Upon the demise of Henry VII. on the , his son Henry was proclaimed king in London on the , with the usual solemnities; and, days after, all foreign beggars were banished the city, and compelled to repair to their several parishes.

His majesty, to rivet the affections of the city of London, and of all his subjects, the more securely towards him, committed Sir Richard Empson, knight, and Edward Dudley, Esq. sergeant at law, to the Tower. These were employed by King Henry VII. to raise money, upon penal laws, for filling his coffers, which they did very rigorously in a commission of forfeitures; for which they were now both condemned and attainted by parliament, and, upon the , beheaded on Towerhill. Divers of their inferior agents, called promoters, were set on the pillory in , with papers on their heads, and forced to ride through the city with their faces towards the horses' tails.

Henry's marriage with Catherine, his deceased brother's widow, to whom he had been contracted during the life-time of his father, (a dispensation having been procured from the pope,) was solemnized at Greenwich, in ; and on the of the same month, their majesties were crowned at , with extraordinary pomp. On this occasion, the king and queen, in a magnificent procession, rode from the Tower to . The city was gorgeously embellished with rich silks and tapestry, and part of , and , in , with golden brocades; and the lord-mayor, aldermen, and sheriffs, together with the city companies in their formalities, attended and adorned this pompous shew, whilst the populace incessantly proclaimed their joy. During this whole reign, indeed, the citizens indulged in all the splendid pageantry and profusely expensive spectacles, which were patronised by the court, and became a characteristic feature of the taste of the age.

Henry, in the habit and arms of the yeomen of his guard, came into the city on eve, A. D. , to see the pompous march of the city watch: wherewith he was so highly delighted, that, on the night after, accompanied by his royal

The march was begun by the city music, followed by the lord mayor's officers in party-coloured liveries; then the sword-bearer on horseback, in beautiful armour, preceded the lord mayor, mounted on a stately horse richly trapped, attended by a giant, and pages on horseback; pageants, morrice-dancers, and footmen; next came the sheriffs, preceded by their officers, and attended by their giants, pages, pageants, and morrice-dancers. Then marched a great body of demi-lancers, in bright armour, on stately horses; next followed a body of carabineers, in white fustian coats, with a symbol of the city arms on their backs and breasts; then marched a division of archers, with their bows bent, and shafts of arrows by their side; next followed a party of pikemen in their corslets and helmets; after whom marched a body of halberdeers in corslets and helmets; and the march was closed by a great party of billmen with helmets and aprons of mail; and the whole body, consisting of about men, had between every division a certain number of musicians, who were answered in their proper places by the like number of drums, with standards and ensigns as veteran troops. This nocturnal march was illuminated by cressets, [large lanterns fixed at the ends of poles, and carried over men's shoulders] whereof were defrayed at the city expence, that of the companies, and by the city constables. The march began at the conduit at the west end of , and passed through , , and to ; whence it returned by Fenchurchstreet, Grasschurch-street, , and so back to the conduit. During this march, the houses on each side the said streets were decorated with greens and flowers, wrought into garlands, and intermixed with a great number of lamps.

Sir William Fitz-William was this year disfranchised, because he refused to serve the office of sheriff. He was alderman of ward, and retired to Milton, in Northamptonshire. On the fall of the cardinal, his former master, he gave him kind entertainment there at his house in the country. For which deed being called before the king and demanded how he durst entertain so great an enemy to the state, his answer was, that he had not contemptuously or wilfully done it; but only because he had been his master, and (partly) the means of his great fortunes. The king was so well pleased with his answer, that, saying himself had too few such servants, immediately he knighted him, and afterwards made him a privy-counsellor.

Roger Achiley, the mayor, caused Leaden-hall, the city granary, to be plentifully stored with all sorts of grain, for preventing

In the same year an Act of Parliament was passed, rendering ecclesiastics amenable to the civil law; the clergy preached vehemently against it, but their cause fell into great disrepute, through the infamous murder of a respectable citizen, named Richard Hunne, who, for presuming to bring an action of premunire against a priest, was himself accused of heresy, and imprisoned in the Lollards' Tower, at , where he was found hanged, as if he himself had committed suicide. The coroner's inquest returned a verdict of wilful murder against those who had the charge of the prison; and it was afterwards discovered that the chancellor, Dr. Horsey, assisted, by the bell-ringer, had murdered Hunne, and then hung up his body against the wall. As a means of stifling the vehement clamours which this event excited, Fitz-James, Bishop of London, by the advice of some of his brother prelates, held a court at , in which Hunne, who had now been days in his grave, was condemned as a heretic, for having had a Wickliff's bible in his house, and his body was ordered to be taken up and burnt in Smithfield. This contemptible baseness aggravated the animosity of the laity, yet, although the commons passed a bill for bringing the murderers of Hunne to justice, the clergy had enough influence to cause it to be thrown out by the lords; and, after a long series of conferences, disputes, and bickerings, the whole business terminated in a compromise. The prelacy agreed to drop all proceedings against those who were opposed to them, provided that Horsey's plea of Not Guilty in the court of King's Bench, should be admitted by the king's Attorney-General, as a sufficient answer to the crime of which he was accused. However imperfectly the ends of justice were fulfilled by this decision, it must be regarded as of those efficient steps which, by slow progression, led to the downfall of the Catholic hierarchy. To bring an ecclesiastic to the bar of a civil court, was, in that age, to triumph over the whole body of the priesthood, who thus made at least a virtual acknowledgment of the king's supremacy.

In , the chapel in the White Tower was burnt; and the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex were , by Act of Parliament, empowered to have the empanelling of juries for the city courts, each juror so empanelled to be a citizen worth ; and who, in, case of non-appearance upon the summons, to forfeit , for the , and for every default afterwards the penalty to be double.

A great mortality raged in the city, which swept away a great

The inhabitants of the neighboring villages of , , and , having so enclosed their grounds, that the citizens were thereby not only debarred from their usual exercises in those fields, but likewise, when any of them endeavoured to divert themselves with shooting, their bows and arrows were seized and destroyed before their eyes, whilst others were indicted for trespasses; the citizens greatly enraged at this rude treatment, at the instigation of a turner, in a merry andrew's coat, who ran up and down the streets, incessantly crying,

spades and shovels,

In the year , the Thames was frozen over, and so hard, that carriages of all sorts might pass on the ice between and .

In the month of May, on May-day, there were used to be Maygames; all the citizens, who were able, going into the woods and meadows to divert themselves. A notable example of this is given by Edward Hall, who says, that King Henry VIII. in the year of his reign, on May-day: in the morning, with Queen Catherine his wife, accompanied by many lords and ladies, rode a maying from Greenwich to the high ground of Shooter's Hill; where, as they passed along, they saw a company of tall yeomen, cloathed all in green, with green hoods, and with bows and arrows, to the number of : being their chieftain, was called Robin Hood, who desired the king and all his company to stay and see his men shoot, which the king consented to; and then Robin Hood whistling, all the archers shot off at once, and when he whistled again, they likewise shot again. Their arrows were so contrived in the heads of them, that they all whistled when shot off; so that the noise was strange and loud, and greatly delighted the king, queen, and their company.

Moreover, this Robin Hood desired the king and queen, with their retinue, to enter the green wood, where, in arbors made with boughs, and decked with flowers, they were set and served plentifully with venison and wine, by Robin Hood and his men, to their great satisfaction.

About years after this, an accident happened, which occasioned the epithet of evil to be added to this day of rejoicing,

the city round about, in

Southwark

,

Westminster

, Temple-bar,

Holborn

,

St. Martin's-le-Grand

, St. John's-street,

Aldgate

, Towerhill, and

St. Catherine's

.

Sir, I understand that you shall preach at the Spital on Monday in Easter week; and so it is, that Englishmen, both merchants and others, are undone; but strangers, who have more liberty in this land than they, which is against reason, and also against the commonweal of this realm. I beseech you, therefore, to declare this in your sermon, and in so doing, you shall deserve great thanks of my lord mayor, and of all his brethren.

