Such, then, were Mr. Barnaby Postern’s historical notices of old London Bridge; in which the reader may perceive, that he evinced a fair proportion of antiquarian learning, and rather a large share of reading and memory. When he had arrived at this period, however, as I thought that my own information would enable me to add some curious modern particulars to his narrative, I addressed him with, “My best thanks are due to you, worthy Sir, for your interesting Chronicles of London Bridge; for, although you have sometimes been prosy enough to have wearied a dozen Dutchmen, yet, by my patience and your perseverance, the story is safely brought down to the present day. You have steered it, slowly enough, certainly, but surely, through all the intricate navigation of the Record Rolls, and have carefully avoided several of those rocks of error, upon which so many former historians have been wrecked. And since the narrative has now reached the building of a New London Bridge, pray allow me, so long your grateful hearer, to relate the ceremony of Laying the First Stone thereof, from my own observation, sketches, and memoranda.”
“My very hearty thanks are your’s for that most excellent proposal, Mr. Geoffrey,” said the old Antiquary; “for I am now too far declined into the vale of years, to describe modern ceremonials and festivities with the spirit of a younger Citizen: whilst you are ‘not clean past your youth;’ having yet only ‘some smack of age, some relish of the saltness of time in you;’ therefore the story, good Mr. Barbican, the story.”
“You shall have it, Sir,” replied I; “you shall have it, and with all the skill I can; though, after your highly-finished ancient historical pictures, my modern delineations can appear only faint and imperfect.
“The Coffer-Dam, in which the ceremony of Laying the First Stone took place, was erected opposite to the Southern Arch called the Fourth Lock, and was constructed of three rows of piles, planks, and earth, substantially secured by timbers of great strength and thickness; and when the day for performing it was fixed, it was officially announced by the following notice:—
“‘London Bridge. Mansion House, 23rd May, 1825. The Committee for Rebuilding the New London Bridge having appointed Wednesday, the 15th day of June next, for Laying the First Stone of the New Bridge, Notice is hereby given, that the Foot and Carriage-way over the present Bridge will be stopped on that day, from Eleven o’clock in the Forenoon until Four o’clock in the Afternoon.
‘By Order of the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor.
‘Francis Hobler.
‘N.B. Southwark Bridge will be open free of Toll during the above hours.’
“As the intervening space passed away, the preparations for the ceremonial proceeded on a scale of equal celerity and magnitude. A Steam Engine, with a high funnel, was erected against the City side of the Coffer-Dam, for exhausting it of water, an entrance to which was made through a covered stone recess of the old Bridge, on the Northern side of the Dam. The rude and intricate walling of piles and other erections now began to assume a more regular appearance; a platform and flight of steps connected them with the parapet of the old edifice; a broad raised passage surrounded the area in the centre, and the whole was covered with an awning, above which rose numerous lofty flag-staves. These, then, were the earlier preparations for this splendid water-festival; and now let us proceed to recount the wonders of the day itself. A finer and more freshly-breathing air was certainly never abroad, than that which cooled the atmosphere and blew out the gaily-coloured flags around old London Bridge, on the morning of Wednesday, the 15th of June. At a very early hour, the workmen began erecting the barriers, which were double, and at a considerable distance apart. Across the whole space of Fish-Street Hill, from Upper and Lower Thames Street, and again at Tooley Street, there stretched wide wooden railings, having a moveable bar at each pavement, with an opening wide enough for one person only; whilst the centre of the Street was divided with posts and bars, allowing carriages to pass between them also, but in single lines. Within these, at each end of the Bridge, was erected a strong screen of rough planks, about fourteen feet high, having four gates, answering to the former foot-paths and carriage-ways. So long as the barriers continued open, the old Bridge was crowded with gazers; who were especially collected opposite that part of the parapet which was to form the grand entrance to the Coffer-Dam; while on the roofs of the houses, and other buildings in the vicinity, were platforms of seats, and awnings preparing, which were afterwards crowded with spectators; as well as the Monument, St. Magnus’ Church, the towers of St. Mary Overies’, and St. Olave, Fishmongers’ Hall, and the Patent-Shot works. Many scaffolds were also erected for the purpose of letting, the prices varying from 2s. 6d. to 15s. each, according to their accommodations; and the following is a specimen of their announcements. ‘Seats to be let for viewing the Procession, No. 2, Bridge Foot, for Laying the First Stone of the New Bridge. Tickets 7s. and 5s. each:’ though more moderate exhibitions were set forth in the words, ‘A full view of the whole works, Admission 6d.’ Another bill of entertainment, also issued on that morning, stated, that ‘This Evening, Wednesday, June 15th, the Monument will be superbly illuminated with Portable Gas, in commemoration of Laying the First Stone of the New London Bridge, by the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor. Admittance Sixpence each, at Nine o’clock.’ And in the evening a lamp was accordingly placed at each of the loop-holes of the column, to give the idea of its being wreathed with flame, whilst two other series were placed on the edges of the gallery; though the wind seldom permitted the whole of the gas to remain lighted at the same instant.
