The Southern Front and Entrance in Christ Church Passage was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and finished in the year 1682. The elevation of this portion of the fabric was scholarly in the extreme, and thoroughly expressed the character of the building; the charming composition of this front, built of the old London bricks with dressings of finer work for the pilasters, the generous cornice and leaded casements, and moreover the studied design for the entrance gate with the statue of the Boy King, were most successful. The entrance gate was the first portion to be pulled down; however, previous to the demolition, the bricks were numbered, and the whole of the entrance, including pilasters, pediment and statue, has been incorporated in the new buildings at Horsham. The inscription beneath the statue reads as follows :—

"Edward the Sixth of famous memory, King of England, was the founder of Christ's Hospital, and Sir Rolt Clayton, Kt. and Alderman, sometime Lord Mayor of the City of London, erected this statue of King Edward and built most part of this fabric. Anno Dom. 1682."

Early in the nineteenth century the established Architect to the Hospital, John Shaw, F.S.A., prepared a design to embody the miscellaneous collection of buildings into one scheme; this scheme was approved by the Governors, and he was instructed to build the new Hall early in the year 1825.

The Great Hall which formed the dining hall for the School was the most prominent building from the Londoner's standpoint, and architecturally was a very fine essay in the perpendicular style. The Gothic revival at this period had not gained any great hold, and considering the very wretched attempts at Gothic architecture which were perpetrated during the early part of the nineteenth century, it is only fair that the architect should receive some meed of praise for his labours. The first

stone of the new Hall was laid by the Duke of York on the 28th April, 1825, the site being partly on the ancient wall built for the defence of the City of London, and on the foundations of the refectory belonging to the monastery of the Grey Friars. The quiet brick buildings behind Christ Church were used partly as offices and board rooms for the governors; the principal room here was the Court Room (Plate XXI), which contained a portrait of Edward VI reputed to be by Holbein, and several other portraits of past governors and dignitaries associated with the City of London. The chief architectural feature of this room was the segmental ceiling supported by fluted Doric columns. Among the many odds and ends in the shape of doors and entrances, the Counting House doorway and steps are worthy of mention; here again the extreme studied simplicity of the design was an important factor in its success.

Among the men afterwards famous who received their earliest education at Christ's Hospital, the most noted are Coleridge, Leigh Hunt, and Charles Lamb, the last named of whom has written down for us his Recollections of his old School.

Schemes for the transference of the School from London were continually before the Governors, and once a project was on foot for a new street and railway under it. The School, however, was exceptionally healthy, and the Governors clung tenaciously to their old site. But at last they have given up the struggle, and very soon all traces of the Grey Friars and Christ's Hospital will have vanished. Thus it is that the legacies of the past are ruthlessly hacked down, little or no regard is paid to the lessons they teach, in a few years the sites are covered, and the destruction is complete.

A. E. R.