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 LIFE IN AN OLD ENGLISH TOWN 
 
Social JEticiIanD Bevies. 
 
 Eclitca by KENELM D. COTES, M.A. (Oxoti). 
 
 The Troubadours and Courts of Love. 
 
 J. F. ROWBOTHJM, M.A. 
 
 The King's Peace : A Historical Sketch of the English 
 Law Courts. 
 
 F, A. iNDEIiWICK, Q.C. 
 
 Alien Immigrants. 
 
 W. CUKHIWGHAM, D.D. 
 
 Life in an Old English Town, 
 
 M. DOBMBE HaEEIS. 
 
 Ill Pre2:>aratioTn . 
 Social and Imperial Life of Britain. 
 
 The Editce. 
 Chivalry. 
 
 F. W. CoENisn, Vice-Provost of Eton, 
 History of the Fine Arts. 
 
 Peofessoe G. Bald-wibt BltOWN. 
 The English Manor. 
 
 PEOFESaOE ViNOGEADOFF. 
 
 The Evolution of the English House. 
 
 Sidney O. Addy. 
 The Evolution of English Household Implements. 
 
 Henry Balfoub. 
 Mysteries and Miracle Plays. 
 
 Lucy TouLMiw Smith. 
 The Social Position of Women. 
 
 C. Fell Smith. 
 The Navy. 
 
 W. Laihd Clowes. 
 
 LONDON: SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., Lmu. 
 NEW YORK: THE MAOMILLAN CO., Limd. 
 
PI Cornell University 
 y Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028080087 
 
'-f> 
 
 
Social lEnglanb Series 
 
 EDITED BY KENELM D. COTES, M.A'. (oXOn) 
 \ 
 
 LIFE IN AN 
 OLD ENGLISH TOWN 
 
 A HISTORY OF COVENTRY FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES 
 COMPILED FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS 
 
 MARY DORMER HARRIS 
 
 
 SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO. LIM" 
 
 New York: THE MACMILLAN CO. LIM " 
 
 1898 
 
 /V\ 
 
A. I \77]z 
 
 Butler & Tanner, 
 
 The selwood Printing Works, 
 
 frome, and london. 
 
a5 flbatrem 
 
EEEATA 
 
 p. 67 note 1, for "Laud. MS. 290 & 533" read " Lansd. MS. 
 
 290/ 553." 
 p. 181 1. 9, for " Calaudon'-' read " Caludon.'''' 
 p. 180 note 2 1. 1, for " August " read " Augusti." 
 
 ,, ,, \. 2, for " Anglief nit." vea.i '^ Anglie fuil.^' 
 p. 187 ]. 11, for " wail " read " way.'''' 
 p. 296 1. 28, lor "council read "counsel." 
 
EDITORIAL PEEFACE 
 
 A New ^^ introducing an old subject with some 
 Subject, variety of form, it is easy to be brief and at 
 the same time clear, because the reader supplies from 
 previous knowledge so much that is left imsaid ; but in 
 stepping quite out of the beaten track nothing perhaps 
 but actually treading tlie new path can malie the goal 
 that it is intended to reach plainly visible. It is not 
 desirable that the whole object of a new series of books 
 written on a new plan should be capable of being con- 
 densed into a few pages ; this can be done only for 
 subjects whose scope is already well defined, where there 
 are and have been many previous books written on the 
 same lines, though perhaps from slightly different points 
 of view, and in which the only novelty to be looked for 
 is in the style of writing and in the arrangement and 
 amount of matter. 
 
 Undoubted as is the influence of personality 
 upon history, the attention directed to it has 
 hitherto been rather one-sided; the entire course of 
 national life cannot be summed up in a few great names, 
 and the attempt to do so is to confuse biography with 
 history. This narrow view, besides ignoring other causes, 
 leads to the overrating of details, and since a cause must 
 be found somewhere, personal character becomes every- 
 
viii Editorial Preface 
 
 tiling. The stability of law that is seen in a large number 
 of instances cannot be discovered by watching single 
 lives, however exalted ; and history with no intention of 
 discovering the condition of events becomes the sport 
 of accident, resting in great measure for its interest on 
 anecdote and rhetoric. 
 
 The case is not much bettered by long 
 Politics. . 
 
 accounts of acts of parliament, with sum- 
 maries of debates, and numbering of divisions, and more 
 lives of statesmen, eminent and mediocre. The details 
 of parliament no more than the details of biographies 
 afford sufficient data for scientific observation, if the 
 forces of the society that surround them are omitted. 
 Neither does the addition of military detail help much in 
 the comprehension of the course of events ; one battle is 
 much like another except when treated by the profes- 
 sional soldier or sailor, or at all events in the light of 
 professional books ; and victories or defeats depend upon 
 something else besides the position of the ground or the 
 plans of the moment. It has been reserved for a naval 
 expert of another power to point this out to the multi- 
 tudinous writers of the history of the great naval powe*- 
 of the world. 
 
 Social Social questions are to-day talking the fore- 
 
 Questions. jj^Qg). pjg.(,g jjj pubHc intorcst; the power 
 
 behind the statesman is seen to be greater in controlling 
 contemporary history than the eloquence or experience 
 of any single man. We see this to be so now, and our 
 Jcnowledge of the present suggests the question whether it 
 has not always been so ; and whether the life of society 
 
Editorial Preface ix 
 
 thougli it has not had the same comparative weight, has 
 not always been a more important factor than the life of 
 the individual. 
 
 The " Social England " series rests upon the 
 
 The " Social 
 
 England" conviction that it is possible to make a suo- 
 
 Series. 
 
 cessful attempt to give an account, not 
 merely of politics and wars, but also of religion, com- 
 merce, art, literature, law, science, agriculture, and all 
 that follows from their inclusion, and that without a due 
 knowledge of the last we have no real explanation of 
 any of the number. 
 
 XT * ■ „- But the causes that direct the course of 
 Not as an 
 
 Appendix, gyejjts will become no clearer if to one third 
 politics and one third wars we add another third consisting 
 of small portions of other subjects, side by side, but yet 
 apart from one another. 
 
 ^.. „ , , The central idea is that the greatness or 
 
 the Central ° 
 
 Idea. weakness of a nation does not depend on the 
 greatness or weakness of any one man or body of men, 
 and that the odd millions have always had their part to 
 play. To understand how great that was and is, we must 
 understand the way in which they spent their lives, what 
 they really cared for, what they fought for, and in a 
 word what they lived for. To leave out nine-tenths of 
 the national life, and to call the rest a history of the 
 nation, is misleading ; it is so misleading that, treated in 
 this mutilated manner, history has no pretension to be a 
 science : it becomes a ponderous chronicle, full of details 
 which, in the absence of any other guiding principle, are 
 held together by chronology. Writers of great name and 
 
 h 
 
Editorial Preface 
 
 power escape from this limitation, which, however, holds 
 sway for the most part in the books that reach the great 
 majority of readers, that is those who have not time to 
 read an epoch in several volumes. 
 
 The Carrying "'■'' '^^ ■'^°* necessary in seeing a famous town 
 OBtoftiiBidea.jQ ^jg-j g^gj.y public building and private 
 
 house, and so for the carrying out of this plan it has been 
 determined that adequate treatment can be secured of 
 certain subjects in a series of books that should be 
 popular, not only in style, but also in the demands they 
 snake upon the reader's time. 
 „ , ,. . ■'■t would be useless for any one writer to 
 
 Specialists. •' 
 
 pretend to accomplish this task, though when 
 
 tht way is cleared a social history connecting more closely 
 and summarising the work of all the contributors will 
 be possible ; but at present it is intended to ask each of 
 them to bring his special knowledge to bear upon the ex- 
 planation of social life and in treating his portion of the 
 work to look at original authorities to see not merely 
 what light they throw on his own branch separately, but 
 how they affect its conception considered in relation to 
 the whole, that is to the development of the life of the 
 English people. 
 
 The Possible ^° ^'■^"S '^^^ ^®"®^ **^ '^'^^ completion will 
 "™^*so|the need the services of many writers. A few of 
 
 the number of books which might be sug- 
 gested may be mentioned. The influence upon thought of 
 geographical discovery, of commerce, and of science would 
 form three volumes. The part inventions have played, 
 tlio main changes in political tlieories and, perhaps less 
 
Editorial Preface xi 
 
 commonplace, the main changes in English thought upon 
 great topics, such as the social position of women, of 
 children, and of the church, the treatment of the indigent 
 poor and of the criminal, need all to be studied. The 
 soldier, the sailor, the lawyer, the physician, have still to 
 be written of ; the conception of the duties of the noble or 
 the statesman, not in the story of one man s life, but in a 
 general theory illustrated from the lives of many men, 
 has still to be formulated; the wide range of subjects con- 
 nected with law — the story of crime, laws made in class 
 interest, laws for the protection of trade and for the 
 regulation of industry — are all to be found in the statutes 
 at large. A more comprehensive sketch of the scope of 
 the series should be found in an introductory volume. 
 
 Bat, apart from the probable extension of 
 Arrangai for. j.j^q jjeries, sufficient works have already been 
 arranged for to describe some leading features of English 
 social life, and to point out some of the numerous highways 
 which lead to a great centre, passing through different 
 provinces, which all have their local colour, but the lives 
 of whose inhabitants need also to be known if we are to 
 understand the country as a whole, and not merely the 
 court and parliament of the capital. 
 
 The king is the centre of this life when 
 
 The King's ^ 
 
 Place. ^j^j, ^n^ justice form the chief reason for the 
 loose federation of communities; not merely does he give 
 protection on the frontiers, but among his own subjects 
 it is more and more his duty to enforce peace, and we 
 have to see how step by step the local court or franchise 
 is merged in the strengthening of sovereign justice. 
 
Editorial Preface 
 
 What exactly was the ideal of knighthood ? 
 Chivalry. 
 
 How far did it imply an acquaintance with 
 
 the learning of the day and with foreign countries ? Did 
 it strengthen the feeling of pity for the weak, or purify 
 the love for women ? In what are wrongly called the 
 ThaTrouba- "^^^^^ ^g^s, was there a vast society of men 
 dours. pf culture, who spread over large parts of 
 J^orthern Europe, to whom we owe the first-fruits of 
 modern literature, the troubadours, who first came from 
 Provence ? 
 
 In the manor is to be found the story of 
 The Manor. i -ii i-r 
 
 early village life, of domestic manufactures, 
 of the system of agriculture and of the simplest adminis- 
 tration of justice, a system the remains of which last 
 
 The Working- *'^^ to-day; while a sketch of the history of 
 ™*"' the working-classes helps to complete the 
 picture, and at the same time to place a wider one beside 
 it, to show especially how wages have been regulated, 
 the condition under which the poor have lived, and to see 
 what on the whole is the part they have played in 
 flistory. 
 TheEiseofthe Turning from the working-man, we natur- 
 
 Merohants. ^lly ask when aros6 the great class of mer- 
 chants, how their gradual rise affected the condition of 
 the population, whether their appearance synchronised 
 with any other political and social events, and in fact we 
 prepare for the question as to the influence of commerce 
 on politics and society. 
 
 Theuniver- ^^°s® ^^° ^^0^ the part that commerce 
 ''"^=- plays in civilization are aware that the 
 
Editorial Preface xiii 
 
 growth of intercourse will naturally bring larger culture, 
 
 and the learning of the old world and of the Saracens 
 
 will be taught in the schools of the West. It 
 
 The Travelled . . 
 
 Englishman will be impossible to rigidly confine the cur- 
 
 £lllu Xll6 
 
 ''EneianV" ""^^^^^ °^ thought to the four seas, or even only 
 
 to break the barrier here and there by such 
 
 stories as that of the Roman missionaries. England must be 
 
 looked on as belonging to the circle of a great civilization. 
 
 How far Englishmen went abroad, and how far the men 
 
 of other nations came to England, requires to be set forth. 
 
 Again, to those who believe in the organic 
 The Fine Arts. 
 
 connection of all branches of the national life 
 
 it will be of interest to learn in what way the character 
 
 of art partook of the nature of life around it, how far its 
 
 methods or motives can be borrowed, why the fifteenth 
 
 century gave pause to our art, why at a certain period 
 
 cathedrals ceased to be built, and when it was we added 
 
 great names in our turn to the list of painters. 
 
 The music of Anglo-Saxon and of Dane will 
 
 Music. , „ 
 
 to some make clearer the influence of skald and 
 gleeman ; the effect of poetry will be noted, the growth 
 of instruments, and the increasing complexity of music. 
 Possibly the change in the landscape might 
 be described : the alteration in the face of the 
 country with the draining of fens, the making of roads, 
 and the clearing of forests ; the introduction of fresh trees 
 and plants. 
 
 We must recognise that the position of Great 
 
 The Influence „ . . , , , 1 1 • i 
 
 of Geography Britain, as the known world grew wider, 
 on Social Life. , pp r • 
 
 altered for the better ; the effect of rivers. 
 
xiv Editorial Preface 
 
 mountains, and seas in fixing the boundaries of kingdoms 
 and sub-kingdoms, in altering or preserving languages, in 
 determining politics and the opinions of districts, and, 
 the chief point of all, in deciding the character of what 
 bids fair to be the language of commerce, and probably of 
 all international communication. 
 
 As it is important to know where men lived 
 
 The Hoinas 
 
 and Household in relation to the world at large in order to 
 Implements. 
 
 understand how they lived, so we should be 
 acquainted with their dwelling-places, whether in town or 
 country, at any period ; we should observe the changing 
 st5'les of building, distinguish the international influence, 
 the part that the facility of obtaining material played, 
 and notice the gradual evolution of the rooms, the way 
 that they were adorned and furnished, to see how far in 
 beds and baths, in the provision for study and privacy, 
 civilization was advancing. 
 „ . , „ , . From their literature we can gather most, 
 
 Social England tj ^" i 
 
 Classics. fQj. jjere, with not much thought of history, 
 contemporary spoke to contemporary of what each knew 
 well. In the pre-Elizabethan drama we can see the 
 natural touches that show it was not elaborated as an ex- 
 ercise, but with the intention of possessing a living in- 
 terest, and in what interested them we discover their atti- 
 tude, not merely to religion, but to much else besides. By 
 recognizing this fact we learn that masterpieces of litera- 
 ture lose their full meaning unless we find in them, besides 
 creative power and command of the technique of art, 
 " the very age and body of the time." Shakespeare's 
 England and Chaucer's England are what Shakespeare 
 
Editorial Preface xv 
 
 and Chaucer knew of life ; the outer gallery of pictures 
 the unknown artists drew, from which we pass into the 
 inner rooms whose walls are covered by the groups and 
 figures that the masters painted. 
 
 Biography and ^^ *^^ widening of history, biography is 
 History, jj^q longer cramped by being out off from 
 social life ; the great men are not isolated, but take their 
 proper places among their fellow-countrymen, their lives 
 forming fit landmarks, because they are akin to the peo- 
 ple among whom they live, their characters not adapted 
 to the century of the commentator, but bearing the impress 
 of the forces round them, whose constant pressure is 
 part of their life. They and those who are lesser than 
 themselves, and the changing conditions that create them 
 and are modified by them, form the great and continuous 
 whole, which constantly alters, as all life alters, coming 
 from the past and linked to the future. It no longer be- 
 comes necessary to make all times alike, except for con- 
 stitutional changes, or improvement in weapons, and the 
 crowning or death of a king, pleading the half-truth that 
 human nature is the same in every age. 
 
AUTHOE'S PREFACE 
 
 It is impossible to mention by name all those who have 
 helped to forward the work of collecting materials for 
 this history. I have to thank Mr. Browett, late town 
 clerk of Coventry, and Mr. Beard, the present holder of 
 the office, first, for permission to examine the MS. records 
 belonging to the corporation ; and secondly, for the un- 
 failing courtesy and consideration they and their assistants 
 showed me while I was engaged at this task. Mrs. J. R. 
 Green knows that I am grateful for the encouragement 
 she gave me to continue the work, and for help which 
 her wide knowledge in the subject of Town History made 
 invaluable in the solution of many difficulties. Miss L. 
 Toulmin Smith gave me her kind assistance in correcting 
 the proofs, and the Editor of this series was good enough 
 to make some useful suggestions while the work was in 
 progress. I am indebted to the kindness of Messrs. 
 Longmans, Green & Go. for permission to reprint here 
 my article on "Laurence Saunders, Citizen of Coventry," 
 which appeared in the English Historical Review, vol. ix. 
 6.33-651, while through the courtesy of the Executive 
 Committee of the Society of Antiquaries I have been 
 enabled to include a paper on the " Craft Guilds of 
 Coventry," read before the Society on Nov. 21, 1895 
 {Proc. S. A. L. 2 S. xvi. 15) in this book. 
 
