in Yorkshire, and an annuity out of his treasury, to make up the produce of the said house and lands, five hundred pounds per annum, till he should settle an estate thereon of the like yearly value; and adjoining to the Thames side, not only erected handsome apartments for their reception, but likewise built for their use, in the Little Sanctuary, in Little King-street, a very large and strong bell tower, and placed therein three very great bells, to be rung on solemn occasions, such as coronations, triumphal shews, funerals of princes, and their obits.* And for the greater convenience of the dean and canons, (who, upon the erection of the eastern part of the new palace, were removed into houses, in a place called Cannon Row, (Bridge-street) and as an additional embellishment to this stately chapel, John Chamber, M. D. physician to Henry VIII. and last dean of the college, caused to be erected adjoining the north side thereof, a magnificent cloister, at the expence of eleven thousand marks. At the suppression, the annual revenues of this collegiate chapel, amounted to 1085l. 10s. and 5d. This chapel being surrendered to Edward VI. it was appropriated for the reception of the representatives of the Commons of England, who have ever since continued to meet therein, except when summoned by the king to Oxford. Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew. Contiguous to the chapel of St. Stephen, on the south, was that of Our Lady of the Pew, whose image therein, being one of the finest class, had many religious offices celebrated, and rich offerings made to it. Edward III. in the year 1369, gave to John Bulwich ten marks per annun., for a daily celebration of mass before this fine statue; and Richard II. upon the destruction of Wat Tyler, repaired thither, when, after returning thanks for his great success, he made considerable offerings to the same renowned statue. These offerings consisted in gifts to the ecclesiastics, who said masses for the welfare of the devotees, and in alms, given in trust, to the same persons, for the neighbouring poor. Except, therefore, that of maintaining an unnecessary number of monks and other religieuse, might be considered an evil, these superstitious oblations, as they are now deemed, were of signal service to the community. How many widows had pined in want, how many orphans had perished for lack of nourishment; how many aged and sick had been left to the chilling blasts of penury and disease had not these practices been so prevalent, at a period when the poor had no provision for their support, except what piety, humanity, (or, if it must be so) superstition, and ignorance might induce the opulent voluntarily to offer.'t But, alas for the wretched! a casual fire, in the year 1452, anticipating, by nearly a century, the more cruel and extensive devas+ Nightingale. • Stowe. tations of Henry VIII. consumed this little wooden friend of the poor, destroying at the same time, the chapel and all its precious treasures! The Clock Tower, or Bell House, stood opposite the hall gate, and is said to have been erected on the following occasion; A certain poor man, in an action of debt, being fined the sum of thirteen and fourpence, in the reign of Henry III. Radulphus de Ingham, lord chief justice of the King's Bench, commiserating his case, caused the court-roll to be erased, and the fine to be reduced to six shillings and eight pence, which, being soon after discovered, the judge was amerced in a pecuniary mulct of eight hundred marks, and that sum was employed in erecting the Bell Tower, wherein was placed a bell and a clock, which striking hourly, was to remind the judges in the hall of the fate of their brother.' The tower was not demolished till the year 1715, when the great bell was granted to the clock of the new cathedral of St. Paul's, London, whither it was removed, and stood under a shed in the church yard till the turret was prepared for its reception. The clock had not long been up before the bell was cracked, and re-cast, but with such bad success, that in a few years afterwards it was thought necessary to take it down again; and the experiment was repeated, with better success. The old bell had the following inscription: Tertius apsabit me Rex, Edwardque vocavit, Signifying that the third king gave this bell, and named it Edward, that the hours of St. Edward might be properly noticed.' It is probable that Henry III. having been a refounder of the ad*oining abbey of St. Peter's, some years before erected by Edward the Confessor, might dedicate this bell in hononr of their patron saint.