LONDON IN 1850-1851. LONDON, the metropolis of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the most populous, wealthy, and commercial city, of which we have any accounts, is situated partly and principally on the north bank of the Thames, in the county of Middlesex, and partly on its south bank, in the county of Surrey, about forty-five miles above the river's mouth at the Nore, and fifteen below the highest tideway. The site on the north side is high and dry, but on the south it is so low as to be under the level of the highest tides; though by a well-constructed system of drainage it is kept perfectly free from wet. The subsoil is a hard clay, known to geologists by the name of London clay, lying in the middle of the great chalk basin, extending from Berkshire to the east coast. In several places the clay is covered by thick beds of gravel. Latitude of St. Paul's Cathedral, 51° 30′ 48′′ N.; longitude, 5′ 48′′ W. Greenwich. Exclusive of the city of London, properly so called, the metropolis comprises the city of Westminster, the boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth, and Marylebone, and other contiguous districts, which, though formerly distinct, are now combined into one vast mass of houses. The population of the cities of London and Westminster, and of the five parliamentary boroughs comprised in the metropolis, with the parish of Chelsea, has been as follows, in 1801, 1811, 1821, 1831, and 1841. But, exclusive of the cities, boroughs, and parishes comprised in the above table, the metropolis includes Deptford, Greenwich, and sundry other districts; so that its entire population amounted, in 1841, to 1,873,676, and at present (1850) it is probably little, if at all, under 2,100,000; being a greater amount of population than has ever been previously accumulated in the same space. But some additional suburban districts, including Wandsworth, Clapham, Putney, the union of Lewisham, &c., have been comprised within the metropolitan district, or the bills of mortality, by the Registrar General. In this enlarged sense, the metropolis extends over an area of about 74,070 acres, and had, in 1841, a population of 1,950,526. The estimated population within the above limits in the intervening years has been London is of great antiquity. It is said by Tacitus to have been in the days of Nero, copiâ negotiatorum et commeatuum maximè celebre. (Annal. lib. xiv. § 33.) It suffered severely in the revolt of Boadicea; but it speedily recovered from that disaster, and has always been the largest and most important of British towns. It is mainly indebted for its early and longcontinued prosperity to its admirable situation. Though fortyfive miles from the sea, it enjoys, owing to its position on a great navigable river, all the advantages of an excellent seaport, vessels of 800 tons burden coming up to London Bridge. Had it been built lower down, it would have been less healthy and more exposed to hostile attacks; and had it been higher up, it would have been deprived of the inestimable advantage of a deep-water harbour. The Romans surrounded London with walls. It is probable that its limits were then commensurate with the part of the city said to be "within the walls," reaching from the end of Leadenhall Street to the top of Ludgate Hill, and from the Thames to London Wall and Little Britain. The wall appears to have inclosed it along the water as well as on the land sides. The great Roman roads called Watling Street and Ermin Street, as well as the via vicinales, centred in London. The continued and rapid increase of buildings renders it difficult to ascertain the extent of the metropolis at any particular period. If we include in it those parts only that present a solid mass of houses, its length, from east to west, may be taken at six miles, and its breadth, from north to south, at about three and a half miles. There is, however, a nearly continuous line of houses from Blackwall to Chelsea, a distance of about seven miles; and from Walworth to Holloway of four and a half miles. The extent of surface covered by buildings is estimated at about sixteen square miles, or above 10,000 acres, so that M. Say, the celebrated French economist, did not really indulge in hyberbole when he said, Londres n'est plus une ville: c'est une province couverte de maisons! Notwithstanding its immense size, it is not difficult for strangers to make their way in London. The Thames runs through it lengthwise from west to east, and most of the great lines of streets are parallel to the river, being intersected at variable distances by lines of cross streets, or of streets running north and south. Of the former, or of the longitudinal streets parallel to the river, there are two principal lines. The most northerly of these enters London on the west by the Bayswater Road, passing in front of the fine terraces facing the north side of Hyde Park: It then runs along Oxford Street, about one mile and three quarters in length, till, after passing the south or lower end of Tottenham Court Road, it unites with and is prolonged by Holborn, a wide and handsome street about one mile in length; whence it proceeds through Skinner Street, and Newgate Street, till it reaches Cheapside, one of the greatest thoroughfares in the city. It next passes through the Poultry, having the Bank and the Exchange on the one hand, and the Mansion-House on the other, along Cornhill, to Leadenhall Street; from which it is continued by Whitechapel and the Mile End Road, into the country. Its entire length from Hyde Park to the Regent's Canal, Mile End, is above six miles. The other great longitudinal street, to the south of that now traced, enters London on the west after passing through Kensington. This is by far the finest of the avenues to the metropolis. On the left, Kensington Gardens appear like an ornamental forest; Hyde Park gradually rises to the splendid terraces on the north, and is bordered on the east by magnificent houses, or rather palaces; and on entering Piccadilly is the handsome approach to Hyde Park and the west front of Apsley House, the town residence of the Duke of Wellington, decus et tutamen patriæ. On the right are the bold arch and gate leading to the queen's palace, surmounted by the statue of his grace; the Green Park, apparently stretching to the towers of Westminster Abbey; and a long line of splendid buildings, with the Norwood hills in the distance. The promise of a magnificent city is not belied by an advance through Piccadilly. This, which is the first of the London streets traversed by the traveller from the west, is one mile in length, and is principally built only on the north side, the other being open to the Green Park. It contains many splendid private residences, and shops. On reaching the east end of Piccadilly, the continuous line of street divides into two main lines: one of these runs on through Coventry Street, Leicester Square, Long Acre, and Great Queen Street, till it unites with Holborn: the other line deflects to the right through the Haymarket, whence it proceeds to the east along the line of east Pall Mall, through Trafalgar Square, and past St. Martin's Church, till it unites with the Strand: This, though formerly in many places narrow and encumbered, is now a magnificent street: it follows pretty closely the line of the river, from which it is not far distant; and, besides two churches in its centre, has Exeter Hall on its north, and Somerset House on its south, side. Contiguous to the latter is Wellington Street, leading to Waterloo Bridge. The Strand terminates at the ancient gate of Temple Bar, the boundary of the city on the west. The great line of street is thence prolonged through Fleet Street, at the east end of which, on the right, is a fine street leading to Blackfriars Bridge; and on the left, Farringdon Street, one of the widest in the city, which it is intended to prolong to Islington. From Fleet Street the line continues up Ludgate Hill, till it reaches St. Paul's, the noblest edifice in the kingdom. At the east end of St. Paul's Churchyard, the wider channel of communication joins in Cheapside the grand northern line already traced, coming from Oxford Street, Holborn, &c.; but another branch of the former line runs nearer the river, through Watling Street, Eastcheap, and Tower Street, to the wide area of Tower Hill, whence it may be traced either in a straight line through Ratcliff-highway, north of the London Docks, or close by the river along Wapping and Shadwell, where the lines |