 Maey Dormer Harris. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 LEOFEIC AND GODIVA 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CoTentry — Early legends — Early history — Foundation of the 
 monastery — The Confessor's charter — Riches of the minster 
 — Legend of Godiva— Story of Leofrio's career and family . 1-U 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE BENEDICTINE MONASTERY 
 
 The neighhouring country — The monastic orders — Life in a 
 mediseval monastery — The oiedientiarii and their worlc^ 
 Hospitality — Lawsuits and journeys undertaken hy monks — 
 The bishops and the monks — Abbacy vested in bishop 
 Livesey — His greed — Nunant — Expulsion of the monks — 
 Their return — Feud with the canons about episcopal elec- 
 tions — King John and the Coventry monks — -Peace made 
 between monks and canons — Capitular elections a mere form 
 in later times — Place of monastic orders in town history . 12-30 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE CHESTER LORDSHIP 
 
 Coventry in Domesday — The Earl's-half passes to the earls of 
 Chester— Character of an English feudal lord— Earl Gernons' 
 stormy career — Earl Hugh takes part in the rebellion of 1173 
 — Earl Blondvil's career and fame-^The story of his death 
 and the "mastiffs" of Dieulacres — Coventry passes to the De 
 Montalt family .... .... 31-39 
 
xviii Contents 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 THE BEGINNINGS OF MUNICIPAL GOVEENMENT 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The winning of liberties by towns on secular and ecclesiastical 
 estates — Baclcwarduess of cburcbmen in granting liberties — 
 Condition of serfs — Coventry men "free burghers" — Their 
 masters : king, prior, and eai-1 — Blondvil's charter — Liberties 
 modelled on those of Lincoln — Importance of town courts — 
 Cases before the portmanmote — The county court — Henry 
 II. 's conQrmation of the charter — Growth of Coventi-y — 
 Grant of a fair — Coming of the friars 40-52 
 
 CHAPTER Y 
 PEIOE'S-HALF AND EAEL'S-HALF 
 
 Struggle for liberty — Division of the town into two estates — 
 Freciuency of these divisions — Disputes bred by difference of 
 customs in neighbouring manors— Quarrels between Earl's- 
 men and Prior's-men in Coventry— Union of the two estates 
 —The disputes continue— The merchant guild— The question 
 of the market — Decision in the prior's favour — The story 
 of the magician— Tlie tvinl of the citizens for witchcraft — Their 
 acquittal . . . 53_(;3 
 
 CHAPTEE YI 
 
 THE SEIGNIOEY OF THE PEIOE AND QUEEN 
 ISABELLA 
 
 Defeat of tenants on ecclesiastical estates — Isabella enters into 
 possession as heir of the De Montalts — Feud between the 
 queen and prior- The prior complains of wrong done by the 
 Eavl's-men— The Coventry men gain liberty — Their victory 
 in the incorporation of the city— Dispute closed by the " In- 
 denture Tripartite " C9-77 
 
Contents xix 
 
 CHAPTEE YII 
 THE COEPOEATION AND THE GUILDS 
 
 PACE 
 
 Iguorauee and apathy concerning local affairs at tlie present 
 time — Decline of municipal institutions — Powers of a niedi- 
 oeval corporation — Organization of municipal affairs at 
 Coventry after tlie purchase of the charter of incorporation — 
 Fresh grants of liberties — Municipal rule takes the form of 
 an oligarchy — History of guilds — The guild merchant of 
 S. Mary — Union of the guilds under the name of the 
 Trinity — Connection of the guilds and corporation — In- 
 fluence, wealth, and dignity of the town officials — Their busy 
 lives 73-105 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII 
 
 THE COEPOEATION AND THE COMMONALTY 
 
 The grievances of the loaf and pastures — The common and 
 Lammas lands — The council of the Forty-eight becomes an 
 instrument of tryaimy — The question of petitions to the 
 leet — Whether they .furthered popular control — Presentments 
 to leet — Whether they furthered popular control — Fresh 
 liberties — Confusion in municipal ! finances the result of the 
 Wars of the Eoscs — General complaints — Edward IV.'s 
 attack on the city liberties — Manifestations of internal dis- 
 content . . 106-127 
 
 CHAPTEE IX 
 
 COVENTEY AND THE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND 
 
 Obscurity of Coventry under early kings — Isabella and the 
 friars— The Norfolk duel — Preparations for a king's visit— 
 Purveyance- Lodging of the king's retinue — Privilege of 
 sanctuary— Faulkes de Breautu— John Ball taken at Coventry 
 —His teaching — The "Unlearned Parliament "—Attack on 
 the Church— Lack of reverence to the Sacrament— The king 
 as borrower— Prince Hal in Coventry— The preaching of the 
 hermit— Lollardism in Coventry— Penance and death of martyrs 
 —Loans to the king for the French War— Presents for the 
 royal prmoea .... . . i-o 
 
XX Contents 
 
 CHAPTEE X 
 THE EED AND THE WHITE EOSE 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Geueral clmracter of the period — Local warfare and lawsuits — 
 lafl-uence of the duke of Bucliingham ia the Midlands — 
 Coventry Lancastrian — Fortification of the city — Visit of 
 Henry VI. to tlie city — Graciousness of Idng Henry — His visit 
 and offering to S. Michael's church — ■ The king's farewell 
 promise — The new charter — Outbreak of the war — Battle 
 of S. Alban's — Heception of queen Margaret — John Wedarby 
 prepares a pageant — Margaret is .hailed as " Mother of 
 Meekness" — Council held at Coventry — Fray between the 
 watch and the duke of Somerset's men — Queen Margaret's 
 sudden visit — She insits on receiving the same honours as 
 the king — The Court again at Coventry — The queen sees the 
 Corpus Christi plays — Tlie supper at Eiohard Wood's — Progress 
 of the war — Lancastrian triumph — The " Diabolical Parlia- 
 ment" — Coventry cools towards Lancaster — Henry reproaches 
 the inhabitants — Battle ot Northampton — Coventryjoins York 
 —Welcome to Edward IV 147-173 
 
 CHAPTEE XI 
 
 LAST STEUGGLE BETWEEN YOEK AND LAN- 
 CASTER—THE TUDOES 
 
 Estrangement ot Warwick from Edward IV. — Their different views 
 on foreign policy — Eenewal ot the war ia the north under 
 Kobin of Eedesdale— Warwick' s communication to the men of 
 Coventry — The battle of Edgecote — Edward a prisoner at 
 Coventry — Execution of the Woodvilles on Gosford Green — 
 Welles' rebellion in Lincolnshire — Warwick is implicated in the 
 rebellion — Flight of Clarence and Warwick — Warwick espouses 
 
 the cause of Lancaster, and drives the king from England 
 
 Chronicle of the year — Lancastrian restoration — Edward in- 
 vades England — Offers battle at Coventry — The King-maker 
 at Coventry — Clarence's desertion — Confiscation of the city's 
 liberties— Clarence's mediation— Welcome to prince Edward- 
 Edward's subsequent dealiugs with Coventry — Eichard III. 
 
Contents 
 
 tries to ingratiate himself with the citizens— Welcome to Henry 
 VII-— The king's visit to the city— Simnel's rebellion— Money 
 for war— EmpsoQ recorder— Chronicle of the death of Henry 
 VII.— Loans and troubles — Plots — The Reformation —De- 
 struction of the churches — Dissolution of the guilds and 
 chantries— Poverty and decay of the city under the Tudors— 
 The purchase of the guild lands— Puritan Coventi-y . . 174-205 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE LAMMAS LANDS 
 
 John Bristowe lord of Whitley Manor — His encroachments upon 
 the common laud — He claims right of common with the 
 citizens of Coventry — The corporation take revenge on Wil- 
 liam Bristowe — The mayor and commonalty take possession of 
 the field — The disturbance about the " Prior's Waste " — The 
 quarrel with Bristowe continues — Arbitration is tried — The 
 ''letter testimonial" of the "aged meu" — Temporary settle- 
 ment of the quarrel — Early career of Laurence Saunders — Ho 
 is elected chamberlain — He complains of encroachment and 
 surcharging to the prince of Wales — The journey to Ludlow — 
 Decision against Laurence — He submits — The prior takes 
 offence — His complaiat — The mayor's reply — The prior's re- 
 joinder — Bristowe again — Appeal to Ludlow — The commons 
 rise — The king censures the rioters — Conclusion of the quarrel 
 with Bristowe — Laurence renews his complaint — He is com- 
 mitted to prison — Death of the recorder — Robert Green's 
 enactments — Rules concerning apprentices — The sale of cloth — ■ 
 Laurence Saunders' words on Lammas day — The verses on 
 the church door — The corporation appeal to the recorder — 
 Laurence has hopes of the Court — Fresh verses — The suit is 
 tried in the Star Chamber — Laurence vanishes into the Fleet 20C- 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII 
 
 THE COMPANIES OP THE CRAFTS 
 
 The woollen industry in Coventry— The Drapery the selling place 
 for cloth— The method of searching the cloth— The drapers- 
 Power of the merchant class— The subjection of the crafts to 
 
Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 the corporation— The fullers and dyers— The workers in iron- 
 Resistance of the crafts— Self-seeking of the crafts — Regula- 
 tions affecting apprentices— The combinations of the workmen 
 suppressed — Rivalry between the cappers and their work- 
 men— Survival of certain companies . . . 253-281 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV 
 
 DAILY LirE IN THE TOWN— THE MERCHANTS 
 
 AND THE MARKET 
 
 Life in the city by day and night — Types of individuals, hermits, 
 pilgrims, the alchemist — Punishment of crime, stocks, pillory, 
 gaol, the gallows, heads of traitors — Sanitary measures — 
 Measures taken against fire — The deceits oP traders and victu- 
 allers — The assize of bread and ale — The regulation of market 
 traffic — The country merchant — The Corpus Ohristi fair — ■ 
 Men and merchandise — The mayor's court of Statute Mer- 
 chant — The travels of the merchant — Inns — The Botoners — The 
 Onleys — Perils by land and sea — ^ Laurence Cook and the 
 Hanseatic merchants — Adventure of Mr. Wheatley's servant — 
 Benefactions of the Coventry merchants — Bond, Ford, Haddon, 
 Sir Thomas White — The school and schoolmasters — Education 
 in the Middle Ages — Problems of poverty— The sturdy vaga- 
 bond . 283-318 
 
 CHAPTEE XV 
 
 DAILY LIFE IN THE T0V7N — RELIGION AND 
 AMUSEMENTS OE THE TOWNSFOLK 
 
 The city churches — Uses to which churches were put— A hospital 
 in time of plague — Provision for services and prayers — The 
 chapels of the crafts — The burial oblations — Monks and friara 
 quarrel about the funeral candles — Amusements, archery, bull- 
 baiting, strolling players— Illicit amusements, hunting and 
 hawking — Brawling — The affair of the StafFords and Har- 
 courts — Lawlessness on feast days — Quarrels among the 
 citizens— Feasting among the guilds and crafts— Rejoicings on 
 Midsummer eve and S. Peter's night— The riding of the 
 
Contents 
 
 armed watch — Processions — Mystery plays — Royal visits — 
 Contributions o£ each craft towards the pageants— Care be- 
 stowed on preparations for the plays — The performances of 
 the crafts not identical with the so-called ** Coventry Plays " — 
 Subjects of the performances of the Coventry crafts — The 
 actors — Strange figures among the draniatis personm — Pageants 
 for the welcome of royalty — Hox Tuesday — The wait« — The 
 common ' labour of the town — Commissions of array and 
 muster of soldiers — Hiring of recruits — An inconvenient 
 business — Civic patriotism and civic art — General character of 
 the Enghsh-burgher . . . . 319-357 
 
 CHAPTER XTI 
 OLD COVENTRY AT THE PRESENT DAY 
 
 How to spend a day in C oven try, and what to see there — Celebrated 
 inhabitants— Ford's Hospital— S. Michael's— S. Mary's Hall- 
 Window, roof, tapestry — Trinity Church — Cathedral Ruins — 
 Old Grammar School— S. John's — Bond's Hospital . . 358- 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 On the MS. Authorities Employed 377 
 
 laST OF AuTHOKiTiES Cited in this Work • 378 
 
 Index • .381 
 
LEOFEIC AND GODIYA 
 
 It was ever tlio boast of Coventry men that their city 
 was oE "high fame and antiquity,"! being "remem- 
 bered," so John Throgmorton, the recorder, assured 
 queen Elizabeth, "by Polydore Vergil to be of . . . small 
 account in the time of king Arviragns (which was forty, 
 four years after our Saviour) in the emperor Claudius' 
 time."^ And Shakespeare's contemporary, Michael 
 Drayton, had a pretty fancy of his own concerning the 
 place,^ whereby its antiquity is made manifest. He tells 
 us how, when Coventry was but " a poor thatched 
 villnge," the saint of Cologne brought thither 
 
 " That goodly virgin-band 
 Th' eleven thousand maids, chaste Ursula's command," 
 
 who at departing, 
 
 " Each by her just bequest, 
 Some special virtue gave, ordaining it to rest 
 "With one of her own sex ; " 
 
 which special virtues, the poet adds, were in aftertimes 
 
 > Harl. MS. 6,195 f. 7. Petition of the men of Coventry 
 concerning the possessions of the Corpus Christi guild. 
 2 Poole, Coventry, 90, Elizabeth visited the city in 1665. 
 8 PolyolUcm, XIII. 
 
 3 
 
Life in an Old English Tozvn 
 
 bestowed on Godiva, ',' that most princely dame," who 
 freed Coventry from toll on the occasion of her famous 
 ride. 
 
 Bat of all this history tells ns nothing, even as it 
 tells ns nothing of Vespasian's visit to Exeter, or the 
 founding of London by Brutus of Troy, in the days 
 when tlie foundations of Rome were not laid. Coventry 
 is not old in the sense wherein we apply the word to 
 Colchester, York, Bath or Winchester, and many towns 
 dating from Roman or early Saxon times. If the site 
 of the present city wei-e ever occupied by the Romans 
 — and the point is a doubtful one — their occupation 
 left no permanent traces. ^ Bat just as families love to 
 boast of a high and noble ancestry, so dwellers in cities 
 and members of institutions delight to trace their origins 
 back to a legendary past, and the fables of Brut, who 
 came from Troy to London, or the story of Mempric, 
 contemporary of David, and fonnder of the university of 
 Oxford ,3 were once accepted as truth. "We, however, 
 are content to leave this record of obscure beginnings 
 unexplored, confessing that we have, as Dngdale says, 
 "so little light of story to guide us through those 
 elder times." ^ 
 
 In truth, we hear nothing authentic concerning the 
 
 1 Mr. Fretton informs me that some rough Eomau (?) pave- 
 ment was discovered in the Cross Cheaping during excavations 
 at the end of the last century. This was probably a portion 
 of the Welsh Eoad. 
 
 2 Bashdall, Universities, II. pt. ii, 323, 
 
 3 Dugdale, Waru: I. 134, 
 
Leofric and Godiva 
 
 Romans', and but rumours of the Danes', coming to 
 Coventry. In 1016 the Northmen, led by Canute and 
 the traitor Eadrio Streona, laid waste the Midlands, 
 and are said to have destroyed a nunnery on the spot 
 founded by an obscure Saxon saint, the virgin Osburg, 
 who probably came from the neighbouring house for nuns 
 at Polesworth.i But S. Osbui-g is a shadowy figure, 
 and the memory of her foundation has almost entirely 
 passed away. The convent of the "convent town,"^ 
 did not gather together there until the middle of the 
 eleventh century, wlieu Leofric, earl of Mercia, and his 
 wife Godiva, built a dwelling for an abbot and twenty- 
 four monks to live under the rule of S. Benedict. Thus 
 was laid the first stone of a monastery which ranked 
 with the Confessor's abbey of Westminster, king Harold's 
 college at Waltham, and the twin abbeys built by Wil- 
 liam I. and Matilda in their city of Caen, among the 
 most famous foundations of that age. The monastery 
 became the nucleus of a thriving town in later days, 
 as was the case with Bury S. Edmund's, Abingdon, 
 Reading, S. Alban's, and many other places in England. 
 The chroniclers, as well as the monks of Coventry, 
 loved to honour the memory of Leofric and Godiva, 
 
 1 Such is Mr. Fretton's opinion. Eous, the fifteenth century 
 antiquary, is Dugdale's authority for the statement concerning 
 the nunnery. 
 
 2 A convent is properly a hody of monks or nuns ; a monas- 
 tery or nunnery their habitation. The etymology of Coventry 
 is dubious; perhaps it comes from Lat. convenlus. Of. Covent 
 Garden, built on the site of a garden formerly belonging to the 
 monks of Westminster, 
 
Life in an Old English Town 
 
 calling the latter " amatrix: Matris Dei," the lover of 
 the Mother of God. These pious founders were frequent 
 companions of the Confessor, and, together with the 
 sainted king, beheld a vision of Christ whilst partaking 
 of the Eucharist, ^ an occurrence the Coventry monks, 
 who, like others of their kind, greatly rejoiced iu the 
 tale of vision or miracle, were wont to relate with much 
 complaisance in after days. They told how Leofric ^ 
 " was himself at a little other back place of the Chappell 
 of our Lady in Westminster with the said King S. 
 Edward," and at the hour of Mass the earl saw "be- 
 tween the hands of the Chaplaine . . . our Saviour 
 in the Chair ^ in the form of an Infant giving from his 
 hand to our Lord the King, and to him His Blessing." 
 Leofric " intended not that the king should see it,'* but 
 that he should pray him to be certified of the livino- 
 Saint." But the Confessor's eyes were as quick as 
 those of his companion to behold the saored sight, and 
 he exclaimed, " Sta, LeofErice, sta, quod tu vides, video 
 et Ego." 
 
 Some of the respect paid to the earl and the lady 
 may in part be due to their patronage of the "regulars," 
 or monastic orders, for the chroniclers were usually 
 monks. The Godwins, who were Leofric's rivals in those 
 
 1 Stanley, Mem. Westminster, 24. 
 
 2 Burton MS. f. 109. See Appendix. 
 
 « i.e. flesh. This is probably t. translation frnn, w 
 French. The original was ■■ Englished " by Hu JpCv^ T'" 
 town clerk, in the 17th century. ^'imphrey Burton, 
 
 * i.e. thought that he did not see it. 
 
Leofric and Godiva 5 
 
 nneasy times, rarely have the historians' good word. 
 For king Harold, son of Godwin, was a friend of the 
 " seculars," and his college at Waltham was bnilt for 
 canons and not for monks. It was a great time for 
 the founding of religious houses, and the Confessor, as 
 befitted one of known sanctity of life, greatly encouraged 
 these pious deeds. " It behoves every man," runs his 
 charter to the monks of Coventry, " dilligently to incline 
 to almsgiving, whereby he may release himself from the 
 bonds of sin. For our Lord in a sermon thus speaketh : 
 ' Lay up for yourselves with alms-deeds a treasure-hoard 
 in heaven, and a dwelling with angels.' ^ For which 
 needful thing I make known to you all that I grant 
 with full permission that the same gift which Leofric 
 and Godgyuse have given to Christ, and the brethren 
 within the minster at Coventry, for their souls' help, 
 in land and in water, in gold and in silver, in orna- 
 ments, and in all other things, as full and as forth as they 
 themselves possessed it, and as they that same minster 
 worthily have enriched therewith, so I firmly grant it. 
 And furthermore, I grant to them also, for my soul, that 
 they have besides full freedom, sac and soc,^ toll, team,^ 
 hamsocne,* foresteall,^ blodewite,^ fihtwite,^ weardwite,^ 
 
 ' See Matt. vi. 20. This translation mainly follows Birch.- 
 
 ^ Privilege of administering justice. 
 
 3 Obscure. Birch says privilege of vouching to warranty. 
 
 * Power to punish for forcible entry. 
 
 ^ Power to inflict punishment for forestalling. 
 " Power to punish assault with bloodshed. 
 ' Power to punish assault. 
 
 * Power to maintain watch. 
 
Life in an Old EngUsli Town 
 
 and mundbryce.i Now I will henceforward that it 
 ever be a dwelling of monks, and let them stand in 
 God's peace, and S. Mary's and in mine, and according 
 to S. Benedict's rule, under the abbot's authority. And I 
 will not in any wise consent that any man take away or 
 eject their gift and their alms, or that any man have there 
 any charge upon any things, or at any season, except 
 the abbot and his brethren for this minster's need. And 
 whosoever shall increase this alms with any good the Lord 
 shall increase unto him Heaven's bliss; and whosoever 
 shall take them away, or deprive the minster of any- 
 thing at any time, let him stand in God's anger, and 
 His dear Mother's and mine. God keep you all."^ 
 
 Thus the monastery was endowed by Leofric and 
 Godiva with twenty-four lordships of land ; and by the 
 king with full rights of jurisdiction over the tenants 
 dwelling in these various estates, privileges greatly valued 
 by the monks. They laid the two generous founders, the 
 husband in one porch, the wife in the other, of the minster 
 in Coventry, when they came to die. As for this building, 
 it was one of the glories of the age, and seemed too nar- 
 
 ' Power to punish for hreach of peace. 
 
