Between the middle and lower window, two other tablets; on one the arms of the original builder impaled with Beswick, on the other the arms of St. Barbe impaled with Little. The rest of the building, from thence to wards the church, is of brick and of some extent, containing in its length six square windows. Over the entrance door are the arms of Anthony Hungerford impaling those of Mason, widow of a St. Barbe; and this Mr. Hungerford is said to have repaired, if not wholly rebuilt, this part. Beneath the arms last mentioned a smaller tablet bearing the arms of St. Barbe singly. Some years since the estate, of which the above house was a part, passed into other hands, and it was wholly pulled down, and there is no trace of the remains, further than by a drawing of the house as it ap

ST. DUNSTAN'S WE regard with painful feelings the removal of an object to which we have been familiarized from our earliest years; the associations connected with it, and the reminiscences to which it often gives rise, create an interest in its existence which we cannot see destroyed without regret. An object of this kind, at least to all who, like ourselves, have found their natal place within the sound of Bow Bell, was the old Church of St. Dunstan, with its singular clock and colossal hour strikers or "" quarter jacks," as less imposing effigies of this description are usually styled-pigmies in comparison with the ex-giants of St. Dunstan. The date of these statues is more recent than some other striking apparatus of the same description, and we must therefore allow to the novelist the license of the poet, in giving to them an existence at a period above half a century earlier than their construction; for we find Sir Walter Scott first introducing Richie Moniplies into Fleet-street when "the twa iron carles yonder, at the kirk beside the port, were just banging out sax o' the clock."

The fact seems to be, that the clock and figures were only set up in the year 1671, by Mr. Thomas Harrys, then living at the end of Water-lane, Fleet-street, and there is no evidence

*

* Denham's Historical Account of the Church, p. 8.

GENT. MAG. October, 1832.

that any effigies of the same description were in existence at an earlier period.

Our present object is to describe the new Church, which forms the subject of our engraving (Plate I.); we shall not, therefore, go into a description of the previous structure further than to notice it briefly, with the improvements which have occasioned its destruction. It was one of the few Churches which escaped the fire of London, the conflagration having ended three houses to the eastward. The house recently occupied by Mr. Cobbett (No. 183, Fleet-street), was that at which the fire was arrested. At the baker's shop next door, some of the remains of the burned rafters of the house at which the fire of 1666 stopped, were discovered in the old walls, which are now standing, and were exposed to view at Mr. Cobbett's late house, on some repairs being made. In the extensive vaults at the back of Mr. Cobbett's house, various materials have been discovered, leading to the belief that an extensive private still had been worked many years ago.

An Act of Parliament was obtained in June 1829,† for the purpose of taking down the old Church, and building a new one, and for raising the necessary supplies. Trustees were appointed for carrying the Act into execution, consisting of the Rector for † 10 Geo. IV. c. xcvi. (local.)

the time being, several of the inhabitants, and the principal and two senior resident rules of the ancient and honourable Society of Clifford's Inn." The Trustees were empowered, with the consent of the diocesan, to take down the old Church, and erect a new one capable of seating 800 persons, with other parochial buildings; to remove the present burial ground, and procure a new one of larger dimensions to cause proper and convenient streets, avenues, and approaches to be made to the new Church and burial ground, and to alter, widen, and improve the present streets. The new Church was to contain 200 free sittings for the use of the poor, and the Trustees were empowered to let the other seats. They were also authorized to borrow on the credit of the rates 40,000l. for the purposes of the

Act. By Sec. 59 of the Act, a very proper provision is made, that all the monuments, gravestones, and monumental inscriptions in the Church and churchyard, should be set up or laid in the new Church or burial-ground.

In pursuance of the powers vested in the Trustees, they proceeded to take down the old Church, and fixed the site of the new structure partly on that of the old one, and partly on the church-yard and a piece of ground taken from Clifford's Inn. In consequence of this arrangement, thirty feet in width was given to the street in the front of the building. With a view of preserving the form of the street before the alteration, and to show the relative situation of the two Churches, we have engraved the following plan.

In this Plan the form and site of both the buildings are preserved, and it will help to show more plainly than could be effected by any verbal description, the extent of the alteration, and the previous appearance of this part of Fleet- street.

The demolition of the old Church has already been noticed in our Magazine, vol. xcix. pt. i. p. 556, and we will now add a singular discovery which was made in Sept. 1832.

In excavating the ground under the old Church, preparatory to throwing open the new edifice to the street, a leaden coffin was dug up, with the name of Moody, engraver, upon it, and dated Anno Dom. 1747. The age of Mr. Moody was also stated as 70 years. By accident (it is supposed by the pickaxe) the coffin was broken open, and the upper part of the body exposed to view, and was found to be in a perfect state, not in the least decomposed-the flesh had firmness on pressure, and the countenance was perfect, although it had lain for 85 years. After exposure to the air for a short time, decomposition commenced with great rapidity, and the coffin was fastened down, and removed into the new vault.

We would observe, that such instances of the preservation of human bodies are by no means uncommon; a finely preserved natural mummy of a female, may be seen in the ancient Norman crypt of Bow Church, and there were two bodies discovered in 1817, in the vault of St. Saviour's Church, which, when viewed by us, were exceedingly perfect. It is perhaps unnecessary to inform our readers that in ancient times a peculiar sancity was attached to bodies which were thus apparently rescued from the general doom of mortality. Mr. Gough, in his work on Sepulchral Monuments, has collected together a number of instances of these extraordinary preservations, to which we refer our readers for further information on these natural curiosities.

