The wards of London Author:Henry Thomas Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Divided into four precincts, is governed by an alderman, with six common councilmen, and has four constables, sixteen inquest men, and a ward beadle. In the d... more »ays of Fitz-Stephen, each of the streets of London were occupied by a distinct class of trudesmen, who carried on then a distinct trade. This assembling together of particular trades gave the names to many streets, such as Corrficussr'-street, Hosier-lane, and many still remain, as Bread-street, Mitt-street, /"iiA-street- hill, the Poultry, Leather-une, Shoe-suie, the Vintry, Coopers'- row, Budge-row, ttc. Cornhill received its name from being the site of the principal market in the city for corn. It does not appear that the factors lived here, but that stalls were erected, at which they attended on market-days. The houses were then inhabited by drapers, who were so numerous and respectable, that they were formed into a distinct guild, called " the Drapers of Cornhill." On quitting the street, the drapers were succeeded by a less respectable class of dealers, similar we may believe to those living nuisances, the Jew clothes men, who infest Holywell, Monmouth, and other streets of that class. They were not very particular in what they bought or sold, and the comparison we have made is equally borne out in this respect. Stowe says, " 1 have read of a countryman, who, having lost his hood, in AVestminster-hall, found the same in Cornhill, hanged out to be sold, which he challenged." In all probability Stow had heard of the old ballad, " the London Lyck- peny," by Dan John Lydgate, monk of Berry, given at length in VOL. II. H Candlewick Ward, to ivhicli we refer our readers for the ihi ir, at length ; the itanzu the historian alluded to, is "Then into Cornhill anon I yode, There was much stolen gere amunge; I ...« less