* October 4, 1743. Close by stood the old Bath House, which was built over a _Cold Spring_ by one Walter Baynes, in 1697. * The house is razed to the ground, but the spring remains. A few paces forward is the Lord Cobham's Head, ** transmogrified into a modern temple for tippling; its shady gravel walks, handsome grove of trees, and green bowling alleys, are long since destroyed. Its opposite neighbour _was_ (for not a vestige of the ancient building remains) the Sir John Oldcastle, *** where the wayfarer was invited to regale upon moderate terms. * According to tradition, this was once the bath of Nell Gwynn. In Baynes's Row, close by, lived for many years the celebrated clown Joe Grimaldi. ** “Sir,--Coming to my lodging in Islington, I called at the Lord Cobham's Head, in Cold Bath Fields, to drink some of their beer, which I had often heard to be the finest, strongest, and most pleasant in London, where I found a very handsome house, good accommodation, and pleasantly situated. I afterwards walked in the garden, where I was greatly surprised to find a very handsome grove of trees, with gravel walks, and finely illuminated, to please the company that should honour them with drinking a tankard of beer, which is threepence. There will be good attendance, and music of all sorts, both vocal and instrumental, and will begin this day, being the 10th of August. “I am yours, “Tom Freeman.” Daily Advertiser, 9th August 1742. *** “Sir,--A few days ago, invited by the serenity of the evening, I made a little excursion into the fields. Returning home, being in a gay humour, I stopt at a booth near Sir John Oldcastle's, to hear the rhetoric of Mr. Andrew. He used so much eloquence to persuade his auditors to walk in, that I (with many others) went to see his entertainment; and I never was more agreeably amused than with the performances of the three Bath Morris Dancers. They showed so many astonishing feats of strength and activity, so many amazing transformations, that it is impossible for the most lively imagination to form an adequate idea thereof. As the Fairs are coming on, I presume these admirable artists will be engaged to entertain the town; and I assure your readers they can't spend an hour more agreeably than in seeing the performances of these wonderful men. “I am, &c. Daily Advertiser, 27th July 1743. See a rare print, entituled “A new and exact prospect of the North side of the City of London, taken from the Upper Pond near Islington. Printed and sold by Thomas Bake-well, Print and Map-seller, over against Birching Lane, Corn-hill, August 5, 1730.”