GADSHILL

A hill on the road from Lond. to Rochester, 21 m. from Rochester and abt. 27 from Lond. It was a well-known resort of footpads and highwaymen. In H4 A. i. 2, 139, Poins says, "My lads, to-morrow morning by 4 o'clock, early at G.! There are pilgrims going to Canterbury with rich offerings and traders riding to Lond. with fat purses. If you will go, I will stuff your purses full of crowns." The scene of ii..2, where the robbery takes place, is "the road by G." In iii. 3, 43, Falstaff recalls how Bardolph ran "up G. in the night" to catch his horse. In H4 B. i. 2, 170, the Chief justice says to Falstaff, "Your day's service at Shrewsbury hath a little gilded over your night's exploit on G." In ii. 4, 333, Prince Hal says to Falstaff, "You knew me, as you did when you ran away by G.'' There is record in the Lansdowne MSS. of an actual robbery perpetrated on G. in 1590 by 2 thieves called Custall and Manwaring. They had good horses, and one of them wore a "vizard grey beard." The date of H4 is 1596. In Oldcastle iv. 1, the parson-highwayman gives a list of the places in Kent which, as he humorously says, "pay him tythe." G. is one of them. In Jonson's Ev. Man O. iv. 2, Sogliardo says of Shift, "He has been the only Bidstand that ever kept Newmarket, Salisbury Plain, Hockley i' the Hole, G. He has done 500 robberies in his time, more or less." In Dekker's Westward ii. 2, Birdlime says of a certain lady of bad repute: "She lies, as the way lies over G., very dangerous." In Clavell's Recantation (1634), he says, "I oft have seen Gadd's Hill and those red tops of mtns. where good people lose their ill-kept purses." In Fam. Vict, p. 329, Dericke says to the thief, "I know thee for a taking fellow Upon Gad's Hill in Kent."

GARDEN

The G. in the following passage is probably Covent G., q.v. In Westward ii. 1, Justiniano says to Judith, "You must to the Pawn to buy lawn, to St. Martin's for lace, to the G., to the Glass-houses."

GARDEN ALLEY

There were many gardens in Lond., as, for example, those at Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, the Temple, Covent G., Bear G., Paris G., etc. These were the natural hunting-grounds of women of bad character, and in their alleys they plied their trade. In Nobody 1891, Nobody says, "Somebody doth maintain a common strumpet in G.-alles and undid himself." In Middleton's Quarrel iv. 4, Trimtram says to Meg, "Mayst thou live tiff thou stinkest in G.-as." In Glapthorne's Hollander iii. 1, Fortress, the President of the Twiball knights, is described as "Duke of Turnbull, Bloomsbury, and Rotten Row, Lord Paramount of all G.-as., Gun Alley, and Rosemary Lane."

GARDENER'S LANE

St. in Westminster, running from 26 King St. to Delahay St. In Jonson's Staple iii. 2, Mirth says, "My gossip Tattle knew what fine slips grew in G. L.," i.e. what illegitimate children were born there. The pun suggested the choice of this particular st.

GATE HOUSE

A prison near the W. end of Westminster Abbey, with 2 gates, one to the N., the other to the W. It was here that Raleigh wrote, the night before his execution, the lines, "Even such is time, etc." Here also was the birthplace of Lovelace's To Althea from Prison. It was built in the reign of Edward III and pulled down in 1776. Taylor, Works (i. 91), says, "The ocean that Suretyship sails in is the spacious Marshal-sea, sometimes she anchors at the K.'s Bench, sometimes at the gulph of the Gate-house." The Gate was used as a debtors' prison. In Ev. Wom. I. i. 1, Acutus speaks of the bankrupt husband of an extravagant wife "carried from the Gate-house to his grave."

GEORGE, SAINT

The patron saint of England, q.v. With or without his dragon he was a common sign for taverns and other houses. In K.J. ii. 1, 288, the Bastard says, "St. G. that swinged the dragon and e'er since Sits on his horse back at mine hostess' door Teach us some fence." In Jonson's Ev. Man O. ii. 1, Carlo says of the knight Puntarvolo, "When he is mounted, he looks like the sign of the G." In Strode's Float. Isl. i. 2, Irato says, "How long shall 1, like to a painted G., Advance my idle sword?" There were G. Inns in Lond. on the S.W. of Drury Lane; on the N. of Snow Hill, near Holborn Bdge.; on the W. side of W. Smithfield; on the W. side of Aldersgate St.; in Dogwell Court off Bouverie St., afterwards Bowyer's Publishing Office; in Lombard St.; and on the E. side near the S. end of the Borough High St., Southwark. The G. and Vulture–the Vulture doubtless a corrupted form of the Dragon–is in Castle Court, off G. Yard, and dates from Elizabethan times: Dickens has conferred on it a new lease of life. In Deloney's Craft i. 10, Mrs. Eyre says, "We'll dine at my cousin John Barker's in St. Clement's Lane, which is not far from the G. in Lumbard-st. where the merchant-strangers lie." In Abington i. 2, Coomes says, "Now do I stand like the G. at Colebrook." This tavern is also mentioned in Deloney's Craft ii. 1. In B. & F. Prize i. 3, Petronius says, "We shall have you look like St. G. at Kingston Running afoot back from the furious dragon That with her angry tail belabours him For being lazy." The merry Host of the G. at Waltham, named Blague, is one of the characters in the Merry Devil. In Killigrew's Parson i. 3, Sad says, "I cannot amble nor ride like St. G. at Waltham." The same sign was used by the booksellers. The Ship of Folys was "Imprinted in the cyte of Lond. in Fletestrete at the sign of Seynt G. by Richd. Pynson. 1509." The 1660 edition of the Book of Merry Riddles was "Printed for John Stafford and W. S. and are to be sold at the G. near Fleetbridg." Pynson's shop was next to St. Dunstan's churchyard by the Chancery Lane corner. Sidney's Apology for Poetry was "Printed for Henry Olney and are to be sold at his shop in Paules Churchyard at the sign of the G. near to Cheap-gate. 1595."