The architect of this new Church was the late John Shaw, Esq. F. R. and A. S. the architect of Christ's Hospital, who, it is to be lamented, did not live to see the completion of his design.

The plan of the structure is an octagon, about fifty feet in diameter. The tower and principal front range with

the houses on the north side of Fleetstreet, and have therefore a southern aspect; the altar in consequence of this arrangement is at the northern extremity of the Church instead of the east. Viewed from the exterior, this front shows a tower flanked by lobbies, forming a façade before the body of the Church, which is carried up in plain brick-work to the first parapet, except at the northern face, where it is broken by the altar window. Above this portion rises the clerestory, which has eight equal sides, each containing a pointed window, with tracery in the head of the arch, the whole being crowned with a battlement, and having buttresses at the several angles.

In an article in the Mirror of July 21, 1832, written it is believed by the architect, the reason assigned for the choice of the octagon form, is its alleged adoption "in the lady chapels at the east end of most of our ancient cathedrals, where the recesses were devoted to tombs and private chapels." We think that Wells Cathedral is the only instance of the application of a polygonal form to a lady chapel, and the effect is superlatively beautiful. We do not at present recollect any other Church distinguished by this plan. The chapter-houses of most of our cathedrals and large Churches were multangular buildings; but they were not furnished with recesses in the sides, and had in general a pillar in the centre. There can, however, be no substantial reason for the rejection of any form which may suit the architect's purpose. The Templars' churches are an authority for a circular plan, which is as great a deviation from the common church arrangement, as any other geometrical figure can possibly be. The body of the Church is built of brick, with stone dressings; the tower and lobbies are constructed of Ketton stone, said in the article in the Mirror before quoted, to be "a very superior kind of freestone, of beautiful colour, from the county of Rutland, of which King's College Chapel, Cambridge, and many others of our finest edifices, have been constructed." The design and arrangement of the tower is perfectly novel in the metropolis; and, forming as it does the most prominent feature in the Church, it may be supposed that the architect has bestowed great care and attention upon it. The lobbies are plain, with simple windows

and entrances, and are made to recede considerably behind the line of the tower, so that they do not at all interfere with the main portion of the façade.

It seems to have been the object of the architect to insulate his tower as much as possible. It is therefore quite clear of the clerestory of the Church; and this arrangement in a near point of view gives additional elevation to the structure, although from the closeness of the houses this effect is lost in most views which can be obtained of the building. The architecture is the Tudor, or last variety of the pointed style; the design shows a square tower, surmounted by an octagon lantern, an arrangement rather unusual in ancient works, but one which is productive of great beauty. Viewed as a whole, there is much to admire in this structure beside its novelty; but we cannot help wishing that the square tower had borne a greater proportion in point of height to the lantern, which appears to us to occupy too large a portion of the elevation.

The rectangular part of the elevation is divided in height into three stories. In the lower is the principal entrance, under a bold and elegant pointed arch, with moulded architrave and sweeping canopy, ending in a finial. İn the spandrils are shields, intended to bear the royal arms and those of the Corporation of London. Above this is a belt of quatrefoils in relief, inclosing shields. The next story is exceedingly plain, both in the front and flank elevations, an unnecessary deviation from the principles of ancient design. A large and handsome window over the doorway, in place of the diminutive loop-hole, would not only have been more in character with ancient design, but would have suitably relieved the solidity of the flanks. Above this is the clock dial, of a lozenge form; and the third or belfry story has a large pointed window of three lights in every face of the elevation. At each angle of the tower is a projecting buttress, which at the base line of the third story is crowned with a square shaft, ending in a pinnacle of equal height with the story. At the point where the arches of the window spring, the elevation begins to assume an octagon form by means of splays at the angles, and the tower is then crowned with a battlement; the abrupt

appearance which might be occasioned by the transition from one form to another is avoided by the introduction of octagonal shafts rising considerably above the parapet, each of which is crowned with a crocketed spire. The detail of these pinnacles, as well as that of the heads at the commencement of the octagon, are however far from correct; the busts have a hideous and ludicrous character.

The lantern is in itself a very correct piece of architecture. In each face is a lofty window of two lights, divided by a transom. The head is arched, and occupied with tracery. The finish is an open parapet composed of trefoil arches, crowned with crocketed canopies and finials, and at the angles are buttresses, which are finished above the parapet with pinnacles; they are also furnished with projecting gargoyles at the point which is even with the cornice of the principal elevation. The windows are unglazed, giving an appearance of great lightness to the structure, which is seen to very great perfection either in an eastern or western direction; and its novelty of design forms a pleasing variety when viewed in contrast with the neighbouring steeples. The height of the tower to the battlements is 90 feet, and the entire height, including the lantern, is 130 feet.

THE INTERIOR

is not in a state sufficiently forward to allow us to give a complete description. It is approached by the lower story of the tower, which forms a porch with a groined ceiling; behind this is a vestibule separated from the church by a plain screen. The body of the Church shows a regular octagon, each side formed into a deep recess fronted with a pointed arch, sustained on a pier, set off with clustered columns. The recesses are arranged as follows: the one by which we entered has two galleries, the lower pewed, the upper intended to contain an organ. On the floor are the pews of the churchwardens, &c. with an entrance passage between them. The recesses, right and left of this, also contain two series of galleries, the lower as well as the floor being pewed, and the upper appropriated for the children of the parochial schools. The recess opposite the entrance contains the altar; the others are respectively