This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License online at www.gutenberg.org/license
London:
Printed by Blades, East & Blades,
23, Abchurch Lane, E.C.
Of the numerous works that have been written
on London, by which I mean more especially
the City of London, few have been devoted to an
adequate, if indeed any, consideration of its political
importance in the history of the Kingdom. The
history of the City is so many-sided that writers
have to be content with the study of some particular
phase or some special epoch. Thus we have those
who have concentrated their efforts to evolving
out of the remote past the municipal organization
of the City. Their task has been to unfold the
origin and institution of the Mayoralty and Shrievalty
of London, the division of the City into wards with
Aldermen at their head, the development of the
various trade and craft guilds, and the respective
powers and duties of the Courts of Aldermen and
Common Council, and of the Livery of London
assembled in their Common Hall. Others have
devoted themselves to the study of the ecclesiastical
and monastic side of the City's history—its Cathedral,
its religious houses, and hundred and more parish
The political aspect of the City's history has rarely been touched by writers, and yet its geographical position combined with the innate courage and enterprise of its citizens served to give it no small political power and no insignificant place in the history of the Kingdom. This being the case, the Corporation resolved to fill the void, and in view of the year 1889 being the 700th Anniversary of the Mayoralty of London—according to popular tradition—instructed the Library Committee to prepare a work showing "the pre-eminent position occupied by the City of London and the important function it exercised in the shaping and making of England."
It is in accordance with these instructions that this and succeeding volumes have been compiled. As the title of the work has been taken from a chapter in Mr. Loftie's book on London ("Historic Towns" series, chap. ix), so its main features are delineated in that chapter. "It would be interesting"—writes Mr. Loftie—"to go over all the recorded instances in which the City of London interfered directly in the affairs of the Kingdom. Such a survey would be the history of England as seen from the windows of the Guildhall." No words could better describe the character of the work now submitted to the public. It has been compiled mainly from the City's own archives. The City has been allowed to tell its own story. If, therefore, its pages should appear to be too much taken up with accounts of loans advanced by the City to impecunious monarchs or with wearisome repetition of calls for troops to be raised in the City for foreign service, it is because the City's records of the day are chiefly if not wholly concerned with these matters. If, on the other hand, an event which may be rightly deemed of national importance be here omitted, it is because the citizens were little affected thereby, and the City's records are almost, if not altogether, silent on the subject.
The work does not affect to be a critical history
so much as a chronique pour servir, to which the
historical student may have recourse in order to learn
what was the attitude taken up by the citizens of
London at important crises in the nation's history.
He will there see how, in the contest between
Stephen and the Empress Matilda, the City of
London held as it were the balance; how it helped
to overthrow the tyranny of Longchamp, and to
wrest from the reluctant John the Great Charter of
our liberties; how it was with men and money
supplied by the City that Edward III and Henry V
were enabled to conquer France, and how in after
years the London trained bands raised the siege of
Gloucester and turned the tide of the Civil War in
favour of Parliament. He will not fail to note the
significant fact that before Monk put into execution
his plan for restoring Charles II to the Crown, the
taciturn general—little given to opening his mind to
anyone—deemed it advisable to take up his abode
in the City in order to first test the feelings of the
inhabitants as to whether the Restoration would be
acceptable to them or not. He will see that the
citizens of London have at times been bold of speech
even in the presence of their sovereign when the
cause of justice and the liberty of the subject were at
stake, and that they did not hesitate to suffer for
There are two Appendices to the work; one comprising copies from the City's Records of letters, early proclamations and documents of special interest to which reference is made in the text; the other consisting of a more complete list of the City's representatives in Parliament from the earliest times than has yet been printed, supplemented as it has been by returns to writs recorded in the City's archives and (apparently) no where else. The returns for the City in the Blue Books published in 1878 and 1879 are very imperfect.
R. R. S.
The Guildhall, London,
April, 1894.
The wealth and importance of the City of London
are due to a variety of causes, of which its geographical
position must certainly be esteemed not the least.
The value of such a noble river as the Thames was
scarcely over-estimated by the citizens when, as the
story goes, they expressed to King James their comparative
indifference to his threatened removal of
himself, his court and parliament, from London, if
only their river remained to them. The mouth of the
Thames is the most convenient port on the westernmost
boundary of the European seaboard, and ships
would often run in to replenish their tanks with the
sweet water for which it was once famous. Strype remarks of Thames water that it "did sooner become fine
and clear than the New River water, and was ever a clearer water."—Strype,
Stow's Survey, ed. 1720, bk. i, p. 25. Another writer
speaks of "that most delicate and serviceable ryver of Thames."—Howes's
Chron., p. 938.
After the fall of the Western Empire ( During Edgar's reign (958-975), the foreign trade of the City had
increased to such a degree, and notably with a body of German
merchants from the Eastern shores of the Baltic, called "Easterlings"
(subsequently known as the Hanse Merchants of the Steel-yard), that
his son and successor Ethelred drew up a code of laws for the purpose
of regulating it. "Et ipsa (A.D. 476),
commercial enterprise sprang up among the free towns
of Italy. The carrying trade of the world's merchandise
became centred for a time in Venice, and
that town led the way in spreading the principles of
commerce along the shores of the Mediterranean,
being closely followed by Genoa, Florence, and Pisa.
The tide, which then set westward, and continued its
course beyond the Pillars of Hercules, was met in
later years by another stream of commerce from thei.e. Lundonia) multorum emporium populorum terrâ
marique venientium."—Hist. Eccl., lib. ii, cap. iii.
But if London's prosperity were solely due to its geographical position, we should look for the same unrivalled pre-eminence in commerce in towns like Liverpool or Bristol, which possess similar local advantages; whilst, if royal favour or court gaieties could make cities great, we should have surely expected Winchester, Warwick, York, or Stafford to have outstripped London in political and commercial greatness, for these were the residences of the rulers of Mercia, Northumbria, and Wessex, and the scenes of witena-gemóts long before London could boast of similar favours. Yet none of these equals London in extent, population, wealth, or political importance.
We must therefore look for other causes of
London's pre-eminence, and among these, we may
reckon the fact that the City has never been subject
to any over-lord except the king. It never formed a
portion of the king's demesne (dominium), but has
ever been held by its burgesses as tenants in capite by
burgage (free socage) tenure. Other towns like
In the early part of the twelfth century, the town
of Leicester, for instance, was divided into four parts,
one of which was in the king's demesne, whilst the
rest were held by three distinct over-lords. In course
of time, the whole of the shares fell into the hands of
Count Robert of Meulan, who left the town in
demesne to the Earls of Leicester and his descendants;
and to this day the borough bears on its shield the
arms of the Bellomonts. Stubbs, Const. Hist., i, 409.
The influence of an over-lord for good or evil,
over those subject to his authority, was immense.
Take for instance, Sheffield, which was subject, in the
reign of Elizabeth, to the Earl of Shrewsbury. The
cutlery trade, even in those days, was the main-stay of
the town, and yet the earl could make and unmake
the rules and ordinances which governed the Cutlers' See ordinances made by the Earl (32 Eliz.).—Hunter's Hallamshire
(1819), p. 119.
When, during the reign of Charles II, nearly
every municipal borough in the kingdom was forced
to surrender its charter to the king, the citizens of
Durham surrendered theirs to the Bishop, who, to
the intense horror of a contemporary writer, reserved
to himself and his successors in the See the power
of approving and confirming the mayor, aldermen,
recorder, and common council of that city. Luttrell, Diary, i, p. 314.
The commercial greatness of London can be
traced back to the time of the Roman occupation of
Britain. From being little more than a stockaded fort,
situate at a point on the river's bank which admitted
of an easy passage by ferry across to Southwark, London
prospered under the protection afforded to its
traders by the presence of the Roman legions, but it
never in those days became the capital of the province.
Although a flourishing centre of commerce in the middle
of the first century of the Christian era, it was not
deemed of sufficient importance by Suetonius, the
Roman general, to run the risk of defending against
Boadicea, "At Suetonius mira constantia medios inter hostes Londinium
perrexit, cognomento quidem coloniæ non insigne, sed copia negotiatorum
et commeatuum maxime celebre."—Tacitus, Ann., xiv, 33.
For military no less than for commercial purposes—and
the Roman occupation of Britain was
mainly a military one—good roads were essential, and
these the Romans excelled in making. It is remarkable
that in the Itinerary of Antoninus Pius, London
figures either as the starting point or as the terminus to
nearly one-half of the routes described in the portion
relating to Britain. For the direction of the various routes, see Elton's Origins of
Engl. Hist., p. 344 note.
The same reasons that led the Romans to establish good roads throughout the country led them also to erect a bridge across the river from London to Southwark, and in later years to enclose the city with a wall. To the building of the bridge, which probably took place in the early years of the Roman occupation, London owed much of its youthful prosperity; whenever any accident happened to the bridge the damage was always promptly repaired. Not so with the walls of the city. They were allowed to fall into decay until the prudence and military genius of the great Alfred caused them to be repaired as a bulwark against the onslaughts of the Danes.
"Britain had been occupied by the Romans, but
had not become Roman," Stubbs, Const. Hist., i., 60. The church of St. Peter-upon-Cornhill claims a Roman origin,
but its claim is unsubstantiated by any proof.
Thus it was that when the Picts and Scots again
broke loose from their northern fastnesses and threatened
London as they had done before ( This appeal took the following form:—"The groans of the
Britons to Aetius, for the third time Consul [A.D. 368), they
once more appealed for aid to the Roman emperor, by
whose assistance the marauders had formerly been
driven back. But times were different in 446 toi.e. A.D. 446]. The
savages drive us to the sea, and the sea casts us back upon the savages;
so arise two kinds of death, and we are either drowned or slaughtered."—Elton,
Origins of Engl. Hist., p. 360.
Compelled to seek assistance elsewhere, the
Britons invited a tribe of warriors, ever ready to let
their services for hire, from the North Sea, to lend
them their aid. The foreigners came in answer to
the invitation, they saw, they conquered; and then
they refused to leave an island the fertility of which
they appreciated no less than they despised the
slothfulness of its inhabitants. "Postea vero explorata insulæ fertilitate et indigenarum inertia,
rupto fœdere, in ipsos, a quibus fuerant invitati arma verterunt."—Newburgh,
Hist. Rerum Anglic. (Rolls Series No. 82). Proœmium.
p. 13.
" Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 12.A.D. 457 (456). This year Hengist and Æsc
[Eric or Ash] his son fought against the Britons at
a place called Creegan-Ford [Crayford] and there
slew four thousand men, and the Britons then forsook
Kent, and in great terror fled to London."
When next we read of her, she is in the possession of the East Saxons. How they came there is a matter for conjecture. It is possible that with the whole of the surrounding counties in the hands of the enemy, the Londoners were driven from their city to seek means of subsistence elsewhere, and that when the East Saxons took possession of it, they found houses and streets deserted. Little relishing a life within a town, they probably did not make a long stay, and, on their departure, the former inhabitants returned and the city slowly recovered its wonted appearance, as the country around became more settled.
Christianity in the country had revived, and London
was now to receive its first bishop. It is the year
604. "This year," writes the chronicler, "Augustine
hallowed two bishops, Mellitus and Justus; Mellitus
he sent to preach baptism to the East Saxons, whose
king was called Seberht, son of Ricula, the sister of
Ethelbert whom Ethelbert had there set as king.
And Ethelbert gave to Mellitus a bishop's see at
London." This passage is remarkable for two
reasons:—(1) as shewing us that London was at this
time situate in Essex, the kingdom of the East Saxons,
and (2) that Seberht was but a "In qua videlicet gente tune temporis Sabertus, nepos Ethelberti
ex sorore Ricula, regnabat quamvis sub potestate positus ejusdem
Ethelberti, qui omnibus, ut supra dictum est, usque ad terminum
Humbræ fluminis, Anglorum gentibus imperabat."—Bede, Lib. ii, c. iii.roi fainéant, enjoying
no real independence in spite of his dignity as ruler of
the East Saxons and nominal master of London, his
uncle Ethelbert, king of the Cantii, exercising a hegemony
Hence it is that London is spoken of by some as
being the "Quorum [ Kemble. Saxons in England, ii, 556.metropolis of the East Saxons,i.e., Orientalium Saxonum] metropolis Lundonia
civitas est."—Bede, Lib. ii, c. iii. So, again, another writer describes
London at the time it was devastated by the Danes in 851 as "Sita
in aquilonari ripa Tamesis fluminis in confinio East-Sæxum et Middel-Sæxum,
sed tamen ad East-Sæxum illa civitas cum veritate pertinet."—Flor.
Wigorn., (ed. by Thorpe, for Engl. Hist. Soc.), i, 72.
After the death of Seberht, the Londoners
became dissatisfied with their bishop and drove him
out. Mellitus became in course of time Archbishop
of Canterbury, whilst the Londoners again relapsed
into paganism. "Mellitum vero Lundonienses episcopum recipere noluerunt,
idolatris magis pontificibus servire gaudentes. Bede, Lib. ii, cap. vi.— "Ecclesiam ... beati Petri quæ sita est in loco terribili qui
ab incolis Thorneye nunenpatur ... quæ olim ... beati
Æthelberti hortatu ... a Sabertho prædivite quodam sub-regulo
Lundoniæ, nepote videlicet ipsius regis, constructa est."—Kemble, Cod.
Dipl., 555.Cf.
Flor. Wigorn., i, 13.
When the Saxon kingdoms became united under
Egbert and he became Roger de Hoveden (Rolls Series No. 51), i, 8, 16, 18. Norton, Commentaries on the City of London, 3rd ed., p. 53, &c. Thorpe, 114. The Troy weight was kept in the Husting of
London and known as the Husting-weight.—Strype, Stow's Survey
(1720), Bk. v., 369.rex totius Britanniæ (A.D. 827),Domboc, a copy of which is said to have been
at one time preserved among the archives of the City
of London
In the meantime, the country had been invaded
by a fresh enemy, and the same atrocities which the
Briton had suffered at the hands of the Saxon, the Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 55. "And in the same year [i.e. 851] came three hundred and fifty
ships to the mouth of the Thames, and landed, and took Canterbury
and London by storm."—Id. ii, 56.
It was now, when the clouds were darkest, that
Alfred, brother of King Ethelred, appeared on the
scene, and after more than one signal success by land
and sea, concluded the treaty of Wedmore ( Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 64, 65.A.D. 878)Danelagh. The treaty, although it
curtailed the Kingdom of Wessex, and left London
itself at the mercy of the Danes, was followed by a
period of comparative tranquillity, which allowed
Alfred time to make preparations for a fresh struggle
that was to wrest from the enemy the land they had
won.
The Danes, like the Angles and the Jutes before
them, set little store by fortifications and walled towns,
preferring always to defend themselves by combat in
open field, and the Roman wall of the City was
allowed to fall still further into decay. In the eyes of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle—the existence of which in its present
form has been attributed to Alfred's encouragement of literature—seems
to convey this meaning, although it is not quite clear on the point. Henry
of Huntingdon (Rolls Series No. 44, pp. 148-149) ascribes the
recovery of London by Alfred to the year 886. The late Professor
Freeman (Norman Conquest, i., 56) does the same, and compares the
status of London at the time with that of a German free city, which
it more nearly resembled, than an integral portion of a kingdom.A.D. 883 or 884).
Whilst the enemy directed their attention to
further conquests in France and Belgium, Alfred bent
his energies towards repairing the City walls and
building a citadel for his defence—"the germ of that
tower which was to be first the dwelling place of
Kings, and then the scene of the martyrdom of their
victims." Freeman, Norman Conquest, i, 279.
Nor did Alfred confine his attention solely to
strengthening the city against attacks of enemies
without or to making it more habitable. He also laid
the foundation of an internal Government analagous
to that established in the Shires. Under the year Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii., 67. Stubbs, Const. Hist., i, 405.A.D.
886, the Anglo-Saxon ChronicleCf. "Lundoniam civitatem honorifice
restauravit et habitabilem fecit quam etiam. Ætheredo Merciorum comitti
servandam commendavit."—Flor. Wigorn., i, 101.
For the next ten years Alfred busied himself
founding a navy and establishing order in different
parts of the country, but in 896 he was compelled to
hasten to London from the west of England to assist
in the repulse of another attack of the Danes. Two
years before (894) the Danes had threatened London,
having established a fortification at Beamfleate or
South Benfleet, in Essex, whence they harried the
surrounding country. The Londoners on that occasion
joined that part of the army which Alfred had left
behind in an attack upon the fort, which they not only
succeeded in taking, but they "took all that there was
within, as well money as women and children, and
brought all to London; and all the ships they either
broke in pieces or burned, or brought to London or
to Rochester." Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 71.
The Danes, however, were not to be daunted by
defeat nor moved from their purpose by the generous
conduct of Alfred. In 896 they again appeared.
This time they erected a work on the sea, twenty
miles above London. Alfred made a reconnaissance According to Henry of Huntingdon (Rolls Series No. 74. p. 150)
Alfred diverted the waters of the Lea that his enemy's ships were
stranded. -stalworth they
brought into London."Id., ii. 71. Cf. "Quarum navium Lundonienses quasdam Lundoniam
vehunt, quasdam vero penitus confringunt."—Flor. Wigorn., i, 115.
The principle of each man becoming responsible
to the Government for the good behaviour of the
neighbour, involved in the system of frankpledge
which Alfred established throughout the whole of his
kingdom, subject to his rule, was carried a step further
by the citizens of London at a later date. Under
Athelstan ( Judicia Civitatis Lundoniæ, Thorpe, 97, 103.A.D. 925-940) we find them banding
together and forming an association for mutual defence
of life and property, and thus assisting the executive
in the maintenance of law and order. A complete
code of ordinances, regulating this "frith" or peace
gild, as it was called, drawn up by the bishops and
reeves of the burgh, and confirmed by the members
on oath, is still preserved to us.
The enactments are chiefly directed against
thieves, the measures to be taken to bring them to
justice, and the penalties to be imposed on them, the
formation of a common fund for the pursuit of thieves,
and for making good to members any loss they may
have sustained. So far, the gild undertook duties of a
public character, such as are found incorporated among This is the earliest mention of a guildhall in London; and the ale-making
which took place at the meeting of the officers of the frith-guild,
accounts in all probability for Giraldus Cambrensis (Vita Galfridi,
Rolls Series No. 21 iii., c. 8.) having described the Guildhall of London
as "Aula publica quæ a potorum conventu nomen accepit."
Some writers see in the "frith-gild" of Athelstan's
day, nothing more than a mere "friendly society,"
meeting together once a month, to drink their beer
and consult about matters of mutual insurance and
other topics of more or less social and religious
character. "Notwithstanding the butt-filling and feasting, this appears to
have been a purely religious and social guild, and, although it may have
subsequently become a power in the city, so far, it is only of importance
as the first evidence of combination among the inhabitants of London
for anything like corporate action."—Loftie, Hist. of London, i, 68. Laws of Athelstan.—Thorpe, 93. Judicia Civitatis Lundoniæ.—Thorpe, 100. Gross, The Gild Merchant, i, 178-179.
The commercial supremacy of London, not only
over Winchester but over every other town in the
kingdom, now becomes more distinct, for when Athelstan
appointed moneyers or minters throughout the
country, he assigned eight (the largest number of
all) to London, whilst for Winchester he appointed
only six, other towns being provided with but one or
at most two. Wilkins, Leges Anglo-Sax., p. 59.
The encouragement which Athelstan gave to
commercial enterprise by enacting, that any merchant
who undertook successfully three voyages across the
high seas at his own cost (if not in his own vessel)
should rank as a thane, "And if a merchant thrived so that he fared thrice over the wide
sea by his own means [cɲæƥte, craft] then was he thenceforth of thane-right
worthy." (Thorpe, 81.) The word cɲæƥte is similarly translated
in Wilkins's Leges Anglo-Saxonicæ; (ed. 1721, p. 71.) per facultates suas;
but there seems no reason why it should not be taken to mean literally
a craft or vessel. The passage occurs in a list of "People's Rank"
which "formerly" prevailed, and is probably of Athelstan's time, even
if it did not form part of the Judicia Civitatis Lundoniæ.—Wilkins,
op. cit. p. 70 note.
Under Ethelred II, surnamed the "Unready"
or "redeless" from his indifference to the "rede" or
council of his advisers, the city would again have Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 105.
Matters might not have been so bad had not the king already committed the fatal error of attempting to secure peace by buying off the enemy. In 991, he had, with the consent of his witan, raised the sum of £10,000 with which he had bribed the Danish host. This was the origin of the tax known as Danegelt, which in after years became one of the chief financial resources of the Crown and continued almost uninterruptedly down to the reign of Henry II. The effect of the bribe was naturally enough to induce the enemy to make further depredations whenever in want of money; and accordingly, a Danish fleet threatened London the very next year (992) and again in 994. On this last occasion, the same wretched expedient was resorted to, and the Danes were again bought off.
Nor was cowardice the only charge of which
Ethelred was guilty. To this must be added treachery
and murder. In the year 1002, when he married the
daughter of the Duke of Normandy, hoping thereby
For four years they continued their depredations
"cruelly marking every shire in Wessex with burning
and with harrying." Then they were again bought
off with a sum of £36,000, and two years' respite
(1007-8) was gained. Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, p. 114. -Id. ii, p. 115.
In 1011 Canterbury was taken and sacked,
Alphage, the Archbishop, being made prisoner, and
carried away by the Danish fleet to Greenwich.
Finding it impossible to extort a ransom, they brutally
murdered him (19th May, 1012), in one of their
drunken moods, pelting him in their open court or
"husting" with bones and skulls of oxen. -Id. ii. pp. 117, 118. Annal. Monast., Waverley (Rolls Series
No. 36), ii, p. 173.
In the following year, Sweyn was so successful
in reducing the Northumbrians and the inhabitants of
the five boroughs, The towns of Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Stamford, and
Derby, which for many years were occupied by the Danes, were so
called. Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, pp. 118, 119.
Leaving London for a while, Sweyn proceeded to
conquer that part of England which still held out
against him, and having accomplished his purpose,
was again preparing to attack the one city which had
baffled all his attempts to capture, when the Londoners
themselves, finding further opposition hopeless, offered
their submission and left Ethelred to take care of
himself. -Id. ii, p. 119. Henry
of Huntingdon (Rolls Series No 74), p. 180.
Upon this event taking place, the crews of the
Danish fleet assumed the right of disposing of the Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, p. 120. -Id. ii, p. 120. Cf. "Ad hæc
principes se non amplius Danicum regem admissuros in Angliam
unanimiter spoponderunt."—Flor. Wigorn., i, p. 169.
When Ethelred arrived in England, he was accompanied
according to an Icelandic Saga, The Heimskringla or Chronicle of the kings of Norway, translated
from the Icelandic of Snorro Sturleson, ii. pp. 8-11.
For a short while after his return Ethelred displayed
a spirit of patriotism and courage beyond any
he had hitherto shown. He succeeded in surprising
and defeating the Danes in that district of Lincolnshire
known as Lindsey, and drove Cnut to take
refuge in his ships, and eventually to sail away to
Denmark. Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 120.
It was not long before he again appeared; he was
then, however, to meet in the field Ethelred's son,
Edmund, whose valour had gained for him the name of
Ironside. This spirited youth, forming a striking contrast
to the weak and pusillanimous character of his
father, had collected a force to withstand the enemy,
but the men refused to fight unless Ethelred came
with them, and unless they had "the support of the
citizens of London." Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 121. - Malmesbury, Gesta Regum (Rolls Series, No. 90), i, 215.Id. ii., 122.
The city of London had by this time attained a
position higher than it had ever reached before.
"We cannot as yet call it the capital of the kingdom,
but its geographical position made one of the chief
bulwarks of the land, and in no part of the realm do
we find the inhabitants outdoing the patriotism and
courage of its valiant citizens." Freeman, Norman Conquest, i, 308. Thorpe, Ancient Laws and Institutes, 127, 128.
Among the multitude of foreigners that in after-years
thronged the streets of the city bartering
pepper and spices from the far east, gloves and
cloth, vinegar and wine, in exchange for the rural
products of the country, might be seen the now
much hated but afterwards much favoured Dane. In course of time the natives of Denmark acquired the privilege
of sojourning all the year round in London—a privilege accorded to
few, if any other, foreigners. They enjoyed moreover the benefits of
the 'the law of the city of London' ( Freeman, Norman Conquest, i, 418.la lei de la citie de Loundres) in
other words, the right of resorting to fair or market in any place
throughout England.—Liber Cust. pt. i, p. 63.
At Ethelred's death the Witan who were in
London united with the inhabitants of the city in
choosing Edmund as his successor. This is the first
recorded instance of the Londoners having taken a
direct part in the election of a king. Cnut disputed
Edmund's right to the crown, and proceeded to attack
the city. He sailed up the Thames with his fleet,
but being unable to pass the bridge, he dug a canal
on the south side of the river, whereby he was
enabled to carry his ships above bridge, and so invest
the city along the whole length of the riverside. To
complete the investment, and so prevent any of the
inhabitants escaping either by land or water, he Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 122.
This, as well as two other attempts made by Cnut
within a few weeks of each other to capture London
by siege, were frustrated by the determined
opposition of the citizens. "At oppidanis magnanimiter
pugnantibus repulsa."—Malmesbury, i, 216. Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 123.
Nor was Cnut more successful in the field, being
worsted in no less than five pitched battles against
Edmund, until by the treachery of Edmund's brother-in-law,
Eadric, alderman of Mercia, he succeeded at
last in vanquishing the English army on the memorable
field of Assandun. -Id. ii, 121, 123. Henry of Huntingdon
relates that Eadric caused a panic on the field of battle by crying out
that Edmund had been killed. "Flet Engle, flet Engle, ded is
Edmund."
After this Edmund reluctantly consented to a
conference and a division of the kingdom. The
meeting took place at Olney, and there it was agreed
that Edmund should retain his crown, and rule over
all England south of the Thames, together with East
Anglia, Essex and London, whilst Cnut should enjoy
the rest of the kingdom. "The citizens, beneath
whose walls the power of Cnut and his father had
been so often shattered, now made peace with the
Danish host. As usual, money was paid to them,
and they were allowed to winter as friends within
the unconquered city." Freeman, Norman Conquest, i, 437.
The partition of the kingdom between Edmund
and Cnut had scarcely been agreed upon before the
former unexpectedly died (30th Nov., 1016) and Cnut
At the election of Cnut's successor which took place at Oxford in 1035, the Londoners again played an important part. This time, however, it was not the "burhwaru or burgesses" of the City who attended the gemót which had been summoned for the purpose of election, but "lithsmen" of London.
As to who these "lithsmen" were, and how they
came to represent the City (if indeed they represented
the City at all) on this important occasion much
controversy has arisen. To some they appear as
nothing more than the "nautic multitude" or "sea-faring
men" of London. Freeman, Norman Conquest, i, 538. "The 'lithsmen' (ship-owners) of London, who with others
raised Harold to the throne, were doubtless such 'burg-thegns.'"—Gross,
The Gild Merchant, i, 186. Green, Conquest of England, p. 462. Loftie, Hist. of London,
i, 73. "The Londoners who attended must have gone by
way of the river in their 'liths.'"—Historic Towns, London
(Loftie), p. 197. Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 129.Cf. Lingard, i, 318. Norton
Commentaries, pp. 23-24.
During the next thirty years London took no prominent part in the affairs of the country, content if only allowed to have leisure to mind its own business. The desire for peace is the key-note to the action of the citizens of London at every important crisis. Without peace, commerce became paralyzed. Peace could be best secured by a strong government, and such a government, whether in the person of a king or protector could count upon their support. "For it they were ready to devote their money and their lives, for commerce, the child of opportunity, brought wealth; wealth power; and power led independence in its train." The quarrels of the half-brothers, Harold and Harthacnut, the attempt by one or both of the sons of Ethelred and Emma to recover their father's kingdom, and the question of the innocence or guilt of Earl Godwine in connection with the murder of one of them, affected the citizens of London only so far as such disturbances were likely to impede the traffic of the Thames or to make it dangerous for them to convey their merchandise along the highways of the country.
The payment of Danegelt at the accession of
Harthacnut ( At the death of Harold, Harthacnut was invited to accept the
crown by an embassy from England, of which the Bishop of London
was a member. He accepted the offer and crossed over from the
continent with a fleet of sixty ships, manned by Danish soldiers, and his
first act was to demand eight marks for each rower; an imposition that
was borne with difficulty. Anglo-Sax. Chron. ii, 132.A.D. 1040),
Upon the sudden death of Harthacnut ( Anglo-Sax Chron., ii, 132. Freeman, Norman Conquest, 2nd ed., ii. 5. But according to
Kemble (Saxons in England, ii, 259 note), Edward's election took
place at a hastily convened meeting at Gillingham. "London, que caput est regni et legum. semper curia domini regis."—Laws
of Edward Confessor, Thorpe, p. 197 note.A.D.
1042), who died in a fit "as he stood at his drink,"
In early Saxon times the witan had met in any
town where the king happened at the time to be;
and although theoretically every freeman had a right
to attend its meetings, practically the citizens of the
town wherein the gemót happened at the time to be
held, enjoyed an advantage over freemen coming from
a distance. Alfred ordained that the witan should For a list of gemóts held in London from A.D. 790, see Kemble's
Saxons in England, ii, 241-261.mycel gemót) in St. Paul's Church in 973.
During the reign of Edward the Confessor, at
least six meetings of the witan took place in London;
the more important of these being held in 1051 and
the following year. By the gemót of 1051, which
partook of the nature of a court-martial, Earl Godwine
was condemned to banishment; but before a twelve-month
had elapsed, he was welcomed back at a great
assembly or Malmesbury, i, 242-244. Freeman, ii, 148-332. Freeman, ii, 324. Sed omnis civitas duci obviam et auxilio processit et præsidio
acclamantque illi omnes una voce prospere in adventu suo. "Life of
Edward Conf." (Rolls Series No. 3.), p. 406. "Interim quosdam per internuntios, quosdam per se cives Lundonienses,
quos variis pollicitationibus prius illexerat, convenit, et ut omnes
fere quæ volebat omnino vellent, effecit."—Flor. Wigorn., i., 209.mycel gemót held in the open air without
the walls of London.
The last gemót held under Edward was one specially summoned to meet at Westminster at the close of the year 1065, for the purpose of witnessing the dedication of the new abbey church which the king loved so well and to which his remains were so shortly afterwards to be carried.
He died at the opening of the year, and the same witan who had attended his obsequies elected Harold, the late Earl Godwine's son, as his successor. This election, however, was doomed to be overthrown by the powerful sword of William the Norman.
As soon as the news of Harold's coronation
reached William of Normandy, he claimed the crown
which Edward the Confessor had promised him. According
to every principle of succession recognised in
England, at the time, he had no right to the crown
whatever. When the Norman invader landed at
Pevensey, Harold was at York, having recently succeeded
in defeating his brother Tostig, the deposed
Earl of Northumbria, who, with the assistance of
Harold Hardrada, had attacked the northern earls,
Edwine and Morkere. On hearing of the Duke's
landing, Harold hastened to London. A general
muster of forces was there ordered, and Edwine and
Morkere, who were bound to Harold by family tie—the
King having married their sister—were bidden
to march southward with the whole force of their
earldoms. But neither gratitude for their late deliverance
at the hands of their brother-in-law, nor family
affection, could hurry the steps of these earls, and
they arrived too late. The battle of Senlac, better
known as the battle of Hastings, had been won and
lost (14th Oct., 1066), the Norman was conqueror, and
Harold had perished. For a second time within
twelve months the English throne was vacant. Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 165-167.
The times were too critical to hold a formal gemót
for the election of a successor to the throne; but the "Aldredus autem Eboracensis archiepiscopus et iidem Comites
cum civibus Lundoniensibus et butsecarlis, clitonem Eadgarum, Eadmundi
Ferrei Lateris nepotem, in regem levare volueren, et cum eo se
pugnam inituros promisere; sed dum ad pugnam descendere multi se
paravere, comites suum auxilium ab eis retraxere, et cum suo exercitu
domum redierunt."—Flor. Wigorn., i, 228.
After waiting awhile at Hastings for the country
to make voluntary submission, and finding that homagers
did not come in, William proceeded to make a
further display of force. In this he betrayed no haste,
but made his way through Kent in leisurely fashion,
receiving on his way the submission of Winchester
and Canterbury, using no more force than was
absolutely necessary, and endeavouring to allay all
fears, until at length he reached the suburbs of
London. Such is the description of William's march, as given by Malmesbury
(ii, 307). Another chronicler describes his march as one of
slaughter and devastation.—Flor. Wigorn., i, 228.
He had been astute enough to give out that he
came not to claim a crown, but only a right to be put
in nomination for it. To the mind of the Londoner,
such quibbling failed to commend itself, and the
citizens lost no time in putting their city into a posture
Upon William's arrival in Southwark, the citizens sallied forth. They were, however, beaten back after a sharp skirmish, and compelled to seek shelter again within their city's walls. William hesitated to make a direct attack upon the city, but hoped by setting fire to Southwark to strike terror into the inhabitants and bring them to a voluntary surrender. He failed in his object; the city still held out, and William next resorted to diplomacy.
The ruling spirit within the city at that time
was Ansgar or Esegar the "Staller" under whom,
as Sheriff of Middlesex, the citizens had marched
out to fight around the royal standard at Hastings.
He had been carried wounded from the field, and
was now borne hither and thither on a litter, encouraging
the citizens to make a stout defence of
their city. To him, it is said, William sent a private
message from Berkhampstead, asking only that the
Conqueror's right to the crown of England might be
acknowledged and nothing more, the real power of
the kingdom might remain with Ansgar if he so
willed. Determined not to be outwitted by the
Norman, Ansgar (so the story goes) summoned a
meeting of the eldermen (natu majores) of the City—the
forerunners of the later aldermen—and proposed
a feigned submission which might stave off immediate
danger. The proposal was accepted and a
messenger despatched. William pretended to accept
the terms offered, and at the same time so worked
upon the messenger with fair promises and gifts that
on his return he converted his fellow citizens and
Whatever poetic tinge there may be about the
story as told by Guy of Amiens, it is certain that the
citizens came to the same resolution, in effect, as that
described by the poet, nor could they well have done
otherwise. The whole of the country for miles
around London, had already tendered submission or
been forced into it. The city had become completely
isolated, and sooner or later its inhabitants must have
been starved out. There was, moreover, a strong
foreign element within its walls. The bishop was certainly Norman, and so probably was the port-reeve. Anglo-Sax. Chron. ii, 168-169.
The conciliatory spirit of William towards the
Londoners is seen in the favourable terms he was
ready to concede them. Soon after his coronation— This charter is preserved in the Town Clerk's Office at the Guildhall.
A fac-simile of it and of another charter of William, granting lands
to Deorman, forms a frontispiece to this volume. The late Professor
Freeman (Norman Conquest, second edition, revised 1876, iv, 29) wrote
of this venerable parchment as bearing William's mark—"the cross traced
by the Conqueror's own hand"—but this appears to be a mistake. The
same authority, writing of the transcript of the charter made by the late
Mr. Riley and printed by him in his edition of the Liber Custumarum
(Rolls Series, pt. ii, p. 504), remarks that, "one or two words here look
a little suspicious"; and justly so, for the transcript is far from being
literally accurate.
The charter, rendered into modern English, runs as follows:—
"William, King, greets William, Bishop, and Gosfregdh,
Portreeve, and all the burgesses within London,
French and English, friendly. And I give you to
know that I will that ye be all those laws worthy
that ye were in King Eadward's day. -Cf. "Ego volo quod vos sitis omni lege illa digni qua fuistis
Edwardi diebus Regis." These words appear in the xivth century Latin
version of William's Charter, preserved at the Guildhall.
The terms of the charter are worthy of study.
They are primarily remarkable as indicating that the
City of London was, at the time, subject to a government
which combined the secular authority of the
port-reeve with the ecclesiastical authority of the
bishop. It was said, indeed, to have been greatly
due to the latter's intercession that the charter was Liber Albus (Rolls Series i, 26).De profundis on the day when the new
mayor took his oath of office before the Barons of the
Exchequer.
As regards the port-reeve—the Opinions differ as to the derivation of the term port. Some, like
Kemble, refer it to the Lat. Norton, Commentaries on the City of London, 3rd ed., pp. 258-259.port-gerefa, i.e.,
reeve of the port or town of Londonportus, in the sense of an enclosed place
for sale or purchase, a market. ("Portus est conclusus locus, quo
importantur merces et inde exportantur. Est et statio conclusa
et munita."—Thorpe, i, 158). Others, like Dr. Stubbs (Const.
Hist., i, 404 n.), connect it with Lat. porta, not in its restricted
signification of a gate, but as implying a market place, markets being
often held at a city's gates. The Latin terms porta and portus were in
fact so closely allied, that they both alike signified a market place or a
gate. Thus, in the will of Edmund Harengeye, enrolled in the Court
of Husting, London, we find the following: "Ac eciam lego et volo
quod illa tenementa cum magno portu vocato le Brodegate ...
vendantur per executores meos."—Hust. Roll, 114 (76).turn, the latter being held independently by the
alderman of each ward.
In the next place the charter brings prominently
to our notice the fact that there was already existing
within the City's walls a strong Norman element,
existing side by side with the older English burgesses, "London and her election of Stephen," a paper read before the
Archæol. Inst. in 1866, by the late Mr. Green (p. 267). Freeman, Norman Conquest, v, p. 55. There appears to be no doubt that the charter preserved at the
Guildhall had a seal, but not a fragment remains.
It is recorded that William granted another
charter to the citizens of London, vesting in them the
City and Sheriffwick of London, and this charter the
citizens proffered as evidence of their rights over the
cloister and church of St. Martin le Grand, when those "Et dicunt quod prefatus dominus conquestor ante fundacionem
ecclesie predicte et confeccionem carte sue de qua superius fit mencio
auctoritate parliament sui et per duas cartes suas quas dicti maior et
Cives hic proferunt scilicet per unam earam dimissit tunc civibus London'
totam dictam civitatem et vice-comitatum London' cum omnibus appendiciis
rebus et consuetudinibus eis qualitercumque pertinentibus....
Et per alteram concessit et auctoritate supradicta confirmavit
eisdem civibus et successoribus suis quod haberent predicta ac omnes
alias libertates et liberas consuetudines suas illesas quas habuerunt tempore
dicti Sancti Regis Edwardi progenitoris sui."—Letter Book K,
fo. 120 b.
The compact thus made between London and the
Conqueror was faithfully kept by both parties. Having
ascended the English throne by the aid of the citizens
of London, William, unlike many of his successors,
was careful not to infringe the terms of their charter,
whilst the citizens on the other hand continued loyal
to their accepted king, and lent him assistance to put
down insurgents in other parts of the kingdom. The
fortress which William erected within their city's
walls did not disturb their equanimity. It was sufficient
for them that, under the Conqueror's rule, the
country was once more peaceful, so peaceful that, according
to the chronicler, a young maiden could
travel the length of England without being injured
or robbed. "Tantaque pax suis regnavit temporibus, quod puella virguncula
auro onusta, indempnis et intacta Angliam potuit peragrare."—Mat.
Paris, Hist. Angl. (Rolls Series No. 44), i, 29.
The close of the reign of William the First witnessed
the completion of "Doomsday," or survey of
the kingdom, which he had ordered to be made for
fiscal purposes. For some reason not explained,
neither London nor Winchester—the two capitals, so to
speak, of the kingdom—were included in this survey.
It may be that the importance of these boroughs,
William died whilst on a visit to his duchy of
Normandy, and "he who was before a powerful
king, and lord of many a land, had then of all his
land, only a portion of seven feet." Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, p. 187. Flor. Wigorn., ii, p. 19. Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, p. 187. Flor. Wigorn., ii, p. 19.
A fire destroyed St. Paul's and the greater part
of the City. Maurice, Bishop of London, at once
set to work to rebuild the Cathedral on a larger and
more magnificent scale, erecting the edifice upon arches
in a manner little known in England at that time, but
long practised in France. The Norman Conquest was
already working for good. Not only the style of
architecture, but the very stone used in re-building St.
Paul's came from France, the famous quarries of Caen
being utilised for the purpose. Stow's Survey (Thoms's ed.), p. 121.
There was already in the city, one church built
after the same manner, and on that account called
St. Mary of Arches or "le Bow." The object of Malmesbury. ii, 375.
The reign of the new king was one of oppression.
Nevertheless, he continued to secure that protection
for life and property which his father had so successfully
achieved, so that a man "who had confidence in
himself" and was "aught," could travel the length and
breadth of the land unhurt, "with his bosom full of
gold." Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii, 189. -Id., ii, 202.
On the 2nd August, 1100, the Red King met his
death suddenly in the New Forest, and the next day
was buried at Winchester. According to a previous
agreement, the crown should have immediately
devolved upon his brother Robert. Crowns, however,
were not to be thus disposed of; they fell only
to those ready and strong enough to seize them.
Robert was far away on a crusade. His younger
brother Henry was on the spot, and upon him fell the
choice of such of the witan as happened to be in or
near Winchester at the time of the late king's death. "Those of the council who were nigh at hand."—Anglo-Sax.
Chron., ii, 204.
The two days that elapsed before his coronation
at Westminster (5th August), the king-elect spent in
London, where by his easy and eloquent manner, as
well as by fair promises, he succeeded in winning the
inhabitants over to his cause, to the rejection of the
claims of Robert. The election, or perhaps we should
rather say, the selection of Henry by the witan at
Winchester, was thus approved and confirmed by the
whole realm (regni universitas), in the city of
London.
The choice was made however on one condition,
viz.:—that Henry should restore to his subjects their
ancient liberties and customs enjoyed in the days of
Edward the Confessor. Mat. Paris, Hist. Angl. (Rolls Series No. 44) i, 176.
Another charter was granted by the new king—a
charter to the citizens of London—granted, as some
have thought, soon after his accession, and by way of
recognition of the services they had rendered him
towards obtaining the crown. This however appears
to be a mistake. There is reason for supposing that
this charter was not granted until at least thirty years
after he was seated on the throne. See Round's Geoffrey de Mandeville (p. 366), where the writer
conjectures the date of the charter to have been between 1130 and 1135,
and brings evidence in favour of it having been purchased by the
payment of a large sum of money.
The chief features of the grant Set out under fifteen heads in the City's Liber Albus. (Rolls
Series) i, 128-129.
Touching the true import of this grant of Middlesex
to the citizens at a yearly rent, with the right of
appointing their own sheriff over it, no less than the
identity of the justiciar whom they were to be
allowed to choose for themselves for the purpose of
hearing pleas of the crown within the city, much
divergence of opinion exists. Some believe that
the government of the city was hereby separated
from that of the shire wherein it was situate, and that
the right of appointing their own justiciar which the
citizens obtained by this charter was the right of
electing a sheriff for the city of London in the place
of the non-elective ancient port-reeve. Others deny
that the charter introduced the shire organization into
the government of the city, and believe the justiciar and
sheriff to have been distinct officials. Stubbs, Const. Hist., i, 404, 405. Round, Geoffrey de Mandeville. p. 356. The sum of 100 marks of silver recorded (Pipe Roll, 31 Hen. I)
as having been paid for the shrievalty in 1130, appears to have been
more of the nature of a fine than a civitatem et vice-comitatum
Londoniæ, as wanting in corroboration, a
solution of the difficulty may be found if we consider
(1) that the city received a shire organization and
became in itself to all intents and purposes a county
as soon as it came to be governed by a port-reeve, if
not as soon as an alderman had been set over it by
Alfred; (2) that the duties of the shrievalty in respect
of the county of the city of London were at this time
performed either by a port-reeve or by one or more
officers, known subsequently as sheriffs, and (3) that
for the right of executing these duties no rent or ferm
was ever demanded or paid.firma.
If this be a correct view of the matter, it would
appear that the effect of Henry's grant of Middlesex
to the citizens to farm, and of the appointment of a
sheriff over it of their own choice, was not so much
to render the city independent of the shire, as to
make the shire subject to the city. It must be borne
in mind that no sheriff (or sheriffs) has ever been
elected by the citizens for Middlesex alone, the
duties appertaining to the sheriff-wick of Middlesex
having always been performed by the sheriffs of the
city for the time being. "Whereas from time immemorial there have been and of right
ought to be two sheriffs of this city, which said two sheriffs during all
the time aforesaid have constituted and of right ought to constitute one
sheriff of the county of Middlesex...."—Preamble to Act of
Common Council, 7th April, 1748, Round, Geoffrey de Mandeville, p. 357. Mr. Round's statements
(re Nomination and election of
Sheriffs. Journal 59, fo. 130b.firma of £300
paid for the shrievalty of Middlesex alone is sometimes
described as the firma of "London," sometimes
of "Middlesex," and sometimes of "London and
Middlesex."op. cit., Appendix P), that "this one firma ... represents
one corpus comitatus, namely Middlesex, inclusive of London," and
that "from this conclusion there is no escape," are more capable of
refutation than he is willing to allow.
The right of electing their own justiciar granted
to the citizens by Henry resolves itself into little more
than a confirmation of the right to elect their own
sheriffs. "It is probable that whilst the Sheriff in his character of Sheriff
was competent to direct the customary business of the Court, it was in
that of "Post hoc prædictus Justitiarius ... accessit ad Gildhalle
Londoniarum, et ibi tenuit placita de die in diem ... et incontinenti ... ilia
terminavit nullo juris ordine observato contra leges
civitatis et etiam contra leges et consuetudines cujuslibet liberi hominis
de regno Anglie. Quod vero cives semper calumpniaverunt, dicentes
quod nullus debet placitare in civitate de transgressionibus ibidem
factis nisi vicecomites Londoniarium."—Lib. de Ant. (Camd. Soc.),
p. 40.justitia that he transacted business under the King's writ."—Stubbs,
Const. History, i, 389, note.
Even those who stedfastly maintain that in the
country the sheriff and justiciar grew up to be two
distinct officers, the one representing local interest and
the other imperial, are willing to allow that in the Round. Geoffrey de Mandeville. pp. 107-113, 373, and Appendix K.eo
nomine to Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, and
it is twice mentioned as having been held by one
named Gervase, who (there is reason to believe) is
identical with Gervase de Cornhill, a Sheriff of London
in 1155 and 1156; but the office became extinct at
the accession of Henry II.
The events which followed Henry's decease
afford us another instance of the futility of all attempts
at this early period to settle the succession to the
crown before the throne was actually vacant. The
King's nephew, Stephen of Blois, and the nobility of
England had sworn to accept the King's daughter
Matilda, wife of Geoffery of Anjou, as their sovereign
on the death of her father; yet when that event took
place in 1135, Stephen, in spite of his oath, claimed
the crown as nearest male heir of the Conqueror's
blood. Mat. Paris (Hist. Angl. i, 251), ascribes the incessant turmoil
of the latter part of the reign to the vengeance of the deity for this
breach of faith.
There was no doubt of his popularity, whilst Matilda on the other hand injured her cause by marrying an Angevin. On the continent a bitter feud existed between Norman and Angevin; in England the Norman had steadily increased in favour, and England's crown was Stephen's if he had courage enough to seize it.
Landing on the Kentish coast, his first reception
was far from encouraging. Canterbury and Dover, held
by the Earl of Gloucester, refused to acknowledge "Id quoque sui esse juris, suique specialiter privilegii, ut si rex
ipsorum quoquo moclo obiret, alius suo provisu in regno substituendus
e vestigio succederet."—Gesta Stephani (Rolls Series No. 82), iii, 5-6.majores
natu) of the City.
Such is the story of Stephen's election as given
by the author of the "Gesta Stephani," one who
wrote as an eye-witness of what took place, but
whose statements cannot always be taken as those of
an independent chronicler of events. Informal as this
election may have been, it marks an important epoch
in the annals of London. Thenceforth the city
assumes a pre-eminent position and exercises a predominant
influence in the public affairs of the kingdom. "With the solemn independent election of a king, the great part
which London was to play in England's history had definitely begun."—Green,
London and her Election of Stephen.
From London Stephen went down to Winchester,
where he was heartily welcomed by his brother Henry,
In the spring of the following year (April 1136),
a brilliant council of the clergy and magnates of the
realm was held in London, Gesta Stephani (Rolls Series No. 82). iii. 17. Round, Geoffrey de Mandeville, p. 18.
In the meanwhile the injured Matilda appealed
to Rome, but only with the result that her rival
received formal recognition from the Pope. Three
years later (1139) she landed in England accompanied
by her brother, the Earl of Gloucester. She soon
obtained a following, more especially in the west; and
Winchester—the seat of the royal residence of the
queens of England since the time when Ethelred
presented the city as a "morning gift" to his consort at
their marriage—became her headquarters and rallying
After nine months of sieges and counter sieges,
marches and counter marches, in which neither party
could claim any decided success, Stephen, as was his
wont, withdrew to London and shut himself up in the
Tower, with only a single bishop, and he a foreigner,
in his train. Whilst safe behind the walls of that
stronghold, negotiations were opened between him and
the empress for a peaceful settlement of their respective
claims (May, 1140), Henry of Winchester
acting as intermediary between the rival parties. "Eodem anno in Pentecoste resedit rex Londoniæ in Turri, episcopo
tantum modo Sagiensi præsente: ceteri vel fastidierunt vel
timuerunt venire. Aliquanto post, mediante legato, colloquium indictum
est inter imperatricem et regem. si forte Deo inspirante pax reformari
posset."—Malmesbury, Hist. Nov. (Rolls Series No. 90.), ii, 564.
Matters assumed an entirely different aspect when
Stephen was made prisoner at Lincoln in the following
year (2nd Feb., 1141). Henry of Winchester forsook
his rôle of arbitrator, and entered into a formal
compact with the empress who arrived before Winchester
with the laurels of her recent success yet
fresh, agreeing to receive her as "Lady of England,"
( "Juravit et affidavit imperatrix episcopo quod omnia majora negotia
in Anglia præcipueque donationes episcopatuum et abbatiarum ejus
nutum spectarent, si eam ipse cum sancta ecclesia in dominam reciperet
et perpetuam ei fidelitatem teneret.... Nec dubitavit episcopus
imperatricem in dominam Angliæ recipere, et ei cum quibusdam suis
affidare, quod, quamdiu ipsa pactem non infringeret ipse quoque fidem
ei custodiret."—Domina Angliæ) and promising her the allegiance of
himself and his followers so long as she would keep
her oath and allow him a free hand in ecclesiastical
matters.Id., ii, 573.
This compact was entered into on the 2nd March,
and on the following day the empress was received
with solemn pomp into Winchester Cathedral. It
remained for the compact to be ratified. For this
purpose an ecclesiastical synod was summoned to sit
at Winchester on the 7th April. The day was spent
by the legate holding informal communications with
the bishops, abbots, and archdeacons who were in
attendance, and who then for the first time in England's
history claimed the right not only of consecration,
but of election of the sovereign. "Ventilata est hesterno die causa secreto coram majori parte cleri
Angliæ ad cujus jus potissimum spectat principem eligere, simulque
ordinare."—Id., ii, 576.
On the 8th April, Henry in a long speech announced to the assembled clergy the result of the conclave of the previous day. He extolled the good government of the late king who before his death had caused fealty to be sworn to his daughter, the empress. The delay of the empress in coming to England (he said) had been the cause of Stephen's election. The latter had forfeited all claim to the crown by his bad government, and God's judgment had been pronounced against him. Lest therefore, the nation should suffer for want of a sovereign, he, as legate, had summoned them together, and by them the empress had been elected Lady of England. The speech was received with unanimous applause, those to whom the election did not commend itself being wise enough to hold their tongue.
But there was another element to be considered
before Matilda's new title could be assured. What
would the Londoners who had taken the initiative in
setting Stephen on the throne, and still owed to themqui sunt quasi optimates pro
magnitudine civitatis in Anglia), could not be won
over. He had, therefore, sent a special safe conduct
for their attendance, so he informed the meeting after
the applause which followed his speech had died away,
and he expected them to arrive on the following day.
If they pleased they would adjourn till then.
The next day (9th April) the Londoners arrived,
as the legate had foretold, and were ushered before
the council. They had been sent, they said, by the so
called "commune" of London; and their purpose was
not to enter into debate, but only to beg for the release
of their lord, the king. "Missos se a communione quam vocant Londoniarum."—Malmesbury,
(Hist. Nov.), ii, 576. Exception may be taken to translating
"Omnes barones qui in eorum coramunionem jamdudum recepti
fuerant."—Malmesbury, communio as 'commune'; but even if the municipal organization
represented by the French term commune did not at this period exist in
the City of London in all its fulness, the "communal idea" appears
to have been there.—Stubbs, Const. Hist., i. 407.Ibid.quasi proceres) in the land to foster those who
had basely deserted their king on the field of battle,
and who only curried favour with the citizens in order
to fleece them of their money.
Here an interruption took place. A messenger presented to the legate a paper from Stephen's queen to read to the council. Henry took the paper, and after scanning its contents, refused to communicate them to the meeting. The messenger, however, not to be thus foiled, himself made known the contents of the paper. These were, in effect, an exhortation by the queen to the clergy, and more especially to the legate himself, to restore Stephen to liberty. The legate, however, returned the same answer as before, and the meeting broke up, the Londoners promising to communicate the decision of the council to their brethren at home, and to do their best to obtain their support.
The next two months were occupied by the
empress and her supporters in preparing the way for
her admission into the city, the inhabitants of which,
had as yet shown but little disposition towards her.
But however great their inclination may have been to
Stephen, they at length found themselves forced to
transfer their allegiance and to offer, for a time at
least, a politic submission to the empress. Accordingly,
a deputation went out to meet her at St. Albans
(May 1141), and arrange terms on which the city
should surrender. "Proficiscitur inde cum exultatione magna et gaudio, et in monasterio
Sancti Albani cum processionali suscipitur honore et jubilo.
Adeunt eam ibi cives multi ex Lundonia, tractatur ibi sermo multimodus
de reddenda civitate."—Contin. Flor. Wigorn. (Thorpe), ii, 131.
More delay took place; and it was not until
shortly before midsummer (1141), that she entered
the city. Her stay was brief. She treated the inhabitants
as vanquished foes, "Erecta est autem in superbiam intolerabilem, quia suis incerta
belli prosperavissent."—Hen. of Huntingdon (Rolls Series No. 74), p. 275. "Infinitæ copiæ pecuniam, non simplici cum mansuetudine sed
cum ore imperioso ab eis exegit."—Gesta Stephani (Rolls Series
No. 82), iii, 75. "Interpellata est a civibus, ut leges eis regis Edwardi observari
liceret, quia optimæ erant, non patris sui Henrici quia graves erant.
Verum illa non bono usa consilio, præ nimia austeritate non acquievit
eis, unde et motus magnus factus in urbe; et facta conjuratione adversus
eam quam cum honore susceperunt. cum dedecore apprehendere
statuerunt."—Contin. Flor. Wigorn. (Thorpe), ii, 132.
The consequence was that, within a few days of
her arrival in London, the inhabitants rose in revolt,
drove her out of the city Malmesbury (Hist. Nov.), ii, 577-578. "Sed tandem a Londoniensibus
expulsa est in die Sancti Johannis Baptiste proximo sequenti"—Lib.
de Ant. (Camd. Soc), p. 197. "Anno prædicto [i.e. 7 Stephen, A.D. 1141], statim in illa estate,
obsessa est Turris Lundoniarum a Londoniensibus, quam Willielmus
[sic] de Magnaville tenebat et firmaverat."—Lib. de Ant. (Camd.
Soc.), p. 197. From this it would appear that the father still held
the office of constable. A charter of the empress, however, which
Mr. Horace Round prints in his book on Geoffrey de Mandeville
(pp. 88, seq.) points to the son as being constable at the time.
This Geoffrey de Mandeville had been recently
created Earl of Essex by Stephen, in the hope and
expectation that the fortress over which Geoffrey
was governor, would be held secure for the royal
cause. The newly fledged earl, however, was one
who ever fought for his own hand, and was ready to
sell his fortress and sword to the highest bidder. The
few days that the empress was in the city, afforded
her an opportunity of risking a trial to win over the
earl from his allegiance. To this end she offered to
confirm him in his earldom and to continue him in his
office of Constable of the Tower, conferred upon him Round, Geoffrey de Mandeville, pp. 88-95.
Scarcely had the fickle earl consented to throw
in his lot with the empress before she had to flee the
city. The departure of the empress was quickly
followed by the arrival of her namesake, Matilda, the
valiant queen of the captured Stephen; and again the
earl proved false to his allegiance and actively supported
the queen in concert with the citizens. It is not to be supposed that the earl consented to assist the queen
without meeting with some return for his services, more especially as
the queen was prepared to go all lengths to obtain her husband's liberty.
See Round's Geoffrey de Mandeville, p. 119.
With his aid "Gaufrido de Mandevilla, qui jam iterum auxilio eorum cesserat,
antea enim post captionem regis imperatrici fidelitatem juraverat, et Londoniensibus
maxime annitentibus, nihilque omnino quod possent prætermittentibus
quo imperatricem contristarent."—Malmesbury (Hist.
Nov.), ii, 580. "Magnæ ex Lundoniis copiæ."—Newburgh, Hist. Rerum. Angl.
(Rolls Series No. 82.), i, 42. "Cumque invictâ Londoniensium
catervâ."—Gesta Stephani (Rolls Series No. 82), iii, 80. The Londoners
sacked Winchester mercilessly. "Londonienses, cum maxima
militum regalium parte, modis horrendis Wintoniensem civitatem expilavere."—Gesta
Stephani, iii, 84.
After being solemnly crowned, for the second
time, The precedent thus set by Stephen, of submitting to the ceremony
of a second coronation after a period of captivity, was afterwards
followed by Richard I, on his return from captivity abroad. This is the date assigned to the charter by Mr. Horace Round,
(Geoffrey de Mandeville, pp. 138-144). Cf. Appendix to 31st Report
of Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, p. 3.
But even these great concessions failed to secure
the earl's fidelity to the king. Again he broke away
from his allegiance and planned a revolt in favour of
the empress who recompensed him with still greater
dignities and possessions than any yet bestowed.
This second charter of the empress, The date assigned by Mr. Round to this charter is between
Christmas, 1141, and the end of June, 1142. "Et convenciono eidem Gaufredo Comiti Essex quod dominus
meus Comes Andegavie vel ego vel filii nostri nullam pacem aut
concordiam cum Burgensibus Lund[oniæ] faciemus, nisi concessu et
assensu præ-dicti Comitis Gaufredi quia inimici eius sunt mortales."—Round's
Geoffrey de Mandeville, p. 168. Newburgh, Hist. Rerum Angl. (Rolls Series No. 82), i. 48. Henry
of Huntingdon (Rolls Series No. 74), p. 278.
The earl was subsequently treacherously arrested and made to give up his castles. Thenceforth his life was that of a marauding freebooter, until, fatally wounded at the siege of Burwell, he expired in September, 1143.
Notwithstanding the absence of the empress and the death of the faithless earl, a desultory kind of war continued to be carried on for the next ten years on behalf of Henry of Anjou, son of the empress. In 1153 that prince arrived in England to fight his own battles and maintain his right to the crown, which the king had already attempted to transfer to the head of his own son Eustace. This attempt had been foiled by the refusal of the bishops, at the instigation of the pope, to perform the ceremony. The sudden death of Eustace made the king more ready to enter into negotiations for effecting a peaceful settlement.
A compromise was accordingly effected at Winchester, Sometimes called the Treaty of Wallingford. The general joy is depicted in glowing colours by Henry of
Huntingdon, (p. 289.) Cf. Anglo-Sax. Chron., ii., 235.
Both London and Winchester had been laid in
ashes during Stephen's reign, the former by a conflagration—which
took place in 1136, again destroying
St. Paul's and extending from London Bridge to the
church of St. Clement Danes—the latter by the
burning missiles used in the conflict between Stephen
and the empress in 1141. Winchester never recovered
her position, and London was left without a rival.
Fitz-Stephen, who wrote an account of the city as it
stood in the reign of Henry II, describes it as holding
its head higher than all others; its fame was wider
known; its wealth and merchandise extended further
than any other; it was the capital of the kingdom
( Fitz-Stephen's Stephanides, Stow's Survey (Thoms's ed.), p. 208.regni Anglorum sedes).
It was through the mediation of an intimate
friend and fellow citizen of Fitz-Stephen that Archbishop
Theobald had invited Henry of Anjou over
from France in 1153. Thomas of London, better
known as Thomas Becket, although of foreign descent,
was born in the heart of the city, having first seen the
light in the house of Gilbert, his father, some time
Portreeve of London, situate in Cheapside on a site
now occupied by the hall and chapel of the Mercers'
Chapel. Having been ordained a deacon of the
Church, he became in course of time clerk or chaplain Freeman, Norman Conquest, v., 325.
On the accession of Henry, Thomas passed from
the service of the archbishop, then advanced in years,
to the service of the young king. He was raised to
the dignity of chancellor, and became one of the
king's most trusted advisers. By their united efforts
order was once again restored throughout the kingdom.
The great barons, who had established themselves
in castles erected without royal licence, were
brought into subjection to the crown and compelled
to pull down their walls. Upon the death of the
archbishop, Thomas was appointed to the vacant See
(1162). From that day forward the friendship between
king and archbishop began to wane. Henry found
that all his attempts to establish order in his kingdom
were thwarted by exemptions claimed by the archbishop
on behalf of the clergy. He found that
allegiance to the Crown was divided with allegiance
to the Pope, and this state of things was likely to
continue so long as the archbishop lived. Becket's
end is familiar to us all. His memory was long
cherished by the citizens of London, who made many
a pilgrimage to the scene of his martyrdom and left
many an offering on his tomb in the cathedral of
Canterbury. It is hard to say for which of the two,
the father or the son, the citizens entertained the
greater reverence. For many years after his death it
was the custom for the Mayor of the City for the A cartulary of the Mercers' Company contains a copy of a grant
from Thomas Fitz-Theobald to the hospital of St. Thomas of Acon of
"all that land, with the appurtenances, which was formerly of Gilbert
Becket, father of the Blessed Thomas the Martyr, Archbishop of
Canterbury, where the said Blessed Thomas the Martyr was born
( Liber Albus (Rolls Series), i, pp. 26, 27.duxit originem), to build a church (basilicam) in honour of
Almighty God and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the same most
glorious martyr."—Watney, Account of the Hospital of St. Thomas
of Acon (privately printed 1892), pp. 9, 237.De profundis; after which both mayor and
aldermen returned to the church of St. Thomas, and,
each having made an offering of two pence, returned
to his own home.
