(M609)
On the afternoon of Saturday, the 2nd June (1660), the mayor and aldermen,
accompanied by the Recorder, waited upon the king to congratulate him on
his return and to restore to him Richmond Park, according to a resolution
of the Common Council.(1179) Speaking on behalf of the City, the Recorder
expressly declared that it was done by way of restitution and not as a
gift. He assured the king that it was well that the park had been in the
City’s hands, for they had preserved the wood, vert and game. Not to be
outdone in courtesy the king replied that "the city of London were still
loading him with their kindness, and that he looked upon the said park to
be kept for him, and that he accepted it not as restored, but as freely
given unto him by the city, and thanked them for the same."(1180)
(M610)
The early days of June were busy days for lord mayor Aleyne, to whose
house the citizens flocked in order to signify their acceptance of his
majesty’s offer of pardon.(1181) On the 5th June the mayor himself and
those aldermen who were not barred by the Statute of Indemnity and
Oblivion (12 Charles II, c. 11), subscribed a declaration of pardon,
whilst members of the Common Council took the oaths of supremacy and
allegiance pursuant to the king’s orders.(1182) Later on the master and
wardens of the livery companies, the presidents of the hospitals, the
president and governors of the Irish Society, as well as the governors of
the Merchant Adventurers and other trading companies, were called upon to
do the like.(1183)
(M611)
Sir John Weld, who had been dismissed in 1642 from the office of town
clerk(1184) for failing to attend the Common Council, a duty which he was
rendered incapable of fulfilling owing to his having been appointed at
that time high-sheriff of Shropshire, seized the opportunity of presenting
a petition to the court of Common Council (5 June) to be re-instated in
office. A committee to whom the matter was referred reported to the
council that they found that it had been by special command of the late
king that Weld had been prevented carrying out his duties, and recommended
that he should now be restored. The court, however, seemed loth to
re-instate him, and it was not until after the receipt of a letter from
secretary Nicholas and a writ of restitution had been issued that it
consented (21 Sept.) to re-admit him to office, and then only by
deputy.(1185)
(M612)
John Sadler, who held the office of town clerk at the time, was promptly
got rid of on a charge of having given judgment in "a late pretended court
of justice," and of having signed the death-warrant of Christopher Love, a
zealous Presbyterian and minister of the church of St. Lawrence, Jewry,
who had been accused of treason in 1651 and beheaded on Tower Hill in the
midst of ominous thunderings and clouds of darkness.(1186)
(M613)
On the 4th September the king wrote to the City stating that as by the
passing of the Act of Indemnity many of the aldermen were rendered
incapable of continuing in office, it was his wish that their places
should be filled by restoring those aldermen who had in times past been
removed for their allegiance to him. As many of the latter had submitted
to pay fines rather than continue in office against their conscience, he
further recommended that these fines should be returned to them.(1187)
Pursuant to the king’s wishes, the Common Council formally declared "that
Sir Thomas Adams, Sir Abraham Reynardson, Sir Thomas Soame, Sir John
Langham, Sir James Bunce and Sir Richard Browne are aldermen of this
city," and called upon them to take upon themselves the execution of their
respective places.(1188)
(M614)
One of these, Sir John Langham, then in his seventy-eighth year, wrote
from Crosby House to the Court of Aldermen asking to be excused on the
score of his advanced age. He had been, he said, laid aside about twelve
years since and imprisoned in the Tower by order of parliament(1189) (24
Sept., 1647), chiefly to prevent his being chosen lord mayor, and had been
released on the following 6th June without any effort being made on his
part. He had afterwards (7 April, 1649) been removed from office with Sir
John Gayer, Alderman Adams and "brother" Bunce by resolution of "that
remain of a House of Commons that presumed to sit as a parliament," and
others had been chosen in their stead.(1190) The Court of Aldermen acceded
to the veteran’s request(1191)
(M615)
At Michaelmas the citizens would again have placed the royalist Reynardson
in the mayoralty chair, but he excused himself on the ground of
ill-health,(1192) and the gallant Alderman Sir Richard Browne was elected
in his stead. A twelvemonth later Reynardson was dead, having passed away
on the 4th October, 1661.
(M616)
In the meantime (5 July) the king and parliament had been entertained at
dinner by the City with great magnificence. The day was unfortunately
rainy, and Pepys, who seems never to have quite forgotten that he was the
son of a tailor, and never put on a new suit of clothes without recording
the fact in his diary, remarks that the rain that day "spoiled many a fine
suit of clothes." The entertainment on this occasion took place at the
Guildhall instead of at the hall of one of the great city companies. The
mayor took the opportunity in the course of the dinner to present the king
with a "welcome cupp according to the usuall custome," as a token of
loyalty and duty. On the following day the members of the Common Council
and the masters and wardens of those companies which had advanced money to
defray the cost of the entertainment dined together in the hall, when
there was "the same musicke as was the day before at the entertainment of
his majesty."(1193)
(M617)
When the Entertainment Committee waited on his majesty to thank him for
his condescension in accepting the City’s entertainment and to crave his
pardon for whatever had gone amiss, they took the opportunity of
satisfying him on certain matters—viz., the repair of St. Paul’s and the
building a drawbridge on London bridge—about which his majesty desired to
be informed. They at the same time reported the City’s choice of Sir
Richard Browne to be major-general of the City’s forces in the place of
Monk, recently created Duke of Albemarle, who had been obliged to resign
his commission "by reason of the multiplicity of affairs in his majesty’s
service."(1194)
(M618)
On the 14th August a deputation from the Lords and Commons attended a
court of Common Council and desired a loan of £100,000 on the security of
the poll tax. The court declined to commit itself to any promise. It was
much dissatisfied, and more especially with the inequality of the poll
tax; it therefore preferred submitting the matter to a committee for
investigation before giving an answer.(1195) A committee was then and
there nominated to consider the question.
