It was with mutterings of discontent and gloomy forebodings that Saxon London beheld, soon after the victory at Hastings, the erection of a fortress at the east end of their city—replaced soon after by the earliest portion of the present Tower of London—and two huge castles to the west, ostensibly to guard, really to keep the City in awe. Duke William, after the Battle of Hastings, knowing how important it was to hold possession of the largest and most influential city in the kingdom, hastened up to London. The citizens, who felt not disposed to surrender their liberty to a foreigner, and who, influenced by Archbishop Stigand, had caused Eadgar the Atheling to be proclaimed king, crossed the river to oppose his advance but were repulsed; nevertheless, the Conqueror did not follow up his success by entering London, but burnt Southwark and went to subjugate the western counties. During his absence, the citizens deeming it the best policy to submit, at any rate for the present, tendered their homage to him at Berkhamstead. Suspicious, however, of their loyalty, he caused the castles to be erected, and to conciliate the citizens granted them a charter of four and a half lines written in Saxon, on a piece of parchment six and a half inches long and one broad. This laconic charter ran thus:—"William the King salutes, with friendly greeting, William the Bishop, and Godfrey the Portreve, and all the burgesses within London, both French and English, and I declare that I grant you to be all law-worthy as you were in the days of King Edward; and I grant that every child shall be his father's heir, after his father's days; and I will not suffer any person to do you wrong. God keep you."

The two western castles were built, at the confluence of the Fleet with the Thames. The one by the Baron Montfichet, soon afterwards destroyed by fire, stood at the bottom of Addle Hill, where the Carron Wharf is now located, and its western walls were washed by the Fleet, whose course was afterwards diverted further westward to make a site for the Dominican Friary.

It was built by the Norman, Ralph Baynard, feudal baron of Little Dunmow, Essex, who had followed the Conqueror to England, and was rewarded for his services at Hastings with grants of land in Essex and Middlesex, and, in connection with Baynard's Castle, the military governorship of London, as castellan and standard-bearer of the City.

William, third lord, sided with Helias, Earl of Maine, in his attempt to throw off his allegiance to King Henry I., for which he was attainted, and his estates and honours given to Robert Fitz Richard, fifth son of Richard de Tonbridge, descended by the bend sinister from the Dukes of Normandy.

The church of St. Andrew, on the east side of Puddle-dock Hill, is supposed to have been built by Ralph Baynard, and was called "St. Andrew juxta Baynard Castle" until the erection, near by, of the King's Wardrobe, when it came to be called "St. Andrew by the Wardrobe." It was repaired by the parishioners in 1627, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt in 1672. The advowson was held by the Fitzwalters, and after passing through various hands came to the Crown in 1633.

This Robert was steward and cupbearer to King Henry I., and a great favourite with that monarch, who, upon the attainder of William Baynard, bestowed upon him his forfeited estates, including the barony of Dunmow, and the castle by the Thames, with its appurtenant civic offices. He took an active part with Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, against the designs of John, Earl of Moreton, upon the crown, during the absence of his brother, Richard I., in Palestine; died in 1198, and was buried at Dunmow. Robert Fitzwalter, his eldest son, died in 1234.

The tyranny of King John caused great discontent amongst the barons, with whom Fitzwalter agreed in sentiment, and this discontent was brought to a head, driving the barons to take up arms, by a flagrant attempt on the honour of Fitzwalter's family. Matilde, "the fair," his daughter was exceedingly beautiful, and John attempted her chastity, which she indignantly repelled; "whereupon," says Stow, "and for other causes of the like sort, there ensued a war throughout the realm. The barons being received into London did great damage to the king; but in the end the king did not only banish the said Fitzwalter, among others, out of the realm, but also caused his castle and other houses to be demolished. After that a messenger was sent to Matilda the Fair about the king's suit, but she not consenting to it, was poisoned." This was done at Dunmow, by sprinkling a deadly poison on a poached egg, which she ate.

