The death of Edward VI took place on the 6th July, 1553, although it was not generally known until two days afterwards. By his father's will the Princess Mary became heiress to the throne. Northumberland was aware of this. He was equally aware that if Mary succeeded to her brother's crown matters might go hard with him. He therefore persuaded Edward to follow the precedent set by his father and re-settle the succession to the crown by will. He succeeded moreover in getting the late king to name as his successor the Lady Jane Grey, grand-daughter of Mary Duchess of Suffolk, the younger sister of Henry VIII, and he took the further precaution of marrying her to his own son, Lord Guildford Dudley. It was in vain that the judges and law officers of the Crown pointed out that the Act of Parliament which authorised Henry to dispose of the crown by will, in the case of his children dying without heirs, did not apply to Edward. Councillors and judges, and even Cranmer himself, were forced to signify their assent by subscribing to the will, which was dated (21 June) a fortnight only before Edward's death.

Northumberland well knew the advantage to be got by securing the co-operation of the city in prosecuting his scheme, so he persuaded the mayor (Sir George Barnes), a number of aldermen (including Sir John Gresham, Sir Andrew Judd, Thomas Offley and Sir[pg 454] Richard Dobbs), and several of the leading merchants of the city to append their signatures to the will.1362 The king had been already dead two days before Northumberland sent for them to Greenwich and acquainted them of the fact, exhorting them at the same time to sign the document.1363

On the 10th July the Lady Jane was brought from Richmond and lodged in the Tower, and that same evening was proclaimed queen at the Cross in Chepe. The mayor took no part in the ceremony, and only one of the sheriffs (William Gerard or Garrard) attended the heralds. If Northumberland thought that the citizens would favour Lady Jane merely because she was a Protestant he was mistaken. The proclamation was received with undisguised coldness, and "few or none said God save her."1364 Nor was it better received by the country at large. The eastern counties rose and in a few days Mary was at the head of 30,000 men. No time was to be lost, and Northumberland at once set out from London to meet her. As he passed through the city he noticed that none wished him "God speed."

No sooner was his back turned than the lords of the council, seeing how matters were going, and eager to throw off the yoke which the duke had placed on their necks, determined upon proclaiming Mary queen. It was necessary, however, that the City should first be informed of their intention, and[pg 455] that, too, without creating too much attention. One of their number therefore took the opportunity of the mayor riding abroad on Wednesday, the 19th July, to accost him privately and bid him and the sheriffs, and such of the aldermen as he could get together at short notice, to meet the lords of the council within an hour at the Earl of Pembroke's place at Castle Baynard. The mayor hurried back, sent for the Recorder and some of the aldermen, and with them proceeded to the place appointed, where they found the council assembled. They were informed of the intention of the lords, and the mayor was bidden to accompany them to Cheapside for the purpose of proclaiming Queen Mary. Their object soon got wind; a crowd followed them to Cheapside, and when the proclamation was made there was such a throwing up of caps and such cries of "God save Queen Mary" that nothing else could be heard. The civic authorities, as well as the lords of the council, thereupon proceeded to St. Paul's to hear a Te Deum; after which the lords withdrew from the city, leaving orders, however, for Queen Mary to be proclaimed in other parts of the city according to custom. The next day (20 July) they returned and dined with the mayor, sitting in council, after dinner, until four o'clock in the afternoon, whilst the church bells rang all day long.1365

As soon as Northumberland heard of the turn affairs had taken, he caused Mary to be proclaimed at Cambridge, where he happened to be quartered, "castinge up his capp after as if he had bene joyfull of it." His simulated enthusiasm, however, availed[pg 456] him nothing, and orders were issued for his arrest. Special precautions were taken to avoid disturbance on the day (25 July) that he passed through the city on his way to the Tower, every householder in the several wards through which he and his fellow prisoners were to pass being instructed to hold himself in readiness within doors with a clean halberd, and a bill or "pollox" for such service as the alderman might appoint.1366 No disturbance took place, the populace contenting itself with cursing the duke and calling him traitor, and making him take off his hat as he passed through Bishopsgate and continue his journey bareheaded.1367

