Selected quad for the lemma: city_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A93819
|
The State of the case depending between some of the inhabitants of Thames street and Josiah Child touching Lion-key ...
|
Child, Josiah, Sir, 1631-1699.
|
1668
(1668)
|
Wing S5310C; ESTC R42419
|
5,288
|
8
|
Vice under his Majesty Conservator of the River of Thames 4. That for further certainty the Defendant petitioned the Kings most Excellent Majesty for his permission who was pleased to Refer the consideration of the Defendants Petition to three of his Majesties own Surveyors and the two City Surveyors or any three of them who were the proper Officers by Act of Parliament for Regulating and Staking out all Buildings within London Which said Surveyors made the following Certificate to his Majesty upon sight of which Certificate the said late Lord Mayor consented to the Defendants going forward with his Work though he had before forbidden him To the KINGS most Excellent Majesty May it please Your Majesty IN Obedience to Your Majesties Command intimated unto us by Sir William Morris upon Josiah Child 's Petition we have viewed the Petitioners Keys and do humbly certifie Your Majesty that we are of Opinion that the said Petioners Request for carrying out of Lion-Key with Plank in the manner it is already done at Fresh-Wharf is very reasonable and will as is alleadged in the Petition make the said Keys range even to the River of Thames and the Houses behind them which we humbly conceive will be most uniform and decent Christopher Wren Peter Mills Rob. Hooke By what hath been alleadged on the Defendants part and will be fully proved by very many Witnesses of great Age and Quality as well eminent Citizens of London as others it appears the Defendant hath not onely done what Lawfully he might have done upon his own Inheritance but hath proceeded with Caution and all due Respect and Humility towards the Honourable City of London But that which is further manifest is That what the Defendant hath done he could not omit to do without the apparent breach of an Act of Parliament and the express Command of His Majesty Inrolled in the Exchequer For by Act of Parliament made in the Fourteenth Year of His Majesties Reign among other things it is Enacted That the Kings Maiesty may by Commission under His Maiesties Seal of the Exchequer appoint such Persons as His Maiesty shall think fit for the Assigning and Appointing of all such and so many Open places to be Keys and Wharfs as shall be meet for the Shipping and Landing of Goods and settling all those Places by sufficient Meets Limits and Bounds Which Commission grounded on the aforesaid Act of Parliament His Majesty did issue forth unto several Noble Men Officers of the Customs Gentlemen Citizens and Merchants bearing date the 29th of March last past and the said Commissioners did perfect the Return and Certificate of their proceedings on the 24th of May last which said Certificate upon the 30 of August last was commanded by his Majesty to be Inrolled in the Roll of Remembrances of the Nineteenth Year of His Majesties Reign to the intent that the same might remain as a Law binding upon all persons concerned And in the said Return and Certificate the said Commissioners do declare in the fifth page of the Printed Copy thereof That Lion-Key containing from East to West thirty six foot nine inches and from the River of Thames Northward forty foot be a FREE KEY for the Landing of Merchants Goods but no Stairs as formerly to be erected thereupon or thereunto And in the eighth page of the said printed Copy That Lion-Key being in length as aforesaid be enlarged into the Thames eight foot in breadth to make it equal to the utmost 〈◊〉 of â—â—â—â—olph-Wharf and that from thenceforth the general Wharf of forty foot to be left next the Thames be reduced accordingly For further certainty wherein the said Commissioners did with the approbation of the late Lord Mayor of the City of London employ several Artificers and Surveyors to stake out the Lines for building at the aforesaid distance of forty Foot from the River for direction of all persons in laying their Foundations and carrying on their work of Building and did likewise prescribe the Order and Form for Cranes In exact conformity whereunto the Defendant hath proceeded to the erection of one double Crain and divers large Ware-houses on Lion-Key aforesaid which cost him upwards of Two thousand Pounds and in the same manner likewise and in obedience to the same Authority have all other Owners of Wharfs between London-Bridge and Billings-gate already carried forth their Wharfs with Planks viz. Fresh-Wharf Gauntâ—-Key and Summers-Key and are now building their Ware-houses at the aforesaid distance and according to the Lines staked 〈…〉 intment of his Majesties Commissioners aforesaid Another Argument which the Prosecutors make use of 〈…〉 own ends is ab incomodo they say it is very inconvenient to the City that the Stairs at Lion-Key should be taken away though in truth the inconvenience be only