GEORGE'S (SAINT) FIELDS

A large open space on the Surrey side of the Thames between Southwark and Lambeth, named after the adjoining Ch. of St. George the Martyr. It is now completely built over, but St. G.'s Rd., running from the Elephant and Castle to Westminster Bdge. Rd., and St. G.'s Circus at the S. end of Blackfriars Rd. preserve the name. It was a favourite Sunday resort of Londoners, and was often used for large gatherings of people, such as the mustering of the Trainbands; and the welcome of distinguished visitors like Catherine of Arragon and Charles II. The notorious Dog and Duck Inn was here, on the site now occupied by the Bethlehem Hospital: the old sign, dated 16l7, may still be seen, built into the wall of the Hospital garden. In H4 B. iii. 2, 208, Shallow says to Falstaff, "O, Sir John, do you remember since we lay all night in the windmill in St. G.'s Field?" The Windmill is marked in Fairthorne's Map of London, 1658, and was probably a tavern. In H6 B. v. 1, 46, York says to his soldiers, "Meet me to-morrow in St. G.'s Field, You shall have pay and every thing you wish." The passage in Contention, from which this is taken, says "St. Georges F." In Ford's Warbeck iii. 1, the K. says, "From their own battlements they may behold St. G.'s F. o'erspread with armed men." This was in T497, when the K. assembled his forces there to meet the Cornish rebels who were at Blackheath. Harman, in Caveat c. xi., tells how a certain "counterfeit Crank went to the waterside and took a sculler and was set over the water into St. Gs. f." In T. Heywood's Hogsdon iv. 2, Luce's father says, "I'll have 'my sword; when I was young, like him, I had my wards and foins and quarter blows, And knew the way into St. G.'s F. Twice in a morning. Tuttle, Finsbury, I knew them all." These were all places where duels were frequently fought. In Chivalry C. i., Bowyer says, "Once I was fighting in St. G.'s F., and blind Cupid shot me right into the left heel, and ever since Dick Bowyer hath been lame." In Long Meg iv., there is an account of a duel fought in St. G.'s F. between Meg and a Spanish Lord. In T. Heywood's Ed. IV B. 120, Jane Shore is found by Brackenbury near the Marshalsea, and says she has come "To take the air here in St. G.'s F. and to visit some poor patients that cannot visit me."

GEORGE (SAINT) THE MARTYR

Ch. at the corner of Borough High St., Southwark, and Long Lane, on the E. side. The original ch. was of great antiquity, and belonged to the Abbey of Bermondsey. The prisoners who died in the Marshalsea prison were buried here, amongst them Bp. Bonner. In the Dirige of Bastarde Edmonde Boner (1569), we find: "My flesh is consumed, there is but skin and bone, In St. G. Churchyard my grave and I alone." The present ch. was built in 1734 on the site of the old one. In J. Heywood's Four PP. i. 1, the Palmer mentions "Saynt G. in Southwarke "as one of the saints whose shrines he had visited. Taylor, Works (ii. 37), says of someone: "He's in Southwark near St. G. his ch." There was also a ch. of St. G. in Botolph Lane, Billingsgate, not far from Eastcheap it was destroyed in the Gt. Fire and rebuilt by Wren. Simon Read, the supposed original of Jonson's Alchemist, lived in the parish of St. G.'s Southwark.

GERARDS HALL
(Map M5)
(area only; site unmarked)

An ancient merchant's house in Lond., on the S. side of Basing Lane off Bread St., Cheapside. In 1245 it belonged to John Gisors, Lord Mayor of Lond., and Stow thinks that G. H. is a corruption of Gisors' H., which hardly seems likely. It was chiefly remarkable for its fine Norman crypt, built of Caen stone. There was a legend that it was the home of a giant called Gerard, and a fir-pole, 40 ft. long, was preserved in the H., which was said to have been his walking-staff. The H. was destroyed in the Gt. Fire, but the crypt was not injured. For some time before it had been a tavern, and a new tavern was put up on the site. In 1852 it was removed to make way for the new Cannon St. Station. The stones of the crypt were numbered and presented to the Crystal Palace, where they were used in making the foundations of an engine-house. Taylor, Works (ii. 81), says, "Deliver this letter at G. H. to Christopher Guppie, a carrier." Deloney, in Reading, Intro., says that the western clothiers "would ever meet upon one day in Lond. at Jarrats H, surnamed the Giant, for that he surpassed all other men of that age, both in stature and strength." In Chap. 5, he tells how they entertained the K.'s sons "at our host Garrats, who hath a fair house and goodly rooms."

GILDED KEY

A bookseller's sign in Lond. The Honest Lawyer was "Printed by George Purslowe for Richard Woodroffe and are to be sold at his shop near the great North-door of Paules at the sign of the guilded Key. 1616."

GILES (ST.) CRIPPLEGATE
(Map M3)

Ch. in Lond. at the W. end of Fore St. The 1st ch. was built in 1090, and was replaced by the present building in the 14th cent. It escaped the Gt. Fire, and is one of the few old Gothic churches yet remaining in the City. Margaret Lucy, the 2nd daughter of Shakespeare's Sir Thomas Lucy, was buried here, as were John Foxe, Martin Frobisher, and the John Miltons, father and son. There is an entry in the marriage register: "Married Ben Johnson and Hester Hopkins "July 27th, 1623. This may have been rare Ben. Nathan Field, the dramatist, and a child of James Shirley's Were christened in the ch., and here Oliver Cromwell was married to Elizabeth Bourcher. Dekker, in Wonderful Year (1603), speaks of the ravages of the Plague in Lond., and says, "The 3 bald sextons of limping St. Gyles, St. Sepulchres, and St. Olaves ruled the roast more hotly than ever did the Triumviri of Rome." Limping St. Gyles means St. Gyles in Cripplegate as distinguished from St. Gyles-in-the-Fields.