On the evening of the 3rd August Queen Mary made her first entry into the city, accompanied by her sister Elizabeth. She had come from Newhall, in Essex, where a few days before she had been presented with the sum of £500 in gold by a deputation of the Court of Aldermen accompanied by the Recorder.1368 On the 2nd August it was decided that the lord mayor and his brethren should ride out the next afternoon to meet her majesty at the Bars without Aldgate, and taking their places appointed by the herald-of-arms, should accompany the royal procession.1369 The reception which the new queen met with in the city must have been gratifying. The mayor, on approaching her, handed to her the civic sword, which was given to the Earl of Arundel to carry before her. The mayor himself bore the mace. By express permission of the Court of Aldermen a[pg 457] number of Florentine and other merchant strangers were allowed to attend on horseback, and to erect a pageant at Leadenhall.1370 The whole length of the streets through which the queen had to pass on her way to the Tower had been lavishly decorated, and was lined with members of the various civic companies in their livery gowns. Nothing was omitted that could please the eye or ear.1371

A touching scene took place as Mary was about to enter the Tower. The widow of the Duke of Somerset, to whose policy as protector Mary had offered a steady opposition, met the queen at the Tower gate, and in company with the Duke of Norfolk, Stephen Gardiner and others, who had been confined in the Tower in the late reign, knelt down and saluted her. Mary, in a charitable mood, kissed each of them, claimed them as her own prisoners, and shortly afterwards granted them their liberty.1372

A week later (10 Aug.) the remains of the late king were carried from Whitehall to Westminster and laid in Henry the Seventh's Chapel, the service being conducted wholly in English, the communion taking the place of the mass, and the priests being vested in a surplice only, in accordance with the provisions of the Book of Common Prayer. For a short time after Mary's accession it was thought that she would be content if the Church were restored to the position it was in at the time when Henry VIII died. It was not long before the new queen shewed this opinion to be erroneous. The Prayer Book of King[pg 458] Edward VI was set aside, the high altars that had been removed were restored, and mass was restored. Ridley was sent to the Tower and Bonner brought out from the Marshalsea and reinstated in the bishophric of London. Gardiner, who had been deprived of his see of Winchester and kept prisoner in the Tower, not only recovered his freedom and his see, but was made the queen's chancellor. On the other hand, Cranmer and "Mr. Latimer" were sent to the Tower.

The change that was being wrought caused some little disturbance in the city. When Doctor Bourne, who had been put up by the queen to preach at Paul's Cross one Sunday in August, began to pray for the dead, and to refer to Bonner's late imprisonment, one of his hearers threw a knife at him whilst others called the preacher a liar. The queen was so angry at this that she sent for the mayor and aldermen and told them plainly that she would deprive the city of its liberties if they could not better preserve peace and good order within its walls.1373

A few days later she issued a proclamation in which, whilst making no secret of her wish that everyone would conform to the religion "which all men knew she had of long tyme observed, and ment, God willing, to contynue the same," she deprecated men calling each other heretic or papist, but willed that everyone should follow the religion he thought best until further orders were taken.1374 The mayor in the meantime had also issued his precept against any sermon or lecture being read other than the Divine[pg 459] Service appointed until the queen's further pleasure should be made known.1375

Lest any disturbance should arise on the following Sunday (20 Aug.), when Bishop Gardiner's chaplain was to preach at Paul's Cross, the queen sent the captain of the guard with 200 men, who surrounded the pulpit, halberd in hand. The mayor, too, had ordered the livery companies to be present "to herken yf any leude or sedicious persons made any rumors"—a precaution which much pleased the queen.1376

When Michaelmas-day (the day on which the election of the new mayor for the ensuing year was to take place) came round, the choice of the citizens fell upon Sir Thomas White.1377 In accordance with the new order of things, the election was preceded by the celebration of mass in the Guildhall Chapel as of old.

The day after the election of the new mayor the queen passed through the city from the Tower to Whitehall for her coronation. The streets presented their usual gay appearance on this occasion, and the queen was made the recipient of the[pg 460] "accustomed" gift of 1,000 marks on behalf of the city.1378 On the day of the coronation (1 Oct.) the daily service at St. Paul's had to be suspended because all the priests not under censure for Protestantism or for having married were summoned to assist at Westminster.1379

When Mary appeared before her first parliament1380 she found her subjects in many points opposed to her. They were willing to restore the worship and practice of the Church as they existed before the death of Henry VIII, but they showed a determination neither to submit to Rome nor to restore to the Church the property of which it had been deprived. They knew, moreover, of her anxious wish to marry Philip, son of the emperor Charles V, and yet did not hesitate to present to her a petition against a foreign marriage. It was a bold step for parliament to take in those days, and showed that it was determined to win back its ancient rights and no longer to be the tool of the crown. Mary was not one likely to yield in a matter on which she had once set her heart. Rather than take its advice she dissolved parliament. The result was an insurrection.

