Bloomsbury (London, England) -- Description and travel; Holborn (London, England) -- Description and travel
Roman altar, designed by Inigo Jones, and commemorating George Chapman,
the translator of Homer, and a touching monument in the lobby to "John
Belayse," put up by his two daughters, there is nothing further worth
seeing.
The graveyard which surrounds the church is supposed to have been the
ancient interment-ground of the hospital. The first mention of it in the
parish books is in 1628, when three cottages were pulled down to
increase its size. It was enlarged again in 1666. Part of the old
hospital wall enclosing it remained until 1630, when it fell down, and
after the lapse of some time a new wall was built. In St. Giles's
Churchyard were buried Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Shirley, Roger
L'Estrange, Andrew Marvell, and Richard Pendrell, who assisted in
Charles II.'s escape; his altar-tomb is easily seen near the east end of
the church. By 1718 the graveyard had risen 8 feet, so that the church
stood in a pit or well. The further burial-ground at St. Pancras was
taken in 1805, and after that burials at St. Giles's were not very
frequent. Pennant was one of the first to draw attention to the
disgraceful overcrowding of the old graveyard. There seem to have been
several gates into the churchyard with the right of private entry, one
of which was used by the Duchess of Dudley. The most remarkable gate,
however, was at the principal entrance to the churchyard, and was known
as the Resurrection Gate, from an alto-relievo of the Last Day. This was
erected about 1687, and was of red and brown brick. The composition of
the relievo is said to have been borrowed, with alterations, from
Michael Angelo's work on the same subject. In 1765 the north wall of the
churchyard was taken down, and replaced by the present railing and
coping. In 1800 the gate was removed, and replaced by the present
Tuscan gate, in which the sculpture has been refixed. This stood at
first on the site of the old one on the north of the churchyard, but was
removed to the west side, where it at present stands in an unnoticeable
and obscure position. It was probably placed there in the idea that the
new road, Charing Cross Road, would run past.
Denmark Street "fronts St. Giles Church and falls into Hog Lane, a fair
broad street, with good houses well inhabited by gentry" (Strype).
This description is no longer applicable. Denmark Place was once Dudley
Court, and the house here with a garden was given by the Duchess of
Dudley as a rectory for the parish. The Court or Row was built on the
site of the house previous to 1722.
Broad Street is one of the most ancient streets in the parish, and there
were a few houses standing on the north side when the rest of the
district was open ground. It was the main route westward for many
centuries, until New Oxford Street was made.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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