Part 8

Bank of England.—This large establishment is situated north of the Royal Exchange; the narrow thoroughfare between being _Threadneedle Street_, in which is the principal front. This is unquestionably the greatest bank in the world. The present structure was mostly the work of Sir John Soane, at various periods between 1788 and 1829. About 1,000 clerks, messengers, &c., are employed here, at salaries varying from £50 to £1,200 per annum. The buildings of the Bank are low, but remarkable in appearance. In the centre is the principal entrance, which conducts to an inner open court, and thence to the main building. The Dividend and Transfer Offices, with which fund-holders are most concerned, lie in the eastern part of the building. Thus far the place is freely open to visitors. The whole buildings and courts include an area of about eight acres. The teller’s room shews a scene of great activity—clerks counting and weighing gold and silver, porters going to and fro, and crowds of tradesmen and others negotiating business at the counters. The other and more private parts of the Bank can be seen only by an order from a director. The most interesting departments are the bullion-office, in a vaulted chamber beneath—where there commonly are some 14 to 17 millions in bullion, as a reserve—entering from one of the many open courts; the treasury; the apartments in which the notes of the Bank are printed; and the weighing-office, where coin-balances of exquisite construction are used. In the printing department there is a large steam-engine, which moves printing-machines, plate-presses, and other mechanism—the whole being in beautiful order, and forming a very interesting sight. The Bank is guarded at night by its own watchmen, and a detachment of Foot Guards.

Joint-Stock and Private Banks.—Some of the handsomest modern buildings in London are those belonging to the Banking Companies. The _London and Westminster_, the _London Joint-Stock_, the _Union_, the _City_, the _Australian_, and numerous other Companies, have two or more establishments each, some as many as half-a-dozen—the head bank always being in the busy centre of trade, the ‘City.’ Some of these are elegant structures; and all are planned with great skill in reference to interior arrangements. The private bankers, such as Glyn, Barclays, Lubbocks, Coutts, &c., rival the companies in the architectural character of their banks; and some of their establishments, such as Child’s, near Temple Bar, are curious old places. Many have lately been rebuilt in a substantial and handsome style.

Insurance Offices.—These form another extensive group, which has conduced much to the improved street appearance of modern London. All the best conducted Life and Fire Insurance Companies are wealthy; and they have devoted part of their wealth to the construction of commodious and often elegant offices. The _County_, the _Royal Exchange_, the _Sun_, the _Phœnix_, the _Amicable_, the _Equitable_, the _Imperial_, are among the most noted of these insurance offices. The chief buildings are within a small circle, of which the Royal Exchange is the centre; another group is about Fleet Street and Blackfriars; and a western group lies in and near the Regent Street line.

Stock Exchange.—This building, of which scarcely anything can be seen on the outside, lies up a paved passage called Capel Court, in Bartholomew Lane, on the east side of the Bank of England. Dealers and brokers in the public funds, and in all kinds of joint-stock shares and debentures, meet and transact business here. They buy and sell, not only for themselves, but for the public generally; and the amount of business transacted every day is enormous. The establishment is maintained by about 900 members, who pay £10 a-year each. They endeavour to enforce strict honesty in each other’s dealings; but they sedulously refuse to allow a stranger even to pass the threshold of their Temple of Wealth.

Various Commercial Buildings.—A stranger has only to look at a detailed map or a directory, to see how numerous are the buildings, especially in the city, applied in various ways to commerce and trading on a large scale. The _Trinity House_ on _Tower Hill_; the chambers of the building that was once the _South Sea House_, near Leadenhall Street; those of the large but irregular structure called _Gresham House_, in Bishopsgate Street—are all worthy of a glance, some for their architectural character, and all for the importance of the work transacted in them. The _East India House_, in Leadenhall Street, has been pulled down; commercial chambers in great number, and let at enormous rentals, have been built on the site.