 2 Add. MS. Ch. 28,657. Birch, Edward the Confessor's Charier 
 to Coventrij. "A most elegant specimen of native palaeo- 
 graphy" (Birch). The editors of Dugdale's Monasticon (III. 
 
 190-1) cite three texts of charters given to Coventry Leo- 
 
 frio's, Edward the Confessor's, and the Conqueror's. All are 
 in Latin. Kemble (Codex Diplomaticus, Nos. DCCCCXXXIX. 
 DCCCCXVI.) has the first two, hut never mentions this Anglo- 
 Saxon specimen. In the Monasticon is mentioned a Bull of pope 
 Alexander, dated 1043, freeing the monastery from diocesan 
 interference, which I have mainly followed. 
 
Leofru and Godiva 
 
 row, a chronicler tells us, to contain the abundance o£ 
 treasure within its walls. Godiva paid the most famous 
 goldsmiths of her day to visit the place, and make reli- 
 qaaries and images of saints to beautify the church she 
 loved ; she also gave a rosary of gems to hang about the 
 neck of an image of the Virgin, her chief patroness. 
 The monks, too, gathered in a great store of relics, whereof 
 the most famous was an arm of S. Augustine of Hippo, 
 brought from Pavia by archbishop Ethelnoth, having 
 been purchased for the sum of one hundred talents of silver 
 and a talent of gold.^ 
 
 Of this minster, however, but a few stones remain, and 
 its successor the Gothic cathedral, was destroyed under 
 Henry VIII. The legend of its foundress ^ has been 
 more enduring. Vulgarised and disguised by later am- 
 plifications,^ the narrative, in its earliest form, has a 
 grandeur which still impresses the imagination. The 
 story was a favourite one with Landor from his boyhood, 
 though his Imaginary Conversation, and Drayton's brief 
 lines are less popularly known than the poem of Tennyson. 
 Discussions as to the authenticity of the narrative are 
 
 1 Diet. Nat. Biography, s.r. Ethelnoth . 
 
 2 Godiva is also commemorated as a benefactress of religious 
 houses at Leominster, Herefordshire, S.Werhurgh, Chester, Stow, 
 Lincolnshire, Wenlock, Shropshire, Worcester, and Evesham. 
 
 * The legend of "Peeping Tom" does not appear until the 
 eighteenth century, though a ballad written about 1650 (Evans' 
 Old Ballads, II. 3i) mentions that Godiva ordered all persons to 
 keej) within doors and shut their windows. Eapin was the first 
 to mention it. Hist. Enr/. (1732), 1. 135. The name " Peeping Tom " 
 occurs in the city accounts, June 11, 1773, when a new wig was 
 obtained for the effigy. See Did. Nat. Biography, s.r. Godiva. 
 
Life in an Old English Tozvn 
 
 idle ; it is possible, according to Godiva's latest biogra- 
 pher,! that the legend may contain a kernel of truth. 
 There is no contemporary evidence to guide us, for Roger 
 of Wendover, whose account of the famous ride is probably 
 the earliest we possess, died in 1237,8 gome hundred and 
 fifty years after the noble lady herself. The chroniclers 
 differ as to the motive which prompted the undertaking, 
 some asserting that the Coventry folk were to be freed 
 thereby from a grievous tax, or incident of villeinage ; 
 others again ^ connecting it with the local immunity from 
 the payment of toll— except for horses, a special feature 
 of the market of Coventry.* It is in the latter connec- 
 tion that the story has impressed itself on the local mind. 
 
 " I liuveriche for love of tliee 
 Doe make Coventre Tol-free,'' 
 
 was written under a window placed in Trinity Church in 
 Richard II. 's time in commemoration of the deed.^ 
 
 " This cite sliulde lie free, and now is bonde, 
 Dame goode Eve made hit free," 
 
 wrote a discontented burgher poet of the fifteenth cen- 
 
 ' The writer of the article in the Dlcl. Nat. Biography. 
 
 2 On events which occur before 1151 (or 1188) the chonicler is 
 dependent on some earlier unknown writer {Did. Nat. Biography). 
 
 ^ They follow Higden, author of the Polychronicon, who was 
 the first to mention the ride in this connection. As a monk of 
 S. Werhurgh's, Chester, a city which held frequent intercourse 
 with Coventry, he may have had opportunities of hearing the 
 tale from local sources. 
 
 * In Coventry market the burgesses were free from toll, except 
 for horses, in the time of Edward I. (Dugdale, ]Varw. I. 162). 
 
 6 lb. I. 135. 
 
Leofric and Godiva 
 
 tary, -wlien a custom for wool had been laid on the people 
 of the town.i 
 
 Roger of Wendover tells ns how the countess besought 
 her husband continally, with many prayers to free the 
 people from the tax ; and though he refused and forbade 
 her to approach him with this petition, " led by her 
 womanly pertinacity," she repeated the request, until he 
 
 By permission of the] [S/idlund Ed„catio,mt Co 
 
 THE WINDOW IN TKINITY OHUKCH. 
 
 [From a reproduction of a, Drawiiir/ by titiikch'V in Burrjesi's Historic Warmickshire.) 
 
 gave answer : " Ride naked through the length of the 
 market, when the people are gathered together, and when 
 thou returnest, thy petition shall be fulfilled." . . . 
 Then the countess, beloved of God, loosened her hair 
 thus veiling her body, and then, mounting her horse and 
 attended by two knights, she rode through the market 
 
 » Sharp, Antiquities of Coventry (ed. Fretton, 1870), 236. 
 
10 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 seen of none, her most wliite legs nevertheless appearing; 
 and having completed her journey, returned to her hus- 
 band rejoicing, and obtained from him what she had 
 asked," for he forthwith gave the townsfolk a charter, 
 emancipating them from the aforesaid service.^ 
 
 Naturally, the charter is not forthcoming, and his- 
 torians have shrugged their shonlders at the mention of 
 the story this many a day. The chroniclers took it very 
 seriously, and so did the townspeople of the Middle Ages. 
 It was not, however, until the time of Charles II. that the 
 Godiva procession became a feature of Coventry fair. 
 In 1678, we are told, " Lady Godiva rode before the 
 mayor to proclaim the fair," and the custom thus inaugu- 
 rated obtains to this day.^ 
 
 The Leofric of history was a man of wide fame under 
 the Confessor. "He was very wise, 'fore God, and also 
 'fore the world," the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says, " which 
 profited all this nation. "^ During this long reign he held a 
 middle position between the Confessor's foreign favourites 
 on the one hand, and the national party, headed by 
 Godwin, earl of Wessex, on the other. At one time the 
 respective families of these two great earls had for their 
 estates or lordships, practically the whole of England. 
 Many members of Leofric's family were famous in their 
 day. ^Ifgar, his son, earl of East Anglia, an outlaw, 
 
 ' Eog. Wendover, Flores Historiarum, I. 497. 
 
 2 Poole, Coventry, 57-66. 
 
 ' Thorpe, Anglo-Saxon. Vhron. II. 159. For Leofric's political 
 position, death, and family, see Freeman, Norm. Cotiq. II. 49,414, 
 631. 
 
Leofric and Godiva ii 
 
 hoping, -with the aid of the Welsh, to recover his lost 
 position, invaded England, sacked Hereford and burnt the 
 minster— a piece of sacrilege which did not deter the 
 monks of Coventry from burying him in their cathedral 
 when his stormy life was over. Godiva, it is thought, 
 survived her husband many years. She saw her grand- 
 daughter, Aldgyth, first wife, then widow of Gruffydd, 
 prince of Wales ; then wife and widow of Harold, king 
 of England; and outliving Hastings, the Conquest, and the 
 changes William wrought, the aged foundress of Coventry 
 beheld the rebellion and ruin of her grandsons, the earls 
 Edwin and Morkere. After her death, stories of her holy 
 life and alms-deeds were doubtless soon rife among tho 
 oppressed Saxons. It is noteworthy that Matilda, queen 
 of Henry I., a sovereign of the old Saxon blood royal, and 
 a most pious princess to boot, was called Godiva, no doubt 
 in scorn of her birth, by the Norman courtiers.^ The end 
 of Harold's queen, Aldgyth — or, as the compilers of 
 Doomsday call her, ignoring her second marriage, " Algid 
 uxor Grifin " — is obscure. Her lands in Warwickshire 
 were naturally confiscated by the Normans, and the 
 monks of Coventry bought them from one Osbern before 
 the date of the taking of the great Survey.^ 
 
 1 Hales, Percy Folio, III. 475. 
 
 2 Beader, Wane. Domesday ; Freeman, Korm.Conq. 11. GSQ. 
 
II 
 
 THE BENEDICTINE MONASTERY 
 
 The Benedictine house was built in part upon the nor- 
 thern slope of a low hill, in part in the hollow through 
 which the river Sherbourne flows. This was a situation 
 well adapted for the building of a monastery ; there was 
 rich Soil in the neighbourhood, good roads — both the 
 Watling Street 1 and the Poss "Way ran within a few miles 
 from the spot and were connected by the Welsh Road^ — and 
 
 1 There seems to have heen a time when the line of the 
 Watling Street was deserted, and the main thoroughfare between 
 London and the north-western parts, where passage was taken 
 for Ireland, lay through Coventry. The city was called " a 
 great thoroughfare town " in 1635 (Corp. MS. A. 35). See Appendix. 
 In 1760 the mercers' company in Coventry contributed £15 
 towards a fund raised to oppose a Bill before Parliament 
 for utilizing the Watling Street for traffic, on the ground 
 that the measure would be hurtful to the city (Fretton, Byrjone 
 Warwithshire, 108). 
 
 ^ There was, Mr. Fretton tells me, a line of Eomano-British 
 forts and entrenchments extending from Aston-le-Wall in 
 Northamptonshire, in a direct line through Southam, Wappen- 
 bury, Bubbenhall, Baginton, Corley, Pillongley, Whitacre and 
 Kingsbury, to near Fazeley on the Watling Street. In many of 
 these places there are important earthworks. There must have 
 been a line of communication between these forts, though the 
 line of actual road has in many cases been broken or diverted ; 
 it is however even now known as the Welsh Koad and is still 
 traceable for miles. 
 
The Benedictine Monastery 13 
 
 running water. Tlie Sherbourne is but a small stream 
 nowadays, but it was a more important watercourse in 
 earlier times, and in the fifteentb. centary many pre- 
 cautions bad to be taken " in escbewing peril of floods."^ 
 Tbe monks could stock Swanswell Pool witb fish, and 
 plant their orchards or vineyards in or near the hollow 
 in whicb the monastery lay. The slope of the ground 
 botli north and soutb formed a sheltered spot such as 
 Benedictines frequently chose wherein to erect their 
 dwellings. Over to tbe north and north-western parts 
 stretched the forest of Arden. Some way to the east lay 
 Dunsmore Heath, tbe scene, so tbe legend goes, of the 
 slaughter of tbe " buffalo dun cow," one of Guy of 
 Warwick's numerous marvellous deeds. ^ But in spite of 
 the loneliness of tbe beatb and forest, tbe near neigbbour- 
 bood of the great Roman roads must bave brought many 
 travellers, bearing news of tbe great woi-ld, to Coventry, 
 and the monks' market was frequented by dwellers of the 
 country round, while towns of a certain importance lay 
 comparatively close at hand. Lichfield, where tbe bishop 
 bad bis seat, lay some twenty -four miles distant. Leicester 
 on tbe Foss "Way, a flourishing town in those days, while 
 Coventry was but a village of no account, was a little 
 nearer. But Warwick, founded by Etbelfled, tbe "Lady 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 4a. 
 
 2 Guy of Warwick also freed Coventry from a fabulous monster. 
 In the last century there was stiil shown there " a great shield, 
 bone of a bore (sic) which" he " slew in Hunting, when he {i.e.) 
 the boar) had turned with his Snout a great Put or Pond which 
 is now called Swanswell, but Swineswell in times past." Gough, 
 Colled. Warw. (Bodleian Library). 
 
14 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 of the Mercians" and sister of Alfred the Great, was in 
 yet closer neighbourhood. Alcester on the Ridgeway, and 
 Evesham with its monastery, were natural centres for 
 traffic. Between the monks of Coventry and those of the 
 latter place there was much intercourse in early days. 
 Manni, the goldsmith, afterwards abbot of Evesham, 
 was employed to make reliquaries and images of saints to 
 adorn the minster at Coventry. ^ And we are told that 
 one Sperkulfus,^ " religiosus at valde venerabilis vitie, 
 monachus Coventrensis," who resorted to Evesham at 
 festivals and passed the night in psalmody and prayer, 
 saw a vision of the Virgin there as he watched and 
 prayed. In later days we hear of the friendship which 
 existed between the monks of Derley in Derbyshire and 
 those of Coventry, and of the exchange of commodities 
 between them, presents of soap and needles coming from 
 the latter, and saddles and riding furniture from the 
 former place, " by way of mutual courtesies," as Dugdale 
 says. There was also frequent intercourse between 
 Coventry folk and the great Cistercian houses of Combe,^ 
 Stoneley and Merevale. Now and then we also find 
 mention of other religious houses near— the priory of 
 Maxtoke, and the house of Augustinians at Kenilworth. 
 
 The order of S. Benedict, to which the Coventry 
 monks belonged, was established in the sixth century, 
 and quickly found favour in the sight of those wishing 
 
 century 
 
 Chron. Evesham, 86. 2 Ih. 51. 
 
 The abbot of Combe held houses in Coventry in the fifteenth 
 
The Benedictine Monastery 15 
 
 to withdraw from the world and embrace a reh'gious 
 life. Throughout Christendom monasteries sprang up, 
 and as time went on and the strict discipline of the 
 order relaxed, notable reformers arose. Some of these 
 founded in their turn new orders and insisted on the 
 practice of greater austerities than were usual among 
 the Benedictines of that date. Most of the important 
 monastic houses in England were of the unreformed 
 type. We may call to mind Westminster, Christ Church, 
 Canterbury, Evesham, and Bury S. Edmund's. The 
 reformed bodies, however, such as the Clugniacs, Car- 
 thusians, and Cistercians, numbered their adherents in 
 England. The Carthusians, perhaps the most ascetic 
 of the monastic orders, could boast of but nine houses 
 in this country, their austere and solitary way of life 
 according little with the tastes of Englishmen. One of 
 these, of which there are considerable remains, was built 
 at Coventry. In London, at the Charterhouse, there 
 is one cell left in fair preservation, and the Certosa, 
 near Florence, is an example of a Carthusian monastery 
 still in working order, though the number of its 
 inhabitants are but few. The Cistercians ^ had three 
 houses in the shire of Warwick, a fact which bespeaks 
 their popularity. Experts in agriculture and gardening, 
 and known in the fourteenth century in distant Florence 
 as among the chief wool exporters in England,^ they 
 
 ' For particulars concerning this subject see Miss Cooke's 
 Cistercians in England, in Eng. Hid. Rev. VIII. 625 (October, 
 1893). 
 
 2 Cunningham, English Industry and Commerce (1896), I. 624 
 
1 6 Life ill an Old English Town 
 
 preferred to dwell in solitary places, and, unlike the 
 Benedictine house at Coventry, the abbeys of Combe 
 and Merevale never became the centre of a flourishing 
 town. The sccalar orders, the canons of a cathedral, 
 or the priests of a collegiate church concern us little. 
 These were not bound by monastic tows or subject to 
 monastic discipline. They were cordially hated by the 
 regular orders or bodies of monks, and they reciprocated 
 this hatred. Wo shall see many instances of this mutual 
 enmity in the story of the continual disputes between 
 the. brethren at Coventry and the Lichfield canons 
 during the twelfth century. 
 
 The main feature of a monk's life was its well- 
 ordered monotony, so congenial to many minds ; but 
 as a class monks were not specially addicted to idleness 
 or solitude. Neither were they in most cases entirely 
 devoted to spiritual things, for although the salvation 
 of the individual soul was the primal object of mon- 
 asticism, members of the religious orders were adepts 
 at secular business, and did not suffer their houses to 
 decay from neglect of the affairs of this world.i There 
 was always plenty of work for any monk possessing 
 a clear head and a faculty for administration. The 
 various officers of the convent, obedientiarii as they were 
 
 sqq. There is here a list of the English Cistercian houses which 
 supplied the Florentines with wool. 
 
 1 The extent of monastic agricultural enterprise was verv 
 great. At the abbey of Meaux, near Beverley, there were 
 2,638 sheep, 515 oxen, and 98 horses (Jusserand, Wayfuring 
 Life, 83). 
 
The Benedictine Monastery 17 
 
 called, had each his appointed task. Every one was 
 allowed a certain proportion of the convent revenue to 
 devote to the expenses connected with his office. ^ In 
 return he presented his accounts at the annual audit, 
 keeping them carefully and exactly, recording every- 
 thing, down to the receipt of a pot of honey, " or the 
 price of the parchment on which the various items were 
 written." In the case of Coventry the rents of certain 
 tenements in S. Nicholas Street, Bailey Lane, Well 
 Street ("super corneram Vici Fontis "), were assigned 
 to the cellarer ; '^ those coming from land in Kere.sley 
 to the treasurer ; while the prior's chamberlain disposed 
 of money accruing from houses in Spon and Bishop 
 Streets, the same forms being observed with regard 
 to the pitancier and sacristan. The rents paid in kind — 
 butter, honey, eggs, etc. — were probably entered among 
 the kitchener's receipts ; while the accounts, compiled 
 from daily entries, must have given many clerks almost 
 unceasing labour. 
 
 "We have, unfortunately, no local chronicles,'' such as 
 those kept within the cloisters of S. Alban's, giving us 
 
 1 For a popular account of a monastery u. Jessopp, Coming of 
 llie Friars, 113-165. See for further particulars Clarke's Ob- 
 servances of Barnwell Priory. On the inconvenience of tliis 
 method of invariably allotting a certain revenue to the convent 
 officials, and to the accumulation of debts consequent thereon, 
 see Kitchin's Obedientiaries^ Itolls of Wincliesler. 
 
 2 Leet Book, f. 238. 
 
 3 The chronicler, whose name— "Walter of Coventry— seems to 
 attest some local connection, was not a monk of this house. 
 Stnbbs, Pref. to Walter of Coventry (Eolls), I. xxii.-xxiii. 
 
