Stranica 101 [101]
THE GROWTH OF THE CITY 79
panelling mitigated draughts, and were supplemented in the houses of
the wealthy by tapestry. Chimneys with great fireplaces, like one we
may still see in Crosby Hall, were becoming common; while in the
streets the comparative cleanliness, the sidepaths, and the many covered
markets, made handsome clothes possible. The military element was
very prominent. The King-maker’s soldiers thronged the streets north
of St. Paul's, where Warwick Lane still commemorates his palace, and
probably few houses were seen in the city except those of knights or
great nobles. Wheeled vehicles must have been unknown, and, indeed,
impossible, except in the widest thoroughfares. The labouring folk
might be seen each morning crowding the gates on their way from their
homes at Stepney or Clerkenwell
or Walworth, for the stately
houses of the nobles and alder¬
men, and the great gardens of
the numerous convents, left little
room for the lodgings of the
meaner folk, even though both
the Cheaps were nearly built
over. To make up, two smooth
fields, one east and one west of
the city, were used for markets,
and most of us can remember
when cattle were still sold in
West = Smithfield. Notwith¬
standing many outward improve¬
ments at this time, the public
health grew worse and worse.
All kinds of theories, religious,
superstitious, meteorological, and
i ag
A CITY CHARACTER—NEW LONDON STREET, FENCHURCH STREET