GILES (ST.)–IN–THE–FIELDS

Originally a vill. near Lond., S. of what is now New Oxford St. It grew up round a hospital for lepers founded by Matilda, Q. of Henry 1, in i. 1101, and dedicated to St. Giles, the patron saint of lepers. It lay S. of High St., near the present parish ch. The hospital chapel became the parish ch., and so continued till 1623, when it was demolished, and a new ch. was built and dedicated in 1630. The present ch. took its place in 1734. The pound and cage stood in the middle of High St., but were removed in 1656 to the junction of Tottenham Court Rd. and Oxford St. Prisoners on the way to Tyburn to be executed passed the Hospital, and it was customary to give them there a bowl of wine. After the dissolution of the hospital the custom was kept up at the Bowl Inn, between the end of High St. and Hog Lane. Bowl Alley, on the S. side of High St., long preserved the name. The Angel Inn was a rival of the Bowl in this function. Executions not infrequently took place at St. G.'s at the back of the hospital garden. George Chapman and James Shirley buried in the churchyard.

In Bale's Chronicle of Sir John Oldcastle, we read: They had a great assemble in Sainct Gyles-Field at Lond. purposing the destruction of the land." In Oldcastle ii. 2, the rendezvous is Ficket's Field, "behind St. G. i. t. field near Holborne." At which Murley exclaims: "Newgate, up Holborne, St. G. i. t. field, and to Tiborne: an old saw." Bale goes on to say that Sir John "was drawn forth into Sainct Giles-Felds where as they had set up a new pair of gallows": there he was executed by being burnt over a slow fire. In Hycke, p. 99, Freewill tells how he got into prison and his friend Imagination went to look for him: "He walked through Holborne and walked up toward Saynte Gyles in the felde," evidently expecting to see Freewill on his way to Tyburn. The town, as it was still called at the end of the 16th cent., was a poor dist. and a resort of bad characters. Harman, in Caveat ii., tells of his pursuit of a counterfeit crank, who dodged him by taking a boat to St. George's F.: "I had thought," says he, "he would have gone into Holborne or to Saynt Gylles in the felde." In Jonson's Devil v. 1, Ambler tells how he went with his doxy to Tyburn, and then had to lend her his shoes and "walk in a rug by her, barefoot, to St. G." In B. & F. Wit S. W. ii. 4, Wittypate and his fellow-thieves have their rendezvous "at the Three Cups in St. G." In Barry's Ram iii. 2, Throate, planning to abduct Frances, says, "Let the coach stay at Shoe-lane end; and when she's in, hurry towards St. G. i. t. F." In News from the Wood St. Counter (1642), it is mentioned in a list of places of a bad reputation. In Brome's Sparagus v. 6, Hoyden is carried in a sedan "up to a lodging in St. Gileses." In Stucley 580, we are intro introduced to "Thomas Thump, the buckler-maker of S. G." To go by St. G. to Westminster is a proverbial expression for missing one's way or making a mistake. Nash, in Pierce E. 1, says, "I would not have you think that all this that is set down here is in good earnest, for then you go by S. Gyles, the wrong way to Westminster." In Deloney's Craft ii. 11, the Green K. of St. Martin's "at St. G. i. t. f. met the rest of his company," and shortly after "they came to the highway turning down to Westminster."

GILT BIBLE

The sign of a bookseller's shop in Paternoster Row. The relation of Sad and Lamentable Accidents at Wydecombe was "Printed at Lond. by G. N. for R. Harford and are to be sold at his shop in Queen's-Head-Alley in Paternoster Row at the Gilt Bible. 1638."

GILTSPUR STREET
(Map K4)

A st. in Lond. running N. from the W. end of Newgate St. to W. Smithfield. Originally the part between Cock Lane and Smithfield was called Pie Corner. Stow says it was at first called Knightrider St., because the knights coming to tournaments in Smithfield passed along it. Lady Alimony was "Printed by Tho. Vere and William Gilbertson and are to be sold at the Angel without New-Gate and at the Bible in G. st."

GLASS HOUSE

The first glass manufactory in Lond. was set up about 1580 in Crutched Friars by James, or Jacob, Verselyn, a Venetian. Another and better known one was established in Blackfriars, between Church Entry, Playhouse Yard, and Water Lane. It was a fashionable amusement to visit the glass-houses and see the process of glass-making. Dekker, in Knight's Conjuring, says of Hell: "Like the g.-h. furnace in Blackfriars, the bone-fires that are kept there never go out." In Westward ii. 1, Justiniano says to Judith, "You must to the Pawn to buy lawn; to St. Martin's for lace; to the Garden; to the G.-h." In Killigrew's Parson iii. 1, Adm. Pleasant says, "I'll go to a play with my servant and so shall you; and we'll go to the g.-h. afterwards." Dekker, in jests, says, "O Envy, wash thine eyes that looks flaming like the ceaseless fire of the Glashouse."

GLOBE [1]


(Map O8)

