Part 16

Among coins other than those now current in this country we may mention the =Ducat=, or Duke’s Money, specially struck for circulation in the Duchy of Apulia in the year 1140, and which bore this beautiful inscription: “Sit tibi Christi, datus, quem tu regis, iste ducatus” (“May this duchy which You rule be devoted to You, O Christ”); and the =Noble=, so called on account of the superiority of its gold. During the reign of Henry III. this gold piece found its way into England under the name of =Rose-Noble=, owing to the impression of a rose on its reverse side; but in the reign of Henry VIII., simultaneous with the substitution of the figure of St. George, it was designated a =George-Noble=. The value of this coin at both periods was six-and-eightpence. The current value of an =Angel=, so styled from the angel on its reverse side, was, when introduced in the reign of Henry VI., six-and-eightpence; but at the accession of Elizabeth it had increased to ten shillings.

The =Thistle-crown= of James VI. of Scotland (James I. of England), value four shillings, was so called because it had a rose on one side and a thistle on the other; both surmounted by a crown. The Scottish sovereign of this period was styled a =Jacobus=, the Latinized form of the King’s name. After the union of the two countries it became, of course, current in England also; but in the two succeeding reigns it was denominated a =Carolus=, the Latin for the name of Charles. A French gold coin long current in Scotland was the =Dolphin=, which derived its name from the fact of its introduction by Charles V., who was also Dauphin of Vienne. The French =Louis d’or= (a louis of gold) was first struck in the reign of Louis XIII.; this was superseded by the =Napoleon=, during the consulate of Napoleon Bonaparte. The =Franc= originally denoted the silver coin of the Franks. The term =Dollar= is a British modification of the German Thaler, an abbreviation of Joachim’s-Thaler; by which was implied a piece of money struck out of the silver discovered in the Thal, or Valley, of St. Joachim, France, about the year 1518. The silver drawn from this valley being of superior quality, it was coined into ounce pieces, which received the name of =Joachims-Thalers=; but all other ounce pieces subsequently struck from silver obtained elsewhere were simply called =Thalers=. The =Kreuzer=, now superseded, owed its name to the cross on its reverse side.

=Wood’s Halfpence= was the designation of an inferior copper coinage circulated in Ireland by a certain William Wood, under a patent granted to him by George I. The withdrawal of the patent was eventually procured owing to the denunciations of Dean Swift in the mysterious “Drapier’s Letters.” The legal tender notes of the United States are commonly styled =Greenbacks=, from the colour of the device imprinted on the back of them. Bank of England notes formerly bore the name of =Abraham Newlands= from the signature of the chief cashier.

By the term =Bullion=, remotely derived from the Low Latin _bulla_, a seal, and, more directly, from the Old French _bullione_, the Mint, is meant the stock of the precious metals formed into bars and stored in the strong rooms of the Bank of England in readiness for coinage. Money vested in Government securities is known as =Stock=, or =Government Stock=, in allusion to the origin of the term, viz., the Anglo-Saxon stocc, a trunk, a stick; because prior to the year 1782, when the practice was abolished, the official acknowledgment of money received on behalf of the Government was written on both sides of a broad piece of wood, which was then cut in two; and the one portion, called the Stock, was delivered to the person lending the money, the Counterstock being retained at the Tally Office. The instrument of reckoning in this manner was styled the =Tally=, in accordance with the French verb _tailler_, to cut; while the correspondence of the Stock and Counterstock, or, in other words, the two portions of the Tally, furnished the origin of the modern phrase “to tally,” as well as the designation TALLYMAN, or a trader who lets out goods, principally clothing, on the system of payment by weekly instalments. The word =Consols= is a contraction of “Consolidated Annuities,” or the funded portion of the National Debt. The fund which provides for the annual reduction of the latter is styled the =Sinking Fund=. The French State Loans known as =Tontines= perpetuate the name of Lawrence Tonti, a Neapolitan _protégé_ of Cardinal Mazarine, who projected the scheme in 1653. The annual statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the finances of this country is called the =Budget=, agreeably to the French _bougetta_, a little bag; because formerly the various documents were presented to Parliament in a leathern bag.