 C 
 
Life in an Old English Town 
 
 particulars concerning the lives of the Coventry monks. 
 But no doubt, in essentials, the management of various 
 houses differed little. At Evesham, for example, the 
 prior was bound to furnish the parchment required for 
 the scriptorium, and all other writing materials except 
 ink, out of the sum allotted to him. The manciple 
 provided the wine, mead, oil and lamps, and kept up 
 the stock of earthenware, jugs, basins, and other vessels 
 required for the convent use. The precentor — as be- 
 fitted one whose office was to train the choir — was bound 
 to keep the organ in repair, and over and above to 
 find all the ink and colour required for illumination, 
 together with all materials for binding books. While 
 to the chamberlain a certain revenue was assigned 
 to provide for the clothing of the monks. ^ All these 
 matters gave the convent officers daily occupation, and 
 must have absorbed much thought and interest. 
 
 Yet those who took little or no part in the adminis- 
 tration of the convent were now and then, perhaps, 
 oppressed by the sameness of their life. For everything 
 there was a time and season in a well-ordered monastery. 
 On certain appointed days, for instance, the brethren 
 were let blood or had their hair cut. The former 
 process came to be looked on, by many, as affording a 
 slight diversion, for, after the bleeding, the brethren 
 took deporfum, or went into the infirmary, where a more 
 liberal diet was allowed them until they recovered 
 strength. 
 
 ' Jesaopp, 138. 
 
The Benedictine Monaster^ ig 
 
 Complete sabmission was required from the brethren 
 at large by the higher officers of the convent. This was, 
 of course, necessary for the organization of the establish- 
 ment, and yet here great suffering came in. Small- 
 minded folk, " drest in a little brief authority," love to 
 make their wills felt, and many an abbot or prior, with 
 a will to tyrannise, could make the monks' lives a burden. 
 It was not an easy thing to acquire the monastic habit of 
 obedience. We are told that when Lanfranc was once 
 reading to his fellow-monks, an ignorant prior coi'rected 
 him for a supposed false quantity in his Latin. The 
 great scholar gave up the pronunciation, and said what 
 he had been wrongly told to say, " thinking that he owed 
 obedience to Christ rather than to Donatus the gram- 
 marian . . . for to make a short syllable long, or a 
 long one short, he knew to be no deadly sin ; but not 
 to obey one set over him in God's behalf was no light 
 transgression." ^ Any old inhabitant of a mediaeval 
 monastery could have furnished us with countless in- 
 stances of the like dictatorial behaviour, but few, perhaps, 
 of so gracious and generous an act of submission. 
 
 For those of fervent spirit the daily religious exercises 
 were the salt of life, but for others — possibly the 
 greater number — they were merely part of the daily 
 routine, and repetition had increased monotony. Many 
 hours of the day were passed in these regularly recurring 
 services of the Church. At midnight the brethi'en rose 
 and went to Matins and Lauds. Prime was celebrated 
 
 1 Church, Ansdm, 87-8. 
 
20 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 at six, Tierc3 at nine, Ssxt at twelve, Noues at two or 
 three. Vespers at four, and Complia at seven. After 
 Tierce the daties of the day began ; ^ and the different 
 obedientiaries went each to fulfil his appointed task. The 
 rest sat in the cloisters, taught the children in the 
 school, or copied manuscripts. There were frequent con- 
 sultations in the chapter-house, and on Sundays, before 
 Prime or Tierce, the abbot sat in the cloisters to hear 
 the monks' confessions, and appointed to each the pen- 
 ance due for his fault. Now and thsn the coming of an 
 important stranger — a royal guest, perhaps, such as 
 William the Conqueror, who passed, it is supposed, 
 through Coventry on his way from Warwick to Notting- 
 ham in 1068^ — would furnish the brethren with a topic 
 for many weeks' conversation. The entertainment of 
 numerous guests at a monastery near a high road must 
 have been a drain on the convent resources, for monastic 
 fare was proverbially good, and kings, bishops, and 
 nobles naturally required to be lodged and fed with 
 the best. There were, indeed, some delicate palates 
 which the monks found it hard to please. When 
 Richard de Marisco, who was very neai'ly made bishop 
 of Coventry, " taking compassion on the weakness of 
 the convent's drink," gave the monks of S. Alban's the 
 tithes of Eglingham in Northumberland, the gift must 
 have been understood in the light of a hint to make the 
 convent beer of better quality.3 Monks are, however 
 
 ' Fosbrooke, Brit. Monacliism, 28-9. 
 
 2 Freeman, Norm. Conq. IV. 196. a Jessopp, 157. 
 
The Benedictine Monastery 21 
 
 usually credited with loving comfort and good cheer, a 
 peculiarity not by any means confined to the monastic 
 orders. 
 
 Sometimes the brethren were suffered to have a 
 glimpse of the great world without the convent with 
 their own eyes. The prior, who was of the company of 
 mitred abbots, was frequently forced to travel to what- 
 ever place the king might appoint for the meeting of the 
 parliament. May-be, like other great ecclesiastics, such as 
 the bishop of Ely, the memory of whose residence the 
 name Ely Place still preserves for us, ho had a town 
 house in the city or suburbs of London. The rank and 
 file of the convent had now and then opportunities of 
 seeing life in travel. They might undertake a pilgrim- 
 age ; oi", when a dispute was on hand, and appeal had 
 been made to the Holy Father, one of the brethren would 
 journey Rome- wards, with well-lined pockets, to look after 
 the convent's interest at the papal court. These law- 
 suits were not infrequent, as may be shown by the 
 career of Geoffrey, prior of Coventry during the reign 
 of Henry III.i In 1224 the monks tried to raise him 
 to the episcopal throne, but the election was quashed by 
 the archbishop, and the usual appeal to Rome only 
 brought another — -a papal — candidate to fill the vacant 
 seat. This occurrence did not in all probability predis- 
 pose the minds of the actual and would-be bishop to 
 mutual goodwill. In 1232 the prior was suspended for 
 resisting the episcopal visitation, and, together with the 
 
 1 Luard, Annalea Monastici, III. 90 ; I. 89-90. 
 
22 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 abbot of Westminster, sot out liot-foot to Rome, to lay 
 his grievances before the pope. A year or two later we 
 find him involved in a quarrel vs^ith the abbot of S. 
 Augnstine's, Bristol. What heart-burnings these ob- 
 scure disputes must have occasioned, what journeyings 
 to and fro, and, above all, what wealth was lost to the 
 monastery to satisfy the Roman greed of gold ! 
 
 It is the record of these disputes that forms the bulk 
 of the history of the monastic houses of England, and 
 the priory of Coventry is no exception to the general 
 rule. Placed in a somewhat dependent position — for 
 during the episcopate of Robert de Livesey (1085-1117) 
 the bishop's seat had been transferred from Chester to 
 this place — the monks were, earlier or later, bound to 
 realize the dangers of episcopal tyranny and encroach- 
 ment. Livesey, the first bishop in whom the abbacy was 
 vested — the superior of the convent being henceforward 
 called a prior — soon made the monks feel his heavy yoke. 
 Bitter were the complaints they made concerning his 
 conduct. On the death of the last abbot in 1095, he 
 obtained leave to farm the convent revenue, and, nsins' 
 the permission to serve his own ends, wrought much 
 harm to the estates of the monastery, pulling down 
 houses thereon, and carrying oif the materials to his own 
 manors, seizing horses and other monastic property. 
 But the crying instance of his greed, one which the 
 chroniclers have carefully and tremblingly noted, was his 
 plunder of. the magnificent minster. He scraped off the 
 silver coating of a beam— worth 500 marks— most likely 
 
The Benedictine Monastery 23 
 
 from a slirine in that goodly treasui'e-house ! ^ It was 
 little wonder that the indignant monks tarned to Rome 
 for aid against this devourer of their substance.'* 
 
 Nor was this the only bishop who, from his fair 
 palace in St. Michael's chai-chyard, caused his neigh- 
 bours of the priory to tremble for the safety of their 
 possessions. Hugh of Nunant, a monk-hater, who vowed, 
 it is said, that " if he had his own way he would strip 
 every cowled head in England," was nominated to the 
 see in 1184. He is variously described as a man of 
 piety and eloquence or as one desperately wicked.^ 
 Politically he was a follower of prince John, who, during 
 his brother king Richard's imprisonment in Germany, 
 was endeavouring to strengthen his own position by 
 forming a rebel party in the Midlands. Nunant ob- 
 tained license to incorporate the prior's barony with his 
 own episcopal one, and by his continual exactions and 
 oppressions so enraged the monks that they fell on him 
 during a synod in the cathedral church, and broke his 
 head with a crucifix. The bishop, indignant in his turn, 
 applied to Longchamp, the absent king's representative, 
 for license to punish the outrage. And he was allowed 
 to expel the brethren, " contaminated," so he said, " with 
 secular pollution," from the monastery, and appoint se- 
 cular canons, who probably came from Lichfield, in their 
 stead. Appeal was made to Rome, but the monks were 
 now too impoverished to obtain a favourable hearing of 
 
 1 Dugdale, MonasHcon (1846), III. 178. 
 
 2 Beresford, Diocesan Hint. Lichfield. 54. 
 
 3 Ih. 78. 
 
24 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 their suit at the papal court. So tliey remained in exile 
 for several years. 
 
 But tlie adversary's triumph was, after all, short-lived. 
 In 1194 king Richard, ransomed from prison, returned to 
 England, and the schemes of prince John and bishop 
 Nunant fell to the ground. The latter was deposed from 
 his bishopric, and the monks he had oppressed took heart 
 of grace, and bethought them how they might return 
 to their old home. The story goes how one of their 
 number put an end to the brethren's exile by his inter- 
 cession with the pope. Although often forced to beg his 
 bread, brother Thomas tarried long at Rome, and offered 
 to each fresh occupant of S. Peter's chair the petition 
 of the monks of Coventry. On one occasion his Holiness 
 in an angry mood bade the monk withdraw, telling him 
 that other petitions to the same purpose had been 
 exhibited to Clement and Celestine, his predecessors, but 
 rejected, and therefore his expectations were vain. Unto 
 which the monk, with bitter tears, replied : " Holy 
 Father, my petition is just and altogether honest, and 
 therefore my expectations are not vain ; for I expect 
 your death, as I have done your predecessors, for there 
 shall one succeed you who will hear my petition to 
 purpose." Then said the pope to the cardinals : "Hear 
 ye not what this devil hath spoken ? " And immediately 
 turned to him and said : " Brother, by S. Peter, thou 
 shalt not expect my death ; thy petition is granted. "^ So 
 
 1 Dugdale, Warw. I. IPl. Eather an improbable story. More 
 likely after Nunant's fall the monks found some one to plead 
 their caiise with the king. 
 
Tlie Benedictine Monastery 25 
 
 tlie monks returned joyfully to their old home ; but 
 Huo^h of ISTunanfc, so the chroniclers tell us, died in remorse 
 and torment of mind, dejiloring the injuries he had done 
 to the Coventry brethren " with abundant sighs and 
 tears," and praying that he might die in a frock of the 
 order ho had in life despised. 
 
 But grasping bishops were not the only enemies known 
 to the monks. There was a long-standing feud between 
 the brethren of Coventry and the canons of Lichfield, 
 dating from the time when Stephen gave them, together 
 with the canons of Chester, permission to elect the bishop 
 of the diocese.^ The monks frequently defeated their 
 object by nominating a candidate of their order, usually 
 the prior, -whom the canons would in nowise be induced 
 to accept. Appeals to Rome would follow ; and the 
 pope, seizing the opportunity, would set aside previous 
 nominations, and impose his own candidate upon the con- 
 tending parties. 
 
 At the first election we hear of, the Coventry brethren 
 were able to secure the bishopric for one of their order, 
 the prior of Canterbury, in spite of the canons' protests 
 and appeal to Rome. But when, after his enthronement 
 at Coventry, bishop Durdent came to Lichfield, the 
 canons barred the gates of their fortified close against 
 him, and, in the face of the episcopal excommunication, 
 denied him entrance. They also refused to enthrone 
 Gerard la Pucelle, elected by the sole voice of the monks 
 in 1183. " Unica est sponsa mea, nee habeo duo 
 
 ' Beresford, 69. 
 
26 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 cubicula,"! said tlie bishop in his discouragement. And 
 this learned and righteous prelate died four months 
 later, not without suspicion of poison. Nunant was 
 appointed by the Crown; but on his death in 1199 the 
 passions of the rivals, strengthened by political an- 
 tagonism—for the canons'were partizans of John while 
 the monks clave to king Richard — again broke loose. On 
 the nomination of Richard's candidate, one of the monks 
 led olf the Te Deum, as a signal that the proceedings 
 were over, though the canons had taken no part in the 
 election. " Who made thee cantor here ? " cried the 
 archdeacon of Stafford, a member of John's party, in 
 great wrath, for the cantor on these occasions conducted 
 the singing. " I am cantor here, and not thou," was 
 the reply, and as king Richard's party was then pre- 
 dominant the monks had their will.^ 
 
 At the next election ^ the brethren were brought face 
 to face with king Richard's successor, and John found 
 it a hard thing to subdue the Coventry monks, though 
 he had at his back the entire company of the canons 
 of Lichfield. In 1210, when England was under an 
 Interdict, the king sent to them the abbots of Oseney 
 and Waltham, proposing the archdeacon of Stafford as 
 a candidate for the vacant see of Coventry. But the 
 monks would have none of him. They elected their prior, 
 Joybert of Wenlock, and purposed to send the nomination 
 
 ' Which may be paraphrased : " I have but one diocese, and 
 must I have but one cathedral ? " (Beresford, 76). 
 ■■' Cott. MS. quoted Dugdale, Moiiaaticon, VI. iii. 1242. 
 " lb. 1242-3. 
 
TJie Benedictine Monastery 27 
 
 oversea to the incoming archbishop, Stephen Langton. 
 At Tewkesbury John proposed the abbot of Bindon. 
 The monks refused utterly. "None whom I love wilt 
 thou choose," cried the angry king. Then to the 
 justiciar said the prior, afraid : " If it suits the lord 
 king well, I will elect his chancellor." The chancellor 
 was Walter de Grey, who was subsequently raised to the 
 see of York. This proposal found no favour then, and 
 the king appointed another meeting with the monks 
 at Nottingham. On their return home they held a 
 consultation in the chapter-house, and determined that 
 they would elect neither of the king's candidates, Richard 
 de Marisco and the abbot of Bindon. At Nottingham 
 Castle Joybei't and six monks besought the king that 
 he would allow them to elect freely and canonically the 
 prior or some other fitting man. Meanwhile all manner 
 of threats and blandishments were used to make them 
 give their voice for one of the royal nominees, but they 
 held firm. Next morning, however, when the prior and 
 two monks tarried long in the king's chamber, the four 
 remaining brethren, fearing that their superior would at 
 last give way, determined to go home and reserve their 
 vote ; but Fulk de Cantilupe shut the castle gate in their 
 faces, vowing "by the tongue of God " that they should 
 not leave ere they had made a bishop to the king's liking, 
 "and other things he uttered," the record continues, 
 " not meet to be said." 
 
 At last prior Joybert began to waver, for the king 
 promised him great rewards and honours if he would 
 do his will, and urged him, saying • " Speak, prior, 
 
28 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 speak ! " Tlieu Joyberfc fell on liis knees. " By tbe 
 soul of thy father the king," he said, " and of thy 
 brother the king, and by the honour of thy life, who art 
 king, if it be not possible for us to have any other than 
 one of these two, give us the abbot of Bindon." " -Never 
 while I live shall this be," cried one of the monks, named 
 Thomas, " and never shall he be my bishop." A by- 
 stander reproved him for this outburst towards his 
 superior. " In the cloister I am but a monk," the fear- 
 less brother answered, "but here, at the election of the 
 bishop, I am the prioi>'s fellow." Then John, looking 
 about him in great anger, left the room, and many nobles 
 gathered about the monks, and urged them to fulfil the 
 king's will. "Verily ye have much to fear," they said, 
 " if ye bring down his wrath upon your heads." 
 
 The unhappy monks were again summoned into the 
 king's presence. " Lord prior," the tyrant began, " I 
 have always loved thee, and thou wilt not do my will. 
 What sayest thou to my chancellor, whose name thou 
 didst propose to me at Tewkesbury ? " The prior signi- 
 fied that he willingly accepted this candidate, and the 
 king gave orders that the canons should be summoned 
 to ratify the election. At this the smouldering jealousy 
 between monks and canons burst into flame. " By S. 
 Milbnrg,' cried the prior, "they shall not come; never 
 shall they be present at our election ! " But John swore 
 "by the tooth of God" that they should come in. "I 
 would rather die," Joybert answered, " than be the 
 cause of the destruction of my order." The nobles, who 
 were present, gathered round the monks, and, falling 
 
The Benedictine Monastery 29 
 
 upon their necks, entreated them to submit. Then the 
 prior, vanquished, said : " Because nothing else is pleas- 
 ing to you, and it is not possible to do other, do your 
 will." A Te Beiim was then sung by the company of 
 monks and canons, although the former murmured 
 greatly at the constraint laid upon them. 
 
 The case was afterwards laid before the papal legate, 
 and the election of Walter de Grey annulled. The long 
 dispute between monk and canon came to a close in 1227, 
 when it was ordained that the election should take place 
 alternately at Coventry and Lichfield, the prior having 
 first voice and the dean second.^ So the quarrel 
 gradually died away, and, well tutored by pope and 
 king, the electors ever afterwards peacefully met to 
 choose the particular candidate designated by those in 
 authority. A typical election occurred on " the Monday 
 after the Conversion of St. Paul " in the year 1256.^ 
 The monks and canons met on that day in the chapter- 
 house at Coventry, and, after solemn masses had been 
 said, they proceeded to elect a bishop. Two scrutatores 
 were appointed by each side to examine the votes, and 
 when they came to be overlooked it was found that the 
 suffrages were divided amongst four candidates. The 
 prior and thirty monks, the precentor, treasurer, 
 chancellor, and fifteen canons of Lichfield, and the 
 two Lichfield scrutatores, voted for Roger de Meulong, 
 chaplain of the pope and " nephew of the lord king " ; 
 the dean and six canons for Master Roger, chancellor of 
 Salisbury ; two canons for the treasurer of Lichfield, and 
 » Luard, Annates Monastici, III. 104. ^ it. I. 379-80. 
 
30 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 one for tlie arclideacon of Salop. No doubt in his two- 
 fold capacity of dependent of king and pope Master 
 Roger de Meulong was tliouglit to be the candidate 
 most acceptable to the ruling powers, and, on hearing 
 the preponderance of Toting in his favoui-, his rivals 
 withdrew their candidature. The prior therefore duly 
 proclaimed "the election of the said Roger," and an- 
 nounced it to the people. 
 
