were begun to be pulled down. In your notices, Mr. Barbican, of the tokens issued by the tradesmen of old London Bridge, you mentioned two who lived at the sign of the Bear, at the Bridge-foot, which, perhaps, was the building referred to in the following passage contained in the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Saturday, December 26th, 1761. ‘Thursday last, the workmen employed in pulling down the Bear Tavern at the foot of London Bridge, found several pieces of gold and silver coin of Queen Elizabeth, and other monies to a considerable value.’”
“By no means unlikely,” replied I, “and I may also add, that at this period was probably removedthe house of the original manufacturer of Walkden’s Ink-powder, with which we are still familiar. We learn the situation of his dwelling by his Shop-bill, an impression of which is in the possession of Mr. Upcott of the London Institution, engraven on a copper plate, measuring 6¼ inches by 41⁄8. Within a double line, and beneath an ornamented compartment containing a Bell, is inscribed:—‘Richard Walkden, Stationer, at yeBell on London Bridge, near StMagnus Church, Makes and Sells all Sorts of Accomptants and Shopkeepers Books, yegreatest Variety of Paper-Hangings for Rooms, and all other Sorts of Stationary Wares, Wholesale or Retail at the Lowest Prices. Where may be had Bibles, Common Prayers, Testaments, Psalters, &c. N. B. He is also the Maker of the Fine British Ink-Powder, for making Black Writing Ink, wchis Universally Allowed to Excell all other whatsoever, yet made, and is of the greatest Convenience for Country Shopkeepers to make their own Ink, to Sell again, as Likewise for Merchants and Sea Captains who goe or Send Ventures to Sea, to whom great allowance will be given with printed Directions of its Excellence and Use. At the same place may be had yebest Liquid Ink, in its Greatest Perfection. Customers may Depend on being Serv’d as well by Letter as if present.’ I must also take this opportunity of mentioning another Shop-bill connected with this edifice, communicated to me by Henry Smedley, Esq.; and consisting of a copper-plate executed about the latter end of the 17th century, representinga circle surrounded by fruit and foliage, having two Cupids standing at the upper corners, and containing in the centre, two palm-branches, enclosing a Sceptre surmounted by a Heart. Round the whole are suspended lancets, trepans, saws, &c., and beneath the device is engraven, ‘Samvell Grover, at the Sceptre and heart on London bridge, who maketh all sorts of Chirugeons Instruments, the best sort of Razors, pen-knives, Scissers, and Lancetts: there are also the best Hoans, and fine Fish Skin Cases.’ You may remember, Mr. Postern, that one of my former Shop Bills was that of James Brooke, Stationer, ‘near the Square on London Bridge,’ This Square was formed in the first opening on the Bridge, above the 8th Arch from the North end, called St. Mary’s Lock. It was surrounded by massive iron rails, and Mr. J. T. Smith, in his ‘Antiquities of London,’ page 26, states, that when the houses were taken down, the iron-work was bought by several inhabitants of the Parish of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, and placed upon the dwarf wall on the Eastern side of the Church yard, where it is yet to be seen.”
“I have again to offer you my thanks,” answered the Antiquary, “for your very curious andrecherchéillustrations; and we will now close up the year 1761 by stating, that we are informed by the ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 35, that on Monday, February 2nd, the tide flowed so short up the Thames, that at high-water there was not sufficient to cover the Sterlings; so that several persons waded over,both above, and a little below, the Bridge at low water. We may, I think, fairly consider the history ofOldLondon Bridge terminated at this place; since the alterations we have recently described, made its features almost such as we now behold them. I should not forget, however, that one of the last pieces of poetry connected with it, was written by the famous Anne Killegrew, celebrated by Dryden, and entitled ‘On my Aunt, Mrs. A. K. Drown’d under London Bridge in the Queen’s Bardge: Anno 1641.’ You will find it printed in Southey’s ‘Specimens of the later English Poets,’ London, 1807, Octavo, volume i., page 15.