_SPIRITS._

=Rum= is a native West Indian term for a spirit distilled from cane-juice; =Whisky= is an English rendering of the Irish =Uisquebaugh=, derived from the two Gaelic words _uisge_, water, and _beatha_, life; =Brandy= is a corruption of the Old English _brandwine_, literally burnt wine; while =Gin= is short for Geneva, where this spirit was first distilled. =Hollands= is the popular English name for Dutch gin. =Cognac=, a French brandy of the best quality, owes its designation to the town of which it forms the staple industry; and =Nantes= to the port where it is shipped. =Old Tom= was named after Tom Chamberlain, the senior partner in Messrs. Hodges’ well-known distillery.

The term =Punch= traces its origin to the Hindoo _pantsch_, signifying five, because this favourite concoction originally consisted of five ingredients, viz., arrack, sugar, tea, lemons, and water; whereas =Toddy= is a western corruption of _taudi_, the native Hindoo name for palm-juice. The word =Grog= perpetuates the memory of “Old Grog,” the nickname of Admiral Edward Vernon, who first ordered his sailors to dilute their rum with water [_see_ OLD GROG].

Scotch whisky is usually styled =Mountain Dew=, from the fact that in former times it was often distilled in the mountains in order to escape the watchfulness of the excise officers. The superior Scotch whisky known as =Glenlivet= derives its name from the district in which it is distilled. The popular =LL Whisky= originated under the following circumstances: When the Duke of Richmond was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, he one day, in the year 1807, sent to various Dublin distilleries for samples of their best whisky; and preferring that furnished by Messrs. Kinahan, his Grace ordered a large vat in which this particular quality of the spirit was kept to be reserved for his own use. Accordingly, the letters “LL,” signifying Lord Lieutenant, were painted on the vat; and ever since Messrs. Kinahan’s whisky of the same quality has borne the name of “LL Whisky.”

_LONDON STREETS AND SQUARES._

=Fleet Street= received its name from the =Fleet=, once a swift-flowing stream, now converted into a sewer. =Mitre Court=, =Falcon Court=, and =Red Lion Court= were designated after old taverns respectively bearing these signs. =Bolt Court= was so called from the “Bolt-in-Tun,” an ancient coaching-house, transformed into a railway goods receiving office standing on the opposite side of the way. =Johnson’s Court= did not receive its title from Dr. Johnson, who lived in it for some time, but from the owner of the property. =Wine Office Court= originally contained an office where wine licences were issued. =Shoe Lane= received this designation from the traditional account that when the Devil ran away with Lady Hatton [_see_ HATTON GARDEN] he dropped one of her shoes in Shoe Lane and her cloak in =Cloak Lane=, near Cannon Street. =St. Bride Street= and =Bride Lane= owe their names to the Church of St. Bride close by. =Salisbury Court= occupies the site of an ancient palace of the Bishops of Salisbury. =Dorset Street= and =Dorset Buildings= carry us back in fancy to the =Dorset Gardens Theatre=, erected in the grounds attached to the residence of the Earl of Dorset in the early days of the Restoration. =Whitefriars Street= marks the western boundary of the monastery of the Carmelites, or White Friars, built in 1245. The whole district of Whitefriars formerly comprised a Sanctuary infested by debtors and lawbreakers; on which account it bore the name of =Alsatia=, in allusion to the French province of Alsace, long notorious for its intestine strife and political disaffection. =Bridge Street= is a modern thoroughfare leading to =Blackfriars Bridge= and =Blackfriars Road=, so called from the monastery of the Dominicans or Black Friars established on the site of =Printing House Square= and the _Times_ office, about the year 1276. =Water Lane= was originally a narrow lane winding down to the Thames.