Whilst the king and his chancellor were busy settling the kingdom, establishing a uniform administration of justice and system of revenue, and not only renewing but extending the form of government which had been instituted by Henry I, the citizens of London, availing themselves of the security afforded by a strong government, redoubled their energy in following commercial pursuits and succeeded in raising the city, as Fitz-Stephen has told us, to a pitch of prosperity far exceeding that of any other city in the world.
They obtained a charter from Henry, This charter (with fragment of seal) is preserved at the Guildhall.
It bears no date, but appears to have been granted between 1154 and 1161.A.D. 1199), by
John's second charter, the office of sheriff of London
had lost much of its importance owing to the introduction
of the communal system of municipal government
under a mayor.
In the meantime the sheriffs of the counties, who
had by reason of Henry's administrative reforms, risen
to be officers of greater importance and wider jurisdiction,
and who had taken advantage of their positions to
oppress the people during the king's prolonged absence
abroad, were also made to feel the power of the crown.
A blow struck at the sheriffs was calculated to weaken Contin. Flor. Wigorn., ii, 138.
The last fifteen years of Henry's life were full of domestic trouble. He had always found it an easier matter to rule his kingdom than his household. His sons were for ever thwarting his will and quarrelling with each other. It was his desire to secure the succession to the crown for his eldest son Henry, and to this end he had caused him to be crowned by the Archbishop of York (14th June, 1170), who was thereupon declared excommunicated by his brother of Canterbury. The son began to clamour for his inheritance whilst his father still lived, and appealed in 1173 to the French king, whose daughter he had married, to assist him in his unholy enterprise. Whilst Henry was engaged in defending his crown against his own son on the continent, the great barons of England rose in insurrection, and the king was obliged to hasten home, where he arrived in July, 1174. The rebellion was quickly put down, and the strife between king and nobles for a time ceased.
In the city there were occasional disturbances
caused by the younger nobility—the young bloods of "De filiis et parentibus nobilium civitatis" and again "filii et
nepotes quorundam nobilium civium Londoniarum."—Benedict of
Peterborough (Rolls Series No. 49), ii, 155. By a strange anomaly, a man who underwent ordeal by water
was only adjudged innocent if he sank to the bottom and was drowned.
Hence the old man's caution!pater-familias.
Of his courage we are left in no doubt, for we are
told that he slipt on a coat of mail, armed his house-hold,
and awaited the attack. He had not long to
wait. The leader of the band—one Andrew Bucquinte
soon made his appearance, and was met by
a pan of hot coals. Swords were drawn on both
sides and pater-familias, whose coat of mail served
him well, succeeded in cutting off the right hand of
his assailant. Upon the cry of thieves being raised,
the delinquents took to their heels, leaving their
leader a prisoner. The next day, being brought
before the king's justiciar, he informed against his
companions. This cowardly action on the part of
Bucquinte led to many of them being taken, and
among them one who is described by the chronicler
as the noblest and wealthiest of London citizens, but
to whom the chronicler gives no other name than
"John, the old man" (Johannes Senex). An offer was
made to John to prove his innocence by what was
known as the ordeal by water,
Having settled the succession of the crown of England upon his eldest son, the king put his second son, Richard, into possession of the Duchy of Aquitaine, and provided for his third son, Geoffrey, by marriage with the heiress of Brittany. There was yet another son, John, who was too young to be provided for just now, and who being without any territory, assigned to him, acquired the name of Lackland. Both Richard and Geoffrey had taken the part of their brother Henry in 1173, and in 1177 the three brothers were again quarrelling with their father and with each other. After the deaths of Henry and Geoffrey, the quarrel was taken up by the surviving brothers, Richard and John.
In all these—more or less—petty wars with his sons, the king had always to deal with the ruler of France. At last, in 1189, the loss of Le Mans—his own birth-place—and the unexpected discovery that his youngest and best beloved son, John, had turned traitor towards him, left the king nothing to live for, and after a few days suffering he died, ill and worn out, at Chinon.
Richard had scarcely succeeded to the throne,
before he set out on a crusade, leaving the government
of his country in the hands of William Longchamp,
Bishop of Ely, as chancellor. Roger de Hoveden (Rolls Series No. 51), iii, 28. According to
Richard of Devizes (Rolls Series No. 82, iii, 387), Longchamp obtained
the chancellorship by bribery. Benedict (Rolls Series No. 49). ii, 106. -Id. ii, 143.
Report of the Chancellor's conduct having reached
the ears of Richard, he despatched the Archbishop
of Rouen to England with a new commission, but
the worthy prelate on arrival (April, 1191), was afraid
to present the commission, preferring to let matters
take their course. - Preface to Roger de Hoveden, iii, p. lxxvii. Girald. Cambr.
Vita Galfridi (Rolls Series No. 21). iv, 397. Richard of Devizes, iii, 414. Benedict, ii, 213.Id. ii, 158.
As soon as John found that the chancellor had
gone to London instead of Reading, he too hastened
thither. On his arrival he was welcomed and hospitably
entertained by Richard Fitz-Reiner who gave
him to understand on what terms he might expect the
support of the city. Ralph de Diceto (Rolls Series No. 68), ii, 99. Girald. Cambr.
(Vita Galfridi). iv, 397-398. Roger de Hoveden, iii. 140.
The next day (8 Oct.), a meeting of the barons
of the realm, as well as of the citizens of London,
was convened in St. Paul's Church, to consider the
conduct of the chancellor, and it was thereupon
decided that Longchamp should be deposed from
office. The story, as told by different chroniclers, Richard of Devizes. (Rolls Series No. 82), iii. 415. Benedict,
213. Girald. Cambr. (Vita Galfridi), iv, 405.
The same day that witnessed the fall of Longchamp
was also a memorable one in the annals of the
City of London; for immediately after judgment had
been passed on the chancellor, John and the assembled
barons granted to the citizens "their commune,"
swearing to preserve untouched the dignities of the
city during the king's pleasure. The citizens on "Johannes comes frater regis et archiepiscopus Rothomagensis,
et omnes episcopi, comites et barones regni qui aderant, concesserunt
civibus Lundoniarum communam suam, et juraverunt quod ipsi eam et
dignitates civitatis Lundoniarum custodirent illibatas, quandiu regi
placuerit. Et cives Lundoniarum et epispcopi et comites et barones
juraverunt fidelitates regi Ricardo, et Johanni comiti de Meretone fratri
ejus salva fidelitate, et quod illum in dominum suum et regem reciperent,
si rex sine prole decesserit."—Benedict of Peterborough
(Rolls Series No. 49), ii, 214. Cf. Roger de Hovedene (Rolls Series
No. 51), iii, 141; Walter de Coventry (Rolls Series No. 58), ii, 5-6.
This is the first public recognition of the citizens
of London as a body corporate; but so far from
granting to them something new, the very words
- "In crastino vero convocatis in unum civibus, communione, vel
ut Latine minus vulgariter magis loquamur, communa seu communia
eis concessa et communiter jurata."—Vita Galfridi, iv, 405. Const. Hist., i, 407. Referring to the year 1191, he writes, "we have the date of the
foundation of the commune."— "Concessa est ipsa die et instituta communia Londoniensium, in
quam universi regni magnates et ipsi etiam ipsius provinciæ episcopi
jurare coguntur. Nunc primum in indulta sibi conjuratione regno
regem deesse cognovit Londonia quam nec rex ipse Ricardus, nec
prædecessor et pater ejus Henricus, pro mille millibus marcarum
argenti fieri permisisset. Quanta quippe mala ex conjuratione proveniant
ex ipsa poterit diffinitione perpendi, quæ talis est—communia
tumor plebis, timor regni, tepor sacerdotii."—Chron. Stephen, Hen.
II, Ric. I (Rolls Series No. 82), iii, 416.their commune (communam suam) imply a commune
of which they were de facto, if not de jure already in
enjoyment. How long the commune may have been
in existence, unauthorised by the crown, cannot be
determined; but that the term communio in connection
with the city's organization was known half a century
before, we have already seen;Supra p. 49.communio, communa
and communia.communio as "commune," the latter being
essentially a French term for a particular form of
municipal government. He prefers to render it "commonalty,"
"fraternity," or "franchise," although he
goes so far as to allow that the term "suggests
that the communal idea was already in existence as
a basis of civic organization" in Stephen's reign, an
idea which became fully developed in the succeedingcommuna in London from this grant by John and
the barons,Id., i, 629.communia of London was instituted on that occasion,
and that it was of such a character that neither
King Richard nor Henry his father would have conceded
it for a million marks of silver, and that a
communia was in fact everything that was bad. It
puffed up the people, it threatened the kingdom, and
it emasculated the priesthood.
With the change from a shire organization to
that of a French "It is impossible to avoid a suspicion," writes Bishop Stubbs,
"that the disappearance of the port-reeve and other changes in the
municipal government, signify a civic revolution, the history of which
is lost."—Const. Hist., i, 406n.commune, whenever that happened
to take place, there took place also a change in the
chief governor of the city. The head of the city was
no longer a Saxon "port-reeve" but a French "mayor,"
the former officer continuing in all probability to perform
the duties of a port-reeve or sheriff of a town
in a modified form. From the time when this "civic
revolution"
The earliest mention of a mayor of London in a
formal document is said to occur in a writ of the reign
of Henry II. Merewether and Stephens, Hist. of Boroughs (1835), i, 384.
No authority, however, is given for this statement. The entire MS. was published in Latin by the Camden Society
in 1846; and a translation of the original portion of the work was
afterwards made by the late Mr. H. T. Riley, under the title "Chronicles
of the Mayors and Sheriffs of London, Liber de Antiquis Legibus.A.D. 1188 to A.D. 1274."
After naming the sheriffs who were appointed at
Michaelmas, "The correct date of the accession of Richard has never been
ascertained. No records appear to be extant to fix the commencement
of the reign of any king before the accession of John."—Nicholas,
Chronology of Hist., p. 285. Fos. 45, 63 and 63b.A.D. 1188, "the first year of the reign of
King Richard,"
The compiler of the chronicle is supposed to have
been Arnald or Arnulf Fitz-Thedmar, Or simply Thedmar. It is thus that Riley reads the word which to me appears to be
capable of being read "Grennigge." Calendar of Wills. Court of Husting, London, part. I., p. 22.
From another Will, that of Margery, relict of Walter de Wynton, and
one of Fitz-Thedmar's sisters—she is described as daughter of
"Thedmar, the Teutonic"—it appears that other sisters of Fitz-Thedmar
married into the well-known city families of Eswy and Gisors.—A.D. 1201, his
mother being forewarned of the circumstances that
would attend his birth in a manner familiar to biblical
readers; that he was deprived of his aldermanry by
the king, but was afterwards restored; that he became
supporter of the king against Simon de Montfort and
the barons, and that he was among those whom
Thomas Fitz-Thomas, the leader of the democratic
party and his followers, had "intended to slay"
on the very day that news reached London of the
battle of Evesham, which crushed the hopes of Montfort
and his supporters. The date of his death cannot
be precisely determined, but there can be but little
doubt that it took place early in the third year of
the reign of Edward the First, inasmuch as his
will was proved and enrolled in the Court of
Husting, London, held on Monday, the morrow of
the Feast of St. Scolastica [10 Feb.] of that year
(A.D. 1274-5).Id.,
part i, p. 31.
Setting aside the statement—namely that mention
is made of a mayor of London, in a document of the
reign of Henry II—as wanting corroboration, the
first instance known at the present day of any such
official being named in a formal document occurs
in 1193 when the Mayor of London appears among
those who were appointed treasurers of Richard's
ransom. "Ibi etiam dispositium est, penes quem pecunia collata debeat
residere: scilicet sub custodia Huberti Walteri Cantuariensis electi, et
domini Ricardi Lundoniensis episcopi, et Willelmi comitis de Arundel
et Hamelini comitis de Warenna et majoris Lundoniarum."—Roger
de Hoveden (Rolls Series No. 51), iii, 212.
Richard's first charter to the City (23 April, 1194) Preserved at the Guildhall.
When Richard recovered his liberty and returned
to England he was heartily welcomed by all except
his brother John. One of his first acts was to visit
the City and return thanks for his safety at St. Paul's. Ralph de Diceto (Rolls Series No. 68), ii, p. 114. "Denique ad ingressum principis ita ornata est facies amplissimæ
civitatis ut Alemanni nobiles qui cum ipso venerant et redemptione
regia exinanitam bonis Angliam credebant opum magnitudine obstupescerent."—William
of Newburgh (Rolls Series No. 82), i, p. 406.
In order to wipe out the stain of his imprisonment,
he thought fit to go through the ceremony of coronation
for the second time. His first coronation had
taken place at Westminster (3 Sept., 1189,) soon after
his accession, and the citizens of London had duly
performed a service at the coronation banquet—a
service which even in those days was recognised as an
"ancient service"—namely, that of assisting the chief
butler, for which the mayor was customarily presented
with a gold cup and ewer. The citizens of the rival
city of Winchester performed on this occasion the
lesser service of attending to the viands. "Cives vero Lundonienses servierunt de pincernaria, et cives
Wintonienses de coquina."—Roger de Hoveden (Rolls Series No.
51), iii, 12.
The second coronation taking place at Winchester
and not at Westminster, the burgesses of the former
city put in a claim to the more honourable service
over the heads of the citizens of London, and the
latter only succeeded in establishing their superior
claim by a judicious bribe of 200 marks. Brit. Mus., Harl. MS. 3,504, fo. 248.
Richard was ever in want of money, and cared
little by what means it was raised. He declared himself
ready to sell London itself if a purchaser could
be found. "Si invenissem emptorem Londoniam vendidissem."—Richard of
Devizes (Rolls Series No. 82), iii, 388.
The pressure of taxation weighed heavily on the
poor, and occasioned a rising in the city under the
leadership of William Fitz-Osbert. The cry was that
the rich were spared whilst the poor were called upon
to pay everything. "Frequentius enim solito . . imponebantur eis auxilia non modica
et divites, propriis parcentes marsupiis volebant ut pauperes solverent
universa."—Roger de Hoveden (Rolls Series No. 51), iv. 5. "Ad
omne edictum regium divites, propriis fortunis parcentes, pauperibus
per potentiam omne onus imponerent."—Newburgh, (Rolls Series
No. 82), ii. 466. Newburgh, ii., 466.
Others describe him as a wealthy citizen of the
best family, and yet as one who ever upheld the cause Mat. Paris, ii, 57. A similar character is given him by
Roger de Hoveden. Dr. S. R. Gardiner describes him as an
alderman of the city, and as advocating the cause of the poor artisan
against the exactions of the wealthier traders.—Students' History of
England, i, 169. "Pauperum et veritatis ac pietatis adversarii."—Mat. Paris, ii. 57. Newburgh, ii, 470. "And for the time," adds Dr. Gardiner, "the rich tradesmen
had their way against the poorer artisans."—Students' History of
England, i, 170.
Two years before his death at Chaluz, Richard,
with the view of aiding commerce, caused the wears
in the Thames to be removed, and forbade his wardens
of the Tower to demand any more the toll that had
been accustomed. The writ to this effect was dated
from the Island of Andely or Les Andelys on the
Seine, the 14th July, 1197, in the neighbourhood of
that fortress which Richard had erected, and of
which he was so proud—the Château Gaillard
or "Saucy Castle," as he jestingly called it. The reputation
which the castle enjoyed for impregnability
Soon after John's accession we find what appears
to be the first mention of a court of aldermen as a
deliberative body. In the year 1200, writes Thedmar
(himself an alderman), "were chosen five and twenty
of the more discreet men of the city, and sworn to
take counsel on behalf of the city, together with
the mayor." Chronicles of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 2.epitome totius regni—the establishment
of a court of aldermen preceded that of the common
council.
When, after thirteen years of misgovernment,
during which John had enraged the barons and
excited general discontent by endless impositions,
matters were brought to a climax by his submission
to the pope, it was in the city of London that the
first steps were taken by his subjects to recover their
lost liberty. On the 25th August, 1213, a meeting of
the clergy and barons was held in the church of
St. Paul; a memorable meeting, and one that has
been described as "a true parliament of the realm,
though no king presided in it." Freeman, Norman Conquest, v, 709. Mat. Paris, ii, 143. Roger of Wendover (Rolls Series No. 84),
ii, 83-87.
The clergy and people who had hitherto supported
the king against the barons, having now engaged themselves
to assist the barons against the tyranny of the
king, John found himself with but one friend in the
world, and that was the Pope. "Innocent's view of
the situation was very simple," writes Dr. Gardiner,
"John was to obey the Pope, and all John's subjects
were to obey John." Within a few weeks of the
council being held at St. Paul's, the same sacred
edifice witnessed the formality of affixing a golden -bulla
to the deed—the detestable deed (carta detestabilis)—whereby
John had in May last resigned the crown
of England to the papal legate, and received it again
as the Pope's feudatory.Id. ii, 146.
In the following year (1214), whilst the king was
abroad, the barons met again at Bury St. Edmunds,
and solemnly swore that if John any longer delayed
restoring the laws and liberties of Henry the First,
they would make war upon him. It was arranged
that after Christmas they should go in a body and
demand their rights, and that in the meantime they
should provide themselves with horses and arms, with
the view of bringing force to bear, in case of refusal. - Ann. of Bermondsey (Rolls Series No. 36), in, 453.Id. ii, 153.
Christmas came and a meeting between John
and the barons took place in London at what was
then known as the "New" Temple. The result,
however, was unsatisfactory, and both parties prepared
for an appeal to force, the barons choosing as their
leader Robert Fitz-Walter, whom they dubbed
"Marshal of the army of God and of Holy Church." Mat. Paris, ii, 154-156.
This Fitz-Walter was Baron of Dunmow in Essex,
the owner of Baynard's Castle in the City of London,
and lord of a soke, which embraced the whole of the
parish known as St. Andrew Castle Baynard. He
moreover enjoyed the dignity of castellain and chief
bannerer or banneret of London. The rights and
privileges attaching to his soke and to his official
position in time of peace were considerable, to judge
from a claim to them put forward by his grandson
in the year 1303. Upon making his appearance in
the Court of Husting at the Guildhall, it was the
duty of the Mayor, or other official holding the court,
to rise and meet him and place him by his side.
Again, if any traitor were taken within his soke or
jurisdiction, it was his right to sentence him to death,
the manner of death being that the convicted person
should be tied to a post in the Thames at the Wood
Wharf, and remain there during two tides and two
ebbs. As to the services and franchises of Fitz-Walter, both in time of
peace and war, see Lib. Cust., (Rolls Series), part i, pp. 147-151.
In later years, however, upon an enquiry being
held by the Justiciars of the Iter (a° 14 Edward II,
Introd. to Lib. Cust, p. lxxvii.a.d. 1321), the claimant was obliged to acknowledge
that he had disposed of Baynard's Castle in the time
But it was in time of war that Fitz-Walter
achieved for himself the greatest power and dignity.
It then became the duty of the castellain to proceed
to the great gate of St. Paul's attended by nineteen
other knights, mounted and caparisoned, and having
his banner, emblazoned with his arms, displayed before
him. Immediately upon his arrival, the mayor, aldermen,
and sheriffs, who awaited him, issued solemnly
forth from the church, all arrayed in arms, the
mayor bearing in his hand the city banner, the
ground of which was bright vermilion or gules, with
a figure of St. Paul, in gold, thereon, the head, feet,
and hands of the saint being silver or argent, and
in his right hand a sword. The sword of St. Paul, emblematic possibly of his martyrdom,
still remains in the City's coat of arms. It has often been mistaken for
the dagger with which Sir William Walworth is said to have killed
Wat Tyler.
A sum of £20 was at the same time handed to
Fitz-Walter's chamberlain to defray the day's expenses.
It is not improbable that Fitz-Walter's election as leader of the remonstrant barons was in some measure due to his official position in the city. It is also probable, as Mr. Riley has pointed out, that the unopposed admission of the barons into the city, on the 24th May, 1215, may have been facilitated by Fitz-Walter's connexion, as castellain, with the Priory of Holy Trinity, situate in the vicinity.
But there were other reasons for selecting Fitz-Walter
as their leader at this juncture. If the story
be true, Fitz-Walter had good reason to be bitterly
hostile to King John, for having caused his fair
daughter Maude or Matilda to be poisoned, after
having unsuccessfully made an attempt upon her
chastity. The story is told in Mr. Riley's Introduction to the Liber Custamarum
(p. lxxix), on the authority of the Chronicle of Dunmow. He is said to have made a similar attempt upon the wife of
Eustace de Vesci, a leading baron.—(Blackstone, Introd. to Magna
Carta, pp. 289, 290).
After a feeble attempt to capture Northampton,
the barons, with Fitz-Walter at their head, accepted
an invitation from the citizens of London to enter the
city. They made their entry through Aldgate. Mat. Paris, ii, 156. A different complexion, however, is put on
this event by another chronicler. According to Walter de Coventry
(Rolls Series, No. 58, ii, 220) the barons made their way into the City
by stealth, scaling the walls at a time when most of the inhabitants
were engaged in divine service, and having once gained a footing
opened all the City gates one after another.
The concession which John had recently made to
the citizens, viz.:—the right of annually electing their
own mayor By charter, date 8th May, 1215, preserved at the Guildhall. Mat. Paris, ii, 159, 161, 164, 186. Roger of Wendover (Rolls Series No. 84), ii, 117.
The citizens met their reward for fidelity to the
barons when John was brought to bay at Runnymede.
In drafting the articles of the Great Charter the barons,
mindful of their trusty allies, made provision for the
preservation of the city's liberties, and the names of Stubbs, Select Charters, p. 298.
By way of further security for the fulfilment of
the articles of the charter the barons demanded and
obtained the custody of the City of London, including
the Tower, and they reserved to themselves the right
of making war upon the king if he failed to keep his
word. For a year or more the barons remained in
the city, having entered into a mutual compact with
the inhabitants to make no terms with the king without
the consent of both parties. "Moram autem faciebant barones in civitate Londoniæ per annum
et amplius cum civibus confœderati, permittentes se nullam pacem
facturos cum rege nisi assensu utriusque partis."—Annals of Waverley
(Rolls Series No. 36), ii, 283.
The right of resistance thus established was soon
to be carried into execution. Before the year was
out, John had broken faith, and was besieging Rochester
with the aid of mercenaries. An attempt to raise
the siege failed, owing to the timidity (not to say
cowardice) of Fitz-Walter, who, like the rest of the
barons, was inclined to be indolent so soon as the
struggle with the king was thought to have ended. Mat. Paris, ii, 161, 165.
The Pope supported his vassal king. For a
second time during John's reign London was placed
under an interdict. The first occasion was in 1208,
when the whole of England was put under an interdict,
and for six years the nation was deprived of all
religious rites saving the sacraments of baptism and
extreme unction. Contin. Flor. Wigorn. ii, 167, 171. Chron. of Mayors and
Sheriffs, p. 3.
The barons saw no other course open to them
but to invite Louis the Dauphin to come and undertake
the government of the kingdom in the place of
John. On the 21st May, 1216, Louis landed at
Sandwich and came to London, where he was welcomed
by the barons. Both barons and citizens paid
him homage, whilst he, on his part, swore to restore
to them their rights, to maintain such laws of the
realm as were good, and to abolish those (if any)
that were bad. Mat. Paris, ii, p. 179. Confession of the Vicomte de Melun.—Mat. Paris, ii, 187.
Although London remained faithful to Louis after
John's death, the barons began to desert him, one by
one ( Mat. Paris, ii, 200. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 4.quasi stillatim),
After his defeat at Lincoln (20th May, 1217), by William the Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, one of Henry's guardians, Louis beat a hasty retreat to London and wrote to his father, the French king, to send him military assistance, for without it he could neither fight nor get out of the country.
Among the prisoners taken at Lincoln were
Robert Fitz-Walter, and a neighbour of his in the
ward of Castle Baynard, Richard de Muntfichet, who,
like Fitz-Walter, had also suffered banishment in 1213.
The tower or castle of Muntfichet lay a little to the
west of Baynard's Castle, and was made over in 1276
by Gregory de Rokesle, the mayor, and citizens of
London to the Archbishop of Canterbury, for the
purpose of erecting a new house for the Dominican
or Black Friars, in place of their old house in Holborn. Strype, Stow's Survey, 1720, Bk. i, p. 62. They had settled
in Holborn soon after their arrival in 1220. Mat. Paris, ii, 385.
A French fleet which had been despatched in
answer to Louis was defeated off Dover by Hubert de
Burgh, who had gallantly held that town for John,
and continued to hold it now for Henry. London
itself was invested by the Marshal, and threatened
with starvation; but before matters came to extremes,
Louis intimated his willingness to come to terms. -Id., ii, 218, 220.
A meeting was held on the 11th of September
(some say at Kingston, Liber de Ant. fol. 38. According to this authority (fol. 38b),
the peace was ratified 23rd September, at Merton. Mat. Paris, ii, 222. Often spoken of as the Treaty of
Lambeth (Rymer's Fœdera, i, 148.)
Henry, on his part, swore to preserve to the barons
and the rest of the kingdom, all those liberties which
they had succeeded in obtaining from John. Everything
being thus amicably settled, Louis went to London, The sum mentioned by Matthew Paris (ii. 224) is £5,000 sterling,
but according to a marginal note in the Liber de Ant. (fol. 39) it
would appear to have been only £1,000, which, according to the compiler
of that record, Louis repaid the Londoners as soon as he arrived
home, out of pure generosity ( Walter of Coventry. (Rolls Series No. 58), ii, 239.mera liberalitate sua). On the other
hand, Matthew Paris (ii, 292) under the year 1227, narrates that Henry
extorted from the citizens of London 5,000 marks of silver, on the
ground that that was the sum paid by the Londoners to Louis on his
departure, to the king's prejudice.
For some years to come there remained a party in
the city who cherished the memory of Louis, and the
cry of "Mountjoy!" the war-cry of the French king—was
sufficient to cause a riot as late as 1222, when
Constantine Fitz-Athulf or Olaf, an ex-sheriff of
London, raised the cry at a tournament, in order to
test the feeling of the populace towards Louis. Any
serious results that might have arisen were promptly
prevented by Hubert de Burgh, the justiciar, who very
quickly sought out the ringleader, and incontinently
caused him and two of his followers to be hanged at
the Elms in Smithfield. Whilst the halter was round
his neck, Fitz-Athulf offered 15,000 marks of silver for
his life. The offer was declined. He was not to be
allowed another chance of stirring up sedition in the
city. Mat. Paris, ii, 251, 252.
A more circumstantial account of this event is
given us by another chronicler, Roger of Wendover, (Rolls Series No. 84), ii, 265, 267. Probably Saint Giles in the Fields, a hospital founded by Matilda,
wife of Henry I.
It was at this second and later match that the trouble began. The steward was not content with collecting the most powerful athletes he could find, but caused them to seize weapons and to attack the defenceless citizens who had come to take part in the games. The Londoners hurried home, bleeding with wounds, and immediately took counsel as to what was best to be done. Serlo, the mercer, who had held the office of mayor of the city for the past five years, and was of a peaceable disposition, suggested referring the matter to the abbot; and it was then that Constantine, who had a large following, advocated an attack upon the houses of the abbot and of his steward. No sooner said than done, and many houses had already suffered before the justiciar appeared upon the scene with a large force. As to the seizure of Constantine and his subsequent execution, the chroniclers agree.
Constantine's fellow citizens were very indignant
at the indecent haste with which the justiciar had "Cives autem Londonienses, qui eundem H[ubertum] propter suspendium
Constantini oderant, lætati sunt de tribulalionibus suis, et
ilico conquesti sunt de eo, quod concivem suum injuste suspendit, et
absque judicio."—Mat. Paris, ii, 345. -Id., ii, 346, 347. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 6, 7.
At the time of Constantine's execution, there was
real danger to be anticipated from raising the cry in
favour of any foreigner. The land was already
swarming with foreigners, and in that very year
(viz. 1222), the archbishop had been under the necessity
of summoning a council of bishops and nobles to
be held in London, owing to dissensions that had
arisen between the Earl of Chester, William of Salisbury,
the king's uncle, and Hubert de Burgh, and to a
rumour that had got abroad, that foreigners were
inciting the Earl of Chester to raise an insurrection. "Dicebabur enim ... quod alienigenæ qui plus regni perturbationem
desiderabant quam pacem, præfatum comitem Cestriæ ad
domini sui regis infestationem et regni inquietationem inducere conarentur."—Walter
of Coventry, ii, 251.
A few years later, the country was over-run by a
brood of Italian usurers who battened on the inhabitants,
reducing many to beggary. When attempts Mat. Paris, ii, 382, 384, iii, 90.
Throughout the reign of Henry III, there was
one continuous struggle against foreign dominion,
either secular or ecclesiastical. In this struggle,
none took a more active part than the citizens of
London, and "when [in 1247], the nobles, clergy, and
people of England put forth their famous letter
denouncing the wrongs which England suffered at
the hands of the Roman bishop, it was with the seal
of the city of London, as the centre of national life
that the national protest was made." Freeman, Norman Conquest, v, 469, 470. "Et quia communitas
nostra sigillum non habet, præsentes literas signo communitatis
civitatis Londoniarum vestræ sanctitati mittimus consignatas."—Mat.
Paris, iii, 17.
Side by side with this struggle another was being
carried on, a struggle for the liberty of the subject
against the tyranny and rapacity of the king. More
especially was this the case with the city. Henry
was for ever invading the rights and liberties of the
citizens. Thus in 1239, he insisted upon their admitting
to the shrievalty one who had already been
dismissed from that office for irregular conduct, and
because they refused to forego their chartered right of
election and to appoint the king's nominee, the city
was deprived of a mayor for three months and more. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 7, 8.
The substitution of a French Chronicle (Camden Soc., No. 28), ed. by Aungier (Riley's
translation), pp. 241-244.custos or warden appointed
by the king for a mayor elected by the citizens, and
of bailiffs for sheriffs,—a procedure known as "taking
the city into the king's hands,"—was frequentlycustos for thirteen consecutive years
(1285-1298).
Any pretext was sufficient for Henry's purpose.
If the citizens harboured a foreigner without warrant,
not only was the city taken into the king's hand, but
the citizens were fined £1,000, Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 11. -Id., pp. 13, 14, 16.
Take another instance. The king had shown an
interest in the Abbey Church of Westminster, and
had caused a new chapel to be built in 1220, he himself
laying the first stone. Thirty years later, or
thereabouts, he made certain concessions to the Abbot
of Westminster—what they were we are not told—but
it is certain that they, in some way or other, Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 16, 17, 61. Mat. Paris, iii.,
62, 80-81.
In 1230 he extorted a large sum of money from
the citizens at a time when he was meditating an
expedition to the continent for the purpose of
recovering lost possessions. The citizens, however,
were not the only sufferers. The religious houses
were heavily mulcted, as were also the Jews, who,
whether they would or not, were made to give up
one third of their chattels. Mat. Paris, ii, 323. "Quia dominus rex obligabatur de debitis non minimis erga
mercatores de vino, de cera, de pannis ultramarinis, a civibus pecuniam
multam extorsit et Judæis, nec tamen inde mercatores plenam pacationem
receperunt."—Mat. Paris, ii, 496.
Only once does it appear that the king's conscience
pricked him for the extortions he was continually
practising on the citizens. This was in 1250, when "Cives tanien videntes aliud sibi non expedire, omnia benigne
remiserunt."—Mat. Paris, iii, 72. -Id., iii, 43.
Henry had been crowned at Gloucester soon after
his accession. Ann. of Worcester (Rolls Series No. 36), iv., 407. "Unde, ne exorta contentione lætitia nuptialis nubilaretur, salvo
cujuslibet jure, multa ad horam perpessa sunt, quæ in tempore
opportuno fuerant determinanda."—Mat. Paris, Hist. Angl., ed. 1684,
P. 355. Cf. City Records, Liber Ordinationum, fo. 193 b. Brit. Mus.
Cotton MS. Vespasian, C. xiv. fos. 113-114.
Yet, notwithstanding his manifestly unjust treatment
of the citizens of London, and the cynical
contempt with which he looked upon their ancient
claim to the title of "barons," he usually went through
the formality of taking leave of them at Paul's Cross Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 9, 20, 45, 53. -Id., p. 21.
It is scarcely to be wondered at if, when the
crisis arrived, and king and barons found themselves
in avowed hostility, the citizens of London joined the
popular cause. By the month of June, 1258, the
barons had gained their first victory over Henry.
He was forced to accept the Provisions of Oxford,
passed by the Mad Parliament, An early instance of this parliament being so designated is found
in the This agreement between the king and barons is termed a "Charter"
by Fitz-Thedmar, who says it bore the seals of the king and of many
barons.—Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 41.Liber de Antiquis of the City's Records (fol. 75b.) where the
words insane parliamentum occur.
The mayor, aldermen, and citizens, after a hasty consultation, gave their assent, but with the reservation "saving unto them all their liberties and customs," and the city's common seal was set to the so-called "charter" which the deputation had brought.
It was not long before the city discovered that
the barons were as little likely to respect its liberties
as the king himself. Hugh Bigod, whom they had Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 43.
In November of the following year (1259), Henry
took occasion of his departure for the continent to
make some popular concessions to the citizens. He
appeared at a Folkmote, which was being held at
Paul's Cross, and, before taking leave, he announced
that in future the citizens should be allowed to plead
their own cases (without employing legal aid) in all
the courts of the city, excepting in pleas of the
crown, pleas of land, and of wrongful distress. On
the same day John Mansel who had been one of
the king's justiciars in 1257, when the city was "taken
into the king's hand," and Fitz-Thedmar had been
indicted and deprived of his aldermanry for upholding
the privileges of the citizens - -Id., pp. 33-39.Id., pp. 45, 46.
During the king's absence abroad, the barons'
cause was materially strengthened by the support
afforded Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, by
the king's son. Upon hearing of the defection
of his son, Henry hurried back to England. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 47.
Henry was now master of the situation. The
city was his, and he determined that it should remain
so. Strict watch was kept over the gates, which for
the most part, were kept shut night and day in order
to prevent surprise. Every inhabitant of the age of
twelve years and upwards was called upon to take an
oath of allegiance before the alderman of his ward,
and those of maturer age were bound to provide
themselves with arms. The king, who now ruled
again in his own way, stirred the anger of the barons,
by presuming to appoint Philip Basset, his chief
justiciar, without first asking their assent; and the
barons retaliated by removing the king's sheriffs, and
appointing "wardens of the counties" in their stead. - The Bull was confirmed by Alexander's successor Pope Urban IV.
and the later Bull was read at Paul's Cross, by the king's orders in the
following year (1262), Id., p. 52.Id., p. 53.
For eighteen months the king reigned supreme.
The barons could do nothing, and the Earl of Leicester,
finding their cause hopeless, withdrew in August (1261)
to France, and remained there until the spring of
1263, when he returned as the unquestioned head of Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 56. -Id., p. 57.
Before sending a reply, the citizens had an interview
with the king in the Tower, to whom they
showed the barons' letter. The result was, that
Henry availed himself of their services to mediate
between him and the barons. A deputation of citizens
accordingly travelled to Dover, where an understanding
was arrived at between the hostile parties.
The citizens were prepared to support the barons,
subject to their fealty to the king and saving their
own liberties; whilst the king promised to dismiss his
foreign supporters—the real cause of all the mischief.
Hugh le Despenser, whom Henry had deposed, was
again installed justiciar of all England in the Tower;
and the king and his family left the city for Westminster,
the day after the barons entered it. "Thus
was a league made between the barons and the
citizens with this reservation—'saving fealty to his
lordship the king.'" -Id., p. 58.
Whilst the commons of England were thus
winning their way to liberty, the commons of the city
were engaged in a similar struggle with the aristocratic
element of the municipal government. The craft
guilds cried out against the exclusiveness of the more
wealthy and aristocratic trade guilds, the members of
which monopolized the city's rule. They found an
able champion of their cause in the person of Thomas
Fitz-Thomas, the mayor for the time being (1261-1265).
The mayor's action in the matter disgusted
Fitz-Thedmar, the city alderman and chronicler, who
complains that he "so pampered the city populace,"
that they styled themselves the "commons of the
city," and had obtained the first voice in the city.
The mayor would ask them their will as to whether
this or that thing should be done; and if they
answered "ya" "ya," it was done, without consulting
the aldermen or chief citizens, whose very existence
was ignored. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 59. "A similar uprising of
the middle class of citizens was taking place about this period in other
towns. They are spoken of by chroniclers of the same stamp as Fitz-Thedmar
as ribald men who proclaimed themselves 'bachelors,' and
banded themselves together to the prejudice of the chief men of the
towns (majores urbium et burgorum)"—Chron. of Thomas Wykes
(Rolls Series No. 36), iv, 138.
The chronicler complains of the populace acting
"like so many justices itinerant." It was in vain that
the king addressed a letter to the mayor and citizens,
setting forth that the dissensions between himself and
the barons had been settled, and commanding his peace
to be kept as well within the city as without. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 59-60.
The popular movement received every encouragement
from the barons. Let those who were disaffected
put their complaints into writing, and the barons
would see that the matter was duly laid before the
king, and that the city's liberties were not diminished.
Fortified with such promises, the mayor set to work
at once to organize the craft guilds. Ordinances
were drawn up "abominations" Fitz-Thedmar calls
them -Id., p. 60.
A few days before Henry and the barons had
concluded a temporary peace, the citizens had been
greatly excited by an action of the king's son. Henry
was, as usual, in want of money, and had failed to raise
a loan in the city. His son came to his assistance and
seized the money and jewels lying at the Temple (29th
June). The citizens were so exasperated at this high-handed
proceeding on the part of the prince that they
vented their spleen on the queen, and pelted her with
mud and stones, calling her all kinds of opprobrious
names, as she attempted to pass in her barge under
London Bridge on her way from the Tower to
Windsor. (13th July). Ann. of Dunstaple (Rolls Series No. 36). iii. 222-223. Chron.
of Thos. Wykes (Ibid) iv, 136. Rishanger (Rolls Series No. 28, ii, 18),
places this event after the Mise of Amiens (23rd Jan., 1264).
Such conduct very naturally incensed the king
and his son against the citizens. Henry was angry
with them, moreover, for having admitted the barons
contrary to his express orders. Annales Londonienses.—Chron. Edward I and II (Rolls Series
No. 76) i, 60. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 62.
Before the end of the year (1263), both king and
barons agreed to submit to the arbitration of the
King of France. The award known as the Mise of
Amien—from the place whence it was issue—which
Louis made on the 23rd Jan., 1264, proved of so one-sided
a character that the barons had no alternative but
to reject it. However unjustifiable such repudiation
on the part of the barons may have been from a moral
point of view, it was a matter of necessity. Many
of them, moreover, including those of the Cinque Ports,
as well as the Londoners, and nearly all the middle
class of England, had not been parties to the arbitration,
and therefore, were not pledged to accept the
award. -Id., pp. 64, 65.
The citizens and the barons now entered into
solemn covenant to stand by each other "saving however
their fealty to the king." A constable and a
marshal were appointed to command the city force,
which was to stand prepared night and day to muster
at the sound of the great bell of St. Paul's. The Ann. of Dunstaple. iii, 230, 231.
In May the earl set out again with a force of
Londoners The number of Londoners who accompanied Leicester to Lewes
is not given. Thomas Wykes mentions it to have been very large,
for the reason that the number of fools is said to be infinite!
"Quo comperto comes Leycestriæ glorians in virtute sua, congregata
baronum multitudine copiosa, Londoniensium innumerabili agmine
circumcinctus, quia legitur stultorum infinitus est numerus."—(Rolls
Series No. 36), iv, 148. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 66; Ann. of Dunstaple, iii, 232;
Thos. Wykes, iv, 149, 150; Rishanger (Rolls Series No. 28), 27.
The barons returned to the city in triumph, bringing
the king and Richard, king of the Romans, in their
train. Edward had been placed in custody in Dover
Castle, pending negotiations. Henry was lodged in
the Bishop's Palace, whilst Richard was committed to Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 67.
The short respite—for it proved to be no more—from
civil war was welcomed by the Londoners. The
city had been drained of a large part of its population
in order to increase the Earl of Leicester's army, and
business had been seriously disturbed. For the past
year no Court of Husting had been held, and therefore
no wills or testaments had received probate; whilst all
pleas of land, except trespass, had to stand over until
the country became more settled. -Id., p. 74.
The parliament which Leicester summoned to
meet on the 20th January, 1265, marked a new era
in parliamentary representation. It was the first
parliament in which the merchant and the trader
were invited to take their seats beside the baron and
bishop. Not only were the shires to send up two
representatives, but each borough and town were to
be similarly privileged. Fitz-Thedmar gives the number of representatives of each city
and borough as four: "De qualitet civitate et burgo iiii homines."—Chron.
of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 75.
Terms of reconciliation between king and barons
were arranged, and once more the mayor and aldermen
did fealty to Henry in person in St. Paul's church.
Fitz-Thomas, who for the fourth time was mayor, was
determined to lose nothing of his character for independence;
"My lord," said he, when taking the oath, Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 77. This anecdote is inserted
in the margin of Fitz-Thedmar's chronicle, the writer expressing his
horror at the "wondrous and unheard of" conduct of "this most
wretched mayor."
Peace was not destined to last long. Dissensions
quickly broke out between Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester,
and Simon de Montfort, owing in a great measure to
jealousy. Gloucester insisted that the Mise of Lewes
and the Provisions of Oxford had not been properly
observed, hinting unmistakably at the foreign birth
and extraction of his rival. Endeavours were made
to arrange matters by arbitration, but in vain; and by
Whitsuntide the two earls were in open hostility.
Gloucester was joined by Edward, who had succeeded
by a ruse in escaping from Hereford, where he was
detained in honourable captivity. The story is told by Thos. Wykes. (Rolls Series No. 36), iv, 163.
With their combined forces they fell on Earl
Simon at Evesham and utterly defeated him (4 Aug.).
Simon himself was killed, and his body barbarously
mutilated. Lib. de. Ant. fo. 94b.
If credit be given to every statement made by
the city alderman and chronicler, Fitz-Thedmar, we
must believe that the battle of Evesham took place
just in time to prevent a wholesale massacre of the
best and foremost men of the city, including the
chronicler himself, which was being contrived by the Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 119. Circumstantially as the
chronicler relates the story, he appears only to have inserted it as an
after-thought. Mr. Loftie (Hist, of London, i, 151), suggests that
possibly the news of Fitz-Thomas' death might have been the occasion
of its insertion.
The citizens of London were soon to experience
the change that had taken place in the state of affairs.
The day after Michaelmas, the mayor and citizens
proceeded to Westminster to present the new sheriffs
to the Barons of the Exchequer; but finding no one
there, they returned home. The truth was that the
king had resorted to his favourite measure of taking
the city into his own hands for its adherence to the
late Earl of Leicester; and for five years it so
remained, being governed by a Aungier, Fr. Chron. (Riley's Transl.), p. 235.custos or warden
appointed by the king, in the place of a mayor elected
by the citizens.
There had been some talk of the king meditating
an attack upon the city, and treating its inhabitants as
avowed enemies. "His lordship the king had summoned to Wyndleshores all the
earls, barons, [and] knights, as many as he could, with horses and arms,
intending to lay siege to the City of London [and] calling the citizens
his foes."—Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 81. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 82.
That night Sir Roger lodged at the Tower, and
the next morning he went to Barking Church, on the
confines of the city, At one time the parish of All Hallows Barking is spoken of as
being in the County of Middlesex, at another as being within the City—Hust.
Roll. 274, (10), (12).
Some regained their liberty, but of Fitz-Thomas
nothing more is heard. From the time that he entered
Windsor Castle, he disappears from public view. That
he was alive in May, 1266, at least in the belief of his
fellow-citizens, is shown by their cry for the release
of him and his companions "who are at Windleshores."
They would again have made him Mayor, if they
could have had their own way. "We will have no
one for mayor" (they cried) "save only Thomas
Fitz-Thomas." In narrating this, Fitz-Thedmar again discloses his aristocratic
proclivities by remarking, "Such base exclamations did the fools of the
vulgar classes give utterance to" on this occasion, viz., the election of
William Fitz-Richard as Sheriff of Middlesex and Warden of London.—Chron.
of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 90, 91.
In the meantime the king had himself gone to
London and confiscated the property of more than
sixty of the citizens, driving them out of their house
and home. Hugh Fitz-Otes, the Constable of the
Tower, had been appointed warden of the city in the
place of the imprisoned mayor; bailiffs had been
substituted for sheriffs, and the citizens made to pay a
fine of 20,000 marks. Then, and only then, did the
king consent to grant their pardon. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 83, 85.
Queen Eleanor, who had interceded for the Londoners, "Regina etiam rogavit pro Londoniensibus de quibus rex plures
recepit ad pacem suam."—Ann. of Winchester (Rolls Series, No. 36),
ii, 103. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 146, 147.
At Easter, 1267, the Earl of Gloucester, who had
constituted himself the avowed champion of those
who had suffered forfeiture, and become "disinherited"
for the part they had taken with the Earl of Leicester,
sought admission to the city. The citizens hesitated
to receive him within their gates, although according
to some, he was armed with letters patent of the
king addressed to the citizens on his behalf. Ann. of Dunstaple. (Rolls Series, No. 36), iii, 245. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 95. The citizens appear
to have been divided, as indeed they often were, on the question of
admitting the Earl. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 95, 97.
Whatever may have been the actual part played
by the legate in admitting the disinherited into the
city, he soon showed his dissatisfaction at the state of
things within its walls, by leaving the Tower, to join
Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 96.
At length the king and the Earl of Gloucester
came to terms (16 June). The earl was to have his
property restored to him, and the city was to be
forgiven all trespasses committed against the king
since the time that the earl made his sojourn within
its walls. The earl gave surety in 10,000 marks for
keeping the peace, and the citizens paid the king of
the Romans 1,000 marks for damages they had
committed three years before in his manor of
Isleworth. -Id., pp. 97, 100.
The king's letters patent granting forgiveness to
the citizens for harbouring the Earl of Gloucester Dated "Est Ratford," 16th June, 1267. Chron. of Mayors and
Sheriffs, pp. 98-100. Dated 26th March, 1268. The original is preserved at the
Guildhall (Box No. 3). A copy of it, inserted in the Lib. de Ant.
(fo. 108b), has the following heading:—"Carta domini regis quam
fecit civibus Lond', sub spe inveniendi ab eo meliorem gratiam," the
words in italics being added by a later hand.
Towards the end of this year or early in the next
(1269), the city was committed by the king to his
son Edward, who ruled it by deputy, Sir Hugh Fitz-Otes
being again appointed Constable of the Tower,
and warden of the city. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 113. Ann. of Waverley (Rolls
Series No. 36), ii, 375. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 129.
He further allowed them to choose two sheriffs
who should discharge the duties of sheriff, ( Lib. de Ant., fo. 120.qui
tenerent vicecomitatem) of the City and Middlesex,
as formerly; but instead of the yearly ferm of
£300 in pure silver (sterlingorum blancorum),
formerly paid for Middlesex, they were thenceforth to
pay an annual rent of £400 in money counted
(sterlingorum computatorum.)
The citizens lost no time in exercising their
recovered rights. Their choice fell upon John Adrian
for the mayoralty, whilst Philip le Taillour and
Walter le Poter were elected sheriffs. After they
had been severally admitted into office—the mayor
before the king himself on Wednesday, the 16th July,
and the sheriffs at the Exchequer two days later—the
king restored the city's charters, and the citizens
acknowledged the royal favour by a gift of 100 marks
to the king, and 500 marks to Prince Edward, who
had proved so good a friend to them, and who was
about to set out for the Holy Land. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 129-130.
Adrian was succeeded in the mayoralty by
Walter Hervy, who had already served as sheriff or Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 153.
The aldermen finding themselves in a minority, appealed to the king and council at Westminster. Hervy did the same, being accompanied to Westminster by a large number of supporters, who took the opportunity of the aldermen laying their case before the council to insist loudly, as they waited in the adjacent hall, upon their own right of election and their choice of Hervy. It was feared that the noise might disturb the king who was confined to his bed with what proved to be his last illness. All parties was therefore dismissed, injunction being laid upon Hervy not to appear again with such a following, but to come with only ten or a dozen supporters at the most.
Hervy paid no heed to this warning, but continued
to present himself at Westminster every day
for a fortnight, accompanied by his supporters in full
force, expecting an answer to be given by the council.
At length the council resolved to submit the whole
question to arbitration, the city in the meanwhile
being placed in the custody of a warden. Before the
arbitrators got to work, the king died (16 Nov.), Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 154, 159.
Although the aldermen had been prevailed upon
to give their assent to Hervy's election to the
mayoralty, his democratic tendencies made him an
object of dislike, more especially to Fitz-Thomas.
When, therefore, that chronicler records that throughout
Hervy's year of office he did not allow any
pleading in the Husting for Pleas of Land except very
rarely, for the reason that the mayor himself was
defendant in a suit brought against him by Isabella
Bukerel, Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 164. The series of Husting Rolls for Pleas of Land, preserved at the
Guildhall, commence in the mayoralty of Hervy's successor. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 205-208.
Hervy was a worthy successor to Fitz-Thomas,
and, under his government, the craft guilds improved
their position. Fresh ordinances for the regulation of
various crafts were drawn up, and to these the mayor,
on his own responsibility, attached the city seal. What Fitz-Thedmar means when he says (Chron. of Mayors and
Sheriffs, p. 171), that "only one part of the seal of the Commonalty
of London" was appended to Hervy's so-called "charter" is hard to
determine. The common seal of the city was at this period in the
custody of the mayor for the time being. Under Edward II, it was for
the first time entrusted to two aldermen and two commoners for safe
keeping.—City Records, Letter Book D, fo. 145b. Cf. Ordinances
of Edward II, A.D. 1319.
Fearing lest a riot might follow, the chancellor—Walter
de Merton, through whose mediation Hervy
had been at last accepted as mayor by the aldermen—ordered
his arrest. This was on the 20th December,
1273. Hervy was, accordingly, attached but
released on bail, and early in the following January
(1274), his charters were duly examined in the
Husting before all the people, and declared void.
Thenceforth, every man was to enjoy the utmost
freedom in following his calling, always provided that
his work was good and lawful. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 169-171.
When the mayor removed certain butchers' and
fishmongers' stalls from Cheapside, in order that the
main thoroughfare of the city might present a creditable
appearance to the king on his return from abroad,
the owners of the stalls, who complained of being
disturbed in their freeholds—"having given to the
sheriff a great sum of money for the same"—found
The charges against him were eight in number,
of which some at least appear to be in the last degree
frivolous. He had on a certain occasion borne false
witness; he had failed on another occasion to attend
at Westminster upon a summons; he had failed to
observe all the assizes made by the aldermen and had
allowed ale to be sold in his ward for three halfpence
a gallon; he had taken bribes for allowing corn and
wine to be taken out of the city for sale, and he had
misappropriated a sum of money which had been
raised for a special purpose. Such was the general
run of the charges brought against him, in addition to
which were the charges of having permitted the
guilds to make new statutes to their own advantage
and to the loss of the city and all the realm, as
already narrated, and of having procured "certain
persons of the city, of Stebney, of Stratford, and of
Hakeneye" to make an unjust complaint against the
mayor, "who had warranty sufficient for what he had
done, namely, the council of his lordship the king."
This last charge had reference to the recent removal
of tradesmen's stalls from Chepe. No defence
appears to have been allowed Hervy. The charges Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 173-5.
From this time forward nothing more is heard
of Hervy. The same cloud envelopes his later
history, that gathered round the last years of his
predecessor and political tutor Thomas Fitz-Thomas.
The misfortune of both of these men was that they
lived before their age. Their works bore fruit long
after they had departed. The trade or craft guilds, as
distinguished from the more wealthy and influential
mercantile guilds, eventually played an important
part in the city. Under Edward II, no stranger
could obtain the freedom of the city (without which,
he could do little or nothing), unless he became a
member of one of these guilds, or sought the suffrages
of the commonalty of the city, before admission to
the freedom in the Court of Husting. "Et quod nullus alienigena in libertatem civitatis prædictæ
admittatur nisi in Hustengo ... et si non sint de certo mestero,
tune in libertatem civitatis ejusdem non admittentur sine assensu communitatis
civitatis illius."—Lib. Custumarum (Rolls Series), pt. 1,
pp. 269-270.
The normal and more expeditious way of obtaining
the freedom was thus through a guild. If Hervy
or Fitz-Thomas lived till the year 1319, when the
Ordinances just cited received the king's sanction, he
must have felt that the struggle he had made to raise
the lesser guilds had not been in vain. The mercantile
element in the city, which had formerly overcome "The establishment of the corporate character of the city under
a mayor marks the victory of the communal principle over the more
ancient shire organisation, which seems to have displaced early in the
century the complicated system of guild and franchise. It also marks
the triumph of the mercantile over the aristocratic element."—Stubbs,
Const. Hist., i, 630, 631. "The guilds continued to elect until 1384, when the right of
election was again transferred to the wards." City Records, Letter
Book H, fos. 46b, 173.
In the meantime, King Edward I, arrived in
London (18th August, 1274), where he was heartily
welcomed by the citizens, Chron. Edward I and II. (Rolls Series No. 76), i, 84. Chron.
of T. Wykes (Rolls Series No. 36) iv, p. 259. Dated from "Caples in the land of Labour" (Caples in terra
laboris) or Capua, 19th January, 1273. This letter was publicly read
in the Guildhall on the 25th March following.—Chron. of Mayors and
Sheriffs, p. 163.
Edward's right to succeed his father was never
disputed. For the first time in the annals of England,
a new king commences to reign immediately after the
death of his predecessor. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 161.Le Roi est mort, vive leRoi! Within a week of his father's decease, a writ
was issued, in which the hereditary right of succession
was distinctly asserted as forming Edward's title to
the crown.
Before setting sail for England, Edward despatched
a letter (3rd April), "to his well-beloved, the mayor,
barons, and reputable men of London," thanking
them for the preparations he understood they were
making for the ceremony of his coronation, and bidding
them send a deputation of four of the more discreet
of the citizens, to him at Paris, for the purpose
of a special conference. -Id., p. 172.
The difficulty which gave rise to this conference
and to the signal mark of distinction bestowed upon
the citizens of London, proved to be of a commercial
character, and, as such, one upon which the
opinions of the leading merchants of London would
be of especial value. Ever since the year 1270, the
commercial relationship between England and Flanders
had been strained. The Countess of Flanders
had thought fit to lay hands upon the wool and other
merchandise belonging to English merchants found
within her dominions, and to appropriate the same to
her own use. Edward's predecessor on the throne
had thereupon issued a writ to the mayor and sheriffs
of London, forbidding in future the export of wool to
any parts beyond sea whatsoever, -.Id, pp. 132, 140-2.
On the 28th June, 1270, a writ had been issued to
the same parties ordering them to seize the goods of Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 143-4.
The interruption of trade between England—at
that time the chief wool-exporting country in the
world—and Flanders where the cloth-working industry
especially flourished, caused much tribulation;
and the King of France, the Duke of Brabant, and
other foreign potentates, whose subjects began to feel
the effect of this commercial disturbance, addressed
letters to the King of England, requesting that their
merchants might enter his realm and stay, and traffic
there as formerly. They had never offended the King
or his people; the Countess of Flanders was the sole
offender, and she alone ought to be punished. The
matter having received due consideration, the embargo
on the export of wool was taken off with respect to
all countries, except Flanders, with the proviso that
no wool should be exported out of the kingdom without
special license from the king. -Id., pp. 145, 146.
By the month of October, 1271, the inquisitors,
who had been appointed to appraise the goods and
chattels of Flemings in England, were able to report
to parliament that their value amounted to £8,000
"together with the king's debt," whilst the value of
merchandise belonging to English merchants and seized
by the countess amounted to £7,000, besides chattels
of other merchants. Parliament again sat in January
of the new year to consider the claims of English
merchants, when those whose goods had been taken
in Flanders, "and the Londoners more especially,"
appeared in person. Each stated the amount of his
loss and the amount of goods belonging to Flemings
which he had in hand, and a balance was struck. An
inquisition was, at the same time, taken in each of
the city wards, as to the number of merchants who
bought, sold, exchanged, or harboured the goods of
persons belonging to the dominion of the Countess;
and also as to who had taken wools out of England
to the parts beyond the sea, contrary to the king's
prohibition. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 147, 148. Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 149, 150.
Time went on; Henry died, and before his son
Edward arrived in England from the Holy Land to
take up the reins of government, his chancellor,
Walter de Merton, had caused a proclamation to be
made throughout the city, forbidding any Fleming to
enter the kingdom, under penalty of forfeiture of
person and goods. The proclamation was more than
ordinarily stringent, for it went on to say that if perchance
any individual had received special permission
from the late king to sojourn and to trade within the
realm, such permission was no longer to hold good,
but the foreigner was to pack up his merchandise,
collect his debts, and leave the country by Christmas,
1273, at the latest. -Id., p. 165.
The Countess had probably hoped that a change
of monarch on the English throne would have
favoured her cause. This proclamation was sufficient
to show her the character of the king with whom she
had in future to deal, and destroyed any hope she
may have entertained in this direction. She therefore
took the opportunity of Edward's passing through
Paris to London, to open negotiations for the purpose
The choice of the citizens fell upon Henry le
Waleys, their mayor for the time being, one who was
known almost as well in France as in the city of
London, if we may judge from the fact of his filling
the office of Mayor of Bordeaux in the following year.
With him were chosen Gregory de Rokesley who,
besides being a large dealer in wool, was also a goldsmith
and financier, and as such was shortly to be
appointed master of the exchange throughout
England; - The name of John Horn with the addition. "Flemyng" occurs in
the 14th cent.—Hust. Roll. 64 (67), 81 (74).A.D. 1279. "Eodem anno escambia et novæ monetæ extiterunt
levata apud turrim Londoniensem; et Gregorius de Roqesle major
monetæ per totam Angliam."—Chron. Edw. I and II. (Rolls Series
No. 76. i. 88).—Aungier Fr. Chron. (Transl.) p. 239.
These four accordingly set out to confer with the
king at Paris, having previously seen to the appointment
of wardens over the city, and of magistrates to
determine complaints which might arise at the fair to
be held at St. Botolph's, or Boston, in Lincolnshire,
during their absence. For one month after the Feast of St. Botolph the Abbot [17 June],
the Court of Husting in London was closed, owing to the absence of
citizens attending the fair. The right of appointing their own officers to
settle disputes arising at the fair was granted to the citizens of London at
the close of the Barons' War.—Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 176. Peace was signed before the end of July.—Rymer's Fœdera,
(ed. 1816), vol. i. pt. 2, p. 513.
The king ruled the city, as indeed he ruled the
rest of the kingdom, with a strong hand. Londoners
had already experienced the force of his arm and his
ability in the field, when he scattered them at Lewes;
they were now to experience the benefit of his powers
of organization in time of peace. Fitz-Thedmar's
chronicle now fails us, but we have a new source of
information in the letter books A series of MS. books extending from a.d. 1275 to 1688,
deriving their title from the letters of the alphabet with which they are
distinguished, A, B, C, &c, AA, BB, CC, &c. We are further aided by
chronicles of the reigns of Edward I and II, edited by Bishop Stubbs
for the Master of the Rolls. A portion of these chronicles the editor
has fitly called "Annales Londonienses." There is even reason for
believing them to have been written by Andrew Horn, citizen and
fishmonger, as well as eminent jurist of his day. He died soon after
the accession of Edward III. and by his will, dated 9th Oct., 1328,
(Cal. of Wills, Court of Husting, i, 344) bequeathed to the city many
valuable legal and other treatises, only one of which (known to this
day as "Liber Horn,") is preserved among the archives of the
Corporation.
The first and the most pressing difficulty which
presented itself to Edward, was the re-organization
of finance. Without money the barons could not be
kept within legitimate bounds. Having won their
cause against the usurpations of the crown, they
began to turn their arms upon each other, and it
required Edward's strong hand not only to impose
order upon his unruly nobles, but also, to bring Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, p. 239. Stubbs, Select Charters, p. 447. Chron. Edward I and II, (Rolls Series). Introd. vol. i, p. xxxiii.
In 1283 an extraordinary assembly—styled a
parliament by some chroniclers—was summoned to
meet at Shrewsbury to attend the trial of David,
brother of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales. To this so-called
parliament the city sent no less than six
representatives, viz.: Henry le Waleys, the mayor,
Gregory de Rokesley, Philip Cissor, or the tailor,
Ralph Crepyn, Joce le Acatour, or merchant, and
John de Gisors. - Contin. Flor. Wigorn., ii, 229. 230. Tho. Wykes (Ann. Monast.
Rolls Series No. 36), iv, 294. Ann. of Worcester (Id., i, 92.Ibid), iv, 486.
Walter de Heminburgh (Eng. Hist. Soc.), ii, 13.
Of Ralph Crepyn, one of the city's representatives
at Shrewsbury, a tragic story is told. Meeting, one
day, Laurence Duket, his rival in the affections of a
woman known as "Alice atte Bowe," the two came to
blows, and Crepyn was wounded. The affray took
place in Cheapside, and Duket, fearing he had killed
his man, sought sanctuary in Bow Church. Crepyn's
friends, hearing of the matter, followed and having
killed Duket, disposed of their victim's body in such
a way as to suggest suicide. It so happened, however,
that the sacrilegious murder had been witnessed by a
boy who informed against the culprits and no less
than sixteen persons were hanged for the part they
had taken in it. Alice, herself, was condemned to be
burnt alive as being the chief instigator of the murder;
others, including Ralph Crepyn, were sent to the
Tower, and only released on payment of heavy fines. They were, in the language of Stow, "hanged by the purse."
