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_The Story of London_
_The Mediæval Town Series._
*ASSISI. By LINA DUFF GORDON. _5th Edition._
+BRUGES. By ERNEST GILLIAT-SMITH. _3rd Edition._
+BRUSSELS. By ERNEST GILLIAT-SMITH.
+CAIRO. By STANLEY LANE-POOLE. _2nd Edition._
+CAMBRIDGE. By CHARLES W. STUBBS, D.D.
+CHARTRES. By CECIL HEADLAM. _2nd Edition._
*CONSTANTINOPLE. By WM. H. HUTTON. _3rd Edition._
+DUBLIN. By D. A. CHART, M.A.
+EDINBURGH. By OLIPHANT SMEATON, M.A.
+FERRARA. By ELLA NOYES.
+FLORENCE. By EDMUND G. GARDNER. _8th Edition._
+LONDON. By HENRY B. WHEATLEY. _2nd Edition._
LUCCA. By JANET ROSS.
MILAN. By ELLA NOYES.
*MOSCOW. By WIRT GERRARE. _2nd Edition._
*NUREMBERG. By CECIL HEADLAM, M.A. _5th Edition._
+OXFORD. By CECIL HEADLAM, M.A.
PADUA. By C. FOLIGNO.
+PARIS. By THOMAS OKEY.
*PERUGIA. By M. SYMONDS and LINA DUFF GORDON. _6th Edition._
PISA. By JANET ROSS and NELLY ERICHSEN.
*PRAGUE. By COUNT LUTZOW. _2nd Edition._
+ROME. By NORWOOD YOUNG. _5th Edition._
+ROUEN. By THEODORE A. COOK. _3rd Edition._
+SEVILLE. By WALTER M. GALLICHAN.
+SIENA. By EDMUND G. GARDNER. _2nd Edition._
*TOLEDO. By HANNAH LYNCH. _2nd Edition._
+VERONA. By ALETHEA WIEL. _3rd Edition._
+VENICE. By THOMAS OKEY. _3rd Edition._
_The prices of these (*) are 3s. 6d. net in cloth, 4s. 6d. net in
leather; marked (+) 4s. 6d. net in cloth, 5s. 6d. net in leather._
[Illustration: LONDON IN 1588
(FROM WM. SMITH'S MS. IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM).]
_The Story of London=
by Henry B. Wheatley_
_Illustrated by W. H. Godfrey
K. Kimball, H. Railton etc._
[Illustration]
_London: J. M. Dent & Co.
Aldine House, 29 and 30 Bedford Street
Covent Garden W.C. 1909_
_First Edition, May 1904._
_Second Editon, August 1905._
_Third Edition, October 1909._
_All rights reserved_
To the Memory
OF A LIFE-LONG FRIEND
DANBY PALMER FRY
(_late Legal Adviser to the Local Government Board_)
I dedicate this little book as a slight expression of the debt of
gratitude I owe to him, and of the great loss I, in common with
all his friends, have suffered by his death.
I especially wish to associate his honoured name with this book because
he took the greatest interest in its evolution, and I have had the
benefit of his acumen and wide knowledge in the consideration of most
of the subjects discussed in its pages.
H. B. W.
PREFACE
'History! What is history but the science which teaches us to see
the throbbing life of the present in the throbbing life of the
past.'--JESSOPP'S _Coming of the Friars_, p. 178.
There can be no doubt that our interest in the dim past is increased the
more we are able to read into the dry documents before us the human
character of the actors. As long as these actors are only names to us we
seem to be walking in a world of shadows, but when we can realise them
as beings like ourselves with the same feelings and aspirations,
although governed by other conditions of life, all is changed, and we
take the keenest interest in attempting to understand circumstances so
different from those under which we live.
The history of London is so varied and the materials so vast that it is
impossible to compress into a single volume an account of its many
aspects.
This book therefore is not intended as a history but as, to some extent,
a guide to the manners of the people and to the appearance of the city
during the mediæval period.
An attempt is here made to put together some of the ample materials for
the domestic history of the city which have been preserved for us.
The City of London possesses an unrivalled collection of contemporary
documents respecting its past history, some of which have been made
available to us by the late Mr. H. T. Riley, and others are being edited
with valuable notes by Dr. Reginald Sharpe.
The Middle Ages may be considered as a somewhat indefinite period, and
their chronology cannot be very exactly defined, but for the purposes of
this book the portion of the mediæval period dealt with is that which
commences with the Norman Conquest and ends with the Battle of Bosworth.
It is impossible to exaggerate the enormous influence of the Norman
Conquest. The Saxon period was as thoroughly mediæval as the Norman
period, but our full knowledge of history begins with the Conquest
because so few historical documents exist before that event. Moreover,
the mode of life in Saxon and Norman London was so different that it
would only lead to confusion to unite the two in one picture.
In order, however, to show the position of the whole mediæval period in
the full history an introductory chapter is given which contains a short
notice of some of the events during the Saxon rule, and a chapter at the
end is intended to show what remains of the mediæval times were left
when Shakespeare lived and Johnson expressed his opinion of the
pre-eminent position of London.
It is necessary for the reader to bear in mind that London means the
city and its liberties up to the end of the eighteenth century. The
enlarged idea of a London in the north and the south, the east and the
west, is a creation of the nineteenth century.
The City of London is still the centre and heart of London, and the only
portion of the town which has an ancient municipal history.
Other cities have shifted their centres, but London remains as it always
was. The Bank, the Royal Exchange and the Mansion House occupy ground
which has been the 'Eye of London' since Roman times.
There is no greater mistake than to suppose that things were quiescent
during the Middle Ages, for these pages at least will show that that was
a time of constant change, when great questions were fought out.
The first seven chapters of this book refer to life in the Old Town.
Here we see what it was to live in a walled town, what the manners of
the citizens were and what was done to protect their health and morals.
The following five chapters deal with the government of the city. Some
notice is taken of the governors and the officials of the Corporation,
the tradesmen and the churchmen.
The subject of each chapter is of enough importance to form a book by
itself, and it is therefore hoped that the reader will not look for an
exhaustive treatment of these subjects. There is more to be said in each
place, but I have been forced to choose out of the materials that which
seemed most suitable for my purpose.
During the editing of this volume a vivid picture of the mediæval life
has ever been before my mind, and I can only regret that it has been so
difficult to transfer that picture to paper. I can only hope that my
readers may not see the difference between the conception and the
performance so vividly as I do myself.
In the preparation of these pages I have received the kind assistance of
more friends than I can mention here, but I wish especially to thank Mr.
Hubert Hall, Mr W. H. St. John Hope, Mr. J. E. Matthew, General Milman,
C.B., Mr D'Arcy Power, Sir Walter Prideaux, Sir Owen Roberts, Mr. J.
Horace Round, Dr Reginald Sharpe and Sir William Soulsby, C.B.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
_Introduction: Early History of London to the Norman Conquest_ 1