Westminster

Westminster, by

Sir Walter Besant and Geraldine Edith Mitton and A. Murray Smith
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Title: Westminster The Fascination of London
Author: Sir Walter Besant Geraldine Edith Mitton A. Murray Smith
Release Date: May 31, 2007 [EBook #21648]
Language: English
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THE FASCINATION OF LONDON
WESTMINSTER

IN THIS SERIES.
Cloth, price 1s. 6d. net; leather, price 2s. net, each.
WESTMINSTER.
By Sir WALTER BESANT and G. E. MITTON.
THE STRAND DISTRICT.
By Sir WALTER BESANT and G. E. MITTON.
HAMPSTEAD.
By G. E. MITTON. Edited by Sir WALTER BESANT.
CHELSEA.
By G. E. MITTON. Edited by Sir WALTER BESANT.

[Illustration: WHITEHALL IN 1775.]

The Fascination of London
WESTMINSTER
BY SIR WALTER BESANT AND G. E. MITTON
WITH A CHAPTER ON THE ABBEY BY MRS. A. MURRAY
SMITH
LONDON ADAM & CHARLES BLACK 1902

PREFATORY NOTE

A survey of London, a record of the greatest of all cities, that should
preserve her history, her historical and literary associations, her mighty
buildings, past and present, a book that should comprise all that
Londoners love, all that they ought to know of their heritage from the
past--this was the work on which Sir Walter Besant was engaged when
he died.
As he himself said of it: "This work fascinates me more than anything
else I've ever done. Nothing at all like it has ever been attempted before.
I've been walking about London for the last thirty years, and I find
something fresh in it every day."
He had seen one at least of his dreams realized in the People's Palace,
but he was not destined to see this mighty work on London take form.
He died when it was still incomplete. His scheme included several
volumes on the history of London as a whole. These he finished up to
the end of the eighteenth century, and they form a record of the great
city practically unique, and exceptionally interesting, compiled by one
who had the qualities both of novelist and historian, and who knew
how to make the dry bones live. The volume on the eighteenth century,
which Sir Walter called a "very big chapter indeed, and particularly
interesting," will shortly be issued by Messrs. A. and C. Black, who
had undertaken the publication of the Survey.
Sir Walter's idea was that the next two volumes should be a regular and
systematic perambulation of London by different persons, so that the
history of each parish should be complete in itself. This was a very
original feature in the great scheme, and one in which he took the
keenest interest. Enough has been done of this section to warrant its
issue in the form originally intended, but in the meantime it is proposed
to select some of the most interesting of the districts and publish them
as a series of booklets, attractive alike to the local inhabitant and the
student of London, because much of the interest and the history of
London lie in these street associations. For this purpose Chelsea,
Westminster, the Strand, and Hampstead have been selected for
publication first, and have been revised and brought up to date.
The difficulty of finding a general title for the series was very great, for

the title desired was one that would express concisely the undying
charm of London--that is to say, the continuity of her past history with
the present times. In streets and stones, in names and palaces, her
history is written for those who can read it, and the object of the series
is to bring forward these associations, and to make them plain. The
solution of the difficulty was found in the words of the man who loved
London and planned the great scheme. The work "fascinated" him, and
it was because of these associations that it did so. These links between
past and present in themselves largely constitute The Fascination of
London.
G. E. M.

CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFATORY NOTE v

PART I SOUTH OF VICTORIA STREET 1

PART II NORTH OF VICTORIA STREET
24

PART III THE HEART OF
WESTMINSTER 40
INDEX 93

Map at end of Volume.

WESTMINSTER


PART I
SOUTH OF VICTORIA STREET.
The word Westminster used in the title does not mean that city which
has its boundaries stretching from Oxford Street to the river, from the
Broad Walk, Kensington Gardens, to Temple Bar. A city which
embraces the parishes of