Note 1 — Chapter I

I. "Liber fundationis ecclesiae et prioratus S. Bartholomaei in West-Smithfield, London; per Raherum qui illic religiosos viros secundum regulam S. patris Augustini aggregavit, iisdemque per XXII annos prioris dignitate et officio functus praetuit, et de miraculis ipsius."

II. "Idem liber Anglice."

Both are on parchment, in pages of the same (quarto) size, and bound together in a single volume of eighty-three leaves, divided almost equally between the Latin and English versions.—Cottonian MSS. Vespasian, B. ix.

[2] "When he attained the flower of youth, he began to haunt the households of noblemen and the palaces of princes, where, under every elbow of them, he spread their cushions, with apings and flatterings delectably anointing their eyes, to draw to him their friendships. And yet he was not content with this, but haunted the King's palace, and among the noisefull press of that tumultuous Court enforced himself with jollity and carnal suavity, by the which he might draw to him the hearts of many a one."—Cottonian MS., ut supra.

[3] Cottonian MS.

[4] Ibid.

[5] This Richard de Belmeis (Beauvais) was the first of two bishops of the same name, and held the See of London for twenty years (1108-1128).

The name of Rahere, which appears in various forms, suggests a French origin; and from the fact that it occurs in the signature, or attestation, of certain documents discovered in Brittany, as well as from the close relations between the bishop and the founder of St. Bartholomew's, it is conjectured that they both came from the same neighbourhood. Otherwise their joint interest in the foundation at Smithfield is sufficiently accounted for by the benevolent object and the situation within the London diocese.

Leland gives the credit of the foundation to Henry I, as having granted the land out of the royal domain.

[6] The Canons Regular of St. Augustine (of Hippo) are said to have been founded at Avignon in or about 1061. Their first establishment in England was at Colchester (circa 1105), where the picturesque ruins of the Priory Church, dedicated to St. Botolph, are all that remain of the monastic buildings. The habit consisted of a black cassock with a white rochet, over which a black cloak and hood were worn, thus leading to their familiar name of the Black Canons—not to be confused with the Black Friars, a Dominican Order of mendicants, introduced at St. Bartholomew's Priory under Queen Mary. From an anecdote related by Matthew Paris (under the year 1250), and quoted in most accounts of the Priory, it seems that the inmates, while recognizing the authority of the Bishop of London, were extremely jealous of outside interference. The Archbishop of Canterbury (Boniface of Savoy) had ventured to include St. Bartholomew's in one of his visitations. He was received with becoming dignity by the sub-prior, but politely warned against going beyond his jurisdiction. This so enraged his Grace that he struck the sub-prior in the face, and, "with many oaths," rent in pieces the rich cope he was wearing, treading it under his feet, and thrusting the sub-prior against a pillar of the chancel with such violence as almost to kill him. A general conflict followed between the Canons and the Archbishop's attendants, which was taken up outside and set the whole city in an uproar.

[7] Vide Dr. Norman Moore's edition from the copy in the Record Office.

[8] There had been a decline in public interest for some years before 1691, when the abuses which had grown round the celebration led to its reduction from fourteen to four days: but the fair lingered on in a degenerate state till it was last proclaimed by the Lord Mayor in 1850, and finally ceased in 1855. The live cattle market, so vividly described, with its attendant nuisances, in the twenty-first chapter of "Oliver Twist," was closed at the same time, and the business transferred to the new Caledonian Market. The open pens at Smithfield have been superseded by covered buildings, to which the old Newgate Market has been removed, and considerably developed, for the sale of meat, the slaughtering for the most part being done locally in the various places whence the supplies are derived.

The memory of old associations is preserved in the street which runs along the north side of the church, and still bears the name of "Cloth Fair": and the site of "Pye Corner," where the great fire of 1666 reached its limit, is marked by a tablet in the wall, at the entrance to Cock Lane in Giltspur Street, a short distance to the south-west. The place took its name from the "Court of Pie-Powder," which was held during the fair here, as at similar gatherings throughout the country, to deal expeditiously with disturbers of the peace. The etymology is traced to the old French pied pouldré, with supposed reference to the dusty feet of pedlars and others who came before the court—now extinguished in the more modern Petty Sessions.