 Thus the monks of Coventry and their rivals made a 
 lasting peace. When trouble again arose, the convent of 
 S. Mary found that the enemy had sprung up under the 
 very shadow of the monastery itself, and that the men 
 of Coventry were even more implacable foes than the 
 canons of Lichfield had been in times past. These 
 quarrels between ecclesiastical bodies and their burgher 
 tenants were of common occurrence in mediaeval life. 
 The strong corporate feeling which flourished amoBgst 
 the monks, the zeal they bore for their order in general 
 and their house in particular, which involved them in 
 endless quarrels, caused them to play a notable part in 
 municipal history. As a body they were opposed to the 
 growth of free institutions among the townsfolk. They 
 never rightly understood their tenants' desire for increase 
 of municipal liberty, and feared by giving way to their 
 demands to forego the rights of the Church, and bring 
 their souls in peril thereby.^ 
 
 ' For the disputes between ecclesiastics and their tenants see 
 Mrs. Green, Town Life, I. 333-383 ; Thompson, Municipal History, 
 passim. This feature is not confined to England. For the dis- 
 putes between the men of Eouen and the chapter see Giry, 
 Etablissements de Bouev, 34, 
 
in 
 
 THE CHESTEK LOBDSHIP 
 
 The place wliere the monks settled was probably 
 little better tban a village. We may picture it as 
 a conple of straggling streets intersecting one anotber, 
 with small wooden bouses on either side of the high- 
 way, which was comparatively empty of people except 
 on market days when country folk would come in to 
 sell their wares in the " Cheaping " at the monastery 
 gates. Domesday records that there were only sixty- 
 nine heads of families living on Godiva's estate at 
 Coventry in 1086,^ though Leicester and Warwick were 
 fair-sized towns, as towns were accounted then.^ Of 
 the two parish churches, existing probably at the Con- 
 
 '■ Eeader, Domesday for ]Varwickshire, 9 : " The countess 
 held Coventrj"-. There are 5 hides. The arable employs 20 
 ploughs, 3 ai-e in the demesne, and 7 "bondmen. There are 
 50 villeins, and 12 hordars, with 20 ploughs. A mill pays 3s. 
 A wood 2 miles long and the same broad. In king Edward's 
 time and afterwards it was worth V2 pounds, now 11 pounds by 
 weight. These lands of the countess Godiva Nicholas holds to 
 ferm of the king." 
 
 2 The most populous towns did not contain 10,000 inhabitants 
 at that time. York, the greatest city mentioned in Domesday, 
 had 1,418 houses, Norwich 738, Ipswich 530, Exeter 315, 
 Canterbury 262, Warwick 225, Hertford 146, Southampton 
 84, Bath 64, and Northampton 60. (Thompson, Hist. Leicester, 
 24.) 
 
32 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 quest,! S. Michael's served maybe for the tenants of the 
 lay lord, and Trinity for those oE the ecclesiastical estate. 
 For from the beginnings of its history the town had 
 been divided into two lordships, whereof the convent 
 held the northern part or Prior's-half, not mentioned 
 in Domesday, as the gift of their founder, earl Leofrio ; 
 -while the southern portion, tho Earl's-half, which Leofric 
 retained, became a part of the earl of Chester's vast 
 inheritance.^ 
 
 After the Conquest the convent retained their estate, 
 receiving a gracious charter of confirmation from 
 William, who, no doubt, was willing to link his name 
 with that of his kinsman, the Confessor, as patron of 
 this. famed foundation.^ The Earl's-half, however, passed 
 to other masters. Probably Godiva held it during her 
 lifetime ; but at her death the Conquei'or took it, as the 
 lady's grandchildren and direct heirs were, as rebels, 
 naturally shut out from the inheritance. By this means 
 the land at Coventry came to be looked on as the 
 king's demesne, and the men had certain privileges 
 belonging to this form of tenure.* How it was that 
 the estate passed into the hands of Ranulf Meschines, 
 
 ' Sharp, Anliq. 1. 
 
 '' Dugdale declares that the inheritance came to him through 
 his mother Lucy, granddaughter of Leofric ; but this is im- 
 possible. See Freeman, Xorm. Conq. II. 631. 
 
 3 Add MS. Ch. 11,205. Leofric's gifts of lands, etc., with 
 " sac and soc, toll and team," are therein confirmed to Leof- 
 wine, the abbot, and the brethren " sicut . . . Edwardus, 
 cognatus meus, melius et plenius eisdem concessit.'' 
 
 * Madox, Firma Burr/i, 14. 
 
The Chester Lordship 33 
 
 earl of Cb ester, we can only conjecture. He liad prob- 
 ably deserved well at the king's hand and had his 
 reward. Though not, it is true, so disturbing an element 
 in the burghers' lives as his continental brethren, an 
 English feudal lord had much power for good or evil 
 over his dependents. His castle — with its fortifications, 
 often breaking into the line of the city wall, as Rouge- 
 ment did at Exeter, or the Tower, built by the Conqueror 
 to overawe the men of London — was a perpetual menace 
 to the citizens. His officers or deputies could annoy 
 and terrify the tenants in various ways. Thus one 
 Simon le Maudit, who held in farm the bailiwick of 
 Leicester, went on to collect gavel-pennies, which he 
 said were due to the lord from the townsfolk, long after 
 these payments had been remitted by charter. But this 
 document having been destroyed by fire, the burghers 
 had no evidence wherewith to support their claim, and 
 Simon "the Accursed" had his will.^ Instances of 
 feudal oppression seem, however, to have been compara- 
 tively rare, though warlike lords by involving their tenants 
 in their quarrels frequently bi'ought trouble upon them. 
 
 Earl Ranulf came of a strong race. The founder of 
 the family— whom the Welsh called Hugh "the Fat" by 
 reason of his great girth, but the Kormans " the Wolf " 
 by reason of his fierceness — held manors of the Con- 
 queror in twenty shires of England. Lord of the county 
 palatine of Chester, the special privileges granted to 
 him for the purpose of strengthening his hand against 
 
 Thompson, Leicester (pocket ed.), 46-7. 
 
34 Life in an Old English Tozvn 
 
 the Welsh made him almost independent of royal 
 authority.i Meschines himself is an obscure figure, but 
 the fame of his successor, Ranulf Gernons,^ whose doings, 
 were accounted terrible even in Stephen's time, when 
 every man's hand was against his fellow, spread far 
 and -wide. Men likened him to Herod and Nero, saying 
 he united the evil qualities — cruelty and truculence — 
 of both these ancient potentates. At one time Gernons 
 held the third part of England under his sway ; but, 
 powerful as lie was, he brought little save calamity on 
 his dependents. In his day Coventry became the battle- 
 ground of the earl and Marmion of Tamworth, king 
 Stephen's ally. That was an evil time for the monks, 
 as Marmion seized and fortified the priory, and for the 
 townsfolk, as they were between Marmion and Ranulf, 
 the hammer and the anvil. The Tamworth lord died 
 early in the struggle, for, falling into one of the 
 trenches he had made to enclose the monastery, he was 
 killed by a common soldier. No doubt the monks 
 reminded one another that their sacrilegious oppressor, 
 who so justly came to this evil end, was of an impious 
 stock. Did not his ancestor expel the nuns of Poles- 
 worth from their dwelling, until, warned in a vision by 
 S. Edith, their foundress, and sorely smitten by the 
 staff of the saint, he repented and caused tlie sisterhood 
 to return ? ^ 
 
 ' Ormerod, Chesldre, I. 10. 
 
 2 For an account of Gernons, see Bound in Eng. Hist. Sev. 
 X. 87-91. 
 
 ^ Timmins, Warwickshire, 21. The incident is commemorated 
 in a Tvindow in Tamworth church. 
 
The Chester Lordship 35 
 
 Ranulf lived oa to find a reverse of fortune at 
 Coventry. Some years after the fight with Marmion, 
 the earl finding the king's forces were possessed of the 
 castle there, laid siege to the stronghold, but Stephen 
 appearing, Ranulf's army vs^as put to flight, and he him- 
 self escaped not without some wounds. It was a fittino' 
 end to this lawless life that he should die by poison 
 and excommunicate; and his widow gave to Walter, 
 bishop of Coventry, under whose curse her husband 
 lay, the hamlet of Stivichall, so that his soul might have 
 peace. 1 
 
 There was trouble also in the days of earl Hugh, 
 Ranulf's successor. He joined in the great feudal rising 
 of 1173, when all England was a scene of strange 
 confusion, and only the energy and promptitude of 
 Henry II. and a few faithful followers saved the king's 
 throne. Henry's sons were arrayed against him, sup- 
 ported by the arch-enemy, the king of France, the 
 Scotch, the Flemings, and many nobles both in England 
 and Normandy, whose power and lawless ways the king 
 had sought continually to restrain. Such were the 
 earls Ferrars, Bigod of Norfolk, Robert of Leicester, 
 and Hugh. The Church, since the death of Becket, 
 
 1 Ormerod, Cheshire, I. 20-6 ; Hales, Percy Folio, III. 260-4 ; 
 Dugdale, Warw. I. 137. Oriaerod has a curious compact 
 wherein Ranulf and Robert le Bossu, earl of Leicester, swore 
 mutual fidelity, saving their fealty to their lord the king. If 
 one were required by the king to follow him in an expedition 
 against the other, he (the earl) agreed to bring only twenty 
 followers, and to restore to the other party in the compact any 
 plunder taken by his men. 
 
36 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 had been alienated from the king. And Hugh, bishop 
 of Durham, who held the northern counties as it 
 were in the hollow of his hand, waited and temporized 
 in order to link his fortune to the winning side. Only 
 the larger towns, such as Norwich, and all those folk 
 who had learned the value of order and good government, 
 were staunch in their support of Henry. But in the 
 Midlands where the barons' estates were largest and 
 the feudal spirit most potent, discontent was at its 
 height. The men of Coventry lent the earl of Chester 
 aid in this rebellion, as the men of Leicester did to 
 their lord, Robert Blanohmains, for those tenants who 
 held land by military service were bound to follow their 
 feudal superior to battle. But one by one the king's 
 enemies were defeated. Earl Hugh was taken prisoner 
 at the siege of Dol in Brittany quite early in the 
 struggle and suffered a short imprisonment in the 
 castle of Palaise.i And although he was afterwards 
 restored to his liberty and possessions, Henry appears 
 to have always looked upon him with some mistrust. 
 Swift destruction— siege and fire— came upon Leicester 
 for the share the townsfolk had taken in this rebellion, 
 and the inhabitants for a time forsook the place." 
 Coventry, as a place of less note, suffered less; but 
 what liberties the townsmen possessed were confiscated, 
 not to be redeemed until after Hugh's death eight years 
 later by a payment of twenty marks. The men of 
 
 » Ormerod, I. 26. 
 
 2 Thompson, Municipal History, 45. 
 
The Chester Lordship 37 
 
 Norwich, had also cause to regret the part they took 
 in the celebrated rising, but it was Bigod who dealt 
 them their punishment, burning the city out of revenge 
 because his men had declared for the king's party. '^ 
 
 The men of Coventry had, it is true, one reason to 
 dwell "with gratitude on the memory of earl Hugh. 
 Dngdale tells us that among this lord's following was a 
 leper. And it may have been for the sake of this man 
 that Hugh built the lazar- house and chapel of S. Mary 
 Magdelene at Spon in the fields on the western side of the 
 city.^ All traces of this chapel have now disappeared, 
 but the name Chapel Fields still serves to commemo- 
 rate the place.^ Leprosy, brought from the East by the 
 Crusades, took terrible hold on the people of western 
 Europe, and few towns of any note in those days were 
 without their lazar-houses or hospitals for these sorely 
 afflicted folk. The chief of these leper hospitals was at 
 Barton Lazars in Leicestershire, but the one that is best 
 remembered nowadays is that of S. Giles once " in the 
 Fields," now in the heart of London. 
 
 The most famous among the earls of Chester was 
 Ranulf, surnamed Blondvil, who succeeded to the earldom 
 on Hugh's death. This befell in 1181. Ranulf was the 
 last of the old order, the race of the feudal barons 
 of the Conquest, who, by reason of their vast estates 
 and almost princely power, were a constant source 
 of anxiety to the kings of England. Men sang songs 
 
 1 Thompson, 121. ^ Dugdale, Warw. I. 197. 
 
 3 So I am informed by Mr. Fretton. 
 
38 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 of earl Ranulf,i either of his loyalty to his master 
 
 John, or of his feats in warring with the Welsh at 
 
 home or the heathen abroad, for he joined the Crusades, 
 
 and was present in 1219 at the siege of Damietta. 
 
 He was as much of a popular hero as Robin Hood 
 
 "during the fourteenth century. The Church knew him 
 
 as the benefactor of the monastic- house of Pulton, 
 
 whence he removed the monks, its inhabitants, to 
 
 Dieulacres in Staifordshire. And his pious deeds availed 
 
 to save him after death, people said, in spite of many 
 
 oifences. For at the time of his dying, a solitary man at 
 
 Wallingford saw a company of demons hurrying past, and 
 
 learnt from one of them that they were hastening to the 
 
 earl's deathbed to accuse him of his sins. Adjured to 
 
 return within thirty days, the demon came back and told 
 
 the hermit what had befallen. " We brought it about," 
 
 he said, " that Ranulf for his ill deeds was adjudged to the 
 
 pains of infernal fire ; but the mastifEs of Dieulacres, and 
 
 many others with them, without stinting barked so that 
 
 they filled our habitation with a loud clamour whilst he 
 
 was with us ; wherefore our prince, disgusted, ordered to 
 
 be expelled from our territories him who now proved so 
 
 grievous an enemy to us."^ In this manner was the earl's 
 
 ' Langland, Piers Ploughman, Passus V. 1. 402. Sloth (a per- 
 sonification of one of the Seven Deadly Sins) says : 
 
 " I can nought perfitly my paster-noster . . . 
 
 But lean rymes of Eobyn hood, and Eanulf, erle of Chestre." 
 
 It is more likely this earl is meant than his grandfather 
 GernoDs. 
 
 2 Hales, Percy Polio, I. 264-73. 
 
The Chester Lordship 39 
 
 so\il delivered from the evil place. He died childless, and 
 his vast lands were divided among his sisters and their 
 issue. The Earl's-half of Coventry fell to the lot of Hugh 
 of Albany, and then passed to his daughter Cioily, wife 
 of Roger de Monthault or Montalt. This family continued 
 to hold it until the days of Edward III. 
 
IV 
 
 BEGINNINGS OF MUNICIPAL G07EBNMENT 
 
 BoT how did the men live who inhabited Coventry, who 
 were neither warriors nor monks, but the rank and file 
 of the townsfolk, the mere tillers of the ground and 
 retailers of food and clothing, farmers, bakers, butchers, 
 shoemakers, weavers and the like ? These men owed 
 fealty, according to the position of the land they held, 
 either to the prior or the earl of Chester. It is with the 
 earl's burghers that the main part of our story lies. It 
 was they who won, after many checks and struggles, 
 such liberties of trading and self-rule as helped to make 
 their city rich and famous in after days. For wherever 
 townspeople found that their lord, whether he were a 
 noble or the king himself, had need of their money or 
 support, they bargained with him for a charter, a duly 
 written and attested document giving them the power to 
 exercise certain rights such as the collecting of their own 
 taxes, or the managing of their own courts, without the 
 interference of his officials. Just as the barons of Bno-- 
 land gained Magna Charta from John in his need and 
 weakness, or forced Edward I. to confirm the same ere 
 they would give him money to prosecute his wars, so the 
 ownsfolk played out the same play in their own much 
 
 40 
 
Beginnings of Municipal Government 41 
 
 humbler theatre, and drove their bargain with this or 
 that great owner of estates. 
 
 For towns on the royal demesne the question resolved 
 itself into one of mere traffic. Was the town rich enough 
 to induce the king to grant a charter to the inhabitants 
 conferring on them the liberties of which they stood in 
 need ? If so, the money was paid, and the town started 
 on its career of independence. Nobles, too, were often 
 willing to forego their manorial privileges for the sake 
 of a substantial sum of money. But with churchmen 
 and religious corporations the case was different. They 
 were unwilling, under any circumstances, to part with 
 the rights of the Church, " for fear," as the Coventry monks 
 said, " of blemishing their consciences." In growing and 
 prosperous communities, where men suffered by the 
 restrictions laid upon their trade or persons, the attitude 
 of the religious community, which stood to them in place 
 of feudal lord, gave rise to great bitterness of feeling 
 among the tenants. Discontent was in many cases the 
 precursor of riot and bloodshed, showing how fierce was 
 the spirit of resistance among these men, and with what 
 tenacity they clung to the idea of freedom.^ 
 
 The condition of the men of S. Alban's, or those of 
 any town where the inhabitants were serfs, was often 
 miserable, or at best precarious.^ " No independent life 
 of the community," says Mrs. Green, " could arise so long 
 
 ' Thompson, Municipal History, 20 sqq. 
 
 2 For a list of the manorial services required of villein tenants 
 see Maitland, Select Pleas in Manorial Courts (Selden Soc. I.), 
 102-4. 
 
42 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 as the inhabitants of a town acknowledged an absolute 
 subjection to their feudal lord. . . . He might de- 
 stroy their industry by suddenly calling out the inhabit- 
 ants to follow him in a warlike expedition, or demanding 
 services of forced labour, or laying on them grievous 
 taxes. His officers could throw the artizan or merchant 
 into his prison, or ruin them by fines, or force upon them 
 methods of law hateful and dangerous to their conceptions 
 of a common life. As he claimed supreme rights over 
 the soil, it was impossible for the burgher to leave his 
 property by will; and on the tenant's death officers 
 visited his house and stables and granaries to seize the 
 most valuable goods as the lord's relief. It was neces- 
 sary to gain his consent before any member could be 
 admitted into the fellowship of citizens ; and without his 
 permission no inhabitant might leave the borough to 
 carry on his trade elsewhere. He could forbid the 
 marriage of children arranged by the fathers, or refuse 
 to allow a widow to take a new husband, and so make 
 him master of her house and freeman of her town. He 
 fixed the market laws and the market tolls. He forced 
 the people to grind at his mill and bake at his oven." ^ 
 Such was the condition of the villein tenants, who had no 
 guarantee that all services would not be exacted from 
 them, and all restrictions imposed on them to the last 
 rigour of the feudal law. 
 
 But from these most oppressive burdens the Coventry 
 men were free. They had in ancient custom a guarantee 
 
 ' Green, Town Life, I. 197-8. 
 
