The Express.
London, England, 1868-03-25 00:00:00

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CROSBY HALL.

Crosby-hall, Hish °mat e-street,though not so well
knows as some other huildinga described in our guide
books, is surpassed by none in the interest of its old asera
elation., or in the marvellous manner in which it has been
preserved while other vestiges of a distant period of oar
history have been swept away. It represents • time when
the reel princes of the country were the merchant adven-
turers, who dared much and achieved much in those enter-
prises we cannot afford to overlook when we boast of our
present standing amongst the nations. Crosby-place
was built in the latter half of the fifteenth con-
trary by Sir John Crosby, member of !parliament
for the City, alderman at • time when aldermen
fought es well as feasted ; warden of the Grocers' Com-
pany when the guild knew something of grocery ; and
mayor of the Staple of Calais. The good knight lived in
the latter half of the 15th century, and his tomb may still
be seen in the church of St. Helen, surmounted by his
effigy, with his alderman's mantle thrown over, but not
concealing his armour, the necessity for which the collar
of suns and roses—badge of the House of York—easily
explains. In 1476 Sir John's widow sold the place to
Richard Duke of Gloucester, who, as Shakespeare tells us
in Richard 111., used it as his City palace. Since
those days the tide of London " high life," like the tide of
the world's civilisation, Lac moved westward, and the
ball stands almost alone in that part of the metropolis to
tell of its departed glories. Several lord mayors resided
in the hall, and of one of them (Sir John Best), it is re-
lated that sortie of his festivities included four giants, •
unicorn, • dromedary, a camel, an ass, • dragon, na hobby-
hones, and 16 naked boys. Sir Thomas Hors lived there,
and received his king and patron, Henry VIII. It is very
likely that Shakespeare himself and Ben Jonson knew
something of itebospitalities ; and, in the course of the
changes *Lich came upon it during the reign of Charles
Il.'s ghastly merriment, it became a nonconformist
meeting house, and continued to be so for nearly a
century. bearing witness to the ministrations, amongst
others, of the celebrated Chsrnock. Another turn in the
wheel of fortune made it an auction room,
and then the preacher's menage gave place to the
auctioneer's offer of " tapestry hangings, • good
chariot, and a black girl about 15 years of age." After the
year 1700 its uses were more in accordance with modern
notions of I ity property, and it passed through divers
hands, yet preserving through all, and in spite of some
very narrow escapes, its unique Gothic characteristics.
About .1) years ago it became a literary and scientific
institute, and wan used for lectures and concerts ; then it
TIM a wine merchant's establishment ; and last night, in
the presence of • brilliant company, it was opened as a
City diniag-Call, by Messrs. F. Gordon and Co., with
roost of its ancient features restored, and is • guise of
extreme beauty. What used to be the council cham-
ber is a handsome luncheon and refreshment bar ;
and the large dining hall, in which the City
clerk ;will he able to eat a dinner cheaply
and well served, was once the grand banqueting-
hall in which kings and courtiers held their revels.
The old oaken roof, in perfect preservation, and
the stained glass windows, are probably unequalled as
specimens of the architecture of the olden time ; the
throne-room on the upper Hoar is a meet gorgeously-dice-
dated chamber. The paintings end decorations through-
out have been done at great expense, end with • view to
illustrate in every part the style that caused the building
to be spokes of 400 years ago as "ye highest and fairest in
ye eine." Every cosvenleae Is provided for the pupae,
to which the hall is now devoted, and the proprietors very
appropriately wake Shakespeare's line their motto :
" When yon have done repair to Crosby.place."

NEWPORT-MARKET REFUGE AND INDUSTRIAL
&NOM- —The annual meeting of the subscribers and
friends of this charity was held yesterday afterseoa, under
the chairmanship of Mr. Rumford Hope, Y.P. banns•
the put year, the report tells us, 14,919 night lodgings
were glen, aid 34,146 rations, othaishng of eight ounces
of bread and a pint of coffee night end moraine WWI
issued. Upwards of 500 tun sad Mane* have been rein-
stated in various grades of employment direct from the
refuge, and many cases have been passed on to the
council of the Home of Charity is Orsek-street,
Soho. The very large proportion of rural dietrem
r=l by the charity daring the year, gives it a
gable claim on the support of the ocounlap
parishes of Crest Britain ; and many offertories from snob
parishes would, the committee feel sure, be given to them
with the good will of the parishioners, if tbey were
aware how largely the institution bee assisted the of
their districts. During the year MI hometown am desti-
tute boys have been received in the industrial wheal,
many of whom had for years known no life but to drift Neff-
dependentemong thelowestshrinsof themetropolis,
the committee ham been We to send away from theteat-
tution, to permanent employment, seven of these boys, who,
lees than • year ago, knew none of the principles for
regulating their lives honestly ; yet not any have betrayed
the trust reposed in them, and the moments from their
employers are in each ease satisfactory. The boys ere aB
tauFht reading, writing, sad aritlimetie. They ere elm
divided into three claims for industrial training. One
section leen shoemaking, one seethes laileeteg, end the
third, 'enduing of 12 boys, are trained for inatenmeatal
muds. The adoption of the report having been moved by
the Chairman, who earnestly advocated the Maims of the
charity, addresses were delivered by Lord Eliot, M.P.,
Mr. Melly, M.P., Admiral Ryder, sad others, after white
the proceedings terminated.

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