assassinated, and several strangers fled; this coming to the knowledge
of the King’s Council, Cardinal Wolsey sent for the Lord Mayor and
several of the City Council, told them what he had heard, and exhorted
them to preserve the peace. Upon this affair a court of Common Council
was assembled at Guildhall, on the evening before Mayday, in which it
was resolved to order every man to shut up his doors and keep his
servants at home; and this advice being immediately communicated to the
Cardinal, met with his approbation.
Upon this every Alderman sent to inform his ward, that no man should
stir out of his house after nine o’clock, but keep his doors shut and
his servants within, till nine in the morning. This order had not been
long given, when one of the Aldermen, returning from his ward, observed
two young men at play in Cheapside, and many others looking at them. He
would have sent them to the Compter, but they were soon rescued, and the
cry raised of _’Prentices, ’Prentices! Clubs, Clubs!_ Instantly the
people arose; by eleven o’clock they amounted to six or seven hundred;
and the crowd still increasing, they rescued from Newgate and the
Compter the prisoners committed for abusing the foreigners: while the
Mayor and Sheriffs, who were present, made proclamation in the King’s
name; but, instead of obeying it, they broke open the houses of many
Frenchmen and other foreigners, and continued plundering them till three
in the morning, when beginning to disperse, the Mayor and his attendants
took 300 of them, and committed them to the several prisons. While this
riot lasted, the Lieutenant of the Tower discharged several pieces of
ordnance against the city, but without doing much mischief; and about
five in the morning, several of the nobility marched thither with all
the forces they could assemble.
On the 4th of May, the Lord Mayor, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of
Surry, and others, sate upon the trial of the offenders at Guildhall,
the Duke of Norfolk entering the city with 1300 men. That day several
were indicted, and on the next thirteen were sentenced to be hanged,
drawn and quartered, for the execution of whom ten gallowses were set up
in several parts of the city, upon wheels, to be removed from street to
street, and from door to door.
On the 7th of May several others were found guilty, and received the
same sentence as the former, and soon after were drawn upon hurdles to
the standard in Cheapside; but when one was executed, and the rest about
to be turned off, a respite came, and they were remanded back to prison.
After this the soldiers who had kept watch in the city were withdrawn,
which making the citizens flatter themselves that the King’s displeasure
against them was not so great as they had imagined, the Lord Mayor,
Recorder, and several Aldermen, went in mourning gowns to wait upon the
King at Greenwich, when, having attended for some time at the privy
chamber door, his Majesty with several of the nobility came forth, upon
which, all of them falling upon their knees, the Recorder, in the name
of the rest, in the most humble and submissive terms, begged that he
would have mercy on them for their negligence, and compassion on the
offenders, whom he represented as a small number of light persons. His
Majesty let them know that he was really displeased, and that they ought
to wail and be sorry for it; for as they had not attempted to fight with
those whom they pretended were so small a number of light persons, they
must have winked at the matter; he therefore ordered them to repair to
the Lord Chancellor, who would give them an answer. Upon which they
retired deeply mortified.
Being informed that the King was to be at Westminster Hall on the 22d of
May, they resolved to repair thither, which they did with the consent of
Cardinal Wolsey Lord High Chancellor. The King sat at the upper end of
Westminster Hall, under a cloth of state, with the Cardinal and several
of the nobility: and the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, Recorder, and several of
the Common-Council attended; the prisoners, who then amounted to about
400, were brought in their shirts bound together with cords, and with
halters about their necks, and among these were eleven women. The
Cardinal, having sharply rebuked the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty for
their negligence, told the prisoners, that, for their offences against
the laws of the realm, and against his Majesty’s crown and dignity, they
had deserved death; upon which they all set up a piteous cry, of “Mercy,
gracious Lord, mercy!” which so moved the King, that, at the earnest
intreaty of the Lords, he pronounced them pardoned; upon which giving a
great shout, they threw up their halters towards the top of the hall,
crying God save the King! After this affair the May-games were not so
commonly used as before.
