Drawing -- England -- London -- Catalogs; London (England) -- Pictorial works -- Catalogs
was removed thither from College Hill in 1894.
The hall, still in existence, is only 36 feet long by 22 feet
in width, and faces the narrow passage by which one enters from
Holborn. It certainly dates from the foundation of the building in
the fifteenth century, but has been altered and renovated from time
to time. A louvre still adorns the roof, designed doubtless for
the emission of smoke from a central hearth, but it must have been
closed many years ago. There is at each end a projecting fireplace,
apparently Tudor, though the stonework has of late been renewed.
Their carved wooden overmantels have friezes in style belonging
to the sixteenth century, which surmount panelling of the linen
pattern. Similar panelling decorates the walls. Although this has
been much renewed, portions of it are original. The drawing of the
interior (No. 61) shows portraits above the panelling; the full
length over the western mantelpiece, representing Chief Justice Holt,
is now at the National Portrait Gallery. The heraldic glass in the
windows dates mostly from the eighteenth century. The figure seated
at a table is clad in one of the cloaks which were worn on certain
occasions by the Ancients. Beyond the hall was a somewhat irregular
quadrangle; part of it is represented in the painting No. 62. The
quaint gabled houses to the spectator's right, which were close to
the yard of the White Horse Inn, disappeared in the year 1893. Those
in the centre of the drawing, their fronts abutting on Fetter Lane,
remained until quite recently. At No. 2 dwelt Peter Woulfe, F.R.S.,
known as the last true believer in Alchemy, who here strove at the
impossible task of making gold. Sir Humphrey Davy said of him that he
used to hang up written prayers and recommendations of his processes
to Providence. The chambers were then so filled with furniture and
apparatus that it was difficult to reach the fireside. His remedy for
illness was a journey to Edinburgh and back by coach, and a cold taken
on one of these expeditions brought on inflammation of the lungs, from
which he died. Other houses in the quadrangle have been replaced by
the new school buildings. There are various references to Barnard's
Inn, not quite of a complimentary nature, in "Great Expectations," by
Charles Dickens.
(15-3/8 × 18-5/8) D. 71-1896.
64. Old Butchers' Shops, Clare Market, destroyed 1891 (Black and
white).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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