City Companies.—In nothing is the past history of the metropolis, the memory of _Old_ London, kept alive in a more remarkable way than by the _City Companies_, or _Trading Guilds_, which are still very numerous. All were established with a good purpose, and all rendered service in their day; but at the present time few have any important duties to fulfil. The age for such things is nearly past; but the companies have revenues which none but themselves can touch; and out of these revenues many excellent charities are supported. Several of the companies have halls of great architectural beauty, or curious on account of their antiquity. Twelve, from their wealth and importance, are called the _Great_ Companies; and all of these have halls worthy of note. They are the _Mercers’_, _Drapers’_, _Fishmongers’_, _Goldsmiths’_, _Skinners’_, _Merchant Taylors’_, _Haberdashers’_, _Salters’_, _Ironmongers’_, _Vintners’_, _Grocers’_, and _Clothworkers’_. Every year banquets are given in the halls of these great companies—often under such circumstances as to give political importance to them. _Mercers’ Hall_, on the north side of Cheapside, has a richly ornamental entrance. _Grocers’ Hall_, in the Poultry, is remarkable rather for the age of the company (more than 500 years) than for the beauty of the building; it is interesting to note that the Long Parliament was entertained at city-dinners in this hall. _Drapers’ Hall_, in Throgmorton Street, built in 1667, replaced a structure which had belonged to Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, in the time of Henry VIII., and which was destroyed by the Great Fire. _Fishmongers’ Hall_, the most majestic of the whole, stands at the northern end of London Bridge, on the west side; it was built in 1831, as part of the improvements consequent on the opening of New London Bridge, on a site that had been occupied by an older hall since the time of the Great Fire. _Goldsmiths’ Hall_, just behind the General Post-Office, is too closely hemmed in with other buildings to be seen well; it is one of Mr. Hardwick’s best productions, and was finished by him in 1835, on the site of an older hall. _Skinners’ Hall_, Dowgate Hill, was built (like so many others of the city halls) just after the Great Fire in 1666; but was newly fronted in 1808. _Merchant Taylors’ Hall_, Threadneedle Street, is the largest of the city halls. It was rebuilt after the Great Fire, and has long been celebrated for the political banquets occasionally given there—this being considered the leading Tory Company, and the Fishmongers’ the leading Whig Company. _Haberdashers’ Hall_, near Goldsmiths’ Hall, is quite modern; the present building having been constructed in 1855. _Salters’ Hall_, St. Swithen’s Lane, was rebuilt in 1827. _Ironmongers’ Hall_, Fenchurch Street, was erected in 1748, on the site of an older structure; the banqueting-room was remodelled a few years ago with great richness. In 1861 this company held an _Exhibition of Art_, notable for the rarity and beauty of the objects collected; it was the first thing of the kind organized among these companies, and was in all respects creditable to those who planned and managed it. _Vintners’ Hall_, Upper Thames Street, is small and unpretentious. _Clothworkers’ Hall_, Mincing Lane, is an elegant Italian Renaissance edifice, erected in 1858, from the designs of Mr. Angell.

Among the minor halls are the _Apothecaries’_, Blackfriars; _Stationers’_, behind Ludgate Hill; _Armourers’_, Coleman Street; _Barber Surgeons’_, Monkwell Street, (which contains some fine paintings;) _Weavers’_, Basinghall Street; _Saddlers’_, Cheapside; and _Paper Stainers’_, Little Trinity Lane. At the last-named hall an interesting exhibition of specimens of decorative painting was held in 1864. The city companies are about eighty altogether. Some, which tell most singularly of past times, and of the difference between the past and the present, are the _Cooks’_, the _Bowyers’_, the _Fletchers’_, the _Woolmen’s_, the _Scriveners’_, the _Broderers’_, the _Horners’_, the _Loriners’_, the _Spectacle Makers’_, the _Felt Makers’_, the _Patten Makers’_, the _Parish Clerks’_, and the _Fan Makers’_ companies. All these, except the _Spectacle Makers’_ and the _Parish Clerks’_, have now no halls. Eight others, formerly existing, have become extinct. The only three which are actually trading companies at the present day are the _Goldsmiths’_, the _Apothecaries’_, and the _Stationers’_. The Goldsmiths’ company assay all the gold and silver plate manufactured in the metropolis, stamp it with the ‘Hall-mark,’ and collect the excise duty upon it for the Government; the Apothecaries’ sell medicines, and have a certain jurisdiction in relation to medical practice; the Stationers’ publish almanacs, and register all copyright books.