In the meanwhile the aged Cranmer and the youthful Lady Jane Grey—she "that wolde a been qwene"—her husband and two of her husband's brothers had been brought to trial at the Guildhall[pg 461] (13 Nov). The axe was borne before them on their way from the Tower, as if in anticipation of the verdict. The Lady Jane is described as clad in a black gown, with velvet cap and black hood, having a black velvet book hanging at her girdle, whilst she carried another in her hand.1381 Each of the accused pleaded guilty, and sentence of death was passed; its execution was, however, delayed owing to the outbreak known as Wyatt's Rebellion.

The ostensible cause of the rebellion was the queen's determination at all hazards to marry Philip, whose ambassadors arrived at the opening of the new year (1554). The civic authorities had been warned to treat them handsomely, a warning which was scarcely necessary, for the citizens have never allowed political differences to interfere with their hospitality; and accordingly one of the ambassadors was lodged at Durham Place, near Charing Cross, another at the Duke of Suffolk's house hard by, whilst a third shared apartments with the chancellor "Nigro" (Philip Negri) in Sir Richard Sackville's house at the conduit in Fleet Street. To each and all of the guests the City sent presents of wax, torches, flour and every kind of meat, game and poultry.1382 Formal announcement of the intended match was made by the chancellor on the 14th January, but it was received with every sign of discontent and misgiving, "yea and therat allmost eche man was[pg 462] abashed, loking daylie for worse mattiers to growe shortly after."1383 The following day (15 Jan.)—the day on which the rebellion under Wyatt broke out in Kent, to be followed by risings in Devonshire and Norfolk—the mayor and aldermen were summoned to court and ordered to bring with them forty of the chief commoners of the city, when the lord chancellor informed them of the queen's intention, and exhorted them as obedient subjects to accept her grace's pleasure and to remain content and quiet. He warned them, at the same time, to see that the queen's wishes respecting religious services in the city were strictly carried out, on pain of incurring her high indignation.1384

Steps were taken for putting the city into a proper state of defence. The civic companies were ordered to set watches as on similar critical occasions, and no gunpowder, weapons or other munitions of war were allowed to be sent out of the city. Chains were set up at the bridge-foot and at the corner of New Fish Street. The borough of Southwark was called upon to provide eighty tall and able men, well harnessed and weaponed, for the safeguard of the queen's person and of the city,1385 whilst the livery companies at a few hours' notice furnished a force of 500 men to be speedily despatched by water to Gravesend.1386

Whatever faults Queen Mary had, she was by no means deficient in courage. On the same day (1 Feb.) that Wyatt appeared with his forces at Southwark,[pg 463] she came to the Guildhall1387 and there addressed a spirited harangue to the assembled citizens.1388 She plainly told them that her proposed marriage was but a Spanish cloak to cover the real purpose of the rebellion, which was aimed against her religion. She was their queen, and they had sworn allegiance to her; they surely would not allow her to fall into the hands of so vile a traitor as Wyatt was. As for her marriage, it had been arranged with the full knowledge of the lords of the council, as one of expediency for the realm. Passion had no part in the matter. She had hitherto, she thanked God, lived a virgin, and doubted not she could, if necessary, live so still. At the close of her speech, which, we are told, was delivered in a loud voice so that all might hear, she bade the citizens to pluck up heart and not to fear the rebels any more than she did. She then quitted the hall and went up into the aldermen's council chamber and there refreshed herself, after which she rode through Bucklersbury to the Vintry, where she took barge to Westminster.

In the meantime the Spanish ambassadors had taken fright at Wyatt's approach and had "sped themselves awaie by water, and that with all hast."1389 Many inhabitants of the city had also deserted their fellow burgesses at this critical time, and their names were submitted to the Court of Aldermen for subsequent enquiry.1390 They were, according to Foxe, afraid of being entrapped by the queen and perhaps put to death.

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A force of 1,000 men raised in the city.

In response to the queen's speech the citizens at once set to work to raise a force of 1,000 men for the defence of the city, the mayor and aldermen each in his own ward taking a muster. So busy was everyone on Candlemas-day (2 Feb.) that the civic authorities omitted to attend the afternoon service at St. Paul's, and the mayor's serving-men waited upon him at dinner ready harnessed.1391 Even the lawyers at Westminster "pleaded in harness."1392

Wyatt and his followers before Ludgate.

Wyatt made prisoner and lodged in the Tower.