By October matters were so pressing that Charles himself wrote to the
City, insisting upon the money being advanced within ten days upon the
security of the Act for two months’ assessment about to be levied on the
whole kingdom, and out of which he solemnly promised, "on the word of a
king," that the loan, both principal and interest, should be repaid before
any other disbursements were made. The money was wanted for the purpose,
he said, of disbanding the army.(1196)
(M619) (M620)
Notwithstanding this pecuniary difficulty and the existence of certain
grievances of which the City complained, more especially the abolition of
the Court of Wards,(1197) for which the king was to receive another
£100,000 by way of compensation, the good relationship between Charles and
the City still continued; so that when a deputation waited on him with a
petition from the livery companies relative to their Irish estates, the
following gracious reply was given:—"That his majesty would perform what
his father had promised and more, and that his majesty would deny the city
nothing; that his majesty found they dealt honestly with him, and his
majesty would deny them nothing."(1198)
(M621)
Thus far all had gone well with Charles. Within a month of his first
letters from Breda he had recovered his father’s throne without shedding
one drop of blood. Of his enemies the more powerful were either in prison
or had fled the country, whilst others had paid the penalty for their
implication in the death of the late king with their own heads. Danger,
however, lurked where least expected. A small band of fanatics known by
the name of Fifth Monarchy men, who believed in the immediate coming of
Christ upon earth to rule the world, were in the habit of holding meetings
in Coleman Street. On Sunday, the 6th January, 1661, excited by a harangue
uttered by their leader, a wine-cooper named Venner, they broke out, and
with arms in their hands hurried to St. Paul’s. There they posted
sentries, and demanded of passers-by whom were they for? Upon one of them
replying that he was for King Charles, he was at once shot by the
fanatics, who cried out that they were for King Jesus. Luckily the city
was at the time in the hands of that staunch soldier Sir Richard Browne.
Upon his appearance on the scene with an armed force the rioters retreated
to Highgate, but not before they had killed at least half-a-dozen men.
During the next two days the streets were strongly patrolled; travellers
abroad were strictly examined as to the nature of their business before
being allowed to pass on their way, and suspected persons were disarmed
and compelled to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy.(1199) Every
moment the return of the rioters was expected, but Monday and Tuesday
passed and none appeared. One of their meeting houses (probably that in
Coleman Street) was ordered to be pulled down. At six o’clock on Wednesday
morning the inhabitants were aroused by hearing again the cry of the
fanatics, "The King Jesus and their heads upon the gates," as they madly
attacked the king’s life guards. Their whole number, it is said, did not
amount to much more than thirty, of whom twenty were killed, whilst Venner
and nearly all the rest were made prisoners. When questioned the prisoners
one and all refused to make any confession, saying that they would not
betray the servants of the Lord Jesus.(1200) Ten days later they expiated
their crime on the scaffold, and the lord mayor, having received orders to
seize all suspected persons in the city, proceeded to imprison a number of
Quakers. These he kept in confinement until the following March, when all
fear of further disturbance having passed away, they were
discharged.(1201)
(M622)
The Common Council passed a vote of thanks (25 Jan.) to the lord mayor and
sheriffs for their vigilant conduct during the outbreak,(1202) and
appointed a deputation to wait on his majesty to know his pleasure as to
when a day of public thanksgiving should be kept for its timely
suppression. It also appointed a committee (28 Jan.) to enquire as to the
number killed and the best means of raising money for the relief of their
widows and children.(1203)
(M623)
Having successfully paid off and disbanded the army,(1204) the king turned
his attention to paying off the navy, for which purpose he sent a
deputation from the Privy Council to the City (11 March) with a letter
asking for a speedy loan of £100,000. The city fathers at once took steps
to raise the money in the several wards, and any able inhabitant refusing
to subscribe was ordered to be reported to the lord mayor; but three days
later the king again wrote saying that, as money was coming in from the
country quicker than had been anticipated, the loan would not be
required.(1205)
(M624)
A month had scarcely passed before the Duke of Albemarle, the Earl of
Manchester, the Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Valentia, Denzill Holles, and
Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper appeared before the court of Common Council (9
April) with a letter from the king asking for another loan of £60,000. As
the City was anxious to have its rights and liberties ratified and
confirmed by a new charter, it did wisely in giving an unanimous assent to
this demand, more especially as the loan was to be made upon parliamentary
security.(1206)
(M625)
The City had other expenses to meet. The day fixed for the king’s
coronation (23 April) was drawing near, and preparations had been going on
since February.(1207) The sum of £6,000 had already been spent in
"preparing ornaments for his majesty’s passage through the city to his
coronation," and £3,000 more was wanted. The money was immediately
voted.(1208) On the 1st April the Court of Aldermen nominated twelve
citizens to assist the chief butler on the day of the coronation,(1209)
whilst the court of Common Council voted a sum of £1,000 in gold as a gift
to be made by the City to the king on that occasion.(1210)
(M626)
The old regalia having been dispersed, broken up or lost after the death
of Charles I, a commission was given to Sir Robert Vyner, alderman of the
city and the king’s goldsmith, to make a new set for the coronation of
Charles II. This was accordingly done, care being taken to follow the old
patterns as far as possible. The new regalia comprised two crowns, three
sceptres, an orb, a mace and a quantity of collars, Georges and garters
for the order of St. George. Vyner also supplied the king with plate for
new year’s gifts and for his majesty’s own use, the entire cost amounting
to over £30,000.(1211)
(M627)
On the day before the ceremony (22 April) Charles set out from the Tower
to Whitehall. The procession was one of exceptional splendour as it passed
through the streets new gravelled for the occasion.(1212) A special
gallery was erected in Cheapside for the city aldermen, as well as a
triumphal arch.(1213) Pepys, who dearly loved a gala day as affording him
an excuse for putting on new finery, was lost in admiration at the sight
which presented itself to his eyes as he viewed the procession from the
windows of "Mr. Young’s, the flagmaker," in Cornhill, and declared it to
be "impossible to relate the glory of this day, expressed in the clothes
of them that rid and their horses and horse-clothes." The mayor himself
was provided with a crimson velvet gown for the occasion.(1214)
(M628) (M629)
The coronation ceremony was carried out the next day with all the
customary formalities, and the evening was given up to bonfires and
fireworks, not to mention also a considerable amount of tippling. Even
Pepys himself was obliged to confess that he got to his bed only "pretty
well." There was but one accident worth mentioning during the entire day.
Sergeant Glyn, who had formerly been the City’s Recorder, and had
afterwards been raised to the Bench, was nearly killed by his horse
falling on him whilst riding in the cavalcade with Maynard, another
eminent lawyer. Had they both been killed the populace (we are told) would
have only looked upon it as a judgment of a just God for their action
under the Commonwealth.(1215)
(M630)
Meanwhile the Convention Parliament had been dissolved and a new one
summoned to meet in May (1661). When the elections took place there was a
hot contest in the city between Presbyterians and Episcopalians, resulting
in the discomfiture of the latter, "who went away cursing and swearing and
wishing they had never come."(1216) One writer describes the election as
having been "the greatest appearance that ever the oldest men alive
saw."(1217) Great efforts were made to obtain the re-election of those who
had served the city in the last parliament.(1218) Unfortunately their
names are not known to us with any certainty. The successful candidates
consisted of three aldermen, viz., William Thompson, William Love and John
Fowke and Captain John Jones. Thompson and Love are described as "godly
men and of good parts, Congregationalists," Captain Jones as "a
Presbyterian man," and Fowke as one "not much noted for religion, but a
countenancer of good ministers," and as "deeply engaged in Bishop’s
lands."(1219) Pepys,(1220) who lived in the heart of the city, was himself
surprised at the "strange election," and at the discomfiture of the
Episcopalian party, "that thought themselves so strong. It do so make
people to feare it may come to worse by being an example to the country to
do the same. And, indeed, the bishops are so high that very few do love
them."