(Survey, Thoms' ed., p. 96). Cf. "He was hanged by the nek and
nought by the purs." (Chaucer, Cook's Tale. l. 885). The story is recorded
in Aungier's French Chron. (Riley's translation), p. 240; and
in Chron. Edward I and II (Rolls Series i, 92-93).
The year 1285 was a memorable one both for
London and the kingdom. It witnessed the passing
of two important statutes. In the first place the
statute Stubbs, Select Charters, pp. 472-474. Letter Book C, fo. 52. Riley's Memorials, p. 21.De Donis legalised the principle of tying up
real estate, so as to descend, in an exclusive perpetual
line; in other words, it sanctioned entails, and its
For the city, the year was a memorable one,
owing to the suspension of its franchise. The
circumstances which caused the loss of its liberties
for a period of thirteen years (1285-1298) were these.
The king's justiciars were sitting at the Tower, where
the mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen of the city had
been summoned to attend. Owing to some informality
in the summons, Gregory de Rokesley, the
Mayor, declined to attend in his official capacity, but
formally "deposed himself" at the Church of All
Hallows Barking—the limit of the city jurisdiction—
The rules of procedure on such occasions are
fully set out in the city's "Liber Albus," Rolls Series, i, 51-60. Cf. Lib. Ordinationum, fos. 154b, seq.
Be this as it may, the king's treasurer, who may
possibly have been forewarned of what was about to
take place, at once decided what course to take. He
declared the city to be there and then taken into the
king's hands, on the pretext that it was found to be
without a mayor, and he summoned the citizens to
appear on the morrow before the king at Westminster.
When the morrow came, the citizens duly appeared,
and about eighty of them were detained. Those who
accompanied Rokesley to Barking Church on the
previous day were confined in the Tower, but after a
few days they were all set at liberty, with the exception
of Stephen Aswy, who was removed in custody
to Windsor. The circumstances of Rokesley's visit to the justices at the Tower
are set out in the city's "Liber Albus" (i, 16), from a MS. of Andrew
Horn, no longer preserved at the Guildhall. The story also appears
in Chron. Edward I and II (Rolls Series No. 76), i, 94.
The king appointed Ralph de Sandwich In 1293 the king appointed Elias Russell and Henry le Bole his
"improvers" (custos or
warden of the city, enjoining him at the same time
to observe the liberties and customs of the citizens,
and for the next thirteen years (1285-1298) the city
continued to be governed by a warden in the person
of Sandwich or of John le Breton, whilst the sheriffsappropriatores) in the city:—Chron. Edward I and II,
(Rolls Series No. 76, i, 102). Their duties were practically identical
with those of sheriffs, and Bishop Stubbs places a marginal note over
against the appointment,—"Sheriffs appointed by the king." Walter
Hervy is recorded as having removed certain stones near Bucklersbury
when he was "improver" of the city (Letter Book A, fo. 84.
Riley's Memorials, p. 25). This was probably done in 1268, when the
city was in the king's hand, and Hervy and William de Durham were
appointed bailiffs "without election by the citizens."—Chron. Mayors
and Sheriffs, pp. 112, 113.
In May, 1286, the king went to Gascony, leaving
the country in charge of his nephew, Edmund, Earl
of Cornwall, and did not return until August, 1289.
He was then in sore straits for money, as was so
often the case with him, and was glad of a present of
£1,000 which the citizens offered by way of courtesy
( Letter Book A, fo. 132b. - Chron. Edward I and II, i, 98.curialitas). The money was ordered (14th October)
to be levied by poll,Id., fo. 110.
The expulsion of the Jews in 1290 increased
Edward's difficulties, for on them he chiefly depended
for replenishing his empty exchequer. Their expulsion
was not so much his own wish as the wish of his
subjects, who, being largely in debt to the Jews,
regarded them as cruel tyrants. The nation soon
discovered that it had made a mistake in thus getting
rid of its creditors, for in the absence of the Jews, Letter Book A, fo. 95. Riley's Memorials, p. 26. "From the very day of his accession, Edward was financially in
the hands of the Lombard bankers; hence arose, no doubt, the
difficulty which he had in managing the City of London; hence came
also the financial mischief which followed the banishment of the Jews;
and hence an accumulation of popular discontent, which showed itself
in the king's lifetime by opposition to his mercantile policy, and, after
his death, supplied one of the most efficient means for the overthrow
of his son."—Chron. Edward I and II. Introd. vol. i, pp. c, ci.custos of his own
choice instead of a mayor elected by the citizens
themselves. Such requests produced friction between
the king and the city, and the former's financial
relations with the foreign merchants were fraught
with danger to himself and to his son.
Edward's anxiety was in the meanwhile increased
by domestic troubles. In 1290 he suffered a bitter
disappointment by the death of a Scottish princess
who was affianced to his son, the Prince of Wales,
and thus a much-cherished plan for establishing
friendly relations between the two countries was
frustrated. But this disappointment was quickly
Time only increased the king's pecuniary difficulties.
In February, 1292, all freeholders of land of
the annual value of £40 were ordered to receive
knighthood, and in the following January the estates
of defaulters were seized by the king's orders. Writ to the Sheriff of Middlesex, dated 2nd Jan., 1293. Letter
Book B, fo. 25. Contin. Flor. Wigorn., ii, 266. Ann. of Dunstaple (Rolls Series No. 36), iii, 390. The chronicler
acquits the king of complicity in this sacrilege. Contin. Flor. Wigorn., ii, 274.subita percussus passione) and died
in the king's presence.
Instead of invading France, Edward found his
own shores devastated by a French fleet, whilst at
the same time his hands were full with fresh difficulties
from Scotland and Wales. In the summer of
1295, the city furnished the king with three ships,
the cost being defrayed by a tax of twopence in Letter Book C. fo. 20. -Id., fos. 21b, 22. (Riley's Memorials, pp. 31-33). Liber Custum.,
i, 72-76.
Edward again turned his attention to Scotland,
and, having succeeded in reducing Balliol to submission,
he carried off from Scone the stone which
legend identifies with Jacob's pillow, and on which
the Scottish kings had from time immemorial been
crowned, Chron. of Walter de Hemingburgh (Eng. Hist. Soc.), ii. 108, 109.
From Berwick Edward issued (26 Aug., 1296,)
writs for a Parliament to meet at Bury St. Edmund's,
in the following November. The constitution of
this Parliament was the same as that which had
met at Westminster in November of the previous
year (1295) and which was intended to serve as a
model parliament, a pattern for all future national
assemblies. The city was represented by two aldermen,
namely, Sir Stephen Aswy, or Eswy, who had
been confined in Windsor Castle ten years before for
his conduct towards the king's justiciars at the Tower,
and Sir William de Hereford. Letter Book C, fo. 22b. By the bull Stubbs, Const. Hist., ii, 130, 131, 134.Clericis Laicos, Boniface VIII had recently forbidden
the clergy to pay taxes to any layman.—Chron. of Walter de Hemingburgh
(Eng. Hist. Soc.), ii, 113-116.
It was an easier matter for Edward to raise
money than to get the barons to accompany him
abroad. To leave them behind was to risk the peace
of the country. He therefore spared no efforts to
persuade them to join in a projected expedition, and
when persuasion failed tried threats. It was his
desire that the barons should go to Gascony, whilst
he took the command in Flanders. This was not at
all to the taste of the barons, who declined to go
abroad, except in the personal retinue of the king
himself. "With you, O king," said Roger Bigod, "I
will gladly go; as belongs to me by hereditary right,
I will go in front of the host, before your face;" but
without the king he positively declined to move.
"By God, earl," cried the king, fairly roused by the Chron. of Walter de Hemingburgh, ii, 121.
Nothing daunted, the king issued writs (15 May) for a military levy of the whole kingdom for service abroad, to meet at London on the 7th July, a measure as unconstitutional as the seizure of wool and the levying of taxes without the assent of Parliament. On the day appointed, the barons, who had received a large accession of strength from the great vassals, appeared with their forces at St. Paul's; but instead of complying with the king's demands—or rather requests, for the king had altered his tone—they prepared a list of their grievances.
With difficulty civil war was avoided, and in
August Edward set sail for Flanders. No sooner was
his back turned, than the barons and the Londoners
made common cause in insisting upon a confirmation
and amplification of their charters. - -Id., ii, 126, 127.Confirmatio Cartarum,
as it was called, was issued in the king's name.Id., ii, 149, 151.
In view of the king's return to England in March
(1298), the warden of the city, Sir John Breton, the
aldermen, and a deputation from the wards met
together and resolved that every inhabitant of the Letter Book B, fo. xxxvii (101b). Preserved among the City Archives (Box 26). Letter Book B, fo. 93.Cf. Letter Book
C, fo. xxiv, b.
In the summer Edward marched to Scotland for
the purpose of putting down the rising under Wallace.
An account of the battle of Falkirk, fought on the
22nd July, was conveyed to the mayor, aldermen,
and "barons" of London, by letter from Walter
Langton, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, or, as he
was then styled, Bishop of Chester, who wrote as an
eye-witness, if not indeed as a partaker in that day's
work. Letter Book C, fo. 24. (Riley's Memorials, 37). Strictly speaking, a talliage could only be charged on the king's
demesnes, and these did not include the City of London. Chron. Edward I and II (Rolls Series), i, 132.
He was carried to London, where a crowd of men
and women flocked out to meet one, of whose gigantic
stature and feats of strength they had heard so much.
He was lodged in the house of William de Leyre, an
alderman of the city, situate in the parish of All
Hallows at the Hay or All Hallows the Great.
Having been tried at Westminster and condemned to
death on charges of treason, sacrilege and robbery,
he was hanged, drawn, and quartered, and his head
set up on London Bridge. Aungier, Fr. Chron. (Riley's Transl.), 247. Chron. Edward I
and II (Rolls Series), i, 139.
No sooner was Wallace disposed of than another
claimant to the Scottish crown appeared in the person
of Bruce. Before Edward took the field against the
new foe, he conferred knighthood upon his son and
nearly three hundred others, including John le Blound
the mayor. The number of knights within the small
compass of the city was reckoned at that time to be
not less than a thousand. Chron. Edward I and II (Rolls Series), i, 146. Hemingburgh
ii, 248. Aungier, Fr. Chron. (Riley's Transl.), 247 n.
In the summer of 1307, Edward set out to execute the vow of vengeance against Bruce that he had made on the occasion of the knighthood of his son, but the hand of death was upon him, and before lie reached the Scottish border he died (7th July).
The new king's character, differing as it did so
much from that of his father, was not one to commend
itself to the citizens of London. With them he never
became a favourite. The bold and determined character
of Queen Isabel, the very antipodes of her
husband, was more to their liking, and throughout
the contests that ensued between them, the citizens
steadily supported her cause. At her first appearance,
as a bride, in the city, the streets were compared with
the New Jerusalem, so rich were they in appearance; "Tunc visa est Londonia quasi nova Jerusalem monilibus ornata."—Chron.
Edward I and II (Rolls Series No. 76), i, 152. "Ad quam coronationem major, aldermanni et cives Londoniarum
induti samiteis et sericeis vestimentis et ex armis Angliæ et Franciæ
depictis, coram rege et regina Karolantes, et servi civium ad illud festum,
ut moris est, de cupa servientes, omnibus intuentibus inauditum proviserunt
gaudium."—Id. ibid.
But even thus early in Edward of Carnarvon's
reign the presence of foreigners—to whom the king
was even more addicted than his father—was likely
to prove a source of trouble; and it was necessary to
make special proclamations forbidding the carrying of Letter Book C, fo. 93 (Riley's Memorials, p. 64). Letter Book D, fo. 96 (Memorials, pp. 69-71). Letter Book C, fo. 97 b (Memorials, p. 69). Letter Book D, fo. 104 (Memorials, pp. 72-74).
The barons were especially irritated at being
supplanted by the king's favourites, and in 1308
succeeded in getting Edward to send Gaveston out
of England. In the following year, however, he was
recalled, and the barons became so exasperated that
in 1310, when the king summoned an assembly of
bishops and barons, the latter appeared, contrary to
orders, in full military array. The king could not do
otherwise than submit to their dictation. Ordainers
were appointed from among the barons for the purpose
of drawing up ordinances for the government of
the kingdom. These ordinances were promulgated
in their complete form in 1311, when they received
the sanction of a parliament assembled at the House
of the Black Friars, in the month of August, and were
afterwards publicly proclaimed in St. Paul's Churchyard, Chron. of Mayors and Sheriffs, pp. 224-225. Letter Book D, fo. 147b.
In the meantime, whilst the Ordainers were engaged
on their work, Edward had put himself at the
head of his army and marched against the Scots, who
were rapidly gaining ground under Bruce. He remained
on the border until July, 1311, trying every
means to raise money. In March of that year the
city sent him one thousand marks, by the hands of
Roger le Palmere and William de Flete, the mayor,
Richer de Refham, contributing no less than one
hundred pounds of the whole sum. The money was
despatched on horseback, tied up in baskets covered
with matting and bound with cords, and the cost of
every particular is set out in the city's records. -Id., fo. 125b.
Refham was a mayor of the popular type. He
had already suffered deprivation of his aldermanry for
some reason or another, but was reinstated in 13O2. "Eodem anno (i.e. 1302), die Lunæ ivto Kalendas Februarii,
restitutus est Richerus de Refham in honore aldermanniæ Londoniarum,
et factus est aldermannus de Warda de Basseishawe."—Chron. Edward
I and II, i, 104.sobriquet of "roreres." A few years later, the
same class went under the name of "riffleres." They
were the precursors of the "Muns," the "Tityre Tus,"
the "Hectors," and the "Scourers,"—dynasties of
tyrants, as Macaulay styles them, which domineered
over the streets of London, soon after the Restoration,
and at a later period were superseded by the "Nickers,"
the "Hawcubites," and the still more dreaded "Mohawks,"
of Queen Anne's reign. By whatever name
they happened at the time to be known, their practice
was the same, viz.:—assault and robbery of peaceful
citizens whose business or pleasure carried them
abroad after sundown.
During Refham's mayoralty, a raid was made on
all common nightwalkers, "bruisers" ( Among those who were called to account was a woman remarkable
for her name—"Sarra la Bredmongesterre." A selection of the cases
enquired into is printed in Riley's Memorials, pp. 86-89.pugnatores),
common "roreres," wagabunds and others, and many
were committed to prison, to the great relief of the
more peaceably disposed.
His strictness and impartiality were such as to
raise up enemies, and an excuse was found for removing
him not only from the office of mayor, but "Sed quia idem Richerus fuerat austerus et celer ad justitiam
faciendam nulli parcendo, et quia fecit imprisonare Willelmum de
Hakford, mercer, ideo dictus W, et sui complices insurrexerunt in ipsum
et ideo depositus fuit ab officio majoris et postea aldermanniæ suæ."—Chron.
Edw. I and II, i, 175-176.
In January, 1312, the king returned to the north,
and as soon as he had arrived at York ignored the
ordinance touching Gaveston, and instead of sending
his favourite into exile, received him into favour and
restored his forfeited estates. Foreseeing the storm
that he would have to meet from the barons, the king
wrote from Knaresborough (9th Jan.) to Refham's
successor, John de Gisors, enjoining him to put the
city into a state of defence, and not allow armed men
to enter on any pretext whatever. Letter Book D, fo. 142. - - Chron. Edward I and II. i, 203. Lib. de Antiq., fo. 43b. Aungier's Fr. Chron. (Riley's Transl.),
p. 250.Id., fos. 142b-143b (Memorials pp.
93-98.)Id., fos. 142b, 143b, 145b.
The influence he had exercised over the king had
been remarkable from their youth. The son of a
Gascon knight, he had been brought up with Edward
as his foster brother and playfellow, and in course of
time the strong will of the favourite gained a complete
mastery over the weaker will of the prince. But his
arrogant behaviour soon raised such a storm among
the nobles at Court that he was forced to leave
England. When Edward succeeded to the throne, one
of his first acts was to recall Gaveston, to whom he
gave his own niece in marriage, after having bestowed
upon him the Earldom of Cornwall. The king seemed
never tired of heaping wealth upon his friend. Among
other things, he bestowed upon his favourite (28th
Aug., 1309) the sum of 100 shillings payable out of
the rent of £50 due from the citizens of London for
Oueenhithe, to be held by him, his wife, and the heirs
of their bodies. Letter Book C, fo. 45.
Both of them had friends and enemies in
common. As Prince of Wales, Edward had made
an attempt to encroach upon some woods belonging
to Walter Langton, Bishop of Chester. This caused
a breach between father and son, and the prince
was banished from Court for a whole half-year.
Gaveston also bore the same bishop a grudge, for
it was owing in a great measure to Langton's influence
as treasurer to Edward I that he was in the first
instance forced into exile. When the prince succeeded Letter Book C, fo. 92b (Memorials p. 63).
Edward had purposed holding a parliament at
Lincoln towards the end of July, 1312, but the turn
that affairs had taken induced him to change his mind,
and he summoned it to meet at Westminster. The city chose as its representatives, Nicholas de Farendone, John
de Wengrave, and Robert de Kelleseye. Letter Book D. fos. 149b,
151, 151b. -Id., fos. 151b, 152 (Memorials pp. 102-104.)
In November (1312), the queen gave birth to a
son, who afterwards ascended the throne as Edward III.
Isabel herself informed the citizens of the auspicious
event by letter sent by the hands of John de Falaise,
her "taillur." -Id., fo. 168 (Memorials, pp. 105-106).
After the death of Gaveston, his old enemy
Walter Langton again found favour and resumed his
office as treasurer. The city had little reason to be
gratified at his return to power; for it was by his
advice that the king in December of this year (1312),
issued orders for a talliage, which the great towns,
and especially London, objected to pay. Early in the
following January (1313), the mayor and aldermen
were summoned to attend the royal council, sitting at
the house of the White Friars. The question was
there put to them—would they make fine for the
talliage, or be assessed by poll on their rents and
chattels? Before making answer, the mayor and
aldermen desired to consult the commons of the city.
An adjournment accordingly took place for that
purpose. When next the mayor and aldermen
appeared before the council, they resisted the talliage
on the following grounds: Letter Book D, fos. 164, 164b.
This request the king and council expressed
themselves as ready to comply with on condition that
the city made an immediate advance of 2,000 marks.
The city refused, and the king's assessors appeared at
the Guildhall, and read their commission. They were
on the point of commencing work, when the city
obtained a respite until the meeting of Parliament
by a loan of £1,000. More than eighteen months
elapsed, and at last a Parliament was summoned to
meet at York (Sept. 1314); but the country was
in such a disturbed state, owing to the renewal of
the war with Scotland, that the talliage question was
not discussed. Nevertheless the king's officers
appeared again in the city to make an assessment,
and again they were bought off by another loan of
£400. The king took the money and broke his word,
and the record of pledges taken from citizens for
"arrears of divers talliages and not redeemed," is
significant of the hardship inflicted by this illegal
exaction on a large number of inhabitants of the city. Letter Book E, fo. 18. (Memorials, pp. 108-110).
Out of this sum of £400, nearly one-half (£178
3 Letter Book D, fo. 165. Chron. Edward I and II, ii, 55, 56. Letter Book E, fo. 84. (Memorials, pp. 128-129).s. 4d.), was allowed the city for the purpose of
furnishing the king with a contingent of 120
It was not long before the king and Lancaster
were preparing to join forces for the recovery of
Berwick. In the meantime, the Barons of the
Exchequer appeared at the Guildhall (25th February,
1319), and summoned the mayor, sheriffs and aldermen
to answer for certain trespasses. Several holders
of office, and among them Edmund le Lorimer, Gaoler
of Newgate, for whom Hugh le Despenser had solicited
the Small Beam, were deposed: a proceeding
which gave rise to much bickering between mayor,
aldermen and commons. Disputes, moreover, had
arisen in the city touching the election and removal
of the mayor, sheriffs and aldermen of the city, which Chron. Edward I and II, i, 285.
According to the writer of the French Chronicle,
to which reference has frequently been made, Aungier's French Chron. (Riley's translation), p. 252. Lib. Cust. (Rolls Series) i, 269. Dated York, 8th June, 1319. These letters patent are preserved
at the Guildhall (Box No. 4). Ten days later [18th June] Edward
granted an ample inspeximus charter to the city, the original of which
does not appear among the archives. Aungier, Fr. Chron. (Riley's translation), p. 253. In this year [1318-19] the new charter was confirmed by the
king, and cost £1,000. See Lib. Cust. i, pp. 255-273.quid pro quo. The citizens
were mulcted in a sum of £1,000 before the king's
seal was set to the letters patent.Id., p. 252.
Early in 1321 commenced a memorable Iter at
the Tower which lasted twenty-four weeks and three
days. No such Iter had been held before, although
the last Iter held in 1275 had been a remarkable one
for the courageous conduct of Gregory de Rokesle,
the mayor. This was to surpass every other session
of Pleas of the Crown in its powers of inquisition, and
was destined to draw off many a would-be loyal
citizen from the king's side. Its professed object was
to examine into unlawful "colligations, confederations,
and conventions by oaths," which were known (or
supposed) to have been formed in the city. Chron. Edward I and II, Introd., vol. ii, p. lxxxiv. Lib. Cust. (Rolls Series) i, 285-432. Rolls Series i, 51-60. Copies of the Ordinances are also to be
found in the Liber Horn (fos. 209, seq.) and Liber Ordinationum (fos.
154b seq.) of the city's archives.
The opening of the Iter did not augur well for the
city. Fault was found, at the outset, by Geoffrey le
Scrop, the king's sergeant-pleader, because the sheriffs
had not attended so promptly as they should have done.
The excuse that they had only acted according to custom
in waiting for the grant of a safe conduct was held
unsatisfactory, and nothing would please him but that
the city should be at once taken into the king's hand. Lib. Cust. i, 289, 308.
Again, when the citizens claimed to record their
liberties and customs by word of mouth without being
compelled to reduce them into writing, as the justices
had ordered, the only reply they got was that they
did so at their own peril. Lib. Cust., i, 296.
On the fourth day the mayor and citizens put in
their claim of liberties, which they supported by
various charters. - - -Id., i, 308-322.Id., i, 322-324.Id., i, 324-325.
On the ninth day of the Iter, a long schedule,
containing over 100 articles upon which the Crown
desired information, was delivered to each ward of
the city. - "Et fuit illo die post horam vesperarum antequam Justiciarii et
duodenæ perfiniebant; sed neminem eodem die indictaverunt."—Lib.
Cust., i, 366.Id., i, 347-362.
On the thirty-fourth day of the Iter, John de
Gisors was indicted for having during his mayoralty
(1311-1313), admitted a felon to the freedom of the
city, and fraudulently altered the date of his admission.
The question of criminality turned upon this date. Had
the felony been committed before or after admission?
The accused declared in his defence that admission to
the freedom had taken place before the felony; a jury,
however, came to the opposite conclusion, and not
only found that admission had taken place after an
indictment for the felony, but that the mayor at the
time was aware of the indictment. The judges
therefore ordered Gisors into custody. He was soon
afterwards released on bail, but not without paying
a fine of 100 marks. Lib. Cust., i, 371-374.
A similar indictment against his son Anketin, as
having participated in his father's offence, failed.
Within a week of Gisors's indictment, the mayor for
the time being, Nicholas de Farndon, was deposed,
and the city placed in the hands of Sir Robert de
Kendale, the king's commissioner. -Id., i, 378. Chron. Edward I and
II, i, 291. Aungier, Fr. Chron., p. 253.
For nine weeks in succession the citizens had
suffered from the inconveniences of the Iter, when a
brief adjournment over Easter took place. In the
meantime, an assay was held at the Guildhall of the
new weights and measures which Walter Stapleton,
Bishop of Exeter, had, in his capacity as the king's
After Easter the sittings of the justiciars were
resumed. A great change, however, had come over
them during the recess. They no longer behaved
"like lions eager for their prey; on the contrary, they
had become very lambs." "Qui cum quasi leones parati ad prædam ante Pascham extitissent,
nunc, versa vice, quasi agni vicissim facti sunt."—Lib. Cust., i,
383-384.
The chief questions discussed before the justices were the right of the weavers of London to hold their guild, and the right of the fishmongers of Fish-wharf to sell their fish at their wharf by retail instead of on their vessels or at the city markets. The claim of the fishmongers was opposed by Andrew Horn, himself a fishmonger by trade, as well as an eminent lawyer, who acted on this occasion as leading counsel for the City.
When Whitsuntide was approaching, an indictment
was brought by the city wards against their old
enemy John de Crombwelle, the Constable of the
Tower. He had already made himself obnoxious to
the citizens by attempting to enclose a portion of the
city's lands; Chron. Edward I and II. i, 216, 272. Lib. Cust., i, 408, 409.
On the judges resuming their sittings after
Trinity Sunday, they sat no longer in the Great Hall
or the Lesser Hall, "as well by reason of the queen
being in childbed there, as already mentioned, as of
the fortifying of the Tower, through fear of the
Earl of Hereford and his accomplices, who were in
insurrection on every side." Temporary buildings
had to be found for them. A fortnight later there
were signs of the Iter being brought to an abrupt
termination, the citizens having represented that they
could not possibly keep proper watch and ward owing
to disturbances consequent to the holding of the
Iter; -Id., i, 425.
It was the bursting of the storm which had long
been gathering against the king's new favourites, the
Despensers, father and son, that caused the sudden
termination of the Iter, and it was the fear lest he
should lose the support of the city against Lancaster
and his allies that caused the king quickly to restore Chron. Edward I and II, i, 291. The precise date of his election
is not known. Bishop Stubbs, in his introduction to the Chronicle
cited (i, p. lxxxii), states it to have taken place in January. This can
hardly have been the case, inasmuch as the city had not been taken
into the king's hands before the middle of February—forty-one days
after the commencement of the Iter. See Lib. Cust. i, p. 378.
Within a few hours of the closing of the Iter
Chigwell and the aldermen were summoned to
Westminster to say whether they would be willing
to support the king and to preserve the city of London
to his use in his contest with the barons. Edward
and his council received for answer that the mayor
and his brethren "were unwilling to refuse the safe
keeping of the city," but would keep it for the king
and his heirs. They were thereupon enjoined to prepare
a scheme for its defence for submission to the
king's council, and this was accordingly done. Letter Book E, fos. 119b-120 (Memorials, pp. 142-144).
The city was, however, wavering in its support;
Chigwell did his best to hold the balance between
king and baron, and to hold a middle course, avoiding
offence as far as was possible to one side and the
other. After the lapse of a few days, a letter came
from the Earl of Hereford, addressed to the mayor,
sheriffs, aldermen and commonalty of the city, asking
for an interview. It was then decided, after due deliberation
in the Court of Husting, to ask Edward's advice
on the matter before returning an answer. At first
the king was disinclined to allow the interview,
but when the lords approached nearer London, and
resistance would have been hopeless, he gave way,
and a deputation was appointed to meet the lords at
the Earl of Lancaster's house in Holborn. To them Chron. Edward I and II, i, 293, 296.
A fortnight later (14th August) the king, moved
by the intercession of the Earl of Pembroke, the
bishops, and his queen, yielded to the lords, and an
agreement between them was reduced to writing and
publicly read in Westminster Hall. -Id., i, 297.
Chigwell's conduct throughout met with so much
favour from the citizens as well as from the king that
when the latter issued letters patent Dated, Boxle, 25 October. Patent Roll 15, Edward II, Part 1,
m. ii. Chron. Edward I and II, i, p. 298. Re-elected "by the commons
at the king's wish."—Aungier Fr. Chron. (Riley's transl.), p. 254.
Such popularity as the king had for a time
achieved by his concession to the demands of the
lords, however unwillingly made, was enhanced by
another circumstance. An insult had been offered to
the queen by Lady Badlesmere, who had refused to
admit her into her castle at Ledes, co. Kent, when on
her way to Canterbury. The queen was naturally
indignant, and the unexpected energy displayed by
Edward in avenging the insult gave fresh strength to
his cause. With the assistance of a contingent sent
by the citizens of London, the king beseiged the
castle, and, having taken it, hanged the governor. Chron. Edward I and II, i, pp. 298-299.
Elated with his success, the king forthwith proceeded
to issue "a charter of service"— Aungier, Fr. Chron., pp. 254, 255. The charter, dated Aldermaston, 12th December, 15 Edward II
[i.e., a charter
binding the citizens to serve him in future wars—which
he wished the good people of London to have
sealed, "but the people of the city would not accede
to it for all that the king could do."A.D. 1321], with seal (imperfect) attached, is preserved at the Guildhall
(Box No. 4.)
Having thus secured an acknowledgment of their
rights, the citizens were ready enough to waive them Chron. Edward I and II, i, 301.—Aungier. Fr. Chron. (Riley's
transl.). p. 255.
The Londoners were by no means to be despised
in the field. Froissart describes them as being very
dangerous when once their blood was up, and slaughter
on the battle field only gave them fresh courage. "Car c'est le plus perilleux peuple [sc. the English] qui soit au
monde et plus outrageux et orgueilleux et de tous ceux d' Angleterre les
Londriens sont chefs ... ils sont fors durs et hardis et haux en
courage; tant plus voyent de sang respandu et plus sont cruels et moins
ebahis."—Froissart's Hist. (ed. Lyon, 1559), pp. 333-334. Macaulay, Hist., cap. iii.
The Earl of Lancaster, who was made prisoner
at Boroughbridge, and afterwards executed before his
own castle at Pomfret, had come to be a great
favourite with the Londoners, in whose eyes he
appeared as the champion of the oppressed against
the strong. His memory was long cherished in the
city, and miracles were believed to have taken place—the
crooked made straight, the blind receiving sight Aungier. Fr. Chron. (Riley's transl.), pp. 257, 264.
Edward, again a free ruler, lost no time in revoking
these Ordinances. The elder Despenser he
raised to the earldom of Winchester. Chron. Edward I and II. i, 303. -Id., i. 305. Aungier. Fr. Chron. (Riley's transl.), p. 257.
The deposed mayor, however, was ordered to
keep close attendance on the Court, as were also
three other London citizens, viz.: Hamo Godchep,
Edmund Lambyn, and Roger le Palmere; and in the
following November he recovered his position, By the king's writ, dated Ravensdale, 29 Nov., Letter Book E.
fo. 148. According to the French Chronicle (Aungier, p. 258) Chigwell
recovered the mayoralty on the feast of St. Nicholas [6 Dec.].
On the 7th Dec. he was admitted and sworn into office.
The king's triumph was destined to be short-lived.
In August, 1323, Roger Mortimer, a favourite
of the queen, effected his escape from the Tower,
where he had lain prisoner since January, 1322. The
divided feeling of the citizens which had been more
or less apparent since the year of the great Iter, now
began to assert itself. Mortimer's escape had taken Chron. Edward I and II, i, 301, 305, 318 n. "Propter insidiantes domini regis et aliorum malorum hominum."—Id.,
i, 306.
In the following year (1324), a quarrel broke out
between two of the city guilds, the weavers and the
goldsmiths. Fights took place in the streets and
lives were lost. -Id., i, 307.
Edward, in the meanwhile, was threatened with
war by France, unless he consented to cross the sea
and do homage to the French king for the possessions
he held in that country. This the Despensers
dared not allow him to do. A compromise was therefore
effected. Queen Isabel, who was not sorry for
an opportunity of quitting the side of a husband who
had seized all her property, removed her household,
and put her on board wages at twenty shillings
a day, Aungier, Fr. Chron., p. 259. Chron. Edward I and II, i, 308. Easter is given as the date of
her departure by the Fr. Chron. (p. 259), Easter Day falling on the
15th April in that year.
Once on the continent, the queen threw off the
mask, and immediately began to concert measures
against the king and the Despensers. By negotiating
a marriage for her son with the daughter of the
Count of Hainault, she contrived to raise supporters
in England, whilst by her affected humility and
sorrow, displayed by wearing simple apparel as one
that mourned for her husband, she won the sympathy
of all who beheld her. Aungier, Fr. Chron. (Riley's transl.), p. 260.
It was all in vain. The majority of the citizens
had made up their mind to give him no more
support. On the 24th September, 1326, Isabel, in
spite of all precautions, effected a landing near
Harwich; and Edward, as soon as he was made
aware of her arrival in England, took fright and left
London for the west. The queen, who was accompanied
by her son and her "gentle Mortimer," gave
out that she came as an avenger of Earl Thomas,
whose memory was yet green in the minds of the
citizens, and as the enemy of the Despensers. See her proclamation issued at Wallingford, 15th Oct. Rymer's
Fœdera, vol. ii, part 1, pp. 645, 646. Chron. Edward I and II, i, 314, 315.quasi peregrinando) followed up
the king.
In the meantime a letter had been despatched to
the city in her name and that of her son, desiring its Dated Baldock, 6 Oct., 1326. City's Records, Pleas and
Memoranda, Roll A I, membr. x (12).
On the 15th October, the city broke out into
open rebellion. The mayor and other leading men
had gone to the house of the Blackfriars to meet the
Bishops of London and Exeter. The mob, now fairly
roused by the queen's second letter, hurried thither
and forced them to return to the Guildhall, the timid
Chigwell "crying mercy with clasped hands," and
promising to grant all they required. A proclamation
was made shortly afterwards to the effect that "the
enemies to the king and the queen and their son"
should depart the city. Aungier. Fr. Chron. (Riley's translation), pp. 262, 263.
One unfortunate man, John le Marchall, suspected
of being employed by Hugh Despenser as a spy,
was seized and incontinently beheaded in Cheapside.
The mob, having tasted blood, hastened to sack the
house of Walter Stapleton, Bishop of Exeter, who as
Edward's treasurer, had confiscated the queen's property.
It so happened, that the bishop himself,
attended by two esquires, was riding towards the city
intending to have his midday meal at his house in Old
Dean's Lane (now Warwick Lane), before proceeding
to the Tower. Hearing cries of "Traitor!" he Chron. Edward I and II, i, 315, 316. Aungier, Fr. Chron., p. 263.
The bishop's two attendant esquires also perished
at the hands of the mob. Their bodies were allowed
to lie stark naked all that day in the middle of Chepe.
The head of the bishop was sent to the queen at
Gloucester, Chron. Edward I and II, ii, 310. Murimuth, Chron. (Eng. Hist.
Soc.), p. 48.
After the Bishop's murder there was no pretence
of government in the city. The mob did exactly as
they liked. They sacked the houses of Baldock, the
Chancellor, and carried off the treasure he had laid
up in St. Paul's. The property of the Earl of Arundel,
recently executed at Hereford, which lay in the
Priory of Holy Trinity, Aldgate, shared the same
fate. The banking house of the Bardi, containing the
wealth accumulated by the younger Despenser, was
sacked under cover of night. The Tower was entered,
the prisoners set free, and new officers appointed. Chron. Edward I and II, i, 321, ii, 310. Aungier, Fr. Chron.
(Riley's translation), p. 264. Murimuth (Eng. Hist. Soc.), pp. 48, 49. The proclamation is headed, Proclamacio prima post decessum
episcopi Exoniensis et ipsius decollacionem.—City's Records, Pleas and
Memoranda, Roll A 1, membr. 2 dors.
When the Feast of St. Simon and Jude again
came round, and Chigwell's term of office expired by
efflux of time, no election of a successor took place,
but on the 15th November, the Bishop of Winchester
paid a visit to the Guildhall, where, after receiving
the freedom of the city, and swearing "to live and
die with them in the cause, and to maintain the
franchise," he presented a letter from the queen,
permitting the citizens freely to elect their mayor as
in the days before the Iter of 1321, for since that time
no mayor had been elected, save only by the king's Aungier, Fr. Chron., p. 265. Chron. Edward I and II, i, 318.
On the 13th January, 1327—exactly one week
before the king met his wretched end in Berkeley
Castle—Mortimer came to the Guildhall with a large
company including the Archbishop of Canterbury and
several bishops, and one and all made oath to
maintain the cause of the queen and of her son, and
to preserve the liberties of the City of London. This
was solemnly done in the presence of the mayor, the
chamberlain, Andrew Horn, and a vast concourse of
citizens. The Archbishop, who had offended many
of the citizens by annulling the decree of exile passed
against the Despensers in 1321, now sought their
favour by the public offer of a gift to the commonalty
of 50 tuns of wine. Chron. Edward I and II, i, 323. Pleas and Memoranda, Roll
A 1, memb. 2.
Edward III was only fourteen years of age when
he succeeded to the throne. For the first three years
of his reign the government of the country was practically
in the hands of Mortimer, his mother's paramour;
and it was no doubt by his advice and that of the
queen-mother that the young king rewarded the
citizens of London, who had shown him so much
favour, by granting them not only a general pardon Dated 28 February, 1326-7. Chron. Edward I and II, i,
325-326. Dated 6 March, 1326-7. Preserved at the Guildhall (Box No. 5).
This latter charter, which has been held to be of
the force of an Act of Parliament, In - According to the common law of the land, no market could be
erected so as to be a "nuisance" to another market within a less distance
than six miles and a half and a third of another half.—Bracton
"De Legibus Angliæ" (Rolls Series No. 70), iii, 584. Dated 4 March, 1326-7. Chron. Edward I and II, i, 325.re Islington Market Bill, 3 Clk, 513. See also Stat. 5 and 6,
William IV, cap. cxi, ss. 46 et seq.Vide sup., p. 104.
Scarcely was he knighted and crowned king
before necessity compelled him to take the field
against the Scots. The Londoners were, as usual,
called upon to supply a contingent towards the forces
which had been ordered to assemble at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The king's letters asking for assistance were dated from Nottingham,
29 April and 2 May.—City's Records, Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1,
membr. iv dors, and ix. The names of the troopers are set out in full, under the several
wards, in Pleas and Memoranda, Roll A I, memb. ix. The compiler
of the "Annales Paulini" (Chron. Edward I and II, i. 333), gives the
number of the City contingent as 100 men, adding feelingly "sed proh
pudor! nil boni ibi facientes sine honore revertuntur."
Whilst furnishing this aid to the king the citizens
were anxious that their liberality should not be
misconstrued, or tend to establish a precedent in
derogation of their chartered privileges. Their fears Dated Topclyf, 10 July.—Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1, membr.
ii (4).
A parliament held in September, at Lincoln, in
which the citizens were represented by Benedict de
Fulsham and Robert de Kelseye, - Writ dated Lincoln, 23 September.—Id., Roll A 1, membr. iii.Id., Roll A 1, membr. v
(7) dors.
The City's representatives were accompanied to
Lincoln by the mayor, Richard de Betoyne, who was
the bearer of letters under the seal of the commonalty
addressed to the king, the queen, and members of the
king's council praying that the courts of King's Bench
and Exchequer might not be removed from Westminster
to York. - Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1. membr. iii, and v (7).Id., Roll A 1. memb. iii.—In July, 1323, the Exchequer had been
transferred from York to Westminster, "and great treasure therewith."—Aungier's
Fr. Chron. (Riley's transl.), p. 258.
The campaign against the Scots brought little
credit to either side, and terminated in a treaty, the
terms of which were for the most part arranged by Pleas and Memoranda, Roll A 1. membr. xxii. -Id., Roll A 1. membr. xxii, dors.—According to the Chronicle of
Lanercost (Bannatyne Club, p. 261), it was the Londoners who refused
to give up the stone.
When negotiations were opened in 1363 for the
union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland, it
was proposed that Edward should be crowned king
at Scone on the royal seat ( Rymer's Fœdera (1830), Vol. iii, pt. ii, p. 716. Stanley's
Memorials of Westminster Abbey (2nd ed.), pp. 60-64.siége roial) which he
should cause to be returned from England. These
negotiations, however, fell through, and the stone
remains in Westminster Abbey to this day.
The treaty which had been arranged at Edinburgh
(17 March, 1328), was afterwards confirmed by a
Parliament held at Northampton, in which the city
was represented by Richard de Betoyne and Robert
de Kelseye. Rymer's Fœdera (1821) Vol. ii, pt. ii, pp. 734, 740. Pleas
and Mem., Roll A 1, membr. xx dors. Chron. Edward I and II,
i. 339-340.
When the terms of this treaty of Northampton
(as it was called) came to be fully understood, the
nation began to realise the measure of disgrace which
they involved, and Mortimer and the queen became
the objects of bitter hatred. Henry, Earl of Lancaster, The city was represented by Stephen de Abyndon and Robert de
Kelseye. The writ was dated Clipston, 28 August, and the return
made the 10th October.—Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1. membr. xxiii-xxiv. Letter dated 27 September.—Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1,
membr. xxiii (27) dors.
Instead of attending the parliament at Salisbury,
the earl marched in full force to Winchester. On the
5th November he wrote to the citizens from Hungerford,
to the effect that he had made known to parliament
his honourable intentions, but had received no
reply; that the parliament had been adjourned to
London; that he had been informed of certain matters
about which he could not write, but which the bearer
would communicate to them; and he concluded with
assuring them that he desired nothing so much as the
king's honour and the welfare of the kingdom, and
declaring his implicit confidence in their loyalty. -Id., Roll A 1, membr. xxiv (28) dors.
The mayor of the city at this time was John de
Grantham. His election had taken place but recently,
and was the result of a compromise. Chigwell, who had
again been chosen mayor at the expiration of Betoyne's
year of office in 1327, was a decided favourite with the
citizens, notwithstanding a certain want of firmness of
character, and he was again put up as a candidate for
the mayoralty in October, 1328. He had enemies, of
course. Towards the close of his last mayoralty he
was ill-advised enough to sit in judgment upon a
brother alderman on a charge of having abused him
two years previously. During the troublous times of
1326, John de Cotun, alderman of Walbrook ward,
was alleged to have described Chigwell, who was
then mayor, as "the vilest worm that had been in
the city for twenty years," adding that the city would
know no peace so long as Chigwell was alive, and that
it would be a blessing if he lost his head. "Quod dictus Hamo fuit pessimus vermis qui venit in civitate jam
xx annis elapsis et amplius, et quod nunquam foret bona pax in civitate
dum viveret et quod bonum esset valde si capud ejus a corpore truncatur."—Pleas
and Mem., Roll A 1, membr. xxiii dors.
At the outset it appeared that Chigwell's reelection
was assured; but the city as well as the
country was in a disturbed state, and political reasons
may have led to an endeavour to force another candidate
in the person of Benedict de Fulsham over his
head. Be that as it may, it is certain that when
Chigwell's name was proposed to the assembled
citizens at the Guildhall, the cry was raised of
"Fulsham! Fulsham!" So high did party spirit run, Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1, membr. 29.
On the 8th November the new mayor despatched
a letter to the king, expressing the joy of the city at
the news of a proposed visit, and the prospect of the
next parliament being held in London. His majesty
might be assured of the city's loyalty. - -Id., Roll A 1, membr. 29 dors.Id., ibid.—Notwithstanding this disavowal,
it is said that no less than 600 Londoners assisted the Lancastrian
cause.—Chron. Edward I and II. Introd. Vol. i, p. cxx.
Early in December the king and queen came to
London, accompanied by the queen-mother and Mortimer,
and took up their quarters at Westminster.
The whole of the city went forth to welcome them,
and they were made the recipients of valuable gifts.
Their stay, however, lasted but one short week. Chron. Edward I and II, i, 343.—Letter Book E, fo. 179b.
(Memorials, pp. 170-171).
By the 16th the king was at Gloucester, where
he wrote to the Mayor of London, enclosing a copy
of particulars of all that had passed between himself
and the Earl of Lancaster—the charges made by the
earl and his own replies—in order, as he said, that
the citizens might judge for themselves of the rights
of the quarrel between them. These particulars, the
mayor was desired to have publicly read at the Guildhall. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1, membr. 31. See letter from the mayor, &c., to the king informing him that his
wishes had been carried out.—Id., Roll A 1. membr. xxviii (32).
Whilst notifying the king that his wishes had
been complied with, the mayor and commonalty
besought him that all measures of hostility between
himself and the barons might be suspended until
parliament should meet. The city became the headquarters
of the dissatisfied bishops and nobles. The
Sunday before Christmas, the pulpit in St. Paul's was
occupied by the primate, who was equally anxious
with the civic authorities that matters should be left
to be adjusted by parliament. At Christmas, both the primate and the city despatched letters to
Edward, who was then at Worcester, to that effect.—Id., Roll A 1.
memb. xxviii (32).
The barons in the city, in the meanwhile, awaited
the arrival of the Earl of Lancaster. On New Year's
day he came, and on the 2nd January (1329) a conference
of bishops and barons took place at St. Paul's. Chron. Edward I and II. i, 343-344. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1. membr. xxviii (32).
Now that the king, or rather, we should say,
Mortimer, was once more master of the situation, the
citizens who had favoured the constitutional party
became the objects of retribution. On Sunday, the
22nd January (1329), the mayor and twenty-four
citizens were ordered to meet the king at St. Albans.
They returned on the following Thursday with instructions
to see if the city was prepared to punish those
who had favoured Lancaster. No sooner were the
king's wishes made known, than an enquiry was at
once set on foot. On Wednesday (1st February), the
deputation returned to the king, who was then at
Windsor, to report the sense of the city; and on the
following Sunday (4th February), the king's justices
commenced to sit at the Guildhall for the trial of
those implicated in the late abortive attempt to overthrow
Mortimer. Three days were consumed in preliminary
proceedings; and it was not until Wednesday
(8th February) that the real business of the session
commenced. By that time the king himself had Chron. Edward I and II. i, 242-243.
Among those who were brought to trial at the
Guildhall was Chigwell. He was accused of being
implicated in the abduction of the Abbot of Bury St.
Edmunds, and of feloniously receiving two silver
basins as his share of the plunder. Being convicted,
he claimed the benefit of clergy, and the Bishop of
London, after some delay, was allowed to take possession
of him on the ground that he was a clerk. His
life was thus saved and he was conveyed to the
episcopal prison amid general regret, although, as we
have already seen, he was not a universal favourite.
"Many said, he is a good man; others, nay, but he
deceiveth the people." - - The will is enrolled in the records of the Court of Husting,
Roll 61 (17). His devise to St. Paul's was challenged by John de
Pulteney, and execution stayed.Id., i, 245, 346.Id., i. 246-247.
Mortimer's vengeance was not confined to a few
leading citizens. Lancaster's life was spared, but he
was mulcted in a heavy fine. Many of his associates
took refuge in flight. The Earl of Kent, the king's
uncle, was shortly afterwards charged with treason,
into which he had been drawn by the subtlety of
Mortimer, and made to pay the penalty with his
head. This, more than anything else, opened the
king's eyes to Mortimer's true character, and at length
(Oct., 1339,) he caused him to be privily seized in the
castle of Nottingham. According to the compiler of the "Annales Paulini" (Chron.
Edward I and II, i, 352), Mortimer was taken "in camera Isabelle
reginæ."
Queen Isabel, who witnessed the seizure of her
favourite and whose prayers to spare the "gentle
Mortimer" were of no avail, was made to disgorge
much of the wealth she had acquired during her
supremacy, and was put on an allowance. The rest
of her life, a period of nearly thirty years, she spent
in retirement. Before her death She died in 1357. and was buried in the church of the Grey Friars,
in the city. "The last days of Queen Isabella."—Archæol., vol. xxxv, p. 464.
The king's marriage with Philippa of Hainault,
which had taken place at York on the 30th January,
1328, had been popular with the city On her first arrival in London she was conducted by a cavalcade
of citizens to the Bishop of Ely's house in Holborn, and after her
marriage, was made the recipient of a present of gold and silver and a
great store of all kinds of provisions. Her coronation, which took place
two years later (Feb., 1330), was also made the occasion for a further
display of their loyalty and affection.—Chron. Edward I and II, i,
338, 339, 349. Green, Hist. of the English People, i, 410. Imposts on wool,
writes Bishop Stubbs, became of such importance at this period that
"the merchants again seemed likely to furnish the realm with a new
estate."—Const. Hist., ii. 379. -Supra, pp. 112-115.
Towards the close of the last reign the "staples"
or market towns for the sale of certain commodities, "Eodem anno ( Dated 23 April, 1327. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1, membr. i
(3) dors. Dated Nottingham, 30 April (1327). Rymer's Fœdera. Vol. ii,
pt. ii. p. 705.i.e., 1326) post Pascha dominus rex habuit consilium
apud Westmonasterium; et ordinatum fuit ibi quod mercatores
emerent lanas. corias et plumbum, in certis locis Angliæ, Walliæ et
Hyberniæ, et illa loca vocantur Stapel."—Chron. Edward I and II,
i, 312. Cf. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1, membr. 15.
Nor was this the only grievance that the London
merchants had. In order to raise money to put down
the rebellion of the Scots which had broken out soon Writ to the collector of dues in the port of London and other
places on both sides of the Thames as far as Gravesend. Dated Overton,
2 July, 1 Edward III ( -a.d. 1327). Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1,
membr. 7 dors (cedula).Id., Roll A 1, membr. 7 dors.
A compromise was subsequently effected. In
consideration of the good service which the citizens
of London had already done to the king in times
past, and for the good service which they were prepared
to render again in the future, they were released
of arrears of the tax due from 2nd July to the
23rd September, provided they were willing to pay it
for the remainder of the term. Letters patent, dated Lincoln, 23 Sept., 1 Edward III ( Writ to sheriffs to see the restrictions carried out, dated York,
1 March, 2 Edward III (a.d.
1327). Id., Roll A 1, membr. 7 dors.a.d. 1327-8). Id., Roll A 1, membr. 24
dors.
On the 11th December (1327), Edward issued a
writ Dated from Coventry. Return to writ, dated 12 January, 1 Edward III (Id., Roll A 1, membr. 18 dors.A.D. 1327-8).—Pleas
and Mem., Roll A 1, membr. 20.
One of the questions to be determined was the
advisability of again removing the Staple from
England to the continent. On this question, there
appears to have arisen some difference of opinion
among the city representatives. Betoyne, who had
formerly enjoyed the office of Mayor of the Staple
beyond the seas, favoured a return to the old order of
things, whilst his colleagues were opposed to any
such proceeding. Notification of Betoyne's disagreement
with his colleagues was made to the mayor and
commonalty of the City by letter from the mayor
and commonalty of York, to which reply was made
that Betoyne's action was entirely unauthorised. Letter from the Mayor, &c., of York, to the City of London,
dated 29 January, and reply.—Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1, membr.
xix (23). - -Id. ibid.Id., Roll A 1, membr. xvii (20) dors. The letter was sent in
reply to one from the City's representatives, Grantham and Priour,
asking for instructions.
The account of Betoyne's difference with his
colleagues, as related in the letter from the City of
York, was subsequently found to require considerable
modification, when a letter was received by the Mayor
of London from two of his colleagues, Grantham Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1, membr. xix (23) dors. He had been an intimate favourite of Edward II. and had been
removed, with others, from that king's service in 1311. Notwithstanding
this, he appears as the king's Chamberlain in 1316. Ten
years later, when the city was in the hands of an infuriated mob, and
the king confined at Kenilworth, John de Charleton took the Earl of
Arundel prisoner and caused him to be beheaded. In 1329 the citizens
received peremptory orders from Edward III, not to harbour him in the
city.—Chron. Edward I & II. i, 247.
Betoyne on the same day sent home his own
account of what had taken place at York. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1, membr. 24.la malencolye) which the burgesses of York entertained
towards him, he proceeds to relate how the
Mayor of York, maliciously and without any warning,
had appeared at the assembly with four or five of his
suite, accompanied by John de Charleton, clothed in
the mayor's livery, and by a crowd of citizens, to
the terror of the assembled merchants. Thereupon,
Bretoyne had declared that he would not sit nor
remain where Charleton was, and had left the meeting;
for, said he, he would never make peace with
Charleton except with the assent of the Mayor and
Both these letters were laid before the commonalty
of London assembled at the Guildhall on the
19th February, when Betoyne's action was approved,
and on the following day a letter was addressed to
him to that effect. The Mayor and Commonalty of
York received also a missive in which their late conduct
to Betoyne was severely criticised. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1, membr. 24. Letter Book E, fo. 183. (Memorials, p. 169.)
The king, finding that the opposition to the removal
of the staple displayed not only by London
but by York, Winchester, Bristol and Lincoln was too
great to be overcome, abolished staples altogether
(August, 1328), and re-established free-trade. "In 1333 they were again established in England, but merchants
ignored them, and in the following year they were abolished. From
1344 onwards they are frequently discussed in parliament and assemblies
of the merchants; and by the statute of 1353 the system was consolidated."—Stubbs,
Const. Hist., ii, 412. Letter Book G. fos. 35b, 76.
One of the last political acts of Mortimer had
been to send Edward over to France to do homage to
Philip of Valois, the new king, for his possessions in
that country. This homage Edward paid in 1329,
but subject to certain reservations. Rymer's Fœdera (1821), vol. ii, pt. ii. p. 765. Chron. Edward I and II, i, 247, 249.
In July, he summoned the mayor and twenty-four
of the leading citizens to attend him at Woodstock.
The mayor (Simon de Swanlonde) would
have had them excused on the ground of the disturbed
state of the city, but the king was not to be denied.
Substitutes were appointed for the mayor during his
absence, and he and seven aldermen and sixteen
commoners went to Woodstock, where they gave Chron. Edward I and II. i, 249, 251. Rymer's Fœdera (1821), vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 815.
From 1332 to 1335 the king was chiefly occupied
with Scotland. It was part of the policy of Philip of
Valois to encourage disturbance in the north of
England, as a means of recovering his lost possessions
in France. Rex Franciæ subtiliavit viis et modis quibus potuit qualiter deturbaret
regem Angliæ et repatriare faceret ne tantum destrueret et debellaret
regnum Scotiæ.—Knighton (Rolls Series No. 76), i, 476. - Letter Book E, fos. 1-4—(Memorials, pp. 187-190).Id., i, 461.
A spy was also despatched to Normandy and
Brabant to see how matters were going there, and
gifts were made to the courts of Juliers and Namur
to secure their favour. The parliament which sat at
York in May, 1335, John de Grantham was allowed 60 shillings for a horse which he
lost whilst going to this parliament on the city's business. (Letter Book
F, fo. 9b.) It is, however, not clear that Grantham attended the
parliament as a city member. Chron. Edward I and II, ii. 122. Letter patent, dated 12 August.—Pleas and Mem., Roll A 1,
membr. 35. -Id. ibid.
At length, the friendly attitude which Philip of
Valois had taken up towards Scotland, much to
Edward's prejudice, determined the latter to go in
person to France for the purpose, not only of defending
his possessions there, but also of enforcing his
claim to the French crown. The year 1337 was devoted
to active preparations for the struggle. The
City of London, in spite of its franchise, was called
upon to furnish 500 men at arms, and to send them
to Portsmouth by Whitsuntide. Letter patent, dated Westm., 24 March.—Letter Book F., fo. 6. - Chron. Edward I and II, i, 366. The king's letter, dated Stamford, 1 June, 1337.—Letter Book F,
fo. 6b.Id., fo. 6b.
When Parliament met in London in February,
the City made presents of money to the king, the
queen, the chancellor, the treasurer, and others, Letter Book F, fos. 4-5. Charter dated Westminster, 26 March, 1337, preserved at the
Guildhall (Box No. 5). The king made frequent attempts to annul
this charter.—Letter Book F, fo. 197; Letter Book G, fos. 11b, 41b. -Id., fo. 9.
The services which the mayor had done the city
in the work of obtaining this charter were acknowledged
by a gift of two silver basins and the sum of
£20 from his fellow citizens. - -Id., fo. 9b. (Memorials, p. 197).Id., fo. 10b.
In March, 1337, a statute forbade the importation
of wool, as a preliminary to the imposition of an
additional custom, and in the following year parliament
granted the king half the wool of the kingdom. Stubbs, Const. Hist., ii, 380. Letter Book F, fo. 42. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 3, membr. 3 and 3 dors. Stubbs, Const. Hist., ii, 380-381.
Among the ships which had been prepared for
the king's expedition to France, three were known as
"La Jonette," of London; "La Cogge," of All
Hallows; and "La Sainte Marie Cogge." The last
mentioned belonged to William Haunsard, Letter Book F, fos. 3, 3b. - Pleas and Mem., Roll A 5, membr. 3 dors.Id., fo. 14b. Id., fo. 18b.
After the king's departure (12 July, 1338) the
City laid in provisions for transmission abroad, 500
quarters of corn and 100 carcases of oxen to be salted
down. In addition to which it purchased 1,000 horseshoes
and 30,000 nails. - -Id., membr. 5 dors.Id., membr. 6. On the 23 October, the Duke of Cornwall,
whom the king had nominated regent during his absence abroad, wrote
to the Mayor, &c., of London, bidding him put the city into a posture
of defence.—Letter Book F, fo. 19.
In February, 1339, the citizens received the king's
orders to furnish four ships with 300 men, and four
scummars - Letter Book F, fos. 22b-23.Skumarii: a scummar, a rover. Skeats' Glossary to the Bruce
(Early Eng. Text Soc. s. v.)
By Easter time the danger appeared more imminent,
and the mayor and aldermen met hurriedly in the
Guildhall, on Easter Sunday afternoon after dinner.
An immediate attack up the Thames was expected.
The mayor and aldermen agreed to take it in turns
to watch the river night and day. On the following
Wednesday, each alderman was ordered to enquire
as to the number of arbalesters, archers, and men
capable of bearing arms in his ward. A number of
carpenters were sworn on the same day to safe-guard
the engines of war laid up in the new house near
Petywales. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 3, membr. 1. Letter Book F, fly leaf. (Memorials, p. 204.)
At this period there were kept in the chamber
of the Guildhall six instruments called "gonnes,"
which were made of latten, a metal closely resembling
brass, five "teleres" or stocks for supporting
the guns, four cwt. and a half of pellets of lead, and
thirty-two pounds of gunpowder by way of ammunition. Letter Book F, fly-leaf. The passage was printed by the late
Mr. Riley, although somewhat inaccurately, in his Memorials (p. 205).
The original MS. runs thus: "Item in Camera Gildaule sunt sex Instrumenta
de Laton vocata Gonnes cum quinque teleres ad eadem.
Item pelete de plumbo pro eidem Instrumentis que ponderant iiij The late Mr. Riley misread "roleres" for "teleres" (the writing
is not very legible), and therefore thought the passage referred to heavy
ordnance. Richard Hastinges bequeaths by will in 1558 his bows and arrows,
with "tyllers" &c.—Calendar of Wills, Court of Hust., London, ii,
670.c li et
dj. Item xxxij li de pulvere pro dictis instrumentis."
The danger blew over, and before the close of the
year the king was expected to return to England. Congregacio Maioris Aldermannorum et unius hominis cujuslibet
warde civitatis pro negociis communitatem tangentibus die veneris
proxima post festum Sancte Katerine Virginis (25 Nov.) anno xiij Letter Book F, fo. 30b.c
contra adventum domini regis et regine de partibus transmarinis.—Pleas
and Mem., Roll A 3, membr. 10.
He had come to the end of his resources and was
in want of money to carry on the war. The City was
asked to lend him £20,000. It offered 5,000 marks.
This was contemptuously refused, and the municipal
authorities were bidden to re-consider the matter, or
in the alternative to furnish the king with the names
of the wealthier inhabitants of the City. At length
the City agreed to advance the sum of £5,000 for a
fixed period, and this offer the king was fain to accept. Letter Book F, fo. 32b. (Memorials, pp. 208-210.) Pleas and Mem., Roll A 3, membr. 12 dors. Letter Book F, fo. 34b.
Provided with this and other money supplied by
parliament, Edward again set out for the continent
(June, 1340). With him went a contingent of 283
men-at-arms, furnished by the City, 140 of them being
drawn from that part of the city which lay on the
east side of Walbrook, and 143 from the western side.
It had been intended to raise 300 men, and the better
class of citizens had been called upon to supply each
a quota, or in default to serve in person; but eleven
had failed in their duty and, on that account, had Letter Book F, fo. 39.
The names of the transport ships and the number
of men-at-arms supplied by each city, the number
of mariners and serving-men ( Pleas and Mem., Roll A 3, membr. 20-21. Letter Book F, fo. 37b. A cedula inserted between membranes 19 and 20 of Pleas and
Mem., Roll A 3.garzouns), which were
about to take part in the great battle fought off Sluys
(24 June), are on record.
An account of the battle was despatched by the
king to his son the Prince Regent, dated from
his ship, the "Cogg Thomas," the 28th June. Aungier, Fr. Chron. (Riley's transl.), 277.
It was one of the conditions of the Flemish
alliance, mentioned at the close of the last chapter,
that the campaign of 1340 should open with the siege
of Tournay, and it was with this object specially in
view that Edward had set out from England. After
his brilliant victory over the French fleet which
opposed his passage Edward marched upon Tournay.
Its siege, however, proved fruitless, and, disappointed
and money-less, he slipt back again to England and
made his appearance unexpectedly one morning at
the Tower Murimuth, Contin. Chron. (Rolls Series No. 93), p. 116. Avesbury
(Ibid), p. 323.
The king attributed the failure of the war to the
remissness of his ministers in sending money and
supplies. Scarcely had he landed before he sent for
the chancellor, the treasurer, and other ministers who
were in London, and not only dismissed them from
office, but ordered them each into separate confinement.
John de Pulteney was one of those made to
feel the king's anger, and he was relegated to the
castle of Somerton, but as soon as Edward's irritability
had passed off he and others obtained their freedom. Aungier's Fr. Chron. (Riley's transl.), pp. 283-285. Murimuth,
p. 117. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 3, membr. 22. Letter Book F, fos. 45b-49. Murimuth, pp. 118, 119. Murimuth, p. 119. Letter Book F, fo. 49.
As a further mark of favour he granted to the
City, soon after the abrupt termination of the Iter, a
charter confirming previous charters; allowing the
citizens in express terms to vary customs that might
in course of time have become incapable of being put Dated 26 May, 1341. This charter, which was granted with
the assent of parliament, is preserved at the Guildhall (Box No. 5.)