Whereupon the said Lincoln went unto Dr. Bell, or Bele, a canon of the aforesaid Spital, that was appointed likewise to preach on Tuesday in Easter week, at the same Spital, whom he persuaded to read his said bill in his pulpit: which bill contained in effect, the grievances that many found from strangers, for taking the livings away from artificers, and the intercourse from merchants, the redress whereof must come from the commons united together; for, as the hurt touched all men, so must all set to their helping hands; which letter he read, or the chief part thereof, comprehending much seditious matter, and then he began with this sentence :--

Coelum coeli Domino, terram autem dedit filiis hominum

The heavens to the Lord of heaven, but the earth he hath given to the children of men.

The , divers young men of the city picked quarrels with certain strangers, as they passed along the streets; some they smote and buffeted, and some they threw in the channel; for which the lord mayor sent some of the Englishmen to prison, as Stephen Studley, Skinner, Stephenson Betts, and others.

Then suddenly rose a secret rumour, and no man could tell how it began, that on May-day next following, the city would slay all the aliens, insomuch that divers strangers fled out of the city.

This rumour came to the knowledge of the king's council whereupon the Lord Cardinal sent for the mayor, and other of the council of the city, giving them to understand what he had heard.

The Lord Mayor, as ignorant of the matter, told the cardinal, that he doubted not so to govern the city, but that peace should be obtained.

The Cardinal willed him so to do, and to take heed that if any riotous attempt were intended, he should by good policy prevent it.

The mayor coming from the cardinal's house, about o'clock in the afternoon, on May-eve, sent for his brethren to the ; yet it was almost o'clock before the assembly was set. Upon conference had of the matter, some thought it necessary that a substantial watch should be set of honest citizens, which might withstand the evil doers if they went about any misrule. Others were of a contrary opinion, as rather thinking it best, that every man should be commanded to shut up his doors, and to keep his servants within. Before o'clock the recorder was sent to the cardinal with these opinions, who, hearing the same, allowed the latter. And then the recorder, and Sir Thomas More, late under-sheriff of London, and of the king's council, came back again to the half an hour past o'clock, and there shewed the pleasure of the king's council; whereupon every alderman sent to his ward, that no man, after o'clock should stir out of his house, but keep his doors shut, and his servants within, until o'clock in the morning.

After this command was given in the evening, as Sir John Mundy, alderman, came from his ward, he found young men in Cheape playing at the bucklers, and a great many young men looking on them; for the command seemed to be scarcely published. He ordered them to leave off; and because of them asked why, he would have them sent to the Compter. But the apprentices resisted the alderman, taking the young man from him, and cried,

'Prentices, 'Prentices! Clubs, Clubs!

Being thus gathered in crowds, they ran through St. Nicholas' shambles; and at gate Sir Thomas More, and others, met them, desiring them to return to their homes, which they had almost persuaded them to do; when some within throwing sticks and stones, hurt several who were with Sir Thomas More, particularly Nicholas Dennis, a serjeant at arms; who, being much wounded, cried out

Down with them;

They ran to other places, and broke open and plundered the houses of strangers, and continued thus till o'clock in the morning, at which time they began to withdraw; but by the way, they were taken by the mayor and others, and sent to the Tower, Newgate, and the Compters, to the number of .

The cardinal, being advertised of this by Sir Thomas Parre, sent him immediately to inform the king of it at Richmond; and he forthwith sent to learn what condition the city was in. Sir Roger Cholmeley, Lieutenant of the Tower, during the time of this business, shot off certain pieces of ordnance against the city, but did no great hurt. About o'clock in the morning, the Earls of Shrewsbury and Surrey, Thomas Docwray, Lord Prior of Saint John's, George Nevil, Lord Abergavenny, and others, came to London with what forces they could get together; so did the inns of court: but before they came the business was all over. Then were the prisoners examined, and the sermon of Dr. Bell called in question, and he sent to the Tower. A commission of was directed to the Duke of Norfolk, and other lords, for the punishment of this insurrection. The , the commissioners, with the lord-mayor, aldermen, and justices, went to , where many of the offenders were indicted; whereupon they were arraigned, and pleaded Not Guilty, having day given them till the .

On which day, the Lord Mayor, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Surrey, and others, came to sit in the . The Duke of Norfolk entered the city with men, and the prisoners were brought through the streets tied with ropes; some men, some

On the , Lincoln, Sherwin, and the brothers named Betts, with several of their confederates, were found guilty, and received sentence as the former; when, within a short time after, they were drawn upon hurdles to the standard in , where Lincoln was executed; but, as the rest were about to be turned off, a reprieve came from the king, to stay the execution; upon which the people shouted, crying,

God save the king ;

After this, all the armed men, which before had kept watch in the city, were withdrawn; which gave the citizens hope that the king's displeasure towards them was not so great as themselves conceived. Whereupon, on the , the king residing at his manor of Greenwich, the mayor, recorder, and divers aldermen, went in mourning gowns to wait upon him; and having admittance to the privy-chamber, after they had attended there for some time, the king, attended with several of his nobles, came forth; whereupon they, falling upon their knees, the recorder, in the name of the rest, spake as followeth:

Most natural, benign, and our sovereign lord, We well know that your grace is highly displeased with us of your city of London, for the great riot done and committed there; wherefore we assure your grace, that none of us, nor no honest person, were condescending to that enormity; yet we, our wives, our children, every hour lament that your favour should be taken from us; and forasmuch as light and idle persons were doers of the same, we most humbly beseech your grace to have mercy on us for our negligence, and compassion on the offenders for their offences and trespasses.

To which the king replied,

Truly you have highly displeased and offended us, and therefore you ought to wail and be sorry for the same: and whereas you say that you the substantial citizens were not consenting to what happened, it appeareth to the contrary; for you never moved to let them, nor stirred to fight with those whom you say were so small a number of light persons; wherefore we must think, and you cannot deny, but that you did wink at the matter: therefore at this time we will neither grant you our favor nor good will, nor to the offenders mercy; but resort to our lord chancellor, and he shall make you an answer, and declare to you our pleasure.

At this speech of the king's, the citizens departed very sorrowful; but having notice that the king intended to be at his palace of on the , they resolved to repair thither, which they did accordingly, though not without the appointment of Cardinal Wolsey, who was then lord chancellor; when as a cloth of state being placed at the upper end of Hall, the king took his place, and after him the cardinal, the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, the Earls of Wiltshire, Surrey, Shrewsbury, and Essex, with several others; the lord-mayor, recorder, and aldermen, together with many of the commons, attending in their liveries; when, about o'clock, order was given to bring forth the prisoners, which was accordingly done; so that in they came in their shirts, bound together with ropes, and halters about their necks, to the number of men and women, after another; which so moved several of the nobility, that they became earnest intercessors to the king for their pardon.

When silence was made, and they were all come into the king's presence, the cardinal sharply rebuked the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty, for their negligence; and then, addressing his speech to the prisoners, he told them, that for their offences against the laws of the realm, and against his majesty's crown and dignity, they had deserved death. Whereupon they all set up a piteous cry, crying

Mercy, gracious Lord, mercy;

This company was called the Black Waggon; and the day whereon this riot and insurrection happened, bears the name of Evil May Day to these our present times. And thus have you heard how the citizens escaped the king's displeasure, and were again received into favor; though, as it is thought, not without paying a considerable sum of money to the cardinal to stand their friend, for at that time he was in such power, that he did all with the king.

These great Mayings and May-games, with the triumphant setting--up the great shaft, a principal may-pole in before the parish church of St. Andrew, thence called , were not so commonly used after this insurrection on May-day, , as before.

On the this same year, there passed an act of common-council, enacting,

That the lord-mayor and aldermen for the time being should monthly assign and appoint

two

aldermen, and

four

discreet commoners, to sit at

Guildhall

, in a judicial manner, twice a week, viz. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, there to hear and determine all matters brought before them, between party and party (being citizens and freemen of London) in all cases where the due debt or damage did not exceed

forty shillings

.

