Blackfriars

Blackfriars

A house of Dominican Friars near Ludgate on the site known later as the precinct of Blackfriars.

Founded in 1221, by Hubert de Burgh, who gave the Friars land in Holborn for their house. Gift confirmed to the Canons of the Preaching Friars in 1224 by John Bokointe (Duchy of Lanc. Anc. Deeds, L.S. 59). In 46 Hen. III. licence was granted to them to enclose a lane for the enlargement of their house in Holborn (I. p.m. 42).

In 1278 the Friars received a grant of the site of Castle Baynard for the erection of a church and cloister and other buildings (Cal. Chart. R. II. 211), and the old site in Holborn was sold to Henry de Laci, earl of Lincoln (Cal. P.R. Ed. I. 1279–88, p. 428).

Permission was given to the Friars to pull down a portion of the City wall for the erection of their house, and in 1283–4 the King directed that the wall should be rebuilt by the City (Cal. L. Bk. B. p. 56) outside the Friars' precincts.

In 1294 a quay was in course of construction on the Thames at their house (Cal. Close R. 1288–96, p. 373).

By 1315 the City wall was still incomplete and customs were granted by the King in aid of the work, so that it might be completed, between the river Flete and the house of the Preaching Friars as far as the Thames, and also for the erection of a new turret adjoining the wall (Cal. L. Bk. E. 63).

The site of the monastery comprised the small parish church of St. Ann, the splendid coventual church, the churchyard and cloisters, the chapter house and priory buildings, and extended from the Wall of London and Bridewell Ditch west to Puddle Dock east and from the Thames north to the Wall of London, just south of Ludgate Hill.

It is frequently referred to in records as used for public purposes.

Divers Parliaments met there and the Emperor Charles V. was lodged there in 1522 (S. 341).

It was surrendered to the King 30 H. VIII. and portions of the site were granted by him to various persons. The site of the priory was given by Ed. VI. to Thomas Cawardine in 1549–50, and a description of the house and precinct with measurements is given in the Inquisition, 2 Eliz., taken at his death (Lond. I. p.m. I. 191).

There was an Anker's cell within the precincts.

The special privileges granted to the monastery continued to be enjoyed by the inhabitants living within the precincts of the Black Friars for many years after the dissolution of the monastery and the destruction of the conventual buildings, etc., and were abolished until 1735.

The famous Blackfriars theatre was erected on part of the site about 1596, in spite of protests from some of the inhabitants (L. and P. Ed. VI. iv. 310), but pulled down 1655, and the site converted into tenements.

The Times newspaper office now occupies a considerable portion of the site, besides numerous streets, as Printing House Square, Glasshouse Yard, Playhouse Yard, Ireland Yard.

There is an interesting Survey of the Blackfriars, made in 1548, amongst the Loseley MSS. catalogued in H. MSS. Com. 7th Rep. and printed in Gent. Mag. Lib. XV. pp. 48 et seq.

In 1900 some remains of the priory of 13th-century work were brought to light between Friar Street and St. Anne's churchyard (Lond. Topog. Rec. I. 1).

[Black Friers.] On the South side of [Ludgate] Street, over against St. Martins Church, is the Entrance into Black Friers. The ample Privileges, that the Inhabitants of this Precinct did enjoy, have been for many Years lost. So that now the Sheriffs Officers can Arrest there.

Black Friars, near Fleet ditch, was a monastery of that order, otherwise called Preaching Friars. This monastery was erected by Robert Kilwarby Archbishop of Canterbury, about the year 1276, who also built the church of Black Friars, to which King Edward I. and Queen Eleanor were great benefactors, and even the reputed founders. This church was large and richly furnished with ornaments. In the monastery several parliaments were held, and the Emperor Charles V. who was also King of Spain, lodged there in the year 1522. There the ancient Kings had their records and charters kept, as well as at the Tower: and, tho' this monastery was dissolved with the rest by King Henry VIII. yet in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Black Friars was inhabited by many noblemen and gentlemen; parliaments still continued to be often held there, and being a place of refuge, malefactors frequently took shelter in its liberties, and the inhabitants were free from arrests: but these pernicious privileges have been many years lost; and as it has been lately made part of the ward of Farringdon within, the shopkeepers and tradesmen are obliged to be free of the city; two Common Council men are annually elected out of it, and added to the number that used to serve this ward.