The famous theatre on the Bankside, Southwark. It was begun in Dec. 1598 by the brothers Richd. and Cuthbert Burbage, who pulled down their old house, the Theatre in Shoreditch, and used the materials for the new building. Dr. Wallace has recently proved that it stood, not where Barclay's Brewery is situated, S. of Park St. (formerly Maiden Lane), but N. of Park St., between Deadman's Place and Horseshoe Alley. It was a round wooden structure on a foundation of brick and cement, and had a thatched roof. Over the door was the sign of Hercules bearing the world on his shoulders. In Ham. ii. 2, 365, Rosencrantz declares that the boy actors carry away "Hercules, and his load too." Here Richd. Burbage acted and Shakespeare's greatest plays were produced, the poet being one of the shareholders in the house. On June 29th, 1613, a discharge, of pieces in the performance of the play All is True set fire to the thatched roof, and the whole theatre was destroyed. It was at once rebuilt in an octagonal form and with a tiled roof. It was pulled down by Sir Matthew Brand on April 15th, 1644, to make room for tenement houses. Henry V was probably produced here in 1599, though others think that it was first played at the Cockpit. In the prologue 13, the Chorus says, "May we cram Within this wooden O the very casques That did affright the air at Agincourt!" Jonson's Ev. Man O. was produced the same year; and in v. 7, Macilente appeals to the audience," We . . . entreat The happier spirits in this fair-filled G . . . . That with their bounteous hands they would confirm This as their pleasure's patent." In his Poetaster iii. 1, Histrio says that the theatres are "on the other side of Tyber," i.e. Thames. And Tucca answers: "An you stage me, your mansions shall sweat for it, your tabernacles, varlets, your Gs., and your Triumphs!" In Cooke's Greene's Quoque, p. 558, Scattergood says, "Let's go see a play at the G." Jonson, in his Execration upon Vulcan, says, "O these reeds! thy mere disdain of them Made thee beget that cruel strategem, Which some are pleased to style but thy mad prank, Against the G., the glory of the Bank; Which, though it were the fort of the whole parish, Flanked with a ditch and forced out of a marish, I saw with 2 poor chambers taken in And razed, ere thought could urge this might have been. See the world's ruins! nothing but the piles Left, and wit since to cover it with tiles." Taylor, Works (iii. 3 1), says, "As gold is better that's in fire tried, So is the Bankside G. that late was burned; For where before it had a thatched hide, Now to a stately theatre 'tis turned." In Randolph's Muses i. 1, Mrs. Flowerdew, the Puritan, tells how she heard a brother pray "that the G., wherein, quoth he, reigns a whole world of vice, might be consumed." Glapthorne's Wallenstein was "acted at the G. on the Bank-side 1640." In prol. to Leaguer, Marmion, speaking of the rival theatres, says, "The one The vastness of the g. cannot contain." In 1607 the Stationers' Register states that "a book called Mr. William Shakespeare his history of K. Lear was played before the K.'s Majesty at Whitehall by his Majesty's servants playing usually at the g. on the Banksyde." Hugh Holland, in his verses on Shakespeare, prefixed to the 1st Folio, says, "His days are done that made the dainty plays Which made the G. of heaven and earth to ring." Lenten, in Young Gallant's Whirligig (1629), describes "His satin garments and his satin robe, That hath so often visited the G."

GLOBE [2]

A tavern in Shoe Lane, with a passage into Fleet St., on the N. side at what was formerly No. 134. In 1629 one John Clopton was the landlord. In T. Heywood's Lucrece ii 5, Valerius, in his tavern-list, sings "The G. the seaman doth not scorn." In Jonson's Devil iii. 1, Meercraft upbraids Everill with "haunting the Gs. and Mermaids, wedging in with lords still at the table."

GOAT

Apparently the sign of a tavern at Smithfield, In B. & F. Wit S. W. iv. 1, Lady Ruinous exclaims to Ruinous, who comes in with a stolen purse, "The G. at Smithfield Pens!" There was another G. Tavern in Covent Garden. In Brome's Covent G. ii. 1, Belt says, "Come to my master to the G. in Covent-garden, where he dines with his new landlord today." It was also a bookseller's sign. Glapthorne's Wit was "Printed by Io. Okes for F. C. and are to be sold at his shops in Kings-st. at the sign of the G. and in Westminster Hall. 1640."

GOLDEN ANCHOR

A bookseller's sign in the Strand, Lond. Sampson's Vow was "Printed by John Norton and are to be sold by Roger Ball at the sign of the G. A. in the Strand near Temple-Barre. 1636."

GOLDEN LANE, or GOLDING LANE
(Map L2)

A st. in Lond. running N. from the E. end of Barbican, opposite Red Cross St., to Old St. The Fortune Theatre stood between G. L. and Whitecross St., and the famous nursery or training-school for actors, in the reign of Charles II, was in G. L. "It is of no great account," says Stow, "either for buildings or inhabitants." In T. Heywood's Hogsdon ii. 1, the Wise-woman, giving a list of fortune-teffers, mentions "Mother Sturton, in G. L., is for fore-speaking." Melton, in The Astrologaster, says, "Another will foretell of lightning and thunder that shall happen such a day, when there are no such inflammations seen; except men go to the Fortune in Golding-l. to see the tragedy of Doctor Faustus."

GOLDEN LION

The sign of several taverns in Lond. There was one in Fetter Lane, another near Hick's Hall in St. John St., and another on the W. side of Red Cross St., near Barbican. In Grim ii. 4, Harvey says, "The G. L. is my dwelling place."

GOLDEN TUN

The sign of a bookshop in Creed Lane. The 1st edition of Spenser's Shepherds' Calendar was "Printed and sold by Hugh Singleton, dwelling at the sign of the Gylden Tunne, in Creede Lane, near unto Ludgate."

GOLDING LANE

See GOLDEN LANE.

GOLDSMITH'S HALL
(Map L4)
(area only; site unmarked)

The Hall of the Goldsmiths Company, in Lond., on the E. side of Foster Lane at the corner of Carey St. The Hall of Shakespeare's time was built in 1407. It was used as the Exchequer of the Commonwealth from 1641 to 1660, and the Committee for dealing with the sequestered estates of the Royalists was held there: hence it was nicknamed Squeezing Hall. It was taken down in 1829 and the present Hall erected. In Middleton's Chaste Maid v. 4, Yellowhammer, who is a goldsmith, says, "I'll have the dinner kept in G. H., To which, kind gallants, I invite you all." In Brome's Moor iii. 2, Buzzard says, "'Tis a rich room, this; is it not G. H.?" In Cowley's Cutter [ed. note The Guardian] i. 6, Cutter says that Worm "turned a kind of solicitor at G.-H." the reference is to the court held there as stated above.

