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

Archaeological Institute.

The annual meeting of the Arcbmological 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 Tueklay iu 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-Ilope, 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.
lle 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. lie 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 of 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 iu the
course of the afternoon other efforts of the arelixo-
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. BERESFORDIHOPE, 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. Beresford-Ilope then proceeded
to state what would be the course of proceedings
during the week.

The Bishop of OxFonD, after thanking the Lord
Mayor for
b r
observed given the institute the use of the
Guildhall,led that in a great old city like Lon-
The work of renovation and
odbo
jnecatrsch: oinlotgerisetsst.would be sure to find numerous
improvement was indeed going on with great
rapidity, but in some respects it did not progress
yass it ought. On coming to the
meeting instance, was three-quarters of an
hqouurite so
p
ing h rapidly
foritindgl in
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
ll by the anovarian rats that invaded this country.
On hearing that some very old houses in one part
of London were being pulled down, he thought that
the rat he was in 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
he 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 aro
past, a large and well-executed model of a royal

mail-coach.

In the course of the afternoon the membersvisited
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 iu
the time of Henry I. by Rahere, the King's jester,
who, on returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
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
archeological 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 Bishopsgatc-
street, which was built in 1430. The peculiarity of
the construction of this church is that it has two

To conclude the proceedings of the day there was
a soiree at the deanery of 'Westminster, where Dean
Stanley entertained upwards of 200 members and
visitors of the institute, the larger proportion of
whom were ladies. All the sitting rooms of the
deanery were thrown open to the visitors, who were
also permitted to walk on the leads over the clois-
ters, and on the top of the residence, from which
positions remarkably fine views of the abbey in
sombre twilight were obtained. In the library-there
were displayed several curious and interesting char-
ters of early dates, indulgences, and grants, and an
old highly illuminated volume of Roman Catholic
" offices." The rich and massive plate of the abbey
was also exhibited. Refreshments were provided in
the dining-room, and later in the evening the col-
lege hall was thrown open, and many glees were
sung by the choristers, the dean having done every- I
thing in his power to make the evening pass agree-
ably.

Railway and Other Companies.

--I, •

TENDRING HUNDRED.

On Tuesday Capt. Tyler, R.E., inspected the ex-
tension of this company's line between Weeley and
Kirby-cross, to which latter place it is proposed to
commence traffic on the Ist of next month.

GRAND TRUNK OF CANADA.
The traffic receipts on this company's lines for the
week ending the 30th June amounted for local pas-
sengers to £6,601; for foreign passengers, to
£2,747 ; for emigrants, to £5lB ; for mails, &c., to
£1,192 ; for local freight and live stock, to £11,684 ;
and for foreign freight and live stock, to £1,883
total, £24,625, against £23,901 for the correspond-
ing week last year, showing an increase of £724.
The total receipts from the Ist of Jan. to the above
date amounted to £633,422, and for the same period
of last year to £628,233, showing an increase of
£5,189.