“Long before the time appointed for the closing of old London Bridge, the River and buildings around it were fully occupied with visitors; the vessels were decorated with flags; and crowded pleasure-boats, some carrying bands of music, floated round the Coffer-Dam. At eleven o’clock, the Bridge was begun to be cleared, and that of Southwark opened, for the first and only time, toll free. The various entries were guarded by constables, who ascertained that every person was provided with a ticket; and before noon, this famous passage across the Thames had so completely changed its character, that the very striking contrast to its usual appearance must have been seen to be appreciated. The building of the New London Bridge having been entrusted to the following Committee, the ceremonies of this day were also placed under the same direction; the Members being distinguished by painted wands, surmounted by the Arms of London and Southwark. These were,—
“The Lord Mayor, all the Aldermen, and Jonathan Crocker, Chairman of the Sub Bridge-House Committee; Robert Fisher, of the Ward of Aldersgate within; John Lorkin, of Aldersgate without; Samuel Favell, of Aldgate; Henry Hughes, of Bassishaw; William Austin, of Billingsgate; James Davies, and Sir William Rawlins, of Bishopsgate; William Mathie, of Bread Street; John Locke, of Bridge; Richard Webb Jupp, of Broad Street; Thomas Carr, of Candlewick; Robert Slade, of Castle Baynard; Charles Bleaden, of Cheap; Josiah Griffiths, of Coleman Street; Charles William Hick, of Cordwainers; Spencer Perry Adderley, of Cornhill; Hugh Herron, of Cripplegate within; Richard Lambert Jones, of Cripplegate without; James Ebenezer Saunders, of Dowgate; Josiah Daw, and Adam Oldham, of Farringdon within; William John Reeves, and James Webb Southgate, of Farringdon without; Joseph Carter, of Langbourn; Thomas Price, of Lime Street; Robert Carter, of Portsoken; William Routh, of Queenhithe; Peter Skipper, of Tower; Thomas Conway, of Vintry; and William Richardson, of Walbrook.
“The Tickets of admission to the Coffer-Dam were also issued by these gentlemen, and were, of course, in great request; but their number being limited, and the general arrangements peculiarly excellent, there was ample accommodation for even a more numerous company. The Tickets themselves—and how will they not be valued by the curious collectors of a future day?—were elegantly engraven, and printed on stout cards, measuring about five inches by eight: they consisted of an oblong elevation of the New Bridge, looking down the River, ‘Perkins, St. Mary Axe, Sculpsit,’ having beneath it the following words:
‘Admit the Bearer
TO WITNESS THE CEREMONY OF LAYING
THE FIRST STONE
OF THE
New London Bridge,
on Wednesday, the 15th day of June, 1825.
|
Seal of the |
(Signed) Henry Woodthorpe, Junr. |
N.B.—The Access is from the Present Bridge,
and the time of Admission will be
between the hours of Twelve and Two.
No. 837.’
These, however, admitted only to the galleries of the Coffer-Dam, the lowest floor being reserved for the bearers of a second Ticket, printed in letter-press, on a pale pink card, of an ordinary size, and containing the following words.
‘NEW LONDON BRIDGE.
ADMIT THE BEARER
TO THE
Platform Seats,
ON PRODUCING THE TICKET OF ADMISSION
with this Card.’