GOLDSMITHS ROW
(Map M4)

A row of "10 fair dwellings and 14 shops all in one frame and uniformly built 4 stories high," stretching on the S. side of Cheapside from Bread St. to the Cross opposite the end of Wood St. They were built in 1491 by Thomas Wood, a goldsmith, and were mainly occupied by men of that trade. Howe complains in 1630 that many of the younger goldsmiths had left the R. and moved to Fleet St., Holborn, and the Strand; so that the shops were turned to "milliners, booksellers, linen drapers, and others." In 1634 Charles I issued an order that none but goldsmiths were to occupy shops in the R., but it was ineffectual. At present there is only one jeweller's shop in the R.

In Look about xx., Fauconbridge says, "I sought the G. R. and found him not." In Marston's Malcontent, Ind., Sly boasts, "I'll walk but once down by the G. R. in Cheap, take notice of the signs, and tell you them with a breath instantly. They begin with Adam and Eve; there's in all just five-and-fifty." In Wilkins' Enforced Marriage iv., Butler says, "I am now going to their place of residence situate in the choicest place in the city, and at the sign of the Wolf, just against G. R., where you shall meet me. You may spend some conference with the shopkeepers' wives; they have seats built a purpose for such familiar entertainments." In Dekker's Lanthorn, Jack in the Box is described, a sort of confidence-trick man; "'tis thought his next hunting shall be between Lumbard-st. and the G. R. in Cheapside." In Jonson's Devil iii. 5, Fitzdottrel says, "There's not so much gold in all the R., he says, Till it come from the Mint."

GOOSE FAIR

See under Bow.

GOOSE LANE
(Map N5)
(area only; site unmarked)

Lond., off Bow Lane, Cheapside, by Bow Ch. There was also a G. Alley on the E. side of Fleet Ditch running into Seacoal Lane. In Ellis, Early Metrical Romances i. 279, we are told," Through G.-L. Bevis went tho', There was him done right mickle woe; That lane was so narrowly wrought That Sir Bevis might defend him nought."

GRACE, ABBEY OF, or THE NEW ABBEY
(Map V6)
(area only; site unmarked)

E. of Tower Hill, Lond. It was built by Edward III in 1359 to the honour of God and our Lady of G., and handed over to the Cistercians. It was dissolved in 1539, and was pulled down and replaced by a storehouse for the Navy. In Deloney's Craft i. 14, Florence and Haunce are to be married "at the A. of G. on Tower Hill."

GRACE CHURCH

The Ch. of St. Bennet at the corner of Gracechurch St. and Fenchurch St. See BENNET'S (ST.) and GRACIOUS ST.

GRACIOUS STREET
(Map Q5)

Now Gracechurch St., Lond., running S. from the junction of Cornhill and Leadenhall to East Cheap. It was originally Grass St, so called from its being the market for grass, corn, and malt. The parish Ch. of St. Bennet, which stood at the corner of Gracechurch St. and Fenchurch St., was for the same reason called the Grass Ch. When the reason for the name was forgotten, it was natural that it should become Grace Ch., and the st. becomes Grace's St., or, more commonly, G. St. After the Fire it was rechristened Gracechurch St., as it still continues. Leaden Hall, the poultry market for Lond., was built at the corner of Gracechurch St. and Leadenhall in 1445 by Simon Eyre, the hero of Dekker's Shoemaker's. There was a conduit towards the S. end of the st., erected by Thomas Hill's executors in 1491. Taylor mentions the Tabard near the Conduit in Gracious St. The name is preserved in Talbot Court by No. 55. Richard Tarlton, the clown, kept the Saba Tavern in this st.: other hostelries were the Cross Keys, the Bell, and the Spread Eagle, q.v.

In Tarlton's jests, we read that "Tarlton dwelt in G. St. at a tavern at the sign of the Saba," i.e. the Q. of Sheba. In Dekker's Shoemaker's v. 2, Firk says, "Let's march together to the great new hall in G. St. corner, which our master, the new lord mayor, hath built." The last 2 scenes take place in the great hall, and the open yard before it. This is Leadenhall. In T. Heywood's Hogsdon, Sir Harry, the knight who is no scholar, lives in G. St. In i. 1, Chartley speaks of "Gratiana, the knight's daughter in G. Street." In ii. 2, Sir Harry says, "My house is here in G. St." In v. 1, Old Chartley tells the servant that he will be found "At Grace Ch. by the Conduit near Sir Harry." Sir Harry's, therefore, was at the S. end of the st. In W. Rowley's Match Mid. iv, the watch have come up Gracechurch St, and kept on "straight towards Bishopsgate"; then the Constable gives the word, "Come, let's back to Grace Ch., all's well." In S. Rowley's When You D. 3, the K. (Henry VIII) says, "Bid Charles Brandon to disguise himself And meet me presently at Grace Ch. corner." In T. Heywood's Ed. IV B. 153, Shore says he will go "to one Mrs. Blages, an inn, in G. St." As Jockey has already told us that Mrs. Blages keeps the Flower-de-Luce in Lombard St., it must have been at the corner of Lombard and Gracechurch Sts. In his F. M. Exch. ii. 7, Barnard says there is to be the rarest dancing "at a wedding in G. st." The poultry trade spread out from Leadenhall into Gracechurch St. In Dekker's Shoemaker's iii. 4, when Margery asks, "Canst thou tell me where I may buy a good hair?" Hodge replies: "Yes, forsooth, at the poulterer's in G. St." To which Margery retorts: "I mean a false hair for my periwig." In Killigrew's Parson v. 1, the Capt., preparing for Wild's wedding, sends one of the watermen "to G. st. to the poulterer's." In Jonson's Neptune, the Boy speaks of "a plump poulterer's wife in Grace's st." There was also a bookshop in the st. Jack Straw was "Printed at Lond. by John Danter and are to be sold by William Barley at his shop in G. st. over against Leadenhall. 1593." Harman's Ground work of Conny-catching was published by the same firm in 1592, and The Pedler's Prophecy in 1595. Thersites was "Printed by John Tysdale and are to be sold . . . in Alhallowes ch. yard, near unto G. Ch."

