The Fleet. Its Rivers, Prison, and Marriages - John Ashton 1888

This London history site is a wiki of early London streets. These pages are an early wwork about Fleet, the river, the prison and marriages.

The River.

Chapter I.  Course of the Fleet--Derivation of its Name--The River of Wells--The Fleet choked up--Cleansing the Fleet--The Fleet Navigable--Wells--Ponds and Pools

Chapter II.  Water Supply of London--The Fleet to be Cleansed--Smell of the River--Prehistoric London--Antiquarian Discoveries--Cleansing the Fleet--Fouling the River--Rivers rising at Hampstead--The Tye-bourne--The West-bourne--Course of the West-bourne

Chapter III. Course of the Fleet--The Hampstead Ponds--Rural Fleet--Gospel Oak--Parliament Hill--Kentish Town--Brown's Dairy--Castle Inn--St. Pancras Wells--Burials at St. Pancras--the Brill

Chapter IV. Battle Bridge--King's Cross--The Dust-heaps--St. Chad's Well--St. Chad's Well-water

Chapter V. Medicinal Waters--Spas--The White Conduit--White Conduit House--White Conduit Gardens

Chapter VI. Sadler's Discovery--Miles's Musick House--A Man Eats a Live Cock, &c.--Forcer, the Proprietor--Macklin on Sadler's Wells--Actors at Sadler's Wells--The Pindar of Wakefield

Chapter VII. "Black Mary's Hole"--Its Disappearance--Bagnigge Wells--Nell Gwyn's Houses--Bagnigge House

Chapter VIII. Bagnigge Wells--The Organist--Different Proprietors--"Punch" on Bagnigge Wells--Decadence of the Wells

Chapter IX. Cold Bath Fields Prison

Chapter X. The "Cold Bath"--Cold Baths--Sir John Oldcastle--Archery--Tea Gardens--Small Pox Hospital--The Pantheon--Lady Huntingdon's Chapel--Lady Huntingdon

Chapter XI. The Spencean System--Orator Hunt--Riot in the City--Riots--End of the Riots

Chapter XII. Fighting--Hockley-in-the-Hole--Bear Baiting--Bear Gardens--Bull Baiting--Sword Play

Chapter XIII. Mount Pleasant--Saffron Hill--Old House in West Street--Fagin--Field Lane--Thieves

Chapter XIV. Bleeding Hart Yard--Ely Place--John of Gaunt--Ely Chapel--Turnmill Brook--The Fleet--Holborn Bridge

Chapter XV. Lamb's Conduit--Clerkenwell--Fleet Market--Rye-House Plot--Fleet Bridge

Chapter XVI. Alderman Waithman--John Wilkes--Ludgate Prison--Sir Stephen Foster

Chapter XVII. Bridewell--Montfichet Castle--Fuller on Bridewell--Ward on Bridewell--Howard on Bridewell--Bridewell Prison-- The City and Apprentices--Mother Cresswell--Bridewell Court Room

Chapter XVIII. Alsatia--Whitefriars--Deaths in the Fleet--Ben Jonson and the Fleet 223

The Fleet Prison.


Chapter XIX. History of the Fleet Prison--Female Wardens--Settlement of Fees--Liberty of Prisoners--Filthy State of the Fleet--A Quarrelsome Knight--Preference for the Fleet Prison--Sir John Falstaff--Cardinal Wolsey

Chapter XX. Prisoners--Puritans--Bibliography of Fleet Prison--A Warden's Troubles
 
Chapter XXI. The Warden of the Fleet--Purchase of Wardenship--Bad Discipline--Boundaries of the Fleet--Preference for the Fleet

Chapter XXII. Complaints of the Warden--The Warden keeps Corpses--Huggins and Bambridge--Castell--The First Prisoner in Irons--Acquittal of Huggins and Bambridge--Bambridge and his Prisoners--Chapel in the Fleet Bagging

Chapter XXIII. Admission to the Fleet Prison--The _Humours_ of the Fleet

Chapter XXIV. Garnish--The "Common Side"--Howard's Report--Regulations of the Prison--Gordon Riots--Burning of the Fleet Prison--Fleet Prison Rebuilt--The "Bare"--Racket Masters--A Whistling Shop--A Mock Election "_Dum Vivimus, Vivamus_"--Number of Prisoners--Destitution

Chapter XXV.  Escape of Prisoners--A Gang of Forgers--Abolition of  Imprisonment for Debt--Prisoners Object to move--Opposition to Removal--"The Last Days of the Fleet"--Sale of the Fleet Prison--Begging Grate--Richard Oastler

Fleet Marriages.


Chapter XXVI. Illegal Marriages--Cost of Marriages--_Peculiars_--Suppression of Irregular Marriages--A Fleet Parson's Reflections--Fleet Parsons--An Heiress Married

Chapter XXVII. John Gaynam--The Bishop of Hell--Edward Ashwell--John Floud--Walter Wyatt

Chapter XXVIII. The Lilleys--Fleet Parsons--Parson Keith

Chapter XXIX. "The Bunter's Wedding"--Fleet Parsons--Exchange of Wives--Singular Marriage--Irregular Marriage

Chapter XXX. A Runaway Marriage--Fortune's Married--Illegal Marriage--Fleet Marriage Registers--Extracts from Registers--End of Marriages



ND OF HOLBORN BRIDGE, TAKEN FROM THE SOUTH, AND PART OF HOLBORN HILL. JUNE 2, 1840

[Illustration: END OF HOLBORN BRIDGE, TAKEN FROM THE SOUTH, AND PART OF HOLBORN HILL. JUNE 2, 1840. (_Art. Crosby._)]

END OF HOLBORN BRIDGE, TAKEN FROM THE SOUTH, AND PART OF HOLBORN HILL, JUNE 2, 1840 175

HOLBORN BRIDGE 177

LAMB'S CONDUIT, SNOW HILL 181

FLEET MARKET, FROM HOLBORN BRIDGE 187

BRIDEWELL BRIDGE 207

WOMEN BEATING HEMP 213

PASS ROOM, BRIDEWELL, 1808 215

THE ARREST 228

BAMBRIDGE 273

A PRISONER IN IRONS 274

THE COMMON SIDE OF THE FLEET PRISON 278

THE FLEET PRISON 296

RACKETS IN THE FLEET PRISON, 1760 303

A WHISTLING SHOP IN THE FLEET, 1821 306

AUTOGRAPH DONE AT THE PARLOUR NO. 1, PALAIS DE LA FLETE, THIS 24 DAY JUNE 311

FARRINGDON STREET AND THE FLEET PRISON 322

GROUND PLAN OF FLEET PRISON 323

SECTION OF THE PRISON 323

EXTERIOR OF THE GRATE 324

A FLEET WEDDING 362

THE SAILOR'S FLEET WEDDING ENTERTAINMENT 364

ILLUSTRATIONS WILL ALSO BE FOUND AT PAGES 171, 172, 184, 280, 294, 304, 307, 308, 319, 335.