The defensive precautions taken by the mayor and aldermen were sufficient to prevent Wyatt making good his entry into the city by Southwark and London Bridge. Foiled in this direction he sought to approach the city from another side, but had to march as far as Kingston before he could cross the Thames. Many of his followers in the meantime deserted him.1393 Nevertheless he continued to make his way, with but little opposition, to Ludgate, which, contrary to his expectation, he found shut in his face. He had been recognised by a tailor of Watling Street, who seeing the force approaching cried, "I know that theys be Wyettes ancienttes," and forthwith closed the gate.1394 That Wyatt had supporters in the city may be gathered from the half-hearted opposition that he met with in Southwark, as well as from the fact that many of the soldiers raised in the city and neighbourhood deserted to Wyatt at the outset of the rebellion.1395 Wyatt himself exhibited no little disappointment at finding Ludgate closed against him instead of the[pg 465] aid which he evidently had expected. "I have kept touch" said he, as he turned his back on the city.1396 He had scarcely reached Temple Bar before he was overcome by a superior force and yielded himself a prisoner. After a short stay at Whitehall he was removed to the Tower.

Execution of Lady Jane Grey, Wyatt and others.

The failure of the revolt was fatal to Lady Jane Grey, and she was beheaded within the Tower (12 Feb.) almost at the same time that her husband was being executed outside on Tower Hill. By the strange irony of fortune, it fell to the lot of Thomas Offley to perform the duties of sheriff at Dudley's execution, although he had himself been one of the supporters of the Lady Jane in her claim to the crown. For the next few days the city presented a sad spectacle; whichever way one turned there was to be seen a gibbet with its wretched burden, whilst the city's gates bristled with human heads.1397 Wyatt himself was one of the last to suffer, being brought to the block on Tower Hill on the 11th April. His head and a portion of his body, after being exposed on gallows, were taken away by his friends for decent burial.1398

Measures for preserving the peace.

On the 17th February proclamation was made for all strangers to leave the realm, on the ground that they sowed the seeds of their "malycyouse doctryne and lewde conversacioun" among the queen's good subjects;1399 and this had been followed in the city[pg 466] by precepts to each alderman to call before him all the householders of his ward, both rich and poor, on Wednesday the 7th March, at six o'clock in the morning, and strictly charge them that they, their wives, their children and servants behave themselves in all things and more especially in matters of religion, following the example of the queen herself. All offenders were to be reported forthwith.1400

The lord mayor before the Star Chamber.

A report having got abroad in the city that the lords of the council had endeavoured to extract a confession from Wyatt implicating the Princess Elizabeth in the late rebellion, the mayor was ordered by Bishop Gardiner to bring up the originator of the rumour before the Star Chamber. When Sir Thomas White appeared with the culprit, one Richard Cut by name, a servant to a grocer in the city, he was soundly rated by Gardiner for not having himself punished the offender, and when he replied that the party was there present for the Star Chamber to deal with according to its pleasure, was again rebuked:—"My lord, take heed to your charge, the Citie of London is a whirlepoole and a sinke of evill rumors, there they be bred, and from thence spred into all parts of the realme."1401 Cut paid the penalty for his love of gossip by being made to stand two days in the pillory and by the loss of his ears.1402

Demand of money from the city, 1554.

The suppression of the revolt left Mary at liberty to carry out her matrimonial design. But before accomplishing this she was determined to place such a garrison in or near London as should prevent similar[pg 467] outbreaks in future. For this purpose she applied to the citizens for a sum of 6,000 marks. Thus called upon to supply a rod for their own backs, the citizens demurred. They at first proposed to offer the sum of 1,000 marks, or at the most £1,000; they afterwards agreed to contribute double the first mentioned sum,1403 and this was accepted. The money was raised by contributions from the different livery companies, the Merchant Taylors, the Mercers, the Grocers, the Drapers, the Fishmongers, the Goldsmiths, and the Haberdashers being called upon to subscribe the sum of £100 respectively, whilst the rest of the companies paid sums varying from £80 to forty shillings.1404 No sooner had the citizens satisfied the queen in this respect than they were called upon to send 200 soldiers to Gillingham, in Kent, there to be embarked for foreign service under the Lord Admiral. The City again demurred, and asked to be excused the necessity of forwarding the men beyond Billingsgate or the Tower Wharf and also of providing them with accoutrements. It was to no purpose, both men and accoutrements had to be found.1405 On the 10th April the chamberlain received orders to see that the city's artillery was in readiness and to increase the store of gunpowder.1406 Wyatt was to be executed the next day, and these orders were probably given in anticipation of a disturbance.