(M631)
Others besides Pepys recognised the effect likely to be produced in the
country by the example set by London; and those who, unlike Pepys, were of
a Presbyterian turn of mind freely expressed their hopes that the keynote
of the election struck by the City would be taken up by the country at
large. "God has overruled the hearts of men and heard the prayers of his
people in the city election, though the Episcopals were high and thought
to have the day; a precedent is given to the whole country," writes a
contemporary to a friend.(1221) "The city of London has set a good
example," writes another.(1222) Another expresses a hope that "other
places will be encouraged by the example of this to choose sober and
moderate men for parliament men"; whilst another declares "the city was
very unanimous and courageous in its choice," and that "if the country do
the same, profaneness and superstition will no longer prevail, but Godly
magistrates and ministers be settled in every place."(1223)
(M632) (M633)
That the court party were afraid of the effect that the result of the city
election would have upon the rest of the kingdom, where elections were
still going on, is evidenced by the fact that these letters just cited, as
well as numerous others despatched to various parts of the country with
details of the election, were intercepted at the post office.(1224)
Neither the hopes of the one party nor the fears of the other as to the
effect of the City’s choice of members upon others were destined to be
realised to the extent anticipated. The electors proved loyal, and the
members returned to the new parliament which met on the 8th May were for
the most part too young to remember the tyranny of the Stuarts.
(M634)
The new parliament agreed that neither House could claim the command of
the militia nor lawfully make war upon the king. Act after Act was passed
against those who refused to conform to the Established Church. Before the
close of the year (1661) the Corporation Act received the assent of both
Houses.(1225) Thenceforth no one was to be allowed to hold any municipal
office unless he renounced the covenant, took the oath of non-resistance,
and received the Sacrament according to the rites of the Church of
England. By thus excluding Nonconformists (or "Dissenters," as they began
now to be called) from municipal corporation, parliament indirectly
excluded them from seats in the House of Commons.
(M635)
On the 9th July the Common Council approved of the presentation of a
petition to the king for a confirmation of the City’s charter.(1226) The
time was not inopportune, inasmuch as a "free and voluntary present" to
Charles had recently been set on foot,(1227) and the maxim of _do ut des_
was one well understood between the City and the Crown. It is not
surprising, therefore, that on the 17th an Order in Council was passed to
the effect that the lord treasurer should assure the City that his majesty
was highly sensible of their loyalty and affection, and would renew their
charter with additions if desired and found fit.(1228) The lord chancellor
happening to be in the city one day (8 Aug.) on the business of the "free
and voluntary present," the civic authorities embraced the opportunity of
urging him to press their suit with the king, whereupon "it pleased my
lord chancellor to express much affection and forwardness to this great
concernment of the city," and he promised to see the king on the matter
that same evening, and to get the attorney-general, who was about to leave
town, to defer his journey if the City would at once forward its old
charter to Mr. Attorney for the purpose of renewal. This the Common
Council readily agreed to do.(1229) In spite, however, of the exertions of
the lord chancellor and of the City, no renewal of the charter of Charles
I was obtained until nearly two years had elapsed.
(M636)
In October the mayor, aldermen and recorder attended his majesty in
council, by request, when Charles repeated the promise made in his letter
from Breda not to diminish or alter the rights of the City; but at the
same time he informed them of his intention to make one exception, _pro
hac vice_, by removing four or five of the aldermen who had been "faulty
in the late troubles," and of putting others "of known worth and ability"
in their places. He promised also to safeguard the City’s interest in the
Act then pending in parliament relative to corporations.(1230) The City
could not do otherwise than submit,(1231) and the king carried out his
threat. The commissioners who had been appointed under the Great Seal to
"regulate" the Corporation removed at least two of the aldermen, viz.,
Tempest Miller, of Candlewick ward, and William Love, of Portsoken, who
had recently been elected one of the city’s representatives in parliament,
their places being filled up by Sir Thomas Rich and Sir Thomas Bludworth,
the king’s own nominees.(1232)
(M637)
Pending the negotiations for a renewal of the City’s charter, the
Presbyterians of the city and their ultra-radical brethren the Fifth
Monarchy men again caused disquietude. The latter had been "scotched not
killed" after Venner’s outbreak: "they are as bold in their meetings as
before Venner’s plot; Fifth Monarchy men preach and visit with
Presbyterians, and encourage the people to withstand the common prayer and
the oppression and idolatry of the court."(1233) The mayor had recently
succeeded in breaking up a meeting and capturing ten men and thirty women,
whom he lodged in Newgate. When remonstrated with they told the mayor that
they had met to serve God, and when told that he best served God who
obeyed the king, replied that they were not bound to obey him when the
Spirit commanded the contrary.(1234) It was reported that there were no
less than 3,000 men about the city maintained by Presbyterian
ministers.(1235) The danger was increased by the large number of cashiered
officers and soldiers who frequented the city.(1236) The king became
anxious and wrote to the lord mayor (24 Oct.) complaining of the want of
care and vigilance in setting the night watches, which consisted chiefly
of feeble men unable to suppress such disorders as were likely to arise in
those seditious times, and who broke up their watch some hours before
daybreak, thereby giving encouragement to thieves and robbers. He
therefore desired that the number of men should be increased, that only
able men should be appointed, and that the watch should continue until
daybreak.(1237)
(M638)
On Michaelmas-day Sir Richard Browne was succeeded in the mayoralty chair
by Sir John Frederick.(1238) The banquet of the mayor and sheriffs, which
had been allowed to drop in the time of trouble and scarceness, was again
held at the Guildhall,(1239) and the new mayor revived the ancient custom
of visiting St. Paul’s on the day of his taking the oath of office, and
offering a prayer for the soul of the good bishop by whose kind offices
the citizens obtained their first charter from the Conqueror.(1240)
Charles did not attend the banquet which took place on the 29th October,
but viewed the pageants on lord mayor’s day from the windows of a private
house in Cheapside, where he was supplied with refreshments at the City’s
charge.(1241)
(M639)
When St. Thomas’s day [21 Dec]—the day for the election of a new Common
Council—was approaching, the king took occasion himself to write to the
Court of Aldermen warning them to "take special care and give strict
orders in your several wards that a peaceable and quiet election be made,
and that the choice be of such persons as are every way well affected to
the established Government, both in Church and State"—otherwise he would
be forced to make a change in such elections.(1242)
(M640)
That the new council was favourable to the king is shown by the court
passing a resolution (26 Feb., 1662) for expunging out of the city’s
records all acts, orders and other matters passed, made or registered
either in the court of Common Council or the Court of Aldermen since the
beginning of the late troubles "which savour of the disloyalty of those
times and may continue the sad remembrance of them to posterity to the
reproach and dishonour of this city."(1243) This resolution was made on
the king’s own suggestions, but although a committee was at once appointed
to carry it out, it remained a dead letter for twenty years.