THE RIVER; DOCKS; THAMES TUNNEL; BRIDGES; PIERS.

We shall next describe certain features connected with traffic _on_, _under_, and _over_ the Thames.

The River and its Shipping.—The Thames stream rises in the interior of the country, at the distance of 138 miles above London, and enters the sea on the east coast about sixty miles below it. It comes flowing between low, fertile, and village-clad banks, out of a richly ornamented country on the west; and, arriving at the outmost suburbs of the metropolis, it pursues a winding course, between banks thickly lined with dwelling-houses, warehouses, manufactories, and wharfs, for a space of several miles, its breadth being here from an eighth to a-third of a mile. The tides affect it for fifteen or sixteen miles above the city; but the salt water comes no farther than Gravesend, or perhaps Greenhithe. However, such is the volume and depth of water, that vessels of great magnitude can sail or steam up to London. Most unfortunately, the beauty of this noble stream is much hidden from the spectator, there being very few quays or promenades along its banks. With the exception of the summit of St. Paul’s or the Monument, and the Custom House quay, the only good points for viewing the river are the bridges, which cross it at convenient distances, and by their length convey an accurate idea of the breadth of the channel. Formerly there were many light and fanciful boats for hire on the Thames; but these are now greatly superseded by small steamers, which convey crowds of passengers up and down the river.

The part of the river between London Bridge and Blackwall, an interval of several miles, constitutes the _Port_; and here are constantly seen lying at anchor great numbers of vessels. The portion immediately below the bridge is called the _Pool_, where coal-ships are usually ranged in great number. It is curious to watch, while passing up and down the river, the way in which coals are transferred, by labourers called _coal-whippers_, from the ships into barges, in which they are conveyed to the wharfs of the several coal-merchants. At wharfs between the Custom House and the bridge lie numerous steam-vessels which ply to Greenwich, Woolwich, Gravesend, Margate, and other places of resort down the Thames; also steamers for continental ports. London, as has already been observed, possesses no line of quays on the river. The trade with the ships is carried on at wharfs jutting upon the water. The Thames is placed under strict police regulations with respect to trade; certain places being assigned to different classes of vessels, including those which arrive from the Tyne, Wear, and Tees with coal, and all coasters. The trade connected with the Port is mostly carried on in the closely built part of the metropolis adjacent to the Thames. Almost the whole of this district consists of narrow streets, environed by warehouses and offices, making no external show, but in which an incalculable amount of trade is transacted.

[Picture: Entrance West India Docks]

