THE chief of the officials of the City of London was for many years after the Conquest the Castellan and Bannerer. When William the Conqueror obtained possession of London he built a castle on the river at each end of the city, to intimidate the Londoners. The Tower was at the east end, and at the west end was what according to Dugdale was called at first The Castle. This was placed under the charge of Baynard, one of the Conqueror’s followers, after whom it came to be known as Baynard’s Castle. The hereditary office of Castellan was held by the family of Fitz-Walter, by virtue of their possession of Baynard’s Castle, the key of the city. The duties attached to this office are among the most important and interesting in the story of mediÆval London, and it is to be presumed that Baynard held the various privileges afterwards possessed by the family of Fitz-Walter, but no notice of this is recorded.

Robert Fitz-Richard was the first baron by tenure. He is said to have been the younger son of Richard Fitz-Gilbert, ancestor of the Earls of Clare. He was steward to Henry I., from whom he obtained the barony of Dunmow, and the honour of the soke of Baynard’s Castle, both which had been forfeited to the Crown in 1111 by reason of the felony of William, Baron of Dunmow, son of Ralph Baynard, the Norman associate of William the Conqueror, after whom the castle was named.

In connection with this soke Robert held the hereditary office of Standard-Bearer of the city, the duties of which will be stated further on. He died in 1134, and was succeeded by his son, Walter Fitz-Robert. The latter’s son was Robert Fitz-Walter, the most famous member of the family, and the one who transmitted to his descendants the permanent surname of Fitz-Walter.

This Fitz-Walter was styled ‘Marshal of the Army of God and Holy Church.’ He was one of the twenty-five barons appointed to enforce the observance of Magna Charta obtained from King John.

An ‘agreement [dated 15-25 June 1215] between King John, of the one part, and Robert Fitz-Walter, Marshal of the Army of God and of Holy Church in England, six earls and six barons named, and other earls, barons and freemen, of the other part,’ is preserved in the Public Record Office, and the following description of the document is given in the Catalogue of MSS., &c., in the Museum of the P.R.O. (1902): ‘The earls, barons and others shall hold the City of London, saving the royal revenues, and the Archbishop of Canterbury shall hold the Tower of London, saving the liberties of the city, until the Feast of the Assumption in the seventeenth year of the reign. In the meanwhile, oaths shall be taken throughout England to twenty-five barons, as is contained in the charter for the liberties and security of the realm, and all things shall be done according to the said charter; otherwise the city and the Tower shall be held as above, until all the said things shall be done.’ It is said in a note to this document that ‘none of the thirteen persons who are thus entered into an agreement with the King are mentioned among those upon whose advice he granted the great charter.’

The third baron was himself in trade, and he owned wine ships. He received special privileges from John, and the story of that King’s treatment of his daughter Matilda is supposed to be an unfounded tale.

In the year 1215 the insurgent barons entered the city at Aldgate, largely owing to the assistance of Robert Fitz-Walter, whose position was of a commanding character. He died in 1235.

Walter Fitz-Walter succeeded his father Robert, and died in 1257. He was succeeded by his son Robert Fitz-Walter, the fifth baron.

It is of the latter’s duties and privileges that we possess an account, written by Robert Glover, Somerset Herald in the reign of Elizabeth, extracts from which are given by Dugdale in his Baronage of England, 1675, i. 200:—

‘In time of war [he] should serve the city in manner following, viz.: To ride upon a light horse, with twenty men-at-arms on horseback, their horses covered with cloth or harness, unto the great dore of St. Paul’s Church, with the banner of his arms carried before him; and being come in that manner thither, the Mayor of London, together with the sheriffs and aldermen, to issue armed out of the church unto the same dore on foot, with a banner in his hand, having the figure of St. Paul depicted with gold thereon, but the feet, hands and head of silver, holding a silver sword in his hand.

‘And as soon as he shall see the Mayor, sheriffs and aldermen come on foot out of the church, carrying such a banner, he is to alight from his horse, and salute him as his companion, saying, Sir Mayor, I am obliged to come hither to do my service, which I owe to this city. To whom the Mayor, sheriffs and aldermen are to answer, We give to you, as our banner-bearer for this city, this banner by inheritance of the city, to bear and carry, to the honour and profit thereof to your power.

‘Whereupon the said Robert and his heirs shall receive it into their hands, and the Mayor and sheriffs shall follow him to the dore, and bring him an horse worth twenty pounds. Which horse shall be saddled with a saddle of his arms, and covered with silk, depicted likewise with the same arms; and they shall take twenty pounds sterling, and deliver it to the chamberlain of the said Robert, for his expenses that day,’ etc.[268]

There was a vacant ground opposite the great west door of St. Paul’s where this interesting ceremony took place. The folkmoots were held in the churchyard at the east end of the cathedral.