Beginnings of Mjmicipal Government 43 
 
 that their lord could not urge such claims upon them, 
 for they held of him " in free burgage " ; that is to say, 
 they were quit of all personal service, and merely paid 
 a money rent for house and land. They were not com- 
 pelled to leave their business to carry in the crops on 
 the lord's demesne, or follow him for a great distance to 
 war, or bake at his oven, a custom the men of Melton 
 observed until the days of James I.* These, and the like 
 exemptions, were probably owing to the fact that the 
 Earl's-half was of " ancient demesne," ^ that is to say, 
 that before the coming of the earls of Chester, the 
 burghers held directly of the king, and whatever rights 
 this tenure implied could not be taken away, even though 
 the king was no longer their immediate lord.^ 
 
 Still, although they were not entirely at the mercy of 
 their feudal superior, the men of Coventry had, as yet, 
 no voice in the town government. They owed obedience 
 to three powers— the earl of Chester, the king, and the 
 prior of Coventry. For any fault or misdemeanour they 
 were summoned to appear at the earl's castle, where the 
 constable fixed their punishment, and the fine they paid 
 passed into the earl's hand. The author of any grave or 
 serioas crime was answerable to the sheriff, the king's 
 oificer. While the prior, the lord of the soil in the Cross 
 
 » Green, I. 199. The Preston men bargained that they 
 should not be required to follow their lord on a warlike expedi- 
 tion lasting more than one day (/i.). 
 
 2 Madox, Firraa Burgi, 14. 
 
 ^ Eeading, though belonging to the local abbot, had been on 
 royal demesne; Barnstaple was in a somewhat similar case, 
 Green, I. 299, 253. 
 
44 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Cheaping, regulated all matters connected with the 
 traflSc of the market. And, in later times, when per- 
 mission to hold a fair was granted to him, the prior 
 established a " pypowders " ^ court, wherein all disputes 
 concerning bargains between the "dusty feet," i.e. 
 travellers who came to the fair, and others were dis- 
 cussed and settled. Naturally the proceeds of this court 
 went to enrich the convent.^ 
 
 The townsfolk were neither rich nor strong enough to 
 free themselves from the sheriff's jurisdiction, or their 
 trade from the prior's surveillance. But in the reign 
 of Henry II. they struck a bargain with Ranulf Blondvil, 
 earl of Chester, whereby they obtained certain rights 
 and privileges, and some measure of self-government. 
 In his charter the earl granted to his burgesses of 
 Coventry the same customs as those enjoyed by the men 
 of Lincoln, for it was usual for the inhabitants of smaller 
 towns to ask that their constitution might be modelled 
 on that of some freer and more important place. ^ Lin- 
 coln,* in common with most of the larger towns in 
 England, borrowed certain customs from London, and 
 
 ' Pypowders, from ■pied %ioudrenx=A.Vi?,ty foot. 
 
 2 For the eases discussed in the abbot of Ramsey's court 
 during the S. Ives fair, see Maitland, Select Pleas in Manorial 
 Courts, 180-160. 
 
 -'' For Henry II.'s charter to Lincoln see Stubbs, Select Charters, 
 166. The grant of a merchant guild, -which was one of the 
 Lincoln men's privileges, was not demanded, it seems, by the 
 men of Coventry. 
 
 * For list of affiliated towns see Gross, Oild Merchant, I. 244- 
 257. 
 
Beginnings of Municipal Government 45 
 
 Coventry, in its turn, was to serve as model to other 
 towns later in acquiring freedom.^ 
 
 The earl's charter, a model of the exquisite penmanship 
 of the twelfth century, runs thus : — 
 
 "Ranulf, earl of Chester, to all his barons, constables, 
 bailiffs, servants, men and friends, French and English, 
 present and future, greeting. Know ye, that I have 
 given to my burghers of Coventry, and confirmed in 
 this my charter,^ all things which are written in the 
 same. Namely, that the said burghers and their heirs 
 may hold well, honourably, and undisturbed, and in 
 free burgage of me and of my heirs, as they held in 
 my father's time or my other predecessors', better, more 
 firmly and freely. I grant them the free and good 
 laws that the burgesses of Lincoln have better and 
 more freely. I . . . forbid my constable to bring 
 them into my castle to plead in any cause ; but they 
 may freely have their portmote, in which all pleas 
 pertaining unto me and unto them may be justly 
 treated of. Moreover, they may choose for me one. 
 
 1 Nottingham and Winchester received a grant of particular 
 customs after the pattern of Coventry (Gross, I. 251). Bristol was 
 taken as a model by Dublin and many Irish, towns (Hunt, 
 Bristol, 60). 
 
 ^ Corp. MS. B. 1. The date is unknown. Dugdale, however, 
 assigns it to Blondvil, and I see no reason to differ. If Blondvil 
 were the grantor then the date would lie between the years 1181 , 
 that of earl Hugh's death, and 1186, when it appears the charter 
 was confirmed by Henry II. See note, p. 46. On what authority 
 Mr. Cunningham {Growth of Eny. Industry, I. 615) says the 
 charter was confirmed by Henry I., I do not know. 
 
46 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 •wliom they will among themselves, who may be judge 
 under me and over them ; 'who, knowing the laws and 
 customs, may keep these in my council reasonably in all 
 things, every excuse put away, and may faithfully per- 
 form unto me that which is due. And if by chance any 
 one fall into my amercement, then he shall be reasonably 
 amerced by my bailiff and the faithful burghers of the 
 court. And whatever merchants they draw thither for 
 the bettering of the town, I command that they have 
 peace, and that no one do them an injury or put them 
 at mercy .1 If, indeed, any stranger merchant do any- 
 thing unfitting in the town, that shall be amended before 
 the aforesaid justice in the portmote without a suit-at- 
 law. These being witnesses . . . Erobert Steward de 
 Mohaut . . . and many others." 
 
 We see from the terms of this charter that the Coventry 
 folk had already acquired a certain status as free burghers. 
 Now their liberties were enlarged by a grant of self-juris- 
 diction. A farther grant from Henry II., appended to the 
 confirmation of this charter, limited the fine due from the 
 burghers to the earl for any fault to I2c?. ; ^ " but if by 
 testimony of his neighbours he cannot pay so much, by 
 their advice it shall be settled as he is able to pay." We 
 can call up a possible picture of the court of portman- 
 mote, to which the charter refers. In some large open 
 space, possibly S. Michael's churchyard, the townsfolk 
 might be seen gathered together for the fortnightly meet- 
 
 ' i.e. amerce, or fine, them. 
 
 2 Corp. MS. B. 2. The charter is dated " apud Merlebergam " 
 = Marlborough. Henry was at Marlborough in 1186. 
 
 

 i, n. ^ 9 ». »- 
 
 
 <7> 
 
 5«=£^ ^ g 
 
 
 Pol -i 
 
 
 
 3 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Beginnings of Municipal Government 47 
 
 iags of the court. These assemblies of poor and insig- 
 nificant men, ignorant of the merest commonplace of 
 knowledge, their minds filled with what to ns appear 
 strange and distorted notions of justice, have an enormous 
 importance in our history. In these and similar gather- 
 ings the capacity of Englishmen for self-government, 
 which has long been a distinguishing feature of the 
 nation, was first tested, and throughout the centuries 
 they formed an admirable political training for the 
 people, an education which is invaluable in the first 
 stages of a nation's growth. 
 
 Conspicuous among the little group of townsmen would 
 be the bailiff, the earl's representative, a man whose yea 
 and nay was very powerful among the lord's tenants, 
 for was he not there to watch over the interests of his 
 master, and • arrange for the payment of fines and for- 
 feitures which were his master's due? ^ By his side some 
 fuller, weaver, baker, or prosperous agriculturalist would 
 take his seat ^ as the justice, the elected representative 
 of the townsfolk. A clerk would also be present, for 
 from the time of Henry III. court records were strictly 
 kept and enrolled. Probably not all the townsmen 
 attended each meeting, but only such of them as were 
 concerned in any suit, and even these — within reason- 
 able limits — might plead essoyne, or a valid excuse for 
 
 ' The townsfolk had not yet i:iower to commute the fines and 
 forfeitures for a fixed sum, called fee-ferm. 
 
 2 For the association of the feudal lord's representative and 
 the chosen official of the townsfolk in a town court see the case 
 of Totnes (Green, Town Life, I. 252). 
 
48 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 absence. What individual part was played by justice 
 and bailiff in the hearing of suits it is impossible to tell, 
 but we may infer that the misdemeanours of the towns- 
 folk were made known to the court by a jury, drawn 
 perhaps from every street or ward.^ These men affirmed 
 on their own knowledge, or on common report, that 
 certain offences had been committed within the town- 
 ship. These offences were of a simple, trifling kind, 
 those of a more serious nature being tried at higher 
 tribunals, in the county court, or at the leet or 
 criminal court of the earl of Chester.^ A presentment, 
 for example, would be made to the effect that Nicholas, 
 the son of William, had let his cows stray over the mow- 
 ing-grass in the field called Baron's Field, which is in the 
 earl's demesne, thereby causing damage to the extent of 
 fourpence. Nicholas is at mercy,^ for it is" well known 
 that he is guilty, and he is thrown on the mercy of the 
 court. Let him pay the damage, and twopence in ad- 
 
 ' "We infer from analogy that presentments were made by a 
 jury in this court. Norwich was — for judicial purposes — divided 
 into four leets. Each leet was divided into sub-leets, these latter 
 divisions being composed of as many parishes as would furnish 
 twelve tithings. The head-m.an, or " capital pledge " of every 
 tithing — a band of ten, twelve, or more citizens responsible for 
 one another — made the presentment of anything, which had 
 happened in his tithing, which came nnder the cognizance of 
 the court. See Hudson, Leet Jurisdiction in Norwich (Selden 
 Soc. vol. v.), xii.-xxvi. 
 
 ' It is not clear whether the townsfolk at this period attended 
 the earl's leet or the sheriff's court. They certainly attended 
 the latter court in the time of Edward III. (Madox, Firma 
 Burgi, 108-9). 
 
 ' i.e. has to be amerced, or fined. 
 
Beginnings of Municipal Government 49 
 
 dition for the fault. Or the jury say that Margaret, the 
 wife of Anketil, took from the bakery of William of 
 Sfconelei two loaves, value one halfpenny, and afterwards 
 defamed and struck Joan, "William's wife, in the open 
 street known as the Broadgate. And Margaret defends 
 (denies) the deed ; therefore it is adjudged that she come 
 and make her law six-handed at the next court.^ Or the 
 jury declare that "William, son of G-uy, contrary to the 
 assize of bread, whereby, if a quarter of wheat sell for 
 3s. 6(^., the farthing loaf of wastel bread should weigh 
 42s., gives only 39s. weight of bread in. the loaf, to the 
 damage of his customers, the king's liege people.^ More- 
 over, William was bidden at the last court to come and 
 wage his law twelve-handed ; this he has failed to do.^ 
 Therefore he is at mercy. The fine is twelve pence. 
 William cannot pay at once, but his pledges are John 
 the Dyer and Thomas atte Gate.* 
 
 Such cases as these would be the everyday business of 
 the local court ; but civil matters also required a great 
 deal of attention. Transfers of land were executed there, 
 being witnessed by the principal suitors of the court. John 
 
 1 i.e. appear with, five of h.er neighbours, who swear that she 
 is not guilty. This method of clearing the character by oath of 
 the neighbours was called compurgation. 
 
 2 Shillings and pence were used as weights. We still speak of 
 "pennyweights " (Maitlaud). 
 
 ' Because no neighbours could be found to swear, therefore he 
 is guilty. 
 
 ^ Pledges or sureties for the fine. These cases are all imagin- 
 ary, but drawn from analogous ones to be found in the Selden 
 Society's publications, the Nottingham Records, etc. 
 
 E 
 
50 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 tlie Smitli, for example, would make over his house in Earl 
 Street with all its appurtenances to Richard the Weaver 
 and his heirs in return for an annual rent of fourpence, 
 and would warrant it to him against all comers. Certain 
 documents called indentures ^ would then be drawn up in 
 duplicate by the clerk, the names of the chief of the folk 
 present appearing therein as witnesses to the deed. To 
 one of the indentures the grantor fixed his seal, to the 
 other the grantee, each retaining the copy to which the 
 seal of the other party in the transaction was attached 
 by way of title-deed. 
 
 At least twice a year the townsmen appeared before the 
 sheriff,^ at whose court criminal or " crown " pleas re- 
 ceived a hearing, and who, in his military capacity, over- 
 looked the muster-at-arms of the townsmen, and fixed 
 what number of archers were to be levied for the king's 
 service. The proceeds of this court, good of felons and 
 the like, went to swell the royal treasury. The system 
 of presenting criminals by means of a jury^ obtained 
 here as in the town court, but in doubtful or serious cases 
 
 1 So called lieoause tlie parchment on which the two deeds were 
 written was so cut (indented) that they would exactly fit or 
 dovetail into one another when put together at any future time. 
 Hundreds of these documents are now at Coventry. See Section 
 of Mr. J. C. Jeaffreson's catalogue of Corp. MSS. 
 
 2 In cases where the lord of the manor was entitled to hold 
 a leet or view of frankpledge, the tenants were exempt from 
 attendance at the county court. In the " view of frank- 
 pledge " each testified that they were enrolled in a tithino- or 
 body of mutually responsible persons. 
 
 3 The direct ancestor of our modern Grand JiTry. 
 
Beginnings of Mtmicipal Government 5 1 
 
 the accused would be condemned or acquitted not in 
 accordance with evidence, but through an appeal to the 
 interposition of Providence bj means of trial by ordeal or 
 battle. Thus, a man who was thrown into the water 
 was, if he sank, pronounced innocent, if he swam, guilty; 
 or the one of two champions, who overcame the other 
 in fight, was held to have proved his case. But these 
 irrational methods of trial were falling rapidly into dis- 
 favour. The " ordeal " was forbidden at the Lateran 
 council of 1216,"^ and the Saxons, who much disliked the 
 Norman method of trial by battle, always sought in their 
 local charters to win exemption from the necessity of 
 having recourse to it. Step by step the modern jury sys- 
 tem was introdaced, which, whatever may be its faults, is 
 the most workable method hitherto discovered of obtaining 
 a more or less unbiassed verdict in any suit. 
 
 Another provision of the charter, as confirmed by 
 Henry II., was possibly an expedient to remedy the 
 disasters which had lately befallen the townsmen under 
 Gernons and Hugh. It was necessary, if the town was 
 to grow and prosper, to attract settlers from different 
 parts, and to those seeking a home in Coventry the 
 clause that "newcomers should be free from all [pay- 
 ments] for two years after they began to build " would 
 be most welcome.^ From this time no doubt the advent 
 
 1 Green, Hist. Eng. People, 107. 
 
 2 Tlie conditions under which, strangers were admitted into a 
 town differed with, the particular locality. A free craftsman 
 would be admitted to citizenship by purchase. If a serf escaped 
 from his master's estate, and lived unclaimed for a year and 
 
52 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 of passing or abiding strangers was not infrequent, and 
 the place began to put on the appearance of a thriving 
 little thoroughfare town. The grant of a fair to the 
 Earl's-men in 1217, and one to the prior some ten years 
 later, brought stranger merchants within the town-gates.' 
 The place was important enough to attract the Grey- 
 Friars thither before 1234,^ and during the life of earl 
 Ranulf Blondvil, a colony of Jews found shelter there 
 under his protection. ^ We know no more than the 
 names, and now and then the occupations of the men 
 of the place in the thirteenth century ; for our enquiries 
 among the land- transfers of the time can elicit nothing 
 save the records of the sale of a tenement and curtilage 
 by a William de Artungworth, " le drapier," or their 
 purchase by Richard le Tailleur, hosier, or Richard de 
 Mora, merchant. But even this bare enumeration of 
 trades and callings show the advance made by the men 
 of Coventry since the time when a handful of villeins 
 and bondsmen tilled the lands that had been Godiva's 
 at the taking of the Domesday Survey. 
 
 a day, lie was as a general rule permitted to continue in the 
 town. In Lincoln it was necessary that he shotild pay the town 
 taxes during that period (Stubbs, Select Charters, 159). The 
 townsmen, however, were careful not to obliterate the distinc- 
 tion between bond and free, and did not admit one of servile 
 birth to citizenship (Pollock and Maitland, Hist. Law, I. 633). 
 
 1 Dugdale, Warw. I. 161. 
 
 2 The Grey Friars first came to England in 1224, two years 
 before the death of S. Francis. They reached Oxford in 1225, 
 and settled at Lynn, Yarmouth, and Korwioh in 1226 (Jessopp' 
 Coming of the Friars, M-40). 
 
 s Close Rolls, 123. 
 
PEIOE S-HALF AND BAEL S-HALF 
 
 In Coventry we now enter upon a period whei'e the 
 townsmen not only sought to make good the privileges 
 they had already won, but strove to gain, either by fair 
 means or foul, such fresh concessions as they deemed 
 necessary for their comfort and prosperity. The story of 
 the struggle for liberty in English towns, though little 
 known, is one of great interest. Though the whole thing 
 is on a small scale, yet the narrative of events is no less 
 stirring than the account of the revolt of a great nation. 
 There was as fierce a conflict at S. Alban's among a 
 score or two of men in 1327 as among tens of thousands in 
 Paris at the Revolution. Few leaders of forlorn hopes 
 have shown more desperate courage than the good folk of 
 Dunstable, who were ready to brave not only the terrors 
 of punishment in this world, but in the world to come, for, 
 being cursed with bell, book and candle by the bishop and 
 their prior, they said that they recked nothing of this ex- 
 communication, but were resolved rather " to descend into 
 hell all together " than submit to the prior's extortions. 
 And conceiving that they were likely to be worsted in the 
 quarrel, they covenanted with a neighbouring lord for 
 forty acres of land, preparing to leave their houses and 
 live in tents ere they would pay the arbitrary tolls and 
 
54 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 taxes the prior had laid upon them.i It is true there 
 was no philosophic fervour about the mediaeval burgher, 
 no enthusiasm about liberty in the abstract. What he 
 wanted was some small practical advantage his masters 
 denied him.^ All the townsman of S. Alban's asked at 
 the beginning of the quarrel was, that he should be allowed 
 to grind his corn at home instead of at the abbot's mill. 
 But wanting this strongly and sorely, and seeing a chance 
 of victory, he was willing to fight for it perhaps to the 
 death. 
 
 So scanty is our information that we cannot tell to what 
 extent political strife, which so frequently agitated the 
 kingdom, was reflected in local quarrel, but undoubtedly 
 these risings occurred more frequently in the unsettled 
 reigns of Henry III,^ Edward II.* and Richard II. Fre- 
 quently the town divided into opposite political factions, 
 as in Winchester, where the abbey upheld De Moutfort, 
 and the townsmen were ready to do battle for Henry III.= 
 May-be these high contending parties intervened occasion- 
 ally in local quarrel. Whether the conspiracies of the 
 malcontent lords under Edward II. had anything to do 
 with the subsequent troubles at Coventry we cannot tell, 
 but we are distinctly told that Edward II. and his favour- 
 
 1 Prior Richard and Monks in C'ornh. Mag. VI. 840. 
 
 2 Thompson, Municipal History. 
 
 ^ As early as 12 i3 there were disputes between the abbot and 
 townsmen of Beading (Green, Town Life, I. 300). In 1264 a guild 
 of 300 " and more " young men banded together in Bury S. 
 Edmund's to resist the abbot {Ih. I. 296-7). 
 