Blackfriars, the district so called, is situated between Ludgate-hill and the River Thames. It was formerly a monastery of Dominicans, called the Convent of the Black Friars, or Friar Preachers, founded about the year of 1276, by Robert Kilwarby, Archbishop of Canterbury, by licence from Edward I. It was built with the stones taken from the Tower of Mount Fitchet, and from a part of the city wall, that was pulled down to make way for the new building. This produced an order from the king to the citizens of London, to build a new wall with a tower at the head of it for his reception. This wall run from Ludgate westward, behind the houses on Ludgate-hill to the Fleet-ditch, and thence southward to the river Thames; for the completion of which works his majesty granted the city a duty on certain merchandize.

Edward I. and his Queen Eleanor were great benefactors to the new convent, and by their aid the archbishop erected the monastery, a fine mansion and a large church. He kept his charters and records here, and in his time the precinct was crowded with habitations of the nobility. The priory church was very large, and in it were held several parliaments and other great meetings. In 1529 the Cardinals Campeius and Wolsey sat here to annul the marriage of Henry VIII. with Catharine of Arragon; and in the month of October in the same year, the parliament which condemned Wolsey in a praemunire assembled here. This precinct was very extensive, and was surrounded by a wall with four gates, and contained a great number of shops, the occupiers of which were allowed to carry on their trades, although not free of the city. These privileges were maintained, even after the dissolution of the monasteries, for when the Lord Mayor interfered in behalf of his freemen, Henry VIII. sent him word, that he was as well able to keep the liberties of the precinct as the Friars were; and in the reign of Queen Mary the citizens again made a fruitless application to parliament, to grant them jurisdiction over the Blackfriars precinct.

In the fourth year of his reign Edward VI. granted the whole monastery, with all its lands and tenements, to Sir Thomas Cawarden. After this time the inhabitants fitted up a portion of the church for their parochial use, with various alterations, till it was completely destroyed by the great fire in 1666, when the present church was erected in its stead.—[See St. Anne's, Blackfriars, the church of.]—Within this ancient precinct also stands, on the east side of Water-lane, the hall, warehouses, and offices of the Apothecaries' Company.—[See Apothecaries' Hall.

In consequence of the inhabitants of this precinct claiming, in the year 1735, a privilege of exemption from the jurisdiction of the City of London, in right of the ancient monastery being dissolved there by Henry VIII., the Lord Mayor and Aldermen determined to ascertain their right thereto, which they did by a trial in the Court of King's Bench, on the 10th July, of that year. John Bosworth, Esq., Chamberlain of the City, was plaintiff, and Daniel Watson, shalloon and drugget seller, defendant. The action was brought against the latter, for opening a shop in Blackfriars, and retailing his goods there, without being a freeman of the city. The counsel for the plaintiff alleged that Blackfriars actually belonged to the City of London, when it was a monastery, and before trades were ever used there. To prove this allegation they produced several ancient records, namely, a charter of King Edward I.,* and a record of the 2nd of Richard II., calling it "the Friary of London;" and another of the 21st of Henry VIII., dated November 3, 1530, mentioning a parliament held at the Friars, preachers of the City of London, and other records of a similar nature. They likewise cited a parallel case to this in the 15th Charles I., when an action was brought against one Philpot, a shoemaker of Blackfriars, for opening a shop and vending shoes there, without being free of the City. The result was, that after a fair trial, by an equal and indifferent jury, taken from the county of Herts, a verdict was given for the plaintiff, with five shillings damages. In consequence of this decision, Blackfriars became one of the precincts of the ward of Farringdon within, and sends two members as its representatives in the court of common-council.—[See Farringdon Within, the Ward of.

*See Norton's Commentaries, Art. Charters of the City of London.