In 1275 (3 Edw. I.) Robert Fitz-Walter obtained licence from the Crown to convey Baynard Castle and the Tower of Montfichet to the Archbishop of Canterbury for the purpose of the foundation of the House and Church of the Friars Preachers or Blackfriars.[269] In the following year Edward I. confirmed the grant of two lanes adjacent to ‘Castle Baynard and the Tower of Montfytchet for the purpose of enlarging the aforesaid place on condition that the said archbishop should provide the citizens with a more convenient way as he had now done.’[270] In 1277-1278 an alteration was made in the wall of the friary.[271]

When Sir Robert Fitz-Walter conveyed Baynard Castle to the Archbishop he specially reserved all his rights and privileges in the following terms: ‘Provided that by reason of this grant nothing should be extinguished to him and his heirs which did belong to his barony, but that whatsoever relating thereto as wel in rents, landing of vessells and other liberties and priviledges in the City of London or elsewhere without diminution, which to him the said Robert or to that barony had antiently appertained, should be thenceforth reserved.’[272]

We know very little of this Tower of Montfichet, but it must have been closely connected with Baynard Castle. There is a reference to it and its owner in the Chronique de la guerre entre les Anglois et les Ecossois en 1173 et 1174 par Jordan Fantosme (Howlett’s Chronicles of Stephen, Henry II. and Richard I., iii. 339. Rolls Series):

As Mr. Round points out to me this reference to the Clares must relate to the proprietors of Baynard’s Castle, who, as previously noted, were of the same family as the Clares. Walter Fitz-Robert is also referred to in this metrical chronicle.

The Barons Fitz-Walter possessed many privileges in time of peace, which are set out by Dugdale, among which was the right of punishing by drowning at Woodwharf persons guilty of treason, but it was as constable of Barnard Castle that they enjoyed these privileges as well as the office of bannerer to the City of London. A beautiful seal inscribed ‘Sigillum Roberti Filii Walteri’ was found at Stamford, Lincolnshire, in the reign of Charles II., and is the subject of a paper by John Charles Brooke of the Heralds’ College in ArchÆologia (vol. v. pp. 211-215): ‘In this seal we see [Fitz-Walter’s] horse elegantly engraved and covered with trappings of his arms, so exquisitely represented, that they evidently appear to be of a much finer texture than those commonly used, the muscles of the animal being seen under them, and as much as engraving can represent drapery, appear to be silk, as described by Glover; and what is remarkable his arms are carved on the rest behind his saddle, which is a rare instance, and evidently alludes to that which the Mayor was to present to him.’

On the seal are represented the arms of Fitz-Walter’s second wife Eleanor, daughter of Robert de Ferrers, Earl of Ferrers and Derby. She was married in 1298 and died in 1304, therefore the date of the seal is fixed within six years. Mr. Brooke refers to another seal of Baron Fitz-Walter which he used, 28 Edw. I. (Anno 1300), and in which the dragon occurring in the former seal beneath the horse is used as a supporter. Robert Fitz-Walter died in 1325, and in 1328 the wardship of his son John was granted by the Mayor and aldermen to his widow Johanna.[273]

SEAL OF ROBERT FITZ-WALTER.
SEAL OF ROBERT FITZ-WALTER.

In 1347 Sir John Fitz-Walter still claimed to have franchise in the ward of Castle Baynard, but the city entirely repudiated the claim as ‘altogether repugnant to the liberties of the city.’ He caused stocks to be set up in the ward of Castle Baynard, and claimed to make deliverance of men there imprisoned. In consequence of this action, a conference was held by the Mayor, aldermen and commonalty, at which ‘it was agreed that the said Sir John Fitz-Walter has no franchise within the liberty of the city aforesaid, nor is he in future to intermeddle with any plea in the Guildhall of London, or with any matters touching the liberties of the city.’[274]

The Recorder, the chief official of the city, is appointed for life. He was formerly appointed by the city, but since the Local Government Act of 1888 he is nominated by the city and approved by the Lord Chancellor. His duties and his oath are recorded in the Liber Albus. In 1329 Gregory de Nortone, the then holder of the office, obtained an increase of salary—100 shillings yearly, as also his robe of the same pattern as the aldermen’s robes.[275]

The Common Serjeant was formerly appointed by the city, but since 1888 by the Lord Chancellor. He is the recorder’s principal assistant.

The next great official is the Town Clerk, who is appointed by the Common Council and re-elected annually. John de Batequell, clerk of the city, is referred to in Letter Book A,[276] and this is the first recorded mention of the office afterwards known as the common clerk, and later as town clerk. Next to the recorder the town clerk was the chief officer in the local courts of law called the Hustings and the Mayor’s Court.