“The general passage was along the outer gallery, but the latter admissions were conducted down a staircase, lined with crimson, opposite to the principal entrance. Both these Tickets, however, were required to be shewn only, being intended for preservation as memorials, and they were admitted at each end of the Bridge. Having passed the barriers, the visitors proceeded to the Grand Entrance to the Coffer-Dam,
which was formed by removing part of the stone parapet of the Bridge, adjoining the fourth recess from the Southwark end, on the Western side; the break being most expeditiously made just as the Bridge was cleared. It was then that the extreme elegance of this entrance became perfectly visible. Several steps, covered with crimson cloth, led up to a kind of tent formed of flags, gathered in festoons, with roses of the same, and surmounted by a white flag bearing a red cross, and having the Union in the first quarter, the Sword of St. Paul in the second, and the Saltire of Southwark in the fourth. The roof of this entrance was also formed of two immense red ensigns, charged with the Union in their quarters; the sides were elegantly divided into arches, richly festooned and entwined with flags; and, on the left-hand of the entrance, at the edge of the pavement, was erected a board, which stated, that ‘All Carriages, not in the Procession, are, on setting down the company, to pass on into Southwark, and return from Southwark to take up.’ Round the whole of the Dam itself was a broad stage; which formed a most delightful promenade, secured from the heat of the sun by the tent above, whilst the air, light, and prospect, might be enjoyed through the Arches. The Western end of the Coffer-Dam
terminated in a circular form, and presented a peculiarly beautiful object from the water; whence a series of substantial ladders led to the platform: over which floated the Union Jack, and a St. George’s Ensign. The Southern Exterior of the Coffer-dam
formed, however, its most magnificent prospect; especially when seen from a point of sufficient elevation to comprise the whole extent of its splendid and capacious amphitheatre. The nearest objects were the thick and irregular walls of discoloured piles standing in the water, from which all boats were kept off by persons stationed for the purpose; and on the interior row was the outer gallery of the tent, with its decorated arches. The awning above was raised on a little forest of scaffold-poles, which would have appeared of unusual strength any where but by the side of the huge blocks of timber immediately beneath them: and, over the whole, the breeze unfolded to the sun the several banners. In the centre waved the Royal Standard of England; at the Western top of the tent was the flag of the Navy Board; at the opposite point that of the Admiralty; and above these a rope extended the whole length of the building, decorated with about five-and-twenty signal-colours, furnished, like all the others, from the Royal Dock-Yard at Woolwich.
“This erection was divided into four principal parts, consisting of a floor and three galleries, the whole being capable of containing 2000 persons; nearly which number was probably present. The floor was laid 45 feet below high-water mark, and measured 95 feet by 36, being formed of four-inch beechen planks, resting upon Piles headed with iron; upon which was a layer of timber two feet thick, and a course of brick-work and stone, each of 2½ feet deep. It was surrounded by three rows of seats, excepting at the entrance at the Eastern end; and on the North side was a chair of state, covered with crimson cloth, having behind it the seats appropriated to the Lord Mayor’s family and private friends. The whole floor was capable of receiving 500 persons, and was entirely covered with red baize, excepting at a rectangular space in the centre, within which appeared a cavity, cut in stone, of 21 inches by 15, and 7 in depth, for the coins, &c., over which the First Stone was suspended by a strong fall and tackle, secured to the upright timbers of the Dam. Above the floor was a gallery, containing three rows of covered seats, sufficient to hold 400 spectators; and over it were two others; the lower one, of two rows for 400; and the upper tier for 300 more. Three other galleries also stretched along the cross beams above; whilst a still more lofty one, at the Western end, was appropriated to the Ward Schools of Bridge, Dowgate, and Candlewick. The general character of the Dam was strength and solidity; the tiers of seats being supported by massive cross-beams, wreathed and decorated with flags and rosettes; along the centre passed another very thick timber, bearing the uprights and their respective supporters; and from the roof several large flags hung heavily downwards. The taste and ingenuity which were exerted in the arrangements, had indeed left nothing to be wished for; whilst the general security was everywhere so palpably apparent, as to dispel the apprehensions even of the most timid. Such was the appearance of the Interior of the Coffer-Dam, and the position of the first stone,
which was of the best hard Aberdeen Granite, weighing 4 tons. Its measurement was, 5 feet 5⁄8 of an inch long, 3 feet 63⁄8 inches broad, and 2 feet 10 inches deep; containing 50 feet 7 inches in cubic measure; and its situation as nearly as possible the centre of the First, or South Pier, on the Southwark side. The Company continued rapidly to arrive until the barriers were closed at 2 o’clock, when most of the seats in the Coffer-Dam were occupied; and where, to lighten as much as possible the interval of waiting, the bands of the Horse-Guards, Red and Blue, and of the Artillery Company, which were stationed in a gallery at the entrance, were employed to furnish frequent entertainment: Refreshments of Tea, Coffee, Champagne, &c., being also liberally supplied by the Committee. About a quarter before three o’clock, the Lady Mayoress, and her family, came to the Dam in the private state-carriage; and at four, a signal-gun announced that the Procession had left the Court-yard of Guildhall, nearly in the following order; passing through Cheapside, Cornhill, and Grace-Church Street, to the Bridge, where it was received by the Committee, and other members of the Common Council; the principal persons being in their own carriages.
A Division of the Artillery Company, with their Field-pieces.
Constables.
Band of Music.
Marshalmen.
The Junior City Marshal, Mr. W. W. Cope, on horseback.
