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| | CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: London |
 | | In 314 Restitutus, Bishop of London, was present at the Council of Arles, and legend purports to have preserved the names of several of his predecessors and successors (Geoffrey of Monmouth), a claim which the modern historian, Dr. Stubbs (Episcopal Succession), treats with respect. |
 | | London at this time consisted of a collection of low wooden houses thatched with reeds or straw, thus affording combustible material for the numerous and destructive fires which frequently broke out, as in 1087 when the greater part of the city, including St. Paul's, was burnt. |
 | | The bishop himself and many of his clergy were imprisoned and after the excommunication of Elizabeth, in 1570, the martyrdoms began again, reaching their height in point of numbers in 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada. |
| www.newadvent.org /cathen/09341a.htm (9600 words) |
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