"
_The Stork_.--The Directory of 1800 is the first which contains the name
of the Stork Tavern, No. 3, The Square, the host then being Mr. John
Bingham, the title of Hotel not being assumed until 1808. For a few
years the one house was sufficient for the accommodation required, but
as time progressed it became necessary to enlarge it, and this was
accomplished by taking in the adjoining houses, until, at last, the
hotel occupied one-fourth of The Square, from the corner of the Minories
to the Lower Priory, in which were situated the stables, &c. It was in
one of the houses so annexed to the hotel (No. 1) that Dr. Hector, the
friend of Dr. Johnson, resided; and at the rear of another part of the
premises in the Coach Yard, there was opened (in 1833) the "The
Equitable Labour Exchange." The whole of the hotel buildings were sold
by auction, Sept. 26, 1881, and quickly razed to the ground, which was
required for Corporation Street; but the Stork, like the fabulous
Phoenix, has risen from its ashes, and in close proximity to the old
site, stands boldly forth as one of the magnificences of that-is-to-be
most-magnificent thoroughfare.
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