Nathaniel Saunders, Junr., Esq., the Water-Bailiff, and Mr. Nelson, his Assistant.
Barge Masters.
City Watermen, bearing Colours.
Remainder of the City Watermen.
Bridgemasters and Clerk of the Bridge-House.
Contractors, William Jolliffe, Esq., and Sir Edward Banks.
Model of the Bridge, borne by Labourers.
Architect and Engineer, John Rennie, Esq., F.R.S.
Members of the New Bridge Committee.
Comptroller of the Bridge-House, Robert F. Newman, Esq.
Visitors and Members of the Committee of the Royal Society.
High Bailiff of the Borough of Southwark, John Holmes, Esq.
Under Sheriffs, George Martin, and John S. Tilson, Esqrs.
Clerk of the Peace of the City of London, Thomas Shelton, Esq.
City Solicitor, William Lewis Newman, Esq.
Remembrancer, Timothy Tyrrell, Esq.
Secondaries of Giltspur Street and the Poultry Compters.
Comptroller of the Chamber, Lewis Bushnan, Esq.
Common Pleaders, Wm. Bolland, Esq., George Bernard, Esq.
Hon. C. E. Law, and John Mirehouse, Esq.
Judges of the Sheriff’s Court.
Town Clerk, Henry Woodthorpe, Esq.
Common Serjeant, Thomas Denman, Esq., M. P.
Deputy Recorder, Mr. Serjeant Arabin.
Chamberlain, Richard Clark, Esq.
Members of Parliament and other Gentlemen, Visitors.
Sir Humphrey Davy, President of the Royal Society.
The Sheriffs, Anthony Brown, and John Key, Esqrs., Aldermen.
Aldermen below the Chair.
The Recorder, Newman Knowlys, Esq.
Aldermen past the Chair.
Visitors, Privy Councillors.
Visitors, Peers.
Officers of State.
Music and Colours, with the Court of the Lord Mayor’s Company, the Goldsmiths.
Marshalmen.
The Senior City Marshal, Mr. Neville Brown, on horseback.
The Lord Mayor’s Household.
The Lord Mayor’s Servants in their State Liveries.
The Lord Mayor in his State Carriage, accompanied by His Royal
Highness the Duke of York.
Carriage of His Royal Highness the Duke of York.
The remainder of the Artillery Company, as a guard of honour to
the Lord Mayor.
“The streets through which the Procession passed, were all thronged; every window was filled with spectators; and, on arriving at its destination, the River, the Wharfs, the most distant buildings, and even Southwark Bridge, were equally crowded with thousands of impatient gazers. It was not, however, until a quarter before five, that the field-pieces of the Artillery Company, at the old Swan Stairs’ Wharf, announced the cavalcade’s actual approach, when the bands played the famous Yäger Chor of Weber’s ‘Freyschutz.’ The City-Watermen, bearing their richly emblazoned standards, soon afterwards entered the Coffer-Dam, when, after the colours had been very ingeniously passed between the timbers, and grouped around the Stone, it being found that they would materially obstruct the view, they were, with similar difficulty, conveyed back again. The narrow and winding passages of the Dam destroyed much of the stately order of the Procession; but nearly the whole Court of Aldermen, and a large party of the Common-Council, in their scarlet and purple gowns, having appeared on the floor beneath, they were followed by the City Officers; the Lord Mayor, in his robes of state; and His Royal Highness the Duke of York, in a plain blue coat, wearing the Garter round his knee, and the star of the order upon his breast. In the same part of the Procession also came the Earl of Darnley; Lord James Stuart; the Right Hon. C. W. W. Wynn, President of the Board of Controul; Admiral Sir George Cockburn, M. P.; Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart, M. P.; Sir George Warrender, Bart, M. P.; Sir Peter Laurie; Sir Robert Wilson, M. P.; Thomas Wilson, Esq., M. P.; William Williams, Esq., M. P.; George Holme Sumner, Esq., M. P.; and several other personages of distinction.
“The Lord Mayor and His Royal Highness having arrived at the state chair, amidst the waving of handkerchiefs, and the loudest cheers, and having both of them declined that seat of honour, they remained standing during the whole of the ceremony; which then commenced by the Ward Schools and the visitors singing ‘God save the King,’ verse and chorus, in which the Duke also joined with great enthusiasm. The Lord Mayor then removed towards the Eastern end of the Platform, in the centre of the Coffer-Dam floor, where there was a small stage covered with crimson cloth, attended by four members of the Bridge Committee, bearing the bottle for the coins, an inscription incrustated in glass, the level, and the splendid Silver-Gilt Trowel for Laying the First Stone.