“As we are informed by the ‘Public Advertiser’ of Monday, June 7th, 1762, that the workmen had then begun to lay down the iron pipes, for the conveyance of water from London Bridge into the Borough, we may conclude that the stone-work of the edifice was then perfect; although from those pipes leaking between the stones, there arose a report that the new Bridge was falling to pieces, which was, some years after, the origin of a particular inquiry.
“The destructive effects of some very high tides which happened early in 1763, are the principal events connected with London Bridge at that period; as the ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 48, informs us that, on Tuesday, February 15th, the tide rose to such a height in the River, that many parts of Westminster were overflowed; and, below London Bridge, the inhabitants of Tooley Street were obligedto keep to their upper rooms. In the ‘Public Advertiser’ of the following Thursday, it is stated that the damage done to goods in warehouses adjoining the Thames, was estimated at upwards of £20,000; the great land-floods having occasioned the water to rise higher than it had ever been known. That the Bridge itself was in some danger, may be inferred from the same paper of Wednesday, February 23rd, where it is recorded that ‘three engines are at work driving piles, for the security of the large Arch of London Bridge; some of the small ones, it is said, will be entirely stopt, to prevent the water from ebbing away too fast.’ It was probably this circumstance that was alluded to by Mylne, the Architect, in his Report to the Corporation of London, concerning a new grant to the Water-works, made in June, 1767; and which you will find in the ‘Public Advertiser’ for Friday, July 17th. He there states, that in the beginning of 1763, the first winter after taking up the Pier from under the Great Arch, when the other Arches were stopped up with ice, the whole force of the tide rushed so violently through it, as to tear up the bed of the river, and the Sterlings, being deprived of their support, gave way, and left the foundation-piles entirely exposed to the water. He adds, too, that only to repair this damage, the sum of £6800 was expended by the Bridge Committee. Mr. Smeaton’s answers on the best manner of enlarging and improving London Bridge, delivered on March 18th, 1763, may also be seen in the paper last referred to,for Monday, July 20th, 1767, and subsequent numbers. In the same journal of Tuesday, April 15th, 1763, it had been related, that ‘the water in the Thames rose so high on Sunday, that many houses on the Surrey shore were two or three feet deep in water; and at Lambeth, the long walk by the Bishop’s Palace was overflowed, and boats were employed in the town to carry people from house to house.’
“Although the famous winter of 1766-67 continued with remarkable severity until January 16th, we find but few particulars of it connected with London Bridge; excepting that the ‘Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser’ for Monday, January 12th, states that several of its Arches were then stopped by the ice, and some accidents, which happened there, are recorded in the subsequent numbers of the same paper. In a notice of the proceedings of a Court of Common Council on Wednesday, July 30th, 1766, also contained in the ‘Gazetteer’ of the following Friday, it is stated that the Committee for conducting the recent repairs of London Bridge, made the last report of their works; in which they set forth, that they had executed the several trusts reposed in them by the Acts of Parliament which I have recited to you, and at the same time rendered an account of the money then owing for the alterations. Of these it is observed by John Gwynn, in his ‘London and Westminster Improved,’ London, 1766, quarto, page 120,Note, that they amounted to nearly £100,000, beside the materials of the houses, many of which were new. Headds, too, that the Bridge was rendered worse than it had been, by the exceeding rapidity of the stream under the Great Arch; and condemns both the appearance and effects of the Water-works. Of the remaining debt, then, the Court ordered that £3000 in the Chamberlain’s hands should be immediately paid; and that bonds should be given for the remainder, not exceeding £12,000, redeemable by the City, and bearing interest at 4 per cent. The Committee was then dissolved, and the concerns of London Bridge were again restored to that belonging to the Bridge-House Estates.
