Report

ROYAL COMMISSION ON THE ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS OF ENGLAND.

REPORT TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

1. May it please Your Majesty.

We, the undersigned Commissioners, appointed to make an Inventory of the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions connected with or illustrative of the contemporary culture, civilization and conditions of life of the people in England, excluding Monmouthshire, from the earliest times to the year 1714, and to specify those which seem most worthy of preservation, humbly submit to Your Majesty the following Report on the Monuments in the City of London, being the Twelfth Interim Report on the work of the Commission since its appointment.

2. We tender to Your Majesty our respectful thanks for the gracious message which accompanied Your Majesty's acceptance of our Inventory of Roman London.

3. We have to thank Your Majesty for the appointment of Mr. Edward Verrall Lucas under Your Majesty's Royal Sign Warrant dated 14 June 1928 to be a member of the Commission in place of our late colleague Sir John Horner K.C.V.O.

4. We have pleasure in reporting the completion of our enquiries into the City of London, an area containing 216 monuments in 26 wards, with an average of 8 monuments per ward. This Report is the fourth Report on the Monuments of the County of London.

5. Following our usual practice, we have prepared an illustrated volume containing the full Inventory of the monuments in the area of the City, which, on the recommendation of the Lords Commissioners of Your Majesty's Treasury, will be issued as a separate Non-Parliamentary publication.

6. The only alteration that has been found necessary in the order and method of describing the monuments scheduled is the abandonment, for the City of London only, of the parish or borough as the unit of description and the substitution of the ward. This was found to be desirable, partly from the inconclusive nature of parish boundaries in any ancient town and partly with a view to grouping the monuments described under the present areas of local government. The detailed Inventory is introduced by the usual Sectional Preface.

7. As in the previous volumes, the descriptions of monuments have been referred for revision to the incumbents of each parish, and to the principal owners of civic or domestic buildings, and we are satisfied that no important monument dating from the earliest times to the year 1714 has been omitted.

8. Our special thanks are due to Dr. Philip Norman, F.S.A., and Mr. W. H. Godfrey, F.S.A., for the original investigations and valuable reports made by them on many of the churches included in this Inventory, as well as for the revision of the proofs submitted to them; to Mr. J. Bruce Williamson for revision of the account of the Temple; to Sir Aston Webb, G.C.V.O., C.B., R.A., to the Treasurers of the Inner and Middle Temples, to Mr. Mervyn E. Macartney, F.S.A., and to the Master and Wardens of the Merchant Taylors' Company for the loan of plans on which are based the plans here reproduced of St. Bartholomew's Church, the Temple Church, the Middle Temple Hall, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Merchant Taylors' Hall, and to the Vintners' and Carpenters' Companies for permission to reproduce photographs.

9. We desire to record our emphatic opinion that all the surviving buildings both secular and ecclesiastical designed by Sir Christopher Wren are of signal importance to the architectural history of the City and country. The following schedule includes these and other buildings of outstanding value which we recommend as most worthy of preservation:—

Ecclesiastical

1. Aldersgate Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Anne and St. Agnes. A comparatively small but little-altered church of Sir Christopher Wren.

2. Aldgate Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Andrew Undershaft. An early 16th-century church with numerous monuments and some of its original glass.

(2) Parish Church of St. Katharine Cree. A remarkable building begun in 1628.

(3) Synagogue of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews. A complete and unaltered synagogue of 1700–01 with its original fittings.

4. Billingsgate Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Margaret Pattens. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(2) Parish Church of St. Mary at Hill. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

5. Bishopsgate Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Ethelburga. A small Gothic church.

(2) Parish Church of St. Helen. A mediæval parish church with a Nuns' quire attached, with remarkable monuments and wood-work.

6. Bread Street Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Mildred. A small but ornate church of Sir Christopher Wren, with its fittings largely unaltered.

7. Bridge Ward Within.

(1) Parish Church of St. Magnus the Martyr. A large church of Sir Christopher Wren with a fine tower and fittings.

8. Broad Street Ward.

(1) Dutch Church Austin Friars. The 14th-century "preaching-nave" of the Austin Friars.