Blackfriars, a church, precinct, and sanctuary with four gates, lying between Ludgate Hill and the Thames and extending westward from Castle Baynard (St. Andrew's Hill) to the Fleet river. It was so called from the house of Black, Preaching, or Dominican Friars, founded by Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, A.D. 1221. Their first London settlement was in Holborn near Lincoln's Inn, where they remained for a period of 55 years. In 1276 they removed to the particular locality near Ludgate which still bears their name, when Gregory Rokesley, Mayor, set apart a piece of ground in the ward of Castle Baynard for their use. Robert Kilwardby, Archbishop of Canterbury, contributed largely to the building of their church, and Edward I. by a Charter granted to the Friars in 1311 confirmed to them the gift of the Archbishop of "two lanes adjoining to his place of Castle Baynard and the Tower of Mountfichet ... that so they shall not in future be disturbed or molested on the ground of purpresture made as to the lanes aforesaid."¹ He and Queen Eleanor also contributed liberally to the endowment of the house. Edward I. allowed the Friars to pull down the City wall and take in all the land to the west as far as the Fleet river. Moreover the King intimated to the Mayor and citizens his desire that the new wall should be built at the expense of the City. There is little that is interesting in the history of the monastery till near the period of its dissolution. The chief exception was the assemblage of ecclesiastics in the great hall of the monastery, January 17, 1382, when there were present 10 bishops, 6 doctors of laws, 30 doctors of theology and 4 bachelors of laws, summoned by William Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury, to examine and condemn the 24 articles drawn from the writings and teaching of Wyclif. Whilst the assembly were sitting a great earthquake shook the city, whence the meeting was long after known as "the Earthquake Council."¹ A parliament was assembled here in the reign of Henry VI. Here Charles V. of Spain was lodged when on a visit to Henry VIII. Here Henry called a parliament, known in history as the Black Parliament, because it began among the Black Friars in the City, and terminated among the Black Monks in Westminster. Here the subject of Henry's divorce from Katherine of Aragon was publicly tried before Cardinal Campeggio; and here began the parliament in which Wolsey was condemned. The house and precinct were surrendered to the King on November 12, 1538; and Edward VI. in the first year of his reign sold the hall and the site of the prior's lodgings to Sir Francis Bryan, and in the third year of his reign granted to Sir Thomas Cawarden (Master of the Revels) "the whole house, site or circuit, compass and precinct, of the late Friars Preachers, within the City of London;" the yearly value being reckoned at £19.² The church was given to the parishioners of St. Anne's to serve as a parish church. [See St. Anne's, Blackfriars.]

It has already been noticed that Sir Thomas Cawarden had a grant from the Crown of the church and precinct of the dissolved monastery of the Black or Dominican Friars in London. We have found two documents of considerable local interest relative to that foundation among his papers, a Survey taken in the reign of Edward VI. by the King's Surveyor, of the site and soil of the church of the Blackfriars and its appendages, and another of the tenements held by Sir Thomas Cawarden within its precinct. By the first we find that the church was a very noble structure, and must have had a most imposing effect, standing as it did on the steep northern bank of the Thames. It appears from the above document that it had two aisles, a chancel and "a chapel to the same," no doubt a retro-choir or Lady chapel. It was in breadth from the churchyard on the north to the cloister on the south 66 feet; in length from east to west 220 feet; dimensions rather superior to those of that venerable pile, St. Saviours, Southwark. The cloister on the south side was comprised in a square, each side of which measured 110 feet. The chapter house lay west of the cloister, and was 44 feet long by 22 broad. The cemetery on the north of the church was 90 feet in breadth by 200 in length.—The Loseley Manuscripts, edited by A.J. Kempe, 1835, pp. 175–176, note.

