This is a historical site about early London coffee Houses and Taverns and will also link to my current pub history site and also The London street directory
LONDON TRADERS, TAVERN, AND COFFEE-HOUSE TOKENS, CURRENT 1649-1672. :
## Letter B - Baldwins gardens to Birchin lane
Index of Tradesmens tokens.
#103 NICHOLAS SMITH . 1666 A wheatsheaf, in the field.
Rev. IN BALDWYNS GARDEN In the field, N H. S. 1/2.
"Baldwins gardens, neare Grayes-inn lane," is said to have derived that name
from Richard Baldwin, who erected some houses here in 1589.
Hercules Whithill, halfpenny in 1666, Sugar loaf
###Hercules Whithill, Sugar loaf
Rev His Half Penny, Baldwin Gardens 1666
#104 MELCHISEDECK FRITTER Feltmakers' arms, in the field.
Rev. ON YE BANKE SIDE BREWER HIS HALFE PENY.
Melchisedeck Fritter's name occurs in the churchwardens' accompts of St.
Margaret's, Westminster, in 1643, when an abatement of 2s. 6d., for weekly
payments, and contributions to the outworks constructed in that year, was
allowed in the rent due for premises in Turnmill street, Clerkenwell. The
building on the Bankside, from the sign, would seem to have been previously
occupied by a felt-maker, and although converted into a brewery, the sign it had
hitherto borne, the Hat, continued.
#105 AT THE EARLE OF ESSEX A stag, in the field.
Rev. ARMES AT BANCKSIDE R. E. P.
A stag is the crest of the Leathersellers' arms. The allusion is evidently to
the parliamentary general, Robert D'Evreux, Earl of Essex, who died in 1646. R.
P. was doubtless a partizan of the Commonwealth authorities.
#106 WILLIAM BOORMAN The Haberdashers Company arms.
Rev. AT THE BANKSIDE In the field, W. E. B.
#107 WILLIAM CHAPMAN ON A corn-bushel measure, in field.
Rev. THE BANK SIDE SOVTHWARK HIS HALF PENY.
#108 THOMAS MARTIN A hedge-hog, in the field.
Rev. ON THE BANKSIDE In the field, T. E. M.
The hedge-hog is seldom used in heraldry, though as a symbol the animal may be
compared to an expert industrious man., who seizes every opportunity of
improving his fortune or preventing poverty. It may be considered the emblem of
frugality.
#109 HANDREY STROVD ON An unicorn, in the field.
Rev. THE BANKSIDE . 1658 In the field, H. E. S.
See Manning and Bray's History of Surrey, vol. iii. p. 590.
#110 GEORGE VAVASOVR Arms, Vavasour; with a crescent.
Rev. ON THE BANKE SIDE In the field, G. F. V.
#111 WILLIAM WILLIAMS In the field, a plough. Rev. ON
THE BANCKSIDE In the field, W. B. W.
#112 JOHN LUDGALL AT Y BANKE A crooked billet? IN SOUTHWARK.
Rev. SIDE . HIS HALF PENY . 1668 Watermens arms, in the field.
#113 Elizabeth Port at the Banckside, in three lines, script type.
Rev. HER HALF PENY In field, two keys crossed; 1668.
Octagonal in shape. The sign termed the Cross or Crossed Keys. Bankside was
anciently within the jurisdiction of the bishops of Winchester, and the keys are
part of the charge on the arms of that see. The house had doubtless been long
employed for other purposes ; yet " the Cross Keys/' apparent on the token, were
still its distinctive sign.
The stews on the Bankside were, in 1506, inhibited by King Henry the Seventh,
but a decreased number subsequently permitted, till King Henry the Eighth, in
1546, suppressed them wholly. Stow mentions these allowed stew-houses as having
' ' signs on their fronts towards the Thames, not hanged out, but painted on the
walls, as the Cross Keys, the Gun, the Castle, the Crane, the Cardinal's Hat*,
the Bell, the Swan," and others.
* Skelton, in his Why come ye not to Cowrte, a bitter invective on Wolsey,
written in 1523, or before, alludes to " the sygne of the Cardinall Hat/' being
then closed. Later, in the accompt of William Colle, citizen and grocer,
receiver of the rents of the hospital of St. Bartholomew in Smithfield, 1581-2,
credit is given for a quit-rent of 37s., paid by the governors of St. Thomas's
hospital, from " the Cardinal's Hat."
Sir John Howard's steward's accounts, 1465, has the following : " Item, the
xxiiij day of May, my mastyre lent to my lord of Norffolke, whan he lay at the
stewe, xxs." My lord of Norfolk was John Mowbray, the last Duke of Norfolk of
that family: he died in 1475.
The original regulations of the stews on Bankside, by which the bishops of
Winchester in the fifteenth century exercised control over them, are extant,
written on parchment, in the Bodleian library, Oxford.
#114 ANTHONY CRAVEN AT THE A castle, in the field.
Rev. BANKE END IN SOVTHWARKE HIS HALFE PENNY. A. B. C.