=Ludgate Hill= derived its name from the old Lud Gate, built by King Lud in the year 66 B.C. on the spot where the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway now crosses this busy thoroughfare. The gate was removed in 1760. =La Belle Sauvage Yard= was formerly the coachyard of the celebrated Inn of this name. =The Old Bailey= is a corruption of _Bail Hill_, which contained the residence and court of the Bail, or Bailiff, from very early times. The =Broadway= was doubtless considered a fine thoroughfare in the days when London streets generally were so narrow that opposite neighbours could shake hands out of their top-story windows. =Friar Street= was designated after the Black Friars’ Monastery. =Sermon Lane= is a corruption of “Shere-moniers’ Lane,” in which stood the office of the money-shearers or clippers at the time when the Mint was in this neighbourhood. =Paul’s Chain= owed its name to a chain formerly drawn across its northern extremity the while service was held in St. Paul’s. =Old Change= was originally known as “The King’s Exchange” on account of the building where the bullion was stored convenient to the Money-shearers’ Office and the Mint. =Paternoster Row= received its name from the stationers who sold religious texts, prayer-books, and rosary beads, formerly called _Paternosters_ in this street. =Ave Maria Lane=, =Creed Lane=, and =Amen Corner=, being of later date, their designation to complete the religious metaphor was perhaps natural. =Warwick Lane= stands on the site of a magnificent palace owned by the Beauchamps, Earls of Warwick. =Ivy Lane= contained the ivy-clad houses of the prebendaries attached to St. Paul’s Cathedral. In =Panyer Alley= may be seen a curious stone let into the wall of the middle house on the east side, upon which are chiselled the rude figure of a boy seated on a pannier or basket, and a distich reminding the pedestrian that this is the highest ground in the City. The alley was a standing-place for bakers with their panniers at the time when a corn market was held at the western extremity of Cheapside.

=Cheapside= properly denotes that side of the Cheap where the rich goldsmiths had their shops. The term _cheap_ is Saxon for a market, derived from _ceapan_, to buy. The Old English spelling of the name of this locality was =Chepe=. =Ironmonger Lane= was the regular habitation of the artificers in iron in the reign of Edward I.; =Bread Street= of the bakers; and =Friday Street= of the fishmongers who supplied the fast-day markets. =Milk Street= was the ancient milk market. =Gutter Lane= is a corruption of “Guthurun Lane,” so called after a wealthy Danish burgher. =Foster Lane= contains the Church of St. Vedast (otherwise St. Foster), Bishop of Arras in the French province of Artois, in the time of Clovis. =Wood Street= was anciently inhabited by turners and makers of wooden cups and dishes and measures. =Lawrence Lane= received its name from the Church of St. Lawrence in =Gresham Street=, which perpetuates the memory of Sir Thomas Gresham, merchant and founder of the Royal Exchange (born 1519, died 1579), because =Gresham College=, established by him in his own mansion, on the site of the present =Gresham House=, Old Broad Street, was removed here in 1843. =Lad Lane=, now absorbed in Gresham Street, was a corruption of “Our Lady Lane,” so called from a statue of the Virgin. =Aldermanbury= was so called from the original Guildhall that stood on its east side. The approach to the present Guildhall received the name of =King Street= in honour of Henry IV., in whose reign the edifice was opened. In =Basinghall Street= stood the mansion of Solomon Basing, Lord Mayor in 1216. =Coleman Street= preserves the memory of the first builder upon the land. The =Old Jewry= was the privileged quarter of the Jews, whose first synagogue was erected here in 1262. =The Poultry= comprised the shops of the scorchers and stuffers, who afterwards settled down in the =Stocks Market= (so called from the old stocks for public offenders that stood there), displaced by the building of the Mansion House in 1739. =Bucklersbury= was originally the property of a wealthy grocer named Buckle who owned a manor-house here; the Anglo-Saxon word _bury_ being applicable either to a town or to an inhabited enclosure. =King William Street= was named soon after William IV. opened the present London Bridge, on August 1, 1831. =Queen Victoria Street= was cut through in the reign of her present Majesty.

=Cannon Street= is a corruption of =Candlewick Street=, colloquially styled “Can’lwick Street,” from the candlemakers who congregated in it. =Budge Row= received its name from the sellers of budge, or lambskin-fur, which at one time was greatly used as an ornamentation to their attire by scholars and civic dignitaries. =London Stone= marked the centre of the City during its occupation by the Romans in the year 15 B.C. =Watling Street= is a mispronunciation of “Vitellina strata,” meaning the street of Vitellius, who at the time it was constructed occupied the Imperial throne. This was the great highway of the Romans, running from Dover, through Canterbury and London, direct to Cardigan in Wales. =Walbrook=, formerly written “Wall-brook,” reminds us of the pleasant stream of clear water that once ran along the west side of this street and emptied itself into the Thames. =Crooked Lane= was so called from its winding character. =Swan Alley=, in Upper Thames Street, derived its title from an ancient mansion of the Beauchamps whose crest was a swan. =Boss Alley= calls attention to the fact that the executors of Sir Richard Whittington erected a _boss_, or conduit, hereabouts in the long, long ago. =College Hill= is all that remains to remind us of the College of St. Spirit and St. Mary founded on its site by the same generous Lord Mayor and benefactor of the public. =Fye Foot Lane= is properly “five-foot lane,” the actual width of this thoroughfare at one end; while =Duck’s Foot Lane= is a corruption of “Duke’s Foot Lane,” signifying the private path leading from the manor-house of the Dukes of Suffolk in what is now =Suffolk Lane= down to the water-side. =Queenhithe= was so called because the tolls collected at this _hithe_, or wharf, were claimed as pin-money by Eleanor, queen of Henry II. =Dowgate= is a modern spelling of “Dwrgate” (_dwr_ being Celtic for water), where, in the absence of bridges, the Romans had a ferry across the river to the continuation of Watling Street towards Dover. The =Steelyard= was the place where the King’s beam, or _Steel yard_, for weighing merchandise was set up. Foreigners who landed goods here were, between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, known as THE STEELYARD MERCHANTS.