The Docks.—As a relief to the river, and for other reasons, there are several very large _Docks_. The lowest or most eastern are the _Victoria Docks_, in Essex, just beyond the river Lea. They cover an area of 200 acres, and have been the means of introducing many improvements in the accommodation of shipping. The _hydraulic lift_ at these docks, for raising and supporting ships during repair, is well worth looking at. Next are the _East India Docks_, constructed in 1806; they consist of two docks and a basin, covering 32 acres. Near these are the _West India Docks_, the entrances to which are at Blackwall and Limehouse; in these large _depôts_ of shipping connected with the West India and other trade may at all times be seen some hundreds of vessels, loading or unloading in connection with the warehouses around. The largest of these docks is 24 feet deep, 510 feet long, and 498 wide; and, with a basin, they cover nearly 300 acres. Farther up the river, and near the Tower, in the district called Wapping, are the _London Docks_ and _St. Katharine’s Docks_. The London Docks consist of one enclosure to the extent of 20 acres, another of smaller dimensions, a basin, and three entrances from the river. These are surrounded by warehouses for the reception of bonded goods, and beneath the warehouses are vaults for bonded liquors. The principal warehouse for the storing of tobacco in bond till it is purchased and the duties paid, is situated close beside a special dock called the Tobacco Dock. The Tobacco Warehouse occupies no less than five acres of ground, and has accommodation for 24,000 hogsheads of tobacco. The sight of this extraordinary warehouse, and of the Wine-Vaults, is not soon to be forgotten. The vaults are arched with brick, and extend east and west to a great distance, with diverging lines also of great length, the whole being like the streets of an underground town. Along the sides are ranged casks of wine to an amount apparently without limit. There is accommodation for 65,000 pipes. These cellars being dark, all who enter and go through them carry lights. Admission may be had by procuring an order from a wine-merchant to taste and examine any pipes he may have in bond: a cooper accompanies the visitor to pierce the casks. Besides this large vault, which principally contains port and sherry, there are other vaults for French wines, &c. _St. Katharine’s Docks_, between the Tower and the London Docks, were formed in 1828, on a site which required the removal of more than 1,200 houses and 13,000 inhabitants; the earth obtained by the excavation was employed in raising the site for some of the new streets and squares of Pimlico. There are twelve acres of water area, and about as much of quays and warehouses. On the south of the Thames are the _Commercial_ and the _Grand Surrey Docks_, the great centre of the timber trade. The various docks are the property of joint-stock companies, who receive rents and dues of various kinds for their use.

Thames Tunnel.—With the view of effecting a ready communication for wagons and other carriages, and foot-passengers, between the Surrey and Middlesex sides of the river, at a point where, from the constant passage of shipping, it would be inconvenient to rear a bridge, a _tunnel_ or sub-river passage was designed by a joint-stock company. The idea of tunnelling under the river, by the way, was not a novel one. In 1802 a company was got up with a similar notion, Trevethick, the inventor of the high-pressure engine, being its engineer. It came to nought; and in 1825 Mr. (afterwards Sir) Marc Isambard Brunel began his tunnel, at a point about two miles below London Bridge, entering on the southern shore at Rotherhithe, and issuing at Wapping on the other. The water broke in in 1827, and again in 1828, when six men perished. After all the funds were exhausted, and the Government had advanced no less than £246,000 by way of loan, the work, after many delays, was opened in 1843. The total, cost was £468,000. The tunnel consisted of two archways, 1,300 feet long, the thickness of the earth being about 15 feet between the crown of the tunnel and the river’s bed. As a speculation—toll 1d.—it never paid. The descent was by a deep, dirty staircase; and only one arch was open for foot-passengers. But now that the East London Railway Company have purchased it, a wholesome change has come. Some 40 trains are now running backwards and forwards through it, from Wapping to Rotherhithe, and thence to Deptford and New Cross, and _vice versâ_. And so, at last, the once well-nigh useless scheme, which wore out Brunel’s heart, has been, some twenty-two years after his death, made of great service to that part of London.

The Tower Subway.—In the neighbourhood of the Tunnel a subway has been formed, consisting of an iron tube, 7 feet in diameter, laid below the bed of the Thames. It belongs to a Limited Liability Company. It was commenced in February, 1869, and opened for tramway traffic on 12th April, 1870. Being a losing speculation, the tramway cars ceased to run on 7th December, 1870; but it was opened for foot-passengers on the 24th of that month, and it is the intention of the Company to continue it only as such. It is reached at each end by a spiral staircase of 96 steps. Its whole length is 1225 feet. A charge of ½d. is made for each person passing through this Tunnel. The Tunnel is well lighted up with gas, and the average heat by the thermometer is 65 degrees.