Her exiled father retired to France, and entered into the service of the king. In the year 1214, John of England invaded France, and concluded a truce with the French for five years. The two armies lying on each side of a river one day, soon after the signing of the treaty, an English knight of great strength and valour came forth and challenged any French knight to a joust, when Fitzwalter crossed the river in acceptance thereof, and at the first course unhorsed his antagonist in gallant style. "By God's truth," exclaimed John, "he is a king indeed who is followed by such a knight as that!" "He is your own knight, O king," said one of his attendants, "Robert Fitzwalter whom you banished." Upon this the king sent for him to his tent, restored him to favour, gave him back his estates, and granted him permission to repair his castle and houses.

The tyranny of the king, however, compelled the barons again to take up arms, to establish on a sure basis the laws and liberties granted by Edward the Confessor, of whom Fitzwalter became the head by the title of "Marshal of the Army of God and of the Church." Eventually they obtained the reluctant signature of the Magna Charta at Runnymede, when Fitzwalter was one of the twenty-five barons appointed to enforce the observance of the charter. In the reign of Henry III. he fought with great bravery under the baronial banner at the Battle of Lincoln, where he was taken prisoner, but was not detained long, as the next year he went as a crusader to the Holy Land, and displayed great valour at the siege of Damietta.

Camden informs us that he instituted the custom of the flitch of bacon of Dunmow. He says: "On the Priory here" (Dunmow), "Robert Fitzwalter (a powerful baron in the time of Henry the Third) instituted a custom that whoever did not repent of his marriage, nor quarrelled with his wife within a year and a day, should go to Dunmow and have a gamon of bacon. But the party was to swear to the truth of it, kneeling upon two hard pointed stones set in the Priory churchyard for the purpose, before the prior, the convent, and the whole town."

Sir Robert, Kt., his grandson, was summoned to Parliament by writ, 23rd Edward I. (1295) and died in 1325. In 1275 he alienated Baynard's Castle, by licence, to Robert Kilwardby, Archbishop of Canterbury, who removed hither the Dominican or Black Friars from Holborn, but took special care to reserve all the rights and official duties connected with his barony.

In the year 1303, before Sir J. Blount, Kt., Lord Mayor, a specification of his duties to the City was drawn out, which he swore upon the Evangelists to observe, and to the utmost of his power to maintain the rights and liberties of the citizens. His privileges and immunities in connection therewith are also given, which were confirmed by Sir John on the part of the Corporation. As this document presents some curious features of London life in the beginning of the 14th century, it is given below in extenso.

The Rights that belonged to Robert Fitzwalter, Chastilion and Banner-Bearer of London and Lord of Wodeham.

"The said Robert and his heirs ought to be and are chief Banner-bearers of London in and for the Castlry which he and his ancestors have of Baynard's Castle in the said City. In time of war the said Robert and his heirs ought to serve the City in manner hereinafter written.

"That the said Robert ought to come upon his Horse of Service, with 20 men at arms, mounted, harnessed with mail or iron, even to the great door of the Minster of St. Paul, with a Banner of his Arms displayed before him. And when he has thus come, then ought the Lord Mayor of London, with the Sheriffs and Aldermen, come on foot out of the Minster to the said door, with his banner in his hand, and the banner ought to be gules, an image of St. Paul d'or, the feet, hands, and head, argent, with a sword argent, in the hand of the said Image.

"And as soon as they shall have come forth, the said Robert shall alight from his horse and salute the Mayor, as his companion, saying, 'Sir Mayor, I am come to do my Service which I owe to the City,' and the Mayor shall answer, 'We allow you here as our Banner-Bearer, this banner of the City to carry and govern to your power, to the honour and profit of our City.' Then shall the said Robert take the banner in his hand, and the Mayor, Alderman, and Sheriffs shall present him with a horse of £20 value, with a saddle, garnished with the arms of the said Robert, and covered with a sendal of the same arms, and deliver £20 to his Chamberlain for the charges of the day.

