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TY - ELEC
A1 - Stow, John
A1 - fitz-Stephen, William
ED - Jenstad, Janelle
T1 - Survey of London (1598): Rivers and Other Waters
T2 - The Map of Early Modern London
ET - 7.0
PY - 2022
DA - 2022/05/05
CY - Victoria
PB - University of Victoria
LA - English
UR - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/stow_1598_waters.htm
UR - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/xml/standalone/stow_1598_waters.xml
ER -
Rivers and Other Waters chapter of
Research Assistant, 2020-2021. Managing Encoder, 2020-2021. Jamie Zabel was an MA student at the University of Victoria in the Department of English. She completed her BA in English at the University of British Columbia in 2017. She published a paper in University College London’s graduate publication
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King of England
King of England
Sheriff of London
Biographer and clerk.
Sheriff of London
Sheriff of London
King of England
King of England and Lord of Ireland
King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine
Sheriff of London
King of England
Fifth Earl of Lincoln. Benefactor of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Buried at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Sheriff of London
Gentleman. Commons Sergeant of London. Monument at and buried at St. Mary Magdalen, Old Fish Street.
Sheriff of London
King of England
Sheriff of London
Historian and author of
Sheriff of London
King of England
Printer.
Bookseller and printer. Husband of
Sheriff of London
Sheriff of London
Sheriff of London
Sheriff of London
Dutch mechanical engineer. Invented force pumps to distribute water to part of London. Buried at St. Magnus.
Sheriff of London
Sheriff of London
Sheriff of London
Sheriff of London
Sheriff of London
Taylor. Donated funds to London conduits.
Wife of
Wife of
Sheriff of London
Gentleman and engineer. Supplied a new forcier that allowed Thames water to be supplied to west London in
Drowned in a pool near St. Giles, Cripplegate in
Granted the Little Conduit, Cheapside to the citizens of
London in
Sheriff of London
Constable of the Tower of London
Keeper of the Bridge.
Keeper of the Bridge.
Sheriff of London
Rebuilt the Holborn Conduit in
The
The
. Website.
We’d also like to acknowledge students who contributed to MoEML’s intranet
predecessor at the University of Windsor between
These are all MoEML team members since 1999 to present. To see the current members and structure of our team, see
The
The city of London, not to be confused with the allegorical character (
The Fleet, known as
Langbourn Ward is west of Aldgate Ward. According to a long borne of ſweete water
which once broke out of the ground in Fenchurch Street, a street running through the middle of Langbourn Ward (Stow 1603). The long borne of ſweete water
no longer existed at the time of
James Bird’s Volume 8 of the
in the middle of the inner court(Bird 153-187). In a footnote, Bird indicates that the well in the orchard is most likely the one from which the priory and the district took its name (Bird 153-187n204). This is because
much decayed and marred with filthinesse, purposely layd there, for the heighthening of the ground, for garden plotsand while it is possible that the orchard land was used for gardening plots, the inner court was never put to that purpose (Bird 153-187n204; Stow 1598, sig. B7v). By this reasoning, we assume that the well in the orchard of Holywell Priory is the one that bears the name Holy Well.
Fagswell was a natural well in the Clerkenwell area and a source of fresh water for inhabitants of the City of London (Harben, Water Supply of London).
Smithfield was an open, grassy area located outside the Wall. Because of its location close to the city centre, Smithfield was used as a site for markets, tournaments, and public executions. From
Also known as Smithfield Pond.
For information about St. Giles, Cripplegate, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
Cripplegate was one of the original gates in the city wall (Weinreb, Hibbert, Keay, and Keay 221; Harben). It was the northern gate of a large fortress that occupied the northwestern corner of the Roman city.