In August (1341) the citizens met to consider the
question of levying a sum of £2,000, of which 2,000
marks was due to certain citizens in part payment of
the £5,000 lent to the king, and 1,000 marks was
required for the discharge of the city's own debts. A
certain number of aldermen and commoners were at
the same time appointed to confer with the king's
council touching the sending of ships of war beyond
the seas. The result of the interview was made
known to the citizens at a meeting held later on in
the same month. A further grievous burden ( Pleas and Mem., Roll A 3, membr. 25 dors.vehemens
onus) was to be laid upon them; they were
called upon to provide no less than twenty-six ships,
fully equipped and victualled at their own cost.
The ships were probably wanted for conveying
forces over to Brittany under the command of Sir
Walter de Maunay, in the following year. The king
himself made an expedition to that country in October,
1342, having previously succeeded in borrowing
the sum of £1,000 from the citizens. He had asked
for £2,000, but was fain to be content with the lesser
sum, security for repayment of which was demanded
and granted. -Id., Roll A 5.
membr. 17.
In March, 1343, Edward returned to England,
having made a truce with France for three years. Stubbs, Const. Hist., ii, 392 note. Aungier's Fr. Chron. (Riley's
transl.), 290. Murimuth, 155.
Before the expiration of the truce Edward was
busy with preparations for a renewal of the war.
Four hundred London archers were to be got ready by
Midsummer of 1344, as the king was soon to cross the
sea; and 100 men-at-arms and 200 horsemen were to
be despatched to Portsmouth. Letter Book F, fos. 81-84b. Commission, dated Windsor, 20th March, 1345. - Letter Book F, fo. 111. -Id. fo. 98b.Id. fos. 99, 109, 110.Id., fo. 116b.
The expedition did not actually sail from Portsmouth
until the 10th July, the fleet numbering 1,000
vessels more or less. Murimuth (Rolls Series, No. 93, p. 198) states that the number
of vessels great and small amounted to 750; whilst in another Chronicle
the same writer says that they numbered more than 1,500 (Chron. ed.
for Eng. Hist. Soc., p. 164.) Letter Book F. fo. 119. Murimuth (Rolls Series), p. 198.
On the 3rd August the regent forwarded to the
city a copy of a letter he had received from the king,
giving an account of his passage to Normandy and
of the capture of various towns, and among them of
Caen. There he had discovered a document of no
little importance. This was none other than an Murimuth (Rolls Series), pp. 205-211. Letter Book F, fo. 120b. -Id., fos. 121-125b.
On the 26th August the battle of Creçy was won
against a force far outnumbering the English army.
The victory was due in large measure to the superiority
of the English longbow over the crossbow used
by the Genoese mercenaries; but it was also a victory
of foot soldiers over horsemen. The field of Bannockburn
had shown how easy a thing it was for a body
of horsemen to crush a body of archers, if allowed to
take them in the flank, whilst that of Halidon Hill
had more recently taught the king, from personal
experience, that archers could turn the tide of battle
against any direct attack, however violent. Edward
profited by the experience of that day. He not only
protected the flank of his archers, but interspersed
among them dismounted horsemen with levelled
Flushed with victory Edward proceeded to lay
siege to Calais. His forces, which had been already
greatly reduced on the field of Creçy, suffered a further
diminution by desertion. The mayor and sheriffs of
London were ordered to seize all deserters, whether
knights, esquires, or men of lower order, found in
the city, and to take steps for furnishing the king
with fresh recruits and store of victuals. Letter Book F, fos. 127, 127b, 130. -Id., fos. 132b-133b.
In July (1347) the king was in need of more
recruits and provisions. - - Hist. Angl. (Rolls Series No. 28), i, 272. Id., fos. 139, 140.Id., fo. 140 b.Cf. Chron. Angliæ
(Rolls Series No. 64). p. 26.
In August, 1348, the pestilential scourge, known
as the Black Death, It was the first of the three pestilences (the others occurring in
1361 and 1369) which served occasionally as land marks in history for
dating conveyances and other records.—See Bond's Handy-book for
verifying dates, p. 311. Stow extravagantly conjectures that no less than 50,000 perished
within a year, all of whom were buried in Walter Manny's cemetery,
near the Charterhouse. Another chronicler states that 200 were buried
there alone between February and April, 1349.—Avesbury (Rolls
Series No. 93), p. 407. Whilst the king forbade the encouragement of beggars by gifts
of charity, the municipal authorities fixed the price of labour.—Letter
Book F. fos. 163, 168, 169, 181. At the close of the year (1349)
a statute—known as the Statute of Labourers—was passed, fixing the
scale of wages at the rate prevalent before the Black Death, and ordering
punishment to be inflicted on those who demanded more. Letter Book F, fo. 168. -Id., fo. 191b.
On the night which ushered in New Year's day,
1350, an abortive attempt had been made by the
French to recapture Calais. This ill success rendered
Philip the more willing to agree to a further prolongation
of the truce with England. Notification of this
cessation of hostilities was duly sent to the sheriffs of
London. By writ, dated 1 July. Letter Book F, fo. 185b.
The city had scarcely recovered from the ravages
of the late pestilence, before it was called upon (24
July, 1350) to furnish two ships to assist the king
in putting down piracy. These were accordingly
fitted out; the ship of Andrew Turk being furnished
with 40 men-at-arms and 60 archers, whilst that of
Goscelin de Cleve had on board 30 men-at-arms and
40 archers. Letter Book F, fos. 187b, 188b. Avesbury (Rolls Series No. 93), p. 412. Letter Book F, fos. 174, 176.
In 1354 an exception was made by special
charter of the king in favour of the City of London,
and its sergeants were permitted to carry maces of
gold or silver, or plated with silver, and bearing the
royal arms. Ten years before the commons of
England had petitioned the king ( Rot. Parl., ii, 155.inter alia) not to
allow any one to carry maces tipped with silver in
city or borough, except the king's own officers. All
others were to carry maces tipped with copper only
(virolez de cuevere), with staves of wood as formerly.
The petition was granted saving that the sergeants
of the City of London might carry their mace within
the liberties of the city and before the mayor in the
king's presence.
In 1355, all efforts to convert the truce into a
final peace having failed, war with France was renewed.
Edward was soon called home by fresh
troubles in Scotland. Having recovered Berwick,
which had been taken by surprise, and formally received
the crown of Scotland from Edward Baliol, he
prepared to rejoin his son, the Black Prince, in France,
and in March, 1356, ordered the city to furnish him
with two vessels of war. Letter Book G, fo. 47.—Their cost, amounting to nearly £500, was
assessed on the wards.
News of the battle of Poitiers (19 September,
1356), and of the defeat and capture of the French
king, was received in the city by letter from the
Prince of Wales, dated 22nd October. Letter Book G, fo. 53b. (Memorials, pp. 285-289). Walshingham (Rolls Series No. 28), i, 283. Chron. Angliæ
(Rolls Series No. 64), p. 37. Letter Book G, fos. 65-67.
Only a few weeks before the prince's return the
citizens had laid before the king a list of their
grievances and prayed for redress. Letter Book G, fo. 60. Relief on this point was afforded by the king in February, 1359,
by the issue of a writ to the effect that the names of his purveyors
should be handed to the Mayor and Sheriffs of London, and that the
purveyors shall not seize any victuals until they had shown and read
their commission.—Letter Book G, fo. 74.
After the expiration of the truce Edward again
set out for France. That country, however, had
suffered so much during the last two years at the
hands of freebooters, that Edward experienced the
greatest difficulty in finding sufficient provisions for
his army. Whilst he was traversing France in search
of a force with which to try conclusions in the field,
a Norman fleet swept down upon the south coast and
sacked Winchelsea. The news of this disaster so
incensed the king that he determined to march direct
on Paris. The Londoners, in the meantime, assisted
in fitting out a fleet of eighty vessels, manned with
14,000 men, including archers, in order to wipe out
this disgrace, but the enemy contrived to make good
their escape. Walsingham, i, 288.
At length Edward was induced to accede to the
terms offered by France, and the peace of Bretigny
was concluded (8th May, 1360). The terms were
very favourable to England, although Edward consented
to abandon all claim to the French crown.
King John was to be ransomed, but the price set on
his release was so high that some years elapsed before
the money could be raised, and then only with the
assistance of a few of the livery companies of the city, Letter Book G, fo. 133. Stow's Survey (Thom's ed. 1876), pp. 41, 90.—If we include
David, King of Denmark (as some do), the number of kings entertained
on this occasion was five, and to this day the toast of "Prosperity to
the Vintners' Company" is drunk at their banquets with five cheers in
memory of the visit of the five crowned heads.—See a pamphlet entitled
The Vintners' Company with Five, by B. Standring, Master of the
Company in 1887.
The citizens now enjoyed a period of leisure which
they were not slow to turn to account. The years
which followed the peace of Bretigny, until war broke
out afresh in 1369, witnessed the re-organisation of
many of the trade and craft guilds. Some of these,
like the Goldsmiths, the Tailors or Linen-Armourers,
and the Skinners, had already obtained charters from
Edward soon after his accession, so had also the Fishmongers,
although the earliest extant charter of the
company is dated 1363. The Vintners date their
chartered rights from the same year; the Drapers from
1364; whilst the more ancient company of Weavers
obtained a confirmation of their privileges in 1365.
The king's favour was purchased in 1363 by a
gift of nearly £500, to which the livery companies
largely contributed. Letter Book G, fo. 133.—The list of subscribers, as printed in
Herbert's Introduction to his History of the Twelve Great Livery
Companies (p. 32), is very inaccurately transcribed.s. 8d.
With the renewal of the war, a change comes over
the pages of the City's annals. The London bachelor
and apprentice is drawn off from his football and
hockey, with which he had beguiled his leisure hours,
and bidden to devote himself to the more useful pursuits
of shooting with arrow or bolt on high days and
holidays. - - -Id., fo. 158.Id., fos. 225b, 226b, 235b, 236b.Id., fo. 228b.
It was an easier matter for the City to provide the
king with money than men. In 1370 it advanced a Letter Book G, fo. 247b.—The money was advanced on the
security of Exchequer bills. The names of the contributors and the
several sums contributed, covering three folios of the Letter Book, have
been for some reason erased. -Id., fos. 263, 270.
Still the expenses of the war exceeded the supply
of money, and resort was had to a new form of
taxation, by which it was hoped that a sum of
£50,000 might be realised. By order of parliament,
made in March, 1371, the sum of 22 Fasciculi Zizaniorum (Rolls Series No. 5), introd., p. xxviii. Letter Book G, fos. 274b-275.s. 3d. was to be
levied on every parish in the kingdom, the number
of parishes being reckoned as amounting to 40,000.
It soon became apparent that the number of existing
parishes throughout the country had been grossly
miscalculated. There were not more than 9,000, and
the amount of assessment had to be proportionately
raised. It was necessary to summon a council at
Westminster in June, to remedy the miscalculation
that had been made in March. Half of the representatives
of the late parliament were summoned to meet
the king, and among them two of the city's members,
Bartholomew Frestlyng and John Philipot—"the
first Englishman who has left behind him the reputation
of a financier."s. 3d. was raised to 116s. and the city
was called upon to raise over £600.
In the meantime the civic authorities had, in
answer to the king's writ, - Letter Book G, fos. 268b, 270. The number of parishes is elsewhere given as 110.—Id., fo. 268.Id., fo. 275.
A list of London benefices, under date 31 Edward I [1302-3], is given
in the City's Liber Custumarum (i, 228-230), the number being 116.
The bare fact that there existed over 100 parishes,
each with its parish church, within so small an area
as that covered by the city and its suburbs, is of itself
sufficient to remind us that, besides having a municipal
and commercial history, the city also possesses an
ecclesiastical. The church of St. Paul, the largest
foundation in the city, with its resident canons exercising
magnificent hospitality, was a centre to which
London looked as a mother, although it was not
strictly speaking the metropolitan cathedral. That
title properly applies to the Minster at Canterbury;
but the church of Canterbury being in the hands of
a monastic chapter left St. Paul's at the head of the
secular clergy of southern England. Ralph de Diceto (Rolls Series No. 68), pref. vol. i, p. lvi. Chron. Edward I and II, introd., vol. i., p. xli.
The war brought little credit or advantage in
return for outlay. In January, 1371, the Black Prince
had returned to England with the glory of former
achievements sullied by his massacre at Limoges, and
the City of London had made him a present of
valuable plate. Letter Book G, fo. 271. (Memorials, pp. 350-352). - Walsingham, i, 315. Letter Book G, fos. 297, 298, 304b, 306b, 307. Letter Book G, fo. 312b. Letter Book H, fos. 17-19b.Id., fo. 289b.
In April, 1376, a parliament met, known as the
Good Parliament, The parliament was originally summoned for the 12th February,
but did not meet before the 28 April. The city members were John
Pyel and William Walworth, Aldermen, William Essex and Adam
Carlile, commoners.—Letter Book H. fos. 28. 29. Chron. Angliæ (Rolls Series No. 64), 78, 79. Walsingham i, 321. Higden's Polychron (Rolls Series No. 41),
viii, 385. Chron. Angliæ (Rolls Series No. 64), pp. 94, 392. Letter Book H, fo. 45b.
The guilds, indeed, were now claiming a more
direct participation in the government of the city
than they had hitherto enjoyed, and their claim had
given rise to so much commotion that the king himself
threatened to interpose. See the king's letter, dated "Haddele" Castle, 29 July, 1376.—Letter
Book H, fo. 44. The names of the representatives of the guilds forming the first
Common Council of the kind are placed on record.—Letter Book H,
fos. 46b, 47. -Id., fo. 44b.
Not only was the common council to be selected
in future by the guilds, but the guilds were also to elect
the mayor and the sheriffs. The aldermen and the Letter Book H, fo. 46. - Charter, dated 26 May, 15 Edward III, Id., fos. 47, 161; Journal 11, fo. 89.Supra p. 188.
The power of the guilds in the matter of elections
to the common council was not of long duration.
Before ten years had elapsed representation was
made that the new system had been forced on the
citizens, and in 1384 it was resolved to revert to the
old system of election by and from the wards. Letter Book H, fo. 173.—The names of those elected by the
wards to the Common Council two years later (9 Ric. II), are inserted
on a cedula between membranes, 15 and 16, of Pleas and Memoranda,
Roll A 27.
Encouraged by the success which had so far
attended their efforts of reform, the good parliament
next attacked Alice Perers, the king's mistress. Of
humble origin, and not even possessing the quality of
good looks, this lady, for whom the mediæval chroniclers
have scarcely a good word to say, Walsingham, i, 327. Chron. Angliæ, pp. 142, 143. Modern
writers, however, have discovered some good qualities in this lady.—See
Notes and Queries, 7th Series, vol. vii, pp. 449, Chron. Angliæ, p. 130. See Hust., Rolls, 95, (130) (13O); 97, (9); 98, (73) (74)
(82); 109, (6) (7) (8); also Will of William Burton—Calendar of
Wills, Court of Hust., London, ii, 301. Letter Book H, fo. 77b. - Pat. Roll, 3 Ric. II, part 1.et seq.Id., fo. 47b.
In December, 1376, the citizens obtained a charter
from the king, with the assent of parliament, granting
that no strangers (i.e. non-freemen) should thenceforth
be allowed to sell by retail within the city and suburbs.
This had always been considered a grievance,
ever since free trade had been granted to merchant
strangers by the parliament held at York in 1335.
The last year of Edward's reign was one of serious
opposition between the City and the selfish and unprincipled "Ut de cetero non major, antiquo more, sed capitaneus Londoniis
haberetur, et quod Marescallus Angliæ in illa civitate, sicut alibi, reos
arestare valeret; cum multis petitionibus quæ; manifeste obviabant urbis
libertatibus et imminebant civium detrimento."—Chron. Angliæ, p. 120. Chron. Angliæ, pp. 123-125, 397; Walsingham, i, 325.
The civic authorities were naturally anxious as to
what the king might say and do in consequence of
the outbreak, and desired an interview in order to
explain matters. Lancaster was opposed to any such
interview taking place. The London mob had seized
upon an escutcheon of the duke, displayed in some
public thoroughfare, and had reversed it by way of
signifying that it was the escutcheon of a traitor. Chron. Angliæ, pp. 125, 398. - Chron. Angliæ, p. 129.Id., pp. 127, 128.
The duke was determined to have his revenge, and
again the citizens were summoned to appear before
the king, who was lying at Shene. This time they did
not get off so easily. The mayor, Adam Stable, was
removed, and Nicholas Brembre appointed in his
place. A fresh election of aldermen took place, Letter Book H, fos. 58, 59. Chron. Angliæ, p. 134.
One of the last acts of Edward was to restore the
Bishop of Winchester to the temporalities of which
he had been deprived by the duke, and this restitution
was made at the instance and by the influence of
Alice Perers, Chron. Angliæ, p. 129. -Id., pp. 136-137, 142-143.
Shortly after Edward had breathed his last, a
deputation from the City waited upon the Prince of
Wales at Kennington. John Philipot again acted as
spokesman, and after alluding to the loss which the
country had recently sustained, and recommending
the City of London—the "king's chamber"—to the
prince's favour, begged him to assist in effecting a
reconciliation with Lancaster. This Richard promised
to do, and a few days later the deputation again
waited on the young king—this time at Shene, where
preparations were being made for the late king's
obsequies—and a reconciliation took place, the king
kissing each member of the deputation, and promising
to be their friend, and to look after the City's
interests as if they were his own. Chron. Angliæ, pp. 146-149. The chronicler expresses the utmost
joy and astonishment at the sudden change in the duke's manner. It
was (he says) nothing less than a miracle that one who had so recently
demanded a present of precious stones and 100 tuns of wine, as the
price of his favour, should now appear so complacent. -Id., pp. 150, 151.
At the express wish of the citizens, Richard—the
"Londoners' king," as the nobles were in the
habit of cynically styling the new sovereign, for the "Londonienses præcipue obloquebantur, dicentes jam perpaucorum
proceruin corda fore cum Rege, eos solos sibi fideles esse; quorum
Rex licet ironice, vocabatur a nonnullis proceribus, eo quod ipsi multum
juvissent eum in coronatione sua."—Walsingham i, 370; Chron. Angliæ, p. 153. Lib. Cust. ii, 467, 468. It appears from the City Records, that
the king's butler in ordinary could claim the office of Coroner of the
city.—See Letter Book H, fos. 68, 77b.bourgeois Londoner than of the
nobilityCf. Chron.
Angliæ, p. 200.
Richard was only eleven years of age when
raised to the throne. A council was therefore
appointed to govern in his name. Neither the Duke
of Lancaster nor any other of the king's uncles were
elected councillors, and, for a time, John of Gaunt
retired into comparative privacy. The task of the
council was not easy. The French plundered the The Isle of Wight had been surprised and taken, Rye had been
captured, Hastings had been destroyed by fire, and Winchelsea would
have fallen into the hands of the enemy but for the bold defence made
by the Abbot of Battle.—Walsingham i, 340-342; Chron. Angliæ,
pp. 151, 166, 167. Letter Book H, fos. 76-77, 83. Et deputati sunt ad hujus pecuniæ custodiam duo cives Londonienses,
scilicet Willelmus Walworthe et Johannes Philipot.—Chron.
Angliæ, p. 171. Eight other citizens, viz., Adam Lovekyn, William
Tonge, Thomas Welford, Robert Lucas, John Hadley, John Northampton,
John Organ, and John Sely, were appointed collectors of the
two fifteenths.—Letter Book H, fo. 90.
Before parliament broke up it gave its assent to
a new charter to the City. Dated 4 Dec, 1377. Preserved at the Guildhall (Box No. 9). Letter Book H, fo. 82.i.e. non-freemen)
were again forbidden to traffic in the city
among themselves by retail, and the City's franchises
were confirmed and enlarged. So much importance
was attached to this charter that Brembre, the mayor,
caused its main provisions to be published throughout
the city.
Lancaster soon became tired of playing a subordinate
part in the government of the kingdom. As Chron. Angliæ, p. 194: Walsingham i, 367. It was stated before
parliament, in 1378, that Walworth and Philipot had laid out every
penny of the subsidy.—Stubbs, Const. Hist., ii, 445 note.
The energetic John Philipot soon found other
work to do. The English coast had recently become
infested with a band of pirates, who, having already
made a successful descent upon Scarborough, were
now seeking fresh adventures. Philipot fitted out a
fleet at his own expense, and putting to sea succeeded
in capturing the ringleader, Chron. Angliæ, pp. 199, 200. Philipot again showed his patriotism
in 1380, by providing money and arms for an expedition sent to assist
the Duke of Brittany.— Letter Book H, fo. 95.Id., p. 266. He died in the summer of 1384.—Walsingham,
ii, 115.
The citizens were, however, split up into factions,
one party, with Philipot and Brembre at his head, maintaining
a stubborn opposition to Lancaster, whilst
another, under the leadership of Walworth and John
de Northampton, favoured the duke. These factions
were continually plotting and counter-plotting one
against the other. At Gloucester, to which the duke
had brought the parliament in 1378, in the hope of "Et idcirco locum illum elegerant præmeditato facinori; ne Londonienses,
si Londoniis fuisset Parliamentum prædictum, sua auctoritate
vel potentia eorum conatus ullatenus impedirent."—Walsingham, i, 380. Letter Book H, fo. 101b. (Memorials, p. 427).
In course of time the earl and his followers succeeded
in persecuting Brembre to a disgraceful death.
At present they contented themselves with damaging
the trade of the city, so far as they could, by leaving
the city Letter Book H, fos. 109b, 110.en masse and withdrawing their custom. The
result was so disastrous to the citizens, more especially
to the hostel keepers and victuallers, that the civic
authorities resolved to win the nobles back to the city
by wholesale bribery, and, as the city's "chamber"
was empty, a subscription list was set on foot to raise a
fund for the purpose. Philipot, the mayor, headed the
list with £10, a sum just double that of any other subscriber.
Six others, among them being Brembre (the
The grants made to the king by the parliament
at Gloucester were soon exhausted by the war, and
recourse was had, as usual, to the City. In February,
1379, the mayor and aldermen were sent for to Westminster.
They were told that the king's necessities
demanded an immediate supply of money, and that
the Duke of Lancaster and the rest of the nobility
had consented to contribute. What would the City
do? After a brief consultation apart, the mayor and
aldermen suggested that the usual course should be
followed and that they should be allowed to consult
the general body of the citizens in the Guildhall.
Eventually the City consented to advance another
sum of £5,000 on the same security as before, but
any tax imposed by parliament at its next session was
to be taken as a set off. -Id., fos. 107, 108, 109.
At the session of parliament held in April and
May (1379), the demand for further supply became
so urgent that a poll-tax was imposed on a graduated
scale according to a man's dignity, ranging from ten
marks or £6 1 -s. 4d. imposed on a duke, to a groat or
four pence which the poorest peasant was called upon
to pay. The mayor of London, assessed as an earl,
was to pay £4; and the aldermen, assessed as barons,
£2. The sum thus furnished by the city amounted
to less than £700,Id., fos. 111b, 113.
In the following year (1380) there was a recurrence
to the old method of raising money, but
this proving still insufficient a poll-tax was again
resorted to. This time, the smallest sum exacted
was not less than three groats, and was payable on
everyman, woman and unmarried child, above the age
of fifteen, throughout the country. The amount thus
raised in the city and liberties was just over £1000. Letter Book H, fos. 128, 132.
The country was already suffering under a general
discontent, when a certain Wat Tyler in Kent struck
down a collector of the poll-tax, who attempted in an
indecent manner to discover his daughter's age. This
was the signal for a revolt of the peasants from one
end of England to the other, not only against payment
of this particular tax, but against taxes and
landlords generally. The men of Essex joined forces
with those of Kent on Blackheath, and thence
marched on London. With the aid of sympathisers
within the City's gates, the effected an entrance on
the night of the 12th of June, and made free with the
wine cellars of the wealthier class. The next day,
the rebels, more mad than drunk ( The story of the insurrection under Wat Tyler, and of his death
at the hands of Walworth, as told in Letter Book H, fo. 133b (Memorials,
pp. 449-451), varies in some particulars from that given by Walsingham
(i, 454-465), and in the Chronicon Angliæ (pp. 285-297). Letter Book H, fo. 134.non tam ebrii quam
dementes), stirred up the populace to make a raid
upon the Duke of Lancaster's palace of the Savoy.
This they sacked and burnt to the ground. They
next vented their wrath upon the Temple, and afterwards
upon the house of the Knight's Hospitallers at
Orders were given on the 20th June to each alderman
to provide men-at-arms and archers to guard in
turns the city's gates, and to see that no armed person
entered the city, except those who declared on oath
that they were about to join the king's expedition
against the rebels. In the meantime, the aldermen
were to make returns of all who kept hostels in their
several wards. - Pleas and Mem., Roll A 24, membr. 9. Walsingham, i, 467-484; ii, 23.Id., fo. 134b.
"Jack Straw," on being brought before the mayor,
was induced by promises of masses for the good of his
soul, to confess the nature of the intentions of the
rioters, which were to use the king's person as a Walsingham, ii, 13. -Id., ii, 9, 10.
The discontent which had given rise to the
peasants' revolt, had been fanned by the attacks made
by Wycliffe's "simple priests" upon the rich and idle
clergy. The revolt occasioned a bitter feeling among
the landlord class against Wycliffe and his followers,
and after its suppression the Lollards were made the
object of much animadversion. Their preaching was
forbidden, Letter Book H, fos. 149b, 150.
The majority of the citizens favoured the doctrines
of Wycliffe and his followers and endeavoured to
carry them out. The Duke of Lancaster had no real
sympathy with the Lollards; he only wished to make
use of them for a political purpose. It was otherwise
with the Londoners, and with John de Northampton,
a supporter of the duke, who succeeded to the
mayoralty soon after the suppression of the revolt.
Under Northampton—a man whom even his enemies
allowed to be of stern purpose, not truckling to those "Homo duri cordis et astutus, elatus propter divitias et superbus,
qui nec inferioribus adquiescere, nec superiorum allegationibus sive
monitis flecti valeret quin quod inceperat proprio ingenio torvo proposito
ad quemcunque finem perducere niteretur."—Walsingham, ii, 65.
The ecclesiastical courts having grossly failed in
their duty, the citizens themselves, fearful of God's
vengeance if matters were allowed to continue as they
were, undertook the work of reform within the city's
walls. The fees of the city parsons were cut down.
The fee for baptism was not to exceed forty pence,
whilst that for marriage was not as a general rule to
be more than half a mark. One farthing was all that
could be demanded for a mass for the dead, and the
priest was bound to give change for a half-penny
when requested or forego his fee. Letter Book H, fo. 144. (Memorials, p. 463). Letter Book H, fo. 146b. -Id., fos. 153-154.
In October, 1382, Northampton was elected
mayor for the second time, and Philipot, his rival,
either resigned or was deprived of his aldermancy. Walsingham, ii, 71. From the City's Records it appears that early
in 1383, William Baret was alderman of Philipot's ward (Cornhill); but
in the following year, when Brembre succeeded to his mayoralty, and
the so-called "king's party" was again in the ascendant, Philipot again
appears as alderman of his old ward, continuing in office until his death
(12 Sept., 1384), when he was succeeded by John Rote.—Letter
Book H, fos. 163, 174. Letter Book H, fo. 155b. Letter Book H, fo. 154.
At the close of Northampton's second mayoralty
(Oct., 1383), his place was taken by his rival, Nicholas
Brembre, Letter Book H, fo. 168. Three years later, "the folk of the
Mercerye of London" complained to parliament that Brembre and his
"upberers" had on this occasion obtained his election by force—"through
debate and strenger partye."—(Rot., Parl. iii, 225). There
is no evidence of this in the City's Records, although there appears to
have been a disturbance at his re-election in 1384. It may be to this
that the Mercers' petition refers. It is noteworthy that at the time of
his election in 1383, Brembre was not an alderman, although in the previous
year, and again in the year following his election, he is recorded as
Alderman of Bread Street Ward.—Letter Book H, fos. 140, 163, 174. Breve quod piscenarii libertatis civitatis Londoniæ exerceant
artem suam ut consueverunt. Dated 27 Nov., 1383.—Letter Book H,
fo. 172. -Id., fos. 154-154b, 176-177.
Soon after Brembre's election the king confirmed
the City's liberties by charter, Dated 26 Nov., 7 Ric. II. Preserved at the Guildhall (Box
No. 9). Pleas and Mem., Roll A 27, membr. 3 dors. Letter Book H, fos. 166, 167.
In January (1384) Northampton was bound over
to keep the peace in the sum of £5,000; Pleas and Mem., Roll A 27, membr. 3. Writ dated 9 February; Letter Box H, fo. 173b. - -Id., fos. 173b, 174b.(i.e., non-freemen) wishing to sell fish or
other victuals.Id., fo. 174.
In August (1384) the opinion of each individual
member of the Common Council was taken on oath,
as to whether it would be to the advantage or disadvantage
of the city if Northampton were allowed to
return; and it was unanimously found that his return Letter Book H, fo. 179. Letter Book H, fo. 179b; Walsingham, ii, 116. Hidgen, Polychron. (Rolls Series No. 41), ix, 45 plébiscite the mayor and a number
of citizens, whom the king had summoned by name,
attended a council at Reading for the purpose of
determining the fate of Northampton. The accused
contented himself with objecting to sentence being
passed against him in the absence of his patron the
Duke of Lancaster. This, however, availed him
nothing, and he was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment
in Tintagel Castle.seq.
The Chief Justice, Tressilian, hesitated to take any
steps against the prisoners, one of whom had already
been tried and sentenced, asserting that the matter
lay within the jurisdiction of the mayor. His scruples,
however, on this score were easily set aside, and on
the 10th September, each of the prisoners was sentenced
to be drawn and hanged. No sooner was
sentence passed than the chancellor, Michael de la
Pole, entered on the scene, and proclaimed that the
king's grace had been extended to the prisoners, that
there lives would be spared, but that they would be
imprisoned until further favour should be shown them.
They were accordingly sent off to various fortresses;
Northampton to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, Northbury
to Corfe Castle, and More to Nottingham; and
all this arose, says the Chronicler, from the rivalry of
fishmongers. "Hæc autem omnia sibi fieri procurarunt æmuli piscarii, ut
dicebabur, quia per illos stetit quod ars et curia eorum erant destructæ."—Higden,
ix, 49.
When Brembre sought re-election to the mayoralty
in October, 1384, he found a formidable competitor in
Nicholas Twyford, with whom he had not always
been on the best of terms. It was in 1378, when
Twyford was sheriff and Brembre was occupying the
mayoralty chair for the first time, that they fell out,
the occasion being one of those trade disputes so
frequent in the City's annals. A number of goldsmiths
and pepperers had come to loggerheads in
St. Paul's Churchyard during sermon time, and the Letter Book H, fo. 92. (Memorials, pp. 415-417). Letter Book H, fo. 182. The names of those specially summoned
are set out in Pleas and Mem., Roll A 27, membr. 15. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 27, membr. 4, 5 and 6. Higden, ix, 50, 51. Letter Book H, fo. 182.
In 1385 Brembre was again elected mayor, and
continued in office until October, 1386, when he was
succeeded by his friend and ally, Nicholas Exton.
This was the fourth and last time Brembre was
mayor. In the meantime, the Duke of Lancaster
and his party had renewed their efforts to effect the
release of Northampton and of his fellow prisoners, Letter Book H, fo. 198b. Pleas and Mem., Roll A 27, membr. 26. Letters patent of pardon received the king's sign manual on the
3 June, 1386 (Letter Book H, fo. 216), but the prisoners were not
released before April in the following year.—See Higden, Polychron.
ix, 93.
A few months after Exton had taken Brembre's
place as mayor (Oct., 1386), the new mayor
raised a commotion by ordering a book called
"Jubilee," which Northampton is supposed to have
compiled—or caused to be compiled for the better
government of the City, to be publicly burnt in Guildhall
yard. Letter Book H, fo. 214. (Memorials, p. 494). Rot. Parl. iii, 227, cited by Riley in his "Memorials," p. 494,
note. Letter Book H, fo. 176b.
In 1387 efforts were again made to secure
Northampton's release, and this time with success.
On the 17th April Exton reported to the Common
Council that Lord Zouche was actually engaged in
canvassing the king for the release of Northampton
and his allies. The Council thereupon unanimously
resolved to send a letter to Lord Zouche, on behalf
of the entire commonalty of the City, praying him to
desist from his suit, and assuring him of their loyalty
to the king even unto death. This letter, which was dated the 27 April, was delivered to Lord
Zouche at his house by John Reche, Common Pleader, and Ralph
Strode and John Harwell, Sergeants-at-Arms.—Letter Book H, fo. 215b.
On the 4th May the Recorder, William Cheyne,
reported to the Common Council assembled in the
upper chamber of the Guildhall the result of the
interview with the king. The deputation had been
received most graciously, and the mayor had been
particularly successful in his speech, setting forth the
dangers that would inevitably ensue, both to the king
and to the city, if pardon were granted to Northampton
and his friends. The king had replied that he
would take good precautions for himself before he "Super quo dominus Rex respondit quod licet in sua potestate
fuerat cum ipsis, Johanne, Johanne et Ricardo agere graciose bene
tamen sibi provideret priusquam foret eis graciam concessurus."—Letter
Book H, fo. 215b. Higden, Polychron. ix, 93. Letter Book H, fo. 222.
Two days before the order for this proclamation,
the king was informed by letter of the nature of a
fresh oath of allegiance The oath as set out in the letter to the king differs from another
copy of the oath, which immediately precedes the letter in Letter Book H,
fos. 220b, 221; a clause having been subsequently added to the latter
to the effect that the swearer abjured the opinions of Northampton and
his followers, and would oppose their return within the bounds and limits
set out in the king's letters patent.
To this the king sent a gracious reply. Letter Book H, fo. 222. Letter Book H, fo. 223b.
Great discontent had arisen meanwhile in the
country at the lavish expenditure of the king, without
any apparent result in victories abroad, such as had
been gained in the glorious days of his predecessor.
A cry for reform and retrenchment was raised, and
found a champion in the person of the Duke of Gloucester,
the youngest of the king's uncles. At his instigation,
the parliament which assembled on the 1st
October, 1386, demanded the dismissal of the king's
ministers, and read him a lesson on constitutional
government which ended in a threat of deposition
unless the king should mend his ways. Richard was at
the time only twenty-one years of age. In the impetuosity
of his youth he is recorded as having contemplated
a dastardly attempt upon the life of his uncle, Walsingham, ii, 150.
Before the end of the session, parliament had
appointed a commission, with Gloucester at its head,
to regulate the government of the country and the
king's household. This very naturally excited the
wrath of the hot-headed king, who immediately set to
work to form a party in opposition to the duke. In
August of the next year (1387) he obtained a declaration
from five of the justices to the effect that the
commission was illegal. On the 28th October he
sent the Archbishop of York and the Earl of Suffolk
into the city to learn whether he could depend upon
the support of the citizens. The answer could not
have been regarded as unfavourable, for, on the 10th
November, the king paid a personal visit to the city
and was received with great ceremony. Higden, Polychron. ix, 104. Letter Book H, fo. 223b.
On the 14th Gloucester formally charged the
king's five counsellors—the Archbishop of York, the Higden, Polychron. ix, 106; Walsingham, ii, 166.
On the 28th the mayor and aldermen were
summoned to proceed to Windsor forthwith, to consult
upon certain matters very weighty ( Letter Book H, fo. 223b. (Memorials, p. 449.) Higden, Polychron. ix, 108-109.certeines
treschargeauntes matirs).
Finding that he could not rely on any assistance
from the Londoners—whom Walsingham describes as
fickle as a reed, siding at one time with the lords and
at another time with the king "Londonienses ... mobiles erant ut arundo, et nunc cum
Dominis, nunc cum Rege, sentiebant, nusquam stabiles sed fallaces."—Hist.
Angliæ, ii, 161. Higden, Polychron. ix, 108; Walsingham, ii, 169. Pleas and Mem., Roll A, membr. 7.
Notwithstanding the evident coolness of the
citizens towards him, Richard determined to leave
Windsor and spend Christmas at the Tower. He would
be safer there, and less subject to the dominating
influence of the Duke of Gloucester and the Earls of
Arundel, Nottingham, Warwick and Derby, who objected
to his shaking off the fetters of the commission.
As soon as his intention was known, these five lords—who,
from having been associated in appealing against
Richard's counsellors, were styled "appellant"—hastened
to London, and drawing up their forces outside
the city's walls, demanded admittance. After some
little hesitation, the mayor determined to admit them,
defending his action to the king by declaring that they
were his true liege men and friends of the realm. Higden, ix, 111-114; Walsingham, ii, 170, 171; Engl. Chron.
(Camd. Soc. No. 64), p. 5.
On the 18th January, 1388, the lords appeared at
the Guildhall, accompanied by the Archbishop, the
Bishops of Ely, Hereford, Exeter, and others. The
Archbishop absolved the citizens of their oaths of
allegiance, whilst the Bishop of Ely, the lord treasurer,
deprecated any remarks made to the disparagement
of the lords. The lords and the bishops had been
indicted on an iniquitous charge, and there were some Higden, ix, 117, 118.
When parliament met (3 Feb.), a formidable
indictment of thirty-nine charges was laid against
the king's late advisers, of whom Brembre alone
appeared. On the 17th February, he was brought up
by the constable of the Tower, and was called on to
answer off-hand the several charges of treason alleged
against him. He prayed for time to take counsel's
advice. This being refused, he claimed to support his
cause by wager of battle, and immediately the whole
company of lords, knights, esquires, and commons,
flung down their gages so thick, we are told, that they
"seemed like snow on a winter's day." Howell's State Trials, i, 115.seniores) to learn what they had to say
about the accused.
One would have thought that with Nicholas
Exton, his old friend and ally, to speak up for him,
Brembre's life would now at least be saved, even if
he were not altogether acquitted. It was not so,
however. The mayor and aldermen were asked as
to their Higden, Polychron. ix, 168. State Trials, i, 118, 119.opinion (not as to their knowledge), whether
Brembre was cognisant of certain matters, and they
gave it as their opinion that Brembre was more
likely to have been cognisant of them than not.
Turning then to the Recorder, the lords asked him
how stood the law in such a case? To which he
replied, that a man who knew such things as were
laid to Brembre's charge, and knowing them failed to
reveal them, deserved death. On such evidence as
this, Brembre was convicted on the 20th February,
and condemned to be executed.
If we are to believe all that Walsingham records of
Brembre, the character and conduct of the city alderman
and ex-mayor was bad indeed. Besides conniving
at the plot laid against Gloucester's life, which Walsingham, ii, 165-174.
Of Brembre's associates, Tressilian was captured
during the trial, torn from the Sanctuary at Westminster,
and hanged on the 19th. Another to share
the same fate was Thomas Uske, who had been one
of the chief witnesses against Northampton. He was
sentenced to death by parliament on the 4th March,
and died asseverating to the last that he had done
Northampton no injury, but that every word he had
deposed against him the year before was absolutely
true. Higden, ix, 167-169.
The lords appellant, who were now complete
masters of the situation, insisted upon the proceedings
of this "merciless" parliament, as its opponents
called it, being ratified by oath administered to
prelates, knights, and nobles of the realm, as well as
to the mayor, aldermen, and chief burgesses of every
town. On the 4th June—the day parliament rose—a
writ was issued in Richard's name, enjoining the
administration of this oath to those aldermen and
citizens of London who had not been present in
parliament when the oath was administered there. Letter Book H, fo. 228.
In the meantime the continued jealousy existing
among the city guilds—the Mercers, Goldsmiths,
Drapers, and others, objecting to Fishmongers and
Vintners taking any part in the government of the
city on the ground that they were victuallers, and as
such forbidden by an ordinance passed when
Northampton was mayor to hold any municipal
office Letter Book H, fo, 161. - Letter Book H, fos. 234, 234b. Higden ix, 217.Id., fo. 126; Higden ix, 179.
Some months before the close of Twyford's
mayoralty, Richard had succeeded in gaining his
independence (May, 1389), which he was induced by
Lancaster, on his return after a prolonged absence
abroad, to exercise at length in favour of Northampton,
by permitting him once more to return to London, Higden ix, 238, 239. Letters patent, date, 2 Dec, 1390.—Letter Book H, fo. 255;
Higden ix, 243. Letter Book H, fo. 259. (Memorials, p. 526.). -Id., fo. 300.
For some years Richard governed not unwisely.
In 1392, however, he quarrelled with the city. Early
in that year he called upon every inhabitant, whose
property for the last three years was worth £40 in
land or rent, to take upon himself the honour of
knighthood. The sheriffs, Henry Vanner and John
Shadworth, made a return that all tenements and
rents in the city were held of the king -in capite as
fee burgage at a fee farm (ad feodi firmam); that
by reason of the value of tenements varying from
time to time, and many of them requiring repair from
damage by fire and tempest, their true annual value
could not be ascertained, and that, therefore, it was
impossible to make a return of those who possessed
£40 of land or rent as desired.Id., fo. 270.
This answer was anything but agreeable to the
king. But he had other cause just now for being Higden, ix, 270. According to Walsingham (Hist. Angl. ii, 208),
the Lombard failed to get the money from the citizens, who nearly
killed him when they learnt his purpose. The names of the citizens chosen for the occasion are given by
Higden (Polychron. ix, 269, 270), and in Letter Book H, fo. 270. The reason given in the City Records for the dismissals which
followed is stated to be "certain defects in a commission under the
common seal and other causes."—Letter Book H, fo. 270b.
He thereupon dismissed the mayor from office,
committing him to Windsor Castle. The sheriffs were
likewise dismissed, one being sent to Odyham Castle, Higden, Polychron. ix, 272; Walsingham, ii, 208-209.
At nine o'clock in the morning of the 1st July,
Sir Edward Dalyngrigge appeared in the Guildhall,
and there, before an immense assembly of the commons,
read the king's commissions appointing him
warden of the city and the king's escheator. The
deposed sheriffs were succeeded by Gilbert Maghfeld,
or Maunfeld, and Thomas Newton, who remained in
office, by the king's appointment, Higden, ix, 273; Letter Book H, fo. 270b. Letter Book H, fo. 275b. -Id., fo. 273.
By way of inflicting further punishment upon the
citizens, Richard had already removed the King's
Bench and Exchequer from London to York; Letter Book H, fo. 269b; Higden, ix, 267. Walsingham (ii, 213)
suggests that this was done at the instance of the Archbishop of York,
the Chancellor. "Putabant isti officiarii per hoc non modicum damnificare civitatem
Lundoniæ, sed potius hoc multo majora damna intulerunt regi et
hominibus regni quam jam dictæ civitati."—Higden, ix, 267-268. Walsingham, ii, 210. Higden, ix, 273. Letters Patent of pardon, dated Woodstock, 19 September, 1392.
Preserved at the Guildhall (Box No. 6). Higden. ix, 274, 276, 278; Letter Book H, fos. 271b, 272, 274.
Notwithstanding these remissions, the city was mulcted, according to
Waisingham (ii, 211), in no less a sum than £10,000 before it received
its liberties.—Cf. Chron. of London, 1089-1483 (ed. by Sir H. Nicolas,
sometimes called "Tyrrell's Chronicle," from a City Remembrancer of
that name), p. 80.
Once more restored to their liberties, the citizens
in the following year (1393), with the assent of parliament,
effected a reform in the internal government
of the city which the increasing population had
rendered necessary. The Ward of Farringdon Within
and Without had increased so much in wealth and
population that it was deemed advisable to divide it
into two parts, each part having its own alderman.
Accordingly, in the following March (1394), Drew
Barantyn was elected Alderman of Farringdon Within,
whilst John Fraunceys was elected for Farringdon
Without. A more important reform effected at the
same time was the appointment of aldermen for life
instead of for a year only. Stat. 17, Ric. II, c. 13; Letter Book H, fos. 290b, 291.; Bohun,
"Privilegia Londini" (ed. 1723), p. 57.
In the following year (1394) the queen—Anne
of Bohemia—died. She had always shown a friendly
disposition towards the city, and it was mainly owing Higden, ix, 274. Stubbs, Const. Hist., ii, 489-490. Letter Book H, fo. 314. Engl. Chron. (Camd. Soc. No. 64), p. 12. "Also this yere (1397-8), by selying of blank chartres, the Citie
of London paied to the kyng a ml li."—Chron. of London (ed. by Sir
H. Nicolas); p. 83.
A crisis was fast approaching. The Duke of
Hereford, whom the king had banished, and who, on
the death of his father "time honoured Lancaster,"
succeeded to the title early in 1399, was prevailed
upon to return to England and strike a blow for the
recovery of his inheritance which Richard had seized.
Richard, as if infatuated, took this inopportune Letters Patent, dat. 9 May, 1399.—Letter Book H, fo. 326.
Richard set sail on the 29th.
As soon as Henry had landed at Ravenspur (4th July) a special messenger was despatched to the city with the news. The mayor was in bed, but he hurriedly rose and took steps to proclaim Henry's arrival in England. "Let us apparel ourselves and go and receive the Duke of Lancaster, since we agreed to send for him," was the resolution of those to whom the mayor conveyed the first tidings; and accordingly Drew Barentyn, who had succeeded Whitington in October, 1398, and 500 other citizens, took horse to meet the duke, whom they escorted to the city. The day that Henry entered the city was kept as a holiday, "as though it had been the day for the celebration of Easter."
When Richard heard of Henry's landing he
hurried back from Ireland. He was met by the duke
with a large force, which comprised 1,200 Londoners,
fully armed and horsed. "Douze cent hommes de Londres, tous armés et montés à
cheval."—Froissart (ed. Lyon, 1559), vol. iv, c. 108, p. 328. In Lord
Berner's translation of Froissart (iv, 566), the number is wrongly given
as 12,000.
The sentence passed on the late king proved his
death warrant; his haughty spirit broke down, and
he died at Pontefract the following year. According
to Henry's account he died of wilful starvation.
There were many, however, who believed him to
have been put to death by Henry's orders; whilst
others, on the contrary, refused to believe his death
had actually taken place at all, notwithstanding the
fact of the corpse having been purposely exposed to
public view throughout its journey from Pontefract to
London. Walsingham, ii, 245, 246. Walsingham, ii, 262-264. Serle's Christian name is given elsewhere
as John.—Eng. Chron. (Camd. Soc., No. 64), p. 30. The writ
for his execution is dated 5 August, 1404.—Letter Book I, fo. 31b.
Sixteen years later (1416), a certain Thomas
Warde, called "Trumpyngtone," personated the late
king, and a scheme was laid for placing him on the
throne with the aid of Sigismund, king of the Romans Letter Book I, fo. 180b. (Memorials, pp. 638-641). Walsingham,
ii, 317. City Records Journal, I, fo. 83b. We have now a series of MS.
Volumes among the City's archives known as "Journals" to assist us.
They contain minutes of proceedings of the Court of Common Council,
just as the "Repertories" (which we shall have occasion to consult
later on), contain a record of the proceedings of the Court of Aldermen.
The Letter Books may now be regarded as "fair copies" of the more
important of the proceedings of both Courts.
In the meantime Wycliffe had died (1384), and
Lollardry had become only another name for general
discontentment. The clergy made strenuous efforts to
suppress the Lollards. Pope Boniface had invoked
the assistance of the late king (1395) to destroy these Letter Book H, fo. 307b. The Lollards are said to have derived
their name from a low German word Letter Book I, fo. 125b-132. - -lolium aridum) that had sprung up amidst the
wheat which remained constant to church and king,
and called upon the mayor and commonalty of the
city to use their interest with Richard to the same
end.lollen, to sing or chant, from their
habit of chanting, but their clerical opponents affected to derive it from
the Latin lolium, as if this sect were as tares among the true wheat of
the church.semen pestiferum lollardrie).Id., fo. 130b.Ibid.
Still the clergy were not satisfied. The ecclesiastical
courts could condemn men as heretics, but
they had no power to burn them. Accordingly, a
statute was passed this year (1401), known as the Letter Book I, fo. 11b. He appears, however, to have burnt by a special order of the king,
before the passing of the statute.—See Fasc. Zizan. (Rolls Series No. 5),
Introd. p. lxix.de hæretico comburendo), authorising
the ecclesiastical courts to hand over to the civil
powers any heretic refusing to recant, or relapsing
after recantation, so that he might pay the penalty of
being publicly burnt before the people.
Henry had other difficulties to face besides
opposition from the nobles. France had refused to
acknowledge his title to the crown, and demanded
the restoration of Richard's widow, a mere child of
eleven. The Scots A curious story is told of boys in the streets playing at England
and Scotland at this time, with the result that what began in play
ended in fighting and loss of life.—See Chron. Mon. S. Albani (Rolls
Series No. 28, 3), p. 332. Letter Book I, fo. 16.
As time went on, Henry had to try new methods
for raising money. The parliament which met at the
opening of 1404, granted the king a 1 Letter Book I, fo. 27; Chron. Mon. S. Albani (Rolls Series
No. 28, 3), p. 379.s. in the
pound on all lands, tenements and rents, besides
20s. for every knight's fee. The money so raised
was not, however, to be at the disposal of the
king's own ministers, but was to be placed in the
hands of four officials to be known as treasurers of
war (Guerrarum Thesaurarii). The names of the
It was during Merlawe's first mayoralty that
the citizens advanced to the king the sum of 7,000
marks, Letter Book I, fo. 89b. - - Letter Book I, fo. 112b. Exchequer Roll, Lay Subsidy, 144-20.—See Archæological
Journal, vol. xliv, 56-82.Id., fo. 113.s. 8d. on every
£20 annual rent by virtue of an act passed by the
late parliament.Id., fo. 108b.hominum, feminarum et aliarum personarum) mentioned
in the commission were forwarded by them inin sequenti a, b, c). What lands
and tenements the "men, women and other persons"
had elsewhere they had no means of discovering.s. 8d. for every
£20, under the provisions of the act amounted to
£70 6s. 8d. The mayor and commonalty of the city
are credited as possessing lands, tenements and rents
of an annual value of no more than £150 9s. 11d.,
whilst the Bridge House Estate was returned at
£148 15s. 3d. Of the livery companies, the Goldsmiths
appear as the owners of the largest property,
their rental of city property amounting to
£46 10s. 1/2d., the Merchant Tailors following them
closely with £44 3s. 7d. The Mercers had but a
rental of £13 18s. 4d. whilst the Skinners had
£18 12s. 8d. Robert Chichele, the mayor, was
already a rich man, with an annual rental of
£42 19s. 2d., derived from city property, or nearly
double the amount (£25) with which Richard
Whitington was credited.
Whitington had already three times occupied the
mayoralty chair; once (in 1396) at the word of a
king, and twice (in 1397 and 1406) at the will of his
fellow citizens. On the occasion of his third election
a solemn mass was for the first time introduced into
the proceedings, the mayor, aldermen and a large Letter Book I, fo. 54. (Memorials pp. 563-564.)
The enormous wealth which he succeeded in amassing
was bestowed in promoting the cause of education,
and in relieving the sufferings of the poor and
afflicted. He built a handsome library in the house of
the Grey Friars and also the Church of Saint Michael
in the "Riole." He is credited by some writers with
having purchased and presented to the corporation
the advowson of the Church of St. Peter upon
Cornhill. But this is probably a mistake arising from
the fact of a license in mortmain having been granted
by Henry IV to Richard Whitington, John Hende,
and others, to convey the manor of Leadenhall,
together with the advowsons of the several churches
of Saint Peter upon Cornhill and Saint Margaret
Patyns, held of the king in free burgage, to the mayor
and commonalty of the City of London and their
successors. License, dated Westminster, 29 May, 12 Henry IV (A.D. 1411).—Letter
Book I, fo. 103b. In 1417 the mayor and aldermen ordained
that the rector of St. Peter's for the time being should in future take
precedence of the rectors of all other city churches, on the ground
that Saint Peter's was the first church founded in the city of London,
having been built in 199 by King Lucius, and for 400 years or more
held the metropolitan chair.—Letter Book I, fo. 203. (Memorials,
pp. 651-653.) Cf. Journal 1, fo. 21b.
On the accession of Henry V, Archbishop Arundel,
whom Walsingham describes as the most eminent "Eminentissima turris Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ et pugil invictus
Dominus Thomas de Arundelia."—Hist. Angl. ii, 300.
He contrived to make his escape from prison, A certain William Fyssher, a Walsingham, ii, 292-299; Fasc. Zizan. (Rolls Series No. 5),
433-449; Chron. of London (ed. by Sir H. Nicolas), p. 97. Letter Book I, fos. 286-290.parchemyner or parchment-maker
of London, was afterwards (1416) convicted of assisting in Oldcastle's
escape, and was executed at Tyburn.—Letter Book I, fo. 181b. (Memorials,
p. 641.)
The recent abortive attempt of Oldcastle gave
rise to another Statute against the Lollards, 2 Hen. V. Stat. i, c. 7. It was not, however, the last occasion upon which parliamentary
action was attempted. In 1422, and again in 1425, the Lollards were
formidable in London, and parliament on both occasions ordered that
those who were in prison should be delivered at once to the Ordinary,
in accordance with the provisions of this Statute.—Stubbs, Const.
Hist., iii, 81, 363.
Early in the following year (1415) the king made
an offer of pardon to Oldcastle, who was still at large,
if he would come in and make submission before Letter Book I, fo. 147. Walsingham, ii, 306, 307.
In August (1415) another Lollard, John Cleydone
by name, a currier by trade, was tried in St.
Paul's Church before the new Archbishop and others,
the civic authorities having taken the initiative
according to the provisions of the recent Statute,
and arrested him on suspicion of being a heretic.
The mayor himself was a witness at the trial, and
testified as to the nature of certain books found in
Cleydon's possession; they were "the worst and the
most perverse that ever he did read or see." Walsingham,
who styles Cleydon "an inveterate Lollard"
( Hist. Angl., ii, 307. Letter Book I, fol. 154. See letter from the mayor to the king, giving an account of Cleydon's
trial, 22nd August, 1415.—Letter Book I, fo. 155. (Memorials,
p. 617). Foxe, "Acts and Monuments," iii, 531-534.quidam inveteratus Lollardus), adds, with his usual
acerbity against the entire sect, that the accused
had gone so far as to make his own son a priest, and
have Mass celebrated by him in his own house on
the occasion when his wife should have gone to
church, after rising from childbed.
Two years later Oldcastle himself was captured in
Wales and brought to London. At his trial he publicly
declared his belief that Richard II was still alive;
he was even fanatic enough to believe that he himself
would soon rise again from the dead. Walsingham, ii, 327, 328. Engl. Chron. (Camd. Soc., No. 64), p. 46; Chron. of London
(Nicolas), p. 106. Stubbs, Const. Hist., iii., 363, 364.
Henry V was resolved to maintain not only the old religion of the days of Edward III, but also the old foreign policy, and in 1414 he commenced making preparations for renewing the claim of his great-grandfather to the crown of France. In 1415 this claim was formally made, and Henry gathered his forces together at Southampton. On the 10th March he informed the civic authorities of his intention of crossing over to France to enforce his claim and of his need of money. On the 14th a brilliant assembly, comprising the king's two brothers, John, Duke of Bedford, and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Edward, Duke of York, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Winchester, and others, met at the Guildhall to consider the matter.
A question arose as to order of precedence, and it
was arranged that the mayor, as the king's representative
in the City, should occupy the centre seat, having
the Primate and the Bishop of Winchester on his Letter Book I, fo. 150. This "very antient memorandum" of
the Lord Mayor's precedence in the City was submitted to Charles II
in 1670, when that monarch insisted upon Sir Richard Ford, the Lord
Mayor of the day, giving "the hand and the place" to the Prince of
Orange (afterwards William III of England), on the occasion of the
prince being entertained by the City.—Repertory, 76, fos. 28b, 29. Letter Book I, fo. 158b. (Memorials, p. 613). -Id., fo. 157.
On the 15th June the king, who was then on his
way to the coast, took solemn leave of the civic
authorities, who had accompanied him to Blackheath.
He bade them go home and keep well his "chamber"
during his absence abroad, giving them his blessing
and saying "Cryste save London." Gregory's Chron. (Camd. Soc, N.S., No. 17), pp. 108-109.
Gregory was an alderman of the City, and an eye-witness of much that
he relates. Letter dated 2nd August—the day on which Sir Thomas Grey,
one of the chief conspiritors was executed.—Letter Book I, fo. 180.
A few days later (12th August) he sailed for
France and landed near Harfleur, to which town he Letter Book I, fo. 143. (Memorials, p. 619).
Early in October the king caused proclamation
to be made in the City, that all and singular knights,
esquires and valets who were willing to go with him
to Normandy, should present themselves to his uncle
Henry, Bishop of Winchester and Treasurer of
England, who would pay them their wages. By the
same proclamation merchants, victuallers and handicraft-men
were invited to take up their residence in
the recently captured town of Harfleur, where houses
would be assigned to them, and where they should
enjoy the same privileges and franchises to which they
had always been accustomed. Letter Book I, fo. 177.
The battle of Agincourt was fought on the 25th
October, and news of the joyous victory arrived in
England on or before the 28th, on which day—the
Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude—Nicholas Wotton,
the recently elected mayor, was sworn into office at
the Guildhall according to custom. On the following
day, therefore, the mayor, aldermen and a large
number of the commonalty made a solemn pilgrimage
on foot to Westminster, where they first made devout
thanksgiving for the victory that had been won, and
then proceeded to present the new mayor before the
Barons of the Exchequer. Care is taken in the City Letter Book I, fo. 159. (Memorials, pp. 620, 622). "Quali gaudio, quali tripudio, quali denique triumpho, sit acceptus
a Londoniensibus, dicere prætermitto. Quia revera curiositas apparatumn,
nimietas expensarum, varietates spectaculorum, tractatus exigerent
merito speciales."—Walsingham, ii, 314. Chron. of London (Nicolas), p. 103.
During the next eighteen months succeeding the
battle of Agincourt, Henry devoted himself to
making preparations at home for renewing active
military operations. He had intended at midsummer,
1416, to lead an expedition in person to the relief
of Harfleur, but the command was subsequently Letter Book I, fo. 178b. Other proclamations on the same subject
are recorded in the same place, most of which will be found in
"Memorials" (pp. 627-629). Letter Book I, fo. 190b. -Id., fos. 188, 188b.
In the same month the City advanced the king
the sum of 5,000 marks, Letter Book I, fo. 191b. Letter Book I, fo. 218b. In May, 1419, the sword was surrendered,
and the security changed to one on wool, woolfells, &c.—Id.,
fo. 227b.
On the 9th August the king addressed a letter to
the mayor, sheriffs, aldermen and good folk of the
City of London, informing them of his safe arrival in Letter Book I, fo. 229. (Memorials, p. 654.) Journal 1, fo. 30b. Letter Book I, fo. 200b. (Memorials, p. 657.) Letter, dated Caen, 11 September.—Letter Book I, fo. 200b.
In order to keep the English force in Normandy
better provided with victuals, the Duke of Bedford,
who had been left behind as the king's lieutenant,
caused the Sheriffs of London to proclaim that all
persons willing and able to ship victuals to France for Writ, dated 18th Oct.—Letter Book I, fo. 203. Stubbs, Const. Hist., iii, 89. Letter Book I, fo. 222.
In Paris matters were going on from bad to
worse. Whilst the capital of France was at the
mercy of a mob, Henry proceeded to lay close siege
to Rouen. Frequent proclamation was made in
London for reinforcements to join the king, either at
Rouen or elsewhere in Normandy. Letter Book I, fos. 211b, 212b, 217. Proclamations made by the
civic authorities at this time were subscribed "Carpenter"—the name
of the Common Clerk or Town Clerk of the City. The custom of the
Town Clerk of London for the time being, signing official documents
of this kind with his surname alone, continues at the present day. Letter Book I, fo. 215b. Letter Book I, fo. 216. (Memorials, p. 664). Letter Book I, fo. 216. On the 15th September the question of
payment to the brewers, wine drawers and turners of the cups was
considered.—Journal I, fo. 48. (Memorials, pp. 665, 666). Gregory's Chron. (Camd. Soc, N.S., No. 17), 1222. Letter Book I, fos. 236, 236b.
On the 17th August the king wrote again to the
mayor, aldermen and commons of the City, thanking Letter Book I, fo. 237. (Memorials, p. 674).
The murder of John, Duke of Burgundy, by a
partisan of the Dauphin, which took place about this
time, induced Duke Philip to come to terms with
England in the hope of avenging his father's death; - Letter Book I, fo. 252. Walsingham, ii, 335.Id., fo. 241b.
On the 12th July Henry addressed a letter from
Mant to the corporation of London informing them
of his welfare. He had left Paris for Mant in order
to relieve the town of Chartres, which was being
threatened by the Dauphin. The Duke of Burgundy
had joined him and had proved himself "a trusty,
lovvng and faithful brother." The king's expedition
proved unnecessary, for the Dauphin had raised the
siege before his arrival and had gone into Touraine. Letter Book I, fo. 263.
On the 26th January, 1421, the Duke of Gloucester,
the Guardian of England in the king's absence,
ordered the Sheriffs of London to announce that the
queen's coronation would take place at Westminster
on the third Sunday in Lent. Letter Book I, fo. 259. According to Walsingham (ii, 336), the
ceremony took place on the Walsingham, ii, 336, 337.first Sunday in Lent.
Henry had not been at home six months before
he again left England, never to return. Parliament voted a fifteenth and a tenth to assist the king in
his necessities; John Gedney, alderman, John Perneys, John Bacon,
grocer, and John Patesley, goldsmith, being appointed commissioners to
levy the same within the City.—Letter Book I, fo. 277b. Letter Book K, fo. 1b.venite and incensed the royal remains as
they passed. The livery companies provided amongst
them 211 torches, and to each torch-bearer the city
chamberlain gave a gown and hood of white material
or "blanket" (de blanqueto), at the "cost of the
commonalty."