(M641)
The Common Council had previously (7 Feb.) shown its compliance by
acceding to a demand for a loan of £200,000.(1244) But although the
security offered was undeniably good, and every effort was made to get the
inhabitants of the city to subscribe, no more than £60,000 or £61,000 at
the most was collected by the 14th March,(1245) and a month later scarcely
£100,000 had been subscribed. The king made no attempt to disguise his
annoyance, and ordered the mayor to call a Common Council and request them
to take steps for the collection of the whole sum.(1246)
(M642)
According to Pepys, who got his information from a city alderman, the
finances of the Corporation were at such a low ebb that considerable
difficulty was experienced in raising so small a sum as 1,000 gold pieces
and the price of a gold cup to be presented to Catharine of Braganza on
her arrival in England "and that they were fain to call two or three
aldermen to raise fines to make up the amount."(1247)
(M643)
Whilst the civic authorities were vainly struggling to raise the last loan
for the king, the House of Commons came to his assistance and voted him a
tax of two shillings upon every chimney.(1248) The inquisitorial nature of
the tax made it very offensive. Returns were to be made of the number of
hearths and stoves in each dwelling by the end of May. As they did not
come in as quickly as was desired an extension of time was granted until
Midsummer Assizes.(1249) Even when sent in many of the returns were
manifestly untrue. The returns made for the city of London and Bills of
Mortality drew forth a remonstrance from Charles, who refused to attribute
it to anything else but gross negligence or deceit.(1250) He was afraid
lest the ill example set by London should influence the rest of the
kingdom. He expressed himself as willing to bear the expense of finding
two or three honest persons in each ward, if required, to join the
constable in an "ocular view." But in spite of every precaution fraudulent
returns continued to flow in, and the collection of the tax to be slow and
precarious.(1251)
(M644)
The passing of the Uniformity Act(1252) which condemned every minister to
lose his benefice unless he signified his assent to everything contained
in the book of common prayer by the 24th August (1662) caused great
dissatisfaction in the city—always a stronghold of Presbyterianism—and
many a sad scene was witnessed in city churches on Sunday the 17th as
ministers took farewell of their congregations.(1253) Driven from the
national Church, the Presbyterians, like the Baptists, the Quakers and
other "dissenters" formed a separate community, happy if only they were
granted toleration. Many of the inhabitants of the city were already
suffering confinement for attending "unlawful assemblies." On the occasion
of the queen’s first visit to Westminster the king gave directions to the
mayor and sheriffs to release those Quakers and others who were in gaol in
London and Middlesex for having been present at such assemblies, provided
they professed allegiance and had not been ringleaders or preachers,
"hoping thereby to reduce them to a better conformity."(1254)
(M645)
When lord mayor’s day came round Charles again viewed the pageant from a
house in Cheapside. This time he was accompanied by the queen. The City
supplied the royal party with refreshments as before.(1255) The new mayor,
Sir John Robinson,(1256) had been a promoter of the king’s restoration,
and in return for his services received an augmentation of arms.(1257) He
was a nephew of the late Archbishop Laud, and full of his own
self-importance "a talking, bragging, buffle-headed fellow," Pepys calls
him—boasting of his powers over his brother aldermen, but nevertheless
attentive to the wants of the city.(1258)
(M646)
A few weeks latter (27 Nov.) the streets of the city again presented a
gala appearance, the occasion being the reception of the Russian
ambassador. For the last three winters there had been, we are told, scarce
any frost, and the opening of the year 1662 had been so exceptionally mild
as to cause apprehension of dearth and disease.(1259) But now, on the very
day that the Russian ambassador was to pass through the city from Tower
wharf, where he had landed, he was reminded of his own country by seeing
the roofs of the houses covered with snow.(1260) At eight o’clock in the
morning 500 men "apparelled in velvet coats with chains of gold, well
mounted on horseback," from the several livery companies made their way to
Tower Hill to escort the ambassador.(1261) The streets were lined with the
city trained bands and the king’s Lifeguards. Pepys was there of course;
he rarely missed any sight. He had been disappointed at not getting a
better view of Sir Harry Vane’s execution, which had taken place in
June.(1262) This time he was more fortunate. The ambassador to be sure was
late, but Pepys beguiled the time with dinner. "And after I had dined"—he
records in his diary(1263)—"I walked to the conduit in the quarrefowr, at
the end of Gracious Street and Cornhill and there (the spouts thereof
running very near me, upon all the people that were under it) I saw them
pretty well, go by." He failed to catch sight of the ambassador himself,
but was struck with the handsome appearance of the ambassador’s
attendants, most of whom carried hawks on their "fists" as a present to
Charles. The strangeness of this sight caused the mob to jeer, upon which
the diarist characteristically remarks, "but lord! to see the absurd
nature of Englishmen that cannot forbear laughing and jeering at every
thing that looks strange." Later on he makes a note of having seen the
ambassador’s retinue at York House engaged in a manner that does not speak
well for their habits of cleanliness.(1264)
(M647)
On the 2nd February, 1663, the _fiat_ went forth for the confirmation of
the City’s charter, "they having fulfilled the required condition of
displacing four or five of the aldermen."(1265) The charter itself bears
date the 24th June.(1266) It is of all the City’s charters the most ample,
reciting and confirming as it does the entire _Inspeximus_ Charter of
Charles I, as well as the latter king’s letters patent, granted in the
16th year of his reign, confirming to the mayor and citizens the offices
of package and scavage.
