The Strand Magazine, Vol. 01, January 1891: An Illustrated MonthlyVarious
General
The Strand Magazine, Vol. 01, January 1891: An Illustrated Monthly
Various
English literature -- Periodicals; Short stories, English -- Periodicals
One of the most interesting buildings in Essex-street, the "Essex Head"
tavern, has only just been pulled down. There it was that Dr. Johnson
founded "Sam's" Club, so named after the landlord, Samuel Graves. Dr.
Johnson himself drew up the rules of the club, as we may see in
Boswell's "Life." The chair in which he is reported to have sat was
preserved in the house to the end. It is now cared for at the "Cheshire
Cheese" in Fleet-street. A very redoubtable gentleman who formerly lived
in Essex-street was Dr. George Fordyce, who for twenty years drank daily
with his dinner a jug of strong ale, a quarter of a pint of brandy, and
a bottle of port. And he was able to lecture to his students afterwards!
[Illustration: 1890 S^t Clement-Danes]
Nearly opposite Essex-street stands one of the most famous of London
landmarks--the church of St. Clement Danes. Built as recently as 1682,
it is the successor of a far older building. Its most interesting
association is with Dr. Johnson, whose pew in the north gallery is still
reverently kept, and an inscription marks the spot. In this church it
was that Miss Davies, the heiress, who brought the potentiality of
untold wealth into the family of the Grosvenors, was married to the
progenitor of the present Duke of Westminster. St. Clement Danes is one
of the few English churches with a _carillon_, which is of course set to
psalm tunes. Milford-lane, opposite, was once really a lane with a
bridge over a little stream which emptied into the Thames. Later on it
marked the boundary of Arundel House, the home of the Dukes of Norfolk,
who have built Arundel, Norfolk, Howard, and Surrey streets upon its
site. In the time of Edward VI. the Earl of Arundel bought the property
for forty pounds, which would seem to have been a good bargain even for
those days. In Arundel House died "old Parr," who, according to the
inscription upon his tomb in Westminster Abbey, lived to be 152 years
old. Happily for himself he had lived all his life in Shropshire, and
the brief space that he spent in London killed him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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