O

N the utility of a work of this nature it is scarce neceffary to expatiate. No part of the kingdom, perhaps, can prefent more attractive scenes than the environs of London; in which the man of leifure may find amusement, and the man of bufinefs the most agreeable relaxation. With refpect, indeed, to rural fcenery, the country, defcribed in the following Tour, does not exhibit Nature in her more fublime and ftupendous views: it prefents no favage mountains crowned with perennial fnows, no vaft extent of uncultivated wilds, no tremendous cataracts, no wonderful expanfe of waters. But rural elegance and rural beauty here appear in their most fascinating forms. Royal palaces, magnificent feats, and ele gant villas interfperfed, afford inexhauftible gratifications for curiofity; in fome, the finest collections of. paintings, ineftimable antiques, venerable decora.. tions of ancient fplendour, or all the exquifite em-. bellishments of modern art. Extenfive prospects charm the eye with undefcribable variety: the landfcape, lefs extensive, invites the penfive mind to contemplation; or the creative powers of Art, exhibit an Elyfium, where Nature once appeared in her

rudest state.

To affift the inhabitants of the Metropolis, or its occafional vifitors, in their choice of their excurfions, is a principal object of this publication: to be an entertaining companion in thefe excurfions, is another. With this view, the Editor has not only defcribed whatever he found curious in the works of Nature or of Art, but where any place has been diftinguished by fome memorable circumftance, he has not forgotten how much the incidental recollection

of

of it may improve the fources of converfation, nor what pleasure a well-cultivated mind may derive in contemplating the favourite retreats of the benefactors and ornaments of mankind; where the statesman. mufed, in folitude, on the welfare of his country; the philofopher enriched the age with his fublime difcoveries; or the poet" informed the page with "mufic, image, fentiment and thought:" whee a Richard Cromwell preferred the, fcenes of innocence and peace to all the glory of guilty greatnefs; where a Lyttelton received the first convictions of religious truth; or an Addifon exemplified, in a happy death the pleasures and importance of a virtuous life. It is natural to view fuch fcenes with a degree of enthufiafm, and to confider the ground we tread as almoft facred. But this fentiment is too natural to be novel it is as old as Tully. "Movemur enim," fays that polite Roman, "nefcio quo pacto, locis "ipfis, in quibus eorum, quos diligimus aut admira"mur, adfunt veftigia. Me quidem ipfæ illæ noftræ "Athenæ, non tam operibus magnificis exquifitifque · "antiquorum artibus delectant, quam recordatione "fummorum virorum, ubi quifque habitare, ubi se-.. "dere, ubi difputare fit folitus.

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The fluctuations of property, as was expected," have rendered many alterations indifpenfable in the prefent edition of this work. Of thefe, the Editor has endeavoured to procure the most accurate information. Befide all the improvements and corrections to the present day; most of the articles have been new-written, above one hundred new ones have. been added, and upward of two hundred more feats and villas noticed than were in the last edition. New catalogues of the pictures in the best collections. have likewife been obtained.

Places that appear in the Map without being noticed in the Tour, are fuppofed not to contain any thing very remarkable..

AMBU

CONCISE ACCOUNT

OF

THE METROPOLIS.

W

ORIGIN AND EXTENT.

ITOUT attempting to wander into the remote regions of legendary narration, we may be allowed to conjecture, that London was a place of much refort, anterior to the invafion of Britain by Julius Cæfar.

Tacitus, fpeaking of the deftruction of Londinium, by the heroine Boadicea, in the year 61 of the Christian era, reprefents it as famous for its great concourfe of merchants; a fufficient indication, that it must have been founded long before that calamitous event, and have been, even then, of fome antiquity as a trading town.

This metropolis of Great Britain, one of the largest and moft opulent cities in the world, is fituated in the counties of Middlesex and Surry, and on both fides of the noble river Thames. In length it is above seven miles; but its greatest breadth is only three miles, and, in fome places, it is confiderably lefs. The curious reader, who would contraft the ancient state of London, with its prefent prodigious extent, may find much amusement, by confulting ritzftephen's account of it, in the reign of Henry II; the plan of London as it exifted in the time of queen Elizabeth; and Mr. Pennant's "Account of London."

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Of this wonderful contraft fome idea may be formed, from an anecdote of the Earl of Burlington, related B

by

by Mr. Walpole, in his "Anecdotes of Painting:" When that nobleman was afked why he built his houfe in Piccadilly fo far out of town, he answered, "because he was determined he would have no building beyond him." Little more than half a century has fo inclofed Burlington House with new streets, that it is now in the heart of that part of the town.

GOVERNMENT.

London, confidered in this extenfive view, as the Metropolis confifts of the City, properly fo called; the city of Weftminster; the fuburbs in the county of Middlesex ; and the borough of Southwark. Each of these is under distinct jurifdictions.

The City is divided into twenty-fix wards, each of which is governed by an alderman. From the aldermen, the chief magiftrate, the Lord Mayor, is annually chofen. There are likewife 236 common councilmen. These fit in one court, in conjunction with the Lord Mayor and aldermen, and thus form, as it were, the city parliament, which occafionally enacts the bye laws and regulations of the corporation. There is likewife a recorder, two fheriffs, (who are alfo fheriffs of Middlefex) a chamberlain, a town clerk, and many other inferior officers.

Westminster, which was once a mile from London, but is now completely united to it, is a distinct city, the civil and ecclefiaftical government of which were once vested in the dean and chapter of Westminster; but, fince the Reformation, the civil part has been committed to laymen. The high fteward, who is generally a nobleman of rank, is. chofen by the dean and chapter, and has an under steward who officiates for him: but his appointment must be confirmed by the dean and chapter. The under fteward, with other magifirates, keeps the court-leet, which tries all petty offences; and he is commonly a chairman of the quarterfeffions. Next to him is the high-bailiff, chofen also by the dean and chapter. His power resembles that of a fheriff; for by him juries are fummoned, all the bailiffs of Westminster are fubordinate to him, and he makes the return at the election of members of parliament.

The Suburbs are under the jurifdiction of the magiftrates of Middlefex, who, befides their County Hall, on Clerken

well