"The said Robert shall then mount the horse, banner in hand, and desire the Mayor, forthwith, to cause a Marshall to be chosen out of the host of London, which being done, he shall then cause the signal to be sounded through the City, for the commons to assemble, and follow the banner carried by the said Robert to Aldgate, and a Council of two sage persons from each ward be chosen, in the Priory of the Holy Trinity, to look to the safe keeping of the City in case the said Robert should have to absent himself for the purposes of war. And if the said Robert with the army of London shall continue for the space of a year at the siege of any town or castle, he shall have 100 shillings from the commonalty of London, and no more. These are the rights of the said Robert in times of war; in times of peace they are as follows:—

"That is to say, the said Robert shall have a soke or ward in the said City, viz., from the wall of the canonry of St. Paul, as a man goes by the Bracine (brew-house) of St. Paul to the Thames, and so to the side of the mill standing by the water that runs down by Fleet Bridge, and thence by the wall, round about the Friers preachers to Ludgate, and so return by the back of the said Fryers' House, to the corner of the said canons' walls of St. Paul. That is to say, all the parish of the church of St. Andrew, which is in his gift in right of his lordship. Appendant to his soke he hath all these things under-written:—

"That he shall have a Soke-man of his own choice, provided he be of the Sokemannery of the Ward, and if any of the Sokemannery be impleaded at the Guildhall, his sokeman may demand a court of the said Robert, which shall be granted by the Mayor and Citizens. And if any thief be taken in his soke, he shall have stocks and prison in the soke and be taken hence to the Guildhall before the Mayor of judgment, but which shall not be pronounced until he is brought into the court of the said Robert and Franchise; and if the judgment be death for treason he shall be tied to a post in the Thames for two tides, and if he be a common Larcin he shall be hanged at the Elms and there suffer his judgment, as other thieves. Also the said Robert and his heirs have a great honour in holding such a franchise in the said City, where the Mayor and Citizens ought to do him right, that is to say, that when the Mayor is minded to call a great council he shall call the said Robert or his heirs thereto, and he shall be sworn thereof against all people saving the king and his heirs. And when the said Robert cometh to the Hustings of the Guildhall of the said City, the Mayor or his Lieutenant shall arise against him and set him down near to him; and so long as he is in the Guildhall all the judgments shall be pronounced by him, according to the records of the Recorders of the said Guildhall. And all the waifs which shall happen whilst he is there he shall give to the bailiffs of the City or to whomsoever he pleases, by advice of the Mayor of said City."

Robert, second baron, died in 1328, three years after his father.

Sir John, Kt., third baron, died in 1361, who was knighted for his bravery in war.

Walter, fourth baron, died in 1386. In the 44th Edward III., he was captured when fighting in Gascony, and was obliged to mortgage one of his castles for £1,000 to raise money for his ransom. He held many other military employments.

Walter, fifth baron, died in 1407, having married Joane, sister and heiress of John, second Baron Devereux, who died in 1379, when the Baronies of Fitzwalter and Devereux became united, Walter Fitzwalter becoming Baron Devereux, jure uxoris, his heir succeeding in his own right.