About the same time, London was again grievously afflicted with the Sweating Sickness, which carried off a great number of citizens; and the king, to prevent the spreading of the infection into his own family, dismissed many of his attendants and officers. As this distemper was peculiar to England, and to Englishmen in foreign parts, it went by the appellation of , or the English Sweat. King Henry, in the of his reign, granted the citizens of London a charter, by which the sessions of the peace for London, which had hitherto been held in the monastery of le Grand, (to the great dishonour of the city, in having it kept in a foreign liberty) was removed to , where it has ever since continued, to the great convenience of the citizens.

On the , in this same year, his majesty granted a charter of incorporation to the Physicians, who hitherto had been under no regulation.

In , the of Henry VIII. for cleansing and scowering the common ditch, between and the postern next the Tower-Ditch, the sum of was laid out. The chief ditcher had by the day The ditcher The other ditchers And every vagabond (for so were they then termed) penny, and meat and drink at the city's charge. In the year , an infectious distemper raged in this city, which carried off abundance of the citizens; yet, nevertheless, by the great scarcity of corn, wheat was sold at the quarter, and in some places in the country at -and- and , an excessive price at that time.

Next year, the emperor, Charles the , came into England to pay a visit to King Henry, who received him at Dover, and conducted him to Greenwich, where he was received by the queen his aunt; from whence he was conducted by their majesties and the nobility to London, which on that occasion was embellished with the most rich and pompous decorations that could be devised, with a variety of magnificent pageants; and as those great princes approached

The English, in all parts of France, but especially at Bourdeaux, having their effects seized by order of the French king, the French ambassador, residing in London, was ordered to be confined to his house; and all the merchants of his nation were committed to prison, and adjudged to pay large sums for their liberty: however, many of them, after a confinement of days, were released, upon their giving security to appear before the lord-mayor against a certain day, to pay their several fines. The king, now engaged in war with France, had an immediate occasion for money, and, not willing to wait the meeting of parliament, borrowed of the city the sum of ; but the lenders being in a manner compelled to advance the same, it was raised with great difficulties and heart-burnings among the citizens.

Christian, King of Denmark, with his queen (niece to Queen Catherine) came into England to pay the king and queen a visit; and being arrived in London, they were received by the mayor and citizens with the utmost splendour, and by them conducted to the Bishop of Bath's palace, the place appointed for their residence; from whence, on eve following, they were attended by the prime nobility, who conducted them to the King's Head, in , where they beheld the pompous march of the city watch; and afterwards were sumptuously entertained by Sir Thomas Baldry, the mayor.

King Henry being in great want of money for the prosecution of his war in France, Cardinal Wolsey, his prime minister, in a very illegal and arbitrary manner, issued out commissions in the king's name, for levying the part of all the goods and chattels of the laity, and a of those of the clergy; by which absolute and tyrannical proceeding, the whole kingdom was so much inflamed, that the people in all parts were ready to break out in a general rebellion; which so greatly affected Henry, that he openly disavowed those irregular proceedings; and by his letter to the mayor and citizens of London, declared that he would not exact any-thing of his people by compulsion, nor demand any thing of them but by benevolence, as had been practised by his predecessors. But this soon discovered itself to be only an artifice to extort large sums under another name; for what the people refused to pay to the cardinal's commission, they now found themselves obliged to raise by way of benevolence.

The citizens of London being the to be rated to this benevolence, the cardinal sent for the mayor and aldermen, and acquainted them in an expostulatory manner of his majesty's most gracious condescension, in remitting the payment of the of all their effects; and, in lieu thereof, had only appointed them to pay a certain benevolence; therefore, he desired them to return and make proper assessments in their several wards for raising the same. To which the recorder answered, that by a statute of the of Richard the , such benevolences were abolished. The cardinal replied, that laws made by usurpers are not obligatory to legitimate princes; that Richard was not only a tyrant, but a murderer of his own nephews, therefore more fit to suffer by law, than to make any; and who did that with no other view, than by a popular and licentious way to ingratiate himself with the people, as the only means to support his usurpation. But our king, being the true and undoubted heir to the crown, could be thereby no farther affected than it pleased himself; it being absurd to imagine, that a statute contrived by a factious assembly, and confirmed by of the greatest criminals, should bind an absolute and lawful monarch; wherefore, if they had no better argument, they had as good have omitted so ridiculously trifling.

The cardinal thereupon resolved to try the mayor and aldermen separately, to know what each were willing to contribute; and, having begun with the mayor, he excused himself from making any declaration in that affair,'till he had consulted the common-council thereon, who, by their former deportment, the cardinal had reason to believe, they never would agree to; he therefore desired the mayor and aldermen in their private capacities to give what they thought proper however, before they complied with the cardinal's proposal, they communicated the same to the common-council, who, instead of agreeing to it, in a rage were for expelling Richard Gresham, John Hewster and Richard Gibson, of their members, for speaking in behalf of so great an imposition; yet, without coming to any resolution in that respect, they broke up in the greatest ferment: however, this stand occasioned the benevolence to be rejected in all parts of the kingdom. In this year the plague raged in London, which occasioned the king's removing to Eltham, and the adjournment of the term, whereby the city was so much deserted by its inhabitants, that the great festival was denominated the Still Christmas.

In , the citizens finding themselves greatly aggrieved by foreign merchants, who had purchased licences for the importation of woad, contrary to law, whereby the freemen of the city were entirely deprived of that trade; it was by the mayor and commoncouncil enacted, That for the future no citizen whatsoever should presume to buy, sell, or have any intercourse, in a mercantile way, with any foreign merchants importers of woad.

In , it became the general talk of the city, that the king

About the same time, the cardinal being appointed ambassador extraordinary to the court of France; on his way thither rode through the city in the greatest pomp, attended by a numerous train of the prime nobility, gentry, and prelates, who, together with his and their domestics, formed a body of horsemen. This magnificent cavalcade was preceded by sumpter-horses and mules, and baggage-carriages, which were followed by a great number of gentlemen, in a rank, richly dressed in velvet, with large golden chains about their necks; then followed gentlemen, each carrying a very large silver cross; next came others, with a stately silver column each, followed by other gentlemen, carrying the great seal of England, and the other the cardinal's hat; after them rode a gentleman carrying the cardinal's portmanteau of scarlet, richly embroidered, with a cloak therein; then came the cardinal gorgeously apparelled, mounted on a stately mule, followed by a led horse, and a mule trapped with crimson velvet; then came the nobility, gentry, and clergy, followed by his and their domestics, all clothed in dark orange-coloured coats, with T. C. embroidered on each, that is, Thomas Cardinal. And his servants daily attending in his house were about , omitting his servants servants, which were many. He had in his hall continually tables, or boards, kept with principal officers; to wit, a steward, who was always a priest; a treasurer, a knight; and a comptroller, an esquire: also a cofferer, being a doctor; marshall; yeomen-ushers in the hall; besides grooms and almoners: then in the hall-kitchen, clerks of the kitchen, a clerk comptroller, a surveyor of the dresser, a clerk of the spicery; all which together kept a continual mess in the hall. Also, in his hall-kitchen he had, of master cooks , and of other cooks, labourers, and children of the kitchen, persons; yeomen of the ordinary scullery, yeomen of the pastry, with other pastelers under the yeomen.

In the privy-kitchen, he had a master-cook, who went daily in velvet and satin, with a chain of gold about his neck, and other yeomen, and a groom. In the scalding-house, a yeoman and grooms. In the pantry, yeomen. In the buttery, yeomen, grooms, and pages. In the chandery, yeomen. In the wafery, yeomen. In the wardrobe of beds, the master of the wardrobe, and other persons attending. In the laundry, a yeomen, a groom, pages, yeomenpurveyors, and groom. In the bake-house, a yeomen and grooms. In the wood-yard, a yeoman and a groom. In the

In his chapel he had a dean, a great divine, and a man of excellent learning; a sub-dean, a repeater of the choir, a gospeller, a pisteler; of singing priests, ; a master of the children; seculars, being singing men of the chapel; singing children, with a servant to attend upon the children. In the vestry, a yeoman and grooms, over and beside divers retainers, that came thither at principal feasts.

