[Born 1313. Died 1377. Aged 64.]
An accomplished monarch, brave, and for his time enlightened. In his
day, and by his act, the power of the Commons rose, and the pretensions
of the Barons were reduced; several constitutional acts found their way
to the statute book, and greater security was given by law to property
and person. Glorious battles were fought in France; the field of Cressy
was won, and Calais surrendered in 1346. Edward, Prince of Wales,
surnamed the Black Prince, was the worthy son of this redoubtable sire.
Following in the steps of his father, he won, in 1355, the battle of
Poitiers, took the French king and his son prisoners, and brought them
to London. In this reign, Queen’s College, Oxford, and Clare Hall,
Pembroke Hall, Trinity Hall, and Caius, all colleges at Cambridge, were
founded. Windsor Castle also was built by Edward III., William of
Wykeham, afterwards Bishop of Winchester, and Chancellor of England, and
the founder of Winchester College, being “Clerk of the works.” Under
Edward III., the first toll was levied for mending the highways; the
highway concerned being the road between St. Giles’s and Temple Bar.
Upon the whole, a grand time for England.
[From the Effigy.]