GRAIA

A Latinized name for Gray's Inn, q.v. In Marston's Mountebanks, presented at Gray's Inn in 1618, Paradox says that he has come to see the presentments "promised by the gallant spirits of G."

GRANGE

A tavern in Lond., near Lincoln's Inn Fields between Carey St. and Clements Lane, near Portugal Row. It was taken down in 1853, and King's College Hospital now occupies the site. In Davenant's Playhouse i., the Player says, "Let him send his train to our house-inn, the G." The Playhouse in question was the Duke's Theatre in Portugal Row.

GRASSHOPPER [1]

A name given to the Royal Exchange, Lond., from the G., the crest of Sir T. Gresham, which formed its weathercock. Hall, in Satires iv. 6, says of the returned traveller: "Now he plies the newsfull g. Of voyages and ventures to inquire."

GRASSHOPPER [2]

A bookseller's sign in Lond. Gascoigne's Government was "Imprinted at Lond. by H. M. for Christopher Barker at the sign of the G. in Paules Churchyard, A.D. 1575."

GRAY FRIARS
(Map K4)

The monastery of the Franciscan F. who came to England in the 13th cent. and built their home on the N. side of Newgate St. in 1225. In 1327 the ch. of the monastery was rebuilt; in 1429 Whittington built the f. a large library and over £500 was spent in equipping it with books. It was seized by Henry VIII at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and with unwonted generosity presented to the City for the use of the poor. The ch. became the parish Ch. of Christ Ch. Edward VI actually incorporated Christ's Hospital on the site of the old G. F. For further details, see under CHRIST'S HOSPITAL, CHRIST CH. In T. Heywood's I.K.M. B. 276, Dean Nowell relates that "Sir Richard Whittington began the Library of G. F. in Lond."

GRAY'S INN
(Map G3)

An Inn of Court in Lond., to which are attached 2 Inns of Chancery, Staple Inn and Barnard's Inn. It stands on 30 acres of ground on the N. side of Holborn and the W. side of G. I. Rd., formerly G. I. Lane. It was made up of 4 courts: N. of the Courts are the famous gardens, which were laid out by Lord Bacon, the most illustrious of the members of the I., about 1600. The Hall, which still remains, was erected between 1555 and I 560. The Gate from Holborn was built of red brick in the beginning of the 17th cent., and has recently been covered with stucco. The I. takes its name from Reginald de Grey, of the family of the Greys of Wilton, who held the property, then known as Portpoole, in the beginning of the 14th cent.: the name survives in Portpoole Lane, between G. I. Rd. and Leather Lane. After passing through the hands of Hugh Denny and the Prior of East Sheen, it came to the Crown at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and was rented by Henry VIII to the lawyers, who had previously held it from the former owners.

Revels were annually held in the Hall under the presidency of a Lord of Misrule, who gloried in the title "The most high and mighty Prince of Purpoole [i.e. Portpoole], Arch-Duke of Stapulia and Bernarda, etc." The 1st Masque performed in the I., of which notice has survived, was written in 1527 by John Roo, who expiated in the Fleet his allusions to Wolsey in the Masque. In 1594 Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors was performed in the Hall, which thus shares with the Hall of the Middle Temple the distinction of being one of the 2 surviving buildings in which his plays were presented. Sir William Gascoigne, the Chief justice in Henry IV B., who committed Falstaff to the Fleet, was reader at G. I. Lord Bacon had rooms in No. I Coney Ct., and took from them the ride which resulted in his death. Amongst the dramatists, George Gascoigne, George Chapman, Abraham Fraunce, and James Shirley resided for a time in G. I. In Dekker's Westward iii. 2, we learn that Monopoly, the lawyer, belonged to the I.: "I will have the hair of your head and beard shaved," he says, "and e'er I catch you at G. I." Taylor, in Works i. 122, mentions "the Green Dragon against G. I. Gite." In Hg B. iii. 2, 36, Shallow tells how "the very same day did I fight with one Sampson Stockfish, a fruiterer, behind G. I.": probably in G. I. Fields, q.v. Barry's Ram was printed by "Robert Wilson at his shop in Holborn at the New Gate of G. I. 1611." Glapthorne's Hollander was "Printed by I. Okes for A. Wilson and are to be sold at her [sic] shop at Grayes-Inne Gate in Holborne. 1640."

GRAY'S INN FIELDS
(Map G3)
(area only; site unmarked)

The open fields N. of G. I. Gardens, used as a practice ground for archers, and afterwards frequented by footpads and other undesirable characters. In Middleton's R.G. ii. 1, Laxton asks Moll for an appointment to meet her "somewhere near Holborn." And she replies: "In G. I. F. then." In Pasquil's Nightcap 163.2, we read: "Fairer than any stake in G. I. F., Guarded with gunners, bill-men, and a rout Of bowmen bold which at a cat do shoot." Rout was evidently pronounced to rhyme with shoot.

GRAY'S INN LANE
(Map G3–4)

(now raised to the dignity of G. I. Rd.). Lond., running N. from Holborn on the E. side of G. I. to the junction of Pentonville Rd. and Euston Rd. James Shirley, the dramatist, lived for a time in G. I. L. T. Heywood's S. Age was "Printed by Nicholas Okes and are to be sold by Benjamin Lightfoote at his shop at the upper end of Graies Inne-Lane in Holborn. 1613."

GREEN ARBOUR COURT
(Map K4)
(area only; site unmarked)

A lane in Lond., leading from the upper end of Old Bailey into Seacoal Lane. It was swept away when the Holborn Viaduct was built. The steps that led into it were called "Break Neck Steps." Prynne's Histriomastix was "Printed for Michael Sparke and sold at the Blue Bible in Grene A. in Little Old Bailey. 1633." The Book of Riddles was "Printed by T. C. for Michael Sparke dwelling in Greene A. at the sign of the blue Bible. 1629."