By the following account the reader will see, that our hospitable
ancestors were not less fond of the pleasures of the table, than of
outward pomp. Mr. Stow observes, that in the year 1531, eleven gentlemen
of the law being promoted to the dignity of the coif, they gave a
splendid and elegant entertainment in the Bishop of Ely’s palace in
Holborn, for five days successively, at which were present the King,
Queen, foreign Ministers, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, the Judges, the
Master of the rolls, the Masters in chancery, the Serjeants at law, the
principal Merchants of London, with many Knights and Esquires, and a
certain number of citizens belonging to the chief companies of the city.
This being one of the greatest entertainments recorded in history, an
account of it cannot be unacceptable to the reader: but as there were
three poulterers concerned in providing the poultry, and only one of
their accounts which we are able to communicate, it will be very
deficient; however, as this great entertainment was given but about two
hundred and thirty years ago, the subjoined account will shew the vast
disparity between the prices of provisions then and now, and
consequently the great disproportion between the scarcity of money at
that time, and its plenty at present.
Twenty-four large oxen, at 1l. 6s. 8d. each.
The carcase of a large ox from the market, 1l. 4s.
One hundred sheep, at 2s. 10d. each.
Fifty-one calves, at 4s. 8d. each.
Thirty-four hogs, at 3s. 8d. each.
Ninety-one pigs, at 6d. each.
Fourteen dozen of swans, no price set down.
Capons of Greece, ten dozen, each at 1s. 8d.
Kentish capons, nine dozen and a half, at 1s. each.
Nineteen dozen of common capons, at 6d. each.
Seven dozen and nine heathcocks, at 8d. each.
Fourteen dozen and eight common cocks, at 3d. each.
The best pullets (no number mentioned) at 2½d. each.
Common ditto, 2d. each.
Thirty-seven dozen of pigeons, at 10d. a dozen.
Three hundred and forty dozen of larks, at 5d. a dozen.
In the year 1532, a general muster of the citizens was held at Mile-End,
when the names of all capable of bearing arms were taken down, from the
age of sixteen to that of sixty; as were also an account of the weapons,
armour, and other military accoutrements belonging to the city.
Upon this occasion the principal citizens were dressed in white, with
caps and feathers of the same colour; the Lord Mayor, Aldermen,
Recorder, and Sheriffs, wore white armour, and coats of black velvet,
embroidered with the city arms; they had velvet caps on their heads, and
rode on fine horses adorned with magnificent trappings, with gold chains
about their necks, and battle-axes in their hands. Each of the Aldermen
and the Recorder, was attended with four halberdiers in white silk or
buff coats, with gilt halberts; and the Lord Mayor, by sixteen men in
white sattin jackets, with gold chains, caps and feathers, and long gilt
halberts; he had also four footmen in white sattin, and two pages in
crimson velvet, with gold brocade waistcoats; these pages were mounted
on fine horses, adorned with rich furniture, one of them carrying the
Lord Mayor’s helmet, and the other his pole-ax, both richly gilt, Most
of the citizens of distinction were, on this occasion, dressed in white
silk, and wore gold chains with a variety of rich jewels.
The citizens rendezvoused and were mustered early in the morning at Mile
End, and before nine in the forenoon began their march, when entering
Aldgate, they proceeded through the city, in admirable order, to
Westminster; where they passed in review before the King and most of the
nobility, who were highly delighted at their splendid appearance. From
thence they marched round St. James’s Park, and down Holborn to
Leadenhall, where they separated at five o’clock in the evening. So far
our author.
But if we add to this splendid cavalcade, that every man wore his beard
and hair, which were probably neatly curled and powdered, we must be
sensible that the citizens, in this procession, had a strange mixture of
gravity and foppery, and that, fond as we are of dress, we were greatly
outdone in this particular by our ancestors. King Henry however loved
shew, and the citizens took great pains to please him, of which the
following is another remarkable instance, which, tho’ very long, we
shall insert, in order to give our readers an idea of the taste of the
citizens of that age, in regard to elegance and grandeur: and we chuse
to select this instance, as the city appears to have been decorated with
greater pomp than at any time before or since.
The King having divorced Queen Catharine, and married Anne Boleyn, or
Boloine, who was descended from Godfrey Boloine, Mayor of this city, and
intending her coronation, sent to order the Lord Mayor, not only to make
all the preparations necessary for conducting his royal consort from
Greenwich, by water, to the Tower of London; but to adorn the city after
the most magnificent manner, for her passage through it to Westminster.