Bank-end stairs, near London Bridge, appear to have been the nearest place of
landing to Shakespeare's or the Globe Theatre, now involved in the site of
Barclay and Perkins's great brewery.
#115 EDMOND ALEXANDER A horse-shoe, in the field.
Rev. IN BARBYCAN In the field, E. M. A.
#116 ELIZABETH BABINGTON In the field, E. B.
Rev. IN BARBICAN 1653, in the field.
#116* AT THE FIGTRE A fig-tree, in the field.
Rev. IN BARBIK[A]N . 1653 In the field, the initials S. P.
#117 WILLIAM RUDD IN A bull, in the field.
Rev. BARBICANN . 1655 In the field, W. A. R.
The Bull was, and is almost everywhere, a prevalent sign. Boys, quoting the town
records, in his Collections for the History of Sandwich, pp. 685, 687, states
that, " in 1540, information was taken before the burgesses upon oath, a certain
person at church said, ' the sacrament of the altar was but a signification and
a sign, as the sign of a bull, or the sign of a rose, set up at taverns' " ;
rather a ticklish assertion for the town magnates to construe : and it appears
to have been somewhat dangerous to the heterodoxical assertor ; as later, in
1550, when Henry the Eighth had been gathered to his fathers, the same volume
records that a deposition was entertained against a certain person, who had
said, l ' the King's Majesty that dead is, was an heretick !" This was too much
; the luckless defamer was immediately sentenced to the pillory, and the loss of
both his ears.
#118 THOMAS COOPER In the field, T. A. C.
Rev. IN BARBICAN . 1655 CHANDLER, in the field.
#119 EDWARD GRO . . The Bowyers' arms, in the field.
Rev. IN BARBICAN . 1665 In the field, E. G. G.
B115. Obverse. Edward . Grove = The Stationers’ Arms.
R. IN . BARBICAN . 1665 = E . G . G. 1/4
#120 ROBERT HAYES AT YE COFFE HOYS Sultan Moral's head, in the field.
Rev. In Barbican formerly in Pannyer Ally.
Robert Hayes at ye Coffee House in Barbican, formerly in Panier alley. His Half Penny. And a Turks Head .
John Milton, father of the author of Paradise Lost, by profession a scrivener,
but who had retired from business many years before his death, died about 1647,
at his house in the Barbican, and was buried in ripplegate church.
Query, Was this William Milton in any degree related to the poet ?
#123 FRANCIS MORLEY AT THE The royal oak, the Boscobel oak tree, bearing three
crowns, in the field.
Rev. IN BARBICAN . 1668 HIS HALFE PENY. F. M. M.
B109. Obverse. HENRY . BRAND . AT . THE . CROSS = Crossed keys.
R. KEYES . IN . BARBICAN = H . I . B. 1/4
B110. Obverse. JOSEPH . BROOKS . AT . YE . 3 . l668 = HIS HALFE PENY. I . B.
R. Suger . loaves . in . barbycan = Three sugar-loaves. 1/2
B112. Obverse. ROBERT . DAWSON . AT . THE = A bear.
R. BLACK . BEAR . IN . BARBICAN = HIS HALFE PENY.
B113. Obverse. Samuell . Dippar . at . the = A covered well.
R. JACOBS . WELL . IN . BARBACAN = HIS HALFE PENNY. S . I . D. 1/2
B114. Obverse. at . the . five . roses = Five full-blown roses.
R. IN . BARBICAN . l664 = R . D . G. 1/4
B117. Obverse. William . Larkin = St. George and the Dragon.
R. IN . BARBICAN . 1656 = W . I . L. 1/4
B123. Obverse. at . the . LAMBE = The Paschal Lamb couchant.
R. IN . BARBICAN = R . S. 1/4
B124. Obverse. WILL . SANDERS . AT . THE = W . M . S.
R. Golden . barbican = An anchor between W . S. 1/4
B125. Obverse. Will . Shatchwell = The Weavers’ Arms.
R. IN . BARBECAN = W . I . S. 1/4
B126. Obverse. Brigget . Woolley = The Salters’ Arms.
R. IN . BARBICAN = B . W. 1/4
#124 WILLIAM RUSSELL. 1671 HIS COFFEE HOUSE, in field.
Rev. IN ST. BARTHOLOMEWS CLOSE A coffee-man pouring coffee.
B129. Obverse. Richard . Kempe . 1666 = A Turk’s head between R . K.
R. IN . S . BARTHOLOMEW . CLOSE = HIS HALFE PENNY.
Ed Heath in Bartholomew lane
#125 ED : HEATH AT SR THO . GRESHAM His head, in field.
Rev. IN BARTHOLMEW LANE HIS HALF PENY. E. M. H.
B131. Obverse. Hugh . Adderley = A dolphin.