Originally built as a Roman fortification for the provincial city of Londinium in the second century C.E., the London Wall remained a material and spatial boundary for the city throughout the early modern period. Described by high and great
(Stow 1:8), the London Wall dominated the cityscape and spatial imaginations of Londoners for centuries. Increasingly, the eighteen-foot high wall created a pressurized constraint on the growing city; the various gates functioned as relief valves where development spilled out to occupy spaces
Holborn Bridge or Oldboorne bridge (Stow) spanned the Fleet Ditch at Holborn Street. Located in the ward of Farringdon Without, the bridge was part of a major westward thoroughfare.
Inner Temple was one of the four Inns of Court
Located on the banks of the Thames, Baynard’s Castle was built sometime
in the by
(Weinreb and Hibbert 129). The castle passed to
who by forfeyture for
fellonie, lost his Baronie of little Dunmow
(Stow 1:61). From the time it was built, Baynard’s Castle was the headquarters of London’s
army until the reign of
when it was handed over to the Dominican Friars,
the Blackfriars whose name is still commemorated along that part of the
waterfront
(Hibbert 10).
St. James, Clerkenwell was founded in Clarken Well
.
Moorgate was one of the major gates in the Wall of London (Sugden). It was situated in the northern part of the Wall, flanked by Cripplegate and Bishopsgate. Clearly labelled as More Gate
on the Agas map, it stood near the intersection of London Wall street and Coleman Street (Sugden; Stow 1598, sig. C6v). It adjoined Bethlehem Hospital, and the road through it led into Finsbury Field (Rocque) and Mallow Field.
Holy Trinity Priory, located west of Aldgate and north of Leadenhall
Street, was an Augustinian Priory. in the parishes of Saint Marie Magdalen, S. Michael, S. Katherine, and the blessed Trinitie, which now was made but one Parish of the holy Trinitie
(Stow).
Before
Aldgate was the easternmost gate into the walled
city. The name Aldgate
is thought to come from one of four sources:
Eastern gate
(Ekwall 36), ale
, public gate
or open to all
, or old gate
(Bebbington
20–21).
Bread Street Ward is east of Castle Baynard Ward and Farringdon Within Ward. The ward takes its name from its main street, Bread Street, ſo called of bread in olde time there ſold
(Stow 1603).
All Hallows, London Wall is a church built east of
Bishopsgate, near or on the City Wall. The church is visible on the Agas map
northwest of Broad Street and up against the south
side of the City Wall. The label All Haloues in y Wall
is west of the church. In
his description of Broad Street Ward,
St. Mary Spital was an Augustinian Priory and
Hospital on the east side of Bishopsgate Street.
The Priory dates from 1197. The old precinct of St.
Mary Spital is visible on the Agas map. The church itself was
demolished after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in
Fenchurch Street (often called pork and peas
after her sister,
Gracechurch Street ran north-south from Cornhill Street near Leadenhall Market to the bridge. At the southern end, it was called
New Fish Street
. North of Cornhill, Gracechurch
continued as Bishopsgate Street, leading through
Bishop’s Gate out of the walled city into the
suburb of Shoreditch.
Lombard Street was known by early modern Londoners as a place of commerce and trade. Running east to west from Gracechurch Street to Poultry, Lombard Street bordered Langbourn Ward, Walbrook Ward, Bridge Within Ward, and Candlewick Street Ward.
The Great Conduit in Westcheap, which began construction in in triumphall manner
(Stow 1633, sig. C1r).
The Royal Mews was a royal horse stable at Charing Cross at the west end of the Strand.
According to
Cheapside Cross (Eleanor Cross), pictured but not labelled on the
Agas map, stood on Cheapside Street between Friday Street and Wood
Street. St. Peter, Westcheap lay to its
west, on the north side of Cheapside Street. The
prestigious shops of
Cornhill was a significant thoroughfare and was part of the cityʼs main major east-west thoroughfare that divided the northern half of London from the southern half. The part of this thoroughfare named Cornhill extended from St. Andrew Undershaft to the three-way intersection of Threadneedle, Poultry, and Cornhill where the Royal Exchange was built. The name Cornhill
preserves a memory both of the cornmarket that took place in this street, and of the topography of the site upon
which the Roman city of Londinium was built.