The privileges of sanctuary still remained; nor was it easy to dispossess the inhabitants of their little independence. The Mayor, on behalf of the citizens, had sought to obtain its abolition shortly after the dissolution of the Monastery, but the King sent him word that he was as well able to maintain the liberties of the precinct as ever the Friars were. Another attempt was made in the reign of Mary with as little success. We have complete evidence that there was no theatre in Blackfriars before 1596 [see Blackfriars theatre], and yet we know that plays were acted in the precinct long before that year. Stephen Gosson, in his Plays confuted in five actions, published about 1580, expressly mentions the comedies at the Blackfriars, and Lyly's Sapho and Phao, which was acted before Queen Elizabeth in 1584 "by her majesties children and the Boyes of Paules" was also performed in the Blackfriars, possibly in the house of one of the noble inhabitants. The opposition to the players arose among the Puritan inhabitants of the precinct, who, somewhat inconsistently with their religious opinions, as the actors and dramatists were never tired of telling them, followed the trade of feather-making, and yet were not without their excuses for so doing:—

Mrs. Flowerdew. Indeed it sometimes pricks my conscience,
I come to sell 'em pins and looking-glasses.
Bird. I have their custom too for all their feathers:
Tis fit that we, which are sincere professors,
Should gain by infidels.—Randolph's Muses' Looking-glass, 4to, 1638.¹

What say you to your feather-makers in the Friars that are of your faction of faith? Are not they with their perukes, and their puffs, their fans, and their huffs, as much pages of Pride, and waiters upon Vanity?—Ben Jonson, Bart. Fair, Act v. Sc. 3.

             An upstart apocryphal captain
Whom not a Puritan in the Friars will trust
So much as for a feather!—Ben Jonson, Alchemist, Act i. Sc. I.

Burbage. Why do you conceal your feather, Sir?
Sly. Why, do you think I'll have jests broken upon me in the play, to be laughed at? This play hath beaten all the gallants out of the feathers: Blackfriars hath almost spoilt Blackfriars for feathers.—Webster, Induction to the Malcontent.

Both Ben Jonson and Webster have many other references to the Puritans of Blackfriars and their wares. Pilgrim Street seems to have been the headquarters of the feather merchants.

But Puritans and players were not the only noteworthy personages who carried out their distinctive professions in Blackfriars at this period.

The glass factory was famous at one time. It was likened to Hell by Dekker. The name remains in Glasshouse yard.

Like the glasse-house furnace in Blackefriers, the bone-fires that are kept there never goe out.—Thomas Dekker, A Knight's Conjuring (Percy Soc., vol. vii. p. 21).

Is it because the Brethren's fires
Maintain a glass-house at Blackfriars?

Bishop Corbet, Upon Fairford Windows, Works, p. 237.

Ben Jonson dated the dedication to his Volpone "from my house in the Black Friars this 11th day of February 1607," and here he laid the scene of the Alchemist. In 1613 Shakespeare bought here a house from Henry Walker for £140.

The house was situated on the west side of St. Andrew's Hill, formerly otherwise termed Puddle Hill or Puddle Dock Hill, and it was either partially on or very near the locality now and for more than two centuries known as Ireland Yard.² —Halliwell Phillipps, Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare, 7th ed., vol. i. p. 240.

Allowed the said Accomptante for Money by him yssued and paid for Workes and Reparacons donne and performed within the tyme of this Accompt at the Blackfryers in making a new Causey Way and a new paire of Staires for the King's Majesty to land to goe to S^r Anthoney Vandike's house there] to see his Paintings, in the months of June and July 1635.¹ Audit Office Records, xx. li. ii.

Sir A. Vandyck lived at his house in the Blackfriars from his settlement in England in 1632 till his death in it in 1641. The rent of his house, "at a moderate value," was estimated, in 1638, at £20, and the tithe paid £i:6:8.² His daughter Justina was born here December 1, 1641, and baptized in St Anne's, Blackfriars, December 9, 1641, the day of her father's death. Before Vandyck, however, Blackfriars was the recognised abode of painters.

I'll go bespeak me straight a gilt caroch,
For her and you to take the air in: yes,
Into Hyde-Park, and thence into Blackfriars,
Visit the painters, where you may see pictures,
And note the properest limbs, and how to make them.

Ben Jonson, The Devil is an Ass, Act i. Sc. 3.