At the death of Henry V the administration of
affairs fell into the hands of his two brothers, John,
Duke of Bedford, and Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester.
On the 29th September a writ was issued from
Windsor, in the name of the infant on whom the
crown of England had devolved, summoning four
citizens of London to attend a parliament to be held
at Westminster at Martinmas, Letter Book I, fo. 282b. Letter Book I, fo. 282b; Letter Book K, fo. 12.
As soon as parliament met (9 Nov.) it took
into consideration the respective claims of the two
dukes. Bedford had already (26 Oct.) despatched
a letter from Rouen, addressed to the civic authorities, Letter Book K, fo. 2. Stubbs, Const. Hist., iii, 97.
On the 8th February of the new year (1423),
the sheriffs of London received orders to make proclamation
for all soldiers who were in the king's pay
to assemble at Winchelsea by the 1st day of March,
as an expedition was to set sail from that port for
the purpose of defending the town and castle of
Crotoye. The business was pressing and necessitated a
repetition of the order to the sheriffs a fortnight later
(22 Feb.). Letter Book K, fos. 10, 10b.
On the 23rd February William Crowmere, the
mayor, William Sevenoke, William Waldene, and
John Fray were appointed commissioners to enquire
into cases of treason and felony within the city; and
two days later they found Sir John Mortimer, who
was charged with a treasonable design in favour of
the Earl of March, guilty of having broken prison. -Id., fo. 15b.
On the 5th June (1423) the hearts of the citizens
were gladdened with the news that they were likely
to be repaid some of the money they had advanced
to the king's grandfather. Orders were given for all
persons to whom Henry IV was indebted at the time
of his decease, and who had not yet received from
his executors a moiety of the sums due, to send in
their bills and tallies to Sir John Pelham and John
Leventhorp, two of the king's executors, sitting at
the Priory of Saint Mary, Southwark, by the Monday
next after Midsummer-day. Letter Book K, fos. 10-18.
At home as well as abroad Gloucester soon made
enemies; among them was his own uncle, the Chancellor,
Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, a
wealthy and ambitious prelate. During Gloucester's
absence on the continent, whither he had gone to
recover the estates of his newly-married wife, the
ill-fated Jacqueline of Hainault, Beaufort garrisoned
the Tower with creatures of his own. When Gloucester
returned mutual recriminations took place, and
the mayor was ordered (29 Oct., 1425) to prevent
Beaufort entering the city. A riot ensued in which
the citizens took the part of the duke, and the bishop
had to take refuge in Southwark. The quarrel was
patched up for awhile until Bedford, who was sent
for, should arrive to act as arbitrator. Chron. London (Nicolas), p. 114; Gregory's Chron. (Camd. Soc.,
N.S., No. 17), p. 159; Engl. Chron. (Camd. Soc., No. 64), pp. 53, 54. See two letters from the mayor.—Letter Book K, fos. 18b, 21. Gregory's Chron., p. 160.
The two brothers had not met since the death of
Henry V. After prolonged negotiations, a -modus
vivendi between the parties was arrived at, and
Gloucester and the bishop were induced to shake
hands. Beaufort left England soon afterwards with
the Duke of Bedford, on the plea of making a pilgrimage,
and did not return until September, 1428,
by which time he had been made a cardinal and
appointed papal legate in England. Notwithstanding
his legatine authority being unacknowledged by
Gloucester and others, the citizens received him on
his return "worthily and loyally," riding out to
meet him and escorting him into London.Id., p. 162.
Gloucester had always been a favourite with the
Londoners, until his conduct to his Flemish wife,
whom he left behind on the continent to fight her
own battles as best as she could, and the undisguised
attention he paid to Eleanor Cobham, a lady in his
wife's suite, whom he eventually married, estranged
their favour. In August, 1424, the Common Council
had voted the duke a gift of 500 marks; and two
years later—viz., in April, 1426—the citizens raised a
sum, variously stated to have been £1,000 and 1,000
marks, for the benefit of his duchess. Journal 2, fos. 22b, 64b (new pagination). Letter Book K, fo. 50b.
In the meantime matters had not gone well with
the English in France. In July, 1427, the Earl of
Salisbury came over to London for reinforcements. Gregory's Chron., p. 161. Letter Book K, fo. 55b.
Whilst Bedford was conducting the siege of
Orleans, and Jeanne Darc was meditating how best to Letter Book K, fos. 62, 63b; Gregory's Chron., p. 164.
Bedford had recently been joined by Beaufort,
who had become more than ever an object of hatred
to Gloucester, and had lost to a certain extent the
goodwill of the nation by the acceptance of a
cardinal's hat. He had set out on the 22nd June
(1429), carrying with him a small force which he was
allowed to raise for the avowed object of prosecuting
a Hussite crusade in Bohemia, but which was
eventually sent to France. Letter Book K, fo. 66b; Gregory's Chron., p. 164.
Members of parliament representing the City of
London had hitherto been allowed a certain amount
of cloth and fur trimming at the City's expense,
wherewith to dress themselves and their personal
attendants in a manner suitable to the position they
held. Those who had from time to time been elected
members appear to have abused this privilege—where
a yard had been given, they had literally taken
an ell—and it was now thought to be high time to
take steps to check the abuse in future. Accordingly
it was ordained by the mayor and aldermen, on the
12th August of this year (and the ordinance met with Letter Book K, fo. 68b. In 1443 the Common Council agreed
to allow the City members their reasonable expenses out of the
chamber (Journal 5, fo. 129b), but when parliament met at Coventry
in 1459, the City members were allowed 40s. the yard, and 100s.
for fur if the alderman had already served as
mayor, otherwise he was to have no more than five
marks. Commoners were to be content with five
yards of cloth and 33s. 4d. for fur. Each alderman,
moreover, was to be allowed eight yards of cloth
at 28 pence a yard for two personal attendants,
and each commoner four yards of the same for one
attendant, if the parliament was sitting in London or
the neighbourhood, and eight yards for two attendants
if parliament was sitting in some more remote place,
"as was formerly ordained during the mayoralty of
John Michell" (1424-5).s. a day, besides any disbursements
they might make in the City's honour (Journal 6, fo. 166b),
and the same allowance was made in 1464, when parliament sat at
York (Journal 7, fos. 52, 54).
The condition of France necessitated the early
coronation of the young king, whose right to the
French crown had been established by the Treaty of
Troyes. At his accession to the throne of England
Henry VI was but a child of nine months. He was
now eight years old. Before he could be crowned
King of France, it was necessary that he should first
be crowned King of England. Proclamation was
accordingly made that he would be crowned on the
6th November following, and that all claims to services
should be forthwith laid before the lord steward. - Gregory's Chron., pp. 164-168. City Records, Liber Dunthorn, fo. 61b; Letter Book K, fo. 70. Cal. of Wills, Court of Husting, London, ii, 509.Id., fo. 69b.
In April, 1430, the young king left England for
France, and remained abroad for nearly two years.
On the 10th November he wrote to the mayor and
citizens, urging them to advance him the sum of
10,000 marks, as that sum might do him more ease
and service at that particular time than double the
amount at another. The letter was dated from
Rouen, where the court afterwards established itself
for a considerable time. Letter Book K, fo. 84. A long account of his entry into the French capital, and of the
pageantry in honour of the occasion, is set out in full in the City's
Records.—Letter Book K, fos. 101b-103.
On his return to England early in the following
year, he was met by John Welles, the mayor, the
aldermen, the sheriffs, and more than 12,000 citizens
"Sovereign lord as welcome be ye to your noble
Roialme of Englond, and in especial to your notable
Cite London oþerwise called your Chambre, as ever
was cristen prince to place or people, and of the good
and gracioux achevyng of your Coronne of Fraunce,
we thank hertlich our lord almyghty which of his
endles mercy sende you grace in yoye and prosperite
on us and all your other people long for to regne."
After hearing the address the king rode to
Deptford, where he was met by a procession of 120
rectors and curates of the city, in the richest copes,
and 500 secular chaplains in the whitest of surplices,
with whom were a like number of monks bearing
crosses, tapers and incense, and chanting psalms
and antiphons in grateful thanks for his safe return.
Thence the royal cavalcade passed through Southwark
to the city, where pageants appeared at every
turn. The fulsome adulation bestowed upon a lad
scarcely ten years of age was enough to turn his
young brain. Passing through Cornhill and Chepe, the
procession eventually reached St. Paul's. There the
king dismounted, and being met by the Archbishop
of Canterbury and ten other bishops in their pontifical
robes, was led by them to the high altar. Prayers
were said and the sacred relics kissed. The king
then remounted his horse and made his way to his
palace of Westminster, the streets being hung with
tapestry and the houses thronged to their roofs with
crowds of onlookers, and was there allowed a brief
day's rest. On the following Saturday a deputation
"Most cristen prince the good folk of youre notable
Cite of London, otherwise cleped your Chambre, besechen
in her most lowely wise that they mowe be recomanded
un to yo r hynesse, ant þt can like youre noble grace to
resceyve this litell yefte yoven with as good will and
lovyng hertes as any yefte was yoven to eny erthly
prince."
The king having graciously acknowledged the
gift, the deputation returned to the city. A full descriptive account of Henry's reception on his return from
France is set out in the City Records (Letter Book K, fos. 103b-104b).
It purports to be an account sent by John Carpenter, the Town Clerk,
to a friend, and has been printed at the end of the Liber Albus (Rolls
Series); Cf. Gregory's Chron., pp. 173-175.
Beaufort, who had returned home in time for
the coronation, had again set out for France with
the king, and Gloucester took advantage of their
absence to renew his attack on his rival. Letters of
He informed the City of his intention by letter, dated from Ghent
the 13th April.—Letter Book K, fo. 105. Stubbs, Const. Hist., iii, 114-117.prœmunire were drawn up in anticipation of the cardinal's
return, and additional offence was given by the
seizure of the cardinal's plate and jewels at Dover.
On learning of Gloucester's schemes, Beaufort determined
to give up a projected visit to Rome, and to
return home in time for the opening of parliament
(12th May, 1432).
The finances of the country were at this time
(1433) in the most deplorable condition. It was
necessary to exercise the strictest economy. Bedford
was the first to set an example of self-denial
by offering to discharge the duties of counsellor at a
reduced salary. Gloucester followed his brother's
example. The archbishops, the cardinal, and the
bishops of Lincoln and Ely agreed to render their
services without payment. Parliament showed its
good will by voting a fifteenth and tenth, but out of
the sum thus realised £4,000 was to be applied to
the relief of poor towns. The amount of relief
which fell to the share of the poorer wards of the
City of London was £76 15 Letter Book K, fo. 137b. Letter Book K, fo. 138.s. 6-1/4d., which was
apportioned among eighteen wards. The largest sum
allotted was £20, which went to Cordwainer Street
Ward, whilst Lime Street Ward received the magnificent
relief afforded by the odd farthing.quendam articulum) which the late parliament
had agreed to, but what this article was does not
appear in the City's archives.
Bedford was prevailed upon to remain in England
and undertake the office of chief counsellor, but
differences again arising between him and Gloucester,
which the personal interference of the young king
could with difficulty calm, he again set sail for France
(June, 1434). His career was fast drawing to an end.
Burgundy was intending to desert him as he knew
full well, and the knowledge accelerated his end.
His death took place at Rouen on the 14th September
of the following year (1435). Gregory's Chron., p. 177.
With his death England's supremacy in France
began to decline, and Henry VI was to lose in that
country all or nearly all that had been gained by his
doughty predecessor. The defection of Burgundy
was followed by the loss of Paris. The chief event
of 1436 was the raising of the siege of Calais, which
had been invested by the Duke of Burgundy. On
the 27th June the mayor and aldermen of Calais,
being anxious to get help from the government at
home, and finding that according to precedent they
could only do so through the mediation of the City of
London, addressed a letter to the mayor and aldermen
of London imploring them, as the head of "the
principal of all the cities of the realm of England," to
move the king to send the requisite aid. Letter Book K, fo. 148.
In answer to this appeal Henry Frowyk, the
mayor, consulted the livery companies, and by their "And that same yere (1437), the Mayre of London sende, by the
good a-vyse and consent of craftys, sent sowdyers to Calys, for hyt was
sayde that the Duke of Burgone lay sege unto Calis."—Gregory's
Chron. p. 178. Letter Book K, fos. 160-162. Gregory's Chron. p. 179.
An attempt was made in 1439 to bring about a
peace, but it failed, and a new tax—a tax upon aliens—had
to be imposed for the purpose of raising money
in addition to the usual supplies. Every alien householder
was called upon to pay sixteen pence, and
every alien who was not a householder sixpence, towards
the expenses of the country. Letter Book K. fo. 183b. The tax was found to be so successful
that it was subsequently renewed. In 1453 it was renewed for the
king's life.—Id., fo. 280b.
The streets of the city have witnessed few sadder
sights than the penance inflicted on Eleanor
Cobham, at one time the mistress, and afterwards—on
the dissolution of his marriage with Jacqueline—the
wife of Gloucester. The new duchess was aware
that in the event of the king's death her husband was
next in succession to the throne, and was inclined to
anticipate matters. It was a superstitious age, and
the duchess invoked the aid of witchcraft to accomplish
her wishes. In 1441 her operations, innocent as Journal 3, fo. 103b. Chron. of London (Nicolas), p. 129.
By charter, dated the 26th day of October, 1444,
the king confirmed the mayor, recorder and certain
aldermen as justices of the peace, and, among other
things, granted to the corporation the soil of the
Thames within the City's liberties. The validity as well as the effect of this charter (which is preserved
in the Town Clerk's office) has been made the subject of much controversy,
some contending that it is in effect a grant of the soil of the river
from Staines to Yantlet, that being the extent of the City's liberties on
the Thames, whilst others restrict the grant to the City's territorial
limits, Letter Book K, fo. 220b.i.e., from Temple Bar to the Tower.
The king was now under the influence of William
de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, by whose intervention a
truce with France had been concluded on the 28th
May of this year (1444), to last until the 1st April,
1446. In order to strengthen the truce, a marriage Chron. of London (Nicholas), p. 134.
The truce was renewed, and Suffolk increased in
popularity. After the deaths of Gloucester and
Cardinal Beaufort, within a few weeks of each other,
in 1447, he became the king's chief adviser, and continued
to be so until the loss of the French provinces
three years later (1450) raised so much opposition
against him that the king was compelled to order his
banishment. This was not thought a sufficient
punishment by his enemies, and he was taken on the
high seas and brutally murdered (2 May). After his
death an attack was made on his supporters. Again
the men of Kent rose in revolt; this time under the
leadership of an Irish adventurer—Jack Cade—who
called himself Mortimer, and gave out that he was an
illegitimate son of the late Earl of March. They
mustered on Blackheath 30,000 strong (1 June), and
then awaited the king's return from Leicester, where
parliament had been sitting. Henry on his arrival
sent to learn the reason of the gathering, and in
reply received a long list of grievances which the
rebels intended to amend. See "Historical Memoranda," by Stow, printed in "Three
Fifteenth Cent. Chron." (Camd. Soc., N.S., No. 28), pp. 94-99. "And the Meire of London with the comynes of the city came
to the kynge besekynge him that he wolde tarye in the cite, and they
wolde lyve and dye with him, and pay for his costes of householde an
halff yere; but he wold nott, but toke his journey to Kyllyngworthe."—"Three
Fifteenth Cent. Chronicles" (Camd. Soc.), p. 67.
The city authorities had, in the meantime, taken
steps to put the city into a state of defence. A Common
Council met on the 8th June, when it decided
that an efficient guard should be placed night and day
upon all gates, wharves and lanes leading to the
Thames. An enclosure recently erected at "le Crane"
on the riverside belonging to John Trevillian, was
ordered to be abated. Balistic machines ( Journal 5, fo. 36b. Journal 5, fo. 39. He had been admitted alderman of Lime Street ward in 1448,
at the king's special request, and had only recently been discharged.—Journal
4, fo. 213b; Journal 5, fo. 38b. In 1461 he left England,
but was captured at sea by the French and put to ransom for 4,000
marks.—Fabyan, p. 638. Holinshed, iii, 224. Gregory's Chron., p. 192. Journal 5, fo. 40b.fundibula)
of all kinds were to be collected on the wharves,
whilst the sale of weapons or armour or their
removal out of the city was restricted. Lastly, it
was agreed to represent to the king the advisability
of limiting the number of his nobles coming into the
city, owing to the scarcity of provisions.
On Saturday, the 4th of July, the rebels, who
had retired for the night, returned to the city.
By the next evening (Sunday) the citizens had
managed to recover their presence of mind, and
sallied out at ten o'clock at night, under the leadership
of Lord Scales and another, across the bridge.
Before they had arrived on the Southwark side of the
river they were met by the rebels, and a severe fight
took place between the parties on the bridge itself,
lasting until eight o'clock the next morning. At last
the rebels were defeated, and the city freed from their
presence. Offers of pardon were made and accepted,
and the rebels dispersed. Cade, however, continued
to plunder and ravage the country, until a price having
been put upon his head, he was apprehended by the
Sheriff of Kent, Alexander Iden, who appears to have pursued Cade beyond the
limits of his own jurisdiction, as Sheriff of Kent, into the neighbouring
county of Sussex, where the rebel was apprehended in a garden at
Heathfield.—"Three Fifteenth Cent. Chron.," preface, p. vii.
The king had now been married some years, and
no heir had appeared. Great uncertainty prevailed
The king's incapacity to govern without a strong
minister at his back, as evinced by his conduct
during the recent outbreak, induced both of these
nobles to throw up their appointments, the one in
Ireland and the other in France, and to hasten home.
The Duke of York was the first to reach England,
and, in spite of measures which had been taken to
intercept him, made his way to London. He was
anxious in the first place to clear himself of suspicion
of having been implicated in Cade's rebellion, The exclusion of the Duke and other nobles from the king's
council had been made an express ground of complaint by the Kentish
insurgents. Chron., p. 196.
The Duke of Somerset did not long remain in
prison, for immediately after Christmas he was appointed
captain of Calais. In 1451 the disasters
which followed the English arms in France, when
Calais was again threatened, were made an occasion
for another attempt by York to crush his rival. He
openly avowed his determination to proceed against
Somerset, and, joined by the Earl of Devonshire
and Lord Cobham, marched to London (Jan., 1452).
Henry at once prepared to march against his cousin.
The duke had hoped that through the influence of his
party within the city, the gates would have been
flung open on his approach. In this he was disappointed.
The majority of the citizens were still
loyal to Henry, and by his orders entrance was denied
For a time civil war was avoided, the king
promising that Somerset should be again committed
to custody until he should answer such charges as York
should bring against him. The king, however, failed
to keep his word. Somerset was allowed to remain
in power, and York was only allowed his liberty after
he had consented to swear public allegiance to the
king in St. Paul's Church. Any stronger measures
taken against him would probably have provoked
disturbance in the city. "And so thei brought (the duke) ungirt thurgh London bitwene
ij bisshoppes ridyng unto his place; and after that made hym swere at
Paulis after theire entent, and put him frome his good peticions which
were for the comoen wele of the realme."—Chron. of London (Nicolas),
p. 138.
Henry's mind had never been strong, and in the
following year (1453) it entirely gave way. In
October the queen bore him a son, after eight years
of married life, but though the infant was brought to
his father, Henry gave no signs of recognising his
presence. The illness of the king, and the birth of an
heir to the crown, were events which materially
affected the fortunes of the Duke of York. In November
the civic authorities prepared for emergencies;
every citizen was to provide himself with armour, but
he was strictly enjoined to be guarded in his conversation,
and not to provoke tumult by showing favour
to this or that lord. Even a proposal that the mayor
and aldermen should pay a visit of respect to the
Duke of York was rejected as impolitic at the present
juncture. Journal 5, fos. 131, 132b, 133b.
Notwithstanding liberal grants made by parliament
for the defence of Calais, that town was still in
danger. On the 29th November, 1453, a letter was
read before the Common Council of the City, emanating
from the Lord Welles and the Lord Ryvers,
asking for assistance towards putting Calais into a
state of defence. Further consideration of the matter
was adjourned until the following 4th December. By
the 7th day of the same month the Council had consulted
the commons, who had declared that owing to
their numerous burdens and expenses they could contribute
nothing to that end. Journal 5, fos. 134b, 135b, 136. - - - -Id., fo. 148.Id., fo. 152.Id., fo. 152b.Id., fos. 183, 184.
The plea of poverty was no idle one, if we may
judge from the fact that when, in November of this
year, an assessment of half a fifteenth was made on
the city wards, eleven out of twenty-five wards were Journal 5, fo. 206. Report of City Chamberlain to the Court of Common Council.—Journal
5, fos. 227-228b.
A crisis, in the meanwhile, was fast approaching.
The birth of an heir to the throne urged the Duke of
York to take prompt action. Although the majority
of the nobles were opposed to him, he had on his side
the powerful family of the Nevills, having married
Cicely Nevill, sister of Richard Nevill, Earl of Salisbury,
the head of the family, and father of the still
more powerful Earl of Warwick. Towards the end of
January (1454) the Duke of York, the Earls of Salisbury
and Warwick, and others of the duke's supporters,
entered the city, each followed by a large force of retainers
fully armed. With them came also York's eldest
son, the Earl of March, afterwards King Edward IV. News-letter of John Stodeley, 19 Jan., 1454; Paston Letters
(Gairdner), i, 265, 266.
The Common Council were anxious lest the presence
of these nobles in the city should lead to a disturbance.
A strict neutrality was ordered to be observed
both by the mayor and aldermen, as well as by
the inhabitants of the city at large. The Journal 5, fos 143, 145b, 152, 152b-160b.waytes, or
watchmen, were ordered to perambulate the streets
every night with their minstrels to keep the citizens in
good humour (pro recreacione hominum), and prevent
robbery. Nevertheless, there is evidence to show
that disturbances did occasionally arise between the
inhabitants and those in the suite of the nobles.
The king's continued illness necessitated sooner
or later the appointment of a regent. For a brief
space there seemed a possibility of the regency being
claimed by the queen. The City, in the meanwhile,
paid court to both parties, the mayor and aldermen
one day paying a solemn visit to the queen, attired in
their gowns of scarlet, and a few days later paying a
similar compliment to the Duke of York. Journal 5, fo. 150. - -Id., fos. 162, 162b.Id., fo. 164b.
So long as the king remained an imbecile York was supreme, his rival, Somerset, having been committed to prison at his instigation in December, 1453. Henry, however, soon recovered from his illness, although his convalescence proved of equally short duration, and York's protectorate came to an end. With Henry's restoration came the release of Somerset, and York determined to try conclusions with his rival in the field. At the first battle of St. Albans, fought on the 22nd May, 1455, victory declared for York and Somerset was killed. After the battle York accompanied the king to London and lodged him in the bishop's palace in St. Paul's churchyard. The excitement caused Henry a relapse, and York was for the second time named protector; but in the spring of 1456 he had again to retire upon the king's recovery.
Just when the country was settling down to enjoy
a period of comparative quiet, there occurred (May,
1456) in the city one of those sudden outbreaks
against the "merchant stranger" residing within the
city's walls which too often appear in the annals of
London. On this occasion the young mercers of the
city rose against the Lombards; why or wherefore
we are not told. We only know that these foreigners
received such bad treatment that they meditated
leaving the city in a body and setting up business
elsewhere. The fault was not altogether with the
citizens, it appears; for two Lombards were ordered
to be hanged. Booking to Paston, 15 May; Paston Letters (Gairdner), i, 387;
Cf. Chron. of London (Nicolas), p. 139; Gregory's Chron., p. 199.
The king, who was at the time at Coventry—whither
the queen had caused him to be removed,
owing to her suspicion that the Londoners were in
favour of the Yorkist party—sent for alderman
Cantelowe, William Cantelowe, alderman of Cripplegate and Billingsgate
wards, from the latter of which he was discharged in October, 1461, on
the score of old age and infirmity (Journal 6, fo. 81b). He appears in
his time to have had financial dealings with the crown, on one occasion
conveying money over sea for bringing Queen Margaret to England,
and on another supplying gunpowder to the castle of Cherbourg, when
it was in the hands of the English. He is thought by some to be
identical with the William Cantelowe who afterwards (in 1464) captured
Henry VI in a wood in the North of England.—"Three Fifteenth
Cent. Chron." (Camd. Soc, N.S., No. 28), Preface, p. viii.
This outbreak was followed by another "hurlynge"
between the mercers of the city and those
Lombards who had consented to remain in the city on
the understanding that they should be allowed to ply Short English Chron. (Camd. Soc., N.S., No. 28), p. 70.
On the 3rd September, 1456, the king wrote from
Lichfield to the Mayor, reminding him of the dangers
which had recently threatened the city—"the king's
chamber"—the government whereof ought to serve as
an example to the rest of the kingdom, and enjoining
him that thenceforth he should allow no one to enter
the city but such as came peaceably, and with
moderate retinue, according to his estate and degree,
and should take precautions against gatherings of
evil disposed persons which might lead to a breach
of the peace. Letter Book K, fo. 287.
Notwithstanding the precautions taken to protect
the coast, the French made a descent in 1457,
and plundered Sandwich and Fowey, capturing over
30 ships, great and small, and doing much damage.
The citizens of London, to whom the protection of
their commerce in the "narrow sea," as the channel
was then frequently called, was everything, thereupon
took counsel among themselves, and made a proposal
to the king and to Bishop Waynflete, the chancellor,
to find 2,000 men and provisions for certain ships then
lying in the Thames, at their own expense, to join an
expedition to punish the enemy for their boldness.
The king thanked them for their patriotic spirit and
gave orders for a naval force to join the city contingent
from Hull. -Id., fo. 288b.
In 1458 Henry tried his hand at effecting a
reconciliation between the two rival sections of the
nobility, and to this end ordered a great council to
meet in St. Paul's on the 27th January. Warwick
left his post at Calais, and came over to London to
attend the meeting; but he did not arrive until more
than a month after the appointed day, and when he
came it was with a body of 600 men at his back,
"all apparyled in reed jakkettes, with whyte ragged
stavis." Cotton MS., Vitell. A, xvi, fo. 114. Engl. Chron., 1377-1461 (Camd. Soc., No. 64), p. 77. Fabyan, Chron. (ed. 1811), p. 633; Cf. Chron. of London (Nicolas),
p. 139.
In August the civic companies were warned
against furnishing the confederate lords with any war
material, but were to keep their arms and harness at the Journal 6, fos. 138, 138b, 139. Engl. Chron., 1377-1461 (Camd. Soc., No. 64), p. 78; Cf. Fabyan,
p. 633; Holinshed, iii, 249.
In the following April (1459) another affray
broke out. This time it was between inhabitants of
the city and certain members of the Inns of Court,
and the riot was so dangerous as to result in loss of
life. The king hearing of this sent for William
Tayllour, the alderman of the ward, and kept him in
confinement at Windsor until the election of the new
mayor, William Hewlyn, in October, by whose intercession
he regained his freedom. Short Engl. Chron. (Camd. Soc., N.S., No. 28), p. 71; Chron.
of London (Nicolas), p. 140.
By this time the country was again divided into
two hostile camps. A crisis came in September, when
the Earl of Salisbury, the king's most inveterate
enemy, marched upon Ludlow with a large force.
On the 9th October the king issued his writ for
a parliament to be held at Coventry on the 20th
November. The usual writ was sent to the City
of London, but the names of the aldermen and commoners
elected to represent the citizens do not appear
in the City's records. Journal 6, fo. 166. -Id., fo. 145.
The citizens had previously (Oct., 1459) displayed
their willingness to assist the king by a gift of 1,000
marks. - English Chron., 1377-1461 (Camd. Soc., No. 64), p. 179.Id., fo. 163.
On the 14th January, 1460, the king issued a
commission to the mayor, aldermen and sheriffs for
collecting men-at-arms and archers to resist the Journal 6, fo. 224b. William Paston, writing to his brother John, under date 28th January,
1460, remarks, "Item, the kyng cometh to London ward, and, as
it is seyd, rereth the pepyll as he come; but it is certayn ther be comyssyons
made in to dyvers schyres that every man be redy in his best aray
to com when the kyng send for hem."—Paston Letters (Gairdner),
i, 506. Paston Letters (Gairdner), Introd., p. cxl. The king's letter, dated 2 Feb., was read before the Common
Council on the 5 Feb.—Letter Book K, fo. 313b; Journal 6, fo. 196b.late
Duke of York and the late Earls of March, Warwick,
Salisbury and Rutland.
The citizens deemed it time to look to their own
safety, and place their city into a better posture
of defence. The master and wardens of the livery
companies were exhorted (14 Feb., 1460), on account
of the disturbed state of the kingdom, to raise contributions
towards the purchase of accoutrements
for the safeguard of the city. Journal 6, fo. 197b. - -Id., fo. 203b.Id., fo. 158.
The Yorkist Earls of Salisbury, Warwick and
March, encouraged by the reports of the state of
affairs in England, at length made up their minds to
return and strike a blow for the recovery of their
On the 27th June, by which time news of their
arrival must have reached the city, a Common
Council was held, when the commoners who were present
solemnly promised to stand by the mayor and
aldermen in safe-guarding the city, and resist with all
their might the rebels against the lord the king who
were about to enter the city contrary to the king's
orders. The civic companies somewhat tardily gave
their adhesion to the royal cause, and agreed to
defend the city. The gates were ordered to be
manned, and no one was to be allowed to enter without
first saying who and what he was. Strict
enquiry was to be made as to the character of
strangers residing within each of their wards. Journal 6, fo. 237. It had been destroyed by fire during the Kentish outbreak.—Gregory's
Chron., p. 193. Journal 6, fo. 237b.le wikett was to be constantly open.
A strict watch was to be kept on the new towerle port Colyce
when occasion required.
A deputation, moreover, was appointed to set
out to meet the Earls of March and Warwick on Journal 6, fo. 238. -Id., fo. 238b.
Up to this point the citizens had shown themselves
loyal to Henry. They now began to waver.
Early in the morning of the 30th June the mayor
and aldermen appear to have changed their minds.
The earls had sent them a letter and they resolved
to receive it. The contents of this letter are not
recorded. On the following day (1 July) another
communication from the earls was received. Here
again we are left in the dark as to its purport—the
City's journals at this period being very imperfect,—we
only know that they declined to accede to the request
to keep at a distance from London, for the very next
day (2 July) they were admitted into the city. Journal 6, fos. 239, 239b; Eng. Chron., 1377-1461 (Camd. Soc.
No. 64), p. 94.
The city was thus lost to the king; but the Tower
still held out, and no amount of eloquence on the
part of certain doctors of divinity, whom the Common
Council had appointed to try and arrange matters so
as to avoid bloodshed, would induce Lord Scales and
his companions to surrender it, although the garrison
was hard pressed for victuals. Journal 6, fo. 252b. Eo quod nullus alius modus videtur esse tutus pro civitate.— Journal 6, fo. 251b.Id.,
fo. 251.
By the 10th July matters had become so serious
with the beleaguered garrison, that a letter was sent
to the Common Council, signed by the Earl of Kendal,
Lord Scales, Lord Hungerford, Lord Lovell and Sir
Edmund Hampden, asking why war was thus being
made upon them. To this the Council replied that
the lords had brought it upon themselves by firing
on the citizens in the first instance, and taking provisions
from them without payment. - Eng. Chron. (Camd. Soc., No. 64), p. 98. The Thames boatmen
and sailors were almost as powerful and troublesome a body of men as
the London apprentices. The Common Council had recently (11th
July) endeavoured to subdue their turbulent spirit by the distribution
among them of a large sum of money (£100).—Journal 6, fo. 254.Id., fo. 250b.
Meanwhile the Duke of York had managed to
raise a sum of money in the city; On the 4th July the Common Council voted the earls the sum of
£1,000 by way of loan.—Journal 6, fo. 253. Journal 6, fo. 256. By some inadvertence two copies of the
agreement were sealed, one of which was returned to the mayor to be
cancelled.
On the 21st July the king, or the Earl of Warwick,
in his name, attempted to restore quiet in the city by
promising that those who had offended against the
king's highness and the common weal of the realm,
and had been committed to the Tower, should forthwith
receive ample justice. In the meantime all
conventicles, assemblies or congregations in breach of
the peace were strictly forbidden, and every man was
exhorted to repair to his own house, and wait upon
his lord or master in whose service he might happen
to be. Journal 6, fo. 257.
In October the Duke of York attended parliament
and boldly asserted his right to the throne.
After hearing arguments for and against his claim,
parliament arrived at a compromise by which the
reversion of the crown was settled on the duke, and
to this the king himself was forced to give his assent. Gregory's Chron., p. 208; Engl. Chron., pp, 99-100; Short Engl.
Chron., p. 75. The interview with the wardens of the companies took place at
a Common Council held on the 13th December, 1460.—Journal 6,
fo. 282b.
The struggle which hitherto had been between two unequal sections of the nobility, each avowing its loyalty to the king, now became a struggle between the two rival Houses of Lancaster and York. Richard, Duke of York, did not live to enjoy the crown, his right to the reversion of which had recently been acknowledged by parliament. Just as the year was drawing to a close he met his death at Wakefield in the first clash with the House of Lancaster, and his head in mockery was set up on one of the city's gates from which he derived his ducal title.
When Henry was once restored to liberty and to
his queen, after the second battle of St. Albans
(17 Feb., 1461), York's son, Edward, Earl of March,
who became by his father's death heir to the crown,
was immediately proclaimed traitor in the city. Journal 6, fo. 13. The governing body in the city was still Lancastrian at heart. On
the 13th Feb. the Common Council had voted Henry, at that time in
the hands of Warwick, a loan of 1,000 marks, and a further sum of 500
marks (making in all £1,000) for the purpose of garnysshyng and safeguarding
the city. On the 24th a certain number of aldermen and
commoners were deputed to answer for the safe custody of the Tower,
and on the following day (25 Feb.) the mayor forbade, by public
proclamation, any insult being offered to Sir Edmund Hampden and
others, who had been despatched by the king and queen to London for
the purpose of ascertaining "the true and faithful disposition" of the
city.—Journal 6, fos. 35, 35b, 40.
It was a fatal mistake, for it gave time for Edward and Warwick to join forces and march on London. The civic authorities, finding how hopeless it was to place further dependence upon Henry, and desiring above all things a stronger government than they could look for under the king, now surrendered the city to his opponents. They had not forsaken the king—he had forsaken them. They would no more of him.
Gregory's Chron., p. 215.
On the 1st March the chancellor called a general
assembly of the citizens at Clerkenwell, and explained
to them the title by which Edward, Duke of York,
laid claim to the crown. Stubbs, Const. Hist., iii, 189. Journal 6, fo. 37b.
The new king made himself very popular with
the citizens. He was not less a favourite with them
because he joined their ranks and became a trader
like themselves, or because he took a wife from among
his own subjects and made her a sharer of his crown.
At the coronations, both of Edward and his queen,
which took place after an interval of three years,
the City was fully represented, and its claim
to services at the king's coronation banquet duly
acknowledged. Letter Book L, fo. 4; Lib. Dunthorn, fo. 62; Journal 7, fo. 98. Short English Chron. (Camd. Soc., N.S., No. 28), p. 80. Journal 7, fos. 97b, 98.
If the young and handsome prince who now ascended
the throne occasionally carried his familiarity
with the wives of city burgesses beyond the limits of
strict propriety, much could be forgotten and forgiven
for the readiness he showed to confirm and enlarge
the City's privileges and to foster the trade of the
country. Before he had been on the throne many
months he granted the citizens, by charter, the right Charter, dat. Winchecombe, 26 Aug., 1461. Preserved at the
Guildhall (Box No. 28).
In the following March (1462) he confirmed the
charter granted to the City by Henry IV, whereby the
citizens obtained the right of taking toll and custom
at Billingsgate, Smithfield and elsewhere, as well as
the right of Inspeximus charter, dated Westminster, 25 March, 1462. Preserved
at the Guildhall (Box No. 13).tronage or weighing wool at the Tron.
In August, 1462 Calais was again in danger, and
the king wanted money. The Earl of Worcester and
others of the council were sent into the city to ask
for a loan of £3,400. After considering the matter,
the civic authorities agreed to lend him £1,000. The
money was to be raised by assessment on the wards,
but Dowgate ward being at the time very poor, was
not to be pressed. Journal 7, fo. 8. - See Inspeximus charter 15 Charles II.Id., fo. 15.
When Edward returned in February, 1463, from
the North, where he had succeeded with the assistance
afforded him by the Londoners in re-capturing most
of the castles which the restless Margaret had taken, Journal 7, fo. 21b.
Edward now gave himself up to a life of luxury and pleasure. In 1464 he married the young widow of Sir John Grey, better known by her maiden name of Elizabeth Woodville. His marriage to her gave offence to the nobility, more especially to the Earl of Warwick, who was planning at the time a match with France or Burgundy, and to whom the news of the marriage with one so beneath the king in point of dignity came as an unpleasant surprise. The earl was still more offended when he learnt that the young king had secretly effected a marriage treaty between his sister Margaret (whom Warwick had destined for one of the French princes) and the Duke of Burgundy. These matrimonial alliances, combined with the inordinate favour Edward displayed towards his wife's family, led to an estrangement between the king and his powerful subject.
The proposed alliance with Burgundy was far
from being distasteful to the merchants of the city,
inasmuch as it was likely to open up trade with those
states of the Low Countries which the Burgundian
dukes had consolidated as a barrier against France.
When the Princess Margaret was about to start (June,
1468) for her future husband's dominions, the mayor Journal 7, fo. 175.
Disgusted with the king's unhandsome conduct
towards him, Warwick found an ally in Clarence, the
king's brother, gave him one of his daughters in marriage,
and even encouraged him to hope for the
succession to the crown. Edward's extravagant and
luxurious life had lost him much of his popularity.
He had ceased, moreover, to possess the goodwill of
the citizens for having allowed the arrest of Sir Thomas
Cooke or Coke, Ancestor of Lord Bacon and others of the nobility.—See Orridge
"Citizens and their Rulers," p. 222. Fabyan, p. 656. He was deprived of his aldermanry (Broad Street
Ward) by the king's orders.—Journal 7, fo. 128. Journal 7, fos. 196, 198, 199. Journal 7, fos. 215b, 222b. -Id., fos. 229b, 230b.
Whilst Warwick and Clarence were in France in
1470, they concerted measures with Queen Margaret
for effecting another revolution. By September
matters were ready for execution. On the 13th
Warwick landed in England; and before the end of
the month the Kentish men so threatened the City
and Westminster, that the newly-elected sheriffs had
to be escorted by an armed force in order to be sworn
in at the Exchequer, whilst a constant patrol was kept
in the streets. - A record of what took place in the city between the 1st and 6th
October is set out in Journal 7, fo. 223b. - He had, after Warwick's flight to France in March of this year,
put to death and impaled twenty of the earl's followers.—Warkworth's
Chron. (Camd. Soc., No. 10), p. 9. Journal 7, fo. 225.Id., fo. 222b.enceinte at
the time, purposed occupying when she should be
brought to bed. A garrison was placed in the Tower
by order of the Common Council, sitting, for safety's
sake, in the church of St. Stephen, Walbrook. On the
5th October Archbishop Nevill, Warwick's brother,
entered the city with a strong force and relieved the
civic authorities of the custody of the Tower, and on
the following day Warwick himself appeared, accompanied
by Clarence and a large following, and removed
Henry from the Tower to the Bishop of London's
palace.Id., fo. 225.
In November Henry was made to hold a parliament,
and Sir Thomas Cooke, the deposed alderman, Fabyan Chron., p. 660.
That the aldermen and the better class of citizens
favoured Edward, is shown by the ease with which
he effected an entry into the city when he returned
to England in the spring of the following year (1471).
The gates, we are told, were opened to him by
Urswyk, the Recorder, and certain aldermen (their
names are not mentioned), who took advantage of
the inhabitants being at dinner to let in Edward. Warkworth's Chron. (Camd. Soc., No. 10), p. 15.—According to the
chronicler, the Commons of the city were still loyal to Henry, whom
Archbishop Nevill had carried through the streets, weak and sickly as
he was, in the hope of exciting the sympathy of the burgesses. Had
the archbishop been a true man, "as the Commons of London were,"
Edward would not have gained an entry into the city until after the
victory of Barnet-field.
For a short time the city lay in some peril whilst
Edward was engaged with Warwick and Margaret.
The men of Kent again became troublesome. They
affected not to believe that Warwick had actually
fallen at Barnet. Under the leadership of Thomas
Fauconberg or Falconbridge, generally spoken of as
the "bastard," being a natural son of William Nevill,
first Lord Fauconberg, Earl of Kent, they marched to
London, with the intention of releasing Henry from
confinement and placing him again on the throne.
Fauconberg, who had been made a freeman of the
City in 1454, Journal 5, fos. 152, 175. The "bastard's" letter and the reply of the mayor and aldermen
are set out in Journal 8, fos. 4b-6b, and Letter Book L, fo. 78. Holinshed, iii, 323; Fabyan, p. 662.—According to Warkworth
(p. 19), the Paston Letters, iii, 17.Commons would willingly have admitted the rebels had
the latter not attempted to fire Aldgate and London Bridge.
On the night after Edward's return The 21st May is the day usually given as that on which Edward
returned. The City's Journal, however, gives the day as the Eve of the
Ascension, that festival falling on May the 23rd.—Journal 8, fo. 7. Warkworth's Chron., p. 21. Namely, Richard Lee, Matthew Philip, Ralph Verney, John
Young, William Tailour, George Irlond, William Hampton, Bartholomew
James, Thomas Stalbrok, and William Stokker.—Journal 8, fo. 7. Journal 7, fo. 246.
The rest of Edward's reign was undisturbed by
any attempt to unseat the new dynasty, and his position
was rendered the more secure by the birth of
a son (afterwards Edward V) in the sanctuary of Westminster,
whither his wife Elizabeth had fled for refuge.
Before the young Prince of Wales was five years old
he received the honour of knighthood at Westminster.
The mayor and aldermen went to meet him on his
way from the city to Westminster on that occasion,
clad in scarlet robes, whilst the streets from Bishopsgate
to Saint Paul's were thronged with the commons in
their livery. -Id., 8, fo. 98.
Edward was now free to carry out his foreign
policy. Parliament voted supplies to enable him to
make war with France, but these were not sufficient,
and he had recourse to a system of "benevolences"
or free gifts, which few, however, dared to refuse. On
the 30th May, 1475, he left the Bishop of London's
palace in St. Paul's Church-yard, and, passing through
Cheapside to London Bridge, took boat to Greenwich
for the purpose of crossing over to France. The
livery companies turned out to do him honour. - Journal 8, fo. 110b.Id., fo. 101.
By resorting again to benevolences and exacting
money from the City in return for charters, Edward
avoided the necessity of summoning parliament between
the years 1478 and 1483. On the 25th May,
1481, the king granted the City a general pardon, Preserved at the Guildhall (Box No. 28). Journal 8, fo. 244. Fabyan, p. 667.
The close of the year 1482 witnessed such a
dearth of cereals that the exportation of wheat or
other grain was absolutely forbidden. It was feared
that a famine might arise in the City of London, so
vast had its population become, both from the influx
of nobles who had taken up their quarters within its
walls as well as of strangers from foreign lands.
Merchants were therefore encouraged to send their
grain to London by a promise that it should not be
intercepted by the king's purveyors. Proclamation, dated 21 Nov., 22 Edw. IV.—Letter Book L, fo.
281b; Journal 9, fo. 2.
The names of the City's representatives who
attended the parliament which met in January, 1483,
are not recorded, but we have the names of four
aldermen and five commoners, who were appointed
in the previous month of December to confer with
the City members on matters affecting the City. Journal 9, fo. 12. - -Id., fo. 14.Id., fo. 14b.
The coronation of the young prince who now
succeeded to his father's throne, only to occupy it however
for a few weeks, was fixed to take place on the first
Sunday in May; and on the 19th April the City was
busy making arrangements for the prince's reception.
It was decided that the mayor and aldermen should
ride forth to meet the king, clad in gowns of scarlet,
their attendants being provided with gowns of the
colour of lion's-foot ( -pied de lyon), at the public cost.
Five sergeants-at-mace belonging to the mayor, and
nineteen sergeants-at-mace in the service of the
sheriffs, were also to ride out to meet the king, clad
in gowns of the last-mentioned colour. The sword-bearer
was to be provided with a gown of murrey, and
a deputation from the civic guilds, to the number of
410 persons, clad in gowns of the same colour, was to
join the cavalcade.Id., fos. 18, 18b.
Although preparations had been made for the
coronation, and the City had appointed representatives
from the livery companies to assist the chief butler at
the banquet Journal 9, fo. 21b. The oath taken by Gloucester to King Edward V, as well as the
oath which he was willing to take to the queen, if she consented to quit
Westminster, were read before the Common Council on the 23rd March.—Journal
9, fo. 23b.
In order to do this he called to his assistance
Dr. Shaw, an eminent preacher, whose brother, Sir
Edmund Shaa, or Shaw, happened to be mayor at the
time. Acting upon instructions from Gloucester,
Shaw preached a sermon at Paul's Cross on Sunday,
the 22nd June (1483), in which he charged the late
king with bigamy, Edward IV having, as he declared,
Nothing daunted by this dismal failure, Gloucester
made another and more successful attempt to win over
the citizens. On the following Tuesday (24 June) he
sent the Duke of Buckingham to harangue the citizens
at the Guildhall. The duke began by reminding his
hearers of the danger to which their wives and
daughters had been exposed under the late king; of
the undue influence exercised at court by Jane Shore, Wife of Matthew Shore, a respectable goldsmith of Lombard
Street:— ( She had recently been made to do penance by Gloucester in a white
sheet for practising witchcraft upon him; but her unhappy position, as
well as her well-known charity in better days, gained for her much
sympathy and respect. The duke's speech, interesting as it is, as showing the importance
attached to gaining the favour of the City, cannot be regarded as historical.—Stubbs,
Const. Hist., iii, 224 note.Percy Reliques).
Accordingly, on the morrow, a deputation from the city waited on the Duke of Gloucester at Baynard's Castle and invited him to accept the crown. After a considerable show of affected reluctance, Richard assented, and, having assented, lost no time in carrying out his pre-conceived purpose. The very next day he hastened to Westminster and, seating himself on the throne, declared himself king by inheritance and election.
On the 6th July the last Angevin king that
reigned over England was crowned—crowned with
his wife Anne, widow of Prince Edward, killed at
Tewkesbury, but after the battle not in it, and of
whose blood Richard himself is thought to have been
guilty. The City accepted the position and made
the new king and queen a present of £1,000; two-thirds
for the king and the remainder for the queen.
The money was raised in the city by way of a
fifteenth; the poor were not to be called upon to contribute,
and the gift was not to form a precedent. Journal 9, fo. 27. Journal 9, fo. 33b. The names of the citizens selected for that
honour are recorded.— - -Id., fo. 21b. The names also of those who
attended coronations in the same capacity down to the time of George
IV are, with one exception (the coronation of Charles I), entered in the
City's archives.—(See Report on Coronations, presented to Co. Co.,
18 Aug., 1831. Printed.)le Whitehawle,
presented to the mayor and aldermen who were present
on that occasion a gold cup set with pearls and
precious stones, to be used by the commonalty at
public entertainments in the Guildhall.Id., fo. 43.Id., fo. 114b.
"Item it is aggreed this day by the Court that
where Hugh Brice Mair of this Citie, hathe in his
Kepyng a Cuppe of gold, garneised with perle and
precious stone of the gifte of Richard, late in dede
and not of right, Kyng of Englond, which gifte was
to thuse of the Cominaltie of the said Citee, that if
the saide Cuppe be stolen or taken away by thevys
This extract is interesting as showing that the
coronation cup presented to the mayor of the City
by way of honorarium was, at this period at least,
looked upon as a gift made to the City's use, and
that the mayor could not claim it as his own perquisite,
as mayors had been in the habit of doing in
days gone by, and as they continued to do afterwards.
William Estfeld, who, as mayor, attended the coronation
of Henry VI (6 Nov., 1429), and received the
customary gold cup and ewer, appropriated the gift
to his own use, and, as we have already mentioned,
bequeathed them to his grandson.
Richard had scarcely been seated three months on the throne before the Duke of Buckingham, who had been rewarded for his late services by being appointed lord high constable, was in open rebellion, and Henry, Earl of Richmond, long an exile in France, was meditating an invasion. Buckingham's conspiracy proved a failure, and he paid for his rashness with his head. The Earl of Richmond was detained in France by stress of weather, and danger from that quarter was averted at least for a time.
On Richard's return to London after putting
down his enemies, he was welcomed by over 400
members of the various civic companies, who rode
out to meet him in gowns of murrey. Journal 9, fo. 39. Green, Hist. of the English People, ii, 63.
Richard met this appeal by summoning parliament
to meet in January (1484), when various acts
were passed affecting the trade and commerce of the
city and the country, and among them one which
forbade aliens keeping any foreign apprentices or
workpeople to assist them in their occupation, and
otherwise imposed great restrictions upon the merchant
stranger. Stat. 1 Richard III, c. 9. -Id., c. 2.
In the summer he was welcomed wherever he
went, yet he knew that danger threatened. Richmond
was preparing for an invasion and the nobles were not
to be trusted. The citizens, too, were aware of the
danger, and had in the early part of the year appointed
a joint committee of aldermen and commoners to survey
the city's ordnance, and to supply guns and gunpowder
in place of that which had recently been
destroyed by a fire. Journal 9, fo. 43b. Journal 9, fo. 56. Cotton MS. Vitellius A, xvi, fo. 140.
Matters became more serious as time went on.
In June, 1485, the City advanced another sum of
£2,000 to assist Richard against the "rebels," who
were daily expected to land in England. Journal 9, fos. 78b, 81. Richard issued a proclamation against
Henry "Tydder" on the 23 June, calling upon his subjects to defend
themselves against his proposed attack.—Paston Letters (Gairdner), iii,
316-320. Journal 9, fos. 81b-83b.
From Bosworth field Henry set out for London.
He was met at Shoreditch by a deputation from the
City, accompanied by the Recorder, and was presented
with a gift of 1,000 marks. Journal 9, fos. 84, 85b, 86b; Holinshed, iii, 479.Cf. "Materials illustrative of the
reign of Henry VII" (Rolls Series, No. 60), i, 4-6.Te Deum
was sung, and for a few days Henry took up his residence
in the bishop's palace in St. Paul's Churchyard.
A cloud soon overshadowed the rejoicings which
followed Henry's accession. An epidemic hitherto unknown
in England, although visitations of it followed
at intervals during this and the succeeding reign, made
its appearance in the city towards the close of September.
The "sweating sickness," as this deadly Hecker's "Epidemics of the Middle Ages," p. 168. Journal 9, fo. 87b. The day for election of mayor varied; at one time it was the
Feast of the Translation of S. Edward (13 Oct.), at another the Feast of
SS. Simon and Jude (28 Oct.). Journal 9, fo. 88. - -Id., fo. 78b.Id., fo. 89b.
Within a fortnight of his arrival in London
Henry issued a writ of summons for his first parliament.
It was not so much for the purpose of obtaining
supplies that he was anxious that parliament should
meet at the earliest opportunity; he was desirous of Holinshed, iii, 482, 483; Cotton MS. Vitellius A, xvi, fo. 141b.
According to Fabyan (p. 683), the Mercers, Grocers and Drapers
subscribed nearly one half of the loan.
In January, 1486, Henry married the Princess
Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, and heiress of the
Yorkist family. He had previously taken the precaution
of committing to the Tower the Earl of
Warwick, son of Clarence, for fear lest he might set
up a title to the crown. Pol. Verg., 717; "Materials illustrative of the reign of Henry
VII" (Rolls Series, No. 60), i, 3. Gairdner's "Henry the Seventh" (Twelve English Statesmen
Series), p. 47. No record of this appears in the City's archives.
A rumour that the Earl of Warwick had escaped
from the Tower gave an opportunity for an imposter,
Lambert Simnel, to personate the earl. In order to
satisfy the Londoners that the rumour of Warwick's
escape was a fabrication, Henry caused his prisoner to be
paraded through the streets of the city, and exposed to
public view at St. Paul's. After Simnel's defeat (16 June,
1487), the Common Council agreed (28 June) to send
a deputation, consisting of two aldermen, the recorder,
and four commoners, with a suite of 24 men, to meet Journal 9, fos. 150b, 151. -Id., fo. 151.
In October Henry was expected in London, He arrived on the 3rd Nov.—Gairdner, p. 57. Journal 9, fos. 157b, 158. -Id., fo. 161.
The king would willingly have remained at peace
if he were allowed, from motives of economy if for no
other reason. England, however, could not sit still
and see Brittany overwhelmed by the French king.
Before assistance could be sent to the Duchess Anne,
it was imperative that money should be raised. At
the close of 1488 the Common Council voted the king
a loan of £4,000. The money was ordered to be
raised by assessment on the companies, but the practice
was not to be drawn into precedent. The king, Journal 9, fo. 223b; Cotton MS. Vitellius A, xvi, fo. 142b;
Fabyan, p. 683; Holinshed, iii, 492.
Early in the following year parliament Henry's second parliament was summoned to meet the 9th Nov.,
1487. The names of the City's representatives have not come down to
us, but we know that William White, an alderman, was elected one or
the members in the place of Thomas Fitz-William, who was chosen
member for Lincolnshire, and we have the names of six men chosen to
superintend the City's affairs in this parliament ( Holinshed, iii, 492. Journal 9, fo. 273b. Fabyan, p. 684.ad prosequendum in
parliamento pro negociis civitatis), viz:—William Capell, alderman,
Thomas Bullesdon, Nicholas Alwyn, Simon Harrys, William Brogreve,
and Thomas Grafton.—Journal 9, fo. 224.
The success which, brief as it was, had attended Simnel's enterprise was sufficient to encourage a hope that a better planned project might end in overturning the throne. A report was accordingly blazed abroad that Richard, Duke of York, brother of King Edward V, was yet alive, not having been murdered in the Tower, as had been supposed; and a man called Perkin Warbeck or Warboys, a native of Tournay, assumed the name of Richard Plantagenet and succeeded in getting a large number of people in Ireland and Scotland to believe that in his person they in fact saw Richard, Duke of York, the rightful heir to the crown. James IV of Scotland not only gave him in marriage the lady Catherine Gordon, daughter of the Earl of Huntley, but led an army into England in hopes that the appearance of the pretended prince might raise an insurrection in the northern counties. Instead, however, of joining the invaders the English prepared to repel them, and James retreated into his own country. This took place in 1496. Parliament granted large supplies to enable the king to meet the danger, but the inhabitants of Cornwall, sick of the constant demands made of them for money, and aware of the large treasure which Henry had already amassed, openly resisted any attempt at further taxation and determined to march on London.
The Londoners, who not only abstained from
opposing the new demand for money, but volunteered
a loan to the king (15 Nov.) of £4,000, Journal 10, fos. 80b, 83; Repertory 1, fos. 10b, 13. The
"Repertories"—containing minutes of the proceedings of the Court of
Aldermen, distinct from those of the Common Council—commence in
1495. Repertory 1, fo. 19b. Two years later, when the post was held by Arnold Babyngton,
complaint being made of the noisome smell arising from the burning of
bones, horns, shavings of leather, &c., in preparing food for the City's
hounds, near Moorgate, the Common Hunt was allowed a sum of 26 Repertory 1, fo. 20b. -s. 8d.
in addition to his customary fees for the purpose of supplying wood for
the purpose.—Repertory 1, fo. 70. The office was maintained as late as
the year 1807, when it was abolished by order of the Common Council.—Journal
84, fo. 135b.vigilie temporis turbacionis.Id., fos. 20, 20b.
By the 22nd June, 1497, all immediate danger had
passed, the rebels being on that day utterly defeated
at Blackheath. Their leaders were taken and executed;
the rest were for the most part made prisoners, but were
soon afterwards dismissed without further punishment.
The leniency displayed towards them by Henry was Journal 10, fo. 104b. - - Fabyan, p. 687.soi-disant Richard IV, King of England, who
availed himself of their mutinous disposition and
appeared in their midst at Bodmin. The news of
Perkin Warbeck having arrived in Cornwall from
Ireland was brought to the mayor and aldermen of
the City of London by letter from the king, which was
read to the Common Council on Saturday, the 16th
September.Id., fo. 105.Id., fo. 108.
In the meantime Prince Henry, who afterwards
succeeded his father on the throne as King Henry VIII,
but was at the time a child of seven years, paid a visit
to the city (30 Oct., 1498), where he received a hearty
welcome and was presented by the Recorder, on behalf
of the citizens, with a pair of gilt goblets. In reply to
the Recorder, who in presenting this "litell and powre"
gift, promised to remember his grace with a better at
some future time, the prince made the following short
speech:— Cotton MS. Vitellius A, xvi, fo. 176.
"Fader Maire, I thank you and your Brethern
here present of this greate and kynd remembraunce
which I trist in tyme comyng to deserve. And for asmoche
as I can not give unto you according thankes,
I shall pray the Kynges Grace to thank you, and for
my partye I shall not forget yo r kyndnesse."
In anticipation of the prince's visit, a proclamation
had been made by the civic authorities with the view
of purging the city of infectious disease, to the
effect that all vagabonds and others affected with the
"greate pockes" should vacate the city on pain of
imprisonment. Repertory 1, fo. 41b.
The removal of Warwick—"the one judicial
murder of Henry's reign"—if not suggested by Spain,
was an act which could not be otherwise than grateful
to the Spanish king. For five years past negotiations Repertory 1, fo. 62. Journal 10, fo. 187b.
The "garnysshyng of the pagents" for the festive
occasion Journal 10, fo. 190b. -Id., fo. 191.
There was no necessity for hurry in regard to
the pageants. More than a twelvemonth was yet to
elapse before they were wanted. At length—on the
2nd October, This is the date given by Gairdner (p. 198). According to
Fabyan (p. 687) she arrived on the 4th Oct. Journal 10, fos. 238, 238b.
In 1503 the streets of the city were again put
into mourning, for in February of that year Henry
lost his queen. A long account of the manner of
"receyvyng of the corps of the most noble princes
Quene Elizabeth" is given in the City's Archives. Repertory 1, fos. 122b-126. The account will be found in Archæol.,
vol. xxxii, p. 126. Repertory 1, fos. 130, 130b.
Henry's chief merit was that he established order,
and for this the citizens were grateful. This improvement
on the weak government of his immediate predecessors
had only been carried out, however, at the
cost of extension of royal power, and the City was
made to suffer with the rest of the kingdom. In
1503 the civic authorities were deprived by statute
of their control over the livery companies, By Stat. 19 Henry VII, c. 7, annulling Stat. 15 Henry VI, c. 6. Repertory 2, fo. 146.
It was not until 1505 that the City succeeded in
getting its charter Charter dated 23 July, 1505, preserved at the Guildhall (Box
No. 15). Repertory 1, fo. 175.
Henry continued his high-handed policy towards
the City up to the day of his death, and thereby
greatly increased his treasure. His chief instruments
were Empson and Dudley, who took up their residence
in the city, occupying two houses in Walbrook, Strype, Stow's "Survey" (1720), bk. ii, p. 193. Repertory 2, fos. 12, 14; Grey Friars Chron. (Camd. Soc., No.
53), p. 29. The sum mentioned by Holinshed (iii. 539), is £1,400; Baker, in his Chronicle (ed. 1674), p. 248, puts Capel's fine at
£1,400; Fabyan, p. 690.Cf. Fabyan,
p. 689.Cf. Fabyan, p. 689; Holinshed, iii, 530; Journal 11, fo. 94.
In the meantime the Archduke Philip happened
to fall into Henry's hands (Jan., 1506). Whilst
crossing the sea to claim the kingdom of Castile Letter Book M, fo. 138; Journal 11, fo. 28.
This letter was followed by another from the king,
dated from Greenwich, the 23rd June following, in
which the Corporation was informed that for the assurance
of execution of the marriage treaty both parties
had given pledges, and that the City of London was,
among other cities and towns, included in letters
obligatory to that effect, which letters he begged
should be sealed without delay with the Common Seal
of the City. Journal 11, fos. 37-39. Gairdner's "Henry the Seventh," p. 206.
If Henry amassed wealth, it was not from any
miserly motive. He well knew the value of the
money, and that peace at home was never better
secured than by a full treasury. He made, moreover,
a princely use of his money, encouraging scholarship,
Originally intended by Henry as a resting place
for the remains of his uncle, Henry VI, the last mentioned
edifice was diverted from its purposes and became
the chantry as well as the tomb of Henry VII
himself. Anxiety for his soul caused him to bind the
Abbot of Westminster by heavy penalties to the due
observance of his obit. These penalties were set out
in six books or deeds, sealed with the Common Seal of
the City of London, and formally delivered to the king
by a deputation of the mayor and aldermen, who received
in return a seventh book to remain in their
custody. In 1504—the year that Pope Julius sanctioned
the removal of the remains of Henry VI from
Windsor to Westminster—the mayor and citizens
formally sealed the "books" before the Master of the
Rolls at the Guildhall. Two years later certain livery
companies undertook to keep the king's obit on the
day that the mayor for the time being went to take
his oath at the Exchequer. Journal 10, fos. 318, 318b; Repertory 2, fos. 10b-11b. A list of
"such places as have charged themself and promysed to kepe the yerely
obit" of Henry VII, as well as a copy of indentures made for the
assurance of the same obit, with schedule of sums paid to various
religious houses for the observance of the same, are entered in the City's
Records.—Repertory 1. fo. 167b; Letter Book P, fo. 186b.
The king died at his palace of Shene, recently renamed
in his honour "Richmond," on the 22nd April, The generally accepted day of his death, although the City's
Archives in one place record it as having taken place on the 21st.—Journal
2, fo. 67b; Holinshed, iii, 541. Journal 11, fos. 67b-69. "Aldermen barons and presenting barons astate whiche hath been
Maires." Journal 2, fo. 69.Cf. Fabyan, 690.