 * For S. Alban's see Thompson, Municipal History, 20 sqq. 
 
 5 Green, Town Life, I. 242. 
 
Prior' s-Half and EarVs-Half 5 5 
 
 ite Despenser supported one party, and certainly after ker 
 husband's death queen Isabella was the champion of the 
 other. But all the powers that be were eager to crush the 
 alarming risings of the S. Alban's and Bury S. Edmund's 
 men when, filled with wild hopes begotten of Wat Tyler's 
 revolt, they made in 1381 a desperate effort to overthrow 
 the tyranny of the local abbots, their respective masters. 
 
 Another point on which we would fain have further 
 knowledge is the mutual assistance rendered by various 
 towns in the struggle. The confederacy formed by the 
 S. Alban's men with divers of the neighbouring boroughs 
 and with London gives us a bare hint of the possibilities 
 o'f widespread sympathy between townsfolk in their 
 efforts after freedom. Londoners probably saw that 
 increased liberty would bring about more favourable 
 opportunities for trade, and hence they supported Nor- 
 wich in 1272, when the townsmen and the cathedral 
 priory were engaged in fierce conflict.^ The time also 
 came when certain citizens of the capital lent their aid 
 to the Coventry men, when the latter were in sore need, 
 in so far as they went bail for divers of them lying under 
 a grievous accusation of conspiracy against the prior and 
 convent. 
 
 ' Ashley, in Eng. Bist. Uev. IX. 753, cites Liber Ant. Leg. (ed. 
 Stapledon), 145. A quarrel "broke out between the convent folk 
 and the townsmen at Norwich at a fair on Trinity Sunday, 
 1272. Several of the townsfolk were killed. The citizens after- 
 wards attacked the priory and burnt a church, and the city 
 was in consecLuence laid under an interdict (Thompson, Muni- 
 cipal History, 125-28). 
 
S6 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Tte struggle for freedom is, in Coventry, at first inter- 
 woven with an old quarrel existing between the tenants 
 of the two lords who held the town between them ; for we 
 have seen that Coventry was divided into two lordships ; 
 on the one hand lay the property of the earls of Chester, 
 the Earl's-half ; on the other the Prior's-half, or the 
 convent estate. The government of these two manors 
 was absolutely distinct. The Prior's-men had no lot or 
 part in the privileges conferred in Ranulf's charter, and 
 the Earl's-men none in those the convent won from 
 Henry III. The customs practised by the Earl's-men on 
 one side of the street, and those followed by the prior's 
 tenants on the other, might differ to a considerable extent. 
 They attended different courts; some were compelled to 
 pay dues from which their neighbours were exempt ; the 
 prior's tenants might be forced to carry their lord's 
 harvest, or work on his estate ; while the Earl's-men, as 
 free burghers, had long since discontinued feudal labour. 
 A priory tenant would stand in his lord's pillory, or hang 
 on his gallows ; an Earl's-man met his punishment at the 
 castle, or the sheriff's court. While the convent tenants 
 could very likely bring their butter, horse provender, 
 or coarse cloth to sell in the market free of toll, another 
 owing the earl fealty might have to pay a penny or more 
 before his stall could be set up in the market-place. 
 These differences of tenure, custom, and privilege, natu- 
 rally bred disputes among the townsfolk, a frequent 
 occurrence in those places wherein different lords held 
 sway, dividing the allegiance of the inhabitants. 
 
 This division of the land, on which the town was built 
 
Prior" s-Half and Earl' s-Half S7 
 
 into different estates was not peculiar to Coventry ; it is 
 a feature of most of the chief towns of England. In sea- 
 port or border places of military importance, the area 
 round about the castle — the castle fee — was under the 
 rule of a royal officer, who was entirely independent of 
 town authority. In many cases gifts from the king to some 
 baron, or the pious offerings of some secular landovyner to 
 the Church, were answerable for the parcelling out of a 
 town among different lords. In Bristol, Redcliffe was 
 the hereditary fee of the Berkeleys. At Canterbury, the 
 archbishop, the prior of Christ Church, and the abbot of 
 S. Augustine's, held land and exercised judicial rights 
 which brought them into frequent conflict with the town 
 authorities. In London and the old Saxon capital, Win- 
 chester, these divisions were multiplied. The former, for 
 many years after the Conquest, was composed of a mass 
 of different sokes or jurisdictions,^ while the bishop, the 
 convent of S. Swithun, and various other ecclesiastical 
 bodies, the king and queen, owned land in the latter city, 
 took tolls and taxes, and in many cases held distinct 
 courts. The city proper, governed by a mayor and corpo- 
 ration, represented but a fraction of the population of 
 Winchester. 
 
 In all these places difliculties and disputes arose from 
 time to time, either from the conflicting claims which the 
 various authorities brought forward, or from mutual 
 
 1 See Loftie, London, I. 156 sqq. In Stamford in l275 four 
 prelates and five other lords claimed to have court of their 
 tenants (Maitland and Pollock, Hist. Law, I. 631). 
 
58 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 jealousy and ill-will among the townsfolk. Now questions 
 of trade came uppermost, as in the quarrel between the 
 bishop and the citizens of Winchester concerning S. Giles' 
 fair. Or, again, the question of jurisdiction was in debate. 
 When Sir Maurice of Berkeley's ofiBcers arrested and 
 imprisoned a burgess of Bristol on suspicion of murder, 
 the mayor rang the common bell to assemble the towns- 
 folk ; crossed the bridge at their head, broke open the 
 lord's gaol, and set the prisoner free.^ It was the arrest 
 of a servant of the chancellor in the cathedral precincts 
 at Exeter that helped to bring about the famous quarrel 
 between the corporation and the chapter of that city.^ In 
 many cases' the causes of trouble passed away with some 
 composition or purchase, which gave to one or other party 
 supreme control in the matter under dispute. The men 
 of Bristol, for instance, obtained from Edward II. the 
 right of jurisdiction in RedclifEe Street, and their enmity 
 with the Berkeleys died away. The fortunate Londoners 
 were able to absorb the relics of independent authority 
 within their walls, and bring the city under one govern- 
 ment.^ But all towns were not in a like happy case. The 
 mayor and corporation of Winchester never succeeded in 
 making good their claims against the various landowners 
 of the city, and the hardships of paying taxes in which 
 their neighbours holding of the lay and secular lords bore 
 no part, the difficulty of administering justice, when 
 
 ' Huiit, Bristol, 61. 
 
 2 Shillingford's Letters (Camden Soc). Freeman, Exeter, 158-60. 
 
 -" Loftie, London, I. 160 sqq. 
 
Prior' s-Half and Earl's-Half 59 
 
 evil-doers had bat to fly to another street— to the sanctu- 
 ary in. S. Swithun's liberty of Godbeate, for instance — to 
 be free from arrest by the city officers, bore heavily upon 
 this little community, and helped undoubtedly to bring 
 the city to decay.^ 
 
 In Coventry there appears to have been some ill-feeling 
 arising from a trading jealousy between Earl's-folk and 
 Prior's-folk. The former were disposed, as early as the 
 days of Henry II., to entertain some grudge with regard 
 to the ordering of the market in the Prior's-half,^ but we 
 know no particulars of the grievance. So hotly, however, 
 did the quarrel rage between them, that there were " de- 
 bates, contentions, with killing of divers men,"^ in the 
 streets. Doubtless, in the interests of peace, it was better 
 that one or other of the contending parties should become 
 predominant within the town, and force the other to con- 
 sent to a compromise. The last earl of Chester being 
 dead, and his successors, the De Montalts, men of little 
 mark, the chance lay with S. Mary's convent; and an 
 enterprising prior, William of Brightwalton, was not slow 
 to avail himself of the opportunity. Hoping, so the con- 
 vent folk afterwards declared, to allay the strife by 
 uniting the two manors whereof the town was composed 
 under one lord, he proposed to purchase the earl's estate, 
 a scheme to which Roger de Montalt, being in need of 
 money for a Crusade, was fain to agree. So in 1249 the 
 
 1 Green, Tovm Life, I. 325-330. 
 
 2 Earl Hugh forbade his tenants to meddle with the prior's 
 markets (Dugdale, Warw. I. 159). ^ Burton MS. f . 109a. 
 
6o Life in an Old English Town 
 
 latter resigned the manor into the prior's hand in return 
 for a yearly rent of £108, and by this means the head of 
 the convent became lord of the soil within the Barl's- 
 half,* Prior's-men and Earl's-men alike holding of him 
 house and land, and owing him homage, fealty, and yearly 
 rent. It is true the Earl's-men still held their courts as 
 of old time, but the profits of jurisdiction were paid, not 
 to the earl of Chester's heirs, bat to the prior and con- 
 vent.2 Henceforth the lay lords of this great family slip 
 out of the city's history ; the ruling power in the town 
 is the great religious corporation which owed its exist- 
 ence to Saxon piety. 
 
 Whatever changes this transfer may have brought 
 about, one thing is certain, it did not establish peace in 
 Coventry. Twenty years later the old jealousy flamed 
 up anew. In 1267 both townsmen and convent took 
 advantage of Henry III.'s necessities to negotiate for a 
 charter, but with a diflrerent result. The former obtained 
 a bare confirmation of their ancient liberties,^ the prior, 
 on the other hand, owing, belike, to his superior com- 
 mand of the purse, or in return for help he may have ren- 
 dered the king in the late wars, was able to purchase fresh 
 concessions for himself and his men. He was allowed to 
 
 1 Dugdale, I, 162. 
 
 2 Burton MS. £P. 63, sqq. 109, 98-100. The prior prays for the 
 restitution of the franchise of tte courts of portmaumote, leet, 
 pypowders, etc. After 1267 the priory coroner took inquisition 
 throughout the town in case of fire or violent death. 
 
 ^ Quoted in Inspeximus, 17 Ed. II. (Corp. MS. B. 4) ; the date 
 there given is Jan. 80, 51 H. III. (1267). 
 
Prior's- Half and Earl's-Half 6i 
 
 appoint coroners for the town, and further, licence was 
 given to form a merchant guild among his ten ants. ^ The 
 grant of these graces brought about an outbreak in the 
 Earl's-half. Hitherto, Earl's-folk and Prior's-folk had 
 carried on their trade on fairly equal terms, but the new 
 charter would bring about a revolution. The object of 
 the formation of a merchant guild was to confine the 
 trade of the district to its members ; they would become 
 local commercial monopolists. No wonder the Earl's-men 
 resisted the foundation of this society. If it were once 
 established, and they were excluded from its ranks, what 
 a blow would be dealt to their prosperity. The guilds- 
 men would make it impossible for them to trade under 
 anything like favourable conditions. They might be 
 mulcted by tolls ; subjected to the annoying supervision 
 of the guild officials in respect to the weight or quality of 
 their goods ; restrictions affecting the time, place, or 
 manner of their selling might be imposed on them ; or 
 they might have to relinquish bargains they had closed 
 in favour of the members of the guild merchant. 
 
 So when the terms of this new charter were known, 
 the Earl's-folk rose in tumult, withstood the priory 
 coroner when he attempted to see the body of a man, slain, 
 no doubt, in these brawls, and prevented their neighbours 
 in the Convent-half from forming the guild according to 
 the permission vouchsafed to them. Nor could the 
 sheriff's officer, sent by the royal order at the prior's 
 request to proclaim these charters and liberties in 
 
 > Dugdale, Warw. I. 162. 
 
62 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Coventry, bring tlae unruly townspeople to obedience. 
 '• Certain men, we learn," ran tlie king's writ, " from those 
 parts with, others, armad with force, took Gilbert, clerk to 
 the said sheriff, sent thither to this end, and imprisoned 
 him, and broke " the royal "rolls and charters, and beat 
 and ill-treated the men of the prior and convent." ^ 
 What was the end of the tumult, or the fate of the 
 luckless clerk, we cannot tell, but, as we hear no more 
 of the prior's guild, it seems that this outbreak of the 
 Coventry men " with others " prevented its establish- 
 ment. 
 
 We now enter upon a fresh phase of the quarrel. It is 
 no longer the Prior's-men but the prior himself who is 
 the Earl's-men's enemy. Their whole energy is absorbed 
 in the effort to free their trade from the restrictions the 
 present lord of the Barl's-half has laid down for them to 
 observe. For the Earl's-men appeared ill-content with the 
 change of masters. Did the prior encroach upon the 
 rights of the townsfolk? Probably not; previously 
 established customs founded on the charter of Ranulf 
 would bar his claims. But though the law may not 
 alter, the interpretation of it may vary from time to 
 time ; so may the circumstances under which it is ad- 
 ministered. It was so with the customs which had 
 hitherto regulated the Earl's-men's lives. They and 
 
 ' Merewether and Stephens, Rist. Boroughs, I. 469. The tran- 
 script of the MS. is given in Gross,. (?«?cZ Merchant, II. 365. The 
 expression " with others " is very significant ; these were prob- 
 ably men from the country, who had hitherto been allowed to 
 trade in the town, and feared the establishment of the guild, 
 
Prior's-Half and EarVs-Half 63 
 
 their present masters were disposed to difEer as to the 
 meaning these could bear, and hence a way was opened 
 for numerous quarrels and lawsuits. Moreover, re- 
 straints, which had been borne without complaint in 
 early days under the Chester lordship, were found unen- 
 durable when the townsfolk's commerce, and with it 
 their desire for freedom, had increased. 
 
 The matter of the merchant guild was only the fore- 
 runner of more serious trouble. The townspeople were 
 rapidly growing rich, whether by soap-making,* or the 
 manufacture of woollen cloth, or the entertainment of 
 travellers, or a happy combination of all three sources of 
 wealth. Under Edward I. they were able to pave their 
 city ,2 which had now risen to a sufficiently important 
 position to be accounted a borough, and to return two 
 members to the Parliament of 1295.3 its prosperity 
 attracted the notice of Edward I., who in 1303 summoned 
 two Coventry merchants to attend a council ;* and of Ed- 
 ward II., who asked the inhabitants for a loan of 500 
 marks for the prosecution of the Scotch war. It is small 
 wonder if the townsfolk were jealous lest this growing 
 prosperity should be checked by the petty regulations 
 the prior chose to lay on them. Was their wealth to be 
 
 1 Soap was made in the neighbourhood of Coventry about 
 1300. "Sope about Couentre." Robert of Gloucester, OTiron. 
 
 1. 143. 
 
 2 Dugdale, Warm. I. 138. '' Pari. Writs, I. hi. 
 
 o Lawrence de Shepey summoned to attend a council of mer- 
 chants at York in 1303 {lb. I. 135). He had been burgess for 
 Coventry in 1301. 
 
64 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 curtailed because, forsooth, the convent officials charged 
 them not to sell here, or make there, to relinquish a 
 favourable bargain, or never to open stall or shop for 
 sale of goods during certain hours of the day ? 
 
 The prior in the days of Edward II. was Henry Irreys, 
 and his hand lay heavy on the townsmen. They were 
 not able to live, they complained, "by reason of his op- 
 pression." Moreover, like the jolly, illiterate abbot of 
 S. Alban's named Hugh, who " feared nothing so much 
 as the Latin tongue," ^ and so oppressed his tenants, 
 prior Irreys was an ally of Edward II., for it was by 
 "maintenance of the king and of Spencer, Earl of Win- 
 chester " (i.e. Despenser), that he was enabled to keep the 
 malcontents in check.' In his days arose a second dispute 
 concerning traffic, but at what date we cannot tell. The 
 Friday market had always been held in the Prior's-half, 
 and there only were the Earl's-men permitted to sell 
 their wares on that day.^ Now certain of them broke 
 through the prior's order, and sold openly in their own 
 houses ^ during market hours. Appeal was made to the 
 law. In vain the townsmen pleaded that by virtue of 
 the clause in Ranulf's charter, giving them the same 
 liberties as the Lincoln folk, they were free to sell their 
 goods when or where they would. Vainly, too, they tried 
 
 ' Proude, Short Studies, III. 54. Edward II.'s overthrow was 
 the signal for a rising against this ahbot. 
 
 2 Dugdale, Warm. I. 162. 
 
 ^ It is probable that there were no shops, in our sense, in the 
 fourteenth century. The traders' goods were kept in a cellar 
 below the ground floor (Turner, Domestic Architecture, III. 36). 
 
Prior's-Half and Earl's-Half 65 
 
 to strengthen their case by declaring that before the 
 prior had purchased the Chester estate they had been 
 wont to hold a fair in the Earl Street, where now their 
 shops stood. 1 These pleas availed nothing, and a verdict 
 was returned for the prior with £60 damages, the Earl's- 
 men being forbidden to sell anywhere but in the Prior's- 
 half during market hours. The prescribed payment 
 must have well-nigh rained William Grauntpee and 
 other traders concerned in the struggle, for £60 was 
 then accounted a great sum.^ 
 
 The quarrel thus turned, as might easily have been 
 foreseen, on the interpretation which might be given to 
 the vague wording of Eanulf's charter. It was of im- 
 portance that the terms of the charter should be exactly 
 defined. The Earl's-men in 1323 were sufficiently well- 
 to-do to purchase from Edward II. a confirmation of 
 their ancient rights. It is true that this confirmation did 
 not strengthen their hands against the prior. It seems 
 as if special precaution was taken to give the clause, 
 whereon the townsmen had of late grounded their de- 
 fence, an interpretation which would afford them no 
 support in a future quarrel. This clause, " that they are 
 
 1 Compare the doings of the guild at Bury S. Edmund's in 
 1304. They distrained upon the goods of merchants who sold in 
 the abbot's market, and hindered the execution of justice on 
 those who sold elsewhere (Green, Town Life, I. 297). 
 
 2 The value of £60 would represent more than £700 at the 
 present time. In the late thirteenth and early fourteenth cen- 
 turies the average price of an ox was 13s, l^d. ; of a sheep. Is. od. ; 
 of a cow, 9s. bd. ; and a fowl, Id. (Bogers, Agriculture and Prices, 
 I, 361-3). 
 
66 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 to enjoy the same customs as the Lincoln men," was, we 
 are told, to be understood " by them and their heirs " as 
 conferring only those rights which they and their pre- 
 decessors had hitherto enjoyed.' 
 