“There seems, however, to have been but little satisfaction given by the extensive alterations and improvements of this edifice; for, at the very same Court, a petition for relief was presented from the Watermen’s Company, stating that the navigation through the Great Arch of London Bridge was very dangerous, from the two adjoining Arches on the North side being stopped up; and vessels being caught in the eddy it occasioned, received considerable damage before they could escape, which had sometimes occasioned the loss of life. It was soon discovered, too, that the iron pipes belonging to the Water-works, laid across the Bridge, had greatly injured the stone-work and crowns of the Arches, by frequent leaking; whilst the piers of the Great Arch were weakened, and the current of the tide was altered, by a new Arch being granted to the Water-works. These particulars are noticed in the ‘Gazetteer’ of Thursday,October 23rd, 1766; whilst in the ‘Public Advertiser’ for Tuesday, November 4th, and the former paper for Saturday, November 22nd, a report is mentioned of entirely removing both the Bridge and Water-works, and greatly improving the whole of their vicinity. In the ‘Gazetteer,’ too, for Friday and Monday, December 5th and 8th, the dirty and dusty state of the Bridge is mentioned as arising from total neglect of cleaning and watering it, though the usual advertisements for their performance were then publishing.
“For the consideration and removal of these defects, a very fair opportunity was now offered; a Committee of the Proprietors of the Water-works having presented a petition to the Corporation, for renting, and erecting a wheel in, the 5th Arch at the North end of London Bridge, which had been referred to a Committee, to examine, and report upon. This petition was read at the Court of Common Council on Thursday, November 28th, 1765, as we learn by the ‘Public Advertiser’ of the following day; and you will find a copy of it in the same paper for Friday, July 3rd, 1767, forming part of a series of 13 official documents, on the subject, inserted in that journal down to Thursday, July 23rd, of the same year. I have already had occasion slightly to notice these proceedings, of which you may find several particulars in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for 1767, volume xxxvii., pages 337, 407; but I shall now give you some account of them fromthese more authentic sources, and close up my history of the Water-works with a short description of their mechanism, and final removal.
“The petition alluded to, contains a curious historical outline of the Water-works at London Bridge, tracing their gradual extension from one to four of its Arches; the leases of all which were to terminate in the year 2082, being 500 years from the time when the original grant was made, the remainder taking only the unexpired term. The 1st and 2nd Northern Arches were let for 500 years, from November 24th, 1582, at 10s.per annum; and the 4th Arch, from August 24th, 1701, for 381¼ years, also at 10s.per annum, and a fine of £300. The lease of the 3rd Arch, however,—formerly stopped up and let to a Wharfinger,—did not commence until Michaelmas day, 1761, when it was granted for the term of 321 years, at the old rent; though the Proprietors of the Water-works had made proposals for it in 1731 and 1743, when it was unoccupied, the last tenant having quitted it at Lady-day, 1718. These leases were the more readily granted, as it was supposed that the Water-works were a protection to the Bridge and the vessels below it; whilst it was asserted that the Arches they occupied were but very seldom used, and the lessees covenanted to secure their engines by piles, as well as to keep the Piers and Sterlings built upon, in proper repair. Their fire-plugs, too, were to be under the direction of the Committee of City-Lands; the Works were not to rise higher than thecellars of the buildings on London Bridge; and houses in general, in the City and its liberties, were to be supplied with water at 20s.per annum. In petitioning for a fifth Arch, it was represented, that, notwithstanding the great expense incurred for the Water-works, the engine was yet inadequate to the furnishing at all times a sufficient supply of water. The wheels under the other four Arches would never act with the same velocity as they did before the late alteration of the Bridge; but as the 5th Arch stood nearer the central current of the River, the continual flowing of the tide would give the works additional power, without being any obstacle to the navigation. On the other hand, however, several counter-petitions were presented from the Wharfingers and Lightermen, stating the dangerous eddy at the Great Arch, arising from the closing of those Arches called the Long Entry and Chapel Locks, to give force to the current at the Water-works; and praying that they might be opened, the middle of the River kept free, or that two Arches at the South end might