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NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. vm. AUG. 10, 1007.
Memorials to sen-e for a History of the Parish of
St. Mary, Eotherh'ithe. By Edward Josselyn Beck.
(Cambridge, University Press.)
CANON BECK, in writing this interesting record,
has set an example that it would be well if other
rectors would follow. He had not long been resi-
dent in Rotherhithe before he conceived the idea
"of attempting to write its history." He became
rector in 1867, and after some ten years' work
announced " that this history would before long be
given to the world " ; but, mindful of the Horatian
maxim, he delayed publication in order to render
the work more complete. He patiently worked at
collecting materials for another twenty years, and
he now rightly congratulates himself on the result,
not alone of his own labours, but also of the help
of many friends, to whom he renders grateful
acknowledgment. Among these is his " old Cam-
bridge friend Dr. Bonney, whose chapter on ' The
Geology of the Thames valley' is a most valuable
contribution to the prehistoric era of our ancient
parish." The name Rotherhithe is formed of two
Saxon words Rethra, a rower or mariner, and
hythe, a landing-place or haven : " Thus the name
Redhra-hythe well describes the place, which has
always been a landing-place for watermen and
mariners." Its entire area is about 886 acres : 365
of these lie within the dock fence of the Surrey
Commercial Dock Company, and 60 belong to South-
wark Park, leaving little more than half for the
roads, streets, and habitations of the parishioners.
Canon Beck describes Rotherhithe in Roman and Saxon times, its monastic rule, and its parish church. Of the first church there is no record, although the site remains unchanged. The first rector whose name has come down to us was instituted in 1310, John de Tocklive being then appointed incumbent by the Prior and Convent of Bermondsey ; and since that time there have been forty-five rectors, including the author of this book. Among the most notable is John Ryder, who afterwards became Bishop of Killaloe. Appointed rector in 1592, he
gublished 'An Account of the Landing of the paniards in Ireland,' and was also the author of a Latin Dictionary, the first in which the English- Latin part was printed before the Latin-English. Thomas Gataker, who had been preacher of Lincoln's Inn for ten years, was appointed in 1611, and remained in charge until his death in 1654. He was the only son of the rector of St. Edmund the King and Martyr, in Lombard Street, of which an old friend of 'N. & Q.,' Canon Benham, is the present rector. Gataker's auto- biography is prefixed to his twelve books of Marcus Aurelius. During the forty-four years he was rector he devoted himself to benefiting the parishioners, and it was through his in- fluence that Robert Bell, in conjunction with Peter Hill, founded in 1613 the Free School of Rotherhithe, now a school of 200 boys. He was the first of the forty-seven ministers who in 1648 signed a remonstrance to the army and the General against the design of trying the King. Gataker Street, so namea by the present rector, will preserve his name to future generations. Another rector, Robert Myddleton, adopted Thomas Cranfield's efforts in establishing Sunday schools in 1798, 'thus rendering them one of the permanent institutions of the parish church. Thomas Cran- field, it will be remembered, was one of the origi- nators of ragged schools. The old church possesses much valuable plate.
oo a sll J e , r _ c "P of !619, besides silver patens of
1632, 16, 2, and 1/15, and old flagons and alms basins.
1 he beadles staff 7 (1808) is silver gilt surmounted
by the Virgin and Child. Interesting extracts are
given from the registers. In those of births the
word "skape 1 (an illegitimate child) occurs six or
eight times. Among the monuments and inscrip-
tions in the church is an exact reproduction in oil
of the frontispiece of 'Eikon Basilike,' probably
-*iven to the church soon after 1660.
Rotherhithe can boast of having had several notable inhabitants, including the Duke of Bedford who by marriage with the heiress of the Howlands of btreatham inherited an old mansion in Rother- hithe Street, together with the whole of the How- land property there; Admiral Sir John Leake, born in Rotherhithe in 1656 ; and Mrs. Bayly, who by her will dated 22 Feb., 1756, bequeathed 6,349/. 3 P?r cents to pay 35 widows a small yearly pension. This sum has been augmented by the wills of Mr, Hawks and Mr. Copping. Justice Gillam, another notable resident, was born in Rotherhithe in 172 his family having resided in the parish for upwards of 200 years. In 1780 his house was threatened by the mob with destruction. The Kelseys were also old residents, and Richard, a member of this family, was the sculptor of the statue of William IV in King William Street. The lord of the manor from 1822 to 1875 was Field-Marshal Sir William Gomm,. who told the author that he "had fought two pitched battles when he was of the ripe fighting age of fourteen years." During the time he was lord of the manor he gave the rector 1007. every Christmas for the benefit of the poor. He is buried at Christ Church, Rotherhithe, together with his wife, who bequeathed the manor in tail to her niece, Mrs. Carr-Gomm.
' Rotherhithe in Literature' forms an interesting feature of the book. Dickens introduces it into 'Our Mutual Friend.' In 'The Captain's Room' Walter Besant gives the features of the lower entf of Rotherhithe, derived from Mr. Gurney, a former curate, who had suggested to the novelist that he would find materials in these quaint scenes for one of his popular tales. Swift has connected the hero of ' mi! I er>s Trave ? s ' with this "Id riverside parish.
The book contains an account of the construction of the Thames Tunnel, with an illustration of the diving-bell at work. We can well remember being in the Tunnel soon after its completion, and seeing the younger Brunei full of anxiety because the water was still coming in. The last chapter in the book gives us the Rotherhithe of to-day.
We have to thank the Rector of Rotherhithe for another valuable contribution to the history of London. This, with Mr. Edward T. Clarke's 'Ber- mondsey,' a cheap edition of which we noticed on the 30th of August, 1902, completes the record of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. Canon Beck's book is well illustrated, containing fifty views and por- traits, besides a map taken from a volume in the Guildhall Library.
Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead, Ireland: Journals. Vol. VI. No. 3, Parts I. and II. (The Association.)
WE are glad to commend to our readers a society which does excellent and much -needed work in Ireland. Tombstones and inscriptions do not there receive so much attention as in England. The Asso- ciation records many things which are no longer in situ, or have been totally obliterated and lost. Its-
