The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

LONDON. 179
and bank presents the least difficulties. It results from this that the centre of London
is continually gravitating towards the west. The Roman milestone which may still
be seen in the wall of St. Swithin's Church, opposite Cannon Street station, and which
probably marked the spot whence the roads from Londinium to the other towns of
Britain diverged, no longer occupies the centre of London, nor does the City.
As to the latter, it by no means presents that aspect of antiquity which might be
expected. London is essentially a modem town, even in those parts which
occupy the site of the Roman Londinium, sis-sevenths of its area having been
devastated hy the great fire of 1666, commemorated by a monumental column
near London Bridge. This fire destroyed over 13,000 houses, 8-5 churches, and the
Guildhall, and there now remain, independently of the Tower, only a few buildings
anterior in date to the seventeenth century. !Most prominent amongst these are
St. Bartholomew's Church, portions of which belong to the time of Henrv I. ; the
beautiful round church in the Temple, constructed between 1185 and 1240; and
St. John's Gate, which belonged to a hospital of the Knights of St. John. Another
old church is that of St. Saviour's, Southwark, near the southern end of London
Bridge. The old walls which formerly surrounded the City have likewise disap-
peared, the last remaining gate, that of Temple Bar, having been demolished quite
recently, on account of its impeding the traffic which flows through the Strand into
Fleet Street. It was on Temple Bar that heads of traitors were exposed to the
public gaze within the last century. The gate used to be closed whenever the
sovereign approached the City, the Lord Mayor waiting on the City side,
prepared to make over to him his sword of office, which he was expected
graciously to retiu-n.
—
The City, like the central quarter of Paris, contains a considerable number of
public buildings, but its most striking edifices are banks, warehouses, and offices.
These palatial structures of granite, marble, or brick, five or six stories in height,
are situated, for the most part, in narrow and wrnding streets and alleys.
During the night many of them are left in the care of housekeepers or of
the police. Early in the morning thousands of men take the road towards
the City from all the subui'bs of London, from the towns in its neighbourhood,
and even from Brighton. The trains deposit their freights in the stations
near the Bank, omnibuses contribute their due contingent of passengers, and
the streets swarm with life. More than a million of human beings then crowd
this hive of industry. As the evening approaches the tide begins to retire.
Trains, omnibuses, and steamers fill once more, but this time they carry their
passengers away from the City. There remain then hardly over 70,000
residents, where only a few hours before commercial affiiirs of interest to the
entire world had been dealt with. More than 2,000 houses stand almost
empty. The number of residents decreases with every decade, and the City is
more and more becoming exclusively a place of business.* But it is not merely
• Population and inhabited houses of the City:
ISOl .... i6,.508 houses, 128,833 inhabitants.
1861 .... 13,298 „ 112,063
1S71 .... 5,309 „ 74,732