In obedience to the royal precept, Mr. Stow observes, that the Mayor and
Common Council not only ordered the company of Haberdashers, of which
the Lord Mayor was a member, to prepare a magnificent state barge; but
enjoined all the city corporations to provide themselves with barges,
and to adorn them in the most superb manner, and especially to have them
supplied with good bands of music.
On the 29th of May, the time prefixed for this pompous procession by
water, the Mayor, Aldermen and Commons assembled at St. Mary Hill; the
Mayor and Aldermen in scarlet, with gold chains, and those who were
knights, with the collars of SS. At one they went on board the city
barge at Billingsgate, which was most magnificently decorated; and
attended by fifty noble barges, belonging to the several companies of
the city, with each its own corporation on board; and, for the better
regulation of this procession, it was ordered, that each barge should
keep twice their lengths asunder.
Thus regulated, the city barge was preceded by another mounted with
ordnance, and the figures of dragons and other monsters, incessantly
emitting fire and smoke, with much noise. Then the city barge, attended
on the right by the Haberdashers state barge, called the Bachelors,
which was covered with gold brocade, and adorned with sails of silk,
with two rich standards of the King’s and Queen’s arms at her head and
stern, besides a variety of flags and streamers, containing the arms of
that company, and those of the Merchant Adventurers; besides which the
shrouds and ratlines were hung with a number of small bells: on the left
was a barge that contained a very beautiful mount, on which stood a
white falcon crowned, perching upon a golden stump encircled with roses,
being the Queen’s emblem; and round the mount sat several beautiful
virgins, singing, and playing upon instruments. The other barges
followed in regular order, till they came below Greenwich. On their
return the procession began with that barge which was before the last,
in which were the Mayor’s and Sheriff’s officers, and this was followed
by those of the inferior companies, ascending to the Lord Mayor’s, which
immediately preceded that of the Queen, who was attended by the
Bachelors or state barge, with the magnificence of which her Majesty was
much delighted; and being arrived at the Tower, she returned the Lord
Mayor and Aldermen thanks, for the pomp with which she had been
conducted thither.
Two days after, the Lord Mayor, in a gown of crimson velvet, and a rich
collar of SS, attended by the Sheriffs and two domestics in red and
white damask, went to receive the Queen at the Tower of London, whence
the Sheriffs returned to see that every thing was in order. The streets
were just before new gravelled from the Tower to Temple Bar, and railed
in on each side; within the rails near Grasschurch, stood a body of
Anseatic merchants, and next to them the several corporations of the
city in their formalities, reaching to the Aldermens station at the
upper end of Cheapside. On the opposite side were placed the city
constables dressed in silk and velvet, with staffs in their hands, to
prevent the breaking in of the mob, or any other disturbance. On this
occasion, Gracechurch street and Cornhill were hung with crimson and
scarlet cloth, and the sides of the houses of a place then called
Goldsmith’s row, in Cheapside, were adorned with gold brocades, velvet
and rich tapestry.
The procession began from the Tower with twelve of the French
Ambassador’s domestics in blue velvet, the trappings of their horses
being blue sarsnet, interspersed with white crosses; after whom marched
those of the equestrian order, two and two, followed by the Judges in
their robes, two and two; then came the Knights of the Bath in violet
gowns, purfled with menever. Next came the Abbots, Barons, Bishops,
Earls and Marquises, in their robes, two and two. Then the Lord
Chancellor, followed by the Venetian Ambassador and the Archbishop of
York: next the French Ambassador and the Archbishop of Canterbury,
followed by two gentlemen representing the Dukes of Normandy and
Aquitain; after whom rode the Lord Mayor of London with his mace, and
Garter in his coat of arms; then the Duke of Suffolk, Lord High Steward,
followed by the Deputy Marshal of England, and all the other officers of
state in their robes, carrying the symbols of their several offices:
then others of the nobility in crimson velvet, and all the Queen’s
officers in scarlet, followed by her Chancellor uncovered, who
immediately preceded his mistress.
