Identifier: eastlondon00besa (find matches)
Title: East London
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Besant, Walter, Sir, 1836-1901
Subjects: Poor
Publisher: New York, The Century Co.
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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leted and those rescuers werenever discovered. As an illustration of the solitude of this place, before itssettlement under Queen Elizabeth, one observes that therewas a field called Hangmans Acre, situated more than aquarter of a mile from the river, where in the year 1440 cer-tain murderers and pirates were hanged in chains upon agallows set on rising ground, so that they should be seen bythe sailors in the ships going up and down the river. Therewas not therefore at that time a single house to obstruct thisadmonitory spectacle. The hamlet of Shadwell is only a continuation of St.Georges or Ratcliffe Highway; its churchyard is convertedinto a lovely garden, one of the many gardens which wereonce burial grounds; the people sit about in the shade or inthe sun; along the south wall is a terrace commanding acheerful view of the London docks, with their shipping.There is a fish-market here, the only public institution ofShadwell; there are old houses, which we may look at and EAST LONDON
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Off Shadwell. perhaps represent, but there is Httle about its people that dis-tinguishes them from the folk on either hand. In the year 1671 the church was built; Shadwell was al-ready a place with a large population, and the church was THE POOL AND THE RIVERSIDE 8i built in order to minister to their spiritual wants. Whatcould be better ? But you shall learn from one example howthe best intentions were frustrated and how the riverside folkwere suffered to go from bad to worse, despite the creationof the parish and the erection of the church. The first rectorwas a nephew of that great divine and philosopher, BishopButler. He was so much delighted with the prospect ofliving and working among this rude and ignorant folk, hewas so filled and penetrated with the spirit of humanity andthe principles of his religion, that his first sermon was onthe text, Woe is me that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwellin the tents of Kedar! This good man, however, receivedpermission from the bishop to live

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