R. BARTHOLMEW . LANE = H . A. 1/4
The issuer of this token was a relation of the gaoler of Coventry gaol, as
appears from the following advertisement :
“Upon the 3d Instant, one by the name of Charles Blocks brake the Goal at
Coventry; Lozv-statured, Pale-faced, Crook-Back'd, about 25 years of age, in a
Sand-coloured Suit and Coat : Whoever shall apprehend or make stay of him, and
give notice thereof to Gilbort Adderly , Coaler of Coventry , ... or to Hugh
Adderly, at the Dolphin-Tavern, in Bartholomew-Lane, shall have 40 shillings for
his Peyns.”
—The Newes , No. 46, June 9, 1664, p. 372.
Sir Thomas Gresham, a name ever to be remembered with lasting honour by the
citizens of London, is here represented with the flat cap-like form on his head
;
his left hand resting on his sword-hilt.
B133. Obverse. WILLIAM . LEVETT = A ship.
R. IN . BARTHOLMEW . LANE = W . M . L. 1/4
Vide Collections for Improvement, 1692:—“Ship Tavern against Bartholomew Lane,
by the Royal Exch.”
#126 THO: ARMESTRONGE AT YE An official in civil costume.
Rev. IN BASING-HALL STREET HIS HALFPENY. 1668.
B134. Obverse. Tho . Armestronge . at . ye = A man standing holding a book.
R. IN . BASING . HALL . STREET = HIS HALF PENY. 1668. 1/2
#127 GEORGE STARCKEY AT THE A horse current, in field.
Rev. IN BASINGHALL STREET HIS HALFE PENY.
The White or Saxon Horse.
The German chiefs, according to Krantz, bore on their shields the figure of the
beast whose name they assumed, which served to distinguish the warriors in the
hour of conflict ; and, on the subversion of the Roman empire by the Germanic
races, these emblems became the hereditary badges of tribes and families,
forming the basis on which the armorial bearings of modern nations are founded.
The White Horse may, without exaggeration, be styled the Saxon emblem ; for,
from the earliest to our own time, it has constituted the peculiar badge of the
race.
Tacitus notices that while they roved in their native woods in Germany, the
White Horse was considered sacred, and was typified in the religious ceremonies
of the Saxons. It doubtless gave name to the hardy warriors, who, fourteen
hundred years since, migrated in accordance with their policy, bearing the
standard of their nation unfurled before them ; and, landing on the shore of
Kent, caused the White Horse to have been ever since recognised as the insignia
or arms of the county in which they settled. The Saxon Chronicle, under anno
871, also records the repulse of the Danish invader by Alfred the Great, at the
memorable battle of Ethandune, (Edington, Wilts,) The commemorative trophy, the
colossal White Horse, hewn out in the chalk on Berkshire downs, has, like his
glory, continued unharmed and uninjured, indestructible amid the lapse of ages.
Richard . Buckland . in . Basinghall . Street
B135. Obverse. Richard . Buckland . in . Basinghall . Street (in four lines).
R. A Turk seated smoking; a man standing presenting him a cup.
B136. Obverse. Rich . Lem . Nags . Hed = A horse’s head.
R. BASING . HAL . STRt . END = R . E . L. 1/4
B137. Obverse. at . the . George . in = St. George and the Dragon.
R. BASINGHALL . STREET = T . I . M. 1/4
B138. Obverse. at . the . White . Horse = A horse prancing.
R. IN . BASINGHAL . STREET = G . S. 1/4
B140. Obverse. WILL . TIMBERLACKE = W . T . T.
R. Basinghall . streete = A bearded figure standing, holding a book in one hand,
and his hat in the other. 1/4
This has been struck on a large-sized blank.
#128 RALPH EVERSLEY IN An arched crown, in the field.
Rev. BASING LANE IN[N] In the field, IARETS HALL.
Gerard's, a perversion of Gisors' hall, or mansion, is thus described by Stow :
" On the south side of Basing lane is one great house, of old time built upon
arched vaults, and with arched gates of stone brought from Caen in Normandy." As
he had read, it was originally owned by John Gisors, mayor of London in 1245,
who appears from the name to have been of a Norman family, was a Pepperer or
member of the now Grocers company; and in 37 Henry III. is named on the Patent
llolls of that year, as the king's chamberlain of London, empowered to regulate
the prices of wines. He was sheriff in 1240, and mayor in the years 1245, 1246,
1250, and 1259. In 1250, he had the honour of being the first mayor presented to
the Barons of the Exchequer, and admitted by them to that office. He was
alderman of Vintry ward, and coroner for the city of London, from 1281 to 1284,
and was deceased in the reign of Edward the Second, as in the fourteenth year of
that monarch, Sir John Gisors, as son and heir, was called on, to answer for his
father, as king's coroner of London.
Sir John Gisors, who was mayor in 1311, though here named the son, was possibly
the grandson of the mayor of 1245 ; the long period of years between seems to
justify this supposition. Sir John was created Constable of the Tower in 1327,
on the accession of King Edward the Third : see Close Roll, 1 Edw. III., p. 1,
m. 23. He died in 1329 ; and it is apparently to him the particulars of the
sepulture is referable in the chapel of St. Mary, in the Gray Friers, " ad
dexterum cornu altaris, sub prima parte fenestrae, sub lapide elevato*."