(M648)
Notwithstanding the supplies voted to him by parliament, the advances made
to him by the City, and the handsome dowry he received with his wife,
Charles was continually in want of money. In November, 1662, he had sold
Dunkirk to the French king for £200,000, much to the disgust of the
English nation. Nevertheless, his extravagance soon reduced him to want,
and by the following September (1663) he was in such straits that he sent
to the City to borrow the comparatively small sum of £50,000. Seeing that
the City had so recently received a confirmation of its charter, it could
not refuse; and the money was raised among the aldermen as being a
speedier way than applying to the Common Council.(1267)
(M649)
On the occasion of the king’s return from a "great progress" in October,
he was met by the mayor and aldermen and 500 members of the several livery
companies, well and substantially horsed and apparelled in velvet coats
and chains of gold according to custom.(1268)
(M650)
On the 29th October the new lord mayor, Sir Anthony Bateman, entered upon
his mayoralty,(1269) with the customary procession and pageant, followed
by a banquet at the Guildhall. The banquet was made the occasion of what
appears on the face of it to have been a studied insult offered—not by the
municipal authorities, but by the lord chancellor, the bishops and lords
of the council—to the French ambassador. Whether the lord chancellor and
other high officers of state arrived at the Guildhall before their time,
or the French ambassador came late, one cannot say. But, however that may
have been, it appears that on the latter’s arrival the others had already
commenced dinner, with the exception of the mayor himself and the
municipal authorities, who had not yet taken their places. On the
ambassador approaching the table where the lords sat at dinner, intending,
as he informed the French king by letter,(1270) to rally them on their
good appetite, he met with such a cold reception that he left the hall to
go home and dine by himself, in spite of every endeavour on the part of
the civic officials to smooth matters over. Two hours later the sheriffs
presented themselves at the ambassador’s house, accompanied by a
deputation from the Common Council, for the purpose of offering excuses
for the recent _contretemps_. The excuses they had to offer were, however,
of the lamest character, as the ambassador took care to show. Firstly,
they said they had been taken by surprise. This was manifestly false, as
the ambassador attended at the Guildhall upon invitation. They next
pleaded ignorance and incapacity in receiving one of so high degree, when
the ambassador reminded them that they had recently done honour to the
Spanish ambassador; and lastly they endeavoured to throw the whole of the
blame upon the master of the ceremonies. This excuse, however, like the
others, was easily shown to be false, inasmuch as that official was
personally engaged in escorting the ambassador to the Guildhall and had
nothing to do with the banquet. The deputation thereupon withdrew, being
all the more discomforted by the excess of courtesy shown to them by the
ambassador, who himself insisted on escorting them to the door (_je leur
dis que je voulois passer plus avant, et payer un assez mauvais traitement
par une civilité extraordinaire_).
(M651)
On the 11th November the lord mayor went in state to pay a visit to the
ambassador and to beg his forgiveness. Not being able to speak French
himself, he took with him an interpreter, who explained to the ambassador
on his behalf that unless he (the ambassador) would set the example of
forgiveness eternal shame would rest upon the citizens and they would
incur the displeasure of the king and nation. Thereupon the ambassador
showed himself satisfied and attended the lord mayor to his carriage with
marked courtesy.(1271)
(M652)
In view of a war with the Dutch, which seemed inevitable, owing to their
interference with English trade, Charles began taking steps to replenish
his exhausted exchequer. In June and again in October (1664) he borrowed
from the city sums of £100,000.(1272) In November the Commons voted him a
sum of two millions and a half, a larger supply than any that had ever yet
been granted to a king of England, and the thanks of both Houses were
tendered to the city for its assistance.(1273) On the 22nd February, 1665,
war was formally declared. Two heralds, in their coats of arms, with four
mace-bearers, nine trumpeters and two troops of horse, assembled at
Westminster, where the trumpet sounded and the declaration was read amid
shouts of joy. "Thence they went to Temple Bar, where the lord mayor and
aldermen, in scarlet gowns on horse-back, conducted them to Temple Gate
over against Chancery Lane, where it was read with more acclamation than
before, the Horseguards drawing their swords and clattering them; then
again in Cheapside and before the Royal Exchange with great demonstration
of joy and sounding of trumpets, after which many nobles of the court came
into the city to dine with the lord mayor."(1274) A day for a public fast
was appointed to invoke the Almighty’s blessing upon the ignominious war
about to commence, and all commercial intercourse with the States was
interdicted.(1275)
(M653)
At this juncture an unfortunate accident occurred which deprived the fleet
of one of its most valuable ships—the ship known as "The London," in which
Sir John Lawson was about to put to sea—and caused the death of nearly 300
seamen. "The London" was being brought round from Chatham to the Hope,
where she was to take on board her commander, when for some unaccountable
reason she blew up and became a total wreck, all her ordnance, numbering
80 brass pieces, going to the bottom. The news of the disaster caused much
excitement in the city.(1276)
(M654)
The Common Council (17 March) immediately offered its services to the
king, and engaged to build another ship of the same tonnage to supply the
place of the one that was lost. The king gladly availed himself of the
offer of the City, promising "to retain the same in memory for the
advantage of this royal chamber upon all occasions."(1277) Pepys’s
acquaintance with the jobbery of the day, more especially in connection
with naval matters, had his misgivings about the City’s offer. It was a
handsome offer he acknowledged, "and if well managed might be done," but
he had his fears lest the work should be put into ill hands.(1278) The
work was put out to tender, but the final selection of a contractor was
left to the king.(1279) Precepts were issued to the livery companies to
"excite and persuade" their members in every possible way to subscribe to
the undertaking.(1280) The money, however, was very slow in coming in, no
more than £4,200 having been subscribed by May, 1666, when at least
£10,000 was estimated to be required.(1281) Nor is this to be wondered at
when it was a matter of public notoriety that the money voted expressly by
parliament for fitting out a navy had been uselessly squandered. It was
said at the time, although not credited by all, that many showed a
willingness to advance a large sum of money if the Duke of York would
guarantee its being employed on the navy by himself becoming treasurer of
the fund; the Duke declined and the offers fell through.(1282)
(M655)
Pepys’s misgivings about the City’s new ship, called after its predecessor
"Loyal London," appear to have been justified. The ship had to be launched
in an unfinished state, and when her guns came to be tried every one of
them burst. And yet the vessel was commended by Sir William Coventry, a
navy commissioner and secretary to the Duke of York, admiral of the fleet,
as "the best in the world, large and small."(1283)
(M656)
At the outset of the war the British fleet was not unattended with
success. On the 3rd June, 1665, the Duke of York gained a signal victory
over Opdam, admiral of the Dutch fleet, in an action fought off the coast
of Suffolk. The report of the guns could be frequently heard on the Thames
and caused much excitement in the city,(1284) to allay which the king
caused a letter to be despatched to the lord mayor as soon as possible,
giving details of the engagement and the losses on either side, and
assuring the citizens of the safety of the Duke of York.(1285) Tuesday the
20th was appointed a day of public thanksgiving.(1286)
(M657)
Such a victory at another time would have been hailed with unbounded joy.
