XI. THE DOWNFALL OF CHARING-CROSS.
[_]
Charing-cross, as it stood before the civil wars, was one
of those beautiful Gothic obelisks erected to conjugal affection
by Edward I. who built such a one wherever the herse of
his beloved Eleanor rested in its way from Lincolnshire to
Westminster. But neither its ornamental situation, the beauty
of its structure, nor the noble design of its erection (which
did honour to humanity) could preserve it from the merciless
zeal of the times: For in 1642 it was demolished by order
of the House of Commons, as popish and superstitious. This
occasioned the following not-unhumorous sarcasm, which has
been often printed among the popular sonnets of those times.
The plot referred to in ver. 17. was that entered into by
Mr. Waller the poet, and others, with a view to reduce the
city and tower to the service of the king; for which two of
them, Nath. Tomkins, and Rich. Chaloner, suffered death July 5. 1643.
Vid. Ath. Ox. II. 24.
Undone, undone the lawyers are,
They wander about the towne,
Nor can find the way to Westminster,
Now Charing-cross is downe:
At the end of the Strand, they make a stand,
Swearing they are at a loss,
And chassing say, that's not the way,
They must go by Charing-cross.
The parliament to vote it down
Conceived it very fitting,
For fear it should fall, and kill them all,
In the house, as they were fitting.
They were told god-wot, it had a plot,
Which made them so hard-hearted,
To give command, it should not stand,
But be taken down and carted.
Men talk of plots, this might have been worse
For any thing I know,
Than that Tomkins, and Chaloner
Were hang'd for long agoe.
Our parliament did that prevent,
And wisely them defended,
For plots they will discover still,
Before they were intended.
But neither man, woman, nor child,
Will say, I'm confident,
They ever heard it speak one word
Against the parliament.
An informer swore, it letters bore,
Or else it had been freed;
In troth I'll take my Bible oath,
It could neither write, nor read.
The committee said, that verily
To popery it was bent;
For ought I know, it might be so,
For to church it never went.
What with excise, and such device,
The kingdom doth begin
To think you'll leave them ne'er a cross,
Without doors nor within.
Methinks the common-council shou'd
Of it have taken pity,
'Cause, good old cross, it always stood
So firmly to the city.
Since crosses you so much disdain,
Faith, if I were as you,
For fear the king should rule again,
I'd pull down Tiburn too.
[_]
Whitlocke says, “May 3. 1643, Cheapside cross and
other crosses were voted down,” &c.—When this
vote was put in execution does not appear, probably not till
many months after Tomkins and Chaloner had suffered.
See above ver. 18.
We had a very curious account of the pulling down of
Cheapside Cross lately published in one of the numbers of the
Gentleman's Magazine, 1766.