Among the distinguished men who have held the office two names stand out, viz., John Carpenter and William Dunthorn.

Carpenter, town clerk in the reigns of Henry V. and Henry VI., was elected in 1417. He was called also secretary of the city, a title not applied to any other town clerk. He is best known as the compiler of the Liber Albus, and as founder of the City of London school.

Dunthorn’s (1462) name is associated with the Liber Dunthorn, which contains transcripts from the Liber Albus, Liber Custumarum, Letter Books, etc.

The Chamberlain or Comptroller of the King’s Chamber is appointed by the livery. He was originally a King’s officer, and the office was probably instituted soon after the Conquest. It is mentioned in documents of the twelfth century. On June 28, 1232, the office of ‘King’s chamberlain of London’ was granted for life to Peter de Rivallis. His duties and privileges as stated in the grant are very extensive and important. ‘He shall have for life the custody of the King’s houses at Southampton, and the King’s prise of wine there,’ ‘custody of the King’s Jewry, of the mint of England,’ and ‘all other things pertaining to the office of Chamberlain of London.’ By another grant of the same year the said Peter, Treasurer of Poitiers for life, was given the custody of the ports and coasts of England, saving the port of Dover.[277] When the office is mentioned in 1275 it was combined with the offices of Mayor and coroner.

The functions of coroner were often exercised by the chamberlain and sheriffs, and when the chamberlain was called away from the city by the King he appointed a deputy coroner. The office was sometimes held by the King’s butler, to whom appertained the office of coroner.

William Trente, a wine merchant of Bergerac, was appointed King’s butler on the 25th November 1301 (30 Edw. I.)[278] He became also the King’s chamberlain of the city and coroner of London.[279]

Andrew Horn, a fishmonger by trade, who kept a shop in Bridge Street, held the office of chamberlain for several years. He was the compiler of Liber Horn, which contains charters, statutes, grants, etc. To him also has been attributed the authorship of the law treatise of mediÆval times entitled the ‘Mirror of Justice.’[280] He died in 1328.

Many attempts were made by the citizens to get the coronership into their own hands, and at last Edward IV. sold the right to appoint a coroner of their own, independent of the King’s butler, for £7000.[281]

The Remembrancer or State Amanuensis is appointed by the Common Council. The office was held from 1571 to 1584 by a distinguished man, Thomas Norton, M.P., who was joint author with Thomas Sackville, Earl of Dorset, of the tragedy of Gorbaduc. He left a manuscript on the ancient duties of the Lord Mayor and Corporation, an account of which was published by J. Payne Collier in ArchÆologia (vol. xxxvi. p. 97).

The Common Hunt was an official mentioned in the Liber Albus, where we learn that John Courtenay was appointed to the office in 1417.[282] The office was abolished in the year 1807.

Of officers in immediate attendance on the Mayor may be mentioned the sword-bearer and the sergeant-at-mace.

The first notice of the office of sword-bearer occurs in the Liber Albus (1419), and the first record in the minute books of the appointment of a sword-bearer is in 4 Hen. VI., 1426. Mr. Hope remarks that ‘the absence of earlier notices is most probably due to the

THE CRYPT OF THE GUILDHALL.
THE CRYPT OF THE GUILDHALL.

fact that the sword-bearer was appointed, according to the entry in the Liber Allus... as propres costages du Mair, and not at the cost of the city.’

The sword-bearer is remarkable on account of the distinctive head-covering or ‘cap of maintenance’ which is appropriated to his office.[283]

It is not known when the City of London first possessed a mace or maces, but Mr. Hope refers to the Liber Custumarum to prove that as early as 1252 there were sergeants who carried staves of some kind as emblems of authority. ‘We know this from the claim put forth on the occasion of the Iter of the pleas of the Crown held at the Tower in 1321, that the Mayor and citizens of London should have their own porter and usher, and their own sergeants with their staves. As it was shown that the same claim had been successfully made in 1276-1277, and in 1252 it was allowed’ Mr. Hope quotes from Letter Book F a record of the appointment of Robert Flambard as mace-bearer in 1338, and from this it is clear that the office was not then a newly created one.’[284]

For the due carrying on of the business of the Corporation several new offices have at various times been established, but the foregoing are the officials who carried on the work of the city during the Middle Ages. Much of interest might have been added of these men, but it is only necessary here to refer to them generally as those to whom so much of the history of London was due.

The chief business of the city has been carried on for many centuries in the Guildhall, which is of unknown antiquity. It is almost certain that the building was in existence on the same spot as early as the twelfth century. It was rebuilt in 1411, and has been greatly altered at different times since then. The most interesting portion of the old building will be found in the extensive Gothic crypt which is shown in the illustration on page 273. The open timber roof of the Hall was not added until the alterations of 1866-1870 by the late Sir Horace Jones.