Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/687

Rh LONDON. 679 LONDON. his apprehension. In 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, and the two Houses of Parliament attended at 'aul's to return thanks for the conclusion of peace. On the 1st August, 17 14, the queen died, and was buried at Westminster, being the last sovereign of the house of Stuart. During the reign of this family London had made great progress in those branches of trade and com- merce which have increased so rapidly ever since. In 1694 the Bunk of England, which was then first incor- porated, and earned on business in the hall of the Gro- cers' Company, commenced with a capital of 1,200,000 ; and in 1712 London had 560 vessels, and only a little over a quarter of a million tons of coal entered the port. During this period out-door amusements formed a great part of the recreation of the people, and fairs were kupt and may-poles erected in various parts of the metro- polis. During the latter portion of this period clubs and coffee-houses were very generally frequented, and formed a remarkable feature of London life. The moral state of society in the metropolis was very debased during the reigns of the Stuarts, and excesses in eating and drinking, and debauchery of all kinds, were carried on y. Ve are told that the prisons presented the most horrible scenes of abject disease and misery ; that the streets swarmed with destitute children, who were left to starve, or else to live by thieving, forging, or any other vicious courses which ultimately led them to the gallows ; and it was not until the reign of the house of Hanover that any real steps were taken to purify the metropolis, either morally or socially, or efficient measures passed for ameliorating the condition of its population. During the reign of George I. lords Der- went water and Kenmure were executed on Tower Hill, and the Earl of Oxford was imprisoned for two years in the Tower. In 1720 took place the celebrated South Sea bubble, which occasioned so much confusion and excite- ment in the City that the offices were crowded daily with eager throngs of speculators who blocked up the places of business to such an extent that it became necessary to have tables and clerks stationed in the streets near the Bank. By this scheme many thousands of families were ruined and left the country, and had it not been for the ures of Sir Robert Walpole, this and similar under- takings would probably have produced a national bank- ruptcy. During this reign the Sanctuary in Westminster was pulled down, and the foundations of Guy's Hospital were laid in 1721 by John Guy, a bookseller in Corn- hill. In 1727 George II. came to the throne. In 1746 and 1747 lords Kilmarnock, Balmerino, and Lovat wero uted on Tower Hill, and seventeen persons suffered on Kennington Common for participating in a scheme lie restoration of the Stuarts. About this time John Wesley began his remarkable career, and raised a numerous body known as Wesleyan Methodists. The fir&t chapel they occupied in London was the " Foundry," in Moorfields, in 1739; and, in the same year, the "so- . 'Jl, they numbered 80,000, and now his followers,
 * " were formed. At the time of Wesley's death,
 * i gland, the United States, and on the foreign mis-

>: little less than a million. The purchase of Sir ' >ane's collections by the government led to the 11 of the British Museum in 1753 ; and in 1760 stone of the old Blackfriars Bridge was laid -ent one having been laid in July, 1865. ober, 1700, George II. died at Kensington, and ried at Westminster. George HI. was crowned at ter, 22nd September, 1761, and was buried at Uor in January, 1820. During this long reign the immensely in extent, and many and improvements rendered it more commo- for its inhabitants. The Houses of Parliament were adorned by the names of lords Clive and Chatham, 'iit, Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, and lie. Nelson and the Duke of Wellington wero accomplishing those glorious feats of arms which have he capital of the leading empire of the world. In 1788 the celebrated trial of Warren Hastings ook place in Westminster Hall; and in 1812 Spencer val, the prime minister, was shot by Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons. In this reign the use of umbrellas was introduced into London by Jonas Hanway, the eminent philanthropist, but did not become general for thirty years afterwards ; and the tine institutions, were founded. In June," 1781, Lord George Gordon's "No Popery" riots commenced, and the mob burnt down many houses, and the prisons of the King's Bench, the Fleet, and the New Bridewell. From these they released the prisoners, as they did also from Newgate, to which they had set fire. They also attacked the Bank of England, but quiet was restored after a week, Lord George was apprehended and com- mitted to the Tower, and a camp was formed in St. James's Park to guard against any further outbreak. In the reign of George IV. enormous improvements and alterations took place in London, more especially at the W. end of the town. The Regent's Park was laid out in 1812, from plans of John Nash, the architect, and was so called because the Prince of Wales, who was-then Prince Regent, intended to erect himself a house there, and Regent-street and Portland-place were built to afford a line of communication from the prince's residence to St. James's Palace, Carlton House, and the aristocratic mansions in that neighbourhood. In 1820 a plot was laid to murder the cabinet ministers, and the conspirators met in a small street, called Cato-street, in the Edgware-road. The affair is known as the " Cato-street Conspiracy ;" hut the movements of the conspirators were watched, and Thistlewood, tho ringleader, and four of his accomplices, were seized and executed. Tho king himself took a lively interest in improving and beautifying the west end of the town. Carlton House was demolished, and St. James's Palace was entirely deserted as a royal residence. Buck- ingham House was taken down, and the present Bucking- ham Palace begun. The higher classes now commenced that migration to the western parts of the metropolis which has continued ever since, and which is even now going on to such an extent that it is difficult to pre- dict what will ultimately be the limit to tho houses and mansions which are being erected in that quarter. In 1815-16, gas-lights began to supersede pretty generally tho use of oil in lighting the public thoroughfares. In 1823 cabriolets were introduced into London from Paris, and were tho prototypes of our present street cab". In 1825 the first stono of tho new London Bridge was laid. In 1829 omnibuses first began to run, and in tho same year the Metropolitan Police Act passed, and the new General Post Office was opened for public business. The next king, William IV., was crowned at West- minster, 9th September, 1831. In May, 1832, much agitation took place throughout the country in conse- quence of tho Reform Bill, and in London the excite- ment was so great, that a run was caused upon the Bank of England, and the mob assembled round Apsley House, the residence of the Duke of Wellington, Hydo Park Corner, and broke his windows, in revengo for tho opposition which ho offered to the Bill. On tho 1st August, 1 831, new London Bridge was opened by the king and queen amid great rejoicings. In 1832 tho cholera made its appearance in London, and created great distress nnd havoc among all classes ; and in 1834 both houses of parliament were destroyed byfire, which broke out on the evening of 1 6th October, and was not extinguished for several days. In this reign very important alterations and improvements were curried out in the City, especially in the neighbourhood of London Bridge, and several educational and scientific societies were established ; among these wero various Mechanics' Institutes, the National Gallery, London University, the Astronomical and Geographical Societies ; the Royal Society of Lite- rature, tho Royal Institution of Bntish Architects, tho Statistical Society, the British Association for tho Ad- vancement of Science, and many others. The pi i reign commenced on 20th Juno, 1837, and since that time the metropolis has been undergoing constant el t inconsequence of the introduction of modern iuv< ni