Star.
London, England, 1818-09-25 00:00:00

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S'f. 101411thiSdiGRAND.

DISCOVERY OF AN ANCIEDIT CEMr.TERy.
As the workmen employed in clearing away the'
ground in St. Martin's-le-Grand, which is to form
the scite of the new Pot Office, were a day or two
ago removing the foundations of some of the old
houses which stood in the rear of St... Leonard's, For
they discovered tbe roofs of some ancient
vaults. This circumstance attracted attention, and
Care was very properly taken to clear away the
rubbish, so as to afford art opportunity of examining
those vestiges of ancient archittctere. As soon as
the rubbish °title particular spot was removed, three
vaults were discovered, each communicating with
the other by a narrow passage or gallery ; they are
built chiefly of large square bricks, intermixed with
stone and some flint, .and the intersticesfilled up with
a yellow chalky earth. They are rather spacious,
the height being nearly nine feet, the depth about
eighteen, and breadth about six or seven. They ap-
pear to have been each originally divided into two
compartments. In the back part of one of the vaults
was found a large quantity of human bones, thrown
promiscuously together, as if collected from different
graves. In one of them is a stone coffin, rather short
in length, made in the shape of the ancient coffins,
square at the head, and inclining in a tapering form
tbwardathe feet—a place is rather rudely shaped for
the head of the body to rest upon, and the remains
of a skull and some decayed bones are in the cavity.
Jkdioining, and in tke same line with these arches, is.
i vaulted roof, supported by small and short stone
shafts or pillars, from which spring semicircular
arches, intersecting each other at equidistant points,
Sad presenting to the eye the skeleton of a structure,
at once simple, durable, and beautiful. The subdi-
visions of the intercolumeiation were evidently open
when built, and so arranged as to admit a communi-
cation with other parts of a building. The floor of
these vaults is about twenty feet below the level of
the pavement in Newgate street, the loose ground on
the same level bears all the appearance of having
been once a cemetery, from the fragments and cal-
cined parts of bones intermixed with soft earth, which
me observable id the vicinity.
St. Martin's-le Grand was originally a College,
founded in the year 700, by Wythred, King of Kent,
and according to Dugdale, in his Monasticon Angli-
a option, rebuilt and endowed by a noble Saxon, and
his brother Edwardus, for a Dean and Secular Ca-
mans and Priests, and was dedicated to St. Martin.—
The epithet k-Grand was afterwards added, on ac-
count of the great and extraordinary privileges, par-
ticularly the dangerous one of Sanctuary, granted to
it by different Monarchs. William the Conqueror
confirmed the endowments ofthis house, and the pos.
session of the lands given by the founders, to which
he added all the moor land without Cripplegtte, and
exonerated its Canons from all interference or exac-
tion of any Bishop, Archdeacons, or their Ministers.
He likewise granted them sac and toc, toll and team,
and a long et cetera, of Saxon liberties in the most
ample degree. • His Charter, sanctioned by John and
/her, two of the Pope's Legates, concludes thus :.-•••
4 If any person whatever shall presume to alter any
thing hereby granted, let him perish with Judas the
Traitor !"
Henry the Third had the weakness to confirm these
tspischievous Charters, and to extend them to cases of
debt, felony, and treason—the indulgence granted
was so obnoxious to the peaceable citizens, on ac-
count of the protection afforded to the lowest sort of
rogues, ruffians, thieves, felons, and murderers, that
they were frequently compelled to apply to the Go-
vernment for security against this sanctuary.—An-
ciently when this College was in a flourishing state,
a curfew bell was rung here at eight o'clock every
evening, and at St. Mary-le-Bow, St. Giles, Cripple-
gate, and at Allhallows, Barking, to warn people to
keep within doors. Edward the First, in consequence
of the many mischiefs, murders, robberies, and beat-
ing down persons by certain Hectors, walking armed
in the night, commanded that none should be so
hardy as to be found wandering in the streets, after
the bell had sounded in St. Martin's-le-Grand.—
The College was surrendered to King Edward the
Sixth, in 1548, and soon after the church was pulled
down, and many tenements erected on its site.
Such is the historical account of the ancient sanc-
tuary or edifice, of which these vaults appear to have
bees a part. The vaults in which the bones are found
do not seem to be of very ancient date—they were
probably formed by Edward the Sixth for the pious
purpose of depositing. therein the bones which were
exposed at the demolition of the old church. The fine
arched vault, supported by columns, which we have
described. is evidently not of earlier date than the
reign of Henry the Third. At that period the heavy
form of the Saxon architecture gave place to a purer
thee, and the broad circular arch and massive column
ore place to the pointed arch and slender pillar.—
The remains which we have described are in the pure
style of this refprrned taste, and before its simplicity
sires compelled by fashion to yield to the indiscrimi-
nate patch-work carving that we find in the tracery
and foliage of the architecture at the dose of the
reign of henry the Third, and in subsequent times.
The antiquary, whose research is bounded by the dis-
covery of the sacred dust of a mouldering heap, may
perhaps derive ample satisfaction from the vaults
containing the bones of the dead ; but the artist and
lover of taste will, we imagine, feel his attention
alone drawn to the architectural fragment we have
alluded to.. ,
There are, wrberwire, very extensive yanks under
parts of !Senate-street, many of them used as cel-
lars by the inhabitants, and walled up for their par-
ticular convenience. it would perhaps be worth in-
quiry to ascertain their extent, particularly as we
have heard, that they appear to be connected with
these ruins. The investigation might lead to some
curious discoveries respecting the antique buildings
of the metro lit, the description of many of which
Ba
IF
rests on can tore and fable. From Aldersgate to
the Old 'ey was once a line of the residences of
our Gentry, and these excavations are exactly in
this track.

liertunsr.—An Inquest was taken yesterday, at the Crown,
Barbican, upon the body of Mary Roach, aged six years, daugh-
ter of Mrs. Roach, of White-Rose-alley, who was killed by the
roof of the house being driven in by die falling of a chimney, du-
ring the storm on Tuesday last. Verdict—" The Jury are of
cr,.inion that the death of the.deeeased was caused by the re.
sid.es, being in a dilArklated state, accidentally falling open best"

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