This Sir John Gisors left two sons; Henry, the elder, who was sheriff in 1330;
and John, who had issue, and who became the heirs and owners of Gisors' hall. By
a John Gisors, according to Stow, a feofment of this property was made in 1386,
and it then probably passed to the military order of St. John of Jerusalem ; as,
on December 1, 1406, Walter Grendon, then prior, gave a receipt for four pounds,
from Margaret, widow of Sir John Philippot, knight, Thomas Goodlak, and their
partners, "in full payment of all arrears for rent due to us from their tenement
called Jesores hall in the city of London."
In 1598, Stow finds that " the same is now a common hostery ;" banters Grafton
for his credulity, or worse, in asserting Gisors' hall to have been the abode of
a giant named Gerard ; and the may -pole of the bygone day fictionized into the
giant's spear-staff, " when, even at the first building of Gisors' hall, were
made divers arched doors, yet to 'be seen, which seem not sufficient for any
great monster, or other than men of common stature to pass through."
In September, 1666, the great fire destroyed the building, but on its
reconstruction, all of the stone wall that could be retained was made available,
and it then stood some ten or twelve feet above the ground. On the east and
south sides was perceptible the stone-work of the windows, to the arched vaults
below the ground, since denominated the crypt ; and if they were blocked up in S
tow's time, certainly had the appearance of " divers arched doors," insufficient
for the passage of any except a man of common stature ; but, on the demolition
of the Gerard's-hall tavern, in April, 1852, and the bricked stoppings being
forced through, the iron mullions of the windows were shown to have been greatly
injured by the operation of the fire, and the stone work evinced the
destructiveness of the ravages the building had sustained during the
conflagration ; even the supporting columns in the crypt, as it was termed, were
greatly damaged.
The figure of the Giant Gerard, carved from a twisted block of timber, distorted
and ill at ease, that stood between the first-floor windows, and faced the
doorway of the house now numbered twenty-four, on the north side of Basing lane,
was in March, 1852, moved from its position, and is now deposited in the crypt
or vaults below the Guildhall. The building materials of the tavern were sold by
auction on April 8th and 1 Oth following, and, ere the month had closed, it was,
with the south side of Basing lane, wholly demolished. The vaults remained for
some months to gratify the public curiosity ; but the crown of the arched roof
being two feet or more above the level of the roadway, was in its turn cleared
out, with considerable attention to the preservation of the stone in its several
proportions, and will be reconstructed, as one of the innumerable attractions
contemplated by the proprietors of the Crystal Palace, on Anerley hill near
Sydenham.
#129 AT THE SEAVEN STARES In the field, seven stars.
Rev. IN BASIN LANE . 1650 A. A. P., in the field.
#130 VINCENT FLETCHER Seven stars, in the field.
Rev. IN BASING LANE . 1666 In the field, v. F. F.
Fletcher was apparently the successor of A. P. at the Seven Stars. In the great
fire of September, 1666, Basing lane was wholly destroyed.
#131 AT THE WHIT HORS In the field, a horse caprioling.
Rev. IN BASEN LANE. 1652 I. G., in the field.
B142. Obverse. AT . THE . BALL . 1659 = A ball.
R. IN . BASSING . LANE = B . A. 1/4
B143. Obverse. John . Benet . in = The Grocers’ Arms.
R. BASAN . LANE . 1650 = 1 . I . B. 1/4
B144. Obverse. Samvel . Broxon = A bear.
R. IN . BASEN . LANE . 1656 = SYLK SHOP. 1/4
B145. Obverse. JOHN . COCK . 1666 = A still.
R. IN . BASING . LANE = I . E . C. 1/4
Vide No. 141.
B148. Obverse. at . the . Whit . Hors = A horse galloping.
R. IN . BASEN . LANE . 1652 = 1 . G. 1/4
B149. Obverse. O. RICH . READ . IN . RED . LION . COVRT = A bunch of grapes.
R. IN . BASING . LANE . COOPPER . 71 = 1 D
B150. Obverse. GEORGE . SHERLEY . AT . YE . HARTS = A pair of harts’ horns.
R. horns . in . basing . lane = G . S . 1/2 and four stars.
Battle bridge was so named from being situated on ground, and over a water
course flowing from the Thames, belonging to the abbot of Battle abbey ; the
place
is now called Mill lane.
#132 THE BROOD HEN AT BATLE Hen sitting on nest, in field.
Rev. BRIDGE IN SOUTHARKE In the field, L. E. s.
#133 CHESMOVNGER AT In the field, an angel.
Rev. BATTEL BRIDG A. M. F., in the field.
#134 IOHN HOLLAND AT A castle, in the field. Rev.
BATEL BRIDG . SOUTHWARK In the field, I. E. H.
#135 RICHARD SAPP AT BATLE Peacock, the tail displayed.
Rev. BRIDG IN SOWTHARKE In the field, R. s. s.
"Alexander of Macedonia imposed a great penaltie on him that killed a peacocke.
Quintus Hortensius the Romane oratour first set it upon the table, beeing
himself a perfect glutton." Henry Buttes's Dyets dry Dinner, 1599, sign. K 6.