When King Henry VIII was about to make an
expedition to France in 1544, the Court of Aldermen
gave notice to the Bishop of London that the obit
of Henry VII would be kept on Friday, the 16th May,
on which day there would be a general procession,
and that the observance would be continued until the
king departed out of the realm, and then on every
Friday and Wednesday until his return. Repertory 11, fo. 68b.
One of the first acts of the new king was to
grant Letters Patent absolving the City of all trespasses
committed before the date of his accession, Letters Patent, dated 9 June, 1509, preserved at the Guildhall
(Box No. 29).
It was found that six men, whose names were
John Derby, Letter Book M, fo. 159; Journal 11, fo. 74b. Repertory 2, fo. 68.alias Wright, a bowyer, Richard Smyth,
a carpenter, William Sympson, a fuller, Henry Stokton,
a fishmonger, Thomas Yong, a saddler, and
Robert Jakes, a shearman—all of whom had more
than once been convicted of perjury, and on that
account been struck off inquests—had contrived to get
themselves replaced on the panel, and had been the
chief movers in the recent actions against the late
mayor and other officers of the city. They had,
moreover, taken bribes for concealment of offences of
forestalling and regrating. Being found guilty, on
their own confession, of having brought false charges
against many of the aldermen, the Court of Common
Council adjudged the whole of the accused to be
disfranchised. Three of them, who were found more
On the occasion of the king's coronation, which
took place on Midsummer-day soon after his marriage
with Catherine of Aragon, his brother's widow, the
citizens presented the king and queen with the sum
of £1,000 or 1,500 marks. Two-thirds of the gift
was given expressly to the king, the remaining one-third
being a tribute of respect to the queen. The
money was to be raised in the city by way of a
fifteenth, but the poor were not to be assessed. Journal 11, fos. 80, 81b, 82; Letter Book M, fo. 160. Journal 11, fo. 80. Holinshed, iii, 547.
After three years of indolent and luxurious ease
Henry became embroiled in continental troubles. In
1511 a holy league had been formed for the purpose
of driving the French out of the Milanese, and
Henry's co-operation was desired. A parliament was
summoned to meet early in the following year. According to Holinshed (iii, 567), Parliament opened on the
25th Jan., 1512. The Parliamentary Returns give the date as the
4th Feb. with "no returns found." The names of the City's members,
however, are recorded in the City's Archives. They were Alderman Sir
William Capell, who had suffered so much at the close of the last reign,
Richard Broke, the City's new Recorder, William Cawle or Calley,
draper, and John Kyme, mercer, commoners.—Journal 11, fo. 147b;
Repertory 2, fo. 125b. The Act for levying the necessary subsidy ordained that every
alien made a denizen should be rated like a native, but that aliens who
had not become denizens should be assessed at double the amount at
which natives were assessed.—See "Historical Introd. to Cal. of
Denizations and Naturalizations of Aliens in England, 1509-1603."
(Huguenot Soc.), viii, 7. Journal 11, fo. 1. -Id., fo. 1b.
The city was suffering at the time from great
scarcity of wheat, and each alderman was called upon
to contribute the sum of £5 towards alleviating the
distress which prevailed. A contract was made with
certain Hanse merchants to furnish the city with 2,000
quarters of wheat and rye respectively by Midsummer-day,
whilst the royal purveyors were forbidden to
lay hands on wheat, malt or grain entering the port
of London. Journal 11, fo. 171; Repertory 2, fos. 150b, 172. Repertory 2, fos. 151b-152. Journal 11, fo. 2. Repertory 2, fo. 153.
Henry himself now crossed over to France. The campaign proved more successful than the last, for the French being attacked at Guinegate, were seized with so great a panic that Henry achieved a bloodless victory. From the hasty flight of the French cavalry, the engagement came to be known as the Battle of Spurs. This victory secured the fall of Terouenne and was followed shortly afterwards by the capture of Tournay.
Notwithstanding these successes, however, Henry found it necessary to make peace in the following year. His allies had got what they wanted, and the conquest of France was as far off as ever. It remained only to make as good a bargain as he could. The French king consented to the payment of a large sum of money, in return for which he was given Henry's sister Mary in marriage, although she was already affianced, if not married, to Prince Charles of Castile. This was the work of the king's new minister, Wolsey.
To the apostles of the New Learning—as the revival of letters which commenced in the last reign came to be called—to Erasmus, to Archbishop Warham, to More and to Colet, the war at its outset had been eminently distasteful. With the accession of Henry VIII to the throne they had hoped for better things. War was to be for ever banished and a "new order" was to prevail.
Of its connection with More and Colet the City
is justly proud. At the opening of Henry's reign the
future lord chancellor was executing the duties of the
comparatively unimportant post of under-sheriff or
judge of the Poultry Compter, a post which he continued
to hold until 1517. Letter Book M., fo. 257; Repertory 3, fo. 221. In July, 1517,
the Fellowship of Saddlers of London consented, on the recommendation
of Archbishop Warham, to refer a matter of dispute between it
and the parishioners of St. Vedast to the Recorder and Thomas More,
gentleman, for settlement (Repertory 3, fo. 149); and in Aug., 1521,
"Thomas More, late of London, gentleman," was bound over, in the
sum of £20, to appear before the mayor for the time being, to answer
such charges as might be made against him.—Journal 12, fo. 123. Roper's Life of Sir Thomas More, pp. 3, 5, 6.
The father of John Colet, Dean of St. Paul's, had
taken an active part in municipal life. Henry Colet
had been alderman first of Farringdon Ward Without
and afterwards of the Wards of Castle Baynard and
Cornhill, Journal 8, fo. 144; Journal 9, fos. 13, 142b.
Up to the time of Henry VI education had been
carried on in the city chiefly by means of schools
attached to the various city churches and religious
houses. By order of Henry VI, and at the instigation
of four city ministers, William Lichfield, rector of All Hallows the Great, Gilbert
Worthington, rector of St. Andrew's, Holborn, John Cote, rector of St.
Peter's, Cornhill, and John Nigel or Neel, master of the hospital of St.
Thomas de Acon and parson of St. Mary Colechurch.—Rot. Parl. v, 137.
The Dr. John Carpenter just mentioned must not
be confounded with the Town Clerk of that name,
the compiler of the famous Stow's Survey (Thoms's ed., 1876), p. 42. Chamber Accounts (Town Clerk's office), i, fos. 202b, 203.Liber Albus and the
founder of the City of London School. There is little
known of the foundation of this latter school beyond
the statement made by Stow a century and a-half
later, that he "gave tenements to the city for the
finding and bringing up of four poor men's children
with meat, drink, apparel, learning at the schools in
the universities, etc., until they be preferred, ands. 4d., and the discharge—embracing a quit
rent due to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster,
and expenses incurred in overseeing, clothing and
feeding four poor children "being founde at scoole
and lerning by the bequeste of the sayde Master
Carpenter"—amounted to £19 12s. 8d., leaving a
balance to the City of £21 7s. 8d.
There was a school attached to St. Paul's long
before Colet's day, just as there is one now, independent
of the school of Colet's foundation, and devoted
mainly to the instruction of the Cathedral choristers.
Soon after Colet's appointment to the Deanery in
1505 he experienced no little dissatisfaction with
the Cathedral School, where great laxity prevailed,
more especially in the religious education of the
"children of Paul's," and so, about the year 1509—the
year of Henry's accession—having recently come
into a considerable estate by the death of his father,
he set about acquiring a small property situate at the
east end of St. Paul's Church for the purpose of
establishing another school which would better realise Repertory 2, fos. 121b, 123. - Journal 11, fo. 163; Repertory 2, fos. 133b, 142. Letter of Erasmus to Justus Jonas quoted in Lupton's Life of
Colet, pp. 166, 167.Id., fo. 126b; Journal 11, fo. 147b.
Considerable rivalry existed among the various
grammar schools of the city, more especially between
the boys of Colet's School and the boys of the more
ancient foundation of St. Antony, which, for a long
time, had the reputation for turning out the best
scholars. Public disputations were held in the open
air. The St. Paul's boys meeting St. Antony's boys
would derisively call them St. Antony's pigs, that
saint being generally represented with a pig following Survey (Thoms's ed., 1876), p. 28.
But the citizens of London did not limit their
efforts in the cause of education to their own city.
Throughout the country there are to be found
grammar schools which owe their establishment to
the liberal-mindedness and open-handed generosity of
the city merchant. "The number of grammar schools, in various parts of the country,
which owe their foundation and endowment to the piety and liberality
of citizens of London ... far exceeds what might be supposed,
approaching as it does nearly to a hundred."—Preface to Brewer's Life
of Carpenter, p. xi.
To take but a few instances: Sir John Percival,
a merchant-tailor, who in 1487 filled the subordinate
office of Lord Mayor's carver, performing his duties
so well that the mayor, Sir Henry Colet, nominated
him one of the sheriffs for the year ensuing by the
time honoured custom of drinking to him at a public
dinner, founded a school at Macclesfield. Stephen
The Mercers' Company rivalled the Merchant-Taylors'
in the number of schools established in the
country through the liberality of its members. Sir
John Gresham founded one at Holt, in Norfolk; Sir
Rowland Hill, an ancestor of the originator of the
Penny Postal scheme, another at Drayton, in Shropshire;
whilst schools at Horsham, in Sussex, and
West Lavington, in Wiltshire, were erected by two
other mercers, Richard Collier and William Dauntsey.
There exist at the present day at least four schools
which owe their foundation to wealthy members of
the Grocers' Company, the well known school at
Oundle, co. Northampton, upon which the Company
have expended on capital account the sum of
£35,000, having been founded by Sir William Laxton;
another at Sevenoaks, in Kent, by William Sevenoke,
a native of the place, who rose from very humble
circumstances to the chief magistracy of the city;
another at Witney, in Oxfordshire, by Henry Box,
and another at Colwall, co. Hereford, by Humphry
Walwyn. Sir Andrew Judd, a member of the Skinners'
Company, established a school at Tonbridge, whilst
Sir Wolstan Dixie, another skinner, performed the
same charitable act at Market Bosworth. Lastly,
Sir George Monoux and Thomas Russell, both of
them members of the Drapers' Company, founded
On the Feast of St. Matthew (21 Sept.), 1515, a
messenger arrived in the city from Wolsey desiring
the mayor and aldermen to attend that evening at
St. Paul's to return thanks to Almighty God for the
queen, who was quick with child. The summons was
obeyed, Repertory 3, fo. 46.
By this time Wolsey had risen to be a great
power in the State. In 1514 he had been made
Archbishop of York, and in the following year a
cardinal. His high position as a prince of the Church,
as well as his authority with the king, rendered it
desirable for the citizens to keep well with him. On
the 6th March, 1516, it was resolved to send a deputation
to the cardinal for the purpose of securing his
favour. No expense was to be spared in the matter,
and all costs and charges were to be paid by the
Chamber. - -Id., fos. 70b, 71.Id., fos. 86, 86b, 88.
In November of the same year (1516) the City
was in difficulties with the recently erected Court of Repertory 3, fos. 116, 116b.
The seditious "brutes" or riots of which Wolsey
had complained as daily occurring in the city were
soon to assume a serious form. They were occasioned
for the most part by the jealousy with which everybody
who was not a freeman of the city was looked
upon by the free citizen. The influx of strangers and
foreigners has been daily increasing, notwithstanding
the limitations and restrictions placed upon their Wares bought and sold between strangers—"foreign bought and
sold"—were declared forfeited to the City by Letters Patent of Henry
VII, 23 July. 1505, confirmed by Henry VIII, 12 July, 1523. In 1500, and again in 1516, orders were issued for all freemen to
return with their families to the city on pain of losing their freedom.—Journal
10. fos. 181b, 259.
Whilst the civic authorities were doing all they
could to prevent the possibility of a disturbance
arising on the coming May-day Repertory 3, fos. 141b, 142. Holinshed, iii, 618. Or Munday; the name is said to appear in twenty-seven different
forms. He was a goldsmith by trade, and was appointed (among
others) by Cardinal Wolsey to report upon the assay of gold and silver
coinage in 1526.—Journal 13, fo. 45b; Letter Book O, fo. 71b. He
served sheriff, 1514; and was mayor in 1522. In 1462 the Common Council ordered basket-makers, gold wire-drawers,
and other foreigners plying a craft within the city, to reside
at Blanchappleton—a manor in the vicinity of Mark Lane—and not
elsewhere. Repertory 3, fo. 55b. For an account of the riot and subsequent proceedings, see
Holinshed, iii, 621-623, and the Grey Friars Chron. (Camd. Soc.,
No. 53). p. 30.
The civic authorities were not unnaturally anxious
to make their peace with the king, and to disclaim
any complicity in the late outbreak. The Court of
Aldermen met on the 11th May to consider how
best to approach his majesty on so delicate a subject.
It was decided to send a deputation to the lord
cardinal to "feel his mind" as to the number of
persons that should appear before the king. The
next day eight aldermen and the Recorder were
nominated by the court "to go the Kinges grace and
to knowe his plesure when the Mayr and Aldremen Repertory 3, fos. 143, 143b.
The deputation forthwith proceeded, clothed in
gowns of black, to Greenwich, whither the king had
gone on the 11th May. The Recorder as usual acted
as spokesman, and humbly prayed the royal forgiveness
for the negligence displayed by the mayor in not
keeping the king's peace within the city. The king
in reply told them plainly his opinion that the civic
authorities had winked at the whole business, and
referred them to Cardinal Wolsey, his chancellor,
who would declare to them his pleasure. Holinshed, iii, 624. Repertory 3, fo. 144b. - Holinshed, 624. Repertory 3, fo. 145b. - Repertory 3, fo. 165.Id., fo. 143b.Id., fo. 145.
Lest any unfavourable report should reach the
cardinal, the Recorder and another were ordered to
ride in all haste to Sion, where Wolsey was thought to
be, and if they failed to find him there, to follow him
to Windsor and to report to him the active measures
that had been taken to prevent any further insurrection
in the city. - "Thys yere was much a doo in the yelde-halle for the mayer for
the comyns wold not have had Semer, for be cause of yell May-day."—Grey
Friars Chron. (Camd. Soc., No. 53), p. 33. Repertory 11, fo. 351b.Id., fo. 166.
With gibbets all over the city, each bearing a
ghastly freight, and the summer approaching, it is
scarcely surprising that the city should soon again be
visited with an epidemic. "At the city gates," wrote
an eye-witness, "one sees nothing but gibbets and the
quarters of these wretches"—the wretches who had
been hanged for complicity in the late disturbance—"so
that it is horrible to pass near them." Cal. Letters and Papers, For. and Dom. (Henry VIII), vol. ii,
pt. i, Pref., p. ccxxi. - Repertory 3, fos. 184b, 189b, 191, 192. Letter Book N, fo. 95b. Repertory 3, fos. 192, 194; Letter Book N, fos. 63b, 74. Repertory 3, fo. 197.Id., vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 1276.
The city could scarcely have recovered its wonted
appearance after the ravages of the pestilence before
its streets were enlivened with one of those magnificent
displays for which London became justly famous,
the occasion being an embassy from the French king
sent to negotiate a marriage treaty between Henry's
daughter Mary, a child but two years of age, and
the still younger Dauphin of France. The City
Records, strange to say, appear to be altogether
silent on this subject, and yet the embassy, for
magnificent display, was such as had never been seen
within its walls before. We can understand that the
embassy was not acceptable to the thrifty middle-class
trading burgess, when we read that it was accompanied Hall's Chron., pp. 593, 594. Holinshed, iii, 632. Cal. Letters and Papers, For. and Dom. (Henry VIII), vol. ii.
pt. i, Pref., pp. clx, clxi.
In the following year (July, 1519) the streets
witnessed another scene of gaiety. This time it was
a visit of the legate, Cardinal Campeggio, for which
the civic authorities made great preparations. "An order devysed by the Mayer and hys brethrern the aldremen
by the Kynges commandment for a Tryumphe to be done in the Citie of
London at the Request of the Right honorable ambassadors of the
Kynge of Romayns."—10 July, Journal 12, fo. 9.i.e., the third Sunday after Midsummer Day) at St.
Paul's stairs (the stayers w tin poulys). Next to them
were to stand the Skinners, then the Mercers and
other worshipful crafts in their order, clothed in their
last and best livery. In this manner the street was
to be lined on either side from the west door of St.
Paul's down to Baynard's Castle. Upon the arrival
of the lord cardinal and other lords at the Cathedral
the mayor and aldermen were to head the procession
and seat themselves in the choir to hear Te Deum
sung. Bonfires or "pryncypall fyres" were to be
lighted at St. Magnus corner, Gracechurch, Leadenhall,
the conduit on Cornhill, St. Thomas "of Acres,"
the Standard and little conduit in Cheap, the Standard
in Fleet Street, and in Bishopsgate Street; whilst
cresset lights and small fires "made after the manner
of Midsummer-night" were to add to the gaiety of the
scene. Men-at-arms, well harnessed and apparelled,
were to keep certain streets, whilst the aldermen and
their constables were to keep watch and ward in their
best array of harness. The ambassadors, who were to
be lodged in Cornhill, were to be escorted home at night
by the aldermen with torches, and to await their commands.
There was one other, perhaps not unnecessary,
direction to be followed, which was to the effect that
if by any chance the strangers should be overcome
by the hospitality of the city, or, in the words of the
record—"yf eny oversyght be wt moche drynke of
the strangers"—the citizens were to "lett theym
alone and no Englishemen to medyle wt theym."
The legate landed at Deal on the 23rd July, and
by slow stages was conducted with every mark of
respect to London. His passage through the city
was associated with an episode of a decidedly comic
character if we are to believe the chronicler. A story
is told Hall, pp. 592, 593.
In January, 1519, the Emperor Maximilian died
and left the imperial crown to be contested for by the
kings of France and Spain. It eventually fell to the
latter, and Charles V of Spain was elected Emperor
Charles I, the event being celebrated by a solemn
mass and Holinshed, iii, 639.Te Deum at St. Paul's, followed by a
banquet at Castle Baynard.
Both France and Germany were eager to secure
the co-operation of Henry. Charles anticipated the
meeting which was to take place between Henry and
Francis on the famous Field of the Cloth of Gold by
coming over in person to England (May, 1519) and
having a private conference with his uncle. The
young emperor did not visit the city on this occasion;
but in 1522, when war had broken out between him
and Francis and he was again in England, he was Journal 12, fos. 125, 172b, 173b; Letter Book N, fo. 194b.
The king and his guest and ally were met at St.
George's Bar in Southwark by John Melborne, Knighted the next day at Greenwich.—Repertory 5, fo. 295. Repertory 5, fo. 294. - -Id. 4, fo. 134b.Id. 5, fo. 293.
Between the first and second visits of the emperor
the citizens had witnessed some strange sights and
had gone through much suffering and privation. The
city had scarcely ever been free from sickness, and
famine and pestilence had followed one another in
quick succession. In September, 1520, the fellowships
or civic companies subscribed over £1,000 for
the purchase of wheat Journal 12, fos. 75b-76; Letter Book N, fos. 142-143. Grey Friars Chron., p. 30; Repertory 4, fo. 71b. Repertory 4, fos. 1b, 12, 13. Journal 12, fo. 136. -Id., fo. 144.
Again a scarcity of corn was feared, and the
Bridge-masters were authorised by the Court of Common
Council to purchase provisions, the corporation
undertaking to give security for the repayment of all
monies advanced by the charitably disposed for the
purpose of staving off famine. Journal 12, fos. 158, 161, 163b; Letter Book N, fos. 187b, 190b. Holinshed, iii, 675.
The citizens had also in the meanwhile witnessed
the arrest and execution of the Duke of Buckingham,
son of the duke who figured so prominently before the
citizens when the crown was offered to Richard III
at Baynard Castle. He was seized one day whilst
landing from his barge at the Hay Wharf, on a
number of charges all more or less frivolous. His
attendants were dismissed to the duke's "Manor of
the Rose," in the parish of St. Laurence Pountney Shakespere mentions the Duke's manor thus:— —Henry VIII, act 1, sc. 2. Cal. Letters and Papers, For. and Dom. (Henry VIII), vol. iii,
pt. i, Pref., pp. cxxv, cxxvi, cxxxv, cxxxvi.
The duke had other friends in the city besides
these poor religious men, who thus requited in the only
way they could many acts of kindness done to their
Order by Buckingham in his life time, and his death
gave rise to much disaffection and seditious language
for some time afterwards. On the 5th July steps were taken by the Court of Aldermen for
putting a stop to the mutinous and seditious words that were current in
the city "concerning the lamenting and sorrowing of the death of the
duke"—men saying that he was guiltless—and special precautions were
taken for the safe custody of weapons and harness for fear of an outbreak.
The scribe evinced his loyalty by heading the page of the
record with Lex domini immaculata: Vivat Rex Currat L.—Repertory
5, fo. 204.
Before the emperor left England he succeeded in
committing Henry to an invasion of France. In order
to carry out his object the king needed money, and
the City was asked to furnish him with the sum of
£100,000. Repertory 5, fo. 288. Journal 12, fos. 187b, 188b, 195; Letter Book N, fos. 203b, 204, 208.
The question arose whether the aldermen should
be jointly assessed with the commoners or by themselves.
The mayor and aldermen were willing to
contribute the sum of £3,000, Repertory 5, fo. 292. Journal 12, fo. 187b.
In the meantime a hasty valuation had been made
by the command of Wolsey of the plate of the livery
companies, and of the ready money lying in their
halls, the whole value of which was estimated to be
£4,000. This, together with the sum of £10,000
which the Court of Aldermen purposed raising among
the wealthier class of citizens, was all that the cardinal
was given to expect from the City. Repertory 5, fos. 289, 290. -Id., fo. 291.
In June the Recorder had an interview with Wolsey
respecting the security to be given for repayment Repertory 5, fos. 296b, 297. -i.e., the government] to pay
the seyd money that so shalbe coyned." The result
of the Recorder's interview was reported to the Court
of Aldermen the 17th June.Id., fo. 294.
The recent loan of £20,000 had scarcely been
raised A portion remained unpaid on 16 August.—Journal 12, fo. 195. Letter dated 3 Sept.—Journal 12, fo. 196b. On 28 Sept. Wolsey
asked for more time to repay the loan.—Repertory 5, fo. 326. Journal 12, fo. 200.
As if all this were not enough Wolsey demanded
another loan before the end of the year. This was
too much even for the patient and open-handed Journal 12, fo. 210. See Green's "Hist. of the English People," ii, 121. 122.
There was only one course left open to Henry,
and that was to summon a parliament. For nearly
eight years no parliament had sat. It was now
summoned to meet on the 15th April, 1523, not at
Westminster, but at the house of the Blackfriars. Grey Friars Chron., p. 31. Repertory 4, fo. 144; Cf. Repertory 6, fo. 20b; Letter Book N,
fo. 222.
A few days after the election a committee of
fourteen members was nominated to consider what
matters should be laid before parliament as being for
the welfare of the city. Repertory 4, fo. 145b. Roper's "Life of More," pp. 17-20.
Emboldened by their recent success the citizens
determined to make a stand against other exactions,
and when in May, 1523, another demand was made
for one hundred bowmen, as in the previous year,
they sent their charter to the cardinal and begged
that the article touching citizens not being liable to
foreign service might remain in force. A similar
demand was made in the following November, and
again the assistance of Wolsey was called in. Repertory 4, fos. 152, 168; Repertory 4, fos. 144b, 145, 146, 150; Cf. Repertory 6, fo. 38.Cf. Repertory 6, fos. 22b,
29, 32b.
In June the king and queen of Denmark paid a
visit to the city and attended mass at St. Paul's, Grey Friars Chron. pp. 30, 31. Repertory 4, fos. 153b-154; Cf. Repertory 6, fo. 42.
The joint attack of Henry and the emperor
against France in 1523 proved as great a failure as
that of 1522. In the midst of the campaign Henry
was threatened with danger nearer home. The Scots
marched southward, and created such a panic in the
city that a solemn procession, in which figured
Cuthbert Tunstal, Bishop of London (successor to the
unfortunate Fitz-James), the mayor and aldermen, all
the king's justices, and all the sergeants-at-law, took
place every day for a week. Repertory 6, fo. 61b. Holinshed, iii, 692, 693.
When the Feast of St. Edward (13 Oct.) came
round, George Monoux, alderman and draper, who
had already (1514-15) once filled the office of mayor
of the city, was re-elected; but refusing to accept the
call of his fellow-citizens he was fined £1,000. It
was thereupon declared by the Court of Aldermen
that anyone who in future should be elected mayor,
and refused to take up office, should be mulcted in a
like sum. Journal 12, fos. 249-250. Journal 12, fos. 287-288.
Before the close of the year (3 Dec., 1523) the
king pledged himself by letters patent to repay the
loan of £20,000 which the City had advanced for his
defence of the realm and maintenance of the wars
against France and Scotland. -Id., fo. 276.
The disappointment experienced by Wolsey in
not being selected to fill the Papal chair on the death
of Adrian VI induced him to take measures for transferring
his master's power from the imperial court
to the court of France. In the meantime a league
was formed between Henry, the emperor, and Charles,
Duke of Bourbon, for the conquest and partition of
France. During the formation of this league some
correspondence between England and the Continent
appears to have been lost in a remarkable manner, to
judge from the following proclamation, -Id., fo. 284.
"My lorde the maire streitly chargith and commaundith
on the king or soveraigne lordis behalf that
if any maner of person or persons that have founde a
hat with certeyn lettres and other billes and writinges
therin enclosed which lettres been directed to o r said
soveraigne lorde from the parties of beyond the see let
hym or theym bryng the said hat lettres and writinges
unto my said lorde the maire in all the hast possible and
they shalbe well rewarded for their labour and that no
maner of person kepe the said hat lettres and writinges
nor noon of them after this proclamacioun made uppon
payn of deth and God save the king."
The news of the defeat and capture of the
French king at Pavia (24 Feb., 1525) was hailed by
Henry with great delight. The crown of France was
now, he thought, within his grasp. On Saturday, the
11th March, a triumph was made in the city to
celebrate "the takynge of the Frenche kyng in
Bataill by Themporer and his alies." Letter Book N, fo. 280; Journal 12, fo. 329. Grey Friars Chron., p. 32.Te Deum at St. Paul's, the legate himself
pronouncing the benediction.
Henry's first impulse was to take advantage of
the French king's misfortune; the cardinal, on the
other hand, saw danger in the predominating influence
of Charles in Europe, and would gladly have seen his
master join hands with Francis against the emperor.
He was nevertheless bound to carry out the king's
wishes as if they were his own, and money was
necessary for the purpose. Instead of resorting to
a benevolence—a mode of raising money already
declared by parliament to be illegal—he suggested
that the people should be asked for what was called
an Amicable Loan, on the old feudal ground that
the king was about to lead an expedition in person. Hall's Chron., p. 695. Journal 12, fo. 331; Letter Book N. fo. 278. Journal 12, fo. 331b.
When the cardinal was informed later on that
the alderman of each ward was holding an enquiry as
to the means of the inhabitants he affected to be very
angry. "They had no right to examine anyone," he
said; "I am your commissioner, I will examine you
In the country the loan met with so much
opposition that a rebellion was feared. At length,
finding it was impossible to collect the money, Wolsey
sent (19 May) for the mayor and aldermen and
informed them that the king had given up all
thoughts of his expedition to France, and that they
were pardoned of all that had been demanded of
them. Hall's Chron., p. 701.
Before many weeks elapsed Wolsey saw with
satisfaction a truce made between Henry and the
queen regent of France. The truce was to last from 14 August to 1 December.—Letter
Book N, fos. 291, 293; Journal 12, fos. 300, 305. "Item in lyke wyse the Chamberleyn shall have allowance of and
for suche gyftes and presentes as were geven presentyd on Sonday laste
passyd at the Bysshoppes palace at Paules to the Ambassadours of
Fraunce devysed and appoynted by my lorde Cardynalles Grace and
most specyally at his contemplacioun geven for asmoch as lyke
precedent in so ample maner hath not afore tyme be seen; the presents
ensue etc."—Repertory 7, fo. 225.
The election of Paul Wythypol, He had been one of the commoners sent to confer with Wolsey
touching the amicable loan (Journal 12, fo. 331b). He attended the
coronation banquet of Anne Boleyn in 1533 (Repertory 9, fo. 2), and
was M.P. for the city from 1529-1536 (Letter Book O, fo. 157). His
daughter Elizabeth married Emanuel Lucar, also a merchant-tailor.—Repertory
9, fos. 139. 140. Repertory 7, fos. 171b, 172, 174b, 179. Repertory 7, fos. 179b, 180. To the effect that he was not worth £1,000.—Journal 7, fo. 198. Repertory 7, fos. 238b, 240, 240b. - Repertory 7, fo. 206. The Common Council assessed the fine at
£100.—Journal 13, fo. 61b; Letter Book O, fo. 80b. Repertory 7, fo. 264.Id., fo. 243b.
In addition to an epidemic of sickness, Journal 13, fo. 184b. Letter Book O, fos. 88b, 89b.
For some years past Henry had been meditating
a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, his brother's
widow, but it was not until 1529 that the assent of
the Pope was at last obtained to try the validity of
the marriage. The legatine court sat in the city at Cal. Letters and Papers For. and Dom. (Henry VIII), vol. iv,
Introd., p. cccclxv.
A few days after Wolsey's disgrace a banquet
was held at the Guildhall on the occasion of the
swearing in of Ralph Dodmer, the newly-elected
mayor. It is the first lord mayor's banquet of which
any particulars have come down to us, and they are
interesting as recording the names of the chief guests.
The mayor's court, the scene of the feast, was
boarded and hung with cloth of Arras for the occasion.
One table was set apart for peers of the realm, at the
head of which sat the new lord chancellor and at the
bottom the lords Berkeley and Powis. At either side of
the table sat nine peers, among whom were the dukes
of Norfolk and Suffolk, the one being the treasurer and
the other the marshal of England, Sir Thomas Grey,
Marquis of Dorset, the Earl of Oxford, high chamberlain,
and the Earl of Shrewsbury, lord steward of
England, Tunstal, Bishop of London, Sir Thomas
Boleyn, Lord Rochford, whose daughter Anne was
shortly to experience the peril of sharing Henry's
throne, Lord Audley, and others. At two other Letter Book O, fos. 174b-175; Journal 13, fo. 180b.
It was not long before further proceedings were
taken against the king's late minister. On the 3rd
November (1529), after the lapse of six years, parliament
met in the city at the palace of Bridewell.
The City was represented by Thomas Seymer, an
alderman and ex-mayor, John Baker, the City's Recorder,
John Petyte, grocer, and Paul Wythypol, Letter Book O, fo. 157. About the year 1522 Cromwell was living in the city, near Fenchurch,
combining the business of a merchant with that of a money-lender.
He sat in the parliament of 1523, and towards the close of
that year served on a wardmote inquest for Bread Street Ward. In 1524
he entered Wolsey's service.—Cal. Letters and Papers For. and Dom.
(Henry VIII.), vol. iii, pt. i, Introd., pp. cclvi, cclvii. Cal. Letters and Papers For. and Dom. (Henry VIII), vol. iv,
Introd., pp. dliii-dlvi.
Although Wolsey was no more, his works followed
him. He it was, and not Henry, who first conceived
the idea of church reform, towards which some steps
had been taken in Wolsey's lifetime. It was left for
Henry to carry out the design of his great minister.
When the king laid his hand on the monasteries, he
only followed the example set by the cardinal in 1525,
when some of the smaller religious houses in Kent,
Sussex and Essex were suppressed for his great foundation
of Oxford. To assist him in carrying out his design
he turned to parliament. Relieved as they now were
of the oppression of the great nobles, the Commons
were ready to use their newly-acquired independence
against the clergy, who exacted extravagant fees and misused
the powers of the ecclesiastical courts. Acts were
passed regulating the payment of mortuary fees and
the fees for probate, whilst another Act restricted the
holding of pluralities and the taking of ferms by church-men. Stat. 21, Henry VIII, caps. 5, 6 and 13. Proclamation, 12 Sept., 1530.—Letter Book O, fo. 199b.
In the city the question of tithes payable to the
clergy had been always more or less a vexed question.
Before the commencement of the thirteenth century
the city clergy had been supported by casual dues in Burnell, "London (City) Tithes Act, 1879," Introd., pp. 1, 2.
On the 31st August, 1527, a committee, which
had been specially appointed to enquire into matters
concerning the city's welfare, reported, among other
things, upon the tithe question as it then stood in the
city. Letter Book O, fos. 47, A list of these, comprising seven churches, was submitted to the
Court of Aldermen, 23 Feb., 1528.—Repertory 8, fo. 21.seq.
The curates made their defence in a book of
eighteen articles touching tithes and other oblations, Letter Book O, fos. 140b, 141b. Repertory 8, fo. 27b. Letter Book O, fos. 145, 145b; Journal 13, fo. 125b.s. of rent, a half-penny
out of 20s. and so forth, on 100 days of the
year; amounting in all to 2s. 1d. for every 10s. rent
per annum. This manner of payment proving tedious,
the curates and their parishioners came to an agreement
that 1s. 2d. should be paid on every 6s. 8d.
or noble, and this sum the curates had been receiving
time out of mind, none reclaiming or denying. But,
inasmuch as this payment by occupiers of houses was
only ordained for a "dowry" to the parish churches
of London which had no glebe lands, the curates
demanded that all merchants and artificers, with other
occupiers of the city, should pay personal tithes of
their "lucre or encrece" according to the common
law, and as "well conscyoned" men had been in the
habit of paying in times past.s. 2d. on the noble,
So matters continued until, early in 1534, it was
agreed to submit the whole question to the lord
chancellor and other members of the council, who
made their award a few days before Easter. Letter book P, fos. 31, 34, 41b; Journal 13, fo. 417b. This order was confirmed by stat. 27, Henry VIII, cap. 21. Ten
years later a decree was made pursuant to stat. 37, Henry VIII,
cap. 12, regulating the whole subject of tithes, but owing to the decree
not having been enrolled in accordance with the terms of the statute,
much litigation has in recent times arisen.—Burnell, "London (City)
Tithes Act, 1879," Introd., p. 3.s. 9d. in the pound, and 16 pence
half-penny in the half-pound, and that every man's
wife, servant, child and apprentice receiving the
Holy Sacrament should pay two pence. These payments
were to continue to be paid "without grudge
or murmur" until such time as the council should
arrive at a final settlement.
In the meanwhile the city had been made to
feel the heavy hand of the king and of his new
minister, Thomas Cromwell. In May, 1530, Elsing
Spital, a house established by William Elsing, a
charitable mercer, for the relief of the blind, but
which had subsequently grown into a priory of
Augustinian canons of wealth and position, was confiscated
by the Crown. What became of the blind
inmates is not known. In the following year (1531)
the Priory of Holy Trinity, Aldgate, shared the same
fate. The priory had existed since the time of
Henry I and the "good queen" Matilda, The well-known and somewhat romantic account of the origin of
the priory and of its connection with the city cnihten-guild is given in
Letter Book C, fos. 134b, Grey Friars Chron. (Camd. Soc., No. 53), p. 35. Three years later
(30 March, 1534) the Court of Aldermen resolved to wait upon the
chancellor "to know his mind for the office concerning the lands"
belonging to the late priory.—Repertory 9, fo. 53b.seq.; Cf. Liber Dunthorn, fo. 79.ex
officio an alderman of the city. The canons were
now removed to another place and the building and
site bestowed by Henry upon his chancellor, Sir
Thomas Audley.
Between 1531 and 1534 the City enjoyed some
respite from attack. It even recovered some of its
lost privileges. In 1521 Henry had deprived the
City of its right to the Great Beam, and of the issues
and profits derived from it, and had caused a conveyance
of it to be made to Sir William Sidney.
In 1531 the beam was re-conveyed to the City. By letters patent dated 13 April, 1531 (preserved at the Guildhall,
Box No. 16). Henry Lumnore, Lumnar or Lomner, a grocer by guild as well as
calling (see Cal. Letters and Papers For. and Dom. (Henry VIII), vol. iii,
pt. ii, p. 879), was associated with Sidney in holding the beam. The
City offered to buy him out either by bestowing on him an annuity of
£10 during the joint lives of himself and Sidney, or else by paying him
a lump sum of £100.—Repertory 8, fo. 218b. Anne Boleyn. Repertory 8, fo. 131. -s. 8d.
between the king's sergeant, the king's attorney, and
one "Lumnore,"Id., fos. 142b. 202b.
Finding it hopeless to obtain the Pope's sanction
to his divorce from Catherine, Henry at last lost
all patience, and on the 25th January, 1533, was
privately married to Anne Boleyn. The match was
unpopular with the citizens, who took occasion of a
sermon preached on Easter-day to show their dissatisfaction.
According to Chapuys, the Spanish
ambassador, who sent an account of the affair to the
emperor, the greater part of the congregation got up
and left the church when prayers were desired for the
queen. When Henry heard of the insult thus offered
to his new bride he was furious, and forthwith sent
word to the mayor to see that no such manifestation
should occur again. Thereupon, continues Chapuys,
the mayor summoned the guilds to assemble in their
various halls and commanded them to cease murmuring
against the king's marriage on pain of
incurring the royal displeasure, and to order their
own journeymen and servants, "and, a still more
difficult task, their own wives," to refrain from
speaking disparagingly about the queen. Chapuys to the emperor.—Cal. State Papers (Spanish), vol. iv.,
pt. ii, p. 646.
It was perhaps on this account that the civic
authorities excelled themselves in giving the queen a
suitable reception as she passed from the Tower to
Westminster on the 31st May. The Court of Aldermen
directed (14 May) the wardens of the Haberdashers
to prepare their barge as well as the "bachelers"
barge for the occasion. Three pageants were to be
set up, one in Leadenhall and the others at the Repertory 9, fo. 1b. There is a fine drawing at Berlin by
Holbein which is thought to be the original design for the triumphal
arch erected by the merchants of the Steelyard on this occasion.
The Court of Common Council had on the previous
day (13 May) voted a gift of 1,000 marks to
be presented to the queen at her coronation, and a
further sum to be expended in the city "for the honor
of the same." Journal 13, fo. 371b. According to Wriothesley (Camd. Soc.,
N.S., No. 11, p. 19) the present to the queen was made to her in a
purse of cloth of gold on the occasion of her passing through the city
on the 31st May, the day before her coronation. Repertory 2, fo. 70b; Repertory 9, fo. 2.
In September (1533) Anne gave birth to a
daughter, who afterwards ascended the throne as
Queen Elizabeth. In the following spring (1534)
parliament passed an Act of Succession, which not
only declared Elizabeth (and not Mary, the king's
daughter by Catherine of Aragon) heir to the crown,
but required all subjects to take an oath acknowledging
the succession. Commissioners were appointed
to tender the oath to the citizens, Letter Book P, fos. 37-37b; Journal 13, fo. 408b. Letter to Lord Lisle.—Cal. Letters and Papers For. and Dom.
(Henry VIII), vol. vii, p. 208. Repertory 9, fo. 57b. "Allso the same day [20 April] all the
craftes in London were called to their halls, and there were sworne on
a booke to be true to Queene Anne and to believe and take her for lawfull
wife of the Kinge and rightfull Queene of Englande, and utterlie
to thincke the Lady Marie, daughter to the Kinge by Queene Katherin,
but as a bastarde, and thus to doe without any scrupulositie of conscience."—Wriothesley's
Chron., i, 24.
The oath, nevertheless, met with much opposition,
more especially among the clergy and the religious
orders. Elizabeth Barton, known as the "holy maid
of Kent," and some of her followers, among them
being Henry Gold, rector of the church of St. Mary
Aldermary, were executed at Tyburn for daring to
speak against the king's marriage. Grey Friars Chron., p. 37. In November of the last year they had
been made to do penance at Paul's Cross and afterwards at Canterbury.
The inmates of the London Charterhouse, who
might well have been left to enjoy their quiet seclusion
from the world, were startled by a visit from the king's
commissioners calling upon them to take the oath.
The manner of their reception by John Houghton,
the prior, and his brethren and subsequent proceedings
are graphically described by Maurice Chauncy, "Historia aliquot nostri sæculi martyrum," 1583. Much of it is
quoted by Father Gasquet in his work on "Henry VIII and the
English Monasteries" (cap. vi), and also by Mr. Froude ("Hist. of
England," vol. ii, cap. ix). Cal. Letters and Papers For. and Dom. (Henry VIII), vol. vii,
p. 283. This convent—the most virtuous house of religion in England—was
of the Order of St. Bridget, and received an annual visit from the
mayor and aldermen of the City of London at what was known as
"the pardon time of Sion," in the month of August. In return for
the hospitality bestowed by the lady abbess on these occasions the
Court of Aldermen occasionally made her presents of wine (Repertories
3, fo. 94b; 7, fo. 275). In 1517 the court instructed the chamberlain
to avoid excess of diet on the customary visit. There was to be no
breakfast on the barge and no swans at dinner (Repertory 3, fo. 154b).
In 1825 the Court of Common Council decreed (conversi belonging to the house.inter alia) that "as
tonchyng the goyng of my lord mayre and my masters his brethern
the aldermen [to] Syon, yt is sett at large and to be in case as it was
before the Restreynt" (Journal 12, fo. 302). It was suppressed
25 Nov., 1539.—Wriothesley's Chron., i, 109.
The exhortations of the "father confessor" were
not without some measure of success, several of the
Carthusians being induced to alter their opinions as to
the king's demands. The seal of doom, however, was
fixed on the order by the passing of the Act which called
upon its members to renounce the Pope and acknowledge
the royal supremacy. The Act of Supremacy was passed in 1534, but the king's new
title as Supreme Head of the Church was not incorporated in his style
before the 15 Jan., 1535. Cal. Letters and Papers For. and Dom. (Henry VIII), vol. viii,
p. 321. -Id., p. 354.
The fate of the remaining monks is soon told. In May, 1537, the royal commissioners once more attended at the Charterhouse, when they found the majority of its inmates prepared to take the oath prescribed. Ten of them, however, still refused, and were committed to Newgate and there left to be "dispatched by the hand of God," in other words to meet a painful and lingering death from fever and starvation. The following month the remnant of the community made their submission, and the London Charterhouse, as a monastic institution, ceased to exist.
Fisher and More were now brought from the
Tower, where they had lain six months and more,
and convicted on a similar charge of treason. Their
sentence was commuted to death by beheading. Fisher
was the first to suffer (19 June, 1535). His head was
set up on London Bridge and his body buried in the
churchyard of All Hallows, Barking. More suffered
a few weeks later (6 July). His head, too, was placed
on London Bridge, but his body was buried in the Repertory 9, fo. 145.
When, in the following year (1536), the smaller
monasteries—those of less than £200 a year—were
dissolved by Act of Parliament, and the inhabitants
of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, taking fright lest the
king and Cromwell should proceed to despoil the
parish churches, set out on the Pilgrimage of Grace,
Henry sought the City's aid. On the 10th October a
letter from the king was read before the Court of
Aldermen, desiring them to dispatch forthwith to his
manor of Ampthill, where the nobles were about to
wait upon his majesty, a contingent of at least 250
armed men, 200 of which were to be well horsed, and
100 to be archers. - He had been elected mayor for the second time in October last (1535),
much against his own wish, at the king's express desire.—Journal 13,
fo. 452b; Wriothesley, i, 31. He presented the City with a collar of SS.
to be worn by the mayor for the time being.—Repertory 11, fo. 238. Repertory 9, fos. 199, 199b. Repertory 9, fo. 200. -Id., fo. 199.Id., fo. 200b.
Later on, when Allen had been succeeded in the
mayoralty by Sir Ralph Warren, Son of Thomas Warren, fuller; grandson of William Warren, of
Fering, co. Sussex. He was knighted on the day that his election was
confirmed by the king (Wriothesley. i, 59). His daughter Joan (by his
second wife Joan, daughter of John Lake, of London) married Sir Henry
Williams, Repertory 9, fo. 209b.alias Cromwell (Repertory 14, fo. 180; Journal 17. fo. 137b), by
whom she had issue Robert Cromwell, father of the Protector. Warren
died 11 July, 1533, and his widow married Alderman Sir Thomas White.—See
notes to Machyn's Diary, p. 330.
Henry in the meantime had got rid of his second
wife on the specious ground of her having misconducted
herself with more than one member of the
court, the real cause being her miscarriage Henry attributed her miscarriage to licentiousness; others to her
having received a shock at seeing her royal husband thrown from his
horse whilst tilting at the ring.—Wriothesley, i, 33. Chapuys to [Granvelle] 25 Aug., 1536.—Cal. Letters and Papers
For. and Dom. (Henry VIII), vol. xi., p. 145.
Whilst parliament was sitting at Westminster
convocation was gathered at St. Paul's in the city,
and continued to sit there until the 20th July, presided
over by Cromwell as the king's vicar-general. The
meeting was remarkable for its formal decree that
Henry, as supreme head of the Church, might and
ought to disregard all citations by the Pope, as well
as for the promulgation of the ten articles intended
to promote uniformity of belief and worship. Wriothesley, i, 52-53.
In September, 1536, the Court of Common
Council agreed to vote the same sum of money for
the coronation of the "right excellent pryncesse lady
Jane, quene of Englonde," as had been granted at the
coronation of "dame Anne, late queene of Englonde." Letter Book P, fo. 103b. Wriothesley, i, 69. Letter Book P, fo. 135b; Wriothesley, i, 71, 72.
Two years later the citizens were preparing to
set out to Greenwich in their barge (the mayor,
aldermen, and those who had served the office of
sheriff, in liveries of black velvet with chains of gold
on their necks, accompanied by their servants in
coats of russet) to welcome Anne of Cleves, who
landed at Dover the 27th December, 1539. Repertory 10, fos. 152b, 153; Wriothesley, i, 109, 111. Repertory 10, fo. 161. The circumstance that Henry carried his
new bride to Westminster by water instead of conducting her thither
through the streets of the city has been considered a proof of his want
of regard for her.
The insurrection which had taken place in the
country under the name of the Pilgrimage of Grace
was seized by the king as an excuse for suppressing
many of the larger monasteries and confiscating their
property. He had no such excuse for carrying out
his destructive policy in the city. Nevertheless, under
the immediate supervision of Cromwell, the work of
suppression went on, and before the end of 1538 was Holinshed, iii. 807. Letter Book P, fo. 113; Journal 14, fo. 30b. Stow's "Survey" (Thoms's ed., 1876), p. 68.
The hospital of St. Thomas of Acon, which had
ministered to the wants of the poorer citizens for
nearly 400 years, disappeared, The Mercers' Company applied for a grant of the chapel and
other property of the hospital; and this was conceded by letters patent,
21 April, 1542, upon payment of the sum of £969 17s. 6d., subject to
a reserved rent of £7 8s. 10d., which was redeemed by the company in
1560.—Livery Comp. Com. (1880), Append. to Report, 1884, vol. ii, p. 9.
A portion of the spoil was, as we have already
seen, distributed among court favourites. The site of
the house and gardens of the Augustinian Friars in
Broad Street Ward was occupied, soon after their
suppression (12 Nov., 1538), by the mansion-house of
that politic courtier the celebrated Marquis of Winchester,
who managed to maintain himself in high
station in spite of the changes which took place
under the several reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI,
Mary, and Elizabeth, "by being a willow and not an
oak." The building known at the present day as
Winchester House, in Broad Street, stands near the
site of the old mansion-house and garden of William
Paulet, first Marquis of Winchester. The Friars'
church he allowed to stand; and in June, 1550, the
nave was granted, by virtue of a charter permitting
alien non-conforming churches to exist in this country,
to the Dutch and Walloon churches. On the re-establishment of the Dutch or Mother Strangers'
Church, at Elizabeth's accession, it was declared by the Privy Council to
be under the superintendence of the Bishop of London (Cal. State Papers
Dom., Feb., 1560). Hence it was that Dr. Temple, Bishop of London,
was memorialised in March, 1888, as superintendent of the French
Church in London.—See "Eng. Hist. Review," April, 1891, pp. 388-389. Stow's "Survey" (Thoms's ed., 1876), p. 67. Nichols' "Progresses of Queen Eliz.," iii. 598. For particulars of
Swinnerton see Clode's "Early Hist. of the Merchant Taylors' Company,"
i, 262, etc.
The steeple of the church, which was of so great
beauty that the citizens desired its preservation, Strype's Stow, bk. ii, pp. 114, 115. Remembrancia (Analytical Index), pp. 133, 134.
The priory of St. Helen without Bishopsgate
was one of the last to be surrendered. In 1542 the In 1439 Reginald Kentwode, Dean of St. Paul's, having in a
recent visitation discovered "many defaults and excesses," drew up a
schedule of injunctions for their better regulation.—Printed in London
and Middlesex Archæol. Soc. Transactions, ii, 200-203.
The relations existing between the civic authorities
and the religious houses in the city were often of
a most friendly and cordial character. When, in 1520,
the Friars of the Holy Cross wanted assistance for
the maintenance and building of their church, they
applied to the Corporation as being their "secund
founders." Journal 12, fo. 75. Repertory 2, fo. 185b. Repertory 5, fos. 15, 15b, 82b.
It was, however, to the Franciscans or Grey Friars
that the citizens of London, individually as well as in
their corporate capacity, were more especially attached.
Soon after their arrival in England in 1223, they
became indebted to the benevolence and generosity
of citizens, their first benefactor having been John
Ewen, citizen and mercer, who made them a gift of
some land and houses in the parish of St. Nicholas
by the Shambles. Upon this they erected their
original building. Their first chapel, which became
the chapel of their church, was built at the cost of
William Joyner, who was mayor in 1239; the nave
was added by Henry Waleys, who was frequently
mayor during the reign of Edward I; the chapterhouse
by Walter le Poter, elected sheriff in 1272; the
dormitory by Gregory de Rokesley, who was mayor
from 1274 to 1281, and again in 1284-5, and whose
bones eventually found a resting place in their church;
the refectory by another citizen, Bartholomew de
Castro; and lastly—coming to later times—a library
was added to their house by the bounty of Richard
Whitington, as already narrated. It became the custom
for the mayor and aldermen, as patron and Repertory 2, fo. 185; Grey Friars Chron., pp. 29, 31.
In one respect at least, if in no other, Cromwell's
action in suppressing religious houses resulted in a
benefit to the city of London as well as to the country
at large, and this was in the institution of parish
registers, not only for baptisms, but also for marriages.
It had been his intention to establish them in 1536 to
remedy the inconvenience to the public arising
from the suppression of the smaller monasteries,
and it is evident that some instructions were given at
this time, inasmuch as the registers of two city parishes—viz.,
St. James Garlickhithe and St. Mary Bothaw—commence
in November of this year, Sixteen other registers for city parishes commence in 1538, and
four in 1539.—See Paper on St. James Garlickhithe, by W. D. Cooper,
F.S.A. (London and Middlesex Arch. Soc. Trans., vol. iii, p. 392, note).
On the other hand, the sudden closing of these
institutions caused the streets to be thronged with the
sick and poor, and the small parish churches to be so
crowded with those who had been accustomed to frequent
the larger and more commodious churches of
the friars that there was scarce room left for the
parishioners themselves. The city authorities saw at
once that something would have to be done if they
wished to keep their streets clear of beggars and of
invalids, and not invite the spread of sickness by
allowing infected persons to wander at large. As a
means of affording temporary relief, collections for the
poor were made every Sunday at Paul's Cross, after
the sermon, and the proceeds were distributed weekly
among the most necessitous, Wriothesley's Chron. (Camd. Soc, N.S., No. 11), i, 77, 78.
Sir Richard Gresham, Descended from a Norfolk family. Apprenticed to John Middleton,
mercer, of London, and admitted to the freedom of the Mercers'
Company in 1507. Alderman of Walbrook and Cheap Wards
successively. Sheriff 1531-2. Married (1) Audrey, daughter of William
Lynne, of Southwick, co. Northampton, (2) Isabella Taverson, Cott. MS., Cleop. E., iv, fo. 222.—Printed in Burgon's "Life of
Gresham," i, 26-29.née
Worpfall. Was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham, the founder of the
Royal Exchange and of the college which bears his name.—Ob., 21 Feb.,
1549. Buried in the church of St. Laurence Jewry.
In March, 1539, the City presented two petitions
to the king, one desiring that the late dissolved houses
might be made over to them, together with their rents
and revenues, in order that relief might be provided for
the sick and needy, and the other asking that Henry
would be pleased to convey to them the churches of the
late four orders of friars, together with their lands and
tenements, so that the mayor and citizens might take
order for the due performance of divine service therein
to the glory of God and the honour of the king. Journal 14, fo. 129; Letter Book P, fo. 178. Journal 14, fo. 216b; Letter Book P, fo. 220b. Repertory 10, fo. 200.
Henry meanwhile took the opportunity afforded
him by a full treasury, which rendered him independent
of the favour of the citizens, of robbing them of
their right of measuring linen-cloth and other commodities,
and conferring the same by letters patent
on John Godsalve, one of the clerks of the signet.
The City's right was incontestable, and had been
admitted by the king's chancellor, as well as by the
Chancellor of the Court of Fruits and Tenths (a court
recently established), and the mayor and aldermen
represented the facts of the case to the king himself
by letter, dated the 21st July, 1541. Journal 14, fo. 269. Wriothesley, i, 129.
Again, in the spring of 1542, an incident occurred
which caused the relations between parliament and
the City to be somewhat strained. The sheriffs of
that year—Rowland Hill, Son of Thomas Hill, of Hodnet, co. Salop. He devoted large
sums of money to building causeways and bridges, and erected a
grammar school at Drayton-in-Hales, otherwise Market Drayton, in his
native county, which he endowed by will, dated 6 April, 1551 (Cal. of
Wills, Court of Hust., London, part ii, p. 651). See also Holinshed,
iii, 1021. Holinshed, iii, 824; Wriothesley, i, 135. According to the Grey
Friars Chron. (p. 45), it was the sergeant-at-arms himself whom the
sheriffs detained.
In the following year (1543) the plague returned,
and extra-precautions had to be taken against the
spread of the disease, now that the houses of the
friars were no longer open to receive patients and to
alleviate distress. Besides the usual order that infected
houses should be marked with a cross, the mayor
caused proclamation to be made that persons of independent
means should undergo quarantine for one
month after recovery from sickness, whilst others
whom necessity compelled to walk abroad for their
livelihood were to carry in their hands white rods,
two feet in length, for the space of forty days after
convalescence. Straw and rushes in an infected house
were to be removed to the fields before they were
burnt, and infected clothing was to be carried away
to be aired and not to be hung out of window. The
hard-heartedness engendered by these visitations is
evidenced by the necessity of the mayor having to
enjoin that thenceforth no householder within the
city or liberties should put any person stricken with
the plague out of his house into the street, without
making provision for his being kept in some other Proclamation dated 13 Aug., 1543.—Journal 15, fo. 48b. Journal 15, fo. 55; Letter Book Q, fo. 93. Letter Book Q, fo. 92b; Grey Friars Chron., p. 45.
Whilst the city was being wasted by disease the
king was preparing for war with France. Writ to mayor and sheriffs for proclamation of war, dat. 2 Aug.,
1543.—Journal 15, fo. 46b. Repertory 11, fo. 32b. Repertory 11, fo. 65b. Journal 15, fo. 95; Repertory 11, fo. 74; Letter Book Q, fo. 109.
Just as the king was about to set sail for the
continent, he issued letters patent (23 June, 1544)
re-establishing the hospital of St. Bartholomew on a
new foundation, with the avowed object of providing
"comfort to prisoners, shelter to the poor, visitation
to the sick, food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty,
clothes to the naked, and sepulture to the dead." "Memoranda ... relating to the Royal Hospitals," 1863,
pp. 4-7.
Henry crossed over to France, leaving the new
queen, Catherine Parr, widow of Lord Latimer, whom
he had recently married, regent of the realm. After
a long siege, lasting from July until September, he
succeeded in taking Boulogne. On Thursday, the 25th
September, an order was received by the Court of
Aldermen from the lord chancellor, on behalf of the
queen regent, to get in readiness another contingent of
500 men well harnessed and weaponed, 100 of whom
were to be archers and the rest billmen. The last
mentioned were to be provided with "blak bylles or
morys pykes." The whole force was to be ready for
shipment to Boulogne by the following Saturday. No
time was to be lost. The wardens of the city
companies were immediately summoned, and each
company was ordered to provide the same number Repertory 11, fo. 106; Letter Book Q, fo. 116b.
Scarcely had the city recovered from this drain
upon its population before it was again called upon to
fill up the ranks of the army in France. On Saturday,
the 25th October, the Court of Aldermen was ordered
to raise another force of 500 men by the following
Monday. It was no easy matter to comply with so
sudden a demand. The city companies were called
upon to contribute as before, any deficiency in the
number of men raised by them being made up by
men raised by the mayor and aldermen themselves
in a somewhat novel fashion. The Court of Aldermen
had agreed that each of their number should on
the Saturday night make the round of his ward and
select "fifty, forty, twenty, or ten" tall and comely men,
who should be warned in the king's name to appear
the next morning before seven o'clock at the Guildhall.
On Sunday morning the mayor and aldermen
came to the Guildhall, and took the names of those
whom they had selected over night. Two hundred
men were eventually set apart to make up the
deficiency of those to be provided by the companies.
By six o'clock in the evening the whole contingent of
500 men was thus raised, and at nine o'clock on
Monday morning they mustered at Leadenhall, Repertory, 11, fo. 118b; Letter Book Q, fo. 120b. Journal 15, fo. 123; Letter Book Q, fo. 119. Journal 15, fo. 124; Letter Book Q, fo. 122.
By this time the king had ceased to take a
personal part in the campaign and had returned home,
the mayor and aldermen giving him a hearty welcome,
and making him a suitable present in token of
their joy for his return and his success in effecting the
surrender of Boulogne. Letter Book Q, fo. 120b.
At the opening of the next year (1545) Henry
demanded another benevolence after the rate of two
shillings in the pound. The lord chancellor and others
of the king's council sat at Baynard's Castle to collect
the benevolence of the city, "callinge all the citizens
of the same before them, begininge first with the
mayor and aldermen." Wriothesley, i, 151, 153; Grey Friars Chron., p. 48. Holinshed, iii, 346.
On the 8th February William Laxton, the mayor,
was presented to the king at Westminster, when
Henry took occasion to thank him and his brother
aldermen for the benevolence they had given him.
He informed them of the success that had recently
attended the English forces under the Earl of
Hertford and the lord admiral, Sir John Dudley,
whom he had left as deputy of Boulogne, and dismissed
them to their homes after conferring upon the
mayor the honour of knighthood. Wriothesley, i, 151, 152.
In the following April volunteers were called for,
and those in the city willing to follow the fortunes of
war as "adventurers" were asked to repair to the
sign of the "Gunne," at Billingsgate, where they would
receive directions from John of Caleys, captain of all
such adventurers, for their passage to France. Journal 15, fo. 239b; Letter Book Q, fo. 167b. Journal 15, fo. 240.; Letter Book Q, fo. 168; Wriothesley, i, 154. "A coarse frieze was so called from a small town in the West
Riding of Yorkshire. An Act of 5 and 6 Edward VI (1551-2) provided
that all "clothes commonly called Pennystones or Forest Whites ... shall
conteyne in length beinge wett betwixt twelve and thirtene
yardes." Repertory 11, fo. 193b; Letter Book Q, fo. 133; Wriothesley,
i, 154.
There yet remained a portion of the last subsidy to
be collected, for which purpose the lord chancellor
once more paid a visit to the city (12 June) and sat
in the Guildhall. Every alderman was straitly
charged to call before him every person in his ward
who was worth £40 and upwards. The king's affairs
were pressing, and this last payment must be immediately
forthcoming. Wriothesley, i, 155.
A week later (19 June) letters from the king
were read to the Court of Aldermen touching the
levying of more forces and firing of beacons—a French
squadron had appeared off the south coast. It
was resolved to adjourn consideration of the message
until the following Monday, when the lord chancellor
and other lords of the council would again be coming
into the city for the subsidy, and their advice could
be asked. The outcome of these letters was that the
City had to raise a force of 2,000 able men. To do this
an assessment of a fifteenth was ordered to be levied
on the wards, but in the meantime the money so to
be raised was to be advanced by the aldermen. Repertory 11, fos. 203, 212b. 30 July.—Repertory 11, fo. 215b. The Midsummer watch had
not been kept this year.—Wriothesley, i, 156. Repertory 11, fo. 213. Wriothesley, i, 58.
The French king now prepared to lay siege to
Boulogne, and the citizens were again called upon to
furnish soldiers. One thousand men were required,
and this number was only raised by enlisting men who
had failed to pass previous musters. However, there
was no time to pick and choose. Repertory 11, fo. 216b.
By this time Henry's resources were fast giving
out. A parliament was summoned to meet in November,
and again resort was had to confiscation for the
purpose of supplying the king with money. An Act
was passed which placed 2,000 chantries and chapels
and over 100 hospitals at Henry's disposal. Stat. 37, Henry VIII, c. 4.
All parties were, however, tired of the war, and
in the following June (1546) a peace was concluded.
Henry was allowed to retain Boulogne as security for
a debt, and the French admiral soon afterwards paid
a visit to the city, where he was heartily welcomed
and hospitably entertained. Repertory 11, fo. 299b; Letter Book Q, fo. 181; Journal 15, fo.
270; Wriothesley, i, 165.
Freed from the embarrassment of foreign wars,
Henry now had leisure to turn his attention to home
affairs, and more particularly to the establishment of
that uniformity which he so much desired, and
which he endeavoured to bring about by getting rid
of all those who differed in opinion from himself.
Those who openly declared their disbelief in any one
of the "Six Articles," and more particularly in the
first article, which established the doctrine of the real
presence, ran the risk of death by the gallows, the
block or the stake. A city rector, Dr. Crome, of the
church of St. Mary Aldermary, got into disgrace for
speaking lightly of the benefits to be derived from
private masses, and, although his argument tended to
minimise the effect of the recent confiscation of so
many chantries, he was called upon to make a public
recantation at Paul's Cross. Holinshed, iii, 856; Grey Friars Chron., p. 50.