Note: Cornhill and Cornhill Ward are nearly synonymous in terms of location and nomenclature - thus, it can be a challenge to tell one from the other. Topographical decisions have been made to the best of our knowledge and ability.
Billingsgate (Bylynges gate or Belins Gate), a water-gate and harbour located on the north side
of the Thames between London Bridge
and the Tower of London, was
London’s principal dock in
According to Schofield, Paul’s Wharf is one of the oldest wharfs on the Thames (Schofield 181). Located in both Castle Baynard Ward and Queenhithe Ward, Paul’s Wharf was situated near St. Paul’s Cathedral and St. Benet. Since Paul’s Wharf was only blocks away from St. Paul’s Cathedral, the clergy used the wharf as a point of travel.
The gaol at Newgate, a western gate in the Roman Wall of London, was constructed in the twelfth century specifically to detain fellons and trespassors
awaiting trial by royal judges (Durston 470; O’Donnell 25; Stow 1598, sig. C8r). The gradual centralisation of the English criminal justice system meant that by the
Located in Farringdon Within Ward, Ludgate was a gate built by the Romans (Carlin and Belcher 80). for his owne honor
(Stow 1:1).
In the middle ages, Westcheap was the main market west of Walbrook, so called to distinguish it from Eastcheap, the market
in the east. By
According to Stow, the Little Conduit by Stock Market was built around
The Conduit at London Wall was, according to Henry Harben, In London Wall by Moorgate opposite the northen end of Coleman Street, erected
(Harben 168).
According to Harben, the conduit in Colemanstreet was located in Coleman Street by the west end of St. Margaret, Lothbury in Coleman Street Ward. The conduit was built by the city of London in
Conduit upon Dowgate was a water conduit in Dowgate Ward. It flowed from the upper end of Dowgate Street to the Thames (Stow 1633, sig. Y4r). Dowgate marks the end of the water conduit where it flows into the Thames. According to Stow, the conduit was built in
As the only bridge in London crossing the Thames until
A wharf opposite of St. Mary Somerset Church.
St. Paul’s Cathedral was—and remains—an important church in London. In
Fleet Street runs east-west from Temple Bar to Fleet Hill or Ludgate Hill, and is named for the Fleet River. The road has existed since at least the
Tyburn is best known as the location of the principal gallows where public executions were carried out from the late twelfth century until the eighteenth (Drouillard, Wikipedia). It was a village to the west of the city, near the present-day location of Marble Arch (beyond the boundary of the Agas Map). Its name derives from a stream, and its significance to In the yeare
The city ditch was part of London’s medieval defence system that ran along the outside of the wall
from the Tower to Fleet River. According to much filth (conveyed forth of the Citie) especially dead dogs, were there laid or cast
(Stow 1633, sig. M1v). The ditch
was filled in and covered with garden plots by the time of
The Tower Ditch, or Tower
Moat, was part of the Tower of London’s
medieval defences. It was built by the Bishop of Ely
Moorditch was the section of the City Ditch outside the Wall, which ran east-west from Bishopsgate to Moorgate (Sugden).
Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford.
Encoding has been done using the recommendations for Level 4 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines. Digital page images are linked to the text file.
Page images are collected here: https://hcmc.uvic.ca/stow/1598/.
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Our editorial and encoding practices are documented in detail in the Praxis section of our website.
AUnciently vntill the 200.
yeres after, the Citie of London was watered be
ſides the famous Riuer of Thames, on the South
part, with
the riuer of the wels, as it was then cal
led on the weſt,
with a water called walbrooke,
runing through the middeſt of the Citie into the riuer of Thames
ſeruing the hart thereof. And with a fourth water or
Boorne,
which ran within the Citie, through Langboorne warde, wate
ring that parte in the Eaſt. In the weſt Suburbes was alſo an
o
ther greate water, called Oldborne, which had his
fall into the
Riuer of wels:
then was there 3. principall Fountaines, or
wels
in the other Suburbes, to wit Holly well, Clements well, and Clarkes wel.
