The Fleet: Its Rivers, Prison, and MarriagesAshton, John
History
The Fleet: Its Rivers, Prison, and Marriages
Ashton, John
Fleet Prison (London, England); Fleet, River (England)
"In digging this Canal between Fleet Prison and Holborn Bridge,
several Roman utensils were lately discovered at the depth of 15 feet;
and a little deeper, a great quantity of Roman Coins, in silver,
brass, copper, and all other metals except gold. Those of silver were
ring money, of several sizes, the largest about the bigness of a
Crown, but gradually decreasing; the smallest were about the size of a
silver Twopence, each having a snip at the edge. And at Holborn Bridge
were dug up two brazen lares, or household gods, about four inches in
length, which were almost incrusted with a petrified matter: one of
these was Bacchus, and the other Ceres; but the coins lying at the
bottom of the current, their lustre was in a great measure preserved,
by the water incessantly washing off the oxydizing metal. Probably
the great quantity of coin found in this ditch, was thrown in by the
Roman inhabitants of this city for its preservation at the approach
of Boadicæa at the head of her army: but the Roman Citizens, without
distinction of age or sex, being barbarously murdered by the justly
enraged Britons, it was not discovered till this time.
"Besides the above-mentioned antiquities, several articles of a more
modern date were discovered, as arrow-heads, scales, seals with
the proprietors' names upon them in Saxon characters; spur rowels
of a hand's breadth, keys and daggers, covered over with livid
rust; together with a considerable number of medals, with crosses,
crucifixes, and Ave Marias engraven thereon."
A paper was read, on June 11, 1862, to the members of the British
Archæological Association, by Mr. Ganston, who exhibited various relics
lately recovered from the bed of the river Fleet, but they were not
even of archæological importance--a few knives, the earliest dating
from the fifteenth century, and a few knife handles.
Previously, at a meeting of the same Society, on December 9, 1857, Mr.
C. H. Luxmore exhibited a green glazed earthenware jug of the sixteenth
century, found in the Fleet.
And, before closing this antiquarian notice of the Fleet, I cannot but
record some early mention of the river which occur in the archives of
the Corporation of the City of London:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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