CONTINUED TO THE PRESENT TIME,

BY THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq. OF TRIN. COLL. CAMBRIDGE,
AUTHOR OF "HISTORY OF ESSEX," &c.

VOL. III.

London:

PUBLISHED BY GEORGE VIRTUE, 26, IVY LANE,

PATERNOSTER ROW.

THE

HISTORY OF LONDON.

"Come, sacred Peace! come, long-expected days!
That Thames's glory to the Stars shall raise !
Let Volga's banks with iron squadrons shine,
And groves of lances glitter on the Rhine.
Let barbarous rancour arm a servile train;
Be his the blessings of a peaceful reign!
Behold! the ascending villas on his side
Project long shadows o'er the crystal tide!
Behold AUGUSTA's glittering spires increase!

And temples rise, the beauteous works of Peace!"

POPR.

CHAPTER I.

The site, extent, buildings, population, commerce, and a view of the progressive increase of London.

THE geographical situation of London, in respect to its position on the globe, is in latitude 51 degrees, 31 minutes, north; and in longitude, 18 degrees, 36 minutes; or 5 minutes, 37 seconds west, from Greenwich. Its distance from the principal cities of Europe is as follows: from Edinburgh 367 miles south; from Dublin 338 miles south-east; from Amsterdam, 190 miles west; from Paris, 225 miles north north-west; from Copenhagen, 610 miles southwest; from Vienna, 820 miles north-west; from Madrid, 860 miles north-east by east; from Rome, 950 miles north north-west; from Constantinople 1,660 miles north-west; and from Moscow, 1,660 miles east south-east.

The immediate site of London is about sixty miles from the sea, westward, in a pleasant and spacious valley, stretching along the banks of the Thames; which river, as it flows through the town, forms a bold curve or crescent. On the northern side, the ground rises with a quick ascent, and then more gradually, but unequally, heightens to the north-west and west, which are the most elevated parts. On the south side, the ground is nearly level, and was