#136 ROWLAND PENNIFATHER A bell, HIS 1/2 in the field.
Rev. IN BEARE ALLY . BRIDGFOOT IN SOVTHWARK.
B151. Obverse. AT . THE . LOBSTER . IN = T . H.
R. BEAREBINDER . LANE = A lobster.
B152. Obverse. John . Pullin . at . the . beare = A bear passant.
R. in . beare . binder . lane = I . S . P divided by a knot.
#137 ELIZ: ROW.VPER EN[D] A skittle ball and two pins.
Rev. OF BEDFORDBERY In the field, E. R.
Skittles, under the appellation of kayles or nine-pins, was, with other games,
denounced as an unlawful amusement in the reign of King Edward the Fourth, and
the magistrates commanded to seize and burn them. Strutt, while noticing the
general failure of such enactments, adds " I remember, about twenty years back
(1780), the magistrates caused all the skittle frames, in or about the city of
London, to be taken up, and prohibited the playing at Dutch pins, nine pins, or
in long bowling alleys, when in many places the game of nine holes was revived
as a substitute, with the new name of ( Bubble the Justice,' because the
populace had taken it into their heads to imagine the power of the magistrates
extended only to the prevention of such pastimes as were specified by name in
the public acts, and not to any new species of diversion." Sports and Pastimes,
edit. 1810, 4to. Introd. p. xliv.
B153. Obverse. Frances . Clare . in . bed = Two lions supporting a crown.
R. FORD . BEREY . IN . ST . MARTIN = F . P . C. 1/4
B155. Obverse. Thomas . West . 1663 = A half-moon, and a stick of candles.
R. IN . BEDFORDBERRY = T . I . W. 1/4
#138 THE CROS KEYES TAVERN Two crossed keys, in field.
Rev. IN COVENT GARDEN In the field, G. G. G.
Most of the early parochial rate books of St. Paul, Co vent garden, are supposed
to have been destroyed in the fire of September, 1795 ; all that remain are the
rector's rate books of 1650, and the poor-rate assessment books of the years
1651 (the eastern division only), 1657, and 1663. There are no others till 1697;
and recently, some heartless wretch has purloined the volume of vestry minutes,
from 1640 to 1681 ; certainly one of the most interesting of all the
metropolitan records.
The Crossed-keys tavern appears to have been in Bedford street, between
Henrietta street and King street. GEOKGE GASCOIGNE'S name is noticed in the rate
books of 1657 ; but he was doubtless an older inhabitant, as in the burial
register that commences October 27, 1653, are recorded in April 24, 1654, the
sepxilture of Debora Gascoigne, and on May 8th, Dorothy Gascoigne. The burial of
George Gascoigne, the issuer of the token, follows on January 23, 1660-61.
#139 SAMVELL HOARE AT THE CROS Two crossed keys, in field.
Rev. IN BEDFORD STREET COVENT GARD In the field, S. G. H.
Samuel Hoare possibly married the widow of George Gascoigne, the middle initial
being the same. Hoare's name appears on the rate book of 1663. The burial
register notices him, October 14, 1668, as " Captain Samuel Hoare, buried in the
church ;" and later, possibly of the same family, is recorded, August 2d, 1695,
"Elizabeth, wife of Charles Hoare, esq., from St. Ann's; buried in the church."
These interments were in the vaults.
#140 TOUCH NOT MINE ANOINTED Head of King Charles II.
Rev. FEARE GOD. HONOR THE KING: A bible, between W. S., the date 1660, above.
#140* TOUCH NOT MINE ANOINTED Head of King Charles II.
Rev. FEARE GOD . HONOR THE
KING A bible, between W. M. S., and the date 1664, above.
William Sheares, bookseller, at the Bible in Bedford street, Covent garden, in
1661, as a frontispiece to some of his publications, prefixed an engraving of
his sign, a Bible, with W. S., surrounded by the motto " FEARE GOD . HONOR THE
KING," as on the token.
Richard Smith, in his Obituary, has a notice ; " Sept. 21st, 1662, Mr. Sheires,
bookseller in Covent garden, buried." Where, does not appear; his name is not in
the parish register. Margaret Sheares is found in imprints, three or four years
later.
The burial register of St. Paul, Covent garden, records, " March 26, 1673, Mrs.
Margaret Sheares buried."
#141 WILLIAM FARNCOMBE In the field, OYLE MANE . 1654.
Rev. IN COVENT GARDEN W. F., in the field.
William Farncombe appears on the rate book of 1657, in Bedford street ; and in
the burial register, February 3, 1660-61, is recorded the interment of "
William, son of William Farncombe." The name again occurs in the assessment book
of 1663.
B156. Obverse. Thomas . Batcheler = cheesmonger (in three lines).
R. in . bedfold . street = The Tallowchandlers’ Arms. 1/4
B157. Obverse. AT . THE . SHVGER . LOFE = A Sugar-loaf.