be closed instead of them. We have already seen, that these suits made but slow progress; and accordingly we find that the petition from the Water-works was first referred to a Sub-committee by the Committee of City-Lands, on Wednesday, December 4th, 1765; to the Committee itself on Friday, November 28th, 1766: and on Tuesday, December 16th, their Report was delivered to the Court of Common Council. Before these Committees, the Proprietors of the Water-worksappeared on Tuesday, October 21st, and Wednesday, November 19th, 1766; when the complaints of their pipes leaking, and the navigation being endangered, were stated, and remedies ordered to be provided. They were also asked, whether they would undertake, on forfeiture of their lease, ‘to keep their engine at work during the times of dead high and low-water, when their wheels lay still, provided they had leave to raise their tenants 1s.yearly for every house.’ To this they ultimately agreed, the additional rent being made 2s.; and to remedy the leakage of such pipes as lay across the Bridge for the supply of Southwark, it was proposed that they should be entirely removed, the first Arch on the Surrey side of the Bridge being stopped up, and a wheel erected in the second, 10s.per annumbeing paid for each, whilst the Long Entry and Chapel Locks were to be re-opened. Such then were the measures recommended in the Committee’s Report, as being without danger and of general benefit; but before they were acceded to, these particulars were ordered to be printed, and a copy sent to some of the most eminent Surveyors of the time, Messrs. Brindley, Smeaton, Yeoman, Mylne, and Wooler, whose answers were read to the Common Council, on Wednesday, February 25th, 1767. At the same time, too, as we are informed by the ‘Gazetteer’ of the day following, the Proprietors of the Water-works were heard upon the subject of their alterations, though the decision was referred to the next Court. The Engineers generallyagreed, that by opening the Long Entry and Chapel Locks, taking away the water-pipes upon the Bridge, erecting a wheel in the 5th Arch, and occupying the farthest two on the Surrey side, the edifice and navigation would be generally improved. Mr. Mylne, however, recommended that the 5th Arch should not be granted; but that so many Arches at the South end should be wholly stopped, as would be equal to compensate the Water-works for their loss by the Great Arch; adding, that the pipes were slowly, but certainly, ruining the Bridge; and that a Water-company, then established in Southwark, should be encouraged to supply the whole of the Borough. The Corporation, however, did not yet come to a decision, but on Friday, March 13th, 1767, the Town Clerk was again ordered to solicit the Engineers to re-consider the subject, and to point out the course most proper to be followed. The second series of answers, which was read at a Court of Common Council, on Tuesday, June 23rd, chiefly confirmed and referred to the former. Messrs. Wooler and Mylne were, however, decidedly against any new grants to the Water-works, of which they earnestly recommended the removal, as well as the opening of the closed-up Arches; proposing to substitute a horse, or fire, engine, on both sides of the river, or closing up three Arches on the Surrey shore. Mr. Yeoman also recommended the taking away of the Water-works; whilst Mr. Smeaton, considering that the bed of the Thames had become so unequal that itwould require several centuries to restore its level, argued that the stoppage of London Bridge was useful both to the Water-works and navigation in general, and that it remained only to employ the force of water in the most beneficial manner. By his Report the Corporation seems to have been determined; since the ‘Gazetteer’ of June 24th states, that Mr. Mylne was examined, and, after a long debate, the 5th Arch was granted to the Water-works, upon the conditions already mentioned: though there were, subsequently, several disputes on points of law, and particularly upon the power which the Corporation had to grant away the passage of a navigable river.
“The ‘Gazetteer’ for Monday, Dec. 28th, 1767, informs us that the two Arches adjoining the South end of the Bridge were, at length, then stopped up, and wheels preparing to be erected in each of them; and on the 30th, most of the Locks at that part of the edifice were entirely closed by the ice. It was not, however, until the year 1770, as we are informed in Concannen’s ‘History of Southwark,’ page 233, that the Borough Water-works were perfected by the erection of a Steam-Engine; though a part of the machinery was originally erected on the River-banks for the supply of Mr. Thrale’s Brewery, when it was worked by horses. These works were then known by the name of their proprietor, which was afterwards changed for that of the Company which bought them: and an engine erected, wherein the pressure of the atmosphere acted upon the Steam-piston.