This elegant instrument, which was designed and executed by Messrs. Green, Ward, and Green, of Ludgate Hill, measured 15 inches in its extreme length, and 5 inches at the widest part of the blade; the handle being 5½ inches long, composed of wrought laurel, terminating in very rich acanthus foliage at the end; and its depository, a green Morocco case lined with white satin. The upper side was embossed with a reclining figure of the Thames, with a vase, swan, and cornucopia; beneath which was a shield, charged with the impaled arms of London and Southwark, and surrounded by the supporters, crest, motto, and badges of the City. The other side was perfectly flat, and was decorated with a border of flowers; the armorial ensigns, crest, and motto, of the Lord Mayor; and the following Inscription, engraven in ornamental characters:—
‘THIS TROWEL
WAS USED
IN THE LAYING OF
THE FIRST STONE
OF THE
NEW LONDON BRIDGE,
ON THE 15th DAY OF JUNE, 1825,
IN THE SIXTH YEAR OF THE REIGN
OF HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY
GEORGE THE FOURTH,
BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
JOHN GARRATT,
LORD MAYOR
OF THE CITY OF LONDON:
WHO WAS BORN IN THE WARD IN WHICH THE BRIDGE IS SITUATED,
ON THE 15th DAY OF DECEMBER, 1786;
ELECTED A MEMBER OF THE COMMON COUNCIL
FOR THAT WARD, ON THE 3rd DAY OF AUGUST, 1809
ALDERMAN THEREOF,
ON THE 10th DAY OF MARCH, 1821;
AND SHERIFF OF LONDON AND MIDDLESEX,
ON THE 24th DAY OF JUNE FOLLOWING.’
“Mr. John Rennie having exhibited to the Lord Mayor and the Duke of York a large and excellent drawing of the elevation of the New Bridge, Richard Clark, Esq., the venerable Chamberlain of London, next produced a white satin purse, containing a series of new coins of the reign, each separately enveloped, which being uncovered, and deposited by the Lord Mayor in an elegant square bottle of cut-glass, were placed in the cavity; four glass cylinders, 7 inches long and 3 in diameter, intended to support the engraved Inscription-plate, being fixed at the corners in plaster-of-Paris. Another member of the Committee then handed to the Lord Mayor a block of solid glass, 7¼ inches broad, 3½ in height, and 1½ in thickness, enclosing these words, in Messrs. Pellats’ and Green’s Ceramie Incrustation:—
‘THE FIRST STONE OF THIS BRIDGE
WAS LAID BY THE RIGHT HONBLE JOHN GARRATT,
LORD MAYOR OF LONDON, IN JUNE, 1825:
AND IN THE 6TH YEAR OF THE REIGN
OF KING GEORGE THE 4TH.’
‘PELLATS & GREEN.’
“The Town-clerk, Henry Woodthorpe, Esq., who had recently received the Degree of LL.D., then came forward with the brass Depositum-plate, and read aloud this very fine Inscription, composed, at the request of the Bridge Committee, by the Rev. Edward Coplestone, D.D., Master of Oriel College, Oxford, and late Professor of Poetry in that University; whose ‘Prælectiones Academicæ’ have so excellently illustrated the beauties of the ancient Classic Poets.
‘PONTIS VETVSTI
QVVM PROPTER CREBRAS NIMIS INTERIECTAS MOLES
IMPEDITO CVRSV FLVMINIS
NAVICVLAE ET RATES
NON LEVI SAEPE IACTVRA ET VITAE PERICVLO
PER ANGVSTAS FAVCES
PRAECIPITI AQVARVM IMPETV FERRI SOLERENT
CIVITAS LONDINENSIS
HIS INCOMMODIS REMEDIVM ADHIBERE VOLENS
ET CELEBERRIMI SIMVL IN TERRIS EMPORII
VTILITATIBVS CONSVLENS
REGNI INSVPER SENATVS AVCTORITATE
AC MVNIFICENTIA ADIVTA
PONTEM
SITV PRORSVS NOVO
AMPLIORIBVS SPATIIS CONSTRVENDVM DECREVIT
EA SCILICET FORMA AC MAGNITVDINE
QVAE REGIAE VRBIS MAIESTATI
TANDEM RESPONDERET
NEQVE ALIO MAGIS TEMPORE
TANTVM OPVS INCHOANDVM DVXIT
QVAM CVM PACATO FERME TOTO TERRARVM ORBE
IMPERIVM BRITTANICVM
FAMA OPIBVS MVLTITVDINE CIVIVM ET CONCORDIA POLLENS
PRINCIPE
ITEM GAVDERET
ARTIVM FAVTORE AC PATRONO
CVIVS SVB AVSPICIIS
NOVVS INDIES AEDIFICIORVM SPLENDOR VRBI ACCEDERET.
