Guilds -- England -- London; London (England) -- Description and travel; London (England) -- History
In 1311 and in 1349 we find mention of houses built upon “la Romeland”
by St. Michael, Queenhithe. In 1338, and again in 1349, we read of a
tenement near the King’s garden upon _le Romelonde_, near the Tower. In
1339 we learn that there was a Roomland in the parish of Allhallows
Barking. After 1374 we find no more mention of any Roomland. Perhaps the
limits of the quays were by this time contracted and defined; perhaps
the foreshore had been enlarged and the “land” behind had been built
upon.
Thames Street was the Exchange, the place of meeting for the merchants.
One supposes, however, that the lesser sort transacted business at the
taverns. Here walked in great dignity Aylwin of London Stone, the first
mayor; Whittington, Philpott, Rokesley, and the Beckets, Faringdons,
Walworths, Sevenokes, and all the great men of the City, each in his
generation, not only building up their own fortunes, but fighting
against disorder and crime in their wards, and against encroachments
from the sovereign.
The Fire swept through the street, raging among the stores of the
warehouses, laying low churches, destroying monuments, and burning up
old memories and associations.
The warehouses were at once rebuilt, but, according to Malcolm (1803),
many of the buildings had in his time become ruinous or decayed. There
is very little left of the building immediately after the Fire: hardly a
single warehouse, and on the north side only one or two of the mansions
built by the merchants. The two ports, Billingsgate and Queenhithe,
still remain, though the trade of the City is no longer carried on upon
the quays. The Custom House still stands very nearly on its old site;
the bridge has been moved farther west; there are other City
bridges—Blackfriars and Southwark; one can still walk down lanes as
narrow as when they were first reclaimed from the foreshore; and there
are still one or two of these narrow lanes where, as of old, the people
of the Service live.
The following is a list of the old signs in Thames Street:
“The White Bear” inn; “The White Lion” inn near London Bridge; “The
White Lion” inn at the White Lion Wharf; “The Blew Ancor” inn; “The Old
Swan” inn; “The Bull Head” inn; “The Naggs Head Tavern” inn; “The
Princes Arms” inn; “The Fling Hors” inn; “The Lion and Key” inn; “The
Black Bell inn; “The Woodmongers Arms” inn; “The Crose Bulets” inn; “The
Suggar Lofe” inn; “The Lobster” inn; “The Bear and Ragged Staff” inn;
“The Two Fighting Cocks” inn; “The Blue Boar and Three Horse Shoes” inn;
“The Horse Shoe” inn; “The Royal Arms on Shield” inn; “The Cross against
Barkin Church” inn.
Thames Street itself is the subject of a great many references in the
_Calendar of Wills_ dated from 1275 to 1688. The earliest is in 1275,
after which they occur repeatedly. In 1280 a tenement is mentioned as
that of Ernald Thedmar; in 1282 Henry de Coventre bequeathed to his wife
his mansion in the Vintry from Thames Street to the waterside.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account