volumes would be needed in order to describe all its treasures. The city of Westminster, the suburbs and the West End, have for the most part been excluded from the plan of this work, and possibly may be treated of in a subsequent volume. The domain of the city of London, not of the London County Council, provides the chief subjects of these volumes, though occasionally our writers have strayed beyond the city boundaries. We have endeavoured to give sketches of London, its appearance, its life and manners, at various stages of its history. We have tried to describe its historic buildings, its fortress, its churches, the Exchange, and other houses noted in its annals. Monastic London is represented by the Charterhouse. Legal London finds expression in the histories of the Temple and the Inns of Court. Royal London is described by the story of its Palaces; and the old city life of the famous merchants and traders, artizans and 'prentices, is shown in our glimpses of Mediaeval London, the histories of the Guildhall, the City Companies, the Hanseatic League, Elizabethan London, and in other chapters. Old inns, coffee-houses, clubs, learned societies, and literary shrines present other phases of the life of the old city which are not without their attractions, and help to complete the picture which we have tried to paint. All the chapters have been specially written for this work, and my most grateful thanks are due to each of the contributors for their valuable papers, as well as to those who have supplied photographs, old prints, or drawings. I desire especially to thank Mr. Philip Norman for his coloured sketches which form the pleasing frontispieces of the two volumes; to Mr. Harold Sands for his skilfully constructed plan of the Tower of London; and to Mr. Tavenor-Perry for his valuable drawings of St. Bartholomew's Church, Smithfield, and the bridges that span the Thames. P. H. DITCHFIELD. _Barkham Rectory, Berks., August, 1908._ CONTENTS OF VOL. I. Page London in Early Times--Celtic, Roman, Saxon, and Norman By Rev. W. J. Loftie, B.A., F.S.A. 1 The Tower of London By Harold Sands, F.S.A. 27 St. Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield By J. Tavenor-Perry 66 The London Charterhouse By Rev. A. G. B. Atkinson, M.A. 86 Glimpses of Mediaeval London By George Clinch, F.G.S., and the Editor 106 The Temple By Rev. H. G. Woods, D.D. (Master) 133 Holborn and the Inns of Court and Chancery By E. Williams 149 The Guildhall By C. Welch, F.S.A. 178