to twelve or fourteen of themselves whose Shops are near or do adjoyn to the entrance thereof This Argument if there were any thing in it of truth avails nothing in Law or Equity to divest the Defendant of his propriety But it is so far from truth in respect to the City in general that there is in reality nothing in it but noise and clamour For about fifteen Paces below the said Lion-Key viz. at Little Summers-Key are a free pair of Stairs which are the Cities own Stairs and two pair more just below them at Billings-gate besides which the Lay-Stall at Billings-gate being now removed there is a most convenient place for erecting of a decent useful pair of Stairs above twice as large as those formerly at Lion-Key But then indeed part of the Retail Trade of the Water-men will by reason of the said new erected Stairs remove eight or ten Shops more East-ward in Thames-street the fear whereof is in truth the only cause of all this bustle whatever else is pretended From all which it evidently appears that by this alteration the City of London will receive no Diminution of Trade or Conveniencies For that little Retail Trade which may be lost in one part will be fully regained in another part of the same Street Besides the greater advantage which will and doth already accrew to Merchants in the Loading and Landing of Goods by reason of that rational useful uniforme and comely Order in which all the Keys and Wharfs of London are now most prudently established by his Majesties Commissioners aforesaid An Abstract of the Title of LION-KEY and the Ground and Premises there THe Premises were formerly in the time of King Henry the Eighth King Edward the Sixth and Queen Mary belonging to Sir Thomas Myles and after his Decease descended on six Daughters Coheirs 1. Dame Katharine first VVife of Sir Thomas Finch and afterwards of Nicholas St. Leger Husbands of the other five of the said Daughters 2. Thomas Kemp. 3. William Bury 4. John Bury 5. Johanna Lowen 6. Thomas Reynolds Jan. 28. 5 Eliz. William Bury and John Bury and Johanna Lowen and their Wives by Deed indented and inrolled in the Hustings in London bargain and sell their parts of the Premises to Edmomd Wiseman and his Heirs Feb. 15 â—6 Eliz. Nicholas St. Leger and Dame Katharine his Wife and Thomas Kemp and his Wife by Deed indented sell their parts of the said Premises to Edmond Wiseman and his Heirs and a Fine there upon Levied Edmond Wiseman Querent and Nicholas St. Leger and Katharine his Wife Deforceants Feb. 13. 36 Eliz. Thomas Reynolds and his Wife by Deed indented and inrolled in Chancery bargain and sell his part of the said Premises to Edmond Wiseman and his Heirs another Deed of Covenants of the same date June 3. 1603. Edmond Wiseman by Will in writing devises all the Premises unto his Son Sir Charles Wiseman and his Heirs April 13. 1647. Edmond Wiseman Son and Heir of the said Sir Charles Wiseman by Deed indented and inrolled in Chancery bargains and sells the said Premises unto Ambrose Brumskel and his Heirs Apr. 15. 23 Car. 1 Edmond Wiseman and Dulcibella his VVife by Indenture do Covenant to levy a Fine of the Premises to the use of the said Ambrose Brumskell and his Heirs and in Trinity Term following the said Fine was levied accordingly Nov. 9. 18 Car. 2. Ambrose Brumskell by Indenture of Bargain and Sale inrolled in Chancery and other sufficient Assurances conveys the Premises to Josiah Child and his Heirs
The State of the Case depending between some of the Inhabitants of Thames Street and Josiah Child touching Lion-Key viz. THe said Persons in the Name of the City of London but for their own private advantage onely have Indicted the Defendant for stopping up the Stairs at Lion-Key aforesaid and a passage formerly leading down to them and for planking over eight foot into the River of Thames and for erecting a Crane upon the said Key which they say are publick Nusances The Desendant pleads the general Issue and for proof saith That the City of London nor any other person hath any thing to do with the said Key but the same is his proper Inheritance in Fee-simple which he can make appear by Legal Conveyances ever since the Reign of King Henry the Eighth An Abstract of the Title whereof is hereunto annexed This the Prosecutors deny not but they say That Lion-Key hath alwaies been a noted and common place for landing and taking water To this the Defendant Replies and will prove by hundreds of Witnesses That Wharfige was always paid for every thing shipped or landed at Lion-Key though it were but a small Basket that a man carried in his hand and as much Wharfige as was ever paid at any private Key or Stairs in London 2. That the Passage leading down to Lion-Key was always locked up at nights and upon Sundays and Holydays and as often as any PRIVATE KEY or Wharf or Stairs between the Tower of London and London-Bridge was locked and that before the New Gates were crected which was about fourteen years past there were other Antient Gates to the said Key and Passage which by computation were above one hundred