For the furniture of his chapel, it exceedeth my capacity to declare, or to speak of the number of costly ornaments and rich jewels that were used in the same continually. There have been seen in procession about the hall, and very rich copes worn, all of suit, besides the rich crosses and candlesticks, and other ornaments belonging to the furnishment of the same. He had cross-bearers, and pillar-bearers, in his great chamber; and in his privy-chambers these persons; , the chief chamberlain and vice-chamberlain: of gentlemen-ushers (beside in his privy chamber) he had daily waiters; and of gentlemen-waiters, in his privy chamber, he had ; of lords or , who had (each of them) men allowed to attend upon them, except the earl of Derby, who always was allowed men. Then he had of gentlemen cup-bearers, carvers, sewers, both of the privy chamber, and of the great chamber with gentlemen (daily waiters there) persons: of yeomen-ushers : of grooms in his chamber : of yeomen in his chamber daily. He had also alms-men, sometime more in number than at other times.

There were attending on his table, daily, of doctors and chaplains (besides them of his chapel) : a clerk of his closet, secretaries, clerks of his signet, and counsellors learned in the laws. And forasmuch as it was necessary to have divers officers of Chancery to attend upon him: that is to say, the clerk of the crown, a riding clerk, a clerk of the hamper, and a clerk of the wax; then a clerk of the check, as well upon the chaplains, as on the yeomen of his chamber; he gave allowance to them all. He had also footmen, who were cloathed in rich running coats, whensoever he rode on a journey. Then had he an herald at arms, a serjeant at arms, a physician, an apothecary, minstrels, a keeper of his tents, an armourer, an instructor of his wards, yeomen of his wardrobe and robes, and a keeper of his chamber, continually in the court.

He had also in his house the surveyor of York, and a clerk of

ambassadors extraordinary arrived from France, and made their public entry into this city in a pompous manner, attended by a great number of their countrymen of the quality, for whom apartments were provided in the Bishop of London's palace; where they were presented by the mayor and citizens with fat oxen, sheep, swans, cranes, pheasants, dozen of partridges, sugar-loaves, hogsheads of wine, and all sorts of spices, &c.

By a great scarcity of corn, a terrible famine happened in this city, whereby many of the meaner sort of citizens were starved; and, had it not been for the king's paternal care in sending a quarters of corn to the city, and the laudable care of the mayor and sheriffs in preventing the bread-carts of from being plundered by the populace, many more must have suffered by this dreadful calamity. In the mean time, great quantities of wheat and rye being imported by the Hanseatic merchants from Dantzic, corn became much cheaper in this city than in any other part of the kingdom.

A war happening between England and the emperor, it put an entire stop to the trade with Spain; whereby the clothiers became such sufferers, that, not being able to dispose of their goods, they were obliged to dismiss their servants; which had like to have occasioned insurrections in divers parts of the kingdom: wherefore the cardinal ordered several of the principal merchants of this city to attend him, whom he simply threatened, that if they did not take off cloths, &c. from the clothiers, as usual, (notwithstanding the merchants being as great sufferers by the war as the clothiers, by their not being able to export piece to the imperial dominions, where formerly their principal commerce lay) the cloth-market should be removed from Blackwell Hall in the city, to : however, it was neither in the power of the king, nor in that of his minister, to execute the aforesaid injunction; wherefore commerce continued on the same foot as before till the conclusion of a peace.

At a common-council, on the , Henry VIII. it was agreed, granted, ordained, and enacted,

That, if hereafter any freeman or freewoman of this city. take any apprentice, and

within the term of

seven

years suffer the same apprentice to go at his large, liberty, and pleasure: and within or after the said term agree with his said apprentice for a certain sum of money, or otherwise for his said service, and within or after the end of the said term, the said freeman present the said apprentice to the chamberlain of the city, and by good deliberation, and upon his oath made to the same city, the same freeman or freewoman assureth and affirmeth to the said chamberlain, that the said apprentice hath fully served his said term as an apprentice: or, if any freeman or freewoman of this city take any apprentice which at the time of the said taking hath any wife: or, if any freeman or freewoman of this city give any wages to his or her apprentice, or suffer the said apprentices to take any part of their own getting or gains: or, if any freeman or freewoman of this city hereafter colour any foreign goods, or from henceforth buy or sell for any person or persons, or with or to any person or persons, being foreign or foreigners, cloths, silks, wines, oils, or any other goods or merchandise, whatsoever they may be, whether he take any thing or things for his or their wages or labour, or not: or, if any person or persons, being free of this city, by any colour or deceitful means, from henceforth do buy, sell, or receive of any apprentice within this city, any money, goods, merchandise, or wares, without the assent or licence of his master or mistress; and upon examination duly proved before the chamberlain of the said city for the time being, and the same reported by the mouth of the said chamberlain, at a court to be holden by the mayor and the aldermen of the same city in their council-chamber: that as well the said master, as the said apprentice, shall for evermore be disfranchised. God save the king.

To which were added the following instructions:

Ye shall constantly and devoutly on your knees, every day, serve God morning and evening, and make conscience in the due hearing of the word preached, and endeavour the right practice thereof in your life and conversation. You shall do diligent and faithful service to your master for the time of your apprenticeship, and deal truly in what you shall be trusted. You shall often read over the covenants of your indenture, and see and endeavour yourself to perform the same, to the utmost of your power. You shall avoid all evil company, and all occasions which may tend to draw you to the same; and make speedy return when you shall be sent of your master's and mistress's business. You shall be of fair gentle, and lowly speech and behaviour towards all men, and especially to all your governors. And according to your carriage, expect your reward, for good or ill, from God and your friends.

It is said in the , that none was apprentice, or at least admitted into the city, unless he were , that is, of the quality of a gentleman born. And that, if, after he was made free, it was known he was of servile condition, he

In , the court for enquiring into the legality of the king's marriage with Catherine, assembled in the great hall of Blackfriars, where their majesties then lodged. The slow progress made in the business of the divorce, and the evident duplicity of Cardinal Campegius, who presided, led to the disgrace and downfall of Wolsey, and subsequently to the throwing off of the papal yoke, and full establishment of the Reformation. But Henry's zeal for the Catholic religion was not repressed, however great his anger against the Roman pontiff; and several Protestants were about this time burnt for schism and heresy, in different parts of the kingdom.

Richard Rose, cook to the Bishop of Rochester, according to his sentence, was boiled to death in Smithfield, in , for poisoning persons with porridge, which he had prepared for the destruction of his master, who fortunately escaped the intended mischief by the want of appetite, which prevented his eating that day.

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 , for days successively; at which were present the king, queen, foreign ministers, lord mayor, judges, master of the rolls, aldermen of the city, masters of Chancery, serjeants at law, principal merchants of London, together with many knights and esquires, and a certain number of citizens belonging to the chief companies of the city.

This being of the greatest entertainments recorded in history, an account thereof will not be unacceptable to the reader; but as there were poulterers concerned in providing the same with poultry, and only of their accounts to be come at, the quantity of provisions will thereby be considerably lessened; however, though the following be only part of the bill of fare, it will nevertheless appear to have been of the greatest banquets that ever was given in this city, to of the most numerous companies, as above specified; and though the said entertainment was given near years ago, the subjoined account will

The Reformation of religion advancing apace in this kingdom, Mr Tindal and others translated and published the New Testament in the English tongue; but Stokesley, Bishop of London ordered as many copies thereof to be bought up as could be got; which, out of a false and furious zeal, he caused to be burnt at Cross. But the clergy fell into a , for supporting Cardinal Wolsey's legatine power: wherefore, the convocation petitioned the king to accept of the sum of in full satisfaction for their offence; which Henry agreeing to, they were soon after called upon for the money. The bishops, to ease themselves in raising the said sum, endeavoured to draw in the parochial incumbents of their respective dioceses to contribute towards the same; and Stokesley, Bishop of London, attempting to lead the way with the priests of this city, they so highly resented the same, that in an outrageous manner they forced themselves into the chapter-house of , where they beat and abused the bishop's servants. This so intimidated their master, that, for the security of his own person, he not only for gave them, but, giving them his blessing, exhorted them to depart in charity. But the bishop, by this artifice escaping unhurt, instead of adhering to the remission granted by him, he applied to the lord chancellor for redress, who thereupon sent to the mayor to secure the persons that were chiefly concerned in the riot. Pursuant to this order, priests and their accomplices were arrested and committed to the Tower and other

In , Henry was privately married to the lady Anne Boleyn, who soon becoming pregnant, on Easter eve he openly acknowledged her as his queen, and addressing his letters to the mayor and commonalty of London, required them to make preparation for conveying her grace from Greenwich to the Tower, and from thence to , preparatory to her coronation on Whit-Sunday. The pageantry exhibited on this occasion was the most gorgeous that the taste of that age could furnish.

