This ties into how Chancery Lane was mentioned in “A Lost Masterpiece”. With it being the heart of legal London, that also explains the environment.
People who worked in the legal system could afford to be closer to their jobs as we learned in a previous class. I also found on the page for the Maughan Library that Chancery Lane was the heart of legal London, which explains the buildings that were on it as well as the population that lived there. Again, this has to do with the class difference in the area that made the middle class a big target. When searching through the categories, I also noticed that there were more Violent Thefts than regular Thefts. Using the Old Bailey, I discovered that many highway robberies occurred on Chancery Lane, most likely due to the fact that it was a “well-to-do” area that was close a slightly poorer area. However, not too far away there was a poor area, which the website described as people who lived off of 18-21 shillings a week. On the Lane there were several banks, a Law Institute, and Records Office. This probably has to do with the buildings that were in the area. Using the Booth Poverty Map, I figured out that Chancery Lane was a Middle Class area. ‘Holborn: Inns of Court and Chancery.’ Old and New London: Volume 2. ‘Fleet Street: Northern tributaries – Chancery Lane.’ Old and New London: Volume 1. Dennis Denisoff and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. “A Lost Masterpiece.” The Yellow Book 1 (Apr. The woman or the “presentmant of the wandering Jew” is that sin come to life to interrupt London in it’s growth.Įgerton, George. Maybe the narrator sees the sins of London, such as the treatment of Jews, keeping London from becoming as wonderful and bright as it could be. The narrator knows about this dark time in the city of London and the horrific treatment of Jews back then. “Is she a feminine presentment of the wandering Jew, a livingĮmbodiment of the ghoul-like spirit that haunts the city and The narrator also makes a direct connection with the history of the Lane as well This could one be a symbol of how fast paced the profession of Law is. The narrator becomes obsessed as well with how fast she is moving, keeping up with their bus. If the woman was on that street where the middle class stayed mostly, she would look the part. Knowing where this woman is walking, Chancery Lane, helps the reader really picture the woman. However when a fast paced woman is walking by their bus they are distracted by her and continue to blame the woman for making the narrator lose their track of thought. The narrator at this point thinks they have an idea for a piece that would change the literary world forever. In “A Lost Masterpiece” by George Egerton, Chancery Lane is where the narrator has been interrupted. This was again due to it’s location in London and the predominant profession associated with that lane, Law.
Chancery Lane, Charles Booth ArchiveĪccording to the map above from the Charles Booth Archive, Chancery Lane was home to the middle-class and well to do of his time period. Some included in the article specifically on Chancery Lane were the Lincoln’s Inn and the Gray’s Inn (Holborn).īecause of the roads location (west end of London) and the profession associated with the lane, it was considered a well off neighborhood. The “inns of court” are the four institutions where all lawyers are trained and are members of. These Jews were forced to convert to Christianity at this time due to the terrible anti-semetic actions that were common in London at this point in time (Thornburry, Fleet Street).Īs time passed on and the Domus Conversorum was broken up Chancery Lane became the home to London’s “inns of court”(Thornburry, Holborn). The Domus Conversum was the home and chapel of “forced” converted Jews around 1233. Chancery lane, located on the south end of Fleet Street, was once home of the Domus Conversorum.
#George egerton a lost masterpiece archive#
Using online resources such as the Charles Booth Online Archive and British Histories I was able to find out a few key characteristics about the historic road that is Chancery Lane.