The Queen was dressed in silver brocade, with a mantle of the same
furred with ermine; her hair was dishevelled, and she wore a chaplet
upon her head set with jewels of inestimable value. She sat in a litter
covered with silver tissue, and carried by two beautiful pads cloathed
in white damask, and led by her footmen. Over the litter was carried a
canopy of cloth of gold, with a silver bell at each corner, supported by
sixteen Knights alternately, by four at a time.
After her Majesty came her Chamberlain, followed by her Master of Horse,
leading a beautiful pad, with a side-saddle and trappings of silver
tissue. Next came seven ladies in crimson velvet, faced with gold
brocade, mounted on beautiful horses with gold trappings. Then followed
two chariots covered with cloth of gold, in the first of which were the
Duchess of Norfolk and the Marchioness of Dorset, and in the second four
ladies in crimson velvet; then followed seven ladies dressed in the same
manner, on horseback, with magnificent trappings, followed by another
chariot all in white, with six ladies in crimson velvet; this was
followed by another all in red, with eight ladies in the same dress with
the former: next came thirty gentlewomen, attendants to the Ladies of
honour; they were on horseback, dressed in silks and velvet; and the
cavalcade was closed by the horse guards.
This pompous procession being arrived in Fenchurch street, the Queen
stopped at a beautiful pageant, crouded with children in mercantile
habits; who congratulated her Majesty upon the joyful occasion of her
happy arrival in the city.
Thence she proceeded to Grace church corner, where was erected a very
magnificent pageant, at the expence of the company of Anseatic
Merchants, in which was represented Mount Parnassus, with the fountain
of Helicon, of white marble, out of which arose four springs about four
feet high, centering at the top in a small globe, from which issued
plenty of Rhenish wine till night. On the Mount sat Apollo, at his feet
was Calliope, and beneath were the rest of the Muses, surrounding the
Mount, and playing upon a variety of musical instruments, at whose feet
were inscribed several epigrams suitable to the occasion, in letters of
gold.
Her Majesty then proceeded to Leadenhall, where stood a pageant,
representing a hill encompassed with red and white roses; and above it
was a golden stump, upon which a white falcon, descending from above,
perched, and was quickly followed by an angel, who put a crown of gold
upon his head. A little lower on the hilloc sat St. Anne, surrounded by
her progeny, one of whom made an oration, in which was a wish that her
Majesty might prove extremely prolific.
The procession then advanced to the conduit in Cornhill; where the
Graces sat enthroned, with a fountain before them incessantly
discharging wine; and underneath, a Poet, who described the qualities
peculiar to each of these amiable deities, and presented the Queen with
their several gifts.
The cavalcade thence proceeded to a great conduit that stood opposite to
Mercers Hall in Cheapside, and, upon that occasion, was painted with a
variety of emblems, and during the solemnity and remaining part of the
day, ran with different sorts of wine, for the entertainment of the
populace.
At the end of Wood street, the standard there was finely embellished
with royal portraitures and a number of flags, on which were painted
coats of arms and trophies, and above was a concert of vocal and
instrumental music.
At the upper end of Cheapside was the Aldermens station, where the
Recorder addressed the Queen in a very elegant oration, and, in the name
of the citizens, presented her with a thousand marks in a purse of gold
tissue, which her Majesty very gracefully received.
At a small distance, by Cheapside conduit, was a pageant, in which were
seated Minerva, Juno, and Venus; before whom stood the god Mercury, who,
in their names, presented the Queen a golden apple.
At St. Paul’s gate was a fine pageant, in which sat three ladies richly
dressed, with each a chaplet on her head, and a tablet in her hand,
containing Latin inscriptions.
At the east end of St. Paul’s cathedral, the Queen was entertained by
some of the scholars belonging to St. Paul’s school, with verses in
praise of the King and her Majesty, with which she seemed highly
delighted.
Thence proceeding to Ludgate, which was finely decorated, her Majesty
was entertained with several songs adapted to the occasion, sung in
concert by men and boys upon the leads over the gate.
