Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/695

Rh LONDON. GS7 LONDON. tlio Koyal Exchange, of John Duke of Bedford in Eussell-square, of William Pitt in Hanover-square, of George Fox in Bloomsbury-square, of George Canning in the square opposite the Houses of Parliament, of General Havelock and Sir Charles Napier in Trafalgar- square, of Sir Robert Peel at the W. end of Cheapside, of Dr. Jenner, the discoverer of vaccination, in Ken- sington-gardens ; of Captain Coram, the founder of the Foundling Hospital, in front of that institution ; and one of Sir Hugh Myddelton near Islington-green ; and in addition to these, those of Hampden, Selden, Wal- O Falkland, Clarendon, Somers, Mansfield, Fox, Chatham, Pitt, Grattan, and Burke, in St. Ste- phen's Hall, in the Palace of Westminster ; and one of Achilles (so called) in Hyde Park, made of the metal of French cannon taken at Salamanca, Vittoria, Toulouse, and Waterloo. It represents a naked warrior 18 feet high, and its cost was defrayed by subscriptions raised by the women of England. Besides these there are the following public memorials in commemoration of celebrated individuals and events : the Albert Me- morial in Hyde-park, on the site of the Exhibition of 1851, which, when completed, will be a magnificently designed and executed Eleanor cross ; the Crimean pillar, a column in the mediaeval style, 62 feet in height, to commemorate the death of officers who fell in the Russian war, stands in front of Deau's-yard, West- minster ; and the Guards' memorial monument, to the memory of the officers and soldiers of that distin- guished corps who were killed in the same eventful struggle, stands at the end of Waterloo-place, at its junction with Pall Mall. The buildings devoted to the management and transaction of government affairs lie almost entirely in Westminster, between Charing-eross and the palace of Westminster. Thus, going S. from Charing-cross, and proceeding down Whitehall, we have, on the right, the Admiralty, and next to it the Horso Guards. Here the commander-in-chief has his offices, and an archway beneath a clock-tower leads into St. James's Park. Only royal personages and those who have special permission are allowed to ride or drive under this archway, which, however, is open to all classes of pedestrians, and behind it is a large parade ground, where colours are sometimes presented to regi- ments, and military inspections are held, and on which stand two pieces of ordnance, one a Turkish gun, taken at Alexandria in 1801, and tho other a howitzer, or mortar, taken at the siege of Cadiz, in 1810. Next to the Horse Guards, are the Home Office, the offices of the Board of Trade, the Treasury, and tho Privy Council office, the whole presenting a handsome frontage in tho Italian stylo of architecture, and extending as far as the corner of Downing-street. In this latter street are situated tho official residence of tho First Lord of tho Treasury, and those of the other great ministers of date, and a vast range of various official buildings Coking St. James's Park at the rear. At the end of Parliament-street, across the road leading to West- minster Bridge, are the Houses of Parliament, or "the to of Westminster," as they are sometimes called. The first stone of this noblo pile of buildings was laid in April, 1840, the old Houses of Parliament having been burnt down in 1834. The granite embankment on which the river frontage of it stands is 886 feet in h, and the whole stands on a bed of concrete i hick. To tho E. it has a frontage of about 1,000 feet, and the whole of it occupies an area of about ixs. At the 8.W. extremity is the Victoria tower, feet in height, through which is the sovereign's state entrance into tho House of Peers. At the N. end of the river front is the Speaker's residence, at tho S. nf the Usher of tho Black Rod, and between these are tho libraries and committee rooms. Tho House of ', and tho central hall, which lies between the two lied through St. Stephen's Hall and ommunicatcd by flights of steps with
 * and tho House of Commons are situated behind
 * "r Hall. Tho architect is Sir Charles Barry,

md it ^an be seen on Wednesdays and Saturdays by orders obtained at the Lord Chamberlain's office. Tho clock tower contains the largest bell in England. The original bell was cast at Houghton-le-Spring, and was called " Big Ben," after Sir B. Hall (Lord Llanover), chief commissioner of works when it was put up. In con- sequence of a crack it was re-cast by Hears, of White- chapel. It still retains its sobriquet, and weighs 15 tons 18 J ewt., is 9 feet 5 J inches in diameter, 7 feet 10 A inches in height, and cost 3,343 14s. 9d. The whole of the in- terior of the Palace of Westminster is decorated, and adorned with pictures, frescoes, and statues. West- minster Hall, founded by William Eufus, was rebuilt by Richard II., and the magnificent chestnut wood roof, and the stone frieze below the windows are adorned with devices of that monarch. The hall itself is 270 feet long by 74 feet broad and about 90 feet high, and royal banquets and coronation feasts were held in it for many successive reigns. Courts of justice were also assembled here in very early times, at which tho king himself presided, and tho stone bench on which ho sat, and from which the term " Court of King's Bench " is derived, is said still to be buried under the pavement at the upper end of the hall. The courts of Chancery, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, are also held here ; but all legal business will soon cease here and be transferred to those law courts on tho S. side of Lincoln's Inn Fields, which are to form part of that noble pile of building which is to bo designated tho " Palace of Justice." Westminster Hall has hlso been used as a court for several trials of great public importance, as for those of tho Earl of Strafibrd, the Duchess of Kingston, Warren Hastings, Lord Melville, Lord Cardigan, Queen Caroline, and several others. Many parliaments have also been held in it, but its principal use now is to serve as a great public entrance to tho whole palace, of which it now forms a part. The cloisters and crypt of St. Stephen's chapel, adjoining the hall, have not been destroyed ; and tho latter, which has been restored and decorated, is open to public inspection. At the N. corner of Victoria-street, which leads from the Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, to tho Grosvonor Hotel, the London, Ch'atham, and Dover railway terminus, and tho quarter of Belgravia, stands the Westminster Palace Hotel. Hero tho Government occupy rooms in which the business of the India office is transacted. The In- land Revenue office is at Somerset House ; tho Public Record or State Paper office, in Fetter-lane, Holbom ; tho Duchy of Cornwall office, at Buckingham-gate, St. James's Park ; tho Duchy of Lancaster office, in Lancaster-street, Strand ; the Herald's College, or Col- lege of Arms, at Beimett's-hill, St. Paul's ; the Lord High Chamberlain's office, in tho royal court at the Palace of Westminster ; Queen Anne's Bounty office, in Dean's-yard, Westminster ; and almost all tho other public offices connected with government are in and about Whitehall. London has two cathedral churches, St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey. Tho former, which is the fifth church that has been built on tho site, was commenced by Sir C. Wren in 1675, and took thirty-five years in building, the last stone having been placed on tho lantern by the architect's son in 1710. The exterior of the building is of two orders, the lower part being Corinthian, tho upper of a mixed kind of architecture. In the" W. front are two porticoes, one above tho other, the upper one consisting of ten coupled columns, sup- porting an entablature and pediment filled in with a bas-relief representing tho Conversion of St. Paul, and tho under one having twelve coupled columns. The magnificent cupola rises from tho body of the church, and the dome itself stands on an Attic order, which is flanked by a balustrade. Tho whole is surmounted by a gilt cross and ball, tho former being 30 feet high, tho latter, which is capable of containing eight persons, measuring 6 feet 2 inches in diameter, and weighing 6,600 Ibs. Tho elevation of the cross from the floor of the basement is 365 feet, and tho circumference oi whole edifice is 2,292 feet, or only 343 feet less than half a mile. The interior of tho dome (which is supported by eight piers, each of 40 feet width at the base) was