tion with the romantic murderer, George Barnwell, imparting to it a peculiar interest in the eyes of London 'prentices.' This tradition appears to have been invented for the purpose of preserving the unity of place in the tragedy, and, perhaps, of giving it additional interest in the eyes of the London public. The prologue distinctly recognises the original ballad of George Barnwell as the basis of the play, and this old ballad says, quite as unequivocally, that the victim was a Ludlow grazier, and that George set off for that place, when instigated by the artifices of his paramour, to rob and murder him :

"To Ludlow straight

He did provide to go."

Grove-hill was the seat of the celebrated Dr. Lettsom. From Camberwell-green two parallel roads extend; that on the right extending to Denmark-hill, Champion-hill, Herne-hill, Dulwich, and Norwood; and the left-hand one by Camberwell church to Peckham, New-cross, and Old Kent-road. To the former we give precedence. Denmark-hill is a gentle eminence, on which several fine mansions, some modern and a few ancient, are erected. The Denmark-hill Grammar-school, an old red edifice similar in character to Bowyer House, was formerly the residence of Mr. Perkins, successor to Mr. Thrale, and one of the original partners in the firm of Barclay and Perkins. Similar in character to Denmark-hill are Herne-hill and Champion hill, which are studded with gentlemen's seats, and from the elevations of which fine views are gained of the picturesque landscapes of Kent and Surrey. The late Mr. Thomas Cromwell, a descendant from the Protector, supposed Herne-hill to have been thus named from having been the resort and breeding-place of the herons or herns frequenting the waters in this neighbourhood. Certain it is that in early times game abounded in Camberwell and Lambeth; the quail, the rail, the pheasant, the woodcock, the mallard, and the heron, being specifically named in old charters. Although these hills are popularly con

sidered to belong to Camberwell, and as such are named in most directories, the houses on the west side are in the parish of Lambeth, which extends in this direction to Norwood, passing by Tulse-hill, a beautiful eminence between Brixton and Norwood. In this direction we must pause awhile, and, before visiting Dulwich and Norwood, acquaint ourselves with that portion of Camberwell and Peckham at which we have not yet glanced. Returning to Camberwell-green, and pursuing the left-hand road that diverges from it, and which is called the Peckham-road, we enter Church-street, so named from the magnificent parish church of St. Giles. Some interesting associations are attached to the old church, which was destroyed by fire on the night of Sunday, the 7th of February, 1841. According to the Doomsday Book, there was a church at Camberwell previous to the year 1085, supposed to have been erected by the Saxon owners of the soil. In 1152 a new church was built at Camberwell, which, two years afterwards, was given by William De Melhent, Earl of Gloucester, to the Abbey of Bermondsey. In Bishop Edendon's register at Winchester is a commission, dated 1346, for reconciling this church, which had been polluted by bloodshed. "As the country was in a state of great disorganization," says Mr. Allport, "the king being in France, and the Scotch very troublesome at home, it is probable that a murder had been committed on some individual who had fled there for sanctuary." Mr. Lysons supposes the late church to have been built early in the reign of Henry VIII., giving, as a reason for this belief, the architecture of the windows, and of the arches which divided the nave from the aisles; but Mr. Allport thinks that the structure was raised some half century earlier. This church, on the west side of the Peckham-road, was built of flint and rough stones, and consisted of a nave, chancel, and two aisles; at the west end was a small embattled tower composed of the same materials. The chief building was dedicated to St. Giles, the south aisle was sacred to the Virgin Mary, and the north aisle to St. Nicholas.

PECKHAM.

81 In the nave and chancel were monuments to several of the noble families to whom we have referred, and the windows were embellished with the armorial bearings of the Muschamps and others of the early residents in Camberwell. These memorials of its olden magnificence were nearly all destroyed by the fire which levelled the venerable edifice with the dust. The brasses were preserved, but the mural monuments, with the exception of the figure of Lady Hunt, were prostrated from their niches and utterly consumed, or rendered so brittle as to fall to powder when touched. The splendid chancel-window (three cherubs' heads in the upper lights excepted), and all the stained glass in the church was melted, and ran together into nearly colourless masses. The new church of St. Giles was commenced in 1841, after the designs of Scott and Moffatt, and was finished and consecrated in 1844. In shape it is cruciform, and it is built in the decorated style. Its tapering spire is a work of great architectural merit, and the church itself is one of the most elegant Gothic structures erected in this country since the sixteenth century.

