Many celebrated surgeons have been connected with the hospital; foremost among them being perhaps, William Harvey, born at Folkestone, April 1st, 1578, elected Fellow of the College of Physicians 1607, and who discovered the circulation of the blood; and Dr. Abernethy, born in 1765. Many anecdotes are told of Abernethy’s rough, brusque manner while speaking to his patients. On one occasion he had shown a Royal Duke over the hospital, and upon the Duke desiring to inspect the dissecting room, the key of which Abernethy held in his hand, the latter told the Duke there were only two classes of persons admitted, the students and the dead subject, and he not belonging to either denomination, could not have the rules infringed for him.[A] [A] This anecdote was related to the writer by an old pupil of his in the dissecting room of the Hospital. Upon another occasion the Duke of York sent for him; while waiting for the Duke, he put his hands into his pockets and began to whistle; at length the Duke appeared, and feeling his dignity hurt by that style of conduct, asked Abernethy if he knew who he was; he replied, “Yes, and what of that?” and after enquiring the nature of the Duke’s ailments, told him he should treat them as the Duke of Wellington did: storm the out-works, and then he would get into the citadel. He died in 1831. [Illustration: CANONBURY] There is reason to believe that the manor of Canonbury formed one of the lay possessions described in Domesday Book at the time of the Norman Conquest. It came afterwards into the family of Berners, and forming part of their fee, it was as such included in the grant made to the Priory of St. Bartholomew, Smithfield, by Ralph de Berners, of lands and rents, with their appurtenances in Iseldon, held of the said fee, and enumerated among several other possessions of that monastery in a confirmation grant of King Henry III., by letters patent bearing date at Winchester, June 15th, 1253, in the 37th year of his reign. It is most probable that this site being pitched upon for a mansion for the Prior of the Canons of St. Bartholomew, received the name of Canonbury, as Canons, in Little Stanmore, had its name from belonging to the Canons of Bentley adjoining, which was a foundation previous to St. Bartholomew. Bury is synonymous with Bown or Burgh, and signifies generally a mansion or dwelling-place. The original mansion of Canonbury appears to have been built in 1362, ten years after the Priory of St. Bartholomew had been exempted from the payment of tenths and fifteenths, and every other subsidy, on account of the disproportion of their income to their great expenditure in works of charity. Stowe informs us that Bolton, Prior from 1509 till his death, April 15th, 1532, “builded of new the Manor of Canonbury, which belonged to the Canons of that house.”