A lively description of the fair, in its palmy days, is given in a tract, printed in 1641 for Richard Harper at the "Bible and Harp" in Smithfield, entitled, "Bartholomew Fair, or varieties of fancies, where you may find a faire of wares, and all to please your mind, with the several enormityes and misdemeanours which are there seen and heard."

Among the more gloomy associations of Smithfield are the martyrdoms which took place there during the Marian persecution of 1555-57. Of the victims, John Rogers, John Bradford, and John Philpot are commemorated in a modern tablet let into the wall of the hospital facing the square where they suffered. The church to their memory, referred to in the inscription, is in St. John Street Road, where it was built as a Chapel-of-Ease to the parish church of St. John-of-Jerusalem, founded by the Knights Hospitallers in 1185.

[9] The late Mr. J. H. Parker was inclined to think there was a tower in each corner (though two only could be represented in the seal), as was not unusual in France and elsewhere, but rarely the case in England. (See his lecture delivered in the church on 13th July, 1863.)

[10] Vide "Henry VIII and the English Monasteries," by the Rt. Rev. Abbot Gasquet, D.D., O.S.B., for an able statement of the case for the communities: and an article by G. G. Perry ("Eng. Hist. Review," April, 1889), on "Episcopal Visitations of the Austin Canons," for some cases of laxity.

[11] The Dominicans were introduced at St. Bartholomew's in 1556, when their old monastery (dating from 1276), near the north end of Blackfriars Bridge, was no longer available. Possibly their work and reputation in making converts may have had some influence on the choice of the Order, which, moreover, was governed by the Augustinian rule, adopted (with additions) by their founder in 1215, and so far brought the community under the traditions of their predecessors. The members at Smithfield consisted of English, Spanish, and Belgian friars, and Fr. William Perrin, O.P., was appointed as their chief. When he died in 1558, Fr. Richard Hargrave was elected in his place, but was not allowed to take office, apparently in view of the suppression which was impending when the Letters Patent from the General, confirming his election, reached England in the following year. By the time of the actual expulsion (13th July, 1559) the community had been reduced by deaths and migrations to "three priests and one young man," who would seem to have conformed, in preference to leaving the country. (Vide "The Elizabethan Religious Settlement," ch. iv, by Dom H. N. Birt, O.S.B.)

For the general history of the Black Friars the reader is referred to Archbishop Alemany's "Life of St. Dominic, with a Sketch of the Dominican Order," the "Etudes sur l'Ordre de St. Dominique" by D'Anzas, and "The Coming of the Friars" by Dr. Aug. Jessopp. The "Chronica Majora" of Matthew Paris afford some lively reading on the subject.

[12] It is possible that investigations now pending may involve a slight rearrangement of this conjectural plan, as those previously drawn have similarly been modified from time to time by fresh discoveries.

[13] This suggestion of Bishop Grindal's recalls the case of Beaulieu Abbey where the beautiful refectory is still preserved as the parish church.

[14] The church had been "restored" in 1789 by Mr. George Dance, architect to the hospital, in a spirit which may be inferred from the description of the interior given above. A more sympathetic restoration was inaugurated by Mr. Philip Hardwick in 1823.

[15] When the church was repaired by Mr. John Blyth in 1836, this painting was removed, and a range of columns, bearing small semicircular arches, substituted for it as a reredos. During these alterations it was discovered that the stone wall (erected by de Walden) between the wooden altar-piece and the original apse, was painted in bright red tempera, sprinkled with black stars.

The above-mentioned letters are attributed to Mr. John Carter, but are merely signed by "An Architect."

[16] It would probably be unfair to infer any unusual neglect in spiritual matters from the architectural conditions. In Paterson's "Pietas Londinensis" there is a list of public services at many London churches, as held in the early part of the eighteenth century. The services at St. Bartholomew-the-Great are there quoted as "Daily in the last week in the month at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.," and at St. Bartholomew-the-Less as "Daily at 11 a.m."

[17] It should be stated that the fringe factory had covered the remains of the crypt and Lady Chapel, besides projecting some twenty feet into the east end of the church. The architects for these earlier restorations were Professor Hayter Lewis and Mr. Slater, who deserve credit for their careful preservation of the old work.

[18] The obstruction on the south side of the triforium has been already mentioned. The northern side was used for the parochial boys' school for many years down to 1892, when the scholars were transferred to the new schools built for them adjoining the church.