We enter Peckham, which Lysons, writing in 1792, calls "a hamlet in the parish of Camberwell," but the title of hamlet is no longer applicable to Peckham, which, with New Peckham, Peckham-rye, and its dependencies, may at least claim the rank of a suburban town. In the Doomsday Book it is called Pecheha, and it appears to have been a manor formerly belonging to Battersea. It was granted by William the Conqueror to his half-brother, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and was held under this prelate by the Bishop of Sisieux. The manor of Peckham, after belonging to several noble families (it was held by the Muschamps in the time of Henry VIII.) was purchased by Sir Thomas Bond in 1672, who thereupon built the manor-house. This gentleman was introduced to royalty by Lord St. Albans, made comptroller of the household to the widow of Charles I., and was created a baronet in 1668. Bond-street, one of the centres of fashion, is named after him. Sir Thomas was one of the most confidential friends of James II., and

when that monarch was expatriated he accompanied his royal master to France. Sir Thomas Bond's fidelity to the Stuart family endangered his life, for an infuriated mob attacked his mansion at Peckham, and he found great difficulty in escaping from the vengeance of the unreasoning rioters. The mansion-house was taken down in 1797, and every vestige of it removed. Peckham-rye is justly esteemed for the salubrity of its atmosphere, and is favourite resort for invalids. It is thus called from a stream of water running through the centre of a common, or which, from its position in regard to the houses on either side, might be called a village-green. In ancient maps the name is written rey. In the Saxon tongue rhe, or rhee, signifies a water-course or river, and hence the derivation of the name of Peckham-rye is obvious. Roman remains have been dug up in this vicinity, where some antiquaries suppose the Romans had a camp, and Peckham-rye common is imagined to have been the scene of a conflict between the Romans and the Britons described by Tacitus. There is not in the immediate neighbourhood of London a more open and agreeable country than Peckham-rye, Nunhead, Forest-hill, and the adjacent localities.

The retired village of Dulwich preserves all the features of a country hamlet, remote from the stir and bustle of towns. It was formerly spelt Dilwysshe, and in 1127 was granted by Henry I. to the abbey of Bermondsey. When the religious houses were suppressed it was given to Thomas Calton, and was by Sir Francis Calton alienated to Edward Alleyne, the celebrated actor, whose munificence has bestowed on Dulwich a celebrity quite extrinsic of the natural attractions of its picturesque vicinity. Alleyne was the sole proprietor of the Fortune playhouse in Whitecross-street, and part proprietor of a Bear-garden on the Bankside, subsequently to which he obtained the place of master of the king's bears. Having by his dramatic speculations acquired a considerable fortune, he resolved to appropriate it to a charitable foundation, and having obtained the king's consent, he fixed upon Dul

The

wich as the spot on which to found his college. college was built in 1614, after the plan of Inigo Jones, and was named by its founder the College of God's Gift, to consist of a master, a warden, four fellows, six poor brethren, six poor sisters, all of whom were enjoined celibacy, and twelve poor scholars. After quitting the stage Alleyne retired to Dulwich, where he superintended the affairs of his college till his death in 1626. He was buried in the college chapel by the side of his second wife, who is said to have been a daughter of the famous Dr. Donne. He provided by his will that the mastership and wardenship of the college should only be held by persons of his own name, or the names of Alleyn or Allen. The first master and warden of the college were Thomas and Matthias Alleyne, kinsmen of the founder. Among its subsequent benefactors was the Viscountess Falkland, who bequeathed to the college £300, the interest of which is distributed amongst the poor brothers and sisters at Christmas. The college register records the burial of Old Bridget, Queen of the Gypsies, in 1768, and of Mathews, the Dulwich hermit, who was murdered in Dulwich woods in 1803. In connection with the college is the Bourgeois Gallery of Paintings. Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois, by his will, dated December, 1810, left his splendid collection of pictures, frames, and prints, with his furniture and effects, to Dulwich College, to be publicly exhibited according to the direction of the master and fellows. He likewise bequeathed £12,000 to pay the expenses incidental to his munificent bequest. Of this sum a portion was laid out in building the new gallery in the rear of the college, where the pictures are now exhibited. The gallery contains more than 350 paintings, including the works of Murillo, Cuyp, Teniers, Hobbema, Rembrandt, Rubens, Wouvermans, Both, Velasquez, Watteau, Titian, Guido, Claude, Salvator Rosa, the Poussins, Gainsborough, Opie, Sir Thomas Lawrence, and others. Admission is procured to this gallery by tickets, which may be obtained from printsellers. It is closed on Fridays.