R. IN . BEDFORD . STREETE = G . D. 1/4
B159. Obverse. Thomas . Lathwell . in . bed = A man dipping candles.
R. FORD . STREET . COVENT . GARDEN = HIS HALF PENY.
B160. Obverse. at . the . Bellconey . in = Three people looking from a balcony.
R. BEDFORD . STREET =H . K . P. 1/4
B161. Obverse. Christopher . Seward . at . the = Three birds. C . E . S.
R. IN . BEDFORD . STREET . COVENT . GARDN = HIS HALFE PENNY. 1664.
A newspaper, dated Saturday, March 14th, 1752, states that " This week workmen began to pull down four houses in the front of Bishopsgate street, adjoining to Old Bedlam, and several others down the said place, in order to make that passage to New Broad street more commodious, the new houses being to be built ten feet backwards."
Simon Fitz-Mary*, sheriff of London in the years 1233 and 1246, out of his
singular and especial devotion to the church of the glorious Virgin Mary at
Bethlehem, gave, as the deed of gift recites, " all that land of mine, which I
possess in the parish of St. Botolph without Bishopsgate, namely, whatsoever I
have there, or whatsoever I ought to have there, in houses, gardens, fish-ponds,
ditches, pits, and all their appurtenances, included within the bounds ; the
which extend in length from the king's way on the east, to the ditch called
Depediche on the west ; and in breadth, towards the land which was Ralph
Dunnynges on the north, to the land of the church of St. Botolph on the south ;
in clear, free, and perpetual alms, and especially for building the same into a
priory." The grant, dated on Wednesday, October 23, 1247, was witnessed by Peter
Fitz-Alwyn, supposed to have been the grandson of Henry Fitz-Alwyn, draper, of
London Stone, first may or of London; Nicholas Bat, sheriff and alderman of
Bishopsgate ward; Ralph Sparling, and others.
Not otherwise endowed, and failing of other assistance, the priory lingered till
1523, when Stephen Jennings, a merchant tailor, bequeathed forty pounds towards
purchasing the right of adapting it to the reception of lunatics. Skelton, in
his Why come ye not to Cowrie, written in or about 1523, in his abuse of
Cardinal Wolsey, thus describes him :
" He grinnes and he gapes
As it were Jacke Napes,
Such a mad Bedlem."
In 1546, on the dissolution of popish religious houses, the priory, with all its
revenues, passed to the city authorities, as a hospital for insane persons.
Aggas, in his map, 1560, particularizes the buildings, with the church in the
midst, demolished in 1562, doubtless for the purpose of laying out lines of
small houses, which were soon after erected. Sir Thomas Roe, in 1569, inclosed,
as a place of burial for the neighbourhood, about an acre of the land belonging
to the said hospital, on the west, on the bank of the deep ditch, the boundary
of the hospital land from Moorfields. This inclosed portion constitutes the
north-west corner of Liverpool street and Blomfield street, next Finsbury
circus.
Contiguous to the metropolis, it became a suburban receptacle for lawless and
low characters ; the lunatics were of the worst description, and maintained by
public charity, but scantily bestowed. Streets of small tenements creeped up
almost imperceptibly, and became the pestilential abode of dissolute persons.
Chettle, in his Kind Hearts' Dreame, printed at latest in 1593, notices the
bowling-alleys in Bedlam. Stow, in 1598, observes, "from this hospital
northward, upon the street's side, many houses have been built with alleys
backward, of late too much pestered with people, a great cause of infection, up
to the bars ;" and Ben Jonson, in his Alchemist, 1610, has an allusion to the
beggarly condition of the precinct :
" Lovewit. The world's turn'd Bethlem !
Face. These are all broke loose
Out of St. Katherine's, where they use to keep The better sort of mad folks."
Act v. sc. 1.
The attempt by the city authorities, in 1644, to renovate the place and
institute order, was, from the density of the population, abandoned, until the
new hospital, on the south side of Moorfields, begun in April, 1675, and
completed in July, 1676, became the home of the lunatics; and their former
receptacle was either pulled down or rendered habitable for more supposed sane
persons. Strype, in 1720, describes it as containing several courts and alleys,
under the appellation of Old Bethlem ; it continued so till 1829, when the main
street, so named, was widened, and the name changed to Liverpool street.
#142 AT THE SALUTATION In the field, two men greeting.
Rev. IN BEDLAM . 1658 G. A. H., in the field.
The transmutation of the tavern signs at this period was the theme of numerous
writers. Richard Flecknoe, in his ^Enigmatical Characters, 1658, 8vo, speaking
of " your fanatick reformers," observes, " as for the signs, they have pretty
well begun their reformation already, changing the sign of the Salutation of the
Angel and our Lady into the Souldier and Citizen, and the Catherine-wheel into
the Cat and Wheel. Such ridiculous work they make of their reformation, and so
zealous are they against all mirth and jollity, as they would pluck down the
sign of the Cat and Fiddle too, if it durst but play so loud as they could hear
it."
* Leland names him Simon Fitz-Moris ; and he is elsewhere called Maury.