=Gracechurch Street=, formerly corrupted into “Gracious Street,” received its name from an old church standing in a grass market hereabouts. =Fenchurch Street= recalls the church in the fens, or marshy land, on the north bank of the Thames. =Eastcheap= was the eastern _cheap_ or market, as distinguished from Chepe or Cheapside. =Mincing Lane= is a corruption of “Mynchen Lane,” denoting the tenements held by the _minichery_, a Saxon name for a nunnery, of St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate Street. =Mark Lane= was originally styled “Mart Lane,” from a fair held here from the earliest times. =Blind Chapel Court=, situated at the north-east corner of Mark Lane, carries the imagination back to “Blanch Appleton,” the documentary description of a white stone manor belonging to a knight named Appleton, in the reign of Richard II. In =Rood Lane= stood an ancient _rood_, or cross, representing the dying Saviour. =Seething Lane= is a corruption of Sidon Lane; and =Billiter Street= of Belzetti Street, commemorating the names of the original owners of, and builders upon, the land. The =Minories= marks the site of the Priory of the MINORESSES, or NUNS OF ST. CLARE (the Order founded in Italy, by St. Clare in 1212); corresponding to the =Minims=, or Lesser Friars, founded by St. Francis de Paula in 1453. =Crutched Friars= was the Priory of the Crutched, or Crossed, Friars of the Holy Trinity [_see_ RELIGIOUS ORDERS]. =Aldgate= received its name from the _Ald Gate_, the oldest of the City gates, taken down in 1760. Aldgate Pump, which stood beside the gate, still remains. =George Yard= was formerly the inn yard of “The George.” =Duke’s Place= preserves the memory of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, beheaded in 1572, who had inherited the property of the Crutched Friars by marriage.

=Leadenhall Street= derived its title from the =Leadenhall Market=, a corruption of “Leather Hall,” the leather-sellers’ market of olden times. =St. Mary-Axe= owes its name to the Church of St. Mary-Axe which stood in it [_see_ the article “LONDON CHURCHES AND BUILDINGS”]. =Throgmorton Street= and =Nicholas Lane= were both named after Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, a wealthy London banker, and the head of an ancient Warwickshire family, said to have been poisoned by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in 1571. =Threadneedle Street= is a corruption of “Three-Needle-Street,” so called from the arms of the Needle Makers’ Company. =Bartholomew Lane= was designated after the Church of St. Bartholomew, at the back of the Royal Exchange. =Lothbury= was originally “Lattenbury,” inhabited by the workers in _latten_, a fine kind of brass or bronze, which formed an important industry in the Middle Ages. =Cornhill= was the ancient corn market. =St. Michael’s Alley=, where the first English coffee-house was opened, took its name from the neighbouring church. =Finch Lane= is properly “Finke Lane,” in honour of Sir Robert Finke, who built the Church of St. Bennet Finke, pulled down to enlarge Gresham’s Royal Exchange. =Change Alley=, a contraction of “Exchange Alley,” was in the year 1720 the busy centre of the South Sea Bubble. =Birchin Lane= is a corruption of “Birchover Lane,” named after the builder.