Cornelius Jansen (d. 1665), lived in the Blackfriars for several years. Isaac Oliver, the miniature painter, was a still earlier resident. He died here in 1617, and was buried in St. Anne's, Blackfriars. Lady Ayres, wishing to have a copy of Lord Herbert of Cherbury's picture to wear in her bosom, "gave it to Mr. Isaac Oliver the painter in Blackfriars, and desired him to draw it in little after his manner." Painters on glass, or glass-stainers, were among the artists settled here, but Bishop Corbet seems to class them with the Puritans.

Collectors as well as artists dwelt within the precinct.

October 23, 1654.—This day I saw one of the rarest collections of achates [agates], onyxes, and intaglios that I had ever seen either at home or abroad, collected by a conceited old hat-maker in Black Friers, especially one achat vase, heretofore the great Earl of Leicester's.—Evelyn.

There were several good houses in the Friary; the chief was called "Hunsdon House," after Henry Carey, Baron Hunsdon, Queen Elizabeth's cousin and Lord Chamberlain. Here, in an upper chamber, on Sunday, October 26, 1623, while the house was in the occupation of Comte de Tillier, the French ambassador, a sermon was preached by Father Drury, to, it is said, about three hundred people, a congregation too numerous for the strength of the room; for about the middle of the sermon the floor gave way, and ninety-four persons besides the preacher perished. This sad occurrence is familiarly known as "The Fatal Vespers." The Protestants considered the accident as a judgment on the Catholics, and the Catholics attributed it to a plot of the Protestants. Forty-seven bodies were buried by the French ambassador in the courtyard and garden of Hunsdon House.³ Lord Cobham entertained Queen Elizabeth in his house at Blackfriars, June 26, 1600, on occasion of the marriage of Lord Herbert, when he presented Her Majesty with a masque of eight ladies, and the Queen herself danced, and afterwards stayed the night there.¹ The Earl and Countess of Somerset were living in the Blackfriars when Overbury was murdered.²

The Countess, when under arrest, October 1615, during the inquiry into the murder, selected the Lord Aubigny's house in the Blackfriars as her residence. She remained there, under Sir William Smith's charge, till removed to the Tower in the following April. Lord Herbert of Cherbury: his house was, about 1619, attacked at night by robbers, who called out to him, "Darest thou come down Welshman."³

Eminent Persons buried in the Blackfriars Monastery.—Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, the founder (d. 1242). He was originally buried at the Holborn House, but his body was removed here when the monastery changed its locality. Sir Thomas Brandon, K.G. (d. 1509); Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester (beheaded 1470), one of Caxton's great encouragers, and Margaret his wife, daughter of the King of Scotland; the heart of Queen Eleanor, wife of Edward I., with that of their son Alphonso; John of Eltham, Duke of Cornwall, brother of Edward III; the father and mother of Queen Katherine Parr.

The precinct no longer exists, but is now a part of the ward of Farringdon Within. The latest attempt to assert its privileges was made 1735, when in the July of that year the Court of Common Council brought an action in the Court of King's Bench against Daniel Watson for opening a shop and vending shoes in the Blackfriars without being free of the City. The defendant pleaded the privileges of the precinct, but the Court gave it in favour of the City. [See King's printing house; Times Newspaper Office (see Printing-house Square); Apothecaries' Hall; St. Anne's, Blackfriars; Playhouse Yard; Ireland Yard.]

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¹ Liber Albus, p. 113.

¹ Lechler's Wiclif, Lorimer's trans., vol. ii. p. 233.
² Strype, B. iii. p. 177.

¹ Rabbi Busy, in Bartholomew Fair, is reminded and taunted with the feather-makers in the Friars.
² Probably so named after the William Ireland, a haberdasher, who occupied the house at the time of Shakespeare's purchase in 1613.—Outlines, vol. ii. p. 346.

¹ From the same account the causeway would seem to have been 10 feet wide, and that to form it piles were driven into the bed of the Thames, and stones taken from the Crown stores in Scotland Yard.
² MS. Lambeth, 272.
³ Nichol's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol. iii. p. 449.