Trial at the Guildhall of Nicholas Throckmorton, 17 April.

That Wyatt still had friends in the city is shown by the bold attitude taken up by the jury in the trial (17 April) of one of his accomplices, Nicholas Throckmorton, against whom they brought in a[pg 468] verdict of not guilty.1407 For this they were bound over to appear before the Star Chamber. Four of the twelve made submission; the rest, among whom were Thomas Whetstone, a haberdasher, and Emanuel Lucar, a merchant tailor, were committed some to the Tower and the rest to the Fleet, where they remained for six months. In the meantime the Court of Aldermen wrote (19 July) to the council in their favour, but with little success.1408 A month later (19 August) a deputation waited on the Court of Aldermen for advice as to what future steps had best be taken for obtaining the release of their brethren in the Fleet, when they were told that the wives of the prisoners or the prisoners' friends should first make suit to the council for their release, after which the court would see what they could do.1409 At length the prisoners were summoned once more (26 Oct.) before the Star Chamber, when they one and all declared that they had only acted in accordance with their conscience, whilst Lucar, more outspoken than the rest, asserted that "they had done in the matter like honest men and true and faithful subjects." Such plain speaking ill suited the judges, who thereupon condemned the offenders to a fine of 1,000 marks apiece and imprisonment until further order. Eventually five out of the eight were discharged (12 December) on payment of a fine of £220, and ten days later the rest regained their liberty on payment of £60 apiece.1410

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The queen's marriage, July, 1554.

A parliament which met in April (1554)1411 gave its consent to Mary's marriage with Philip, but refused to re-enact the old statutes for the persecution of heretics. On the 19th July Philip landed at Southampton, and on the 21st Mary herself notified the event to the citizens of London,1412 who for some time past had been making preparations for giving both queen and king a fitting reception, and who immediately on receipt of the news of Philip's landing caused bonfires to be lighted in the streets.1413

The passage of the king and queen through the city, 19 Aug.

Mary rode down to Winchester to meet Philip,1414 and on the 25th became his wife. It was not until the 17th August that the royal pair approached the city. On that day they came by water from Richmond to Southwark, the king in one barge, the queen in another. After taking refreshment at the Bishop of Winchester's palace, and killing a buck or two in the bishop's park, they retired to rest.1415 Special orders were given to the aldermen to keep a good and substantial double watch in the city from nine o'clock in the evening (17 Aug.) until five o'clock the next morning, such watch to continue until further notice.1416 The authorities differ widely as to the precise day on which the royal party passed through the city. The city's own records point to the afternoon of Sunday the 19th August as the day. On the morning of that day the Court of Aldermen sat, and[pg 470] a letter from the queen commending them for their forwardness in "making shewes of honour and gladnes" for the occasion was read to the wardens of all the companies for them to communicate to the members. The wardens were further enjoined to give strict orders to the members of their several companies to honestly use and entreat the Spaniards in all things, both at their coming in with the king and queen and ever afterwards. The same morning a speech which the Recorder had prepared for the occasion in English was handed over to the master of St. Paul's School to be turned into Latin. None too much time was allowed the worthy pedagogue for the purpose, for he was to give it back that same afternoon so that the Recorder might "make and pronounce yt to the kinges majesty at his comynge in."1417

A curious incident is related in connection with the royal procession through the city. The conduit in Gracious Church Street, which had been newly painted and gilded, bore representations of the "nine worthies," and among them Henry the Eighth and Edward the Sixth. Instead of carrying a sword or mace like the rest, Henry had been portrayed with a sceptre in one hand and a book bearing the inscription Verbum Dei in the other. This catching the eye of Bishop Gardiner as he passed in the royal train, he was very wroth and sent for the painter, asked him by whose orders he had so depicted the king, called him "traitor" and threatened him with the Fleet[pg 471] prison. The poor painter, who for the first time had been made to realise the change that was taking place, pleaded that what he had done had been done in all innocence, and hastened to rectify his mistake by removing the bible from the picture and substituting in its place a pair of gloves.1418

The reconciliation with Rome, 1554.