PRIMVM OPERIS LAPIDEM
POSVIT
IOANNES GARRATT ARMIGER
PRAETOR
XV DIE IVNII
ANNO REGIS GEORGII QVARTI SEXTO
A. S. M.D.CCC.XXV.
JOANNE RENNIE S. R. S. ARCHITECTO.’
“The following English translation of this truly elegant composition was also engraven on the reverse of the plate; though not then read.
‘THE FREE COURSE OF THE RIVER
BEING OBSTRUCTED BY THE NUMEROUS PIERS
OF THE ANCIENT BRIDGE,
AND THE PASSAGE OF BOATS AND VESSELS
THROUGH ITS NARROW CHANNELS
BEING OFTEN ATTENDED WITH DANGER AND LOSS OF LIFE
BY REASON OF THE FORCE AND RAPIDITY OF THE CURRENT,
THE CITY OF LONDON,
DESIROUS OF PROVIDING A REMEDY FOR THIS EVIL,
AND AT THE SAME TIME CONSULTING
THE CONVENIENCE OF COMMERCE
IN THIS VAST EMPORIUM OF ALL NATIONS,
UNDER THE SANCTION AND WITH THE LIBERAL AID OF
PARLIAMENT,
RESOLVED TO ERECT A BRIDGE
UPON A FOUNDATION ALTOGETHER NEW,
WITH ARCHES OF A WIDER SPAN,
AND OF A CHARACTER CORRESPONDING
TO THE DIGNITY AND IMPORTANCE
OF THIS ROYAL CITY:
NOR DOES ANY OTHER TIME SEEM TO BE MORE SUITABLE
FOR SUCH AN UNDERTAKING
THAN WHEN, IN A PERIOD OF UNIVERSAL PEACE
THE BRITISH EMPIRE
FLOURISHING IN GLORY, WEALTH, POPULATION, AND DOMESTIC UNION,
IS GOVERNED BY A PRINCE,
THE PATRON AND ENCOURAGER OF THE ARTS,
UNDER WHOSE AUSPICES
THE METROPOLIS HAS BEEN DAILY ADVANCING IN ELEGANCE AND
SPLENDOUR.
THE FIRST STONE OF THIS WORK
WAS LAID
BY JOHN GARRATT, ESQUIRE,
LORD MAYOR,
ON THE 15th DAY OF JUNE,
IN THE SIXTH YEAR OF KING GEORGE THE FOURTH,
AND IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1825.
JOHN RENNIE, F.R.S. ARCHITECT.’
“Printed copies of these Inscriptions, with an embossed border, were presented to each person on entering the Dam; as was also another edition of the Latin, engraven on copper, of the same size as the admission-ticket, and having the same view of the New Bridge above it. The brass plate was then placed upon the glass pillars, when Mr. Richard Lambert Jones, Sub-Chairman of the Committee for erecting the edifice, presented the splendid Trowel to the Lord Mayor, with this address: ‘My Lord, I have the honour to inform your Lordship, that the Committee of Management has appointed you, in your character of Lord Mayor of London, to lay the First Stone of the New London Bridge; and that I am directed to present your Lordship with this Trowel, as a means of assistance to your Lordship in accomplishing that object.’ Upon which the Lord Mayor turned towards the Duke of York, and thus addressed His Royal Highness, and the other witnesses of the ceremony.