The mayor and his brethren, all in scarlet, such as were knights having collars of esses, and the residue great chains, assembled with the common council at

St. Mary's Hill

, where they descended to their barge which was garnished with many goodly banners and streamers, and richly covered, and had in it shamles, stage-bushes, and divers other instruments of musicke, which played continually. After the mayor and his brethren were in their barge,

First

, before the maiors barge was a foiste for a wafter, full of ordnance, in which foiste was a great red dragon continually moving and casting wilde fire, and round about the said foiste stoode terrible monstrous and wilde men, casting fire, and making hideous noise; next, at a good distance, came the maior's barge; on whose right hand was the batchelers barge, in the which were trumpets, and divers other melodious instruments; the decks of the said barge, yards,

was set full

with little bels at the ends.

On the left hand of the maior was another foiste, in the which was a mount, and on the mount stood a white faulcon crowned upon a roote of gold, environed with white roses and red, which was the queenes device, and about the mount sate virgins singing and playing melodiously.

everie company having melodies in their barge by themselves, and goodlie garnished with banners.--At Greenwich towne they cast anchor, making great melodies: at

three

of the clock (

29th of May

), the queene, apparelled in rich cloth of gold, entered into her barge, accompanied with divers ladies and gentlewomen, and incontinent the citizens set forward in order, their minstrelsy continually playing, and the batchelers barge going on the queen's right hand, which she took great pleasure to behold. About the queenes barge were many noblemen, as the Duke of Suffolke, the

Marquesse Dorset, the Earle of Wiltshire, hir father, the Earls of Arundale, Darby, Rutland, Worcester, Huntingdon, Sussex, Oxford, and many bishops and noble men, everie

one

in his barge, which was a goodlie sight to behold. She thus being accompanied rowed towards the Tower; and in the mean waie the ships which were commanded to lie on the shore for letting of the barges, shot divers peales of guns, and ere she landed, there was a marvellous shot out of the Tower, I never heard the like. At hir landing there met with her the lord chamberlaine with the officers of armes, and brought her to the king, which received her with loving countenance at the posterne by the water side and kissed hir, and then she turned back again and thanked the maior and the citizens with many goodlie words, and so entered into the Tower.-To speak of the people that stood on every share to behold this sight, he that saw it not will not believe it.

The day afterwards the queen was conveyed through the city to the palace of , attended by all the principal nobility, prelates, and gentry of the kingdom, including new Knights of the Bath, whom the king had dubbed that morning in the Tower. The streets through which the procession passed were

rayled on each side,

all gravelled, with intent that the horses should not slide on the pavement, nor that the people should be hurt by horses.

along in their order from Grace-church;

a goodlie shewe;

all the windows were replenished with ladies and gentlewomen to behold the queene and her traine as they should pass by.

The queen was borne on

a litter of white cloth of gold, led by

two

palfreys clad in white damaske led by her footemen. She had on a kertle of white cloth of tissue, and a mantle of the same furred with ermine; her hair hanging down, but on her head she had a coife, with a circlet about it full of rich stones: over her was carried a canopie of cloth of gold.

after them followed the guards in coats of goldesmiths worke.

In , the queen was greeted by a pageant of children, clothed as merchants, who welcomed her to the city.

From thence she rode unto Grace-church corner, where was a costly and marvellous cunning pageant made by the merchants at the Stilyard; therein was the mount Pernassus and the fountain of Helicon, which was of white marble, and

four

streams without pipe did rise an ell high, and met together in a little cuppe above the fountaine, which ranne abundantlie with rackte Rhenish

wine till night. On the mountain sate Apollo, and at his feete, Calliope; and on every side of the mountain sate

four

Muses playing on severely sweet instruments, and at their feete epigrams and poesies were written in golden letters, in the which every Muse according to her property praysed the queene.

At Leadenhall was another

goodlie pageant,

that like fruit should come of her.

continually ranne wine,

the

three

Graces set on a throne,

according to her property, gave to the queen a several gift of grace.

newly painted with arms and devices,

Crosse

with a lowe reverence,

thankfully accepted with many good words, and so rode to the little conduit, where was a rich pageant, full of melody and songs, in which pageant were Pallas, Juno, and Venus; and afore them stood Mercurie, which in the name of the

three

goddesses gave unto her a ball of gold divided into

three

, signifying the

three

gifts which these goddesses gave to her, that is to say, Wisdom, Riches, and Felicitie.

At gate was another pageant, in which sate ladies richly clothed, and an angel bearing a crown, with complimentary verses in Latin. At school stood a scaffold with children well apparelled, who rehearsed

divers verses of poets translated into English,

was new garnished with gold and bisse, and on the leads of

St. Martin's church

stood a goodly queere of singing men and children, which sang new ballets made in praise of her grace.

newly painted, and all the armes and angles refreshed.

one

of the cardinal vertues, with their tokens and properties; and in the middest of the tower closely was such several solemne instruments, that it seemed to be a heavenly noise.

newly painted and repaired, there stood also divers singing men and children.

cloth of arras,

solemne service

wines, spices, subtleties,

harty thanks to the

lordes and ladies, and to the maior and others, that had given their attendance on her,

On the following day, , the coronation was solemnized in , with great ceremony and magnificence. At the dinner of the principal citizens assisted the Earl of Arundel in his office of chief butler; and at the conclusion of the feast, the Lord Mayor received from the queen's hands the cup of gold which devolved to him of ancient custom.

The strong opposition which Henry had met with in his attempt to get divorced from queen Catherine, determined him to free himself from the yoke of ecclesiastical bondage, however unwilling he might be to suffer his subjects to enjoy liberty of opinion. During the sitting of the parliament therefore, which met at , in -,

every Sunday at Paule's Crosse preached a bishop, declaring the pope not to be supreme head of the church.

hanged and headed

nun's head,

was set on

London Bridge

,

town clerk of London,

with a great oath,

rather than live to see the Scripture set forth in English, he would cut his own throat.

An act of parliament was passed in this year for paving the west end of the high street in London, between Holborn-bridge and Holborn-bars, and also the streets of ; and that every should maintain the said pavement before his own ground, or forfeit to the king sixpence for every square yard.

According to Hakluyt, from about the years and , to the year , divers tall ships of London, and also of Southampton and Bristol, had an unusual trade to Sicily, Candia, and Chios, and sometimes to Cyprus, and to Tripoli, and Baruth in Syria. They exported sundry sorts of woollen-cloths, calf-skins, &c. and imported silks, camblets, and rhubarb; malmsey, muscadel, and other wines; oils, cotton-wool, Turkey carpets, galls, and India spices: yet, in those days, they were generally months in those voyages, as were ships going this year from London to Candia and Chios; which voyage was found so hazardous and, dangerous, that of these ships was put into dock, and never more went to sea. In the next year a ship of

Though Henry had renounced his subjection to the see of Rome, he was, in several respects, a bigoted Catholic, and a strict adherent of many of the Popish tenets: besides he had written a book against Luther, who, in his reply, had not treated him with much respect. This had incensed Henry beyond a possibility of reconciliation; in fine, Henry wanted to be the pope's rival, but without being either a Lutheran or a Sacramentarian: he still preserved the invocation of saints, but under certain restrictions. It was with him equally a crime to believe in the authority of the pope, and to be a Protestant; and in the course of his reign, he alike condemned to the flames those who spoke in favour of the Roman pontiff, and those who declared for the reformed religion. In particular, he now ordered the prior of the Carthusian monks of the Charter-house, London; the prior of Hexham; Benase, a monk of Sion college; and John Haile, vicar of Isleworth, together with monks of the Charterhouse to be hanged and quartered at Tyburn, on the , this year (), for refusing to submit to the new laws: and a little before, orders were given for burning Protestants, viz. John Frith, a man of great learning, Andrew Hewet, and men and women, born in Holland, to convince the world, that his severity to the ecclesiastics was not actuated by any fondness he was charged with for the new religion.

