The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-19 00:00:00

Archaeological Institute.

The annual meeting of the Archaeological Insti-
tute of Great Britain and Ireland is held this year
in London, under the honorary presidency of the
Prince of Wales ; the Marquis Camden being the
ordinary president of the institute. The inaugural
meeting took place on Tuesday in the Guildhall at
noon, and a large assemblage of ladies and gentle-
men were gathered together on the occasion. On
the platform were the Lord Mayor, the Marquis
Camden, the Bishop of Oxford, Lord Talbot de
Malahide, Sir John Boileau, Bart., Sir John Lub-
bock, Mr. Beresford-Hope, M.P., Mr. Tite, M.P.,
&c., &c.

The LORD MAYOR offered the members of the
institute a hearty welcome to the City of London.
He said that this society had been in existence 21
years, and, having attained. its majority, it had re-
turned like a penitent to its parent city. He alluded
to the appropriateness of that ancient hall as a place
of meeting for an institute consisting of men dis-
tinguished in art, science, literature, and learning,
and he concluded by again welcoming them in the
name of the corporation and citizens of London.
The Marquis CAMDEN, as president of the insti-
tute, thanked the Lord Mayor for the cordial wel-
come he had given them, and expressed his regret
that the Prince of Wales was prevented by other
engagements from being present, as had been hoped.
The institute, he said, having during the last 21
years visited many of the ancient cities in the king-
dom, had at last, as the Lord Mayor had expressed
it, come to their parent city to hold their annual
congress, and he had no doubt they would feel much
interest in visiting some of the many churches, the
Tower, and the cathedrals of the City of London.
Lord TALBOT DE MALAHIDE said it was always a
subject of great interest to him to attend the meet-
ings of the institute, and he derived peculiar plea-
sure from attending it on that occasion. Though
they saw around them in that great city the efforts
of science and industry and progress in active ope-
ration, they saw also the memorials of former times
still remaining, and he hoped they would long con-
tinue to be preserved. The magnificent hall wherein
they were assembled was one of those memorials of
past ages which commanded reverence and excited
interest, but it was to be apprehended that in the
course of modern improvements the beauties of our
ancient cities would be destroyed. Paris was an
example of the progress of modern improvements
which he should be sorry to see followed in this
country. Though there could be no doubt that the'
appearance of Paris had been greatly improved, it
was gradually losing all its objects of interest, and
was becoming more like the new cities on the
other side of the Atlantic. He hoped that the
alterations made in the architecture of Lon-
don would be guided by the principles of
taste ; and he trusted that such a bridge as
had been constructed across Ludgate-hill would
never again be permitted. In conclusion he alluded
to the successful efforts that had been made by the
Middlesex Archaeological Society to preserve the
antiquities ot London. -
Mr. TITE, M.P., made some remarks on the uses
of archaeology, of which that hall was an instance.
Sir Christopher Wren, who had no appreciation of
Gothic architecture, had put a flat ceiling on it, but
now the citizens have restored it to its proper state,
and he attributed that improvement to the efforts
of the archaeologists. They would also see in the
course of the afternoon other efforts of the archmo-

logists, in the painstaking manner in which the
beauties of the church of St. Bartholomew, in Smith-
field, were being restored, and the church of St.

Helen's, Bishopsgate. Mr. Tite alluded to the
annual Spital sermon as being now the only indica-
tion of that ancient charity, which had been alto-
gether swept away.
Mr. BERESFORD-ROPE, M.P., said that it was not
until after long deliberation that it had been decided
to hold the congress of the institute this year in
London ; but he considered it was their duty, having
attained the age of manhood, to come there to see
what could be done towards preserving the great
antiquities which London contains, and not to defer

that duty until a period when the institute itself
might be tottering with age. Some apprehension
had been entertained as to holding their congress in
London, but that day had dissipated all fears of the
result. In that great and ancient hall, restored to
its original grandeur, in the presence of Gog and
Magog, they had been heartily welcomed by the
Lord Mayor, surrounded with all the attributes of
civic dignity. Mr. 13eresford-Hope then proceeded
to state what would be the course of proceedings
during the week.
The Bishop of OXFORD, after thanking the Lord
Mayor for having given the institute the use of the
Guildhall, observed that in a great old city like Lon-
don archaeologists would be sure to find numerous
objects of interest. The work of renovation and
improvement was indeed going on with great
rapidity, but in some respects it did not progress
quite so rapidly as it ought. On coming to the
meeting he, for instance, was three-quarters of an
hour in getting from Waterloo-place to Guildhall in
consequence of one of the streets having been blocked
by one "wretched" cart loaded with timber which
kept omnibuses, carriages, and all other vehicles
from passing along. That great city, he said, con-
tained many remarkably interesting records of an-
tiquity in out-of-the-way places, and they might be
found if searched for with perseverance. His lord-
ship mentioned a discovery he had himself made
in London connected with natural history, which
was a branch of science he cultivated with much
interest. He had been very anxious to possess a
specimen of the old English black rat, which it was
supposed had become extinct, having been eaten up
by the Hanovarian rats that invaded this country.
On hearing that some very old houses in one part
of
rat h
Londone w
were-as
ibeing pulled down, he thought that
the quest of might be found there.
He consequently tried to secure one, and he be-
came happy in the possession of a specimen. Lon-
don, he said, was the place of all novelties and the
preserver of all antiquities.

The Lord Mayor being obliged by another en-
gagement to vacate the chair, the Bishop of Oxford
proposed the thanks of the institute to him and the
corporation, to which he briefly responded.
The Marquis Camden then took the chair, and
the Rev. E. Hill explained more in detail than had
been done by Mr. Beresford-Hope the arrange-
ments for the congress. He stated that to-morrow
morning at 10 o'clock Sir John Lubbock, as presi-
dent of the section of primaeval antiquities, would
deliver an opening address, in the Museum of
Geology, in Jermyn-street, and that at 11 o'clock
the Dean of Westminster, as president of the section
of history, would deliver an address at the Royal
Institute, in Albemarle-street. In the afternoon
there is an excursion to Waltham Abbey, and a
meeting at the Royal institute in the evening.

The meeting then separated, and a large portion
of the company immediately afterwards visited the
crypt of the Guildhall and the library. In the latter
there were exhibited many ancient charters and
grants connected with the Corporation of London,
and numerous specimens of antiquities, principally
Roman, which had been discovered during excava-
tions in various parts of the City.. Among the ob-
jects of archaeological
interest there was enclosed
under a glass case, as a memorial of times that are
past, a large and well-executed model of a royal
mail-coach.

In the course of the afternoon the members visited
St. Bartholomew's Church, in Smithfield, which is
in the course of restoration. The architecture of the
church was described by Mr. Tite. It was built in
pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
the time of Henry I. by Rahere, the King's jester,
who, on returning from a eimage
had a dream that he was about to be plunged into
the bottomless pit, when he was rescued by St.

Bartholomew, and when he arrived in England he
determined to build the hospital and church of St.
Bartholomew in honour of the saint. The want of

archaeological societies in former times to preserve
ancient buildings from desecration is very conspi-

cuous in this church, where part of the original apse
has been appropriated to a fringe manufactory,
which still prevents the restoration of that part of
the building. From Smithfield the company pro-
ceeded to the church of St. Helen's, in Bishopsgate-

street, which was built 1; 1430. The peculiarity of
the construction of this church is that it has two