Others were not so compliant. Among these was
Anne Ascue or Ascough, a daughter of Sir William
Ascough, of Kelsey, in Lincolnshire, and sometimes
known as Anne Kyme, from the name of her husband,
with whom she had ceased to live. In June, 1545,
she and some others, among whom was another
woman, Joan, wife of John Sauterie, of London, had Holinshed, iii, 847. Letter Book Q, fo. 181.
The insanitary condition of the city, occasioned
for the most part by an insufficient supply of water,
was not improved by the influx of disbanded and
invalided soldiers, followed by a swarm of vagabonds
and idlers, which took place at the conclusion of
peace with France. To the soldiers licences were
granted to solicit alms for longer or shorter periods,
whilst the vagabonds were ordered to quit the city. Repertory 11, fo. 247. Journal 15, fo. 213b. Wriothesley, i, 162, 175.
Henry's reign was now fast drawing to a close.
In April, 1546, he had bestowed an endowment of 500
marks a year on the city poor-houses on condition the
citizens themselves found a similar sum. Journal 15, fos. 245, 399b, "Memoranda ... Royal Hospitals," pp. 20-45.seq.
The Corporation lost no time in getting their
newly acquired property into working order. On the
6th May the late king's conveyance was read before
the Court of Aldermen, and thereupon a committee,
of which Sir Martin Bowes was a prominent member,
was deputed to make an abstract of the yearly
revenues and charges of the house of the Grey Friars
and hospital of little Saint Bartholomew, and to
report thereon to the court with as much speed as
possible. Repertory 11, fo. 349b. In Sept., 1547, the citizens were called upon to contribute half a
fifteenth for the maintenance of the poor of St. Bartholomew's.—Journal
15, fo. 325b. In Dec, 1548, an annual sum of 500 marks out of the
profits of Blackwell, and in 1557 the whole of the same profits were set
aside for the poor.—Journal 15, fos. 398, seq.; Repertory 13, pt. ii,
fo. 512.
On the 28th January, 1547, Henry died "at hys
most pryncely howse at Westminster, comenly Royal proclamation, 7 July, 1545, forbidding all pursuit of game
in Westminster, Islington, Highgate, Hornsey and elsewhere in the
suburbs of London.—Journal 15, fo. 240b.
In the meantime the mayor, Henry Huberthorne,
or Hoberthorne, Son of Christopher Huberthorne, of Waddington, co. Lane,
Alderman of Farringdon Within. His mansion adjoined the Leadenhall.
Journal 15. fos. 303b, 305b; Letter Book Q, os. 192b, 194;
Wriothesley. i, 178.Ob., Oct., 1556. Buried in the church of St. Peter, Cornhill.—Machyn.
115, 352. It was in Huberthorne's mayoralty that the customary banquet
to the aldermen, the "officers lerned" and the commoners of the city, on
Monday next after the Feast of Epiphany, known as "Plow Monday,"
was discontinued.—Letter Book Q, fo. 191b. It was afterwards renewed
and continues to this day in the form of a dinner given by the
new mayor to the officers of his household and clerks engaged in various
departments of the service of the Corporation. An attempt was at the
same time made to put down the lord mayor's banquet also.—Wriothesley,
i, 176.
Edward on his part presented the mayor and
aldermen with 104 gowns of black livery, according to
the precedent followed at the decease of Henry VII. Journal 15, fo. 304; Letter Book Q, fo. 195; Repertory 11,
fo. 335b.
Provision had been made for the succession to
the crown on Henry's death by an Act of Parliament
passed in 1544, and the princesses Mary and Elizabeth
were thereby re-instated in their rights of
inheritance as if no question of their legitimacy had
ever been raised. As Edward, who was next in
succession to the crown, was but a boy, Henry had
taken pains to select a council of regency in which
no one party should predominate. This council was
soon set aside, and Hertford, the king's uncle, got
himself appointed Protector of the realm and took
the title of Duke of Somerset. At the time of his
father's death Edward was residing at Hertford Castle.
He was soon afterwards carried thence by his uncle
to London and lodged in the Tower, where the mayor,
Henry Hoberthorne, went to pay his respects and
received the honour of knighthood. "The lord mayor of London, Henry Hobulthorne, was called
fourth, who kneeling before the king, his majestie tooke the sworde of
the Lord Protector and made him knight, which was the first that eaver
he made."—Wriothesley's Chron. (Camd. Soc, N.S., No. 11.), i, 181.
On the 19th the young king passed through the
city to Westminster, the mayor riding before him
bareheaded with the mace of crystal This mace is still in possession of the Corporation. It is only
brought out for use on such occasions as a coronation, when it is carried
by the lord mayor as on the occasion narrated above, and at the annual
election of the chief magistrate of the city, when it is formally handed
by the Chamberlain to the lord mayor elect. The mace consists of a
tapering shaft of rock crystal mounted in gold, with a coroneted head
also of gold, adorned with pearls and large jewels. Its age is uncertain.
Whilst some hazard the conjecture that it may be of Saxon origin,
there are others who are of opinion that the head of it at least cannot
be earlier than the 15th century. Journal 15, fo. 305; Letter Book Q, fos. 195b-196; Repertory 11,
fo. 334b.
The work of reformation was now about to be
taken seriously in hand. Something, it is true, had
been done in this direction under Henry, but in
"All these chyldren shall every Chyldermasse day come to Paulis
Church and here the chylde bisshoppis sermon, and after be at the hye
masse, and eche of them offer a 1 Letter Book P, fo. 172b. Journal 14, fo. 158b; Letter Book P, fo. 197. See Brewer's Introd. to Cal. Letters and Papers For. and Dom.,
vol. iv, pp. dcli-dcliii.dilettante fashion. The ceremony connected with
the boy-bishop, which even Colet had thought
worthy to be perpetuated in his school,d. to the childe bisshop and with theme
the maisters and surveyors of the scole."—Statutes of St. Paul's School,
printed in Lupton's "Life of Dean Colet," p. 278b.
Whilst the statute of the Six Articles was still
unrepealed, the sacrament of the mass frequently
provoked open hostility in the city. Thus, in August,
1538, Robert Reynold, a stationer, was declared upon
the oath of five independent witnesses to have been
heard to say "that the masse was nawght, and the
memento was Bawdrye, and after the consecracioun
of the masse yt was idolatrye." He was further
charged with having said that it were better for him
to confess and be houseled by a temporal rather than
a spiritual man. Letter Book P, fo. 153. Letter Book Q, fo. 102.
After the repeal of the statute by Edward's first
parliament, the opposition to the "sacrament of the
altar," as the mass was called, became greater than
ever. "Also this same tyme [Nov., 1547] was moche spekying agayne
the sacrament of the auter, that some callyd it Jacke of the boxe, with
divers other shamefulle names... And at this tyme [Easter, 1548]
was more prechyng agayne the masse."—Grey Friars Chron., p. 55. Letter Book Q, fo. 250b. Repertory 11, fo. 423. "After the redyng of the preposycioun made yesterday in the Sterre
Chamber by the lorde chaunceler and ye declaracioun made by my lorde
mayer of suche comunicacioun as his lordshyp had wt the Bysshop of
Caunterburye concernyng the demeanor of certein prechers and other
dysobedyent persones yt was ordered and agreyd that my lorde mayer
and all my maisters thaldermen shall this afternone att ij of ye clok
repayre to my lorde protectors grace and the hole counseill and declare
unto theim the seid mysdemeanor and that thei shall mete att Saint
Martyns in the Vyntrey att one of the clok."—Repertory 11, fo. 456b.
In the following month (5 June) the Court of
Aldermen investigated a charge made against a city Repertory 11, fo. 465.
The abolition of chantries initiated by Henry
VIII was carried out to a fuller extent by his successor.
The statute (1 Edward VI, cap 14) by which
this was effected not only deprived a large number of
priests of a means of livelihood, but laid them open to
insult from those they met in the street. They complained
that they could not walk abroad nor attend
the court at Westminster without being reviled and
having their tippets and caps violently pulled. A proclamation against the evil behaviour of citizens and others
against priests, 12 Nov., 1547.—Letter Book Q. fo. 218; Journal 15,
fo. 335b.
The same statute—by declaring all chantries,
obits, lights and lamps to be objects of superstitious
use, and all goods, chattels, jewels, plate, ornaments
and other moveables hitherto devoted to their maintenance
to be thenceforth escheated to the Crown—dealt
a heavy blow to the Corporation of the City of
London, as well as to the civic companies and other
bodies who owned property subject to certain payments
under one or other of these heads. Three years after By letters patent dated 14 July, 1550 (preserved at the Guildhall,
Box 17).s.
5-1/2d. by payment to the Crown of no less a sum than
£18,744 11s. 2d.
The redemption of these and other charges of a
similar character, whilst very convenient to the Crown,
saving the trouble and expense of collecting small
sums of money, worked a hardship upon the Corporation
and the companies. In order to raise funds
for redeeming the charges they were obliged to
sell property. This property was often held under
conditions of reverter and remainders over, unless
what was now declared to be illegal was religiously
carried out. It was manifestly unfair that they should
be made to forfeit property because the conditions
under which it was held could no longer be legally
complied with. A petition therefore was presented
to the king in order to obviate this difficulty, and to
enable them to part with the necessary property and
at the same time to give a clear title. Letter Book R, fo. 166b; Wriothesley's Chron. (Camden Soc.,
N.S., No. 20), ii, 35. See also exemplification of Act of Parl. passed
a° 5 Edward VI, in accordance with the terms of this petition (Box 29).
In the meantime (Aug., 1547) an order had gone
forth for the demolition of all images and removal of
pictures and stained glass from churches. The instructions
sent to the lord mayor were very precise.
"Stories made in glasse wyndows" relative to Thomas
Becket were to be altered at as little expense as possible.
Images and pictures to which no offerings and no
prayers were made might remain for "garnisshement" Journal 15, fo. 322; Letter Book Q, fo. 210b. Repertory 11. fo. 373; Letter Book Q, fo. 214.
The havoc worked by the king's commissioners
in the city and throughout the country by the reckless
destruction of works of art was terrible. The
churches were stripped of every ornament, their walls Grey Friars Chron., 54, 55; Wriothesley. ii, 1.
In the following year (1548) the chapel of St.
Paul's charnel house was pulled down and the
bones removed into the country and reburied. From
a sanitary point of view their removal is to be commended.
There is no such excuse, however, for the
destruction of the cloister in Pardon churchyard
(April, 1549), with its famous picture of the Dance
of Death, painted at the expense of John Carpenter, the
town clerk of the city, of whom mention has already
been made. The fact was that the Protector Somerset
required material for building his new palace in
the Strand, Grey Friars Chron., p. 58. In May (1548) the duke applied to the
City for water to be laid on to Stronde House, afterwards known as
Somerset House.—Repertory 11, fos. 462b, 484; Journal 15. fo. 383b;
Letter Book Q, fo. 253b. Grey Friars Chron., p. 55. Wriothesley, ii, 29. Touching the ceremony of visiting the tomb
of the Bishop of London, to whom the citizens were indebted for the
charter of William the Conqueror, see chap. i, p. 35.De profundis
at the bishop's tomb.
Nor can the civic authorities themselves be altogether
acquitted of vandalism. They destroyed the
churches of St. Nicholas Shambles and St. Ewin, and
sold the plate and windows, but the proceeds were
distributed among the poor. Letter Book Q, fos. 232, 234b; Repertory 11, fos. 356, 415, 431,
444b, 511b. "Item, at this same tyme [circ. Sept., 1547] was pullyd up alle the
tomes, grett stones, alle the auteres, with stalles and walles of the qweer
and auters in the church that was some tyme the Gray freeres, and solde
and the qweer made smaller."—Grey Friars Chron., p. 54.
At Easter, 1548, a new communion service in
English took the place of the mass. "At Ester followyng there began the commonion, and confession
but of thoys that wolde, as the boke dothe specifythe."—Grey Friars
Chron., p. 55; The Guildhall college, chapel and library were restored to the
City in 1550, by Edward VI, on payment of £456 13 Repertory 11, fo. 493b. -Cf. Wriothesley (Camd. Soc, N.S., No. 20), ii, 2.s. 4d.,—Pat. Roll
4 Edward VI, p. 9m. (32) 20; Letter Book R, fo. 64b.Id., fo. 455. (431 pencil mark); Letter Book Q, fo. 237. "This
yeare in the Whitson holidaies my lord maior [Sir John Gresham]
caused three notable sermons to be made at Sainct Marie Spittell,
according as they are kept at Easter.... And the sensing in
Poules cleene put downe."—Wriothesley, ii, 2, 3. The processions
were kept up in 1554, "but there was no sensynge."—Grey Friars
Chron., p. 89.
The people were at this time extremely distracted
by the various and contradictory opinions of their
preachers; and as they were totally incapable of judging
of the force of arguments adduced on one side or
the other, but conceived that everything spoken from
the pulpit was of equal authority, great confusion and
perplexity of mind ensued. In order to "tune the - Grey Friars Chron., pp. 59, 62. Occasionally the chronicler is
overcome by his feelings, and cries out, "Almyghty God helpe it whan
hys wylle ys!" Cf. Journal 15, fo. 352b; Letter Book Q, fos. 230-252b. "This
yeare [1548] the xxviiith daie of September, proclamation was made to
inhibite all preachers generallie till the kinges further pleasure. After
which daie all sermons seasede at Poules Crosse and in all other
places."—Wriothesley, ii, 6.Id., p. 67.
In the meantime great discontent had been caused
by the Protector's measures. The rich nobleman and
country gentleman said nothing, for their assent had
been purchased by gifts of church property, but the
tenants and bourgeois class suffered from increased
rents, from enclosures and evictions. Church lands
had always been underlet; the monks were easy
landlords. Not so the new proprietors of the confiscated
abbey lands, they were determined to make
the most out of their newly-acquired property. In some cases the new owners may have experienced some difficulty
in fixing a fair rent, as appears to have been the case with the City of
London and its recently acquired property of Bethlehem. When the
Chamberlain reported that the rents demanded for houses in the
precincts of the hospital were far too high, he was at once authorised
to reduce them at discretion.—Letter Book R, fo. 10b. Letter Book R, fo. 11b. Grey Friars Chron., p. 60; Wriothesley, ii, 15, 16.inter alia) to be made for
London Bridge "in case nede should requyer by reason
"of the sterrynge of the people (which God defende!)
to caste downe thother."
In the midst of these preparations there was a
lull. On the 21st day of July, being the 6th Sunday
after Trinity, came Archbishop Cranmer to St. Paul's.
He wore no vestment save a cope over an alb, and
bore neither mitre nor cross, but only a staff. He
conducted the whole of the service as set out in the
"king's book" recently published, which differed but
slightly from the church service in use at the present
day, and he administered the "Communion" to himself,
the dean and others, according to Act of Parliament.
The mayor and most of the aldermen occupied
seats in the choir. Cranmer's object in coming to the
city on that day was to exhort the citizens to obey the
king as the supreme head of the realm, and to pray the
Almighty to avert the trouble with which, for their
sins, they were threatened. Wriothesley, ii, 16, 17; Grey Friars Chron., p. 60.
Two days later (23 July) the king himself left
Greenwich and rode through the city to Westminster, Wriothesley, ii, 19.
The aspect of affairs began to look black indeed.
By the end of the month Exeter was being besieged
by the rebels, and on the 8th August the French
ambassador, taking advantage of the general distraction,
bade the Lord Protector open defiance at
Whitehall. Wriothesley, ii, 20; Grey Friars Chron., p. 61. Holinshed, iii, 982-984.
Somerset's fall was now imminent. The citizens hated him, not for his favouring the reformers, but for the injury he had caused to trade and for his having bebased the coinage still further than it had been debased by Henry VIII. His colleagues in the council, who had been pampered with gifts of church lands, were angry with him for the favour he had shown towards those who raised the outcry against enclosures, and they began to show their independence.
On the afternoon of Sunday, the 6th October,
1549, a letter was sent to the mayor subscribed by
Lord St. John, the president of the council, the earls
of Warwick, Southampton and Arundel, and other
members of the council, containing a long indictment
of the Protector's policy and conduct. He was proud,
covetous and ambitious. He had embezzled the pay
of the soldiers, with which he was building sumptuous Letter Book R, fo. 40; Journal 16, fo. 36.matériel of war
was supplied to the duke or his followers. Any
letters or proclamations coming from the Protector
were to be disregarded.
Determined not to be forestalled by his enemies;
the duke himself wrote the same day (6 Oct.) to the
mayor desiring the City to furnish him forthwith with
1,000 trusty men fully armed for the protection of the
king's person. The men were to be forwarded to
him at Hampton by the following Monday mid-day
at the latest, and in the meantime the citizens were
to take steps to protect the king and his uncle, the
duke, against conspiracy. Letter Book R, fo. 39b.
Before these letters had been despatched the
mayor and aldermen had been summoned by the
Earl of Warwick, who now took the lead against Acts of the Privy Council, ii, 331-332; Wriothesley, ii, 24-25;
Holinshed, iii, 1014; Repertory 12, pt. i, fos. 149-150.
As soon as Somerset was made aware of the
Tower being in the possession of his rivals he
removed from Hampton Court to Windsor, carrying
the young king with him, and despatched a letter to
Lord Russell to hurry thither with such force as he
could muster. Holinshed, iii, 1014-1015; Acts of Privy Council, ii, 333.
On Monday (7 Oct.) the lords of the council
sat at Mercers' Hall—they felt safer in London—and
thence despatched a dutiful letter to the king, and
another (explaining their conduct) to Cranmer. Acts of Privy Council, ii, fos. 333-336. Repertory 12, pt. i, fo. 150b. Letter Book R, fo. 40b.
On Tuesday (8 Oct.) the Common Council again
assembled in the Guildhall to meet the lords by
appointment. Rumour had been spread to the effect
that it was the intention of the lords to cause a reestablishment
of the old religion. - Acts of Privy Council, ii, 336, 337.Id., fos. 43-43b.
On Wednesday (9 Oct.) the lords met at the
house of Sheriff York, where they had dined the
previous day. Wriothesley, ii, 26. Acts of Privy Council, ii, 337-342. Letter Book R, fos. 41-42; Journal 16, fos. 37, 37b. According
to Holinshed (iii, 1017, 1018), considerable opposition was made by a
member of the Common Council named George Stadlow to any force at
all being sent by the city. He reminded the court of the evils that had
arisen in former times from the city rendering support to the barons
against Henry III, and how the city lost its liberties in consequence.
The course he recommended was that the city should join the lords in
making a humble representation to the king as to the Protector's conduct. Wriothesley, ii, 26, 27.
The adhesion of the City to the lords had in the
meanwhile added strength to their cause, many who
had at first held back now declaring themselves against
Somerset. In this manner they were joined by Lord
Chancellor Rich, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Chief Justice
Montague and others, whose signatures appear to a
proclamation issued on the 8th October setting forth
"the verye trowth of the Duke of Somersettes evell
government and false and detestable procedynges." Letter Book R, fo. 37; Journal 16, fo. 34; Wriothesley, ii, 26. Stow's "Summarie of the Chronicles of England" (ed. 1590),
p. 545; Wriothesley, ii, 27, 28. The names are given differently in the
Acts of the Privy Council, ii, 344.
At the sudden fall of one who for a short time had been all powerful—a little more than a week had served to deprive him of the protectorate and render him a prisoner in the Tower—did it cross the mind of any of the onlookers that he it was who carried away from the Guildhall Library some cartloads of books which were never returned?
There were some who looked upon Somerset's
fall as an act of God's vengeance for his having caused
Bonner to be deprived of his bishopric of London.
On the 1st September last Bonner had preached at
Paul's Cross against the king's supremacy. Information
of the matter was given to the council, and
Bonner was called upon to answer for his conduct
before Cranmer and the rest of the commissioners.
The informers on this occasion were William Latymer, Grey Friars Chron., pp. 63, 64; Cf. Wriothesley, ii, 24.
On the 17th October Edward came from Hampton
Court to Southwark Place, a mansion formerly
belonging to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, when
it was known as Suffolk House. It was now used in
part as a mint, and was occupied by Sheriff York in
his capacity as master of the king's mint. After
dinner the king knighted York in recognition of his
hospitality and his past services, an honour personal
to York and not extended to his colleague in the
shrievalty, Richard Turke. From Southwark Edward
set forth to ride through the city to Westminster,
accompanied by a long cavalcade of nobles and gentlemen,
"the lord mayor bearinge the scepter before his
maiestie and rydinge with garter kinge of armes." Wriothesley, ii, 28.
Somerset's confinement in the Tower was not of
long duration. On the 6th February, 1550, the
lieutenant of the Tower received orders to bring his Acts of Privy Council, ii, 384; Wriothesley, ii, 33.
With Warwick, who became the ruling spirit of
the council after the fall of Somerset and the abolition
of the protectorate, religion was a matter of supreme
indifference, and for a time it was uncertain whether
he would favour the followers of the old religion or
the advanced reformers. He chose to extend his
patronage to the latter. The day after Somerset's
release from the Tower, Bonner was again brought
from the Marshalsea, where he had been roughly used, For more than a week he had been compelled to lie on nothing
but straw, his bed having been taken away by order of the knight
marshal for refusing to pay an extortionate fee.—Grey Friars Chron.,
p. 65. Thomas Thurlby, the last abbot of Westminster, became the first
and only bishop of the see. Upon the union of the see with that of
London Thurlby became bishop of Norwich. Among the archives of
the city there is a release by him, in his capacity as bishop of Westminster,
and the dean and chapter of the same, to the City of London
of the parish church of St. Nicholas, Shambles. The document is dated
14 March, 1549, and has the seals of the bishopric and of the dean and
chapter, in excellent preservation, appended. For objecting to the prescribed vestments, he was committed to
the Fleet by order of the Privy Council, 27 Jan., 1551, and was not
consecrated until the following 8th March.—Hooper to Bullinger,
1 Aug., 1551 ("Original Letters relative to the English Reformation." ed.
for Parker Society, 1846, p. 91).
For some time past the City had experienced
difficulty in exercising its franchise in the borough of
Southwark. That borough consisted of three manors,
known respectively as the Guildable Manor, the
King's Manor and the Great Liberty Manor. Their respective boundaries are set out in the Report of Commissioners
on Municipal Corporations (1837), p. 3. Charter dated 6 March, 1 Edward III. Charter dated 9 Nov., 2 Edward IV. Letter Book Q, fos. 239b-241b.
At length the city agreed (29 March, 1550) to make
an offer of 500 marks for the purchase of the rights of
the Crown in Southwark, Letter Book R, fo. 58b. Dated 23 April, 1550. A fee of £6 "and odde money" was
paid for the enrolment of this charter in the Exchequer.—Repertory 12,
pt. ii, fo. 458. This fee appears to have been paid, notwithstanding
the express terms of the charter that no fee great or small should be
paid or made or by any means given to the hanaper to the king's use.
According to Wriothesley (ii, 36), the "purchase" of Southwark cost the
city 1,000 marks, "so that nowe they shall have all the whole towne of
Southwarke by letters patent as free as they have the City of London, the
Kinges Place [ Wriothesley, ii, 38.s. 1d.
the king conveyed by charteri.e. Southwark Place or Suffolk House] and the two
prison houses of the Kinges Bench and the Marshalsea excepted."
It was originally intended, no doubt, that the
borough should be incorporated for all municipal
purposes with the city, and that the inhabitants of
the borough should be placed on the same footing as
the citizens. This, however, was never carried out.
Notwithstanding the fact that among the ordinances
drawn up (31 July) for the government of the
borough, Letter Book R, fo. 80; Journal 16, fo. 82b. The custom in the city was for the inhabitants of a vacant ward
to nominate four persons for the Court of Aldermen to select one. As
there were no means of enforcing the above ordinance it was repealed
by Act of Co. Co., 16 June, 1558.—Letter Book S., fo. 167b. Letter Book R, fo. 71b. The following particulars of Aylyff and
his family are drawn from the city's archives. From Bridge Ward
Without he removed to Dowgate Ward. At the time of his death, in
1556, he was keeper of the clothmarket at Blackwell Hall. His
widow was allowed to take the issues and profits of her late husband's
place for one week, and was forgiven a quarter's rent. Aylyff's son
Erkenwald succeeded him at Blackwell Hall. The son died in 1561.
After his decease he was convicted of having forged a deed. His
widow, Dorothy, married Henry Butler, "gentleman."—Repertory 13,
pt. ii, fos. 442b, 443, 461; Repertory 14, fos. 446b, 477b, 478;
Repertory 16, fo. 6b.
The alderman of the ward continued to be
nominated and elected by the Court of Aldermen
The ward of Bridge Without has never sent
representatives to the Common Council, inasmuch as
its inhabitants refused to "take up their freedom"
and bear the burdens of citizenship, and there existed no
means for forcing the freedom upon them. In 1835,
however, a petition was presented to the Common
Council by certain inhabitants of Southwark asking
that they might for the future exercise the right of
electing not only an alderman, but common council-men
for the ward, and that the ordinances of 1550
might be carried out according to their original
intention. The petition was referred to the Committee
for General Purposes, who reported to the
Common Council Printed Report. Co. Co., 20 May, 1836. See Report Committee of the whole Court for General Purposes,
with Appendix, 31 May, 1892 (Printed).
Warwick had not long taken the place of
Somerset before he found himself compelled to make
peace with France (29 March, 1550). This he accomplished
only by consenting to surrender Boulogne.
The declaration of peace was celebrated with bonfires
in the city, although the conditions under which
the peace was effected were generally unacceptable
to the nation and brought discredit upon the earl. Grey Friars Chron., p. 66. The surrender of Boulogne was "sore
lamented of all Englishmen."—Wriothesley, ii, 37. Repertory 12, pt. ii, fo. 271b; Letter Book R, fos. 74, 85b;
Journal 16, fos. 66b, 91b.
In the following year the state of the city was
rendered worse by a proposal of Warwick to debase
the currency yet more. As soon as the proposal got
wind up went the price of provisions, in spite of every
effort made by the lords of the council to keep it
down. They sent for the mayor (Sir Andrew Judd) to Letter Book R, fo. 115; Journal 16, fo. 118.
Warwick himself excited the anger of the city burgesses
by riding through the streets to see if the king's
orders against the enhancement of the price of victuals
were being carried out. Coming one day to a butcher's
in Eastcheap, he asked the price of a sheep. Being
told that it was 13 shillings, he replied that it was too
much and passed on. When another butcher asked
16 shillings he was told to go and be hanged. The
earl's conduct so roused the indignation of the butchers
of the city—a class of men scarcely less powerful than
their brethren the fishmongers—that they made no
secret that the price of meat would be raised still
more if the debasement of the currency was carried
out as proposed. Wriothesley, ii, 48. The price of living became so dear that the
town clerk and the under-sheriffs asked for and obtained from the
Common Council an increase of emoluments.—Letter Book R, fo. 117b. Wriothesley, ii, 54. Grey Friars Chron., p. 72.ipse dixit, he caused a "contrary proclamasyon"
to be issued, and "sette alle at lyberty agayne, and
every viteler to selle as they wolde and had done
before."
Warwick's increasing unpopularity raised a hope
in the breast of Somerset of recovering his lost power.
Some rash words he had allowed to escape were
carried to the young king, who took the part of
Warwick against his own uncle, and showed his
appreciation of the earl's services by creating him
Duke of Northumberland (11 Oct.). A few days later
Somerset was seized and again committed to the
Tower. Wriothesley, ii, 56; Grey Friars Chron., p. 71. Grey Friars Chron., pp. 72, 73. -Id., pp. 71, 72.
At the time of Somerset's second arrest the
Common Council and the wardens of the several
livery companies were summoned to meet at the
Guildhall to hear why the duke had been sent for the Wriothesley, ii, 57. Repertory 12, pt. ii, fo. 426; Letter Book R, fo. 157b. Wriothesley, ii, 63. Holinshed, iii, 1032.
In the meanwhile the civic authorities had been
energetically engaged in making regulations for the
hospital of the poor in West Smithfield, better known
as St. Bartholomew's Hospital, which they had recently
acquired, and in grappling with the poverty and sickness
with which they were surrounded. Instead of
trusting to the charity of those attending the parish
churches on Sunday for raising money for the poor,
the Common Council, in September, 1547, resorted to
the less precarious method of levying on every inhabitant
of the city one half of a fifteenth for the maintenance
of the poor of the hospital. Journal 15, fo. 325b; Letter Book Q, fo. 214b. Letter Book Q, fo. 237; Repertory 11, fo. 445b. Journal 15, fo. 384. Letter Book Q, fo. 261b; Journal 15, fos. 398, 401; Appendix vii
to "Memoranda of the Royal Hospitals," pp. 46-51.
In 1551 the City succeeded in obtaining another
hospital. This was the hospital in Southwark originally
dedicated to Thomas Becket, but whose patron Repertory 12, pt. ii., fos. 311, 312b. Both deeds are printed in Supplement to Memoranda relating to
Royal Hospitals, pp. 15-32.
Having thus cared for the sick and the poor, the
civic authorities next turned their attention to the
conversion of a portion of the ground and buildings
of the dissolved monastery of the Grey Friars into a
hospital for the reception and education of fatherless
and helpless children. In 1552 Sir Richard Dobbs Son of Robert Dobbs, of Batley, Yorks. Alderman of Tower
Ward. Knighted 8 May, 1552. Report, Charity Commissioners, No. 32, pt. vi, p. 75; Strype,
Stow's "Survey," bk. i, p. 176.Ob. 1556. Buried in Church of
St. Margaret Moses.—Machyn, pp. 105, 269, 349; Wriothesley, ii, 69.
There was yet another class of inhabitant to
be provided for, namely, those who either could not
or would not work. On behalf of these a deputation Among the names of those forming the deputation appears that
of Richard Grafton, whose printing house, from which issued "The
Prymer"—one of the earliest books of private devotion printed in
English as well as Latin—was situate within the precinct of the Old
Grey Friars.—Repertory 12, p. ii., fos. 271b, 272b. Strype, Stow's "Survey," bk. i, p. 176. Wriothesley, 83; Repertory 13, fo. 60. Charter dated 26 June, 1553.
The death of Edward VI took place on the 6th July, 1553, although it was not generally known until two days afterwards. By his father's will the Princess Mary became heiress to the throne. Northumberland was aware of this. He was equally aware that if Mary succeeded to her brother's crown matters might go hard with him. He therefore persuaded Edward to follow the precedent set by his father and re-settle the succession to the crown by will. He succeeded moreover in getting the late king to name as his successor the Lady Jane Grey, grand-daughter of Mary Duchess of Suffolk, the younger sister of Henry VIII, and he took the further precaution of marrying her to his own son, Lord Guildford Dudley. It was in vain that the judges and law officers of the Crown pointed out that the Act of Parliament which authorised Henry to dispose of the crown by will, in the case of his children dying without heirs, did not apply to Edward. Councillors and judges, and even Cranmer himself, were forced to signify their assent by subscribing to the will, which was dated (21 June) a fortnight only before Edward's death.
Northumberland well knew the advantage to be
got by securing the co-operation of the city in prosecuting
his scheme, so he persuaded the mayor (Sir George
Barnes), a number of aldermen (including Sir John
Gresham, Sir Andrew Judd, Thomas Offley and Sir "Letters Patent for the limitation of the Crown," sometimes
called the "counterfeit will" of King Edward VI.—Chron. of Q. Jane
and Q. Mary (Camd. Soc., No. 48), pp. 91-100. Richard Hilles to Henry Bullinger, 9 July, 1553.—"Original
letters relative to the English Reformation" (Parker Soc.), pp. 272-274.
On the 10th July the Lady Jane was brought from
Richmond and lodged in the Tower, and that same
evening was proclaimed queen at the Cross in Chepe.
The mayor took no part in the ceremony, and only
one of the sheriffs (William Gerard or Garrard)
attended the heralds. If Northumberland thought
that the citizens would favour Lady Jane merely
because she was a Protestant he was mistaken. The
proclamation was received with undisguised coldness,
and "few or none said God save her." Grey Friars Chron., pp. 78, 79.
No sooner was his back turned than the lords
of the council, seeing how matters were going, and
eager to throw off the yoke which the duke had
placed on their necks, determined upon proclaiming
Mary queen. It was necessary, however, that the
City should first be informed of their intention, and Wriothesley, ii, 88-90.Te Deum; after which the lords withdrew from the
city, leaving orders, however, for Queen Mary to be
proclaimed in other parts of the city according to
custom. The next day (20 July) they returned and
dined with the mayor, sitting in council, after dinner,
until four o'clock in the afternoon, whilst the church
bells rang all day long.
As soon as Northumberland heard of the turn
affairs had taken, he caused Mary to be proclaimed
at Cambridge, where he happened to be quartered,
"castinge up his capp after as if he had bene joyfull
of it." His simulated enthusiasm, however, availed Letter Book R, fo. 262b; Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 68. Wriothesley, ii, 90, 91; Grey Friars Chron., p. 81.
On the evening of the 3rd August Queen Mary
made her first entry into the city, accompanied by
her sister Elizabeth. She had come from Newhall,
in Essex, where a few days before she had been
presented with the sum of £500 in gold by a
deputation of the Court of Aldermen accompanied by
the Recorder. Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 69. - Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 69b. Wriothesley, 93-95.Id., fo. 70b.
A touching scene took place as Mary was about
to enter the Tower. The widow of the Duke of
Somerset, to whose policy as protector Mary had
offered a steady opposition, met the queen at the
Tower gate, and in company with the Duke of
Norfolk, Stephen Gardiner and others, who had been
confined in the Tower in the late reign, knelt down
and saluted her. Mary, in a charitable mood, kissed
each of them, claimed them as her own prisoners, and
shortly afterwards granted them their liberty. Chron. of Q. Jane and Q. Mary, p. 14; Wriothesley, ii, 95.
A week later (10 Aug.) the remains of the late
king were carried from Whitehall to Westminster and
laid in Henry the Seventh's Chapel, the service
being conducted wholly in English, the communion
taking the place of the mass, and the priests being
vested in a surplice only, in accordance with the provisions
of the Book of Common Prayer. For a short
time after Mary's accession it was thought that she
would be content if the Church were restored to the
position it was in at the time when Henry VIII died.
It was not long before the new queen shewed this
opinion to be erroneous. The Prayer Book of King
The change that was being wrought caused some
little disturbance in the city. When Doctor Bourne,
who had been put up by the queen to preach at
Paul's Cross one Sunday in August, began to pray for
the dead, and to refer to Bonner's late imprisonment,
one of his hearers threw a knife at him whilst others
called the preacher a liar. The queen was so angry
at this that she sent for the mayor and aldermen and
told them plainly that she would deprive the city
of its liberties if they could not better preserve peace
and good order within its walls. Grey Friars Chron., p. 83; Wriothesley, ii, 96-98.
A few days later she issued a proclamation in
which, whilst making no secret of her wish that
everyone would conform to the religion "which all
men knew she had of long tyme observed, and ment,
God willing, to contynue the same," she deprecated
men calling each other heretic or papist, but willed
that everyone should follow the religion he thought
best until further orders were taken. Chron. of Q. Jane and Q. Mary, p. 24. Letter Book R, fo. 270; Journal 16, fo. 261b.
Lest any disturbance should arise on the following
Sunday (20 Aug.), when Bishop Gardiner's chaplain
was to preach at Paul's Cross, the queen sent the
captain of the guard with 200 men, who surrounded
the pulpit, halberd in hand. The mayor, too, had
ordered the livery companies to be present "to
herken yf any leude or sedicious persons made any
rumors"—a precaution which much pleased the
queen. Wriothesley, ii, 99, 100; Holinshed, iv, 3.
When Michaelmas-day (the day on which the
election of the new mayor for the ensuing year was
to take place) came round, the choice of the citizens
fell upon Sir Thomas White. Citizen and Merchant Taylor. Son of William White, of Reading,
and formerly of Rickmansworth. Founder of St. John's College,
Oxford, and principal benefactor of Merchant Taylors' School. Alderman
of Cornhill Ward; when first elected alderman he declined to
accept office and was committed to Newgate for contumacy (Letter
Book Q, fo. 109b; Repertory 11, fo. 80b). Sheriff 1547. Knighted
at Whitehall 10 Dec., 1553 (Wriothesley, ii, 105). His first wife, Avice
(surname unknown), died 26 Feb., 1588, and was buried in the church
of St. Mary Aldermary. He afterwards married Joan, daughter of
John Lake and widow of Sir Ralph Warren, twice Mayor of London.
Ob. 11 Feb., 1566, at Oxford, aged 72.—Clode, "Early Hist. Guild of
Merchant Taylors," pt. ii, chaps. x-xii; Machyn's Diary, pp. 167,
330, 363.
The day after the election of the new mayor
the queen passed through the city from the Tower
to Whitehall for her coronation. The streets presented
their usual gay appearance on this occasion,
and the queen was made the recipient of the Journal 16, fo. 261; Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 74b. Grey Friars Chron., p. 84.
When Mary appeared before her first parliament Met in October, 1553. The names of the city's representatives
are not recorded. The Court of Aldermen, according to a custom then
prevalent, authorized the city chamberlain to make a gift of £6 13s. 4d.
to Sir John Pollard, the Speaker, "for his lawfull favor to be borne
and shewed in the parlyment howse towardes this cytie and theyre
affayres theire."—Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 92.
In the meanwhile the aged Cranmer and the
youthful Lady Jane Grey—she "that wolde a been
qwene"—her husband and two of her husband's
brothers had been brought to trial at the Guildhall Grey Friars Chron., p. 85; Wriothesley, ii, 104; Chron. Q. Jane
and Q. Mary, p. 32. There is preserved in the British Museum a small
manual of prayers believed to have been used by Lady Jane Grey on
the scaffold. The tiny volume (Harl. MS., 2342) measures only
3-1/2 inches by 2-3/4 inches, and contains on the margin lines addressed to
Sir John Gage, lieutenant of the Tower, and to her father, the Duke
of Suffolk.
The ostensible cause of the rebellion was the
queen's determination at all hazards to marry Philip,
whose ambassadors arrived at the opening of the new
year (1554). The civic authorities had been warned
to treat them handsomely, a warning which was
scarcely necessary, for the citizens have never allowed
political differences to interfere with their hospitality;
and accordingly one of the ambassadors was lodged
at Durham Place, near Charing Cross, another at the
Duke of Suffolk's house hard by, whilst a third
shared apartments with the chancellor "Nigro"
(Philip Negri) in Sir Richard Sackville's house at
the conduit in Fleet Street. To each and all of
the guests the City sent presents of wax, torches,
flour and every kind of meat, game and poultry. Journal 16, fo. 283. Chron. of Q. Jane and Q. Mary, 35. Wriothesley, ii, 106.
Steps were taken for putting the city into a proper
state of defence. The civic companies were ordered
to set watches as on similar critical occasions, and
no gunpowder, weapons or other munitions of war
were allowed to be sent out of the city. Chains were
set up at the bridge-foot and at the corner of New
Fish Street. The borough of Southwark was called
upon to provide eighty tall and able men, well
harnessed and weaponed, for the safeguard of the
queen's person and of the city, Repertory 13, pt. i, fos. 116, 116b, 117, 117b, 119-122b. Wriothesley, ii, 107.
Whatever faults Queen Mary had, she was by no
means deficient in courage. On the same day (1 Feb.)
that Wyatt appeared with his forces at Southwark, Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 121. Foxe's "Acts and Monuments," vi, 414-415; Holinshed, iv, 16.
In the meantime the Spanish ambassadors had
taken fright at Wyatt's approach and had "sped
themselves awaie by water, and that with all hast." Holinshed, iv, 15. Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 124.
In response to the queen's speech the citizens at
once set to work to raise a force of 1,000 men for the
defence of the city, the mayor and aldermen each in
his own ward taking a muster. So busy was everyone
on Candlemas-day (2 Feb.) that the civic
authorities omitted to attend the afternoon service at
St. Paul's, and the mayor's serving-men waited upon
him at dinner ready harnessed. Wriothesley, iii, 109. Stow.
The defensive precautions taken by the mayor
and aldermen were sufficient to prevent Wyatt making
good his entry into the city by Southwark and London
Bridge. Foiled in this direction he sought to approach
the city from another side, but had to march as far as
Kingston before he could cross the Thames. Many
of his followers in the meantime deserted him. Foxe's "Acts and Monuments," vi, 415. Grey Friars Chron., p. 87. Chron. of Q. Jane and Q. Mary, p. 43; Wriothesley, iii, 107, 108. Grey Friars Chron., p. 87.
The failure of the revolt was fatal to Lady
Jane Grey, and she was beheaded within the Tower
(12 Feb.) almost at the same time that her husband
was being executed outside on Tower Hill. By the
strange irony of fortune, it fell to the lot of Thomas
Offley to perform the duties of sheriff at Dudley's
execution, although he had himself been one of the
supporters of the Lady Jane in her claim to the crown.
For the next few days the city presented a sad
spectacle; whichever way one turned there was to be
seen a gibbet with its wretched burden, whilst the
city's gates bristled with human heads. Machyn, 45. The gibbets remained standing till the following
June, when they were taken down in anticipation of Philip's public
entry into London.—Chron. of Q. Jane and Q. Mary, 76. Grey Friars Chron., p. 89.
On the 17th February proclamation was made
for all strangers to leave the realm, on the ground
that they sowed the seeds of their "malycyouse
doctryne and lewde conversacioun" among the queen's
good subjects; Journal 16, fo. 283; Letter Book R, fo. 288. Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 131.
A report having got abroad in the city that the
lords of the council had endeavoured to extract a
confession from Wyatt implicating the Princess Elizabeth
in the late rebellion, the mayor was ordered
by Bishop Gardiner to bring up the originator of the
rumour before the Star Chamber. When Sir Thomas
White appeared with the culprit, one Richard Cut by
name, a servant to a grocer in the city, he was soundly
rated by Gardiner for not having himself punished the
offender, and when he replied that the party was
there present for the Star Chamber to deal with
according to its pleasure, was again rebuked:—"My
lord, take heed to your charge, the Citie of London
is a whirlepoole and a sinke of evill rumors, there
they be bred, and from thence spred into all parts
of the realme." Holinshed, iv, 26. Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 153; Letter Book R, fo. 293.
The suppression of the revolt left Mary at liberty
to carry out her matrimonial design. But before
accomplishing this she was determined to place such
a garrison in or near London as should prevent similar Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 130; Journal 16, fo. 284b. Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 138b. - -Id., fos. 142b, 146b.Id., fo. 147.
That Wyatt still had friends in the city is shown
by the bold attitude taken up by the jury in the
trial (17 April) of one of his accomplices, Nicholas
Throckmorton, against whom they brought in a Wriothesley, ii, 115. Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 186b. - Howell's "State Trials," i, 901, 902; Chron. of Q. Jane and
Q. Mary, p. 75.Id., fo. 190b.
A parliament which met in April (1554) It sat from 2 April until 5 May.—Wriothesley, ii, 114, 115. The
city returned the same members that had served in the last parliament
of Edward VI, namely, Martin Bowes, Broke the Recorder, John Marsh
and John Blundell. Journal 16, fo. 295b. Repertory 13, pt. i, fos. 165, 166, 166b, 170.
Mary rode down to Winchester to meet Philip, Chron. of Q. Jane and Q. Mary, p. 77. - Journal 16, fo. 263. Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 191. A full account of the pageants, etc.,
will be found in John Elder's letter.—Chron. of Q. Jane and Q. Mary,
Appendix Id., p. 78.X.
A curious incident is related in connection with
the royal procession through the city. The conduit
in Gracious Church Street, which had been newly
painted and gilded, bore representations of the "nine
worthies," and among them Henry the Eighth and
Edward the Sixth. Instead of carrying a sword or
mace like the rest, Henry had been portrayed with a
sceptre in one hand and a book bearing the inscription
Chron. of Q. Jane and Q. Mary, pp. 78-79.Verbum Dei in the other. This catching the eye of
Bishop Gardiner as he passed in the royal train, he
was very wroth and sent for the painter, asked him
by whose orders he had so depicted the king, called
him "traitor" and threatened him with the Fleet
In November (1554) a new parliament Martin Bowes, of the old members, alone continued to sit for the
city, the places of the other members being taken by Ralph Cholmeley,
who had succeeded Broke as Recorder; Richard Grafton, the printer;
and Richard Burnell. Chron. of Q. Jane and Q. Mary, 82; Wriothesley, 122. Repertory 13, part i, fo. 111b. - Journal 16, fo. 300. Bishop Braybroke, nearly two centuries
before, had done all he could to put down marketing within the sacred
precincts, and to render "Paul's Walk"—as the great nave of the
cathedral was called—less a scene of barter and frivolity.Id., fo. 193.
The mayor and aldermen endeavoured to set a
good example by constant attendance at the services
and by joining in processions at St. Paul's as in former
days. Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 251b. In 1558, a man convicted of breaking this law was ordered to
ride through the public market places of the city, his face towards the
horse's tail, with a piece of beef hanging before and behind him, and a
paper on his head setting forth his offence.—Repertory 13, fo. 12b. Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 193; Letter Book S, fo. 119b.
Nevertheless the attempt to restore the old
worship within the city was often met with scornful
mockery, sometimes attended with violence. A dead
cat, for instance, was one day found hanging in
Cheapside, its head shorn in imitation of a priest's
tonsure, and its body clothed in a mock ecclesiastical
vestment, with cross before and behind, whilst a piece
of white paper to represent a singing-cake was placed
between its forefeet, which had been tied together.
Bonner was very angry at this travesty of religion,
and caused the effigy to be publicly displayed at
Paul's Cross during sermon time. A reward of twenty
marks was offered for the discovery of this atrocious
act, but with what success we do not know. Journal 16, fo. 285b; Letter Book R, fo. 290b; Repertory 13,
pt. i, fo. 147; Wriothesley, ii, 114.
On another occasion, when the Holy Sacrament
was being carried in solemn procession through
Smithfield on Corpus Christi-day (24 May), an attempt
was made to knock the holy elements out of the
hands of the priest. The offender was taken to Grey Friars Chron., p. 89. - - -Id., p. 95.Id., ibid.Id., p. 78n.
By the opening of 1555 her own strong personal
will had overcome the conciliatory policy of her
husband, who was content to restrain his fanaticism
within the limits of expediency, and the Marian
persecution commenced. On the 25th January a
proclamation was issued in the name of the king and
queen, and bearing the signature of William Blackwell,
the town clerk of the city, enjoining the lighting of
bonfires that afternoon in various places in token of
great joy and gladness for the abolition of sundry
great sins, errors and heresies which lately had arisen
within the realm of England, and for the quiet renovation
and restitution of the true Catholic faith of Christ
and his holy religion. Journal 16, fo. 321b. Wriothesley, ii, 126; Grey Friars Chron., p. 94. Wriothesley, ii, 126n; Grey Friars Chron., pp. 56, 57, 95.
Few weeks passed without the fire claiming some
human victim either in London or the provinces.
On the 9th February Thomas Tomkins, a godly and
charitable weaver of Shoreditch, and William Hunter,
a young London apprentice, were with four others
condemned to the stake. The two named met their
fate in Smithfield, one on the 16th March and the
other on the 26th. The rest were removed into
Essex and there consigned to the flames, three of
them in March and one in the following June. Foxe's "Acts and Monuments," vi, 717, 737, 740, vii, 114, 115.
In October Bishops Latimer and Ridley were
burnt at Oxford. "Be of good comfort, Master
Ridley, and play the man"—cried Latimer encouragingly
to his fellow sufferer—"we shall this day light
such a candle, by God's grace, in England as I trust
shall never be put out." In March of the following
year (1556) Cranmer, after some display of weakness,
suffered the same fate, on the same spot, and with no
less fortitude. And thus for two years more the fires
were kept alive in London and in the country; the "Item the vth day of September [1556], was browte thorrow
Cheppesyde teyd in ropes xxiijti tayd together as herreytkes, and soo
unto the Lowlers tower."—Grey Friars Chron., p. 98.
Throughout Mary's reign the strife between the
citizens and merchant strangers was renewed. She
had herself added to the evil by her marriage with
Philip, causing the city to be flooded with Spaniards,
who took up their abode in the halls of the civic
companies. "At this time [Aug., 1554] there was so many Spanyerdes in
London that a man shoulde have mett in the stretes for one Inglisheman
above iiij Spanyerdes, to the great discomfort of the Inglishe nation.
The halles taken up for Spanyerdes."—Chron. Q. Jane and Q. Mary, p. 81. - Repertory 13, pt. i, fo. 205b. By an order in council, dated Greenwich, 13 March, 1555, the
merchants of the Steelyard were thenceforth to be allowed to buy cloth
in warehouses adjoining the Steelyard, without hindrance from the
mayor. The mayor was ordered to give up cloth that had been seized
as foreign bought and sold at Blackwell Hall. He was, moreover, not
to demand Repertory 13, pt. ii, fos. 399b, 404, 406; Letter Book S, fos. 70, 93b. Repertory 13, pt. ii, fo. 508b. Wheeler's "Treatise of Commerce" (ed. 1601), p. 100. Repertory 13, pt. ii, fos. 507b, 520b, 540. Repertory 13, pt. ii, fo. 529. - -Id., ibid.quotam salis of the merchants, who were to be allowed to
import into the city fish, corn and other provisions free of import.—Repertory
13, pt. ii, fo. 384b; Letter Book S, fo. 76.Id., fo. 526b.Id., fo. 534b.
In the meantime the disposition of the queen
towards heretics became more relentless in proportion
as her temper became more soured from ill-health, by
disappointment in not having off-spring, and by the
increasing neglect of her by her husband. Tired of Repertory 13, pt. ii, fo. 420. Stafford had issued a proclamation from Scarborough Castle declaiming
against Philip for introducing 12,000 foreigners into the country,
and announcing himself as protector and governor of the realm. He
was captured by the Earl of Westmoreland and executed on Tower
Hill 28 May.—Journal 17, fo. 34b; Letter Book S, fo. 127b; Holinshed.
iv, 87; Machyn's Diary, p. 137. Journal 17, fo. 37b; Letter Book S, fo. 131. Journal 17, fos. 37b, 38; Letter Book S, fo. 131b. Machyn, p. 142.casus belli, and Henry was proclaimed an
open enemy (7 June, 1557).
The citizens of London at once began to take
stock of their munitions of war. On the 22nd
June the Chamberlain was instructed to prepare with
all convenient speed four dozen good Repertory 13, pt. ii, fo. 517. "London fond v.c. men all in bluw cassokes, sum by shyppes
and sum to Dover by land, the goodlyst men that ever whent, and best
be-sene in change (of) apprelle."—Diary, p. 143. Merchant Taylor, son of William Offley, of Chester; alderman of
Portsoken and Aldgate Wards. Was one of the signatories to the
document nominating Lady Jane Grey successor to Edward VI, and
was within a few weeks (1 Aug.) elected sheriff. Knighted with alderman
William Chester, 7 Feb., 1557. His mansion-house was in Lime
Street, near the Church of St. Andrew Undershaft. Repertory 13, pt. ii, fos. 521b, 522; Letter Book S, fo. 134.splentes andsallettes or sculles for the city's
use, and to cause a bowyer to "peruse" the city's
bows and to put them in such good order that
they might be serviceable when required.Ob. 29 Aug, 1582.—Machyn,
pp. 125, 353; Index to Remembrancia, p. 37, note. Fuller,
who erroneously places his death in 1580, describes him as the "Zaccheus
of London" not "on account of his low stature, but his great charity
in bestowing half of his estate on the poor."—Fuller's "Worthies,"
p. 191.
On the last day of July the queen informed the
civic authorities by letter of the departure of her
"deerest lord and husband" to pursue the enemy in
France, and desired them to get in readiness 1,000
men, a portion of whom were to be horsemen, well
horsed and armed, and the rest to be archers, pikes
and billmen. The force was to be ready by the Journal 17, fo. 54b.
The Court of Aldermen was taken aback at such
a demand coming so soon after the setting out of the
previous force, and on the 4th August it instructed the
Recorder and one of the sheriffs to repair to the
queen's council "for the good and suer understandyng
of her majesty's pleasure" in the matter. The deputation
was further instructed to remind the lords of the
council not only of the ancient liberties and franchises
of the city on the point, but also of the city's lack of
power to furnish a number of men exceeding any it
had ever been called upon to furnish before. Repertory 13, pt. ii, fo. 530. Repertory 13, pt. ii, fos. 530, 532, 522b, 535; Journal 17, fo. 54.
The defeat of the French king at St. Quentin
was celebrated in the city by a solemn procession
to St. Paul's, in which figured the mayor and aldermen
in their scarlet gowns. Machyn, p. 147.
In December a Spaniard named Ferdinando
Lygons was commissioned to raise 300 mounted
archers in the city of London and county of Middlesex. Repertory 13, pt. ii, fo. 571. Journal 17, fo. 55. See Appendix. They were ordered in the
first instance to be forwarded to Dover by the 19th Jan. at the latest, but
on the 6th Jan. the Privy Council sent a letter to the mayor to the effect
that "albeit he was willed to send the v Journal 17, fo. 56. Wriothesley, ii, 140. Order of the Court of Aldermen, 10 Jan.—Repertory 13, pt. ii,
fo. 582. Repertory 13, pt. ii, fo. 582b; Precept to the Companies.—Journal
17, fo. 56b. Journal 17, fo. 57. So furious was this storm, lasting four or five
days, that "some said that the same came to passe through necromancie,
and that the diuell was raised vp and become French, the truth
whereof is known (saith Master Grafton) to God."—Holinshed, iv, 93. Journal 17, fo. 7. Repertory 14, fo. 1b; Journal 17, fo. 58; Machyn, 164. Journal 17, fos. 59, 59b; Letter Book S, fos. 154b, 155.c men levied in London to
Dover, forasmuch as it is sithence considered here that they may with
best speede be brought to the place of service by seas, he is willen to
sende them with all speede by hoyes to Queenburgh, where order is
given for the receavinge and placing of them in the shippes, to be
transported with all speede possible."—Harl. MS. 643, fo. 198; Notes
to Machyn's Diary, p. 362.Hast, Hast Post,
Hast, For lief, For lief, For lief, For lief! demanding
the full contingent of 1,000 men.
Mary succeeded in March in raising a loan in the
city of £20,000 (she had asked for 100,000 marks or
£75,000 Cal. State Papers Dom. (1547-1580), p. 100; Wriothesley, ii,
140, 141. Stat. 5 and 6, Edward VI, c. 20, which repealed Stat. Repertory 14, fo. 15b; Journal 17, fo. 63. A large portion of
this loan was repaid by Elizabeth soon after her accession.—Repertory 14,
fos. 236b, 289.37, Henry
VIII, c. 9 (allowing interest to be taken on loans at the rate of ten per
cent.) and forbade all usury. This Statute was afterwards repealed
(Stat. 13, Eliz., c. 8) and the Statute of Henry VIII re-enacted. The
dispensation granted by Mary was confirmed in 1560 by Elizabeth.—Repertory
14, fo. 404b.tottyd" against
each of them towards the loan. The smaller companies
were to attend in the afternoon of the same
day in order to be informed of the sums the Court of
Aldermen deemed fit that each should contribute to
assist their wealthier brethren. The total amount subscribed
by the greater companies was £16,983 6s. 8d.,
of which the Mercers contributed £3,275. The lesser
companies subscribed £1,310, in sums varying from
£30 to £500.
It is probable that Mary wanted this loan to
enable her to prosecute the war. The country was Repertory 14, fos. 94b, 96b.
The accession of Elizabeth, after the gloomy
reign of her sister, was welcomed by none more joyfully
than by the citizens of London, who continued
to commemorate the day with bonfires and general
rejoicing long after the queen had been laid in her
grave. The commemoration was eventually put down by the Stuarts as
giving rise to tumults and disorders.—Journal 49, fo. 270b; Luttrell's
Diary, 17 Nov., 1682. Son of Roger Leigh, of Wellington, co. Salop, an apprentice of
Sir Rowland Hill, whose niece, Alice Barker, he married. Buried in
the Mercers' Chapel. By his second son, William, he was ancestor of
the Lords Leigh, of Stoneleigh, and by his third son William, grandfather
of Francis Leigh, Earl of Chichester.—Notes to Machyn's
Diary, p. 407. "The order of the sheryfes at the receyvyng of the quenes
highenes in to Myddlesex."—Letter Book S, fo. 183; Repertory 14,
fo. 90b.
The Court of Common Council (21 Nov.) agreed
to levy two fifteenths on the inhabitants of the city
for the customary present to be given the new queen
on her passing through the city to her coronation,
which was to take place on the 15th January following,
as well as for defraying the costs of pageants on
the occasion. Letter Book S, fo. 182b; Journal 7, fo. 101b. Repertory 14, fos. 97, 98. - -Id., fo. 99.Id., fo. 102b.
A curious instance of a strike among painters is
recorded at this time. The painters of the city, we
are told, utterly refused to fresh paint and trim the
great conduit in Cheap for the coronation for the sum
of twenty marks. This being the case, the surveyors
of the city were instructed to cause the same to be
covered with cloth of Arras having escutcheons of the
queen's Arms finely made and set therein, and the
wardens of the Painters' Company were called upon Repertory 14, fo. 103b.
The main object which Elizabeth kept before her
eyes, from first to last, was the preservation of peace—peace
within the Church and without. Her natural
inclination was towards the more ornate ritual of the
Roman Church, but the necessity she was under of
gaining the support of the Protestants, whom even the
fires of Smithfield had failed to suppress, inspired
restraint. All her actions were marked with caution
and deliberation. From the day of her accession
religious persecution in its worst form ceased. Non-conformity
was no longer punished by death. Preachers
who took advantage of the lull which followed the
Marian persecution and resumed disputatious sermons,
as they did more especially in the city, were silenced
by royal proclamation, Dated 27 Dec., 1558.—Journal 17, fo. 106b.
Parliament met in January, 1559, and at once
acknowledged the queen's legitimacy and her title to
the crown, an acknowledgment which she had failed
to obtain from the Pope. An Act of Uniformity was
passed forbidding the use of any form of public prayer
other than that set out in the last Prayer Book of
Edward VI, amended in those particulars which
savoured of ultra-Protestantism. The same parliament
On the following Whitsunday (14 May) Divine
Service was conducted in the city in English according
to the Book of Common Prayer. Wriothesley, ii, 145. - Repertory 4, fo. 213b.Id. ibid.
The success of Elizabeth's policy was unfortunately
marred by the excess of zeal displayed by
the reformers. More especially was this the case in
the city of London. Had the inhabitants bent their
energy towards putting down the disgraceful trafficking
that went on within the very walls of their
cathedral church, shutting up gambling houses, and
stopping interludes and plays which made a jest of
religion, instead of leaving such abuses to be corrected
by royal proclamation, Journal 17, fos. 120b, 168; Repertory 14, fo. 152; Letter Book T,
fo. 82b. "In some places the coapes, vestments, and aulter clothes, bookes,
banners, sepulchers and other ornaments of the churches were burned,
which cost above £2,000 renuinge agayne in Queen Maries time"
(Wriothesley, ii, 146; Proclamation, dated 19 Sept., 1559.—Journal 17, fo. 267; Letter
Book T, fo. 5b.Cf. Machyn, p. 298). Among the churchwarden
accounts of the parish of St. Mary-at-Hill for the year 1558-1559 there
is a payment of one shilling for "bringing down ymages to Romeland
(near Billingsgate) to be burnt."
In the meantime the state of affairs with France
and Scotland demanded Elizabeth's attention. The
marriage of Mary Stuart with the Dauphin of France
had taken place in April, 1558, and the sudden death
of Henry II of France by an accident at a tournament
had soon afterwards raised her and her husband to
the throne. Mary now assumed the arms and style of
Queen of England, and the life-long quarrel between
her and Elizabeth was about to commence. By the
end of the year (1559) Mary had collected a sufficient
force at her back to render her mistress of Scotland.
In the following January a French fleet was ready
to set sail. Nevertheless Elizabeth refused to take
any active measures to meet the enemy and to prevent
them effecting a landing. On the 6th she caused
proclamation to be made for French subjects to be
allowed perfect freedom as in time of peace, but
English vessels were to be held in readiness "untill yt
maye appeare to what ende the greate preparaciouns
of Fraunce do entende." Journal 17, fo. 184b. Proclamation, dated 24 March, 1560.—Journal 17, fo. 223b. In April the city was called upon to furnish 900 soldiers, in May
250 seamen, and in June 200 soldiers.—Repertory 14, fos. 323, 336,
339b, 340, 340b, 344b; Journal 17, fos. 238b, 244. It is noteworthy
that the number of able men in the city at this time serviceable for war,
although untrained, was estimated to amount to no more than 5,000.—Journal
17, fo. 244b.
In 1561 Mary, who had declined to recognise the
treaty of Edinburgh from the first, returned to Scotland,
in spite of Elizabeth's prohibition, and soon succeeded
in drawing over many Protestants to her side. In the
following year an opportunity offered itself to Elizabeth
for striking a blow at her rival—not in Scotland,
but in France. A civil war had broken out between
the French Protestants—or Huguenots, as they were
called—and their Catholic fellow-subjects, and Elizabeth
promised (Sept., 1562) to assist the leaders of
the Huguenots on condition that Havre—or Newhaven,
as the place was then known—was surrendered
to her as security for the fulfilment of a promise to
surrender Calais. The queen (23 July, 1562) applied
by letter to the City of London for a force of 600 men
to be held in readiness to march at a moment's notice.
She had determined, the letter said, to put the sea
coast into a "fencible arraye of warre." Journal 18, fos. 57-60b. The livery companies furnished the men
according to allotment. The barber-surgeons claimed exemption by
statute (32 Henry VIII, c. 42), but subsequently consented to waive
their claim. The city also objected to supplying the soldiers with
cloaks.—Repertory 15, fos. 110b, 113. Journal 18, fo. 66; Machyn, pp. 292, 293. Journal 18, fo. 71.