In the year , the common-council granted fifteenths towards defraying the expenses of bringing water from Hackney to , where a conduit was erected for the use of the eastern part of the city.

On the , in this year, Henry assumed the title of supreme head of the church; and he maintained it with so much jealousy, that he spared none who called it in question.

Among other victims of this jealousy may be enumerated Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and Sir Thomas More. The king, who was irritated against them for their opposition to his divorce and marriage, and also knew their attachment to the see of Rome, determined to make them acknowledge his supremacy, or to make them examples that none who opposed it should escape with impunity. The bishop was tried on the , and found guilty of high treason in having denied the king's supremacy; and was beheaded on on the . days after, his friend, Sir Thomas More, was tried and found guilty of the same offence, and suffered the same punishment on the .

Henry was a prince of impetuous passions, and, at the same time, fickle and capricious. He had surmounted many difficulties to obtain the hand of the beautiful Anne Boleyn, and had enjoyed the greatest conjugal felicity with her; but, in the beginning of the year , a new object (Jane Seymour) captivated his heart. This new passion extinguished all his former love, which was succeeded by the most furious, and, as far as appears, unfounded jealousy. On the , there was a grand tournament at Greenwich, at which the king, queen, and all the court were present. In the midst of the diversion, the king rose suddenly from his seat, went out, mounted his horse, and rode off, attended by only persons. The cause of his abrupt departure is unknown; but on the following day the queen was sent to the Tower, and such was Henry's severity, that he debarred her from seeing all her relations and friends: even her almoner was denied admittance. On the she was brought to her trial in the great hall of the Tower, before less than half the then number of peers of England; she was found guilty, without a shadow of proof, of having conspired the king's death, and sentenced to be burnt or beheaded as the king should direct. On the , she was beheaded on a scaffold erected on the green within the Tower, from which all strangers were excluded; the only persons present at her execution being the Dukes of Suffolk and Richmond, Chancellor Audley, Secretary Cromwell, and the mayor, aldermen, and sheriffs of London. Little respect was shewn to her remains: no coffin having been provided, her body was put into a chest made for holding arrows, and instantly buried in the chapel in the Tower.

The next day, Henry was privately married to Jane Seymour, who, without the least attention either to decency or shame, was at

Whitsuntide openly shewed as queene.

the king and queene stood at the Mercer's Hall; and saw the [city] watch most bravely set forth;

the king held a great justing and triumph at

Westminster

;

In this year parliament directed that all French wines should be sold for the gallon, and Malmsey and Romney sack, and all other sweet wines, at .

The years and were productive of vast effects in the religious system of the country, in which London had its share. During the year no less than lesser monasteries were dissolved, and their vast revenues granted to the crown by parliament; the--latter amounting to per year, besides their goods and chattels, which amounted to more.

The greater monasteries shared a similar fate; and thus in less

About , coals were sold at Newcastle at the chaldronn,

wherefore,

I imagine that they were then sold in this city at about

four shillings

.

The spirit of mercantile adventure, which had sprung up in the preceding reign, still continued and increased; and the circle of trade was gradually enlarged. Many voyages were now undertaken for the discovery of unknown countries, but the accounts we have of them are very imperfect. In this year, Mr. Hore, a merchant of London, prevailed upon young gentlemen to accompany him in a voyage of discovery on the north coast of America, with a view to find a north-west passage to India. They sailed from Gravesend, in , with ships, the Trinity and the Minion; and after having been reduced to the last extremity for want of provisions, reached England again in the month of October of the same year. Though this voyage was unfavorable to the proposed object, it gave rise to the very beneficial fishery on the banks of Newfoundland; which island, with that of Cape Breton, were discovered in the early part of it.

The suppressing of the monasteries had now begun; and though several partial insurrections broke out in consequence, they only served to forward the king's measures, by giving the colour of necessity to the vengeance that was inflicted; and Tyburn became the place of frequent executions both for heresy and treason.

In October, the hospital of St. Thomas of Acres in London was suppressed; and in November, the monasteries of the Black Friars, the White Friars, the Grey Friars, and the Carthusians of the Charter-house, all underwent the same fate.

In the year , the common council passed an Act to enforce the observance of a statute, which had been made by the parliament for preserving the navigation of the river Thames, whereby it was enacted as follows:

That proclamation should be made within this city, and the

same to be put in writing, and tables thereof made, and set up in divers places of this city, that it shall be lawful to every person to dig, carry away, and take away, sand, gravel, or any rubbish, earth, or any thing, lying and being in any shelve or shelfts, within the said river of Thames, without let or interruption of any person, and without any thing paying for the same: and after that to sell the same away, or otherwise to occupy or dispose of the said gravel, sand, or other thing, at their free liberty and pleasure. And that all paviors, bricklayers, tylers, masons, and all others that occupy sand or gravel, shall endeavour themselves, with all diligence, to occupy the said sand or gravel, and none other, paying for the same reasonably, as they should and ought to pay for other sand or gravel, digged out of other men's grounds about the said city. That further application be made to his majesty, that all persons having lands or tenements along the said river-side, shall well and sufficiently repair and maintain all the walls and banks adjoining unto their said lands, so that the water may not nor shall break in upon the same. And that strong grates of iron along the said water-side, and also by the street-side, where any water-course is had into the said Thames, be made by the inhabitants of each ward, so along the said water, as of old times has been accustomed; and that every grate be in height

twenty-four

inches at the least, as the place shall need; and in breadth,

one

from another,

one

inch.

that if the occupiers of the said lands and tenements make default contrary to the ordinance aforesaid; or else, if any person or persons, in great rains or at other times, sweep their soilage, or filth of their houses, into the channel, and the same afterwards is conveyed into the Thames, every person so offending shall forfeit for every such default

one shilling and eight pence

; and that upon complaint to be made to any constable next adjoining to the said place, where any such default shall be found, or his sufficient deputy for the time being, from time to time, to distrain for the said offence, and to retain the same irreplagiable. And a like law to be kept and observed, and like penalty to be paid by every person that burns ashes and straw in their houses, or wash in the common streets or lanes, and to be recovered as aforesaid; and

one

moiety thereof to be to the lord mayor and commonalty, and the other moiety between the constable and the informer: and that the constable that shall refuse to do his duty in this case, shall pay

three shillings and four pence

, for every offence, recoverable in the same manner, and for the same uses. And that nonperson or persons, having a wharf or house by the water-side, shall make their lay-stalls where the common rakers of this city use to lay all their soilage, to be carried away by them in their dung-boats; and that the said rakers shall lay their dung to be carried away in boats, at such places as shall be appointed by the lord mayor and the court of aldermen, under the penalty of

five pounds

for every offence.

Before this year, reading the Bible in the English tongue was interdicted under very severe penalties; but at this time, Henry's unsteady mind appears to have experienced another change; for we find a copy of the New Testament printed in this year by Robert Redman, without Temple-bar, in the suburbs of London,

set forth under the kynge's most gracious lycence.

In the year , Henry VIII. having understood that there was a learned man, named John Nicolson, but who, to secure himself from his former persecutors, had assumed the name of Lambert, a schoolmaster of London, who denied the real presence in the sacrament, to which the king was blindly devoted, thought this a favorable opportunity for him at once to exercise his supremacy, and display his learning. He therefore determined to have the glory of disputing with this reformer, who had appealed from a sentence given against him by archbishop Cranmer. Public notice was accordingly given, that the king designed to enter the lists against Lambert; and scaffolds were erected in Hall, for the accommodation of the audience, without any regard had to the injustice of thus mixing the disputant with the judge.

