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large flowers cut in the same stone: be-
tween these pillars were the windows,
which afforded a view of the Thames on
each side, and were arched, and far from
being unhandsome: but these have long
been closed up with brick-work. It had
an entrance from the river as well as the
street, from which last there was a descent
to it by a winding pair of stone steps
twisting round a pillar. These stairs
opened into a short passage, on the right
hand of which was a cavity in the wall
for holding the bason of holy water. On
the 30th of September 1758, when we
had the pleasure of seeing it, this edifice
existed in the above form, only a part
of the arch was obliged to make way
for a shop floor, and some of the body
was divided into an upper and lower story
for the convenience of warehouse room,
it then belonging to an eminent sta-
tioner.
But notwithstanding all this art and ex-
pence in building the bridge with stone,
it was soon in great want of repairs: for
about four years after it was finished, a
fire broke out in Southwark, which tak-
ing hold of the church of our Lady of the
Canons, or St. Mary Overy's, a south
wind communicated the flames to the
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houses on the north side of the bridge,
which interrupted the passage, and stopped
the return of a multitude of people who
had run from London to help to extinguish
the fire in Southwark: and while the
amazed croud were endeavouring to force
a passage back to the city through the
flames on the north end of the bridge, the
fire broke out at the south end also; so
that being inclosed between two great
fires, above three thousand people perish-
ed in the flames, or were drowned by
overloading the vessels that ventured to
come to their assistance.
By this dreadful accident, and other
circumstances, this new stone bridge was
in so ruinous a condition, that King Ed-
ward I. granted the bridgekeeper a brief
to ask and receive the charity of his sub-
jects throughout the kingdom, towards
repairing it: besides which, he caused
letters to be wrote to the clergy of all de-
grees, earnestly pressing them to contri-
bute to so laudable a work; but these
methods proving ineffectual, he granted a
toll, by which every foot passenger carry-
ing merchandize over the bridge, was to
pay one farthing; every horseman with
merchandize, 1d. and every saleable pack
carried and passing over, a halfpenny.
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