“I proceed now, Mr. Barbican, to give you some account of the Water-works erected at the North end of London Bridge, which were considered to be far superior even to the celebrated hydraulics of Marli, in France. You are already aware, that the wheels beneath the Arches were turned by the common tide-water of the Thames; the axle-trees being 19 feet in length, and 3 in diameter, having 4 sets of arms, 8 in each place, on which were fixed 4 rings, or fellies, 20 feet in diameter, with 26 floats of 14 feet long, and 18 inches deep. The gudgeons, or centre-pins, of these wheels, rested upon brasses, fixed on 2 large levers 16 feet long, the tops of which were formed of arched timber, the levers being made circular on their lower sides to an arch, and kept in their places by 2 arching studs fixed in a stock, through 2 mortices in the lever. To the lower part of the arch on the lever, was fixed a strong triple chain, the links attached to circles of 1 foot in diameter, having notches or teeth, to take hold of the leaves of a cast-iron pinion, 10 inches in diameter, with 8 teeth in it, moving on an axis. The other end of this chain had a large weight hanging from it, to assist in counterpoising the wheel, and to preserve the chain from sliding on the pinion. On the same axis with the pinion, were 2 cog-wheels; one of 6 feet in diameter having 48 cogs, and another of 51 cogs, each working in a trundle of 6 rounds: on this axis there was also a winch, by which one man could raise or lower the wheels as occasion might require. Near the end of the great axle-tree, wasanother cog-wheel of 8 feet in diameter, and 44 cogs, working into a trundle of 20 rounds, 4½ feet in diameter; the axis of which was fixed in brasses at each end of the lever before mentioned, and communicated with iron cranks having 4 necks, each of which raised an iron spear attached to levers 24 feet in length. To the other ends were fastened iron rods and forcing-plugs, working in cast-iron cylinders 4¾ feet long, 7 inches in bore above, and 9 below, where the valves were. These cylinders were placed over a hollow trunk of cast-iron, with 4 valves in it, immediately beneath them; and as one end of the trunk was furnished with a sucking-pipe and grate going into the water, they were each filled alternately, and delivered their supplies through curved pipes into a second trunk, furnished with an iron pipe, through which the water was forced up to any height required. These were, however, only half the works; the whole of the mechanism being double to each wheel. The first wheel in the Arch next the City, worked 16 forcers; and in the third Arch were three wheels, one working 12, the second 8, and another 16 forcers. Their utmost power of raising water was estimated from four of the wheels, to be 2052 gallons per minute; 123,120 gallons—being equal to 1954 hogsheads—in an hour; or 46,896 hogsheads daily, to the height of 120 feet, including the waste, which might be considered as a fifth part of the whole. Every revolution of a wheel, made 2½ strokes in every minute in all the forcers, the wheels turning 6 times in a minuteat high-water, and 4½ times at middle water; and it was stated before a Committee of the House of Commons, that in the year 1820, these Works supplied 26,322,705 hogsheads of water. It is usual to give Dr. Desaguliers as the authority for these particulars, but I have abstracted them from the ‘Philosophical Transactions,’ already referred to; and they are also printed in Maitland’s ‘History,’ volume i., page 51, whence they have been copied into almost every subsequent account of London. After the grant of a fifth Arch to the Water-works, about July 1767, an improved wheel was designed by Mr. Smeaton, to be erected at that part; of which two engravings and several particulars, together with his remarks on the Water-engine, are inserted in the Second volume of his ‘Reports’ already cited, Plates ii.-iii., pages 27-30.