Divers articles were ministered to him by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Worcester, and other; but namely, the king pressed him sore, and in the end offered him pardon if he would renounce his opinion, but he would not, wherefore he was condemned, had judgment, and was brent in Smithfield. Had any spark of real generosity resided in Henry's bosom, he would doubtless on this occasion, after having gratified his vanity by mingling the disputant with the judge, have spared the life of his antagonist. Soon afterwards a man and a woman were committed to the flames in Smithfield as Anabaptists; and on the , the Marquis of Exeter, the Earl of Devonshire, Henry, Lord Montacute, and Sir Edward Nevil were beheaded on .

On the

eighth of May, 1539

, the citizens of London mustered at the Miles-ende all in bright harneies, with coates of white silke, or cloth, and cheines of gold, in

three

great battailes: the number was

15,000

, beside wifflers and other awayters, who in goodly order passed through London to

Westminster

, and so through the sanctuary, and round about the park of St. James, and returned home through Holborne.

convenient

number of the most able betwixt the ages of

sixteen

and

sixty

,

The state of shipping in the port of London was still very low

there were not above

four

ships besides those of the royal navy, that were above

one hundred and twenty

tons each, within the river of Thames.

The king, having restrained the annual custom of the city watch, owing to its great expense, endeavoured to preserve the manly exercise of shooting, of which he was very fond, by granting a charter to the company of archers, who were called the fraternity of St. George; by which they had a power to use and exercise shooting at all manner of marks, as well in the city as suburbs, with long bows, cross bows, and hand guns; with this clause, that, in case any persons were shot and slain in these sports, by some arrow shot by these archers, he was not to be sued or molested, if he had, immediately before he had shot, used the word,

Fast.

About this time the stews, which had been hitherto licensed on the bank-side, in , were put down by the king's proclamation and sound of trumpet.

On the arrival of Anne of Cleves, Henry's new bride, she was met on Blackheath, on the , by the Hanseatic merchants, and those of Genoa, Florence, Venice, and Spain resident in the city of London, together with a number of the principal citizens, common-councilmen, and aldermen, to the number of , richly dressed in velvet, with chains of gold, and mounted on stately horses, and accompanied by the king, divers foreign princes, the nobility, and the lord mayor, was conducted in great magnificence to the royal palace at Greenwich.

The marriage was solemnized on Twelfth-day; and on the , being the day appointed for their majesties' removal to , the lord mayor and aldermen, in the city barge, attended by the principal companies, in their respective barges, most pompously equipped, repaired to Greenwich, whence they conducted the king and queen by water to .

However Henry might have been deceived in the representations of the beauty of this princess, he does not seem to have been displeased with Cromwell, the principal adviser of the match, for some time after it, since in April following he conferred the title of Earl of Essex upon him; but this appearance of satisfaction was of short duration. On the a sentence of divorce passed the houses of convocation; and on the of the same month, Cromwell was beheaded on . He was accused of heresy and treason, but it is probable the accusation was unfounded, for a bill of attainder was passed against him,

Some few days after Cromwell's death, Henry gave a terrible instance of that cruelty which seemed to take possession of his soul: papists and reformers were alike the objects of this infernal passion, and suffered in the same flames. Dr. Barnes, who had made a figure in an embassy to the German princes, Thomas Gerard, a reforming minister, and William Jerom, vicar of Stepney, who had been, unheard, attainted of heresy by the parliament, were now condemned to the stake; but when they came there, neither they nor the sheriff knew for what they suffered. Along with them Gregory Buttolph, Adam Damplip, and Clement Philpot (all bigotted papists) were hanged, drawn, and quartered, for denying the king's supremacy. To increase the absurdity of this indiscriminate cruelty, they were drawn to the place of execution on hurdles, a Catholic and a Protestant on each.

In , the hospital of St, John of Jerusalem, at Clerkenwell, was dissolved.

On the this year, Catherine Howard, to whom the king had been some time privately married, was publicly declared Queen of England. By this marriage the popish interest was strengthened, and that party made a strong push at Cranmer; but the king's affection for him was so immoveable, that their endeavours proved abortive.

About this time, Robert Brocke, chaplain to the king, invented the method of making leaden pipes for conveying water under ground, without using solder. Robert Cooper, a goldsmith of London, was the who made them, and put the invention in practice.

In the year , much blood was shed on the scaffold, and many persons of different ranks were executed. The most illustrious of these victims was the aged Countess of Salisbury, the last of the royal race of the Plantagenets. This venerable matron had been attained by parliament in , and had been kept in prison from that time. Without regard to her sex, her age, or her royal descent, she was brought to a scaffold in the Tower, on the , to be beheaded, where, though in her year, she behaved with great spirit and magnanimity; when she was desired to lay her head upon the block, she obstinately refused, saying,

I am no traitor; I have done nothing to deserve death; if you will have my head,

you must get it as well as you can.

It is impossible to discover what provoked Henry to this act of cruelty; her only crime was that of having held a correspondence with her own son, Cardinal Pole. But the truth is, we are much

In this year a statute was passed, by which various streets of the city were ordered to be paved with stone, new conduits to be erected, and such as were falling into decay to be repaired; the lord mayor and aldermen were also invested with authority to put the act into execution, by levying the necessary assessments and punishing defaulters. The increasing population and importance of London were evident from the frequent Acts of Parliament during this reign, which had for their object progressive improvements. The streets paved under this Act were Highstreet, as far as , ,, , , and . And within years afterwards, the improvement was extended to , , Grub-street, , , St. John's-street, Cow-cross, , , by St. Clement Danes; , from Temple-bar to Strand-bridge; , ; , ; , ; and , without Temple-bar: thoroughfares at that time much frequented. Water was conveyed into the city in additional streams from Hampstead-heath, St. Marylebonne, Hackney, Muswell-hill, and the springs of St. Agnes-le-Clair, .

We learn, from Hakluyt, that the merchants of London and Southampton traded to the Brazils in and .

Archbishop Cranmer having prevailed on the king to grant a privilege for printing the Bible in English, the same was executed accordingly, and made its appearance about this time, under the following title:

The Bible in English of the largest and greatest volume, used and appointed by our sovereign prince, King Henry VIII. supreme head of the Church and realm of England, to be frequented and used in every church within this his said realm, according to the tenor of his former injunctions given in that behalf: overseen and perused, at the command of the king's highness, by the reverend fathers in God, Cuthbert, Bishop of Durham, and Nicholas, Bishop of Rochester. Printed by Richard Grafton,

cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum

,

1541

.

In the year , the having sent their sergeant at arms to demand the release of George Ferras, member for Plymouth, who had been arrested at the suit of White, for , the sheriffs and their officers belonging to the Compter, then situate in , assaulted the sergeant at arms, and

On the , in this year, Catharine Howard, late queen of England, and her confidant Lady Jane Rochfort, were beheaded on a scaffold, erected within the .

In the year , there was a great mortality among the cattle, which occasioned an enormous increase in the price of meat; in consideration whereof, the lord mayor and common-council made a sumptuary law to restrain luxurious feasting; wherein it was ordained, that the lord mayor should not have more than dishes at dinner or supper; the aldermen and sheriffs were limited to , the sword-bearer to , and the mayor's and sheriff's officers to ; upon penalty of for every supernumerary dish.

It was likewise enacted, by the same authority, that neither the lord mayor, aldermen, nor sheriffs, should buy cranes, swans, or bustards, after the ensuing Easter, under the penalty of for every bird so bought; but the purchaser was at liberty to clear himself by his own oath.

