File:Pen and Pencil (newspaper), 3 March 1855 page 13.jpg

Illustrations (signed) from Pen and Pencil (an illustrated Family Newspaper).

Remains Of Old London, Near Ludgate Hill

REMAINS of OLD LONDON, NEAR LUDGATE HILL. In the excavation now in progress for the foundations of a new building for the Milton Club, the basement of a tower and the remains of a massive wall have been discovered at a depth of about twenty feet from the present surface. These vestiges prove to be the remains of the enclosure of the monastery of the Blackfriars, erected in the year 1276, by Robert Kilwarley, Archbishop of Canterbury. By permission of the city authorities, a portion of the ancient wall of London was taken down to provide a place for the new house of the preaching, or Black Friars; in consequence of which the King, Edward 1., ordered the city to build out the wall from Ludgate to the river Fleet, and thence to the Thames, so as to enclose the precinct of the monastery, which occupied the site of Montfichet's tower, the materials of which were appropriated for the erection of the new edifice. In a plan of London, by Holler, this portion of the wall is described, together with a barbican, or exploratory tower, situated upon the spot where the above remains have been brought to light. The superstructure of this tower was discovered in the year 1792, in consequence of the destruction by fire of some houses which had previously concealed it; at which time two engravings, as it then appeared, were published by Mr. J. T. Smith. An earthen vessel bearing the remains of a line green enamel, probably of the time of Edward IV.; some fragments of other earthen and glass vessels, a silver coin of Edward IV., a small silver coin of Charles 1., and some Roman coins (one of them of Constantine) were found in the same excavation. Likewise, there were found tusks of boars, a quantity of bones (among which is the skull of a large carnivorous animal), and an abbey token, bearing the agnus Dei, probably a relic of the house of the Knights Templar of St. John, in Clerkenwell.

Bishop Fox's signet ring.

There is, also, a ring (at page 61,) which was found in the bed of the Thames, during the formation of the coffer-dams of the new London Bridge, described in the catalogue as supposed to have belonged to the Abbot of Southwark, but the type it bears (the Pelican feeding her young) being the favourite device of Bishop Fox, suggests a more likely ownership. Fox, the favourite of Henry VII, and servant of his successor, Henry VIII., to whom he introduced Wolsey, resided in Winchester Palace, on the Bankside, near to the spot where the ring was found.

Spanish dancers, at the Haymarket Theatre.

Pen and Pencil, an Illustrated Family Newspaper. 1855. London. Published by Joseph Clayton, jr. 265 Strand. reference Printed by Joseph Clayton, jun., at the printing office of Joseph Clayton, Sen., and published by Joseph Clayton, jun., at the offices of Pen and Pencil, 10 Crane Court, Fleet Street, 265 Strand, and 223 Piccadilly.