As it was the enthusiasm of the citizens was damped by the presence among
them of the most awful scourge that had ever yet visited the city. Towards
the close of 1663 there had been rumours of an outbreak of plague on the
continent, and more especially at Amsterdam and Hamburgh. The king
communicated with the lord mayor to learn what measures had formerly been
taken in like case to prevent the spread of infection. It was suggested by
the Court of Aldermen that, after the custom of other countries, vessels
coming from infected parts should perform quarantine at Gravesend or the
neighbourhood, where a lazaretto should be established. The proposal was
accepted,(1287) and to these precautions, taken on the instigation of the
city authorities, was largely due the immunity from infection which the
city enjoyed for the next fifteen months. In June, 1664, the lords of the
council adopted similar precautions as their own and wrote to the lord
mayor, in view of the increase of the plague in the Netherlands, desiring
him "by all waies and meanes possible to be careful that no person or
persons, goods or merchandises whatsoever be permitted to be received or
harboured within the citty of London which come from Holland, Zealand or
any other places infected with the plague, without certificates from the
farmers of the customs or their officers that they have performed their
quarantain."(1288)
(M658)
The plague made its first appearance in the city in June, 1665. The
atmosphere had been very sultry—the 7th June being recorded by Pepys as
the hottest day he had ever felt in his life—and the heat caused the
infection to spread among the crowded population of the city with amazing
rapidity. Many followed the example set by the king and court and fled to
the country.(1289) The lord mayor, however, stuck to his post, and the
aldermen were forbidden to leave the city without giving notice of some
reasonable cause, those who had already absented themselves being ordered
to return.(1290) The good example thus set was unhappily not followed by
the city rectors. Many of them, to their shame, forsook their cures in
abject fear, leaving their parishioners to die without the consolations of
the Church, whilst their pulpits were seized upon by Presbyterian
ministers, who embraced the opportunity of publicly declaiming against the
sins of the court and the ill usage to which they had been compelled to
submit.(1291) The first Wednesday of every month was appointed to be kept
as a solemn fast day of humiliation until it should please God to put an
end to the sickness.(1292) Schools were closed and inns and taverns kept
open only for citizens. The streets were cleansed and kept free from
vagrant dogs—always suspected of spreading infection. Nevertheless, the
death rate rapidly increased. Pest-houses or hospitals were opened and the
best medical aid supplied, whilst subscriptions were set on foot for the
benefit of the poor.(1293) The last week of August claimed 700 victims
within the city’s walls, whilst in the week ending the 19th September no
less than 1,189—the highest number recorded perished within the same
limited area.(1294) The number of deaths that occurred outside the city,
but within its liberties, was often three or four times larger than of
those within the city’s walls. Thus for the week last mentioned the number
of deaths from the plague alone in parishes outside the city, but within
its liberties, is returned in the Bills of Mortality as having exceeded
3,000.(1295) The continued increase in the number of deaths in the first
half of September was a matter of surprise, for cold weather had set in
and the lord mayor had caused fires to be lighted in the open
thoroughfares for the benefit of the poor that lay starving in the
streets, as well as (perhaps) with the view of purifying the
atmosphere.(1296) When the plague was at its height deaths followed in
such rapid succession that the work of burying its victims had to be
carried on night and day. Even then there was only time to huddle the
corpses together in a _fosse commune_, and to cover them with a scanty
supply of earth. Small wonder if complaints were made to the Court of
Aldermen of noisome smells arising from the churchyard of St. Mary’s
Bethlem. The court immediately (5 Sept.) gave orders for remedying the
evil. No more pits were to be dug, but each corpse was to occupy a
separate grave, fresh mould was to be laid over places complained of, and
bones and coffin-boards found above ground were to be interred in the
middle of the churchyard.(1297)
The worst was now over. From the middle of September the number of deaths
in the city began to decrease almost as rapidly as they had risen. In the
first week in November there was a sudden increase on the return of the
previous week, but in the following week there was again a fall, and this
continued until in the first week of December the deaths in the city
numbered only twenty-four. Nevertheless it was thought advisable to
prohibit the usual entertainments which took place after the wardmote
elections on St. Thomas’s day, in order to minimise the risk of
infection.(1298) The mayor was justified in taking this precaution, for
the very next week the number of deaths more than doubled itself (57).
That the city of London was at this time one of the healthiest places in
the kingdom is shown by the fact that just as it was one of the last
places attacked by the plague, so it was one of the first to become free,
in spite of its having been made "the receptacle of all the people from
all infected places."(1299)
The total number of victims in the city proper during the twelve month
ending the 19th December, 1665, is officially given as 9,887. When we
consider that the entire population within the city walls—comprising an
area of one square mile, more or less—could scarcely have reached
100,000,(1300) the extent of the calamity becomes appalling; the city was
literally decimated.
(M659) (M660)
Whilst the plague was raging the English fleet had remained in the Thames,
leaving the Dutch masters of the sea. The opening of the new year (1666)
found England engaged in a war with France, as well as with the Dutch.
Louis, however, was content to leave the English and the Dutch to settle
matters between themselves at sea. On the 1st June a desperate naval
battle commenced off the North Foreland and continued for four days, at
the end of which neither party could claim a victory. Both fleets withdrew
for repairs. It was at this crisis that the "Loyal London" was hastily
launched and application made to the city for a loan of £100,000. The
money was readily voted, contrary to expectations.(1301)
(M661)
When the last instalment (£1,500) of the loan was paid into the exchequer,
the Guildhall and its surroundings were being threatened with destruction
by the Great Fire,(1302) which, breaking out on the night of Saturday, 1st
September, 1666, or early on Sunday morning, at a baker’s shop in Pudding
Lane, within five days reduced the greater part of the city to ashes. The
king had long ago anticipated such a calamity, arising from the narrowness
of the streets and the overhanging houses built for the most part of wood.
More than a year before (11 April, 1665) he had written to the mayor,
recorder and aldermen of the city(1303) warning them of the danger and
recommending a more diligent execution of the Act for the repair of
highways and sewers. He authorised them to imprison such persons as, after
due warning, continued to erect buildings in contravention of the Act, and
to pull the buildings down. He further desired them to open Temple Bar and
the passage and gatehouse of Cheapside in St. Paul’s Churchyard, as
mentioned in the Act, and he would himself inspect what progress was being
made in carrying out these improvements. He concluded by declaring that he
had made the city his royal residence,(1304) and had received from it such
marks of loyalty and affection as would ever make him concerned for its
wealth, trade, reputation, beauty and convenience.