GREEN DRAGON

There were several taverns in Lond. with this sign. The best-known was the one at 56 Fleet St., which still keeps the old name. This is probably the one referred to by Taylor, who, on the 1st day of his Penniless Pilgrimage i. 12.2, visited "the G. D. against Grays Inn Gate." In Webster's Weakest v. 2, Bunch says that the best liquor in Ardres is to be had "at the G. D." It was also a bookseller's sign. The 1st Quarto of Merch. was "Printed by I. R. for Thomas Heyes and are to be sold in Paules Churchyard at the sign of the Greene D. 1600." Brome's Five New Plays were "Printed for A. Crook at the G. D. in St. Paul's Church-yard. 1659."

GREEN GATE

The name of a house in St. Martins-le-Grand, Lond.: probably a mistake for Queen G. In More ii. 2, Lincoln says, "This is St. Martin's and yonder dwells Mutas, a wealthy Piccardye, at the Greene G." According to Holinshed his name was Newton, and his house was called Queene G., not G. G., and was in Cornhill.

GRESHAM COLLEGE
(Map Q4)

In Lond., founded by the bequest of Sir T. Gresham for the delivery of lectures on Divinity, Civil Law, Astronomy, Music, Geometry, Rhetoric, and Physic to be read in the dwelling-house of the founder. This house was G. House on the W. side of Bishopsgate St. Within, with grounds reaching back to Broad St. The lectures began in 1596, and 7 professors were appointed. The house was taken down in 1768, and the lectures transferred to a room in the Royal Exchange. In 1843 the present C. was built at the corner of G. St. and Basinghall St. In Shirley's Love Maze iv. 2, Gerard says that in his Utopia "Lectures and public readings shall put down G.'s foundation for the liberal arts." In T. Heywood's I.K.M. B. 301, G. says, "Lords, so please you but to see my school Of the 7 learned liberal sciences, Which I have founded here near Bishopsgate, I will conduct you."

GREYHOUND

A tavern in Fleet St., Lond., evidently, from the quotations, close to Fleet Bdge., at the E. end of the st. In Stucley 565, John Sparling, the Vintner, demands £30 from Stucley "for tavern suppers and for quarts of wine at the G. in Fleet st." In Dekker's Westward ii. 3, Justiniano says, "The G., the G. in Blackfriars, an excellent rendezvous." In Barry's Ram iii. 2, Thomas Smallshanks says, "They went in by the G. and so stuck into Bridewell." The G. was also the sign of a bookseller's shop in Paul's Churchyard. Venus and Adonis was "Imprinted at Lond. for William Leake dwelling in Paule's Churchyard at the sign of the G. 1599." Selimus was "Printed for John Crooke and Richard Serger and are to be sold at their shop in Pauls Churchyard at the sign of the G.-H. 1638." Here the Passionate Pilgrim was published by W. Leake in 1599.

GROCERS HALL
(Map O4)

The Hall of the Grocers Company in Lond. It was built in 1427 in what was then called Coneyhoop Lane, off the Poultry, E. of the Old Jewry. It lies between the Poultry and Princes St., into which an entrance was made in 1827. The 1st H. was destroyed in the Gt. Fire; a 2nd was built soon after, and the present H., the 3rd, dates from 798. In B. & F. Pestle v. 3, Ralph, the Grocer's apprentice, exclaims, "I die! Fly, fly, my soul, to G. H."

GROPING LANE

Off Tower Hill, Lond. In News from Wood St. Counter (1642), we have: "It is worse than Pickthatch, Covent Garden, G. L., Tower Hill," etc.

GRUB STREET
(Map M2)

Lond., running from 96 Fore St. to 56 Chiswell St. In 1820 the name was changed to Milton St. According to Stow, it was inhabited by bowyers, fletchers, and bowstring-makers; and as archery declined their place was taken by bowling alleys and dicing houses. Its reputation as the resort of poor authors dates from the latter part of the 17th cent. In Randolph's Hey Hon., he says, "Let Cupid go to G. St. and turn archer"; and again, "Her eyes are Cupid's G. St.; the blind archer makes his love-arrows there." Taylor says, in Works ii. 2, "Strait I might descry, The quintessence of G.-st. well distilled Through Cripplegate." In News from Hell, the Cardinal says, "This mess is . . . seasoned with the fees and bribes of all the whores and thieves that live in Westminster, Covent-Garden, Holborn, G.-st," etc. Camilton's Discovery of Devilish Designs was "Printed by T. Fawcet dwelling in G.-st. 1641." Henry Welby, the Hermit of G, St., died there in 1636. Dekker, in Raven's Almanac (1609), says, "As for the thighs, over which Sagitarius the archer carries sway, any fletcher in G.-st. or any that ever shot in a long bow, will stand to the proof thereof."

GUILDHALL
(Map N4)

The common Hall of the City of Lond. It was in existence in the 12th cent., but was rebuilt in 1411, and "of an old and little cottage made into a fair and goodly house" (Fabyan). Sir John Shaa, Mayor in 1501, added the kitchens, and from that time the Lord Mayor's banquet has been held there on Nov. 9th, the day of SS. Simon and Jude. The Gt. Fire destroyed the roof, but left the walls and crypt comparatively uninjured: it was at once restored, and a new st.–King St.–was opened up to give access to it from Cheapside. In 1864 the Hall was renovated, and the fine open oak roof, a replica, as nearly as possible, of the original one, was erected. The Hall is 153 ft. long, 50 broad, and 89 high. It contains the two wooden giants, Gog and Magog, supposed to represent Corineus and Gogmagog. The present statues were carved in 1708, but their predecessors existed as far back as 1415, and were carried in the Lord Mayor's procession and other City pageants. In the 16th cent. the main entrance was graced by a number of statues. William Wilderton, writing in 1560, says, "Jesus Christ aloft doth stand, Law and Learning on either hand, Discipline in the devil's neck, And hard by her are three direct; There justice, Fortitude, and Temperance stand: Where find ye the like in all this land?" The Court of Aldermen and the Court of Common Council sit at the G.; and there are held the Court of Hustings, the Lord Mayor's Court, and the Sheriffs Court. The Library and Museum have been removed to Basinghall St., and a building for their accommodation was erected in 1872. The Museum contains a deed of Conveyance with the signature of Shakespeare attached. There is also an Art Gallery in G. Yard.