“‘Though it is not essential for me to speak at any length upon the purpose for which we are this day assembled, since its importance to this great commercial City must be clearly evident; yet I cannot refrain from offering a few observations, feeling, as I do, more than an ordinary interest in the accomplishment of the undertaking, of which the present ceremony is only the primary step. I cannot consider the present a favourable moment for entering into any chronological history of the present venerable Bridge, which is now, from the increased commerce of the country, and the rapid strides made by the Sciences in this Kingdom, found inadequate to its purposes; but would rather advert to the many advantages which must naturally result from the completion of this great national enterprise. Whether there be taken into consideration the rapid, and consequently dangerous, currents arising from the obstruction incidental to the defects of this ancient edifice, which have proved so destructive to human life and property, or its difficult and incommodious approaches and acclivity, it must be matter of sincere congratulation, that we are living in times when the resources of this highly-favoured country are competent to a work of such great public utility. If ever there were a period more suitable than another, for engaging in national improvements, it must be the present; governed as we are by a Sovereign, the munificent and accomplished Patron of the Arts, beneath whose mild and paternal sway, by the blessing of Divine Providence, we now enjoy profound peace; living under a government, by the enlightened policy of which, our trade and manufactures so extensively flourish; and represented by a Parliament, ever ready to foster, by the most liberal grants, any plans for the improvement of the Empire; to which the present undertaking is so deeply indebted for its munificent support. Thus happily situated, it is impossible to hail such advantages with other feelings than those of gratitude and delight; and it is to me a source of unqualified pride and pleasure, that this great undertaking should have occurred in the year when I have been honoured by the office of Chief Magistrate of this great, this greatest, City, not of England only, but of the world; and that this important ceremony should take place in the Ward which I have the honour to represent in the Civic Councils. I cannot conclude without acknowledging how highly complimentary I feel it to the honourable office which I now fill, to meet such an auditory as now surrounds me; in which I see the illustrious Prince, Heir-presumptive to the Throne of this Kingdom; many of His Majesty’s Ministers, and the distinguished Nobles of the land; my active brother-magistrates; my kind fellow-citizens; and, above all, so brilliant an assemblage of that sex, whose radiant smiles, this day, shed a lustre on our meeting. Under such auspices, I rejoice to lay the Foundation-Stone of a structure, which, I trust, will, through all future time, prove an ornament to the Metropolis; reflect credit on the Architect; and redound to the honour of this Corporation: and I offer up a sincere and fervent prayer, that, in executing this great work, there may occur no calamity; that, in completing what is most particularly intended as a preventive of future danger, no mischief may overcloud the universal rejoicings on the undertaking.’
“The very warm applauses which followed this most appropriate address subsided only upon the commencement of the Masonic ceremonies, by a portion of fine mortar being placed around the cavity of the Stone, by several of the Assistants, and spread by the Lord Mayor with his splendid Trowel; after which, precisely at 5 o’clock, the First Stone was gradually lowered into its bed by a brazen block of four sheaves, and the power of a machine called a crab. When it was settled, it was finally secured by several Masons, who cut four sockets close to it on the stone beneath, into which were fitted strong iron clamps, cured with plaster of Paris. The Lord Mayor then struck it with a mallet, and ascertained its accuracy by applying the level to its East, North, West, and South surfaces. The work being thus perfected, the City Sword and Mace were disposed in Saltire upon the stone; successive shouts burst from the numerous spectators; the bands again played the National Anthem of England; and a flag being lowered as a signal on the top of the Dam, the guns of the Artillery Company, and the carronades on Calvert’s Brewery Wharf, fired a concluding salute. The declining Sun, also, contributed to shed a golden glory upon the closing ceremony; for, as the day advanced, its radiance streamed through an opening in the tent-covering above, and, gradually approaching the Stone, shone upon it with a dazzling brilliancy, at the very moment of its being deposited. The whole ceremonial terminated with an universal repetition of ‘God save the King,’ and three series of huzzas, for the Duke of York, Old England, and Mr. Rennie; after which, when the Procession had left the Dam, amidst similar acclamations to those which first greeted it, many of the visitors went down to the floor, to view the Stone more closely, and to boast to posterity that they had stood upon it, or walked over it.
“To conclude the festivities of the day with appropriate Civic hospitality, the Lord Mayor, at his own private expense, gave a most sumptuous banquet to the Corporation, and his noble visitors, at the Mansion House. The dinner and wines included Turtle, Venison, Champagne, Claret, and every other luxury; to which the following card of Invitation, thus commemorated the event:—
‘THE LORD MAYOR REQUESTS THE HONOUR OF
COMPANY TO DINNER AT THE MANSION HOUSE,
ON WEDNESDAY THE 15th OF JUNE, AT SIX O’CLOCK PRECISELY,
ON THE OCCASION OF LAYING THE FIRST STONE OF THE
NEW LONDON BRIDGE.
The favour of an answer is particularly requested by the 6th of June.
Mansion House, May 25th, 1825.’
“A Royal dinner at Carlton Palace, on the same day, deprived him of the presence of the Duke of York, who quitted the Bridge through Southwark, immediately after the ceremony. His Lordship’s guests, however, amounted to a greater number than had ever before dined within the Mansion House, since, in addition to upwards of 360 in the Egyptian Hall, nearly 200 of the Artillery Company dined in the Saloon; the whole edifice being brilliantly illuminated with gas, both within and without, and the entertainment superintended by a Committee of his Lordship’s private friends.