[Picture: Albert Bridge, Chelsea]

Bridges.—The communication between the northern and southern sections of the metropolis is maintained by means of various bridges. Excluding _Albert Suspension Bridge_, (between Cadogan Pier, Chelsea, and Albert Road, leading into Battersea Park,) commenced in 1865, and not yet open, the number is 14—as follow: 1. _London Bridge_, built by Rennie, and opened in 1831; it is 928 feet long, and 54 wide; it has 5 arches, of which the centre is 152 feet span, and cost, with the approaches, £2,000,000. This is regarded as one of the finest granite bridges in the world. 2. _South-Eastern Railway Bridge_, to connect the London Bridge Station with a new terminus in Cannon Street; this bridge, having five lines of railway, is midway between London Bridge and the one next to be named. 3. _Southwark Bridge_, by Rennie, was opened in 1819; it is of iron, 708 feet long, with three magnificent arches, the centre one of 402 feet span; it was a toll bridge, and cost £800,000. In 1865, it was made free, and remains so, by arrangement between the Company and the Corporation. 4. _Blackfriars Railway Bridge_, with four lines of rail, connects the Metropolitan Railway north of the Thames with the Chatham and Dover Railway on the south. [Picture: Blackfriars Bridge] 5. _Old Blackfriars Bridge_, by Mylne, was opened in 1769; it consisted of 19 arches, and was 995 feet long. The foundations, however, having become decayed, the bridge was pulled down, and a magnificent new one, by Mr. Cubitt, built its place. A wooden bridge of remarkable construction, with a foot-way _over_ the carriage-way, did duty for traffic till the opening of Mr. Cubitt’s present structure. This was formally done by the Queen in person, November 6, 1869. The entire width of the new bridge is 75 feet, the foot-paths being 15 feet each, with a fine road between them, 45 feet in breadth from kerb to kerb. The entire length of the bridge, including approaches, is 1,272 feet, and its centre arch has a span of 185 feet in the clear. It has four piers. All its iron (except the ornamental portion, which is of cast metal) is hammered. With its handsome polished red granite piers, Portland stone capitals, and florid Venetian Gothic ornamentation, light-looking yet massive iron arches, spandrils, and parapets, and its general _tout ensemble_, new Blackfriars is, bearing all things in mind, one of the cheapest permanent bridges thrown across the Thames. Its total cost is under £400,000. 6. _Waterloo Bridge_, one of the most magnificent in the world, was built by Rennie, and was opened in 1817; it is flat from end to end, 1,380 feet long, or 2,456 with the approaches; it consists of nine beautiful arches of 120 feet span, and cost £1,000,000; a toll of one halfpenny per passenger yields a very poor return on this outlay. 7. _Hungerford Suspension Bridge_ has been replaced by a fine new bridge, partly for foot-passengers, and partly for the Charing Cross extension of the South-Eastern Railway. 8. _Old Westminster Bridge_, opened in 1750, is now all removed, to make way for a beautiful new bridge of iron, with granite piers, built by Mr. Page, opened for traffic in 1862. It is about 1,160 feet long by 85 feet wide. 9. _Lambeth Bridge_, a wire-rope suspension bridge of economical construction, from Westminster to near Lambeth Church, was opened in 1862. 10. _Vauxhall Bridge_, built by Walker, was opened in 1816; it is of iron, 798 feet long, and consists of nine equal arches. 11. _Pimlico Railway Bridge_, from Pimlico to the commencement of Battersea Park, connects the Victoria Station with the Brighton and other railways. 12. _Chelsea Suspension Bridge_, very near the bridge last named, gives easy access from Chelsea to Battersea, and is a light and elegant structure. 13. _Battersea Bridge_ is an old wooden structure, unsightly in appearance, inconvenient to passengers over it, and still more so to steamboats under it. 14. _West London Extension Railway Bridge_, opened in 1863, crosses the Thames from a point a little above Cremorne Gardens to Battersea town; it is a link to connect various railways on the north of the river with others on the south. _Putney Bridge_, _Hammersmith Suspension Bridge_, _Barnes Railway Bridge_, and _Kew Bridge_, may or may not be included in this series, according to the acceptation of the indefinite word ‘Metropolis.’