In November (1554) a new parliament1419 was called, which proved more ready than the last to comply with the queen's wishes. It re-enacted the statutes for burning heretics and agreed to a reconciliation of the Church of England with the See of Rome, but it refused to sanction the surrender of Church lands. Bonner had already taken steps to purge his diocese of heresy by issuing a series of articles (14 Sept.) to which every inhabitant, clerical and lay, was expected to conform.1420 That there was room for improvement in matters touching religion and public decorum there is no doubt, otherwise there would have been no need of proclamations such as those against the arrest of persons whilst conducting service in church,1421 against wrangling over passages of scripture in common taverns and victualling houses,1422 or against carrying of baskets of provisions and leading mules, horses or other beasts through St. Paul's.1423

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The mayor and aldermen endeavoured to set a good example by constant attendance at the services and by joining in processions at St. Paul's as in former days.1424 The law forbidding the eating of meat in Lent, except by special licence, was vigorously enforced.1425 Ale-houses and taverns were closed on Sundays and holy days, and interludes were forbidden.1426

Opposition to the reestablishment of the old religion.

Nevertheless the attempt to restore the old worship within the city was often met with scornful mockery, sometimes attended with violence. A dead cat, for instance, was one day found hanging in Cheapside, its head shorn in imitation of a priest's tonsure, and its body clothed in a mock ecclesiastical vestment, with cross before and behind, whilst a piece of white paper to represent a singing-cake was placed between its forefeet, which had been tied together. Bonner was very angry at this travesty of religion, and caused the effigy to be publicly displayed at Paul's Cross during sermon time. A reward of twenty marks was offered for the discovery of this atrocious act, but with what success we do not know.1427

On another occasion, when the Holy Sacrament was being carried in solemn procession through Smithfield on Corpus Christi-day (24 May), an attempt was made to knock the holy elements out of the hands of the priest. The offender was taken to[pg 473] Newgate, where he feigned to be mad.1428 Again, on the following Easter-day a priest was fiercely attacked by a man with a wood-knife whilst administering the sacrament in the church of St. Margaret, Westminster. The culprit was seized, and after trial and conviction paid the penalty of his crime by being burned at the stake.1429 A pudding was once offered to a priest whilst walking in a religious procession,1430 the offender being afterwards whipt at the "Post of Reformation," which had been set up in Cheapside in 1553.1431 But all this defiance shown to Mary's attempt to restore the old worship only led her to exercise more drastic methods for accomplishing her purpose.

The Marian persecution, 1555.

By the opening of 1555 her own strong personal will had overcome the conciliatory policy of her husband, who was content to restrain his fanaticism within the limits of expediency, and the Marian persecution commenced. On the 25th January a proclamation was issued in the name of the king and queen, and bearing the signature of William Blackwell, the town clerk of the city, enjoining the lighting of bonfires that afternoon in various places in token of great joy and gladness for the abolition of sundry great sins, errors and heresies which lately had arisen within the realm of England, and for the quiet renovation and restitution of the true Catholic faith of Christ and his holy religion.1432 This proclamation was but a prelude to other fires lighted for a very different purpose, which the mind even at this day cannot contemplate without a shudder. The first victim of the flames for conscience sake was John Rogers, once[pg 474] vicar of St. Sepulchre's church and prebendary of St. Paul's. He was burnt in Smithfield "for gret herysy" in February of this year, in which month Hooper, who had been deprived of his bishopric of Gloucester, suffered the same fate in his own cathedral city.1433 In the following May another city vicar, John Cardmaker, otherwise known as John Taylor of St. Bride's, who had been a reader at St. Paul's and had publicly lectured against the real presence, was burnt in Smithfield with John Warne, an "upholder" of Walbrook.1434

Few weeks passed without the fire claiming some human victim either in London or the provinces. On the 9th February Thomas Tomkins, a godly and charitable weaver of Shoreditch, and William Hunter, a young London apprentice, were with four others condemned to the stake. The two named met their fate in Smithfield, one on the 16th March and the other on the 26th. The rest were removed into Essex and there consigned to the flames, three of them in March and one in the following June.1435

In October Bishops Latimer and Ridley were burnt at Oxford. "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man"—cried Latimer encouragingly to his fellow sufferer—"we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England as I trust shall never be put out." In March of the following year (1556) Cranmer, after some display of weakness, suffered the same fate, on the same spot, and with no less fortitude. And thus for two years more the fires were kept alive in London and in the country; the[pg 475] Lollard's tower at St. Paul's serving as a prison for heretics,1436 and proving more often than not but a step to Smithfield.

Renewed opposition to strangers in the city.