Neare vnto this laſt named fountaine, were diuers
other wels, to wit Skinners well, Fags well, Tede well, Leders
well, and Radwell. In weſt Smithfield there was a Poole, in
recordes called Horſepoole, And one other
Poole neare vnto the
pariſh Church of S. Giles without Criplegate.
Beſides all
which they had in euery ſtreete and lane of the City diuers
fayre
wels, and freſh ſpringes: and after this manner was this Citie
then
ſerued, with ſweete & freſh waters, which being ſince decayed,
other meanes
haue beene ſought to ſupply the want, as ſhall bee
ſhewed, but firſt of the
aforenamed Riuers and other waters, is to
be ſaid, as followeth.
Thames the moſt famous Riuer of this Iland, beginneth a little
aboue a village called winchcombe in
Oxfordſhire, and ſtill in
creaſing paſſeth firſt by the vniuerſitie of Oxford, and ſo with a
maruelous quiet
courſe to London, and
thence breaketh into
the French Ocean
by maine tides, which twiſe in 24.
howers
ſpace doeth eb and flow, more then 60. miles in length, to the great
be eaſily conueyed to London, the principall
ſtore houſe, and ſta
ple of all Commodities within this
Realme: ſo that omitting to
ſpeake of greate ſhips, and other veſſels of burden,
there perteyneth
to the Cities of London, weſtminſter
and Burrough of
That the Riuer of the wels
in the weſt parte of the
Citie, was
of old time ſo called: it may be prooued thus, william the Conquer
orMartin, le Grand in
Lon
don, hath theſe wordes: I
do geue and grant to the ſame church
all the land and the Moore, without the
Poſterne, which is called
Criplegate, on
eyther parte of the Poſterne, that is to
ſay, from
the North corner of the wal, as the
ryuer of the wels, there neare
running departeth the ſame More from
the wal, vnto the runing
water which entreth the
Cittie, this water hath beene ſince that
time called Turnemill Brooke: yet then called
the riuer of the
Wels, which name of Ryuer
continued: and it was ſo called in the Edwarde the firſt
of the ſaide riuer, in a fayre booke of Parliament recordes, now
lately reſtored to the Tower, it appeareth that a par
holden at Carlile in the yere
35. of Edwarde the firſt
Lincolne, complayned that whereas in
times paſt the courſe of water, running at London, vnder Oldeborne
bridge, and
This brooke hath beene diuers times ſince clenſed, namely
and laſt of all to any
effect. In the yeare 17. of Henry
the 7Fleete
dike, then ſo called was ſcow
red (I ſay) down to the
Thames, ſo that
boates with fiſh and few
ell were rowed to Fleete bridge and to Oldborne bridge, as
they of olde time had beene accuſtomed, which was a great com
modity to all the inhabitantes in that part of the City.
In the yeare
Councell of the Cittie, for the clenſing of this Brooke or
dike and
the money amounting to a thouſand markes was collected, and it
was vndertaken that by drawing diuers ſpringes about Hamp
ſtid hea
ued of
freſh water, in all places of want, and alſo that by ſuch a
follower, as men
call it the channell of this brooke ſhoulde bee
ſcowred into the Ryuer of Thames,
but much money being ther
in ſpent, the effect fayled, ſo
that the brookes by meanes of conti
nuall incrochments vpon
the banks gyttying ouer the water,
and caſting of ſoilage into the ſtreame, is
now become worſe cloy
ed and choken then euer it was
before.
