"Temple Bar & Pity the Poor Blind!" by John Leighton

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Temple Bar & Pity the Poor Blind!

John Leighton

1847

The Cries of London & Public Edifices, Plate 9

See below for Leighton's text.

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Pity the Poor Blind!

The blind must gain a livelihood, as well as those who are blest with sight ; but, alas ! how few are the arts which can be performed by one so bereft : hence the necessity of an appeal to the benevolent — " Pity the poor blind !" He sells cabbage-nets, kettle-holders, or laces, doubtless the work of his own hands in the evenings, which we term " blindman's holiday." — We are proceeding along Fleet Street, soon to pass under

Temple Bar

which is the only remaining city gate. It was built in 1670, by Sir Christopher Wren, after the great fire. On this, the city side, are statues of James and Anne of Denmark; on the other are Charles I. and II. The gate is now only closed on such occasions as the Queen going in state to the city, when she is not admitted until the pursuivant has knocked and permission been granted by the Lord Mayor.

On the top of this gate were formerly exhibited the heads of traitors: the last exposed here were those of persons who suffered after the rebellion of 1745.

Horace Walpole, in a letter dated 16th Aug., 1746, says, "I have this morning been at the Tower, and passed under the new heads at Temple Bar, where people make a trade of letting spy-glasses, at a halfpenny each, to view them." One of the iron spikes remained till the present century.

The Temple Bar Memorial, its sculpture, and related material

Bibliography

Limner, Luke [John Leighton]. The Cries of London & Public Edifices from Sketches on the Spot. London: Grant & Griffith successors to Newberry and Harris. Corner of St Paul's Church Yard, [1847]. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. Web. 17 September 2013.

Last modified 18 September 2013