Throughout Mary's reign the strife between the citizens and merchant strangers was renewed. She had herself added to the evil by her marriage with Philip, causing the city to be flooded with Spaniards, who took up their abode in the halls of the civic companies.1437 A rumour got abroad early in September, 1554, that 12,000 Spaniards were coming over "to fethe the crown,"1438 and this accounts for precepts being sent to the several aldermen of the city on the 27th September enjoining them to make a return of the number of foreigners that had come to reside in their ward during the past nine or ten days, and whence they came.1439 The favour shown by the Crown to the merchants of the Steelyard was especially annoying to the freemen of the city.1440 It was to little purpose that the mayor and aldermen issued orders from time to time against giving work to foreigners and prohibiting all such from opening shops within[pg 476] the city.1441 The struggle between citizen and stranger still went on. In 1557 the corporation made an effort to induce the king and queen to revoke the favours shown to the merchants of the Steelyard in prejudice of the liberties of the city,1442 and eventually the privileges were revoked on the ground that the merchants of the Hanse had not kept faith with the Crown.1443 In the same year the exclusiveness entertained by the citizens towards foreigners made itself felt more particularly against that class of foreigner which kept open school in the city for teaching writing. Certain scriveners, freemen of the city, made a complaint before the Court of Aldermen against foreigners keeping writing-school within the city and its liberties.1444 The chamberlain's conduct of shutting in the shop windows of foreigners teaching children to write was approved by the mayor and aldermen,1445 whilst freemen were allowed to keep open school provided they entered into a bond not to engross deeds.1446 Occasionally foreigners were successful in obtaining licences from the civic authorities for teaching writing, but it was only on condition they kept their lower windows closed.1447

Philip leaves England, 4 Sept., 1555.

The queen obtains a City loan of £6,000, Aug., 1556.

War declared against France, 7 June, 1557.

In the meantime the disposition of the queen towards heretics became more relentless in proportion as her temper became more soured from ill-health, by disappointment in not having off-spring, and by the increasing neglect of her by her husband. Tired of[pg 477] her importunate love and jealousy, Philip took the first opportunity of quitting her side and crossed over to the continent (4 Sept., 1555) on a visit to the Emperor Charles. The abdication of the latter towards the close of 1556 made Philip master of the richest and most extensive dominions in Europe, and his greatest wish at the time was to engage England in the war which was kindled between Spain and France. In this he received the support of Mary, who had in August (1556) succeeded in obtaining a loan from the city of £6,000.1448 The seizure of the castle of Scarborough by Thomas Stafford,1449 second son of Lord Stafford, in which he was reported to have received encouragement from the King of France, was made a casus belli, and Henry was proclaimed an open enemy (7 June, 1557).1450 French subjects were allowed forty days to quit the country, and letters of marque were issued by proclamation on the 9th June.1451 On the 5th July Philip once more left England for Flanders,1452 having succeeded in the object for which he had come, viz., the declaration of war against France.

A City contingent joins the expedition to France.

The citizens of London at once began to take stock of their munitions of war. On the 22nd June the Chamberlain was instructed to prepare with all convenient speed four dozen good splentes and[pg 478] as many good sallettes or sculles for the city's use, and to cause a bowyer to "peruse" the city's bows and to put them in such good order that they might be serviceable when required.1453 In the following month a large force crossed over to France under the leadership of Lords Pembroke, Montagu and Clinton. To this force the City of London contributed a contingent of 500 men, the best (according to Machyn1454) that had ever been sent. They mustered at the Leadenhall on the 16th July in the presence of Sir Thomas Offley,1455 the mayor, the sheriffs and Sir Richard Lee, and were conveyed thence by water to Gravesend and Rochester under the charge of ten officers, whose names are duly recorded.1456

The City called upon to furnish another contingent of 1,000 men, 31 July.

On the last day of July the queen informed the civic authorities by letter of the departure of her "deerest lord and husband" to pursue the enemy in France, and desired them to get in readiness 1,000 men, a portion of whom were to be horsemen, well horsed and armed, and the rest to be archers, pikes and billmen. The force was to be ready by the[pg 479] 16th August at the latest, after which date it was to be prepared to set out at a day's notice. The letter contained a schedule of names of individuals to whom the queen had made special application, and these were not to be called upon by the municipal officers to make any contribution, neither were the tenants of those noblemen and gentlemen already on active service in France.1457

The citizens make demur, but in vain.

