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)
It was a good sized piece of ground; in shape of a somewhat irregular
triangle, of which the base measured about 200 feet, and from apex to
base 95 feet. It was Copyhold. The vendor was not to be asked for a
title prior to 1793, and it was held of the Manor of _Cantlowes_ or
_Cantlers_, subject to a small fine, certain, of 6s. 8d., on death
or alienation, and to a Quit Rent of 5d. per annum. We should say,
nowadays, that the assessment was very small, as, including the large
gardens, both back and front, the whole was only valued, including the
_Saline Spring_, at £81 10s. per annum, of which £21 10s. was let off,
but which formed but a small portion of the property.
What would not the waters of St. Chad's Well cure? Really I think
the proprietor hardly knew himself, for a handbill I have before me
commences--"The celebrity of these waters being confined chiefly to its
own immediate vicinity for a number of years; the present proprietor
has thought proper to give more extensive publicity to the existence of
a nostrum provided by Nature, through Divine Providence, approaching
nearest that great desideratum of scientific men and mankind in
general, throughout all ages; namely, an UNIVERSAL MEDICINE.... The
many cures yearly performed by these waters does not come within the
limits of a handbill, but, suffice it to say, that here, upon trial,
the sufferer finds a speedy and sure relief from INDIGESTION and its
train, HABITUAL COSTIVENESS, the extensive range of LIVER COMPLAINTS,
DROPSY in its early stages, GLANDULAR OBSTRUCTIONS, and that bane of
life, SCROPHULA; for ERUPTIONS ON THE FACE OR SKIN its almost immediate
efficacy needs but a trial." This wonderful water, with use of garden,
was then, say 1835, supposed to be worth to the sufferer £1 per annum,
or threepence a visit, or you might have it supplied at eightpence per
gallon.
And yet it seems only to have been a mild aperient, and rather dear
at the price. In the _Mirror_ of April 13, 1833, Mr. Booth, Professor
of Chemistry, professed to give an analysis of the "Mineral Waters in
the neighbourhood of London," and he thus writes of St. Chad's Well:
"It is aperient, and is yet much resorted to by the poorer classes of
the metropolis, with whom it enjoys considerable reputation. From an
examination, I find it to be a strong solution of sulphate of soda and
sulphate of magnesia"--but he does not favour us with a quantitative
analysis.
Neither does the proprietor, one Wm. Lucas, who not only propounded
the handbill from which I have quoted, but published a pamphlet on
the healing virtues of the spring, and he also adds to Mr. Booth's
qualitative analysis, "a small quantity of Iron, which is held in
Solution by Carbonic Acid."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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