9. Candlewick Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Clement Eastcheap. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(2) Parish Church of St. Mary Abchurch. A church of Sir Christopher Wren with a painted dome and good fittings.

10. Castle Baynard Ward.

(1) St. Paul's Cathedral. The masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren.

(2) Parish Church of St. Andrew by the Wardrobe. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(3) Church of St. Benet Paul's Wharf. One of the most pleasing of the smaller churches of Sir Christopher Wren.

11. Cheap Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Lawrence Jewry. The corporation-church, a work of Sir Christopher Wren, with a handsomely fitted Vestry.

12. Coleman Street Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Margaret Lothbury. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(2) Parish Church of St. Stephen Coleman Street. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(3) Parish Church of St. Olave Old Jewry. The tower of a church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

13. Cordwainer Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Mary le Bow. A church of Sir Christopher Wren with one of his finest spires and a late 11th-century crypt.

(2) Parish Church of St. Mary Aldermary. The finest of the Gothic churches of Sir Christopher Wren.

14. Cornhill Ward

(1) Parish Church of St. Michael Cornhill. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(2) Parish Church of St. Peter Cornhill. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

15. Cripplegate Ward Within.

(1) Parish Church of St. Alban Wood Street. A Gothic church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(2) Parish Church of St. Mary Aldermanbury. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

16. Cripplegate Ward Without.

Parish Church of St. Giles Cripplegate. A large mid 16th-century church with interesting monuments.

18. Farringdon Ward Within.

(1) Parish Church of Christ Church. A large church of Sir Christopher Wren with good fittings and tower.

(2) Parish Church of St. Augustine Old Change. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(3) Parish Church of St. Martin Ludgate. One of the smaller churches of Sir Christopher Wren with good fittings.

(4) Parish Church of St. Vedast. A church of Sir Christopher Wren, with good fittings and an unusual type of spire.

19. Farringdon Ward Without.

(1) Parish Church of St. Andrew Holborn. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(2) Parish Church of St. Bartholomew the Great. The eastern parts of a large 12th-century church of Austin Canons, with Lady Chapel and Cloister.

(4) Parish Church of St. Bride. A large church of Sir Christopher Wren, with fine spire and good fittings.

(6) Parish Church of St. Sepulchre. A church repaired under the superintendence of Sir Christopher Wren.

(7) Temple Church of St. Mary. A much restored 12th-century round church of Knights Templars and a 13th-century choir. Good series of monuments.

20. Langbourn Ward.

(1) Parish Church of All Hallows Lombard Street. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(2) Parish Church of St. Edmund King and Martyr. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

23. Queenhithe Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Nicholas Cole Abbey. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(2) Parish Church of St. Mary Somerset. The tower of a church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

24. Tower Ward.

(1) Parish Church of All Hallows Barking. Church dating from the 13th century with crypt, brasses and other fittings.

(2) Parish Church of St. Olave Hart Street. A small Gothic church with a crypt and interesting monuments.

(3) Parish Church of St. Dunstan in the East. A remarkable Gothic tower designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

25. Vintry Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Michael Paternoster Royal. A church of Sir Christopher Wren with a good tower and fittings.

(2) Parish Church of St. James Garlickhithe. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

26. Walbrook Ward.

(1) Parish Church of St. Stephen Walbrook. A large church of Sir Christopher Wren with handsome interior.

(2) Parish Church of St. Swithin London Stone. A church designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

Secular

3. Bassishaw Ward.

(1) Girdlers' Hall. A late 17th-century Hall with fine screen and other woodwork.

7. Bridge Ward Within.

(2) The Monument. Column designed by Sir Christopher Wren to commemorate the Great Fire.

8. Broad Street Ward.

(1) Merchant Taylors' Hall. A late 14th-century Hall and other buildings with good wood-work.

10. Castle Baynard Ward.

(4) St. Paul's Deanery. A complete house designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(5) The College of Arms. A late 17th-century building with handsomely fitted Court Room.