The parliament, which met in January of this year, resumed the consideration of the bad state of those parts of the metropolis which still remained unpaved and were become almost impassable, and made an act as follows:

Whereas, the streets named

Whitecross-street

,

Chiswell-street

, Golding-lane, Grub-street, Goswellstreet,

Long-lane

,

St. John-street

, from the bars of Smithfield up to the pound, at the corner of the wall extending along the highway leading up to

Islington

; and also the street from the said bars to Cow-cross;

Water-lane

, in

Fleet-street

, the way without Templebar, leading westward, by and unto Clement's-inn gates and Newinn gates, to Drewry-place, in the county of Middlesex; and also

one

little lane stretching from the said way to the sign of the Bell, at Drewry-lane end; and the common-way leading through a certain place called Petit-France, from the bars of the west end of

Tothill-street

, at

Westminster

, unto the uttermost part of the west end of the said place called Petit-France;

Bishopsgate-street

, to and above Shoreditch-church; the Strond-bridge, and the way leading from the said bridge towards Temple-bar; the lane called Foskue-lane, from the garden and tenement of the Bishop of Litchfield, and the gardens and tenement called the Bell and Proctors, down to Strond-bridge, be very foul and full of pits and sloughs, very perilous and noyous, and very necessary to be kept clean, for the avoiding of corrupt savours, and an occasion of pesrilence. For the amendment and reformation whereof

in like manner and form as the streets of the city of London be paved.

That the lord mayor, aldermen, &c. of London, shall have power to inquire into, hear, and determine the defaults of paving and reparation of streets; and that any

three

justices in London, whereof the mayor to be

one

, may set fines upon such as do not pave and repair any street or lane in London, or the liberties thereof, to be levied by distress or action, &c. by the chamberlain, to the use of the mayor and commonalty of the said citie.

That the conduits of London should be made and repaired, for the better watering of the city and its liberties; and that the mayor and citizens should have power to bring water to the said conduits from Hampstead-heath, St. Mary-le-bone, Hackney, and Muswell-hill, upon their indemnifying the owners of lands for damages that might be done by the said water-courses, &c.

By another act of parliament passed in this year, Marsh, in the county of Middlesex, is directed to be divided by certain persons assigned, or by any of them. And Cornelius Wanderdelf, who, at his own charge, inned, imbanked, and recovered the same, being drowned, Richard Hill, of London, mercer, his assignee, shall have the moiety thereof to him and to his heirs, it having been before this time within the flux and tide of the Thames.

These acts of parliament, with that passed in , will enable us to form a tolerably correct idea of the suburbs of London at this period.

The plague raged so violently in London during this year, that a great number of the citizens fell victims to it, and the term was adjourned to St. Albans.

Sir John Allen, who had served the office of lord mayor in , and was honoured with the rank of a privy-councellor to Henry the , died this year. By his will, he gave a rich collar of gold, to be worn by future lord mayors, and to be a stock for sea- coal; he also directed the rents of his lands, purchased of the king, to be distributed yearly to the poor in each ward for ever; besides many other liberal benefactions to the prisons, hospitals, lazarhouses, and the poor of other parts within miles of the city. He was buried in a chapel belonging to St. Thomas of Acres, which he had built.

In the year , the city companies advanced the king , upon a mortgage of crown lands, towards the charges of his war with Scotland. This, however, being found insufficient, his majesty afterwards sent commissioners into the city to assess the Londoners, in an arbitrary manner, by way of benevolence. Alderman Richard Read not only objected to this illegal proceeding, but positively refused to pay the sum demanded of him; for which Henry, whose tyrannical spirit would endure no opposition, enrolled him as a foot soldier, and sent him to Scotland with

A proclamation, issued in this year for prohibiting

certain bookes printed of newes of the prosperous successes of the king's ma'ties, arms in Scotland,

The proclamation states that,

the king's most excellent majestie understanding that certain light persons, not regarding what they reported, wrote, or set forthe, had caused to be imprinted and divulged, certain newes of the prosperous successes of the king's majestie's army in Scotland, wherein, although the effect of the victory be indeed true, yet the circumstances in divers points were in some past over slenderly, in some parte untruly and amisse reported; his highness, therefore, not content to have anie such matters of so great importance sett forthe to the slaunder of his captaines and ministers, nor to be otherwise reported than the truth was, straightlie chargeth and commandeth all manner of persons into whose hands anie of the said printed books should come ymediately after they should hear of this proclamation, to bring the same books to the Lord Mayor of London, or to the recorder, or some of the aldermen of the same, to the intent that they might suppresse and burn them, upon pain that every person keeping anie of the said books XXIIII hours after the making of this publication, suffer imprisonment of his bodye, and be farther punished at the king's majestic's will and pleasure.

This year the parliament passed an act, in which it was ordained, that every citizen and inhabitant within the city and liberty thereof should, for every annual rent, pay to the vicars of their respective parishes, ; and for every rent of , and so on in proportion as the rents advanced. It was also enacted, that every person possessed of in real and personal estate, was properly qualified to serve on the grand jury.

In the month of August this year, the citizens of London, at their own expense, raised and completely fitted out a regiment of foot, consisting of men, as a reinforcement to the army in France.

A peace being concluded between England and France, the

before the which,

was borne all the richest silver crosses in London, to wit, of every church

one

; then proceeded all the parish clearks, condocts, quiristers, and priests in London, with the quire of Paules, al of them in their richest copes, singing. Then the companies of the citie in their best liveries: the Lord Mayor, the aldermen, and sheriffs, in scarlet, &c. All these went from Paules Church through Cheap and Cornhil, up to Leden hal, and so back again to Paules. And this was the last shew of the rich crosses and copes in London; for shortly after, they, with other church plate, were called into the king's treasury and wardrobe.

Several persons suffered this year on account of their principles in religion; among whom was Mrs. Anne Askew, or Ascue, a gentlewoman of good birth and excellent education, who was well known to many persons at court. This lady, being convicted of denying the real presence in the sacrament, was condemned to the flames, and chose to suffer death rather than purchase pardon at the expense of abjuring her faith. The Lord Chancellor, who was a zealous papist, imagining that her resolution proceeded from the encouragement given her by persons of distinction about the court, who were friends to the Reformation, caused this poor woman to be put to the rack in prison, though already under sentence of death; and is even said to have assisted with his own hands, in administering the torture, which was done in such a merciless manner, that almost all her bones were dislocated, This she bore, however, with amazing fortitude; nor could they extort a syllable from her in accusation of any . At length, on the , she was conveyed to the stake, and suffered with men, condemned on the same account: Shaxton, Bishop of Salisbury, who had been imprisoned for the same offence, but saved his life by recanting, attended them to the place of execution, where he preached a sermon, reproaching them in the harshest terms for their obstinacy and heresy.

On the , Claud Annebaut, ambassador extraordinary of France, arrived at London from Dieppe, and landed at the Tower Wharf, where he was met by the mayor, aldermen, and citizens, and conducted to the bishop's palace; and on his departure, after having sworn, in the name of his sovereign, to perform the articles of the peace, he was presented by the city with large silver flagons, richly gilt, valued at , besides wine and other costly presents,

Towards the end of the year, the Duke of Norfolk, and his son, the Earl of Surrey, were committed to the Tower, charged with treason; and on the , the earl was brought to trial at , before the Lord Mayor and a common jury, by whom he was found guilty, and received sentence of death: he was beheaded on , on the . His father being

The hospital of the mayor, commonalty, and citizens of London, governors of the poor called Little St. Bartholomew's near

West Smithfield

.

[] Hall's Chron.

[] Brayley's London, i, 240.

[] Maitland, i, 226.

[] On this occasion the crosse in Cheape was new gilt, and eleven pageants were devised on stages very faire and excellent to behold.

[] Maitland, i, 227.

[] Lord Herbert's Life of Henry VIII.

[] Maitland's London, i, 229.

[] Hall. Chron.

[] Fab. A. D. 1528.

[] Stow's Survey of London, 1531.

[] Stow's Ann. p. 949-50

[] Stow's Ann. p. 951.4.

[] Ibid. p. 963.

[] Ibid.

[] Vol. ii. 96

[] Lambert's London, i, 515

[] Hollingshed.

[] Godwin's Annals.-Stow.

[] Stow's Ann. 972.

[] Ibid. 973.

[] Ibid. 974.

[] Herbert, p. 227.

[] That part of Chancery-lane now to be paved is thus described: From the bars beside the Rolls lately set up by the Lord Privy Seal, unto the said highway in Holborn. All the streets directed to be paved are said to be very foul, and full of pits and sloughs, very perilous and noyous, as well for the king's subjects on horseback as on foot, and with carriages.

[] Hughson's London, i. 121.

[] Herbert's Life of Henry VIII.