At the end of Shoe lane, in Fleet street, a handsome tower with four
turrets was erected upon the conduit, in each of which stood one of the
cardinal Virtues, with their several symbols; who, addressing themselves
to the Queen, promised they would never leave her, but be always her
constant attendants. Within the tower was an excellent concert of music,
and the conduit all the while ran with various sorts of wine.
At Temple Bar she was again entertained with songs, sung in concert by a
choir of men and boys; and having from thence proceeded to Westminster,
she returned the Lord Mayor thanks for his good offices, and those of
the citizens that day. _Stow’s Annals._
The day after, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Sheriffs, performed their
several offices at the coronation; and, in return for the great expence
the city had been at upon the above occasion, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen,
and forty of the principal citizens, had the honour of being afterwards
invited to the christening of the Princess Elizabeth.
In the year 1551, King Edward VI. gave the city a charter, by which he
not only confirmed all its former privileges, but granted the Lord
Mayor, Aldermen, and citizens, several lands and tenements in Southwark,
with the manor thereof, and its appurtenances; the assize of bread,
wine, beer, and ale; a fair for three days; and the offices of Coroner,
Escheator, and Clerk of the market, which are for ever vested in the
Lord Mayor and his successors.
In the beginning of the year 1552, the celebrated company of the
Anseatic merchants, called here the merchants of the Steelyard, were
dissolved, they having engrossed almost the whole trade of the kingdom;
for in the preceding year they exported 40,000 pieces of cloth, while
all the English merchants together did not export 1100.
Upon the breaking out of the rebellion under Sir Thomas Wyat, occasioned
by the report of Queen Mary’s intended marriage with Philip of Spain,
the city was thrown into a violent commotion, and on his marching to
Deptford, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, Sheriffs, and citizens, had not only
recourse to arms; but, it being term time, the Judges sat, and the
Council pleaded in Westminster Hall in armour. In this general confusion
the Queen came to Guildhall, where she was attended by the Lord Mayor,
Aldermen, Sheriffs, and several of the city companies in their
formalities, to whom she made a long and flattering speech, in which she
professed, that she loved them as a mother loves her child, and that she
would not engage in this marriage, if she thought it inconsistent with
the happiness of her loving subjects: but that she desired to leave
_some fruit of her body_ to be their governor.
This had such an effect, that they cut down the drawbridge, and shut the
gates against Wyat, as he arrived in Southwark; he therefore marched up
the river, crossed the Thames at Kingston, and proceeded through
Westminster to Ludgate; but not being admitted by his friends in the
city, as he expected, he generously surrendered himself, to prevent
bloodshed, and was soon after beheaded on Tower hill.
The rest of this reign exhibited a dreadful scene of religious bigotry,
by a most cruel persecution of the Protestants; for the principal
instance she gave of her tender maternal love to the citizens, was, her
causing many of them to be burnt in Smithfield, in order to put a stop
to the reformation begun by her father, and continued by her brother:
but Providence soon interposed; her reign was short; and the fires which
were then kindled for the holy martyrs, who sealed their faith with
their blood, were the last effort, under the sanction of law, made by
religious tyranny in this kingdom to overthrow the reformation. Happy
would it have been for the Protestants, if this cruel spirit had never
prevailed amongst them; if, upon this change, universal benevolence had
taken place, and every Briton would have allowed his neighbour the same
liberty of enquiry, which he claimed for himself! but though both the
national church and the dissenters from it, have disclaimed the
pretended infallibility they so justly censured in the church of Rome,
and have even constantly owned that they themselves are fallible, yet,
contrary to the mild, the humane spirit of the Gospel, they have
absurdly persecuted those who would not allow them to be infallible, and
have presumed to differ from the unerring standard of their judgment!
We are now come to the period when our streets were no longer to be
crouded with monks and friars of various orders, and in very different
and uncouth habits, walking with their heads shaven and bare, with long
beards, and a rosary hanging at their girdles; when our nobility and
gentry were to be no longer affronted in the streets by Cardinals,
attended by a great retinue of servants: by the lordly Knights of
religious orders, or the wealthy Priors of convents: when our streets
were no longer to be adorned with crosses and the images of the saints,
the objects of much superstition; and when many of our largest, most
conspicuous, and stately buildings, were no longer to consist of
priories, friaries, nunneries, and guilds of religious fraternities.