#143 EPHRAIM CLITHEROW The sun in rays, in the field.
Rev. AT THE SVNE IN BEDLAM E. G. C.
#144 THE SINE OF THE HALF A crescent, in the field.
Rev. MOVN IN BEDLAME In the field, T. B.
Sir Thomas Browne was of opinion that the human faces pourtrayed on ale-house
signs, and in coats of arms, for the sun and moon, were reliques of paganism,
and that these visages originally implied Apollo and Diana.
Butler, who waggishly asks,
"Tell me but what's the nat'ral cause,
Why on a sign, no painter draws
The full moon ever, but the half ? "
Hudibras, part ii. canto 3.
maybe fairly answered on the rule of common sense ; was the moon represented
full faced, as the Baptist's head on the Irish half-pennies and farthings of
King John, the more than half fuddled mooney-eyed customers, by an optical
illusion, on retiring, might mistake the moon's disc for a sun in glory ; fancy
it another haven of bliss ; return ; and become lunatically drunk.
B178. Obverse. at . the . three = Three tuns.
R. TVNS . IN . BEDLAM = C . H . A. 1/4
At the Three Tuns in Bedlam. Initials C H A . And Three Tuns (Barrels)
Beech lane is mentioned in early records, as the way lying " versus le Beche,"
the shore of the great water. A red cross, in contrast with the white or stone
cross towards Cripplegate, stood at the west corner, both afterwards giving
names to the respective streets on their sites. The Roman watch-tower, the
Barbican, stood near the red cross, and was subsequently the site of the town
mansion of the Bridge water family ; that in its turn has given place to Bridge
water square.
#145 ELIZABETH WOOD Goldsmiths Company arms, in the field,.
Rev. IN BEACH LANE. 1656 In the field, E. W.
#146 EDWARD MARSHALL In the field, three crowns.
Rev. IN BEECH LANE . 1668 HIS HALF PENY. E. I. M.
#147 HENRY GREEN NEXT DORE TO GLOVERS HALL.
Rev.
IN BEECH LANE . 1669 . A HALFE PENEY. H. A. G.
B162. Obverse. Peter . Baker . in = A dog and duck.
R. BEICH . LANE . 1658 = P . M . B. 1/4
B163. Obverse. ELEZ . BUTTERFIELD . AT = A hart’s horns.
R. IN . BEECH . LANE = E . B. 1/4
B164. Obverse. Samuell . Elce . in = Three crowns.
R. BEECH . LANE . CHANDLER = S . E. 1/4
B166. Obverse. Robert . Halls . at . the = The Bakers’ Arms.
R. IN . BEECH . LANE . 59 = R . E . H. 1/4
B168. Obverse. Thomas . Taylor . in = The Butchers’ Arms.
R. BEECH . LANE . 1668- HIS HALF PENY. T . S . T.
Bell yard derived that appellation from a messuage or tenement called " the
Bell," in the parish of St. Dunstan's, Fleet street, " lately belonging to the
priory of St. John of Jerusalem." On the dissolution of the priory, King Henry
the Eighth granted the said messuage to Anthony Stringer, from whom, in 1543, it
passed to John Hornby. The Inquisitio post mortem, instituted on Hornby's
decease in 1558, elicited these facts.
#148 VICTOR DREW IN BELL Key within crescent, in field.
Rev. YARD NEAR TEMPLE BARR HIS HALF PENY. 1667.
The sign of the Key and Half-moon.
#149 WILL. JONSON AT YE DRAKE IN A drake, in the field.
Rev. BELL YARD NEARE TEMPLE BAR HIS HALFE PENY. 1667.
Will Johnson at Ye Drake in Bell Yard, near Temple Bar. His Half penny 1667. And A Drake.
#150 EDWARD OAKES AT BENET A windmill, in the field.
Rev. CASTLE . THAMES STREET In the field, E. G. O.
ST. BENNET'S HILL, Thames Street.
#151 MATHEW TVNSTALE AT THE A harrow, in the field.
Rev. HARROW ONE ST BENNETS HILL In the field, 1D
Large brass, for pence, were chiefly issued by coffee-house keepers on their
re-establishment after the great fire.
#152 AT THE WHITE SWAN IN A swan with collar and chain.
Rev. BARNABEY STREET In the field, W. A. T.
The Mandevilles, earls of Essex, bore for arms, gules, a swan arg. ducally
collared and chained or. The Bohuns, descended from them by a female line, bore
the same badge.
The White Swan was a device borne by King Edward the Third on his shield, at a
tournament., with the legend in the vernacular English dialect, the first
recorded instance of its use in a motto :
" Ha ! ha ! the Whyte Swan !
By Goddes soule I am thy man !"
Prior to this time, the English language was a commixture of speech, of
Anglo-Saxon and Norman -French.
The White Swan was also the badge of his son King Richard the Second.
#153 AT THE RED BULL IN A bull passant, in the field.
Rev. BERMONDSEY STREETS In field, . . D. ? indistinct.
#154 RICHARD MELTON IN Crossed keys, in the field.