The outbreak of the fire at first caused no uneasiness, such sights being
only too common. But when no less than 300 houses had been destroyed
within a few hours, and the flames, carried by a strong east wind that
prevailed, threatened others, the inhabitants began to take alarm. The
mayor, Sir Thomas Bludworth, was early on the scene, but he lacked
decision of character and failed to keep his head. He endeavoured to carry
out the king’s orders by pulling down houses to prevent the fire
spreading, but as often as not he was overtaken by the flames. "Lord, what
can I do?" he lack-a-daisically exclaimed in answer to a message from the
king; "I am spent; people will not obey me. I have been pulling down
houses; but the fire overtakes us faster than we can do it."(1305) The
inhabitants were too busy removing their furniture and effects to a place
of safety to render much assistance to the mayor, but he found willing
hands in the soldiers supplied by the king and the Duke of York, both of
whom displayed great personal energy. "The Duke of York," wrote an
eye-witness of the mournful scene,(1306) "hath wonn the hearts of the
people wth his continuall and indefatigable paynes day and night in
helping to quench the fire, handing bucketts of water with as much
diligence as the poorest man that did assist; if the lord maior had done
as much his example might have gone far towards saveing the citty."
(M662)
In spite of every effort to stay its progress the fire continued to rage
throughout the whole of Monday and Tuesday. By this time Lombard Street,
Cannon Street and Gracechurch Street had been reduced to ashes. The houses
on London Bridge were attacked and Southwark threatened with destruction.
On Wednesday the flames devastated Cornhill and the Exchange. The
following day they got hold of St. Paul’s (at that time undergoing repairs
and surrounded with scaffolding), and were carried by the east wind
towards the Temple and Hatton Garden. The brick buildings of the Temple
offered a more stubborn resistance than the wooden buildings of the city,
and prevented the fire spreading further westward.(1307) In the meantime
resort was had to gunpowder for the quicker destruction of houses in the
city, and by this means much was eventually saved which otherwise would
inevitably have been lost. But this was not done without considerable
opposition from the owners of houses who objected to their property being
blown up if there was a chance of it being saved.(1308) At last the
"horrid, malicious, bloody flame," described by Pepys as so unlike the
flame of an ordinary fire, burnt itself out, and at the close of Thursday,
the 6th September, the inhabitants of the city were able for the first
time since the outbreak to seek a night’s rest without fear of further
danger. When they rose the next morning and contemplated the extent of the
havoc wrought on their city by the fire, the hearts of many must have
fairly sunk within them. At least four-fifths of the whole of the
buildings situate within the walls had been reduced to ashes. The official
report was that no less than 13,200 houses and eighty-nine parish
churches, besides St. Paul’s and divers chapels, were destroyed, and that
only seventy-five acres out of a total of 373 acres of ground within the
walls escaped the conflagration.(1309) These seventy-five acres chiefly
lay in the vicinity of Aldgate and Tower Hill, and probably owed their
immunity from the fire to the free use of gunpowder, for it was in Tower
Street, Pepys tells us, that the practice of blowing up houses began. Most
of the livery companies lost their halls. Clothworkers’ Hall burned for
three days and three nights, the flames being fed with the oil that was
stored in its cellars. The Leaden Hall was partly saved. Gresham House
also escaped; but the Guildhall suffered severely, its outer walls only
being left standing.
(M663)
Much dissatisfaction was displayed against Bludworth for his want of
resolution during the crisis,(1310) and when Michaelmas-day arrived, and
he was about to go out of office, he was called to account for his
conduct. In anticipation of lord mayor’s day he wrote to Joseph
Williamson, afterwards Secretary of State, bespeaking his favour and
support. He professed not to live by popular applause (he said), but he
needed and desired the support and esteem of government, "having had the
misfortune to serve in the severest year that ever man did."(1311)
(M664)
As to the origin of the fire the wildest rumours at the time prevailed,
and for years afterwards it was commonly attributed to Papists wishing to
destroy the stronghold of the reformed religion, notwithstanding the fact
that not a scintilla of evidence was forthcoming in support of such a
charge, after a most careful investigation.(1312) The citizens were not
satisfied with the first inquiry, and in March, 1668, a petition was
prepared to lay before parliament to re-open the question and to receive
fresh evidence.(1313) Thirteen years later the belief that the Papists had
a hand in causing the wholesale destruction of the city was formally
promulgated by the House of Commons (10 Jan., 1681),(1314) and the same
belief was perpetuated by an inscription on the Monument commemorating the
fire, an inscription which met with the approval of the municipal
authorities of the day.(1315)
(M665)
Sir Patience Ward happened to be mayor at the time, but was probably no
more responsible for the inscription than any other member of the Court of
Aldermen or Common Council, notwithstanding the severe reflection passed
upon him by his namesake Thomas Ward,(1316) who, speaking of Titus Oates
and his bogus "discoveries," wrote:
"He swore—with flaming faggot sticks,
In sixteen hundred sixty-six,
That they through London took their marches,
And burnt the city down with torches;
Yet all invisible they were,
Clad in their coats of Lapland air.
The sniffling Whig-mayor Patience Ward
To this damn’d lie paid such regard,
That he his godly masons sent,
T’ engrave it round the Monument:
They did so; but let such things pass—
His men were fools, himself an ass."
(M666)
On the accession of James II the obnoxious inscription was removed, but
the feeling against Papists had obtained so strong a hold over the popular
mind, that it was again set up as soon as William III came to the
throne.(1317) There it remained until 1830, when, wisdom having come with
years, it was finally removed by order of the Common Council (6
Dec.).(1318) No longer is it true, in the words of Pope, that
"... London’s column pointing at the skies
Like a tall bully lifts the head and lies."