“I have in my possession a large and curious old drawing, in colours, representing two elevations, and a ground-plan of these Works and the Water-Tower, executed before the grant of a fifth Arch, or the erection of wheels at the South end of the edifice, which is chiefly interesting, as shewing the courses of the main-pipes then attached to every wheel for conveying water to the various parts of London; which were connected and furnished in the following manner. Bishopsgate Main, supplied from the Wheels under the 3rd Arch, and Western end of the 4th, called ‘the Upper, and Borough Wheels:’ Cheapside Main, from those under the second and 3rd Arches, called the ‘Three-Ringed, and Low Wheels:’ Aldgate Main,from those under the 2nd Arch, and the Eastern end of the 4th, expressed by the same name: Fleet-street Main, from a small Wheel in the 1st Arch, and another at the Western end of the 4th, called ‘the Two-Ringed, and Borough Wheels:’ Newgate-street Main, from those in the 2nd Arch, and the Western end of the 4th, or ‘the Upper, and Three-Ringed Wheels:’ Broad-street Main, principally from ‘the Low-Wheel,’ under the 2nd Arch; though it also derived some water from that at the Western end of the 4th: Grace Church-street Main, from those in the 1st and 2nd Arches, or ‘the Two-Ringed, and Three-Ringed Wheels:’ Cannon-street Main, from ‘the Upper, and Borough Wheels,’ or those beneath the 3rd and 4th Arches: Thames-street Main, from a ‘Low Wheel’ at the Eastern end of the 4th Arch; and the Borough Main, from the proper Wheel, which was situate at its Western extremity, forming ten sets of main-pipes in all. At each end of the Bridge, round the Western-sides of the Water-works, were wooden platforms or galleries, occasionally decorated with plants and flowers; and immediately over the Wheels at the City end, were the work-shops belonging to them. Their history is now, however, fast drawing to a close: in March, 1817, the managers gave notice that they were about to rebuild their largest Water-wheel; but on July 26th, 1822, the third Year of King George IV., an Act was passed for their entire removal, with a view of improving London Bridge, or erecting a new one. You will, of course, find thisdocument in ‘The Statutes of the Realm,’ by John Raithby, Esq., volume viii., London, 1822, quarto, pages 1049-1054; it being chapter cix. of the ‘Local and Personal Acts declared public:’ and I shall now give you a slight idea of its contents. Having declared, that about 260 years of the original grants to the Water-works are yet unexpired, it is enacted that the Corporation of London shall raise £15,000 out of the Bridge-House Estates, for carrying the Act into effect; £10,000 of which should be paid to the Proprietors of the Water-works, for rendering void all their licences, and transferring all their machinery, buildings, &c. to the New-River Company, which Company was entitled to commence receiving rents and defraying expenses connected with the Water, from June 24th, 1822; and it was also licensed to procure leave from the Corporation, to cut the River-banks, &c. below low-water mark, not exceeding 100 feet from the East side of the present Bridge, for laying down pipes, &c., saving the City’s rights in the Thames; paying the sum of 20s.as a fine for so doing, and 20s.annually afterwards. Full powers were likewise granted, that the Company might lay down pipes in the streets, and over the Bridges of London; and that it might resign the supply of a part of a district to another party, and receive a recompence in return; adding that it should neither be compelled to continue the supply, nor be considered to have an exclusive right to it. Upon conclusion of the agreement, the Company was to remove the whole machinery,&c. within the six months following, which was otherwise to be taken up and sold by the Corporation. The New-River Company was also charged with the payment of certain annuities to the former Proprietors of the Water-works, for the remainder of their lease, as well as with the pensions due to their servants, &c. to be defrayed out of the rents received. Such, then, was the end of the London Bridge Water-works; and the only other remarkable event which I find recorded in the year 1767, connected with our edifice is, that on Saturday, November 28th, about 5 o’clock in the morning, the tide ebbed and flowed at this place, and at Greenwich, twice within an hour and a half; as you will find recorded both in the ‘Continuation of Maitland’s History,’ page 71, and in the ‘Gazetteer’ for Wednesday, December 22nd.