Humphrey, sixth baron, died s.p., a minor, in 1422. Walter, his brother, seventh baron, was summoned from 1429 and died in 1432, the last of the line of the Fitzwalters. He fought under Henry V. in the French wars with great distinction, and for his services had a grant of lands in Normandy. His daughter and heiress, Elizabeth, conveyed the baronies by marriage to Sir John Radcliffe, Kt., an eminent military commander, who became Baron Fitzwalter, jure uxoris. Dying 39th Henry VI., he was succeeded by his son, Sir John, Kt., who was beheaded in 1495 for implication in the Perkin Warbeck Conspiracy, attainted, and the barony forfeited. Nevertheless, his son, Robert, finding favour at the court of Henry VII. was restored in blood and estates; and in the 1st Henry VIII. to the forfeited barony. For bravery in the French Wars, and other services to the State, he was created Viscount Fitzwalter in 1529, and four years after further elevated in the peerage to the Earldom of Sussex, and was decorated with the order of the Garter. He was thrice married, having issue by all his wives, and died in 1542, when he was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Henry, K.B. and K.G., who died in 1556, from whom descended Sir Edward, sixth Viscount and Earl, who died, s.p., 1641, when these honours became extinct, the barony falling into abeyance, as it remained during the civil wars and after the Restoration, until 1669, when it was called out, in the person of Benjamin Mildmay, descended from Frances, second daughter of Sir Henry, second Earl of Sussex, who married Sir Thomas Mildmay, of Mulsho, Essex. He died in 1679, was succeeded by his eldest son Charles, who died s.p. 1728, to whom followed his brother Henry, who in 1730 was created Viscount Harwich and Earl Fitzwalter; but dying, in 1753, without surviving issue, the two latter titles became extinct, and the barony fell into abeyance, which was terminated in 1868, in the person of Sir Brook William Bridges, fifth baronet, who was called to the House of Peers as Baron Fitzwalter, of Woodham Walter, in the county of Essex, and who died in December, 1875. Having thus disposed of the Barons, Viscounts, and Earls Fitzwalter, it becomes us to inquire into the subsequent history of the old Norman castle, which, flinging its shadow over the then silvery Thames, was the home of the Castellans of London. We have no record of what the Castle of Ralph Baynard was like, but may presume that it was in the usual Norman style, heavy and ungainly, and in its general features not unlike that given in Aggas's Map, temp. Elizabeth, as it appeared after its restoration in the 15th century. A view of it was published in 1780, and its site is indicated in the map of Baynard Castle Ward in Northouk's History of London. It appears to have been a huge, quadrangular block, the body presenting five gabled divisions, with sextangular corner towers, each division and the towers containing two lofty stories, with narrow slits for windows, and rooms in each gable. Little is known of the castle after its alienation to the Dominicans in 1275, until the reign of Henry VI. It appears to have come to the Crown, and was in the possession of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, fourth son of King Henry IV., to whom it had probably been granted by that king. In 1428 it was partially destroyed by fire, but was re-edified by the duke, who continued to reside within its walls until his death. Incurring the jealousy and hatred of Margaret of Anjou and her faction, the duke, who was arrested on a charge of high treason when attending the Parliament of St. Edmundsbury, 1446, at the instance of the queen was committed to prison, and there murdered by suffocation or strangulation, when the castle reverted to the Crown.

In 1460 the Earl of Warwick defeated the Lancastrians at the second battle of St. Alban's, the result of which was a deputation to Edward, Earl of March, now Duke of York, and living in Baynard Castle, to request him to assume the Crown; and it was from its portals that he went in procession to St. Paul's to hear the Te Deum sung for the Yorkist Victory, and hence to Westminster, to be vested in the mantle of Royalty, after which he summoned a great council of barons and ecclesiastics to Baynard Castle, to consult with them on the state of the realm. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was residing in Baynard Castle, after the murder of his nephews, when he was waited upon by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, for the purpose of requesting him to assume the Crown. Shakespeare delineates the scene with wonderfully graphic power in his drama of King Richard III., act 3, scene 7.

King Henry VII. occupied the castle as a place of residence some three or four years; and Henry VIII. expended large sums of money in repairs and embellishment, and entertained there the King of Castile, but appears to have granted it to the Earl of Pembroke, a gentleman of the bedchamber, who had married Anne, sister of Queen Katherine Parr. On the death of Edward VI. he favoured the pretensions of Lady Jane Grey to the Crown, but almost immediately changed his opinion; and in his City castle a council was held, where it was determined that Mary, King Edward's sister, should succeed, and she was at once proclaimed Queen at Cheapside Cross. In the reign of Elizabeth it appears to have been occupied by Sir John Fortescue, master of the wardrobe, close by, and the Queen is said to have supped there occasionally. It afterwards became the town residence of the Earls of Shrewsbury, coming to that family, probably, through the marriage of John, the tenth earl, with Mary, daughter of Sir Francis Fortescue, and so remained until the Great Fire of 1666, when the venerable old castle, which had witnessed so many important and tragical events connected with the City of which it was the guardian, was finally, and for ever, destroyed, not a vestige now remaining.