=Lombard Street= constituted the colony of the Jews of Lombardy sent over to England by Pope Gregory IX. for the purpose of advancing money to those who were unable to pay the taxes so rigorously demanded throughout the country in 1229. =Austin Friars= contained the Priory of the Austin, or Augustin Friars. =Bishopsgate Street= was designated after the strong gate built by the good Bishop Erkenwald, son of Offa, King of the Saxons; and repaired by Bishop William in the reign of William I. =Great St. Helen’s= comprises the ground anciently held by the Nuns of the Order of St. Helen. =Devonshire Square=, in this neighbourhood, marks the situation of the mansion of William Cavendish, second Earl of Devonshire, who died under its roof in 1628. =Artillery Lane= stands upon the old practising ground of the Tower Gunners prior to the seventeenth century. =Houndsditch= was the old ditch beyond the city wall, anciently considered by the inhabitants to be the proper depository for dead dogs. =Bevis Marks= is a corruption of “Bury’s Marks,” where stood the mansion and grounds of the Abbots of Bury. =Petticoat Lane=, also known as =Rag Fair=, is the central old clothes mart of the Jewish inhabitants of the metropolis. =Wormwood Street= and =Camomile Street= were so called on account of the herbs found growing among the Roman stones. =London Wall= defines the ancient boundary of Roman London. =Barbican=, a continuation of the old Roman Wall, is an English form of the Saxon _burgh kennin_, or postern tower. Here it was that the Romans placed sentinels by night and day to give notice of conflagrations in the City or of dangers from outside quarters. In =Great Winchester Street= stood the original =Winchester House=, built by the first Marquis of Winchester. =Old Broad Street= was in Elizabeth’s reign the most fashionable thoroughfare in London, containing the mansions of the wealthiest city merchants. =Moorgate Street= was so called from the gate that divided the City from the moor, comprising the borough of Finsbury. =Beech Lane= was designated after Nicholas de la Beech, Lieutenant of the Tower during the reign of Edward III. =Cripplegate= is the narrow thoroughfare anciently graced (or disgraced) by a stone gate which received its name from the beggars and cripples who congregated around it. This affection for the old gate on the part of the cripples may be explained by the circumstance that the neighbouring church was dedicated to St. Giles, the patron of cripples. =Whitecross Street= and =Red Cross Street= were respectively denominated from a white and a red cross of stone, which defined the boundaries of the land belonging to the Knights Templars and the Knights Hospitallers. =Playhouse Yard= reminds us that the old “Fortune Theatre” stood here. =Jewin Street= was for centuries the only burying-ground permitted to the Jews of London. =Aldersgate Street= took its name from the old City gate, distinguished for several alder-trees that grew beside it. In =Bridgewater Square= stood the mansion, destroyed by fire in 1687, of the Egertons, Earls of Bridgewater. =Bartholomew Close= marks the situation of the cloisters of St. Bartholomew’s Priory, of which the church still remains. =Cloth Fair= comprised the ancient rendezvous of the Flemish and Italian merchants for the annual sale of cloths. This was the real Fair, to which “Bartholomew Fair” was merely an adjunct designed for the amusement of the populace who came from all accessible parts of the country. =Duke Street= and =Little Britain= were so called because in olden times the Dukes of Brittany resided here. =Newgate Street= received its name from the latest of the City gates, which also lent its title to the gloomy prison hard by. =Bath Street= contained one of the Turkish Bagnios, or Baths, introduced in London as early as the year 1679. =King Edward Street= serves to remind us that the neighbouring Grammar School known as Christ’s Hospital was established by Edward VI. =Giltspur Street=, formerly styled =Knightrider Street=, was so called from the Knights, distinguished by their gilt spurs, who passed through it on their way to the tournaments in Smithfield. =Pie Corner=, where the great Fire of London ceased its ravages in 1666, derived its name from an eating-house that rejoiced in the sign of “The Magpie.” =Farringdon Street= and =Farringdon Road= perpetuate the memory of William Farrindon, citizen and goldsmith, who purchased the Aldermanry of the Ward still known by his name for twenty marks in 1279, and became Sheriff two years later. =Saffron Hill= owes its designation to the rich crops of saffron that grew on its site at the time when it formed the eastern portion of the grounds attached to Ely House, the London residence of the Bishops of Ely, which stood on the spot now marked by =Ely Place=, and bounded on the west by =Hatton Garden=; so called because, when the property became demised to the Crown, it was presented by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Christopher Hatton, who literally danced himself into Her Majesty’s favour. =Snow Hill= was formerly described as “Snore Hill,” from the fact that the stage-coach passengers intended for “The Saracen’s Head” were generally fast asleep when they arrived at their destination.