Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-03-12
BIlllNGSGA
The London Gate Whose Name is
synonymous With Abuse.

| The present building OF BllllngS>
gate market is just forty years old,
having been opened in 1877, so that II
| the projected dismarketing be car
ried out by the common council 1t can
not be said in one sense that an an
cient landmark is being removed. But
the history Of the place runs back in
to the remote past. 1t was the old
port of London, and customs were
paid here under Ethelred H., in the
year 979. Even the origin Of the
name Is doubtful; for the famous anti
quarry, Stow says: How this gate
took that name, or of what antiquity
the same is, l must leave uncertain,
as not having read any ancient record
Thereof more than that Geffrey Mon
mouth writeth that Belin. king OF
the Britons, about 400 leals before
Christ's nativity, built this gate, and
named it Belin's gate after his own
calling; and that when he was dead,
his body being burnt, the ashes in a
vessel of brass were set upon high
pinnacle Of stone over the same gate.
1t seemeth to me not to be so ancient,
but rather to have taken that name Of
some late owner Of the place, happily
named Beling or Billing" Other old
writer's tell us that this Belin, or Bel
mus, king Of Britain, was a descend
ant Of Lear, and a fellow-adventurer
with Brennus, king of the Gauls, at
the sacking Of Rome, $50 years before
the Christian era, and also the faith
er of King Lud, whose name has been
perpetuated in Ludgate.
In very early times Queenhithe and
Billingsgate were the chief city
wharves for landing cargoes Of fish,
the former being at first the more i'm
portant; but the supremacy passed
to Billingsgate owing to the trouble
that ships had in passing London
bridge. In 1882 message was sent
from the King Edward l., to the SER
geants Of Billingsgate and Queenhithe
commanding them to see that all
boats are moored on the city side at
| night, and to have the names Of all
boats, and no one to cross the Thames
at night. That the place was consid-
cred of some military Importance with
| regard to the defence Of London is
shown by the fact that it was order
ed to be defended by wooden turrets
in 1870, when the mayor, aldermen
and commonalty were given to under
stand that certain galleys, with a
multitude of armed men therein, were
lying off on the isle of Thanet, 1t was
ordered that every night watch shall
be kept between the tower of London
| and Billingsgate with forty men-at-
arms and sixty archers. The city ear
ly asserted its control, and in March,
1852, Edward w, confirmed the char
| ter of Henry ", whereby the citi-
zens obtained the right Of taking toll
and custom at Billingsgate and other
places. 1t continued 10 be an impor-
| tant port, and was opened as land
ing place for provisions in 1858; but
it did not become celebrated as a fish
market until the reign of King Will
liam Ill, who in 1899, by act Of par
| lament, made 1t a free port for fish,
which might be sold there every day
Of the week except Sunday.
The unpublished phraseology, native
though not peculiar, to this quarter
Of London, has given rise to the pro-
verbal use Of the name. 'One may
term this the Esculine Gate Of Lon
don," says old Fuller. Here one
may hear linguas jurgatrices." The
seventeenth century references to the
| rhetoric" or obscene language of the
market are frequent, and hence foul
language itself Is called "billingsgate. u
In Vanity Fair" too, Thackeray tells
us how Mr.. Osborne cursed Billings
gate with an emphasis worthy Of the
place 1t Is curious how markets are
the natural abode Of strong language,
Thus the French equivalent for, You
are no better than Billingsgate fish
fag' is Your compliments are like
those the Place Maubert," the Place
|
In the good old days the Billingsgate
porters seem to have thoroughly en-
| joyed themselves, for one Bagford
writing in 1715, says: This brings
to my mind another ancient custom
that hath been omitted of late years.
1t seems that in former times the por-
ters that piled at Billingsgate used
civilly to entreat and desire every man
| that passed that way to salute post
| that stood there in vacant place. If
he refused to do this they forthwith
| laid hold of him and by main force
| bumped him against the post; but II
he quietly submitted to kiss the same
and paid down sixpence they gave him
a name, and chose some one Of the
gang for his godfather. 1 believe this
| was done in the memory Of some ole
| image that formerly stood there, per-
haps of Belus or Belin." The origi-
nal porters of Billingsgate belonged
| to one of the oldest labor guilds in
the country, the Fellowship Of Por-
ters. and at one time the carrying
work both at Billingsgate and from
the wharves TO the warehouses of the
city within a certain radius was en-
tirely performed by them. They made
up a notable picture of old London
life, but latterly became a source of
trouble to the corporation, and finally
were disbanded at their own request.
In 1S4S the market was improved
and enlarged by filling up Billingsgate
dock in a line with the customs house
wharf, and four years later a new
market was constructed from the de-
signs of Mr.. Burning, with fine stone
| river wall. clock tower and a seven
arched arcade. The increase of trade
compelled the corporation in 1872, to
obtain an act to rebuild and enlarge,
and the present market was built from
| the plans of the late Sir Horace Jones,
| city architect. 1t is of Portland stone
on granite plinth, and is Italian in
character, with a continuous arcade,
| fanked at each extremity by a pavil-
| ion. In 1879 1t having been proposed