The Court of Aldermen was taken aback at such a demand coming so soon after the setting out of the previous force, and on the 4th August it instructed the Recorder and one of the sheriffs to repair to the queen's council "for the good and suer understandyng of her majesty's pleasure" in the matter. The deputation was further instructed to remind the lords of the council not only of the ancient liberties and franchises of the city on the point, but also of the city's lack of power to furnish a number of men exceeding any it had ever been called upon to furnish before.1458 It was all to no purpose; the men had to be provided; and the matter having been fully explained to the wardens of the several livery companies, they succeeded in raising the force required.1459

The French king defeated at St. Quentin, 27 Aug., 1557.

The defeat of the French king at St. Quentin was celebrated in the city by a solemn procession to St. Paul's, in which figured the mayor and aldermen in their scarlet gowns.1460 The joy of the citizens was shortlived. Philip's caution did not allow him to avail himself of the opportunity thus offered him of marching on the French capital, and before[pg 480] the end of the year matters had taken a different turn.

The loss of Calais, 7 Jan., 1558.

A city force despatched, 24 Jan., 1558.

In December a Spaniard named Ferdinando Lygons was commissioned to raise 300 mounted archers in the city of London and county of Middlesex.1461 At the opening of the new year (2 Jan., 1558) the queen wrote to the corporation desiring to be at once furnished with 500 men out of the 1,000 men the city had been ordered to keep in readiness since July. As the matter was urgent they were not to wait to supply the men with coats.1462 The force was required for the defence of Calais, which was now in a critical position. On the 9th January another letter was sent by Mary marked, Hast, Hast Post, Hast, For lief, For lief, For lief, For lief! demanding the full contingent of 1,000 men.1463 Calais had fallen two days before,1464 and Mary was determined not to rest until the town had been recovered. Diligent search was at once instituted throughout the city for all persons, strangers as well as freemen, capable of wearing harness;1465 and the livery companies and fellowships were called upon to provide double the number of men they had furnished in July last.1466[pg 481] On the 13th the queen wrote to say that a violent storm, which had occurred on the night of the 10th January, had so crippled the fleet that her forces could not be conveyed across the channel; the civic authorities were therefore to withhold sending their force to the sea-coast until further orders, but to keep the same in readiness to start at an hour's notice.1467 On the 19th January the citizens were informed by letter that Philip's forces were on their way to Flanders, under the Duke of Savoy, and that the channel was being kept open by a fleet under Don Luis Carvaial. One half of the force of 1,000 men, furnished with armour and weapons and coats of white welted with green and red crosses, was to be despatched to Dover by the end of the month, thence to sail for Dunkirk for service under the Earl of Rutland. The City was to take especial care that the contingent should be chosen from the handsomest and best picked men, and superior to those last sent.1468 The force mustered at the Leadenhall, the 24th January, for inspection by the mayor, and at five o'clock in the evening were delivered over to the captains for shipment.1469 Three days later the lords of the council instructed the mayor to make a return of the number of foreigners residing still within the city, and to make proclamation on the next market day that it should be lawful thenceforth for anyone to seize the persons of Frenchmen who had not avoided the city pursuant to a previous order,[pg 482] and to confiscate their goods and chattels to his own proper use.1470

A city loan of £20,000, March, 1558.

Mary succeeded in March in raising a loan in the city of £20,000 (she had asked for 100,000 marks or £75,0001471) on the security of the crown lands. The loan bore interest at the rate of twelve per cent., and a special dispensation was granted to avoid the penalties of the Usury Act.1472 The money was raised by assessment on the livery companies. On the 16th March the Court of Aldermen summoned the wardens of the twelve principal companies to attend at the Guildhall at eight o'clock the next morning, in order that they might learn how much the lords of the council had "tottyd" against each of them towards the loan. The smaller companies were to attend in the afternoon of the same day in order to be informed of the sums the Court of Aldermen deemed fit that each should contribute to assist their wealthier brethren. The total amount subscribed by the greater companies was £16,983 6s. 8d., of which the Mercers contributed £3,275. The lesser companies subscribed £1,310, in sums varying from £30 to £500.1473

Death of Mary, 17 Nov., 1558.

It is probable that Mary wanted this loan to enable her to prosecute the war. The country was[pg 483] not disposed, however, to assist her in this direction. The people were afraid of rendering Philip too powerful. Disappointed both in her public and domestic life, she fell a victim to dropsy and died on the 17th November—"wondering why all that she had done, as she believed on God's behalf, had been followed by failure on every side—by the desertion of her husband, and the hatred of her subjects." The loss of Calais so much affected her that she declared that the name of the town would be found impressed upon her heart after death. On the occasion of her funeral the City put in its customary claim for black livery cloth, but more than one application had to be made before the cloth was forthcoming.1474