Long Acre

Wriothesley's Chronicle 1551. 01 Dec 1551. The first daye of December, beinge Tuesday, the Duke of Somersett (age 51) was had from the Tower of London [Map] by water and shott London bridge at v of the clocke in the morninge, and so went to Westminster, where was made ready a great scaffold in Westminster Hall [Map], and there the sayd Duke appeared, afore the Lordes and Peeres of the Realme, the Lord William Pawlet (age 68), Marques of Winchester and Lord High Treasurer of England, that daye sittinge under the cloath of estate as High Stuard of England; the indytement of the sayd duke beinge read, he was imedyately arraigned on the same for felony and treason, and after tryed by his peeres the nobles there present^a, which did quitt him of the treason but found him guilty of the felony^b, whereupon after their verdite giuen he had iudgment giuen to be had [thence to] the place [he came from] and from thence to the place of execution, there to be hanged till he were dead; but the people in the hall, supposinge that he had bene clerely quitt, when they see the axe of the Tower put downe, made such a shryke and castinge up of caps, that it was hard into the Longe Acre beyonde Charinge Crosse, and allso made the Lordes astonyed, and word likewise sent to London, which the people reioysed at; and about v of the clocke at night the sayd Duke landed at the Crane in the Vintre, and so [was] had thorough Can[dle]wyke Streete to the Tower, the people cryinge God saue him all the way as he wentj thinkinge that he had clerely bene quitt, but they were deceyued, but hoopinge he should haue the Kinges pardon.

Note a. His judges were Northumberland (age 47), Northampton (age 39), Pembroke (age 50), and the other leading members of the government, - the very parties against whom he was said to have conspired, - and the witnesses against him were not produced, bnt only their written depositions read, as was frequently the custom in those days.

Note b. For having designed the killing of the Duke of Northumberland and the others, although on consideration he had determined to abandon it; "yet," adds Edward VI. in his Journal, "he seemed to confess he went about their death."

Henry Machyn's Diary. 06 Dec 1556. [The vj day of December the abbot of Westminster (age 41) went a procession with his convent; before him went all the] santuary men with crosse keys apon [their garments, and] after whent iij for murder; on was the lord Dacres (age 59) sone of the Northe was wypyd with a shett a-bowt [him, for] kyllyng of on master West sqwyre dwellyng be-syd ....; and anodur theyff that dyd long to one of master comtroller .... dyd kylle Recherd Eggyllston the comtroller('s) tayller, and k[illed him in] the Long Acurs, the bak-syd Charyng-crosse; and a boy [that] kyld a byge boye that sold papers and pryntyd bokes [with] horlyng of a stone and yt hym under the ere in Westmynster Hall; the boy was one of the chylderyn that was [at the] sckoll ther in the abbey; the boy ys a hossear sune a-boyff London-stone.

On 24 Aug 1647 Nicholas Stone (age 60) died in Long Acre. He was buried in St Martin in the Fields [Map].

Pepy's Diary. 17 Feb 1664. Up, and with my wife, setting her down by her father's in Long Acre, in so ill looked a place, among all the whore houses, that I was troubled at it, to see her go thither.

In 1668 John Hayls (age 68) moved from Southampton Street to Long Acre.

Pepy's Diary. 30 Apr 1669. Thence to the frame-maker's one Morris, in Long Acre, who shewed me several forms of frames to choose by, which was pretty, in little bits of mouldings, to choose by. This done, I to my coach-maker's, and there vexed to see nothing yet done to my coach, at three in the afternoon; but I set it in doing, and stood by it till eight at night, and saw the painter varnish which is pretty to see how every doing it over do make it more and more yellow; and it dries as fast in the sun as it can be laid on almost; and most coaches are, now-a-days done so, and it is very pretty when laid on well, and not pale, as some are, even to shew the silver. Here I did make the workmen drink, and saw my coach cleaned and oyled; and, staying among poor people there in the alley, did hear them call their fat child Punch, which pleased me mightily that word being become a word of common use for all that is thick and short. At night home, and there find my wife hath been making herself clean against to-morrow; and, late as it was, I did send my coachman and horses to fetch home the coach to-night, and so we to supper, myself most weary with walking and standing so much, to see all things fine against to-morrow, and so to bed. God give a blessing to it! Meeting with Mr. Sheres, he went with me up and down to several places, and, among others, to buy a perriwig, but I bought none; and also to Dancre's (age 44), where he was about my picture of Windsor, which is mighty pretty, and so will the prospect of Rome be.

On 19 May 1676 John Greenhill (age 32) died. He had been returning home somewhat less than sober from an evening in the Vine Tavern when he fell into a ditch in Long Acre. He was carried to his lodgings in Lincoln's Inn Fields but didn't recover. He was buried in St Giles in the Fields.

In 1679 John Hayls (age 79) died at his house in Long Acre.

Chapter. His only child, Thomas, was born in London on the 17th of Auguft, 1755¹ In a biographical fketch where, like the prefent, the fubject of it is more endowed by nature than diftinguifhed by birth, it is often attempted (though not always very fatisfactorily) to raife him by a reference to the dignity of his anceftors. In this inftance, however, there is no need to have recourfe either to fancy or tradition, in order to bring our artifl: within the pale of gentle blood and honourable lineage, as the following facts will atteft.

Note 1. A doubt exifted respecting the birth-place of Stothard; as fome of his family believed it was Acomb, near York: the queftion has been fet at relt by Mr. Peter Cunningham, who took the trouble to fearch the regifters of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, the parifh in which the greater part of Long Acre lies. There he found the entry of Stothard's birth and baptifm. With a copy of this, he had the kindnefs to fend me fome few interefting memoranda concerning the childhood of Stothard, which his father, the late Mr. Allan Cunningham, made on the 6th of July 1830, being the day he received such information from Stothard himfelf. In the Britifh Mufeum two documents are preferved refpefting him; one of them is nothing more than a flip of paper, on which he wrote a few particulars of his early life, at the requeft of the late Mr. Balmanno, in 1829, and in which, from failure of memory at so advanced an age, (being then in his feventy-fixth year) he made fome flight errors and omiflions. The other document is a short account of him that appeared in fome magazine feveral years ago, to a copy of which Stothard annexed corrections and additions on the margin; in the latter were a few particulars not ftated by him to Mr. Allan Cunningham; and also a few discrepancies, but not of so material a nature as to require

Chapter. THE father of Thomas Stothard was a native of Stutton, near Tadcafter, in Yorkfhire; and though of an old and good family, so much reduced in circumftances, that (like the father of Sir Thomas Lawrence) he followed no higher calling than keeper of an inn. His wife, whofe maiden name, I believe, was Reynolds, was a native of Shrews- bury; highly refpeclable both in her family and connexions. In 1750, they removed to London; where, during the few years that the elder Stothard lived, he carried on his business in Long Acre, with considerable fuccefs; so that at his death he was enabled to leave fome provifion for his family.