In R3 iii. 5, 73, Gloucester, at the Tower, says to Buckingham, "Go after, after, cousin Buckingham, The Mayor towards G. hies him all in post." Buckingham goes, and advises Gloucester, "Towards 3 or 4 o'clock Look for the news that the G. affords" (line 102). In True Trag. (Haz., p. 58), the Page announces "The D. of Buckingham is gone about it, and is now in the G. making his oration." More ii. 3 takes place in the G.; and in ii. 4 More says, "I think 'twere best we meet at the G. And there determine that through every ward The watch be clad in armour." In Stucley 645, Lady Curtis says, "Husband, you are sent for to the G., about the soldiers that are to be despatched for Ireland." In Dekker's Shoemaker's i. 1, the Lord Mayor says, "If it please your cousin Lacy come to the G., he shall receive his pay." In Cooke's Greene's Quoque, p. 555, Staines says to Spendall, "Thou art the highest spirited citizen that ever G. took notice of." In Glapthorne's Wit iii. 1, Busie says, "I should have fined for Sheriff, but all G., hearing I was a Wit, cried 'Out upon him I," In Straw iii., Tom Miller says, "I have been amongst the records, and all that I saw in the G. I have set fire on." In W. Rowley's New Wonder v., his wife says that Stephen "Is now the Sheriff of Lond., and in Council, Set at the G. in his scarlet gown." In T. Heywood's Ed. IV. A. 23, the Lord Mayor says, "We will withdraw to G. to take advice." In Mayne's s Match i. 4, Bright says, "I' the name of G., who comes here?" In Shirley's Riches iii., Getting swears, "By the Hall ycleped Guild, and Lond. Wall." In Ibid. i., Clod says, "You march [on Lord Mayor's Day] to G., where you look upon the Saracen giants, and feed like Saracens till you have no stomach to Paul's in the afternoon." The reference is to the Lord Mayor's banquet and the service which followed at St. Paul's. In Dekker's Northward v. 1, Greensland says, "Thou smellest like G., 2 days after Simon and Jude, of drink most horribly." In Webster's Cuckold iv. 1, Compass says, "Three Tuns do you call this tavern? It has a good neighbour of G.": meaning that G. is a great place for drinking. There were several taverns of this name. Dekker, in Armourers, says, "Had Jove been bidden to dinner to the Guyld hall on Simon and Jude's Day, he could not have had more welcomes given him than Money had." In Brathwayte's Barnabys journal, the G. Giants are mentioned as the second of the 7 great sights of Lond. Corbett, in Iter Boreale, says: "O, you that do G. and Holmeby keep, You are good giants." In verses prefixed to Coryat's Crudities (1611), Peacham mentions amongst the sights of Lond. "G. huge Corinaeus." Hall, in Satires vi. 1, 9, speaks of "The crabtree porter of the G. gates." In Jonson's Ev. Man I. i. 1, Wellbred writes to young Knowell: "Draw your bill of charges, as unconscionable as any G. verdict will give it you." In Middleton's Michaelmas iii. 4, Shortyard has "a little urgent business at G." Look about was "Printed for William Ferrand and are to be sold at his shop at the sign of the Crown near G. Gate. 1600." The Wars of Cyrus was "Printed by E. A. for William Blackwal and are to be sold at his shop over against G. gate. 1594." The earliest recorded performance of a play in the City of Lond. is that of an unknown drama acted on Twelfth Night 1560 in the G. before the Lord Mayor.

GUN

A bookseller's sign in Lond. The 1st quarto of Titus Andronicus was "Printed by John Danter and are to be sold by Edward White and Thomas Millington at the little North door of Paules at the sign of the Gunne. 1594." The .2nd and 3rd quartos came from the same publisher. Love and Fortune was also published there in 1589. Marlowe's Ed. II was "Printed at Lond. by Richard Bradocke for William Jones, dwelling near Holbourne Conduit at the sign of the Gunne. 1598." Mucedorus was published the same year at the same place. Brome's Five New Plays were "Printed for H. Brome at the Gunn in Ivy Lane. 1659."

GUN ALLEY
(Map O3)
(area only; site unmarked)

Lond., on the W. side of Little Moorfields, where the Moorgate St. station now stands. It was a place of bad reputation. In Glapthorne's Hollander iii. 1, Fortress, the president of the Twiball knights, is described as "Duke of Turnbull, Bloomsbury, and Rotten Row, Lord Paramount of all Garden-alleys, G. A., and Rosemary Lane."

GUNPOWDER ALLEY
(Map S5)
(area only; site unmarked)

Lond., on the E. side of Crutched Friars, N. of John St. In Westward i. 1, Birdlime says, "I keep a hot-house in G. A., near Crutched Friars." There is another G. A. on the W. side of Shoe Lane, where Richard Lovelace died.

GUTTER LANE
(Map M4)
(marked as "Guthuruns Lane" on map)

A st. in Lond. running N. from Cheapside to Gresham St. It was originally Guthrun or Goderoune Lane. It is used punningly for the throat. In Brathwayte's Cast of Characters (1631) 32, it is said, "Whatever he drains from the 4 corners of the City goes in muddy taplash down G.-L." In Dekker's Satiromastix iii. 1, 212, Tucca, who is calling Mrs. Miniver all the abusive names he can think of, says, inter alia, "Let me alone with my grannam in G.-L. there." Prof. Penniman, in his note on this passage, says that Cheapside was once so called from Guthurun, sometime the owner: I can find no authority for this statement.

GYLES (ST.)

See GILES (ST.).