Summary

From this page, originally from Remarks on London, being an Exact Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster, Borough of Southwark… By W. Stow., London, 1722.:

Rolls Chapel in Chancery Lane, so called because it’s a Repository now of Charters, Patents, Commissions, and other Matters, made up in Rolls of Parchment, from the beginning of King Richard the Third, in 1484; those before that Time are kept in Wakefield Tower, in the Tower of London; but at first here was founded by King Henry the Third, in 1233, an House of converted Jews upon a Jew’s House, which had been formerly confiscated to the Crown. Pr. and S. are every Sunday Morning in Term Time at 10, and only Pr. at 3, and on Holydays at 10 and 3; Sac. every second Sunday of the 4 Terms, on Christmas day, Easter Sunday, and Whitsunday.

Note, Pr. signifies Prayers, Sac. Sacrament; S. Sermon; and Lect. Lecturer.

2 Annotations

First Reading

Third Reading

Mountain Man  •  Link

The House of [Jewish] Converts or "the Rolls" was the headquarters of the Chancery, which took the building over as converted Jews became hard to find. However, the enterprising Chancellors managed to find some Jews to allow to live there for free so the Chancellor could collect the stipends promised by pious Londoners for the upkeep of the converts. These bequests were sometimes hard to collect since the London families understandably didn't like seeing their money go to support a comfortable lifestyle for well-fed and well-dressed Chancery clerks. It was called "the Rolls" because the medieval royal records were usually kept on long rolls of parchment sewn end-to-end. The site is now the main research library of King's College London, and was for many years before the Public Record Office.

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References

Chart showing the number of references in each month of the diary’s entries.

1660

1665

1669