In 1563 a peace was patched up, and the Catholics
and Huguenots united in demanding from Elizabeth
the restoration of Havre. The queen refused to
surrender the town, and again called upon the City of
London to furnish her with 1,000 men for the purpose
of enabling her to secure Havre, and to compel the
French to surrender Calais as promised. The queen to the mayor and corporation of London, 30 June, 1563.—Journal
18, fo. 124. Repertory 15, fo. 258. - - The queen to the mayor, 2 Aug., 1563.—Journal 18, fo. 140.
Precept of the mayor.—Id., fo. 259.Id., fo. 263.Id., fo. 136; Repertory 15, fo. 279b; Machyn's
Diary, p. 312.
On the 8th July the City was informed by letter
from the queen that the French had already commenced
the siege of Havre, and was asked to have
400 out of the 1,000 men ready to set sail with Lord
Clinton by the 16th. Journal 18, fo. 128. - Repertory 15, fo. 265b.Id., fo. 119b.
Before the end of July Havre was lost. Machyn, 312. Journal 18, fos. 139, 139b, 142, 151b, 152b, 154, 156b, 184, 189b.
With the sickness was associated, as was so often the case, a scarcity of
food.—Repertory 15, fos. 127, 133b, 138, 168, 178, 179b, etc. The
rate of mortality increased to such an extent that a committee was
appointed for the purpose of procuring more burial accommodation.—Repertory
15, fos. 311b, 313b, 333. Proclamation dated 1 Aug., 1563.—Journal 18, fo. 141.
The approaching end of the war with France is
foreshadowed by an order of the Court of Aldermen
(25 Nov., 1563) touching the re-delivery to the various
civic companies of the "harness" which they severally
provided for the war, and which had been forwarded
from Portsmouth and was lying in the Guildhall
Chapel. Repertory 15, fo. 284b. Journal 18, fo. 249. - Journal 18, fos. 214, 215, 227, 291b, 354b; Holinshed, iv, 224.Id., fo. 190b.
The period of peace and tranquillity which
ensued enabled the citizens to bestow more attention
on their own affairs. Their cathedral stood in urgent
need of repairs. Its steeple had been struck by
lightning in 1561, and 3,000 marks had already been Journal 17, fos. 320, 321, 331b; Letter Book T, fos. 42, 42b;
Repertory 14, fo. 491b. The fire caused by the lightning threatened
the neighbouring shops, and their contents were therefore removed to
Christchurch, Newgate and elsewhere for safety.—Journal 17, fo. 319b;
Letter Book T, fo. 42. Repertory 15, fos. 474, 478. Repertory 16, fos. 227, 241b, 274; Letter Book V, fo. 108b. Repertory 16, fos. 303b, 448. Among the Chamber Accounts of
this period we find an item of a sum exceeding £4 paid for "Cusshens
to be occupied at Powles by my L. Maioth the payment of any more mony towards
the sayd work."r and thaldermen, vz:—for
cloth for the uttorside lyning of leather feathers and for making of
theym as by a bill appearth."—Chamber Accounts, Town Clerk's Office,
vol. i, fo. 50b.
The rapid increase of commerce under the
fostering care of Elizabeth rendered the erection of
a Burse or Exchange for the accommodation of
merchants "to treate of their feate of merchandyzes"
a pressing necessity. The matter had been mooted
thirty years before, but little had been done beyond
ascertaining the opinion of merchants as to the most
convenient site. Journal 13, fos. 417, 420, 435, 442b, 443. Cotton MS., Otho E, x. fo. 45; Journal 14, fos. 124, 124b. By Sir Richard's first wife Audrey, daughter of William Lynne, of
Southwick, co. Northampton. Sir Thomas is supposed to have been
born in London in 1519. Having been bound apprentice to his uncle,
Sir John Gresham, he was admitted to the freedom of the Mercers'
Company in 1543. Married Anne, daughter of William Ferneley, of
West Creting, co. Suffolk, widow of William Read, mercer. The queen's business kept him so much abroad that her majesty
wrote to the Common Council (7 March, 1563) desiring that he might
be discharged from all municipal duties.—Journal 18, fo. 137. Printed in Burgon's "Life of Gresham," i, 409.Cf. Burgon's "Life of Gresham,"
i, 31-33.
It was not long before Gresham made up his
mind that London should have a Burse, and in May,
1563, the Court of Aldermen deputed Lionel Duckett,
who was also a mercer, to sound Gresham as to "his
benevolence towards the makyng of a burse." Repertory 15, fo. 237b. Burgon, ii, 30-40. Repertory 15, fos. 406b, 407.
Difficulties at once presented themselves in finding
a site. It was originally proposed to obtain from
the Merchant Taylors' Company a plot of land
between Lombard Street and Cornhill, but the company
refused to part with the property and a new site
had to be chosen. Repertory 15, fos. 410b, 412. - Repertory 16, fos. 31b, 32b, 43b; Letter Book V, fos. 5, 7b, 8,
17, 21b. The amount of subscriptions and charges is set out in a "booke"
and entered on the City's Journal (No. 19, fos. 12-20; Journal 18. fo. 398.Id., fos. 417b, 431.Cf. Letter Book
V, fos. 70b-79); see also Repertory 16, fo. 126.
It is curious to note the strong foreign element
in connection with the building of Gresham's Burse.
The architect as well as the design of the building came
from abroad. The clerk of the works (Henryk) Repertory 16, fo. 316. Repertory 16, fo. 406b. Repertory 15, fo. 268b. Repertory 16, fo. 229.
By the 22nd December, 1568, the Burse was so far complete as to allow of merchants holding their meetings within its walls, but it was not until the 23rd January, 1571, that the queen herself visited it in state and caused it thenceforth to be called the Royal Exchange. Her statue which graced the building bore testimony to the care and interest she always displayed in fostering commercial enterprise.
On the door of a staircase leading up to a "pawne"
or covered walk on the south side of the building
there had been set up the arms and crest of Gresham
himself, which some evilly disposed person took it
into his head to deface. A proclamation made by
the mayor (16 Feb., 1569) for the apprehension of the
culprit does not appear from the city's records to
have proved successful. "A proclamacioun concernyng the cutting of the crest conyzans and
mantell of the arms of S Journal 20, pt. ii, fo. 341.r Thomas Gresham."—Journal 19, fo. 150b;
Letter Book V, fo. 222.
In 1574 the Court of Aldermen appointed a
committee to confer with Gresham touching the
"assurance" of the Royal Exchange. Repertory 18, fo. 362. "Law and Practice of Marine Insurance," by John Duer, LL.D.
(New York, 1845), Lecture ii, p. 33. At the present day the form of policy used at Lloyds and commonly
called the "Lloyd's policy" contains the following clause:—"and
it is agreed by us the insurers, that this writing or policy of
assurance shall be of as much force and effect as the surest writing or
policy of assurance heretofore made in Lombard Street or in the Royal
Exchange or elsewhere in London."—Arnould, "Marine Insurance"
(6th ed.), i, 230. Repertory 18, fo. 362b. Cal. State Papers Dom. (1547-1580), p. 523.
In order to put an end to the frequent disputes
which arose in the Royal Exchange among merchants
on matters of insurance, the Court of Aldermen
appointed two of their number to consider the difficulty
and to report thereon. They made their report
to the court on the 29th January, 1577. Repertory 19, fos. 166b, 168. The reader is here reminded that there is an essential difference
between life policies and fire or marine policies of assurance. The latter,
being policies of indemnity, recovery can be had at law only to the
extent of the actual damage done, whereas in life policies the whole
amount of the policy can be recovered.
On Sundays and holy days the Exchange was
enlivened during a portion of the year with the music
of the city waits, who were ordered by the Court of
Aldermen (April, 1572) to play on their instruments
as they had hitherto been accustomed at the Royal
Exchange, from seven o'clock till eight o'clock in the Repertory 17, fo. 300. Repertory 19, fo. 150.
The citizens of London are indebted to Sir
Thomas Gresham for something more than their
Royal Exchange. By will dated 5th July, 1575,
proved and enrolled in the Court of Husting, Cal. Wills, Court of Hust., London, ii, 698. Printed Report "Gresham College Trust," 29 Oct., 1885.inter alia) for the maintenance
of seven lectures on the several subjects of Divinity,
Astronomy, Music, Geometry, Law, Physic and
Rhetoric. In 1596 these two corporate bodies came
into possession of the property, and in the following
year drew up ordinances for the regulation of the
various lectures. According to the terms of Gresham's
will the lectures were delivered at Gresham House.
When Gresham House, which escaped the Fire of
London, became dilapidated, the City and the
Company on more than one occasion petitioned
Parliament for leave to pull it down and to erect
another building on its site. The proposal, however,
was not entertained, but in the year 1767 an Act was
In the meantime Protestantism had been gaining
ground in England as well as on the continent.
Many who in the evil days of the Marian persecution
had sought refuge in Switzerland and Germany had
returned to England as soon as they were assured of
safety under Elizabeth, and had introduced into the
country the religious tenets of Calvin they had learnt
abroad. Elizabeth found herself confronted not only
by Catholics but by Puritans. As she felt herself
seated more strongly on the throne she determined
to enforce more strictly than hitherto the Act of
Uniformity. In 1565 the London clergy were ordered
to wear the surplice and to conform in other particulars.
Between thirty and forty of them—and those
the most intelligent and active of them—refused and
resigned their cures. Their congregations supported
them, and thus a large body of good Protestants were
driven into opposition. But there all action against
them ceased. It was otherwise with the Protestants
on the continent, where a determination arrived at in
the same year that Elizabeth enforced the Act of Uniformity,
to suppress heresy, led to the most horrible
Of the hundreds of foreigners who sought this
country, driven from France or Spain by religious
persecution, A return made in 1567 by the livery companies of foreigners
residing in the city and liberties gives the number as 3,562.—Repertory
16, fo. 202. Another authority gives the number as 4,851, of which
3,838 were Dutch.—Burgon's "Life of Gresham," ii, 242, citing Haynes,
p. 461. Burgon's "Life of Gresham," ii, 271-275.
The influx of refugees from the continent was
far from being an unmixed blessing. Whilst some
settled peacefully down and taught the London artizan
the art of silk-weaving, others betook themselves to
the river's side, where they defied the civic authorities. Repertory 16, fo. 164. Journal 19, fo. 116. Precept of the mayor to that effect, 19 Oct., 1568.- Repertory 16, fo. 451. Journal 19, fo. 180; Letter Book V, fo. 245. Letter Book V, fo. 246. Holinshed (iv, 234) and others give the
whole credit of providing the cemetery to the liberality of Sir Thomas
Rowe, the mayor.Id., fo. 132b.
In the course of time the persecuted Netherlanders
took heart of grace, encouraged by the gallant
conduct of the Prince of Orange, their leader, no less
than by the active assistance and sympathy of their
brethren in England, who were continually passing to
and fro with munitions of war, in spite of proclamations
to the contrary. Proclamation (15 July, 1568) against suspected persons landing in
England or returning "with any furniture for mayntenaunce of ther
rebellion or other lyke cryme" against the King of Spain.—Journal 18,
fo. 115; Green, "Hist. of the English People," ii, 418.Cf. Letter Book V, fos. 181, 246b.
The decline of Antwerp which followed Alva's
administration marks the foundation of London's
supremacy in the world of commerce. Hitherto the
queen had been accustomed through Gresham, her Repertory 15, fos. 162, 164, 166b, 241b, 258, 267b, 297, etc. Strype, Stow's "Survey" (ed. 1720), bk. i, p. 283.
As another means of raising money Elizabeth had
resort to a lottery—the first public lottery ever held
in London, although the game called "The Lott" was
not unknown in the city in the reign of Henry VIII. Journal II, fo. 253. Journal 19, fos. 55-58; Letter Book V, fos. 115b-117b. Price's "London Bankers" (enlarged edition), p. 51. Letter Book V, fo. 139.God preserve the Cytye of London quod M and A.
Any profit that might arise from the lots was to be
equally divided between them.
The livery companies of the city were also invited
to subscribe to the lottery as well as the Company of
Merchant Adventurers. Cal. State Papers Dom. (1547-1580), p. 314.
Clode, "Early Hist. of the Guild of Merchant Taylors," pt. ii, pp. 229-230.
The "reading" of the lottery was postponed till
the 10th January, 1569. Journal 19, fo. 133b. Holinshed, iv, 234. "Mesmes j'entendz que de la blanque, qu'on a tirée ces jours
passés en ceste ville, ceste Royne retirera pour elle plus de cent mille
livres esterlin, qui sont 33,000 escuz; de quoy le monde murumre assés
pour la diminution qu'ilz trouvent aulx bénéfices qu'ilz esperoient de
leurs billetz"—wrote De la Motlie Fénélon, the French ambassador in
London.—Cooper's "Recueil des Dépéches, etc., des Ambassadeurs de
France (Paris and London, 1838-1840)," i, 155.
Before the close of 1568 Alva had severed the
last links connecting England with the Low Countries
by suddenly seizing and imprisoning all English merchants
found at Antwerp on the ground that certain
Spanish treasure-ships had been detained in England.
Such conduct on his part was characterized by
Elizabeth as "verie straunge and hertofore in no tyme
used betwixt the Crowne of England and the House
of Burgondye w Proclamation, 6 Jan., 1569.—Journal 19, fo. 139; Letter Book V,
fo. 210. See letter from Sir Arthur Champernowne, William Hawkins and
others to the lords of the council. 1 Jan., 1569.—Cal. State Papers
Dom. (1547-1580), p. 326.t owt some manner of former conferrence
proceedyng and intelligence had of the
myndes and intentions of the prynces themselves
on both sides," and she forthwith issued a proclamation
for the seizure of Spanish vessels and
merchants found in English ports by way of reprisal.
On the 5th January the mayor received orders
from Sir Nicholas Bacon to seize all Flemings' goods
to the queen's use, inasmuch as it was quite possible
that what had taken place in Flanders had been
done without the King of Spain's commission. The
following day the mayor informed the council that he
had arrested the bodies and goods of certain merchant
strangers in the city. Cal. State Papers Dom. (1547-1580), p. 326. Cotton MS., Galba C, iii, fo. 151b. This letter was signed by
John Gresham, Thomas Offley, John White, Roger Martyn, Leonell
Duckett, Thomas Heaton, Richard Wheler, Thomas Aldersey and
Francis Beinson.
"First, we doe thinck it very needfull and necessary
that wth all possible speed the bodies, shipps
and goodes of all the subiects of the said king be
had under arrest, and their bodies to be sequestred
from their houses, comptinghouses, books, warehouses
and goods; and they themselves to be
committed unto severall and sure custodie and
keeping. And that alsoe comission may be granted
to sage persons to enquire and trie out all coulorable
transports and contracts don since the XXth of
December last by any of the subiects of the saidtes aucthorite
forthwth for the avoiding of collorable bargaines,
transports and contracts hereafter to be made."
Thomas Rowe Citizen and Merchant Taylor: Alderman of the Wards of Portsoken
and Bishopsgate; Sheriff, 1560-61. Letter printed (from original among State Papers Dom.) in
Burgon's "Life of Gresham," ii, 287.Ob. 2 Sept., 1570. Buried
in Hackney Church. He bestowed the sum of £100 for the relief
of members of his company "usinge the brode shire or ell rowinge of
the pearch or making of garmentes" during his lifetime, and some
landed estate in the city by his will for like purpose.—Letter Book V,
fo. 274b; Cal. of Wills, Court of Husting, ii, 686.
Towards the end of January, 1569, the Duke of
Alva sent over an agent, Monsieur D'Assoleville, to
demand the restitution of the treasure. The mayor
deputed John Gresham and another to escort the Sir Thomas Rowe, mayor, to Secretary Cecil. 23 Jan., 1569.—Cal.
State Papers Dom. (1547-1580), p. 329; Burgon's "Life of
Gresham," ii, 295-296. - Cooper's "Dépêches, etc., des Ambassadeurs de France,"
i, 176-177. Burgon's "Life of Gresham," ii, 297.Id., 25 Jan.
That such a large amount of treasure should be
lying idle did not commend itself to the mind of so
astute a financier as Sir Thomas Gresham. He
accordingly suggested to Sir William Cecil by letter
(14 Aug., 1569) that the queen should cause it to be
minted into her own coin, and thereby make a profit
of £3,000 or £4,000. As for repayment, her majesty
could effect it by way of exchange, to her great profit,
or give bonds for a year or more to the merchants
who owned the money, and who, in Gresham's opinion,
would willingly accede to such proposal. Lansd. MS., No. xii, fo. 16b. -Id., fo. 22.
The hardships already experienced by Spanish
merchants from stoppage of commercial intercourse
with England must have been materially increased the
following year by an order of the Court of Aldermen
(11 July, 1570) to the effect that all matters and suits
brought by merchant strangers, subjects of the King
of Spain, in any of the Queen's Majesty's Courts
within the city of London for the recovery of a
debt should be stayed, and no manner of arrest or
attachment allowed until further notice, unless the
stranger suing were a denizen or a member of the
Church. Repertory 17, fo. 36b.
By proclamation made the last day of June, 1570,
English merchants who had suffered loss by Alva's
proceedings were desired to make a return of such
loss to the officers of one or other of the cities or
towns of London, Southampton, Bristol, Chester,
Newcastle, Hull or Ipswich, as they should find it
most convenient, Journal 19, fo. 247b; Letter Book V, fo. 301. Journal 19, fo. 257. - Journal 19, fo. 390b. Add. MS., No. 5, 755, fo. 58.put into mundum,"Id., fo. 390b.
To add to the queen's difficulties, Mary, who had
been deposed from the throne of Scotland and had
sought shelter in England, was importuning her for
assistance for the recovery of her lost crown. Whilst
Elizabeth hesitated either to replace her rival in power
or to set her at liberty, the Earls of Northumberland
and Westmoreland endeavoured to carry out a scheme
for marrying Mary to the Duke of Norfolk and forcing
Elizabeth to acknowledge her as successor to the
crown of England. The Duke of Norfolk obeyed
the queen's summons to attend the court, and was
committed to the Tower (Oct., 1569). In the following year he was removed to the Charterhouse, but
being discovered in correspondence with the deposed Queen of Scots was
again placed in the Tower. He was tried and convicted of treason, and
after some delay executed on Tower Hill.—Holinshed, iv, 254, 262, 264,
267. The proclamation, which is set out in Journal 19, fo. 202b (Cf.
Letter Book V, fo. 267b), gives in detail the rise and progress of the
rebellion.
The same day that the earls were proclaimed
traitors the Mayor of London issued his precept to
the several aldermen, enjoining them to take steps
for safe-guarding the city and taking into custody all
rogues, masterless men and vagabonds. Journal 19, fo. 202; Letter Book V, fo. 267. Journal 19, fo. 202; Letter Book V, fo. 267. Letter Book V, fo. 269. Journal 19, fo. 206b; Letter Book V, fo. 270b; Repertory 16,
fo. 522b.th a jerkyn and a paire of gally sloppes of broadth flaske and
tuchebox, a moryan, a sworde and a dagger."
Although the rising in the north had failed, the
Catholics were not without hope. They were
encouraged by the issue of a Papal Bull excommunicating
Elizabeth and absolving her subjects from
their allegiance. This Bull was affixed to the door of
the Bishop of London's palace by a man named John
Felton. The queen was alarmed. She believed that
the long-threatened union against her of the Catholic
powers had at length been effected. Felton was
seized and tried at the Guildhall. He was found Holinshed, iv, 254.
The defeat of the Turkish fleet at Lepanto by
Don John of Austria (7 Oct., 1571) was commemorated
two days later in London by a thanksgiving service
at St. Paul's, - From Hertfordshire, alderman of Billingsgate Ward. Dated 8 Nov.—Journal 19, fo. 370b. Holinshed, iv, 263. Repertory 17, fos. 8b, 23, 27b, 29. 243, etc.; Repertory 19, fos.
24b, 154, etc.; City Records known as "Remembrancia" (Analytical
Index), pp. 51-55.Id., 262.
Whilst the Low Countries were winning their
way to freedom from the Spanish yoke, and France
was suffering the horrors of Saint Bartholomew's
day (24 Aug., 1572), England remained tranquil, and
the city merchant had little cause to complain,
except, it might be, on account of the number of
strangers who rivalled him in his business. Stranger denizens, carrying on a handicraft in the city, had
recently preferred a Bill in Parliament against several of the livery
companies. They were persuaded, however, to drop it, and refer their
grievance to the Court of Aldermen.—Repertory 17, fos. 302b, 335,
337. A return made by the mayor (10 Nov., 1571) of the strangers
then living in London and Southwark and liberties thereof gives the
total number as 4,631.—Cal. State Papers Dom. (1547-1580), p. 427. Repertory 17, fo. 372.
So long as the Spanish king turned a deaf ear to
the exhortations of the Pope, and refused to make a
descent upon England, Elizabeth was able to cope
with Catholicism at home by peaceful measures. But
the time was approaching when she could no longer
refuse to give practical assistance to her struggling
co-religionists on the continent. The Netherlands
had for some time past been preparing for open revolt
against the barbarous government of Alva. In 1572 a
party seized Brill, and thus laid the foundation of the
Dutch Republic. It wanted but the active adhesion of
Elizabeth to enable the French to drive the Spaniards
out of the country, but this the queen was as yet unwilling
to give. Two years later (1574) she offered
her services to effect an understanding between Spain
and the Netherlands, but her mediation proved futile.
Both in 1572 and 1574 there are signs of military
preparations having taken place in the city. In the
first mentioned year Elizabeth held a review of the
city troops in Greenwich Park. Journal 19, fos. 407-408b, 417-417b; Repertory 17, fos. 292,
298b, 307, 308. Journal 20, pt. i, fos. 133b, 143b; Repertory 18, fo. 224b. Journal 20, pt. i, fo. 156b.
If one thing more than another was calculated
to precipitate a rupture between England and Spain it Journal 20, pt. i, fo. 252; Id., pt. ii, fo. 280b.
In June, 1575, the queen borrowed a sum of
£30,000 from the citizens on security. Journal 20, pt. i, fos. 228b, 239. Repertory 19, fo. 98. Journal 20, pt. ii, fo. 371. He was removed by order of Common Council, 13 Dec., pre
diversis magnis rebus dictam civitatem et negotia ejusdem tangentibus.—Journal
20, pt. ii, fo. 376b.
In February, 1578, the City was called upon to
provide 2,000 arquebusiers. Refusal was useless,
although an attempt was made to get the number
reduced to 500. The mayor had scarcely issued his
precept to the aldermen to raise the men before he
received another order for 2,000 to be trained as
directed in handling and using their weapons and kept Journal 20, pt. ii, fos. 388b, 389, 394-395b. The queen to the
mayor, etc., of London, 12 March.—Cal. State Papers Dom. (1547-1580),
p. 586. Journal 20, pt. ii, fo. 409b. - Repertory 19, fo. 346b.Id., fos. 404, 408b, 412.
In the following year Casimir, Count Palatine
of the Rhine, paid a visit to England to answer a
charge brought against him by the English envoy in
Holland, of having used forces against the Netherlanders
which had been despatched from these shores
for their support. On the evening of Thursday, the
22nd January, 1579, the Count landed at the Tower,
where he was received by a party of noblemen and
others, among whom we may conjecture was the
Mayor of London and representatives of the city. This conjecture is made from the fact of a precept having been
issued on the 20th Jan. for certain persons to furnish themselves with
velvet coats, chains and horses, and a suitable suite, to wait upon the
lord mayor on the following Saturday.—Journal 20, pt. ii, fo. 404b. Burgon's "Life of Gresham," ii, 451-452. Journal 20, pt. ii, fos. 464, 480. Continuation of Holinshed, iv, 315.
In the following year the plague, which had been
very virulent towards the end of 1577, and from which
the city was seldom entirely free, appeared at Rye
(June, 1580). A twelvemonth later it was raging in City Records known as "Remembrancia" (Printed Analytical
Index), pp. 306, 330, 331, 350-352; Journal 20, pt. ii, fos. 373, 379, 407. Remembrancia (Index), pp. 207, 331, 334; Journal 21, fo. 235b.
St. Paul's Churchyard, which served as the burial
ground to no less than twenty-three city parishes,
became overcrowded and greatly added to the insanitary
condition of the city by its shallow graves.
The mayor informed the lords of the council of this
state of affairs by letter (15 May, 1582), in which he
says that scarcely any grave was then made without
exposing corpses, and that the heat of the crowds
standing over the shallow graves caused noxious exhalations.
It was currently reported at the time that
the gravediggers were the cause of the shallow graves
"as being desirous to have the infection spred that
they might gaine by burieng." Remembrancia, vol. i, No. 331.
The time was fast approaching when the queen would find herself unable any longer to maintain her frequent cry to the council board, "No war, my lords, no war!" and she began to concert measures to frustrate any attempt that might be made to attack her crown and realm by the subtle device of the Pope's emissaries or the more open hostility of Philip.
There were two ways in which the Pope and
Spain could attack England, the one by making a
descent upon the coast, the other by undermining
the loyalty of the queen's subjects by the aid of missionaries.
A descent upon the English coast was, for
the present at least, out of the question, but it was
possible to wound England by fostering insurrection
in Ireland. Accordingly, in 1579, a large force landed
at Limerick under the authority of the Pope. It
was, however, overpowered and destroyed by Lord
Grey, the lord deputy. A reference to this defeat is to be found in the Dublin Assembly
Roll under the year 1581.—"Cal. of Ancient Records of Dublin" (ed.
by John T. Gilbert, 1891), ii, 155.
Then followed the rebellion under the Earl of
Desmond, who six years before had regained his
liberty on a promise to use his influence to destroy
the Catholic religion in Ireland. Bright, "Hist. of England," ii, 539. Journal 21, fos. 19, 34, 52, 53, 69b-71b, 78b, etc.; Repertory 20,
fos. 90, 117, 117b, 119b, etc.; Remembrancia (Analytical Index),
pp. 230-236. Journal 21, fo. 329b. Among Chamber Accounts circa 1585 we find the following:—"Pd.
the x of Dec. by order of Courte to Roger Warffeld Treasuror of
Bridewell towards the conveyinge of all the Irishe begging people in
and nere London to the Citie of Bristowe v1."—Chamber Accounts,
Town Clerk's Office, vol. ii, fo. 17.
Whilst appealing to force to accomplish their
object in Ireland, the Catholics resorted to intrigue to
gain the same object in England and Scotland. For
some years past there had been a steady flow from
the continent of seminary priests, who worked silently
and secretly making converts to the old religion.
Every precaution was taken to prevent their inculcating
their dangerous opinions into the minds of the
inhabitants of the city and drawing them off from
their allegiance to the queen and to the established
Church. The aldermen were instructed to make
return of those in their ward who refused to attend Repertory 16, fo. 350. Repertory 18, fo. 167. Journal 20, fo. 219b. Journal 21, fo. 81b; Repertory 20, fo. 1b.
Under these circumstances it can scarcely be
wondered at that the government proceeded to strong Journal 21, fo. 90. - Remembrancia (Analytical Index), pp. 364, 365.Id., fos. 114b, 135, 290, 322.
These instructions Bishop Aylmer forwarded to
the lord mayor with a request for a contribution to
enable him and his associates, the dean of St. Paul's
and the dean of Windsor, to carry them into effect.
The mayor replied (6 Sept., 1581) that, as for himself,
his office was already so burdensome, both in work
and expense, that it would go hard with him if
he was called upon to pay more than any other
parishioner in a Church matter. Both he and his
brethren the aldermen were no less desirous than others
to promote the knowledge of true religion and to inculcate
obedience to the queen by lectures in the city,
but the commons would have to be consulted first. He
enclosed a list of lectures already established in the
several parishes, and drew attention to the great
yearly charge incurred by the companies and private As early as 1554 students had been supported by the Corporation
and the Companies at the Universities.—Repertory 13, fos. 144b, 148,
150b.
Hitherto the City had received no direct communications
from the Privy Council on the subject,
but three days after the date of the lord mayor's
letter to the Bishop of London the lords of the
council made a direct appeal to the mayor and
aldermen suggesting that a collection should be
made among the clergy and other inhabitants of
the city in order to "oppose the supersticion of Rembrancia, i, 250, 256 (Analytical Index, pp. 365, 366). Another
difference shortly occurred between the corporation and the Bishop of
London in October of this year. A dispute arose between them as to who
was responsible for keeping St. Paul's Cathedral in repair, each party
endeavouring to throw the burden upon the other ( Repertory 20, fo. 282.ch by the coming over of divers Jesuits
and seminarie preistes hath ben of late much increased."Id., Analytical Index,
pp. 323-327); and in the following March (1582) Bishop Aylmer found
cause to complain by letter of unbecoming treatment by the mayor, both
of the bishop and his clergy, and threatened, unless matters changed for
the better, to admonish the mayor publicly at Paul's Cross, "where the
lord mayor must sit, not as a judge to control, but as a scholar to learn,
and the writer, not as John Aylmer to be thwarted, but as John London,
to teach him and all London."—(Id., ibid., pp. 128-129).
Campion meanwhile had been arrested and subjected to cruel torture. He was eventually executed. Parsons, his companion, escaped to the continent, where he continued to carry on an intrigue against the life of Elizabeth in conjunction with Allen, who some years before had established the famous seminary at Donay for the purpose of keeping up a supply of Jesuit priests for England.
In 1583—soon after Edward Osborne Son of Richard Osborne, of Ashford, co. Kent. The story goes that
he was apprenticed to Sir William Hewet, clothworker, and that he
married his master's daughter, whom he had rescued from a watery grave
in the Thames at London Bridge. His son, Sir Edward Osborne, was
created a baronet by Charles I, and his grandson, Sir Thomas, made
Duke of Leeds in 1692 by King William III. Cal. State Papers Dom. (1581-1590), p. 157. The right of holding
musters in Southwark was again questioned; and the claim of the city
was upheld by Sir Francis Walsingham. For this he received the thanks
of the lord mayor by letter dated 15 Feb.—e strength of
ye realme to serve for martiall defence ageynst ether
rebellion or invasion,"Id., p. 159.
In April (1584) the City received orders to muster
4,000 men and to revive the military shows on the
eve of the Feasts of St. John the Baptist and St. Peter
the Apostle as accustomed to be held in the days of
Henry VIII. These displays had gradually fallen into
desuetude; it was now the queen's policy to renew
them. "A lettre from the quenes ma Contin. of Holinshed, v, 599, 600.ty for ye mustringe of 4000 men,
and also for the shewes on the evens of St. John Baptist and St. Peter
thapostles."—Journal 21, fo. 421b.
In July news arrived of the assassination of the
Prince of Orange (10 July). Englishmen well knew
that those who plotted against his life were plotting
also against the life of their queen, and with wonderful
unanimity—Catholics and Protestants alike—they Journal 21, fo. 388b.
Staggered by the sudden loss of their beloved
leader, the Netherlanders despatched envoys the
following year (1585) to England offering to acknowledge
Elizabeth as their sovereign. Upon their
arrival in London the envoys were lodged and
hospitably entertained—although not at the City's
expense—in Clothworkers' Hall, Stow's Annals (ed. 1592), pp. 1198-1201. Motley, "United Netherlands," i, pp. 318-324.
On the 9th July the mayor, Sir Thomas Pullison, For particulars of his life see Remembrancia (Analytical Index),
p. 284, note. Journal 21, fo. 448b.
Every effort was made to save Antwerp, but it
was too late. By chaffering and bargaining with the
envoys Elizabeth had lost her opportunity and
Antwerp fell (19 Aug.). She could be resolute at "Thaccompte of the saide chamberlyn for the transportacioun and
necessary provision of Motley, "United Netherlands," i, 340. Chamber Accounts, ii, 134. The earl's honor of Denbigh, North
Wales, was mortgaged to certain citizens of London, and not being
redeemed, was afterwards purchased by the queen herself.—Repertory
22, fo. 287. Repertory 21, fos. 308-311. For many years after the passing of the Act (1 Edw. VI, c. 14)
confiscating property devoted to "superstitious uses," the corporation
and the livery companies were the objects of suspicion of holding
"concealed lands," MMCCCCXX soldiers into the lowe countryes of
Flaunders."—Chamber Accounts, vol. ii, fos. 56-58b.i.e. lands held charged for superstitious uses, which
they had failed to divulge. The appointment of a royal commission
to search for such lands was submitted to the law officers of the city
for consideration, 9 Sept., 1567.—Repertory 16, fo. 276b. Vexatious
proceedings continued to be taken under the Act until the year 1623,
when a Statute was passed, entitled "An Act for the General Quiet of the
Subjects against all Pretences of Concealment whatsoever."—Stat. 21,
James I, c. ii.
The direct effect of the fall of Antwerp upon
the city of London was to flood its streets more
than ever with strangers, and on the 30th October,
1585, the mayor was once more called upon by the
lords of the Privy Council to make a return of the
number of strangers within the city, and more
especially of the number of French and Flemish
strangers that had arrived "sithens the beginninge of
the presente trobles moved by the house of Guise
in Fraunce and the rendringe of the towne of
Andwerpe." Journal 22, fo. 1. - Journal 22, fo. 37b; Repertory 21, fo. 288b.Chevalier sans peur
et sans reproche, Sir Philip Sidney—another call was
made in the city for volunteers for service in the
Low Countries,Id., fos. 26, 29.
Whilst operations, more or less active, were
being carried on in the Netherlands against Spain, a
new Catholic conspiracy against the life of Elizabeth,
with Anthony Babington at its head, was discovered
by Walsingham. The delight of the citizens
at the queen's escape drew forth from her a letter
which she desired to be read before the Common
Council, and in which she testified her appreciation
of their loyalty. The letter was introduced to the
council by some prefatory remarks made by James
Dalton, a member of the court, in which he expatiated
upon the beauties of the reformed Church Journal 22, fos. 52-53. Both the queen's letter and Dalton's
speech are printed in Stow's Continuation of Holinshed, iv, 902-904. Journal 22, fos. 48, 57b, 58; Repertory 21, fo. 327.
The discovery had also another effect: it
brought the head of Mary Stuart to the block. A
commission of peers sitting at Fotheringhay found
that the conspiracy had been "with the privitie of
the said Marie pretending tytle to the crowne of the
realme of England," and it only remained for
Elizabeth to sign the warrant for her execution to
remove for ever a dangerous rival. This, however,
the queen long hesitated to do, and when at length
prevailed upon she caused public proclamation to be
made of the reasons which induced her to take the
extreme course. Proclamation, dated Richmond, 4 Dec., 1586.—Journal 22, fo. 67b.
To add to the general gloom, England was
threatened before the close of the year (1586) with a
famine, caused partly by the inclemency of the
seasons and partly by a "corner" in wheat, which
some enterprising engrossers had managed to bring
about. Royal Proclamation against engrossers of corn, 2 Jan., 1587.—Journal
22, fo. 74. Journal 22, fo. 64. Repertory 21, fo. 370b.
After the execution of Mary Stuart, Philip of
Spain laid claim to the crown of England. For years
past he was known to have been preparing a fleet for
an invasion of the country. Preparations were now
almost complete, and in 1587 expectation was that
the fleet might be seen any day bearing down
upon the English coast. The inhabitants of villages
and towns on the south coast forsook their homes in
terror of the invasion and sought shelter inland. Journal 21, fo. 136b. Motley, "United Netherlands," ii, 281.
Preparations were in the meanwhile pushed on
in the city to meet the attack whenever it should be
made. Ten thousand men were levied and equipped
in a short space of time. Journal 22, fos. 144, 161b, 166-167b, 170b. Journal 22, fo. 190. Only 1,000 men out of the force raised by the city went to
Tilbury, and the earl only consented to receive this small contingent
on condition they brought their own provisions with them, so scantily
was the camp supplied with victuals through the queen's parsimony.—Remembrancia
(Analytical Index), p. 244. Letter from Leicester to
Walsingham, 26 July.—Cal. State Papers Dom. (1581-1590), p. 513. Leicester to Walsingham, 28 July, 1588.—State Papers Dom.,
vol. ccxiii, No. 55. William of Malmesbury bears similar testimony to the courage of
Londoners under good leadership: Repertory 22, fo. 148b.Laudandi prorsus viri et quos
Mars ipse collata non sperneret hasta si ducem habuissent.—Gesta
Regum (Rolls Series, No. 90), i, 208.
In addition to the land force the City agreed
(3 April, 1588) to furnish and fully equip for war
sixteen of the largest and best merchant ships that
could be found in the Thames, and four pinnaces to
attend on them. A list of "the London shippes" (including pinnaces), dated
19 July, 1588, is preserved among the State Papers (Domestic) at the
Public Record Office (vol. ccxii, No. 68), and is set out in the
Appendix to this work. Two other lists, dated 24 July, giving the
names of the ships (exclusive of pinnaces) are also preserved (State
Papers Dom., vol. ccxiii, Nos. 15, 16). Each of these lists give the
number of vessels supplied by the city against the Armada as sixteen
ships and four pinnaces, or as twenty ships (inclusive of pinnaces). It
is not clear what was the authority of Stow (Howes's Chron., p. 743)
for stating that the city, having been requested to furnish fifteen ships
of war and 5,000 men, asked for two days to deliberate, and then
furnished thirty ships and 10,000 men. At the same time there does
exist a list of "shipps set forth and payde upon y Journal 22, fo. 173. The assessment was afterwards (19 April)
settled at three shillings in the pound.— Journal 22, fos. 193, 200b.e charge of ye city of
London, anno 1588" (that is to say, the ships furnished by the city
for that whole year), and that list contains the names of thirty ships,
with the number of men on board each vessel and the names of the
commanders.—State Papers Dom., vol. ccxxxii, fos. 16, 16b.Id., fo. 175.
At last the blow fell. On Friday, the 19th (o.s.)
July, the Armada was sighted off the Lizard. A
strong wind from the south-west was blowing at the
time, and it was thought advisable to let the fleet
pass and to follow it up with the English vessels
then lying in Plymouth harbour. On the following
day the two fleets hove in sight of each other.
According to the report made to Walsingham by
Richard Tomson—a Londoner serving on board the
Richard Tomson to Walsingham, 30 July, 1588.—Cal. State
Papers Dom. (1581-1590), p. 517.Margaret and John, one of the ships furnished by the
City—the Spanish fleet numbered at that time 136
sail, ninety of which were large vessels, whilst the
English fleet numbered no more than sixty-seven.
Notwithstanding the great superiority of the
enemy's fleet in numbers and tonnage, the English
admiral, Lord Howard, opened fire the next morning,
but took care not to come to close quarters. "We
had some small fight with them that Sunday
afternoon," reported Hawkins to Walsingham. Hawkins to Walsingham, 31 July, 1588.—Cal. State Papers
Dom. (1581-1590), p. 517. Howard to the same, 21 July.— Sir William Wynter to Walsingham, 1 Aug., 1588.—Cal. State
Papers Dom. (1581-1590), p. 521.Id., p. 507.
At this juncture the lord mayor (Sir George
Bond), having received information of the critical
state of affairs and that a general engagement was
imminent, issued his precept to the aldermen to
summon the pastors and ministers of each ward, and
bid them call their parishioners to church by toll of Journal 22, fo. 196b. -Id., fo. 196.
After more than one consultation together, the
English commanders determined to resort to stratagem.
They sent for a number of useless hulks from Dover,
and having filled them with every kind of combustible,
sent them all aflame on Sunday night into the thick
of the enemy. The result was a panic; cables were
cut and frantic attempts made to escape what seemed
imminent and wholesale destruction. The ships fell
foul of each other; some were wrecked and others
burnt. When Monday morning dawned only eighty-six
vessels out of 124 that had anchored off Calais
thirty-six hours before could be found, and these for
the most part were seen driving towards the coast of
Flanders. The English fleet at once prepared to
follow in pursuit, but attention was for a time drawn
off to the action of the flagship of the squadron
of galeasses, a huge vessel which had become disabled
by loss of rudder, and the crew of which
were endeavouring by the aid of oars to bring
into Calais harbour. The Lord Admiral Howard at
once bore down upon her in the Tomson to Walsingham, 30 July, 1588.—State Papers Dom.,
vol. ccxiii, No. 67.Ark, but the water
proved too shallow. The London ship Margaret
and John followed suit and, although of less tonnage
than the Ark, got aground. Richard Tomson sent
This exploit being ended and the long boats having returned to their respective ships, the lord admiral started in pursuit of the Spaniards. Seeing them coming up the Spanish commander immediately prepared for action. An engagement—described by Hawkins as "a long and great fight"—took place off Gravelines and lasted six hours. The English pursued the same tactics as before, and with like success. Without losing a single ship of their own they succeeded in riddling the best Spanish ships through and through, and at last the Armada was forced to bear away towards the open sea. The English followed and made a pretence of keeping up the attack, but by this time nearly all their ammunition as well as food had given out.
From Tuesday (30 July) until the following Friday (2 Aug.) the pursuit was, nevertheless, maintained by Howard, Drake and Frobisher. On Sunday (4 Aug.) the strong south-wester which had prevailed rose to a gale, and the English fleet made its way home with difficulty. It was otherwise with the Armada. Crippled and forlorn, without pilots and without competent commander, the great fleet was driven northward past the Hebrides and eventually returned home in a decimated condition by the west coast of Ireland.
In the meantime the civic authorities took order
for receiving the sick and wounded and administering
to their comfort. Two aldermen—Sir Thomas Pullison
and Sir Wolstan Dixie—were deputed (29 July) by
their brethren to ride abroad among the innholders,
brewers, bakers and butchers of the city to see that
they did not enhance the price of provisions and that Repertory 21, fo. 578. Journal 22, fo. 200b; Cal. State Papers Dom. (1581-1590), p. 510.
It was a long time before any certain news
arrived in the city of the ultimate fate of the Armada.
There had been rumours abroad that the English fleet
had been victorious—with so many Londoners serving
in the fleet, it would have been strange indeed if their
friends at home had been kept in absolute ignorance
of what was taking place in the channel—and bonfires
had been lighted, but these rumours were often incorrect
and sometimes lead to mischief. The mayor
therefore issued his precept to the aldermen on the
30th July—the day after the engagement off Gravelines—bidding
them see that the inhabitants of their
several wards refrained from crediting any news that
might be reported of the vessels at sea but what they
received from the mayor himself. The precaution
was necessary "for the avoyding of some dislike that
may come thereof." Journal 22, fo. 197. - Journal 22, fo. 200.Id., fo. 199b.
The first public notification of the complete destruction
of the Armada was made in a thanksgiving
sermon preached by the Dean of St. Paul's on Tuesday,
the 20th August, at Paul's Cross, in the presence
of the mayor and aldermen and the livery companies
in their best gowns. Nichols' "Progresses of Q. Elizabeth," ii, 537. Journal 22, fos. 233, 235. Nichols' "Progresses of Q. Elizabeth," ii, 538, 539.
Whilst the City is justly proud of its own share
in the defence of the kingdom at this great crisis
in the nation's history, it has not neglected to give
honour where honour was most due. Of the great
naval commanders the "sea dogs" of that age—the
faces of at least two of them were familiar to the
citizens. Both Frobisher and Hawkins owned property
in the city, and in all probability resided there,
like their fellow seaman and explorer, Sir Humphrey
Gilbert, who was living in Red Cross Street, in
the parish of St. Giles, Cripplegate, in 1583, the
year that he met his death at sea. On the 7th Feb., 1583, previously to setting out on his last ill-fated
expedition, Gilbert addressed a letter to Walsingham from "his
house in Redcross Street."—Cal. State Papers Dom. (1581-1590), p. 95. See the will of Dame Margaret Hawkins, dated 23 April, 1619.—Cal.
of Wills, Court of Hust., London, ii, 745. The will contains
many bequests of articles which savour of Spanish loot. Strype, Stow's "Survey" (1720), bk. ii, p. 44.
It was well that the Spaniards suffered defeat at
sea, for had they been able to effect a landing they
would have made short work with the half-trained
and dissatisfied soldiers in the camp at Tilbury, and
London would have been at their mercy. Even the
presence of Elizabeth herself, riding on horseback
through the camp, as she did on the 8th August, was
but poor compensation to the soldiers for the want of
victuals and wages. Many sold their armour and
weapons to pay themselves as soon as the camp broke
up. Citizens of London were warned by royal proclamation
(20 Aug.) Journal 22, fo. 202b.
Notwithstanding the extreme parsimony with
which Elizabeth had fitted out both army and navy,
the cost of preparations to meet the attack of Spain
had been great, and she was obliged to borrow money.
In September (1588) the City advanced her the sum
of £30,000, receiving her bond for repayment in the
following March; and in the following December she
borrowed a further sum of £20,000 to be repaid by
the following April. Both sums were raised among
the livery companies. Journal 22, fo. 210; Repertory 21, fos. 590b, 593; Repertory 22,
fos. 15, 26b, 27; Cal. State Papers Dom. (1581-1590), p. 471.
In March of the following year (1589) parliament
granted a liberal supply, but the grant was accompanied
by a request that Elizabeth would no longer
await the assaults of Spain, but carry the war into the
enemy's country. This the queen declared her inability
to undertake on the score of poverty. She
promised, however, to give what assistance she could
to any of her subjects who relished such enterprise.
Norris and Drake were at hand, ready and willing
to undertake the work on these terms. Already
(in January) the City had been called upon to furnish
them with 400 strong and able men. Journal 22, fo. 252; Repertory 22, fo. 16b. Journal 22, fos. 227b, 278.
Again the city was threatened with danger and
disease from the presence of disbanded soldiers and
sailors, who were apt to carry their freebooting habits
wherever they went, more especially when starvation
stared them in the face. Sir Martin Calthorp did what
he could to relieve them, paying out of his own pocket
no less a sum than £100. His conduct was applauded
by the lords of the council, who authorised him to
raise a further sum towards assisting the soldiers to
their homes in the country by allowing them a half-penny
a mile. Burghley and others to the mayor, 26 July, 1589.—Journal 22,
fo. 312.
A royal proclamation was subsequently (20 Aug.)
issued promising payment of any money due to
mariners who would make a written application to the
Admiralty. Soldiers were to return to the country
where they had been pressed and apply to the justices
or other officers who pressed them, and who would
make a certificate to the lieutenant of the county,
when the soldiers would receive "reasonable contentment." - Journal 22, fo. 345b; Journal 23, fo. 79. Journal 22, fo. 314.Id., fo. 316b.
The revolution which followed the assassination
of the French king by Jaques Clements about this
time (Aug., 1589) brought fresh anxiety to Elizabeth,
who felt bound to support the Protestant Henry of
Navarre with all the means at her command, as an
indirect way of carrying on the war against Spain.
Four thousand men were to be despatched for his
assistance, 1,000 of whom the City was called upon
to supply. As they were to be picked men the lords
of the council ordered double the number, or 2,000 men,
to be got ready, in order that expert officers might
review them and select the number required. Journal 22, fo. 321b. - -Id., fo. 326.Id., fo. 321.
A further contingent of 400 men was shortly
afterwards (22 June) demanded by the queen, 300
of which were to be got ready at once. More care
than usual was to be bestowed on their selection, as
they were to be employed under the Earl of Essex, Journal 23, fos. 35, 38. July 24, 1591.—Remembrancia. i, 599 (Analytical Index, p. 408).
In the meantime the Common Council had, at
the queen's request, agreed (16 June) to fit out six
ships of war and one pinnace at a cost of £7,400, to
be levied on the companies. This sum was afterwards
raised to £8,000. Journal 23, fos. 31, 43b, 48b; Repertory 22, fo. 284b. Journal 23, fos. 68, 68b; Journal 23, fos. 325b, 383b.Cf. Cal. State Papers Dom. (1591-1594),
p. 48, where the date of the letter is given as "May."
In the meantime Spanish emissaries, disguised as
soldiers, mariners, merchants, gentlemen with comely
apparel, and even as "gallantes," decked out in Journal 23, fos. 45-46b. Journal 24, fo. 86.tie wth a high collored
face, red nose, a warte over his left eye, havinge
two greate teeth before standinge out very apparant,
he nameth himselffe Edward Harrison borne in
Westmerland, apparelled in a crane collored fustian
dublet, rounde hose, after the frenche facion, an
olde paire of yollowe knit neather stockes, he
escaped wthout either cloake, girdle, garters or
shoes."
Whilst all exportation of munitions of war, corn
and other victual into Spain or Portugal was strictly
forbidden, Proclamation, dated 16 Sept., 1591.—Journal 23, fo. 47. Journal 23, fo. 73. - Proclamations, dated 8 Jan. and 26 Sept., 1592.—Journal 23,
fos. 78b, 136. The queen to the lord mayor, 6 Jan., 1592.—Cal. State Papers Dom.
(1591-1594), p. 168. The same to the same, 25 Jan.—Journal 23, fo. 87. Journal 23, fos. 157, 167, 174, 224b; Repertory 23, fo. 29.Id., fo. 71.
This lucky windfall befell the citizens at a time
when money was sorely needed for building a pest-house
or hospital for sufferers from the plague, which
again visited the city at the close of 1592. It was in 1592 that bills of mortality, kept by the parish clerks,
were for the first time published. Journal 23, fo. 204b. Journal 23, fo. 266. -Id., fos. 400, 402.
The strain which the continuation of the war
and the threatened renewal of a Spanish invasion
imposed upon the inhabitants of London at large was
a great one, and appears to have affected the mind of
a weak and hysterical woman, Anne Burnell. She
gave out that she was a daughter of the king of Spain,
and that the arms of England and Spain were to be
seen, like -stigmata, upon her back, as was vouched
for by her servant Alice Digges. After medical examination,
which proved her statement to be "false
and proceedinge of some lewde and imposterouse
pretence," she and her maid were ordered to be
whipt,—"ther backes only beeinge layd bare,"—at
the cart's tail through the city on a market day,
"with a note in writinge uppon the hinder part of
there heades shewinge the cawse of there saide
punishmente."Id., fo. 153.
On the 16th July, 1594, the queen informed the
citizens by letter of the king of Spain having made
preparations to get possession of the harbour of
Brest, and her determination to oppose him. She
had given orders for certain companies of soldiers to
be levied in divers counties, and she called upon the
citizens to furnish her with a contingent of 450
men. They were to be well trained and supplied
with armour and weapons; their "coate and conduct
monye" would be found for them. Journal 23, fo. 290b. The number was afterwards reduced to 350
men.— Journal 23, fo. 290. - Journal 23, fo. 293. The names, tonnage and crews of the ships
are thus given (Remembrancia, ii, 26):—The Assention, 400 tons, 100
mariners; The Consent, 350 tons, 100 mariners; The Susan Bonadventure,
300 tons, 70 mariners; The Cherubim, 300 tons, 70 mariners;
The Minion, 180 tons, 50 mariners; and The Primrose, 180 tons,
50 mariners. Only one pinnace is mentioned, of 50 tons, with
20 mariners.Id., fo. 296b; Remembrancia, ii, 3, 27, 30.Id., fo. 289.
On Michaelmas-day (1594) John Spencer—"Rich
Spencer" as he was called, from his extraordinary
wealth—was elected mayor for the ensuing
year. Journal 23, fo. 323b. Chamberlain's Letters, Alderman of Tower Ward; Sheriff 1584-5; Mayor 1597.temp., Eliz. (Camd. Soc., No. 79), p. 50.
The writer was a son of Richard Chamberlain, a city alderman.
A few weeks after Spencer's confinement in the
Fleet we find him at variance with his brother aldermen
for digging a pit on his estate near "Canbury,"
or Canonbury, and thereby drawing off water which
should have gone to supply the poor of St. Bartholomew's
Hospital to his own mansion. A request was
sent to him by the mayor and Court of Aldermen
to cease the conveyance of water until further
order had been taken therein. Repertory 24, fo. 410b. Repertory 25, fo. 216b.
His daughter, who inherited her father's money,
was possessed also of some of her father's spirit, and
Lord Compton appears to have got "a warme catch"
indeed to judge from a letter she addressed to him
soon after her father's death. After reminding her
"sweete life" of the care she had ever taken of his
estate and of her excellent behaviour, she begs him
to allow her £1,600 per annum, to be paid quarterly,
besides £600 a year for charitable works. She will
have three horses for her own saddle "that none
shall dare to lend or borrow; none lend but I, none
borrow but you." She will have so many gentlemen The letter is printed in extenso in Chambers' "Book of Days,"
i, 464, and in Goodman's "Court of James I," ii, 127.
Spencer was succeeded in the mayoralty by
Sir Stephen Slaney, and the latter's year of office
proved a busy one. Spain was meditating another
descent on England "with a greate navy of shippes
by sea and huge powers of men by lande," and the
City was expected to furnish sixteen ships and 10,000
men for land service. The naval demand was
extravagant, and after some remonstrance was reduced
to one for twelve ships and two pinnaces,
with a complement of 1,200 men. Journal 24, fos. 79b, 81, 82, 82b. - Journal 24, fos. 105, 144. - Macaulay's "Essay on Lord Bacon." Journal 24, fo. 145. -s. 8d. in the pound for goods
and 4s. in the pound for lands on every inhabitant
of the city,Id., fo. 85b.Id., fo. 84b.Id., fos. 146b, 149.
In the meantime (April, 1596) the queen's
tortuous and parsimonious policy had led to Calais
falling into the hands of Spain. She had called upon
the Londoners to furnish 1,000 soldiers to assist in
raising the siege, but it is a question whether they
ever got beyond Dover. Journal 24, fos. 110-111, 129b.; Repertory 23, fo. 594b. Journal 24, fos. 124, 154b, 157b.
The necessity of recruiting the garrison of the
cautionary town of Flushing, from which troops had The queen to the mayor, 25 July; the lords of the council to the
same, 26 July.—Journal 24, fo. 142.
This constant drain on the resources of the city
at length called forth a remonstrance. The city was
being threatened with famine at the close of the year
(1596), when another demand arrived for ten ships to
be fitted out for the public service. The matter was
referred to a committee, and a reply was drawn up,
which was practically a refusal to obey the commands
of the council. Journal 24, fos. 173, 175.
It set forth the utter inability of the citizens,
however willing they might be, to supply more ships.
They had already expended on sea service alone,
and irrespective of their disbursements in 1588, no less
a sum than 100,000 marks within the last few years;
so that the lords of the council would see that the
citizens had not been wanting in good will and affection
towards] that service. The same good will still remained,
but there was lacking the like ability, owing
partly to former charges by sea and land, but more
especially to the great scarcity of victual which had
continued in the city for the past three years, and had
compelled many who had formerly been well off to
reduce their expenditure, whilst others had been
obliged to relinquish their trades and break up their
households. As a proof of the poverty existing in the
city their lordships were reminded that when wheat
was offered at a very moderate rate many were too
poor to purchase any. The wealthier sort would The same dissatisfaction at the result of the Cadiz expedition so far
as it affected the citizens of London was displayed in a previous letter
from the mayor to the lords of the Privy Council (3 Nov.) in answer to
a demand for 3,000 men and three ships to ride at Tilbury Hope and
give notice of the approach of the Spanish fleet.—Remembrancia
(Analytical Index), pp. 243, 244.thin this citie touchinge their
adventure in the late viage to the towne at Cales
[Cadiz] wch albeit it was perfourmed wth soe great
honor and happy successe as that the enemye was
greatly weakned, the army enritched and such store
of treasure and other comodities (besides that wch
was thear embeazelled) brought safe home as was
sufficient to defraye the charges of the whole voyage,
yet forasmuch as neither their principall nor any
parte thereof was restored unto them contrarie to
the meaninge of the contract set downe in writinge
under the signatures of two noble persons in her
highnes name, they are made hereby utterly unfitt
and indisposed for the like service to be done hereafter."
What was the effect of this reply does not
appear; but in one respect the queen was more than
a match for the citizens. They had pleaded scarcity
of provisions and poverty as an excuse for not
carrying out her recent orders. Very good; let the
livery companies, whose duty it was to find men
and money when required, practise a little self-restraint
in the coming summer (1597). Let them,
she said, forbear giving feasts in their halls and
elsewhere, and bestow half the money thus saved
on the poor; and the order of the Court of Aldermen
went forth accordingly. Repertory 24, fo. 60b.
For some years past it had always been feared
lest Spain should again endeavour to strike at England
through Ireland. A rising in Ulster under Hugh
O'Neill, known in England as the Earl of Tyrone, in
1594 was followed by an appeal to Spain for help in
1595. Philip acceded to the request and another
Armada was got ready; but the fleet had scarcely put
to sea before it suffered a similar fate to the Armada
of 1588 and was shattered by a storm (Dec., 1596).
The Tyrone rebellion necessitated further calls on the
City for men and money. In May, 1597, it was asked
to furnish 500 men, such as Sir Samuel Bagnall might
approve of. Journal 24, fos. 210b-213b, 216, 217. Journal 24, fos. 324b, 325, 329b; Repertory 24, fos. 268, 287,
306; Journal 25, fos. 34, 47b, 48; Repertory 24, fo. 352b. In July,
1600, a deputation was appointed to wait upon the lords of the council
touching the repayment of this loan.—Repertory 25, fo. 119b. It still
remained unpaid in Feb., 1604.—Journal 26, fo. 163b. By the end of
1606 £20,000 had been paid off.—Remembrancia (Analytical Index),
p. 188; Repertory 27, fo. 278. And by July, 1607, the whole was
repaid.—Howes's Chron., p. 890.Id. 25, fo. 4b. Elizabeth asked for £40,000, but only succeeded
in getting half that sum.—Chamberlain's Letters, p. 15.
In the meantime a report again got abroad that a
Spanish fleet was assembling at Brest for a descent on
England. On the 25th July, 1598, the lords of the
council wrote to the mayor calling upon him to see
that some twelve or sixteen vessels were provided
with ordnance and powder for the defence of the
Thames, and the court of Common Council at once
took the necessary steps for fitting out the ships as
well as for mustering a force of 3,000 men, afterwards
raised to 6,000. Journal 25, fos. 74b, 75, 77b-78b, 81, 81b, 82b-84, etc. Chamberlain's Letters, p. 59. Journal 25, fo. 79b. - Chamberlain's Letters, p. 59. Chamberlain's Letters, p. 61; Journal 25, fos. 81, 84b.Id., fos. 80, 80b.
The administration of Essex in Ireland was a
signal failure, and he made matters worse by quitting
his post without leave and forcing his presence upon
the queen. He had hoped to recover her good grace
by his unexpected appearance. Elizabeth was not
to be thus cajoled. She ordered him into custody,
deprived him of his offices, and, what was of more
importance to him, refused to renew his patent of a
monopoly of sweet wines. Although the earl soon
regained his liberty he could not forget his disgrace,
and his overweening vanity drove him to concert
measures against the government. In 1601 he rode
at the head of a few followers into the city, expecting
the citizens to rise in his favour. The mayor had, Journal 25, fo. 238. Journal 25. fo. 245; Letter Book BB, fo. 85. He was deprived of
his aldermanry of the Ward of Farringdon Without and debarred from
ever becoming alderman of any other ward "for causes sufficiently
made known" to the Court of Aldermen. Repertory 25, fos. 209b, 213. Cal. State Papers Dom. (1598-1601), p. 546. Secretary Cecil to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and others,
10 Feb., 1601.—Cal. State Papers Dom. (1598-1601), p. 547. Proclamation, dated 9 Feb., 1601.—Journal 25, fo. 240b.
A sum of £200 was distributed by the civic
authorities among the officers engaged in the city's
defence, but the two knights at Ludgate and Newgate
refused to accept any gratuity. Repertory 25, fos. 213, 246. Journal 25, fos. 242, 243, 243b. Cal. State Papers Dom. (1601-1603), pp. 16, 26, 89, 90.
Lord Mountjoy, who had succeeded Essex in
Ireland, set to work systematically to bring the
country into complete submission. The conquest
was not effected without considerable aid from the
city of London. From 1600 to 1602 the citizens
were being constantly called upon to supply fresh
forces for Ireland. Journal 25, fos. 137, 161b, 166, 179, 189, 190, 218b, 223, 237,
237b, 262b-265b, 293, 295, 301, 302b, 313b, 315; Journal 26, fos.
16b-19.
Mountjoy's work could not be carried on without
money, and Elizabeth had been compelled in 1601 to
summon a parliament to obtain supplies. Hitherto
the Puritans, who began in the early part of the
reign to gain a hold in the House of Commons, and
had gradually increased in strength, had been content,
in the presence of a common danger, to refrain from
offering any systematic opposition to Elizabeth's
government. But now that the defeat of the
Armada, the death of Philip II and the firm
establishment of Henry IV on the throne of France
had removed all danger from abroad, they began to
change front. As soon as the House met the
Commons chose Croke (or Crooke), the City's
Recorder, their Speaker, an honour which the City
acknowledged by ordering (3 Nov.) a gift of forty
marks to be made to him. Repertory 25, fo. 296b.
These were the last words addressed by the
queen to her people, and their truth was borne out by
her conduct throughout her long reign. Under her
the country had become united and prosperous. By
the citizens of London she was especially beloved, for
they always found in her a supporter of trade and
commerce. If the Hanseatic towns behaved unfairly
to the merchant adventurers Elizabeth promptly
retaliated upon the merchants of the Steelyard.
She had threatened to close the Steelyard altogether
in 1578, when English merchants were ordered
to quit Hamburg, and twenty years later (1598),
when fresh difficulties had arisen, the threat was
carried out. Repertory 24, fos. 343, 354; Repertory 25, fos. 165-175. The
Steelyard was re-opened in 1606.—Journal 27, fo. 66.
The queen rarely left London to make one of
her many gorgeous progresses from country house to
country house or returned home without some notice
being sent to the city to allow of its inhabitants taking
"the comfort of behoulding her royall persone." Letter from Sir Christopher Hatton to the mayor, 27 Nov.,
1583.—Remembrancia (Analytical Index), p. 407. Journal 26, fo. 42.
END OF VOL. I.