“To mark the very deep public sense of the Lord Mayor’s munificent conduct upon this memorable occasion, at a Court of Common Council held on the following day, Thursday, June 16th, Adam Oldham, Esq., Deputy of the Ward of Farringdon Within, called the attention of the Court to the very splendid manner in which his Lordship had conducted himself towards the Members of the Corporation, at the recent ceremony of Laying the First Stone of the New London Bridge; and suggested that the Court should make some early and suitable acknowledgment of his Lordship’s distinguished liberality. In consequence of which, at a subsequent Court held on July 28th, a motion was made by R. L. Jones, Esq., ‘That a Gold Medal be prepared, with a suitable Inscription, commemorative of the circumstance of Laying the First Stone of a New London Bridge, and presented to the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor in the name of this Court:’ which was unanimously agreed to, and its provision referred to the said Committee.
“This Medal, however, has not yet been presented; and of two others which were prepared, as memorials of this work, one had the die break in the hardening, and the other was struck for private distribution only: as their extreme rarity is, therefore, not to be questioned, I shall give a short account of each of them; at the same time, expressing my surprise, that so important an event has not called forth an host of these classical memorials. The first private Medal was executed by Peter Rouw, and William Wyon, Esquires, Modeller, and Die-sinker, to his Majesty; the obverse containing a Medallion of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress;
and the reverse being occupied by the following Inscription:—
‘TO COMMEMORATE THE
LAYING OF THE
FIRST STONE OF LONDON BRIDGE
BY
THE RIGHT HON. JOHN GARRATT, LORD MAYOR,
ON THE 15th OF JUNE 1825, IN THE PRESENCE OF
H.R.H. THE DUKE OF YORK, VARIOUS BRANCHES
OF THE NOBILITY, AND THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY,
AND IN TESTIMONY OF HIS LORDSHIP’S
PUBLIC WORTH AND PRIVATE VIRTUES,
THIS MEDAL WAS DESIGNED
AT THE REQUEST
OF HIS FELLOW CITIZENS,
BY JOSEPH YORK HATTON.’
“The other Medal had about twenty impressions struck in silver, which were distributed to the Engineers, assistants, &c., on the day of the foundation. These were 2½ inches in diameter, and nearly 1⁄8 of an inch in thickness. The obverse consisted of a fine head of the elder Mr. Rennie, from a former Medal; and the reverse contained a design, by Mr. William Knight, of the New London Bridge Works, consisting of an elevation of the edifice, with representations of the First Stone, Mallet, and Trowel: the Inscription being as follows:—
‘. LONDON . BRIDGE .
. THE . FIRST . STONE . OF . THIS .
. WORK . WAS . LAID . BY . THE .
. RIGHT . HON. . JOHN . GARRATT, .
. LORD . MAYOR . OF . LONDON. .
. ON . THE . XV . DAY . OF . JUNE, .
. MDCCCXXV . AND . IN . THE . SIXTH .
. YEAR . OF . THE . REIGN .
. OF . GEORGE . IV. .
. JOHN . RENNIE . ESQ. . F.R.S. . ENGINEER .
. JOLIFFE . & . BANKS . CONTRACTORS.’
“Such are the few remaining reliques of this Ceremony, which have been provided for posterity; for, with the exception of a slight etching of the Western end of the Coffer-Dam, in a Memorandum Book, and an Indian Ink Drawing, by Dighton, of some of the principal persons standing about the First Stone, there is no other representation to record it. There are, indeed, several prospects of the finished Edifice; though of its exact features, it is probable we can form no very correct idea, until we are a few years older; so then let us here take our last View of the New London Bridge;
for such are all the particulars and memorials which I can give you concerning this interesting Civic ceremony; and if the Italian of old could give his famous ‘Esto Perpetua!’ to his water-seated Venice, how much rather shall every true-hearted citizen bestow it upon this rising edifice, beneath whose expansive arches,
I concluded these lines of Pope’s “Windsor Forest” with so much enthusiasm, that I did not immediately remark the silence which followed; but upon looking up to wish my auditor a good night, how greatly was I astonished to find myself alone! with only a few dim lights in the empty coffee-room, and the waiter sleeping in a distant box. Hastily starting from my seat, I inquired what had become of Mr. Postern, when, to my great surprise, he absolutely denied that he had seen him either come in or go out. Since that time, too, I have everywhere, but in vain, sought “the learned Pundit” who had so long conferred with me. I certainly cannot discredit the evidence of my own senses, but, upon reconsidering all the circumstances, it appears to me that I must have seen and conversed with the shade of Peter of Colechurch, the original Architect of London Bridge! Our narrative, however, rests upon more solid foundations; for, as I have verified every authority referred to, these Chronicles are presented to posterity as the collected memorials of that once-famous edifice, which within a few years will exist no longer.”