The running water ſo called by William the Conqueror
his
ſaide Charter, which entreth the Citie &c. before there was Poſterne cal
led Moregate, entred
the wal and was truely of the wall called
Walbrooke not of Gualo as ſome haue farre fetched: it
ranne
through the Citie with diuers windinges from the North to
wardes the South into the riuer of
Thames, and had ouer the
ſame diuers Bridges, along the Streetes and Lanes, through
which it paſſed. I
haue read in an olde writing booke intituled the
cuſtomes of London,
that the Prior of the Holy Trinity within
Aldgate ought to make
ouer VValbrooke in the
ward of B
ſtreete, againſt
the ſtone wall of the Citie, vz. the ſame Bridge
that is next the Church of Al Saintes, at the wall. Alſo that the
Prior of the new Hoſpitall, S. Marie
Spittle, without Biſhopſ
gate ought to make the
middle parte of one other Bridge next to
the ſaide Bridge towardes the North:
And that in the 28. yeare
of
Edwarde the
firſtMaior of London that the
pariſh of S.
purely mythicaland stating that
there is no reason to suppose that there was ever a brook or stream running in this direction in this part of the City(Harben, Langbourne [The]).
There are (ſaith
ſide ſpeciall wels, in the
Suburbes: ſweete, wholeſome, and cleare,
amongſt which Holywel, Clarkes wel, & Clementes wel, are
moſt famous and frequented by Schollers, and youths of the City
in ſommer
euenings, when they walke foorth to take the aire. The
firſt, to wit, Holywel is
much decayed and marred with filthineſſe,
purpoſely layd there, for the
heighthening of the ground, for garden
plots: the fountaine called S. Clements wel, North from the
Pariſh church of S. Clements, and neare vnto an Inne of Chancery, called
Clements Inne, is
thereof yet fayre curbed ſquare
Horſepoole in Weſt
Smithfielde was
ſometime a greate
water, and becauſe the inhabitantes in that parte of the Citie
did
there water their Horſes, the ſame was in olde recordes called
Horſepoole, it is now
much decayed, the ſprings being ſtoped vp
and the land water falling into the
ſmall bottome, remayning Smithfielde
Ponde.
The Poole by S.
Giles Churchyarde was a large
water in
the yeare Anne of Lodbury
ned therein, this Poole is now for the moſt parte ſtopped vp,
but
the ſpring is preſerued, and it was coopped about with ſtone by
the
Executors of
The ſaid riuer of the Wels, the running water of Walbrooke,
the Bournes aforenamed, and other the
freſh waters that were
in and aboute this Citie, being in proceſſe of time by
incrochment
for buildinges and otherwiſe vtterlie decayed, and the number of
Citizens mightely increaſed, they were forced to ſéeke ſwéete
waters
abroade, whereof ſome at the requeſt of Henry the
thirde21. yeare of his raigne
Citie, and good of the whole Realme thether repayring,
gran
ted to the Citizens and their Succeſſors by one
with liberty to conuey water
from the towne of Teiborne, by
Pypes of
leade into their Citie, & the firſt Ceſterne of leade ca
ſtellated with ſtone in the Citie of London was called the greate
Conduit in weſt Cheape, and
was begunne to bee builded in
the yeare Maior: the
water
courſe from Padington to Iames
hed
hath 510. roddes, from Iames hed on the hill to the Mewſgate,
102. roddes, from the
Mewſgate to the croſſe
in Cheape 484.
roddes.
The Tonne vpon Cornhil
was Ciſterned in the yere
Maior.
Boſſes of water, at Belinsgate, by Powles wharfe, and by
S.
Giles Church without Cripplegate made aboute the yere
Water conueyed to the Gaoles of Newgate and Ludgate,
Water procured to the Standarde in weſt Cheape
aboute
the yeare Henry the
ſixt
ted to Iohn Hatharley, Maior licence to take vp
The Conduit in Aldermanbury and the Standarde in Fleete ſtreete were made and
finiſhed by the executors of
Conduite in Graſtreete in the yeare.
Conduite at Oldbourne
Croſſe aboute
made by
Little Conduite by the Stockes market aboute.