Rev. BARNIBE STREETE In the field, R. A. M.
The sign of the Crossed Keys is yet extant in Bermondsey street. ,
#155 NICHOLAS SHELLEY IN HIS HALFE PENNY, in field.
Rev. BARMONDICE CHESEMONGER In the field, N. M. S. 1666.
#156 IOHN STEVENS IN BARMONSI In the field, I. A. S. 1666.
Rev. STREET IN SOVTHWARKE HIS HALF PENY.
#157 AT THE QVEENES HEAD Queen Elizabeth, with high ruff.
Rev. AT BILLINGSGATE In the field, R. A. C.
B197. Obverse. at . the . Queens . Head = Bust of the Queen of Bohemia.
R. AT . BILLINGS . GATE = R . A . C. 1/4
Antecedent to the fire, was the Boar's Head in Billingsgate, that gave name also
to Boar's-head alley. Machin, in his diary, a chronicle of the cardinal virtues
of Catholicism, mentions, on May 11th, 1555, one Hall, a lighterman, of
Boar's-head alley, who, while the faithful of Machin's religion were going in
procession through Cheapside, was bound to a post there and whipped, as they
passed, for his heretical opinions. Well might the accession of Queen Elizabeth
induce her sign to be raised, as an expression of general joy.
#158 John Eldridge at Billingsgate, in four lines, on obverse.
Rev. His HALF PENY A lion rampant, and still, in field.
John Eldridge at Billingsgate. His Half Penny. And A lion rampant, and still, in field.
B196. Obverse. at . the . Queens . Head = Bust of the Queen of Bohemia.
R. AT . BILLINGSGATE = S . M . B. 1/4
B198. Obverse. Rob . Cash . 1663 = A mermaid.
R. AT . BILLINGSGATE = R . A . C. 1/4
B200. Obverse. the . mairmead . tavern = A mermaid.
R. AT . BILLIN . GATE . 1650 = V . I . H. 1/4
B201. Obverse. the . Salutation . tavern = Two men saluting.
R. AT . BILLINGS . GATE = R . S . M. 1/4
The Salutation Tavern at Billingsgate. Initials R S M. And two men saluting.
" The narrow way called Bellezeters lane" is noticed as a boundary, in a survey
of lands and quit-rents belonging to London Bridge, in the fifteenth century.
Harl. MS. 6016. Billiter lane is now Billiter street.
#159 WILLIAM WICKINS . 1657, in three lines, on obverse.
Rev. IN BILET[E]R LANE A man dipping candles.
#160 WILLIAM PHILLIPS A crooked billet, in the field.
Rev. IN BILLITER LANE In the field, W. E. P.
B207. Obverse. A . Bacheler . at . ye (in three lines). An anchor.
R. IN . BILLITER . LANE . HALF . PENY . 1668 (in five B200. Obverse. lines).
B208. Obverse. at . the . Angell . in = An angel, holding a scroll.
R. BILETTER . LANE = G . H . G. 1/4
B209. Obverse. John . Howkins = A crooked billet.
R. IN . BILLITER . LANE = I . S . H. 1/4
B210. Obverse. Brovns . Ally . in = The Holy Lamb with the nimbus.
R. BILLETER . LANE . 1648 = W . K . L. 1/4
" The king's way called Bercher's lane, in the parish of St. Edmund in Lombard
strete," is noticed as a boundary, in a survey of lands and quit -rents
belonging to London Bridge, in the fifteenth century. Harl. MS. 6016.
Bercher appears to be a perversion, or misnomer. " Birchover lane," according to
Stow, edit. 1603, was " so called of Birchover, the first builder and owner
thereof, now corruptly called Birchin lane. This lane, and the high street near
adjoining, were formerly for the most part inhabited by wealthy drapers ; but in
the reign of Henry the Sixth, from Birchover lane on that side of the street, to
the stocks, the most part dwelling there were fripperers or upholders, who sold
old apparel and household stuff. ' ' What would now be termed a broker's alley.
So, in the Returne from Parnassus, 1606, 4to, it is said, "And you, Master
Amoretto it's fine, when that puppet-player Fortune must put such a Birchin-lane
post in so good a suit such an ass in so good fortune."
#161 IAMES FORDE AT THE A cock, in the field.
Rev. COCKE IN BVRCHING LANE In the field, I. E. F.
#162 AT THE SHIP IN A ship, in the field.
Rev. BVRCHEN LANE In the field, E. A. D.
B213. Obverse. JOHN . COOKE . At . BLAC = A bull.
R. IN . BURCHIN . LANE = I . E . C. 1/4
B216. Obverse. Roger . Forth . at . the = A cock ; above it a bell.
R. IN . BURCHEN . LANE . 1667 = HIS HALFE PENNY.
B217. Obverse. ROBERT . WHITE . AT = THE BVLL ORDINARY.
R. IN . BURCHEN . LANE = HIS HALF PENY.
### Next is streets Bish, starting with
Bishopsgate
As ever I am appreciative of the archive.org site and google books for
showing old and non-copyright scripts which can be used for research (copied).