* • Hughson's Lond. IV. 249, 250. It appears by the following distich, set to The New Palace Yard was formerly inclosed with a wall, and had four gates, one on the east, leading to Westminster stairs, of which some part still remains; the three others are totally demolished; that on the north led to the Woolstaple; that on the west, called Highgate, was a very stately and beautiful structure; but being deemed an obstruction to the members of parliament in their passage to and from their respective houses, was taken down, in the year 1706, as was also the third, leading to Old Palace Yard, in the year 1731. On the west side of the Bell Tower, before mentioned, stood a beautiful fountain, with numerous spouts, from every one of which, on certain festivals and rejoicing days, used to issue streams of wine, and from which, on ordinary occasions, the neighbouring inhabitants received the waste water for their domestic purposes.* Though the kings of England are crowned in the chapel of St. Edward the Confessor, in the abbey of St. Peter's, it has, for many ages, been the practice for them to hold their coronation feasts in Westminster Hall. It has also been used at the trial of peers accused of high treason, or other crimes and misdemeanours, besides the courts of chancery, exchequer, king's bench, and common pleas, which, ever since the reign of Henry the Third, have been held in different apartments of this extensive building. At the Conquest, and even for some time after, it does not appear that there was more than one supreme court of judicature in this country this was the Curia Regis or King's Court, which was always the place of the royal residence. At this court, especially at some solemnities of the year, the king held his great councils, and transacted affairs of national importance, attended by his principal lords and barons. There coronations, &c. were celebrated there also was constantly Maced a stately throne, a sovereign ordinary court of judicature, wherein justice was administered to the subjects: and there music by Eccles, that this bell, after the Reformaiton had its name changed to that of Tom: Hark, Harry, 'tis late, 'tis time to be gone, For Westminster Tom, by faith. affairs of the royal revenue were transacted. To the king's court he longed the following officers: 1, "The chief justicier, who was next. the king in power and authority; and in his absence governed the realm as viceroy. If the king was not present in person in this court, the justicier was chief judge, both in criminal and civil causes. 2. The constable, or Constabulerius Regis, or Anglia, who was a high officer, both in war and peace. This office was at one time hereditary. 3. The Mareschal, which office was, and indeed still is hereditary. As an officer in the king's court, the Mareschal was to provide for the security of the king's person in his palace, to distribute lodgings there, to preserve peace and order in the king's household, and to assist in determining controversies, &c. within the royal precincts. 4. The Seneschal, or steward, which office was likewise hereditary. 5. The chamberlain, or Camerarius Regis. The great officers are distinguished from the inferior ones, of the same name, by the epithet Magistratus, Magisterium; as the office of king's chamberlain is called Magistra Cameraria; also Magistro Marischalcias, &c, 6. The chancellor, or Cancellarius Regis, so called to distinguish him from the inferior chancellors of the dioceses, &c. Very little is said of this office. It appears, however, that one part of his duty was to supervise the charters to be sealed with the king's seal, and likewise to supervise the acts and precepts that issued in the proceedings depending in Curia Regis. He was one of the king's prime counsellors. 7. The treasurer, who was for the most part a prelate, or some other ecclesiastical person. For some time after the Conquest the justicer used to perform many duties, which afterwards pertained to the treasurer's office. The Curia Regis, where all the liege-men of the kingdom repaired for justice, was undoubtedly established in England by the Normans, there being no notice whatever of such a court among the Anglo-Saxons. All pleas or causes were then determined below in a plain manner, by the courts in the several counties, towns, or districts. And indeed, at first, there were but few causes reserved to the king's courts after the Conquest, till the Norman lords, who were possessed of the larger seigneuries, carried it with so high a hand towards their vassals and neighbours, that the latter could not have right done them in the ordinary way, and so were constrained to seek for justice in the King's Court. This was likewise done when contentions arose between the great lords themselves. However, few or no causes were brought thither without permission, and the party's making fine to the crown to have this plea in Curia Regis. These were sometimes called oblata, or voluntary fees. When the pleas in the King's Court became very numerous, there were certain justices appointed to go Iters, now called circuits, through the realm, to determine pleas and causes within the seve |