Conduite at Biſhopſgate aboute
Conduite at London
wall aboute
Conduite at Aldgate without, aboute,
Conduite in Lothbury, and in Colemanſtreete.
Conduite of Thames
water, at Dowgate.
Thames water conueyed
into mens houſes by pypes of lead
from a moſt artificiall
forcier ſtanding neare vnto London bridge
and made by in the yeare
Conduites of Thames water by the
pariſh churches of S. Marie Magdalen, and S.
One other new Forcier was made neare to Broken wharfe,
to conuey Thames water into mens
houſes of weſt Cheape,
a
bout Powles,
Fleeteſtreete
&c. by an Engliſh Gentleman, na
med Bulman
ſeruing this
Citie, firſt by Riuers, Brookes, Boornes, Foun
taines,
Pooles, &c. And ſince by Conduites partly made by good
and charitable
Citizens, and otherwiſe by chardges of the com
m
be placed.
And now ſome Benefactors to theſe Conduites ſhalbee re
membred.
In the yeare
beyonde the Seas, to wit Amiens,
Corby, and Nele for priui
ledges which they enioyed in this Citie, gaue 100. £. towardes
the charges of
conueying water from the towne of Teyborne.
ites then in hand, forty Markes, and towarde the vaulting
ouer
of Walbrooke 200 markes.
Wiliam
Eaſtfielde
from Highbery.
Wiliam Combes
Conduits. x.£.
Richarde Rawſon
Robert Reuel
Bucke
towardes repayring of
Conduites.
Thomaſon
lor, Maior in the yere Oldbourne, xx. markes.
duit in Oldborne. x £.
The AſcueChriſtopher Aſcue
gaue towardes the Conduites, C.£.
Wodren
duit at Biſhopſgate xx.£.
the Conduites. C.£.
gaue to the water Conduits. 700.£
Thus much for the Conduits of freſh water to this Citie.
The ditch
wal of the Citie, was begun to be made by the Londoners in the
yere 15. of Iohn
this ditch being then made of 200. foote brode, cauſed no ſmal hind
rance to the Canons of the holy Trinity, whoſe
church ſtoode
neare vnto Aldgate: for that the ſaide ditch paſſed through their
grounde, from
the Tower of London, vnto Biſhopſgate. This
ditch being originally made for the defence of the
cittie was
long together carefully clenſed and mainteyned as neede
required,
but now of late neglected and forced eyther to a very narrow and
the ſame a filthy channel, or altogether ſtopped vp for gardens
planted, and
houſes builded thereon euen to the very wall, and
in
many places vpon both ditch and wall, to what
danger of the ci
tie, I leaue to wiſer conſideration: and can
but wiſh, that reforma
In the yeare of Chriſt, 135428. of Edwarde the third
the ditch of this citie flowing ouer the banke into the
Tower ditch
the king commanded the ſaide ditch
of the citie to be clenſed, and
ſo ordered, that the ouerflowing thereof, ſhould
not force any filth
into the Tower ditch. Anno 1379.
clenſed, and ſo from time to time it was clenſed and otherwiſe re
formed.
In my remembrance alſo the ſame was clenſed, namely the
Moore ditch, when Wiliam HolliesLondon,
to Aldgate. It was againe
clenſed in the yere
Amcotes
which time the ſaide ditch
hauing therein great ſtore of very good fiſh of diuers ſortes,
as
many men yet liuing who haue taken and taſted them, can well
witnes: but
now no ſuch matter the charge of clenſing that ditch
isſaued & great profit
made by letting out the banks with the ſpoile
of the whole ditch. I am not
ignorant of two fifeteenes granted by
a common counſell in the yeare
ditch,
and that a ſmal portion thereof, to wit, betwixt Biſhopſgate,
and the Poſterne called Moregate, was clenſed and
made ſome
what broder: but filling againe very faſt, by
reaſon of ouer raiſing
the ground neare adioyning, therefore neuer the better:
and I
will ſo leaue it.