years standing And if the locking up the Passage at such times and the constant taking of Whatfige do not demonstrate the Reservation of the Propriety and the Incommunity of the said Passage and Stairs then there is no private or proper Key or Wharf or Stairs between the Tower and London-Bridge For that it was never known in the memory of any man living that ever any Wharfinger hindred any Person from Landing or Taking water at his Key or Wharf it being the common courtesie of every Wharfinger in London to suffer all Persons that will to Land or Take water at their Wharfs gratis and so they may yet do at Lion-Key when they please though the Defendant hath his liberty whether to make Stairs or not upon his own ground and where to make them But all Wharfingers of private Keys receive from all persons Wharfige for what Goods they Ship or Land at their Keys And if this shall be construed to prejudice the propriety of the Owners the consequence is that the City may with as much Justice challenge for common Passages all the Wharfs in London even those themselves have let Leases of to the value of some thousand pounds peranum and Indict the Proprietors for altering or lessening their own Stairs or Crains for their own conveniencies And also all the ways through Vintner's Houses who for the benefit of their Trades do make Passages through their Taverns such as is now Mr. Wadlows at the Sun in Bishops-gate-street and Mr. Sawyers at the Popes-Head in St. Eliens and such as was formerly Mr. Browns at the White-Horse in 〈◊〉 street and many more before as well as since the Fire which notwithstanding were not nor ever could be pretended COMMON PASSAGES because they were locked up at nights by the Owners being private Persons Which the Kings High-ways are not Nor is the Custome about Waies in all respects the same in London as it is in the Country 3. All the COMMON-STAIRS are upon the Cities own ground as Owners of the Soil and not only so but they are and ever were erected and repaired at the Cities charge whereas these were always erected and repaired at the charge of the Proprietor or Leffee and for their own proper use and benefit 4. The Defendant hath a large Record to produce out of one of the Courts of Equity at Westminster in the eighth Year of King James wherein a Suit was Comenced by Information of Sir John Brograve Knight the Kings Atturney General Edward Jeffery being Relator to the said Sir John wherein the City was put upon it to bring in their Claims and Proofs what COMMON and OPEN PASSAGES or Stairs the Free-men of London had a Right to make use of between the Tower of London and the Temple And to this Interrogatory divers witnesses then of great age some above fourscore years were sworn and examined on behalf of the Citizens All or most of whom in their Depositions do in the Enumeration of the said FREE PASSAGES and Stairs begin with Tower Dock and so proceed West-ward as far as Little Sumers-Key and then skip to the other side of London-Bridge to Church-yard Alley Stairs and not any one of the witnesses do so much as mention Lion-Key or Stairs which never had any other name though they omit not any other Stairs or Place between the Tower and the Temple-Stairs that the City or Free-men of London ever did or now do pretend to except Lion-Key only which the Prosecutors by crouding their private Interests under the Honourable name of the City it seems would now screw from the Defendant by right or wrong 5. There are several other Records exemplified now in the possession of private Citizens of London which do recite all the COMMON STAIRS and Passages which the Citizens and Free-men of London have anciently claimed a right unto and not one of them doth so much as mention Lion-Key or Stairs 6. The City of London who in all ages hath been deservedly Famous for keeping exact Registers and Records of their Concern's in all respects have no memory or account whatsoever to produce to shew that they ever had or did pretend to any right of Passage or Stairs at Lion-Key although they have of all others which they pretend to and certainly would have had of this had they had any right at all thereunto 7. The Defendants Deeds of Purchase and those by which it was formerly bought and sold do all mention Wharfige to be sold and conveyed with Lion-Key The second Indictment is for planking over the River of Thames eight foot and erecting a Crain thereupon The Defendant pleads the general Issue and for evidence is ready to prove hy divers credible Witnesses 1. That in the manner it is done it 's no prejudice to the River being upon upright Posts so that the water hath always a free course under the said planking 2. That he hath not gone beyond the antient bounds of his former Wharfe or Campshiot but several posts of his antient bounds of the former Campshiot or under Wharf are yet standing and were never removed which are now the outermost posts or stakes of the said work into the River 3. That moreover he had the consent of the late Lord Mayor for what he did who was pro illud