11. Cheap Ward.

(3) The Guildhall. The early 15th-century Hall and other buildings of the Corporation, with vaulted crypt and a fine late 17th-century ceiling in the Aldermen's Court Room.

(4) Mercers' Hall. A late 17th-century Hall with a chapel, good screen and other fittings.

15. Cripplegate Ward Within.

(6) Brewers' Hall. A late 17th-century Hall with very ornate wood-work.

18. Farringdon Ward Within.

(8) Barbers' Hall. An early 17th-century building designed by Inigo Jones, with a good ceiling and staircase.

(9) Stationers' Hall. A late 17th-century Hall with a good screen.

(12) St. Paul's Chapter House. A building designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

19. Farringdon Ward Without.

(9) Inner Temple. Chambers in King's Bench Walk.

(10) Middle Temple, hall, gatehouse and chambers in the Cloisters, Pump Court and Lamb Building. Fine Elizabethan Hall; Cloisters and Gatehouse, designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

(14) Barnard's Inn Hall. A timber Hall built late in the 14th century with original louvre, 17th-century heraldic glass, etc.

(15) St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Gatehouse erected in 1702.

(20) House No. 17 Fleet Street. An early 17th-century timber-framed building largely reconstructed and notable for its good plaster ceiling.

(30) House, No. 17 Gough Square. (Dr. Johnson's House). A fairly complete late 17th-century house.

(34) House No. 10 Neville's Court. A late 17th-century house of some importance.

24. Tower Ward.

(6) House No. 34 Great Tower Street. One of the few surviving late 17th-century mansions of city merchants.

25. Vintry Ward.

(4) Vintners' Hall. A late 17th-century Hall, with ornate wood-work.

10. We offer our grateful thanks to the Rev. E. E. Dorling, F.S.A., for the revision of the descriptions of Heraldry; to Mr. Oswald Barron, F.S.A., for the revision of the descriptions of Costumes and spelling of names; to Mr. Mill Stephenson, F.S.A., for the revision of descriptions of Brasses; to Mr. C. J. ffoulkes, O.B.E., F.S.A., Curator of the Tower Armouries, for revision of descriptions of Armour; and to Mr. F. S. Eden for his descriptions and illustrations of the Ancient Glass in the City.

11. We desire to express our acknowledgment of the good work accomplished by our Executive Staff in the persons of Mr. A. W. Clapham, O.B.E., F.S.A., Mr. J. W. Bloe, O.B.E., F.S.A., Mr. E. A. R. Rahbula, F.S.A., Mr. G. E. Chambers, F.S.A., Mr. P. K. Kipps, Mr. A. T. Phillips, Miss V. M. Dallas, and Mr. F. T. A. Power.

12. We have heard with regret of the resignation of Miss Saunders from the staff of the Commission, due to her acceptance of an outside secretarial appointment at a higher rate of salary than we were allowed to offer her and carrying pension rights which the Treasury has so far denied to our lady assistants.

13. We hope to complete our survey of the monuments of London with the issue of a final volume (Volume V) which will cover the Eastern Boroughs and include the Tower of London, Southwark Cathedral, Greenwich Hospital and Eltham Palace as its principal monuments. This volume will be followed by the first volume of the County of Hereford.

14. We continue to receive valuable assistance from our Secretary, Sir George Duckworth, C.B., F.S.A. His services to the Commission are much appreciated. We desire also to congratulate him on the honour of Knight-bachelor conferred on him by Your Majesty, on relinquishing the Chairmanship of the Irish Land Trust for the provision and maintenance of houses for ex-service men in Ireland.

All of which we submit with our humble duty to Your Majesty.

Signed:

CRAWFORD & BALCARRES (Chairman).

DILLON.

J. G. N. CLIFT.

E. J. HORNIMAN.

ARTHUR J. EVANS.

C. HERCULES READ.

M. R. JAMES.

D. H. MONTGOMERIE.

WILLIAM PAGE.

C. R. PEERS.

HARTINGTON.

E. V. LUCAS

GEORGE DUCKWORTH (Secretary).

2nd November, 1928.