(M667)
As soon as the fire began to abate measures were taken to provide food for
the houseless poor. A detachment of 200 soldiers was ordered to London
from Hertfordshire with carts laden with pickaxes, ropes, buckets, etc.,
to prevent any further outbreak, whilst the justices of the peace and
deputy lieutenants were instructed to forward provisions to the city,
especially bread and cheese, lest the much suffering inhabitants should
perish from starvation.(1319)
(M668)
The City received much sympathy and no little assistance from other
cities, both in England and Ireland. The city of York not only despatched
its town clerk to London to express its condolences with the Londoners in
their great loss, but the lord mayor of York wrote (17 Sept.) to the lord
mayor of London to tell him that a small sum of money—"as much as this
poore decayed citty could furnish us with"—was on its way to London for
the relief of the most necessitous and distressed.(1320)
(M669)
Ten days later (29 Sept.) Lord Ormond and the Lords of the Council of
Ireland wrote to Bludworth expressing their hearty sorrow at the calamity
that had befallen the citizens of London, who had shown so much humanity
and kindness to the Protestants of Ireland in the late rebellion. They
desired to assist the city in its distress, but money was so scarce in
Ireland that they were compelled to ask the city to accept the greater
part of such assistance as that country could offer in cattle, which
should be despatched either alive or slaughtered, as his lordship should
prefer, to any port in Ireland. But before this could be done the assent
of parliament would have to be obtained.(1321)
(M670)
The inhabitants of Londonderry sent a deeply sympathetic and affectionate
letter to their "deare mother citty," and forwarded a sum of £250 to
assist those "who buylt or howses now their oune are in ashes." They could
not send more (they said) because of the deep poverty that lay upon their
city and the general want of money throughout the country. What they did
send they sent as an expression of their love and duty to their "honoured
mother."(1322)
(M671)
In the meantime a special Court of Aldermen had met in the afternoon of
Thursday, the 6th September, and appointed Gresham House for the meetings
of the Court of Aldermen and Common Council, and for transacting the
general municipal business of the city until further order. The mayor and
the sheriffs, whose houses had been destroyed, were also to take up their
lodging there during the remainder of their year of office. The Exchange,
too, was ordered to be kept in the gardens or walks of Gresham House. The
house was to be got ready with all speed, and the governor of the East
India Company was to be desired to see that the pepper stored in the walks
was removed without delay. Temporary sites were at the same time appointed
for the various markets until better accommodation could be found. Those
who had been rendered houseless were allowed to erect sheds on the void
places of London Bridge. It was further resolved to entreat his majesty to
send tents into Finsbury Fields for housing the poor until they could
provide themselves with habitations. The other wants of the poor were to
be supplied as far as possible by the masters, wardens and assistants of
the several companies of which they happened to be members.(1323) On
Friday the court again met at Gresham House, when it gave orders for the
ruins of the Guildhall to be cleared of all rubbish. Melted lead, iron,
and such other materials as were of value were to be picked out and stored
for further use. The passages to the Guildhall were to be boarded up. The
chamberlain was ordered to remove his office to Gresham House; and thither
also were to go the deputy town clerk and the city swordbearer, whose
houses had been consumed. They were to take with them the city’s records
and such books and papers as were in actual use.(1324)
(M672)
The next day (8 Sept.) the court gave permission for any freeman of the
city to erect a tent or shed wherein to carry on his trade or craft on any
part of the artillery ground, or if he so wished, either outside London
wall between the postern near Broad Street and Moorgate, or within the
wall between the said postern and Coleman Street. He might also erect his
tent or shed in the "Round" at Smithfield. But in every case the ground
was to be set out as apportioned by the mayor and sheriffs with the
assistance of "Mr." [Peter] Mills. Those who had formerly kept shop in the
upper "pawne" of the Royal Exchange were at the same time permitted to
erect sheds under certain conditions.(1325)
(M673)
On Monday, the 10th September, the Common Council met. It is the first
court since the fire of which any record has come down to us. Its first
care was to order every street and lane in each ward to be cleared of all
rubbish by the late inhabitants, "every one before his grounds," and by no
one else. It next proceeded to nominate a committee of aldermen and
commoners to consider the best means of raising the city out of its ruins,
and it was agreed that the Common Council should sit every Wednesday at
Gresham House.(1326)
(M674)
When the fire was at its height the king had been anxious to send for the
Duke of Albemarle, but hesitated to do so fearing lest he would be
unwilling to be ordered home whilst engaged in the Dutch war.(1327)
Representations of the king’s wishes, however, having been made to the
duke, he hurried home. On the 12th September a committee was appointed by
the Court of Aldermen to wait upon him with a draft proclamation for the
discovery and restoration of goods taken either wilfully, ignorantly, or
of purpose during the confusion consequent on the late fire.(1328) The
quantity of plate, money, jewels, household stuff, goods and merchandise
discovered among the ruins was very great, and much of it had quickly been
misappropriated. The proclamation ordered all persons who had so
misappropriated property to bring the same within eight days into the
armoury in Finsbury Fields; and by order of the Common Council no such
property was to be given up to any claimant without permission of the
Court of Aldermen or the lord mayor and sheriffs for the time being.(1329)
(M675)
A month later (19 Oct.) a letter was addressed to the mayor signed by the
archbishop of Canterbury, the lords Clarendon, Albemarle, Manchester,
Arlington and others, complaining that sundry materials of city churches
destroyed by the fire had been embezzled and stolen, and also that smiths’
forges and other artificers’ shops and even alehouses were kept within the
sacred ruins. The mayor was directed, with the assistance of the Court of
Aldermen, to obtain inventories of all communion plate, vestments,
records, books and other goods belonging to each church that the fire had
destroyed, and of all that remained to each church after the fire, and he
was to cause the plate and goods that survived the fire to be preserved
for future use in their respective churches. He was further directed to
collect and preserve the lead, bells and other appurtenances and materials
of the various churches in order to assist in repairing and re-building
them, and to prohibit any trade or selling of ale, beer, tobacco or
victuals within their precincts.(1330)
(M676)
One effect of the fire, which was estimated at the time to have destroyed
houses of the rental value of £600,000 a-year,(1331) was seen in the lack
of pageantry which usually marked the day when the newly elected mayor
proceeded to the Exchequer to be sworn. When Bludworth’s successor—Sir
William Bolton—went to take the oath on the 29th October, the meanness of
the appearance of the civic fathers was remarked by the on-lookers, who
reflected "with pity upon the poor city ... compared with what it
heretofore was."(1332)
(M677)
Another result was that when the day for election of members of the Common
Council was approaching, the Court of Aldermen, considering how difficult
it would be, if not absolutely impossible, to hold the customary
wardmotes, resolved to present a Bill to Parliament for permitting the
sitting members to continue in their places for the year next ensuing
without any election being held.(1333)
(M678)
Fourteen years after the fire (_i.e._, towards the close of the year 1680)
the City projected a scheme for insurance against fire, and in 1681 a deed
of conveyance of city lands of the estimated value of £100,000 was
executed by the City to certain trustees as security to persons effecting
insurances against fire.(1334) That the municipal body of the city should
undertake a business of insurance and thus compete with private enterprise
gave rise to no little discontent among the "gentlemen of the insurance
office" carrying on business "on the backside of the Royal Exchange," who
claimed to have originated the idea.(1335)