 It was in 1323 that the townsfolk sought, after a very 
 novel fashion, to rid themselves of their oppressors. 
 Their enemies accused them, whether truly or untruly 
 we cannot tell, of having recourse to the black art, and 
 strange rumours were afloat concerning the unlawful 
 dealings of the citizens with one Master John de Not- 
 tingham, limb of Satan and neci'omancer, who inhabited 
 a ruinous house in the neighbourhood of the town. 
 Witchcraft was not then considered an ecclesiastical 
 offence, but one against the common law, and it was, it 
 seems, before the Court of King's Bench that the 
 approver, Robert le Mareshall, told his story. He 
 had been living, he said, with one Master John de Not- 
 tingham, necromancer, of Coventry. To whom, on the 
 Wednesday nest before the feast of S. Nicholas, in the 
 seventeenth year of the king's reign, came certain men of 
 the town, citizens of good standing, and promised them 
 great profit — to the necromancer, £20, and " his sub- 
 sistence in any religious houses in England," 3 and to 
 
 1 Inspeximus, 17 Ed. II. Corp. MS. B. 4. No doubt the insertion 
 of this clause was the prior's doing. The prior of Dunstable 
 paid £100 to Henry III. to have a clause inserted in a charter 
 giving him the right to exercise claims— not hitherto exercised 
 —over the burgesses of Dunstable {Cornh. Mag. VI. 838). 
 
 2 Probably a corrody or daily allowance of food from the mon- 
 astic table during the life of an individual. This ensured for 
 the individual who held it a share in the prayers of the brethren 
 and sometimes included lodging within the monastery. 
 
Prior's-Half and Earl's-Half 6j 
 
 Robert le Mareshall, £15— if they would compass the 
 lives of the king and others by necromancy. Having 
 received part of the promised payment as earnest at the 
 hands of John le Redclerk, hosier, and John, son of 
 Hugh de Merington, apprentice of the law, with seven 
 pounds of wax and two yards of canvas, the magicians 
 began their work. On the Sunday after the feast of 
 S. Nicholas they fashioned seven magical images in the 
 respective likenesses of Edward II., with his crown, 
 the elder and younger Despenser, prior Henry, Nicholas 
 Crumpe, his steward, the cellarer of the convent, and 
 Richard Sowe, probably one of the priory underlings 
 who had made himself unpopular. As far as the last- 
 named enemy upon the list was concerned — for upon him 
 they chose to experiment " to see what might be done 
 with the rest " — they were entirely successful. On 
 the Friday before the feast of the Holy Rood about 
 midnight John de Nottingham gave his helper, 
 Robert le Mareshall, a leaden bodkin, with command to 
 thrust it into the forehead of the figure of Richard Sowe. 
 The effect was well-nigh instantaneous. When the 
 necromancer sent Robert on the moiTow to inquire how 
 Richard did, the messenger found him crying " Harrow," 
 and mad as mad could be. And on the Wednesday 
 before the Ascension, John having on the previous Sun- 
 day removed the bodkin from the forehead of the figure 
 and thrust it into its heart, Richard Sowe died.* 
 
 1 Laud. MS. 290 & 533. It is the earliest trial for witchcraft 
 extant in England, See also Pari. Writs, II. Div. 2. App. 
 269-70. 
 
68 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Meanwhile the necromancer and the accused gave 
 themselves up in court, consenting to plead before a jury. 
 All, save the necromancer, were admitted to bail.^ He 
 no doubt looked to receive no mercy, and when after 
 sundi'y delays the trial came on, the marshal certified 
 that Master John de Nottingham was dead. Another of 
 the accused. Piers Baroun, who had been a burgess at 
 the parliament of 1305,^ died also during the interval. 
 Others had fled from justice, though of these one Richard 
 Grauntpee, without doubt a near relative of the man 
 who had lost his suit with the prior in the matter of the 
 market, afterwards came and surrendered himself in 
 court. Either the sympathy of the neighbourhood was 
 with the accused, or it was thought that Robert's tale 
 was unworthy of belief, for a Jury taken from the neigh- 
 bourhood returned a verdict of acquittal. But the trial 
 greatly embittered the feelings of the citizens, and when 
 the tide turned, and they were able to do the prior hurt 
 they availed themselves of the opportunity gladly. 
 
 1 Divers, natives of Warwickshire and citizens of London went 
 bail for them. 
 
 a Pari. IlVi^s, I. 146. 
 
VI 
 
 THE SEIGNIORY OF THE PKIOE AND QUEEN ISABELLA 
 
 Hitherto it had fared ill with, the Eai-l's-men in their 
 struggle with the convent. Were they to be worsted 
 like the men of S. Alban's or Bnry S. Edmund's ? The 
 former were now utterly broken in spirit. After a hard 
 fight lasting from the days of Henry III., they obtained 
 in 1327 a charter, conferring on them the control over the 
 local courts and the privileg'es of a free and independent 
 borongh. And yet they were powerless. Five yeai-s 
 later they voluntarily surrendered their charter into the 
 abbot's hands. They gave up the perambulation of their 
 borough. They took their handmills — the initial cause 
 of the contention — and left them in the churchyard in 
 token of renunciation. They presented to the abbot the 
 town chest with the keys belonging thereto, thus relin- 
 quishing all their rights as a free and independent 
 community. Nor did better success attend the Bury S. 
 Edmund's men, who had the same high hopes as the S. 
 Alban's folk, and who in the same year compelled their 
 abbot to concede to them a guild merchant, a community, 
 a common seal, and the custody of their gates. Five 
 years later they too were forced to abandon these 
 claims, and, after a fruitless effort at the time of the 
 
•JO Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Peasant Revolt in 1381/ both towns sank into apathy, 
 each under the rule of the great local religious house. 
 
 But alone among convent towns, a piece of supreme 
 good fortune awaited Coventry. The townsmen, just at 
 a critical time, gained a powerful champion. In 1327 
 the rents coming from the Earl's-half passed by bequest 
 into the hands of Isabella, widow of Edward II., to 
 become after her death parcel of the earldom of Chester, 
 the heritage of successive princes of Wales. We have 
 nothing to do with the rights and wrongs of the quarrel 
 which raged for twenty years between the queen and 
 her husband's old ally, the prior of S. Mary's convent. 
 The undoubted gainers in this conflict were the men 
 of Coventry ; for, helpless under Isabella's repeated 
 attacks, the monks conceded to their tenants those 
 I'ights of free trading and self-government whereof they 
 had stood in need so long. 
 
 Thirteen years after the queen's entry into possession 
 of the De Montalt estate, the prior had many bitter 
 complaints to make of the treatm.ent he received at her 
 hands and at the hands of his " mortal enemies," the 
 men of Coventry. His courts were deserted by the men 
 of the Earl's-half, the profits of his franchise finding their 
 way, no doubt, into the queen's coffers, as her steward 
 held a court at Cheylesmore.^ His dues, waifs, heriots, 
 the mournful enumeration proceeds, were withheld, and 
 
 ' Thompson, Municipal History, 2'2 sqq. Green, Toicn Life, 
 I. 298. 
 2 The name of the manor house of the De Montalts. 
 
"^ 5 
 
 
 X ■J' 
 
 < :^ 
 W -2 
 
The Seigniory of the Prior and Queen Isabella 71 
 
 certain tenements belonging to him seized into " my 
 lady's hand" in spite of charters shown to prove his 
 ample right to the same. Great destruction had been 
 wrought in his woods at Whitmore under colour of the 
 queen's claim to gather her " estovers," or fuel, therein. 
 And the hedges about these woods had been violently 
 thrown down, although the queen and her men had no 
 rightful " claim of common "; and if " they be not now 
 enclosed to prevent cattle from pasturing therein, they 
 will be ruined for ever past recovery." The men of the 
 Earl's-half lived in the prior's tenements in the earl's 
 orchard, detaining the rent, twenty marks a year, " by 
 tort and force." They seized, most likely in the form of 
 distraint, one or two cartloads of corn, due to the prior 
 for tithes, with seven horses and twelve beasts, and kept 
 them for a full year or more, while several of the cattle 
 died, for the which cause the prior and his brethren had 
 been brought ere grandes anguisses et mescheif. 
 
 But this was not the worst. By cover " of the Seign- 
 eurie of my said lady," the prior continued, a great 
 part of the rents in Coventry were treacherously with- 
 held, and the monks dared not take distress and force 
 the defaulters to pay " for peril of death." For when 
 their bailiff, Simon Pakeman, went to demand the afore- 
 said rents without making any distraint for the same, " up 
 came Peter de Stoke and other mad folk . . . and 
 assaulted the said Simon with force of arms, and beat 
 and maltreated him, saying . . • that if the said 
 prior and convent ever made any demand of the kind in 
 the Earl's-half they would make their heads fly" (ferryent 
 
Life in an Old English Toiun 
 
 voler les testes).'^ Again and again the pi-ior and con- 
 vent poured forth their monotonous complaint. Now 
 they " prayed restitution " for the rent of two messuages, 
 "which for two years last past my lady had given to 
 a demoiselle of her chamber." ^ Now they averred that 
 she had put the bailiff of the Earl's-half out of his 
 ofSce, whereby they had lost all profits arising from their 
 franchises. Still the spoliation continued; they fixed 
 the damage the convent had sustained at £20,000,^ and, 
 turning from the deaf ears of qneen Isabel, besought the 
 king to see justice done for God's sake, "and for love of 
 our Lady, his dear Mother, in whose honour the priory " 
 had been founded, lest the convent should be compelled 
 to disperse.* 
 
 Meanwhile the men of Coventry were gaining every 
 year important graces from Edward III. Now that the 
 power of the prior was thus diminished, there was no one 
 to prevent the acquisition of fresh liberties, and their 
 money circulated freely at Westminster, the messengers 
 bringing back in return the precious slips of parchment 
 sealed with the king's seal, the testimony of new rights 
 to be enjoyed by the townsfolk. In 13.34! their merchan- 
 dise was freed from toll in all places throughout the 
 
 ' Burton MS. f. 88. This appears to "be the sense, hut this 
 portion of the document is missing from Burton's folio. I found 
 it on a loose leaf in the Leet Book, copied in Norman French in 
 a modern and rather illegihle hand from the deeds -which were 
 in the Stanton collection of papers destroyed in the Birmingham 
 lihrary fire. See Appendix. ^ lb. f. llOo. 
 
 3 Burton MS. f. 68a. An incredible sum. * Ih. ff. 109-12. 
 
The Seigniory of the Prior and Queen Isabella 7 3 
 
 king's dominions. ^ Six years later license was given 
 them to form a mercliant guild,^ while other kindred 
 societies sprang up, and received license to hold land in 
 mortmain.^ In 1342 the king granted a charter to the 
 effect that any inquisition of lands or tenements within 
 the city should be taken by the townsmen, and not by 
 strangers, an important provision at a time when there 
 were frequent lawsuits between the queen and the prior.* 
 The convent give a graphic description of the eifeot 
 of such an inquisition upon their holding, and of the 
 plot between the queen and the Earl's-men which caused 
 the enquiry to be made.' " Then came the men of the 
 Barl's-half of Coventry amongst others . . . conspir- 
 ing and compassing the undoing of the said prior and his 
 monks, and the Disinheritance and Destruction of their 
 Church, and making show of their Intent unto my said 
 Lady that her Seigniorie was more largely than she had 
 occupied. . . . Whereupon the Stewards and officers 
 
 1 Corp. MS. B. 7 ; Merewether and Stephens, 650 ; Gross, I. 44. 
 
 ' Corp. MS. B. 9 ; Gross, II. 49 ; Toulmin Smith, ^ncj. Gilds, 
 226. 
 
 3 These were S. John the Baptist, S. Catherine, the Corpus 
 Christi, and the Trinity guilds, founded respectively in 1342, 
 1343, and 1364. 
 
 * Inspeximus, 15 Ed. III. (Corp. MS. B. 7). This would be highly 
 important in a trial taking place at the county court, where 
 the sheriff might impanel a, jury, not of townsmen, but of those 
 in the country round, who would not be acquainted with the 
 " metes and bounds " dividing the two estates. The prior of 
 Dunstable was accused by the burgesses of introducing foreign 
 jurors into the town {Cornh, Mag. VI. 837). 
 
 5 Burton MS. f. 110«. 
 
74 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 of my said Lady, without having any power or commission 
 of our Lord the King, took an Inquisition of the said 
 Men, Adversaries to the said Prior and Convent, what 
 were the Bounds in Ancient times of the Seigniorie of 
 Earl Rondulph ; which men quickly and Maliciously 
 gave up the false verdict to the Damnation of their Souls. 
 Saying that the Prior's-half, which is of foundation of 
 the Church, is two little leys (meadows), whereon the 
 profits by year are not above 50«. . . . and did fasten 
 stakes of Division to Separate the Seigniorie of my said 
 Lady from the Seigniorie of the said Prior." What 
 made this action so particularly galling was that it was 
 the " Seigniorie of the foundation of their Church " Isabel 
 called in question, though they had held it, they declared, 
 long time before the coming of the Conqueror, and before 
 the earls of Chester, whose representative the queen was, 
 had been heard of in England. 
 
 The prior's complaints availed nothing ; the men of 
 Coventry were in a sure way of victory, and in 1345 
 the city was incorporated by charter. The mayor, 
 bailiffs, and community were henceforth to be respon- 
 sible for the fee-ferm;' and power to hear and adjudge 
 certain pleas, hitherto treated of in the county court, 
 was given to the city officers. The prior and his 
 brethren looked upon this as a last indignity. " They are 
 become lords of the said prior, all whome beforetime 
 were his tenants,'' and in consequence of the inquisition 
 
 1 The fee-ferm rent, representing the king's rights over the 
 fines, forfeitures, etc., taken from, criminals, was fixed at £50 
 a yeai". 
 
The Seigniory of the Prior and Queen Isabella 75 
 
 above mentioned, he and his brethren were now " entirely 
 involved within the danger of the mayor and his bailiffs 
 for they had not a foot of land of their Seigniory " be- 
 yond the priory gates. ' 
 
 Wearied of a struggle which had lasted for twenty years, 
 the litigants, the queen, the prior, and the newly-made 
 corporation allowed the dispute to be set at rest once 
 and for all in 1355, and the " Indenture Tripartite '' made 
 between them took the form of a compromise. Each of 
 the three parties agreed to restore or forego the exercise 
 of certain rights, or at least to accept an equivalent. The 
 prior gave np all claim to jurisdiction over the Earl's- 
 men, and the queen forgave him £10 of the yearly ferm 
 owing to her, while the franchises he thus relinqnished — 
 the right of holding view of frankpledge and other 
 courts with the exercise of the coronership — Isabel 
 bestowed on the mayor, bailiffs, and community. These 
 in their turn agreed to indemnify the convent by a pay- 
 ment of £10 a year. 
 
 The prior's jurisdiction over his own territoi'y was' 
 saved, but the tenants of the other " Half " were bound to 
 answer for their delinquencies before the officers of the 
 corporation. Meanwhile the prior's tenants were to be 
 taxable with the Earl's-men, and to serve as mayors and 
 bailiffs with their fellow-citizens. The restrictions on 
 buying and selling, which had given rise to the lawsuit 
 in the former reign, were wholly laid aside. "Any per- 
 sons of whatsoever condition they be, may sell any 
 
 1 Burton MS. f. Ilia. 
 
"jQ Life in an Old English Town 
 
 manner of wares in the Barl's-parfc, or buy at what day 
 or time it shall please them, and they shall not be dis- 
 turbed by the officers of the prior and convent." And 
 although the market was to continue to be held as of old 
 in the Prior's-half, no toll was to be taken, according to 
 the ancient custom, except for horses, while all the regu- 
 lations concerning sale and merchandise should hence- 
 forth "be at the ordinance of the mayor and community." 
 The assize of bread, ale, and victuals was to be kept by 
 the mayor; and though the prior was to have all the 
 profits ai'ising from the fines of offenders against the 
 assize, the officers of the corporation could enter the con- 
 vent half, and, in case the prior's officers neglected to 
 punish fraudulent brewers and bakers, could levy fines 
 upon these evil-doers and see justice done. 
 
 Various restitutions were made on the queen's part, 
 showing that she and her advisers were really intent 
 on a peaceful solution of the difficulty. The advow- 
 son of chapels, chantries, and the like, which she had 
 appropriated, were restored to the prior, who, in his 
 turn, forgave all the delinquencies of the Barl's-men 
 against himself.^ The " Tripartite " was drawn up so 
 clearly, and in so fair a spirit, that in essentials it was 
 never afterwards called in question. Disputes arose be- 
 tween the convent and the townsmen in later days, it 
 is true, but not concerning the all-important matters of 
 trade and jurisdiction. Nevertheless, this compact put 
 an end, once and for all, to the prior's dominion in 
 
 1 Burton MS. ff. 98-103. 
 
71ie Seigniory of the Prior and Queen Isabella "jy 
 
 Coventrj. Henceforth, in recounting the history of the 
 place, we have little concern with the convent ; our 
 subject touches only upon the rule and fortunes of the 
 mayor, bailiffs, and community of the city. 
 
 Coventry was now an independent corporate borough. 
 The townsmen had power to elect their own officers — 
 the mayor, bailiffs, coroner, and so forth — and were 
 free, save in a few cases, from the sherifll's jurisdiction. 
 They had complete control over their own money 
 affairs, and after the royal fee-ferm of £50 a year, 
 and the prior's ferm of £10 a year, had been paid, 
 they were at liberty to put the remainder of their 
 revenue to what use they would .^ 
 
 ' The liberties granted by Isabella to be summed up thus : — 
 
 (1) The townsmen may duly elect their own mayor and bailiifs. 
 
 (2) They have cognizance of pleas, of trespasses, contracts, cove- 
 nants, and all other business amongst themselves. (3) There is 
 to be a seal for the recognition of debts. (4) Mayor and bailiffs 
 to have profits of view of frankpledge with the court, to have 
 control over the gaol, fair, market, etc., and in return a ferm of 
 £50 to be paid to the queen and her heirs (Corp. MS. B. 11). 
 
VII 
 
 THE COEPOEATION AND THE GUILDS 
 
 Theee is hardly any subject on -whicli ordinary folk, 
 especially members of large communities, are so igno- 
 rant as local government. There is hardly one in which, 
 until lately, they took so little interest. This ignorance 
 is no doubt, in a measure, owing to the complexity of 
 the subject ; for never was there such " a mighty maze," 
 but " without a plan," as local rule under the pre- 
 sent system, and the apathy may be due to the fact 
 that nearly every citizen feels there is little need for 
 his exertions. Things go on very well — no one knows 
 quite how — under the management of a few individuals, 
 who have the time and energy for the task. The dust- 
 cart and the rate-collector come round as regularly as 
 clockwork, and it is only the curious who have the 
 interest to inquire into the mechanism of this system 
 who open the clock-case and examine the works. Then, 
 too, in a large community, the few who preside over 
 local affairs are unknown to, and out of touch with, the 
 bulk of their fellow-citizens for whose welfare they 
 make provision ; and it is only when some local abuse 
 or reform touches very nearly a man's property or 
 person, that he rouses himself to inquire into the doings 
 of councillors and guardians, of whose names he is pos- 
 
 78 
 
The Corporation and the Guilds 79 
 
 sibly quite ignorant. No doubt another reason for this 
 lack of interest lies in the fact that the local authorities 
 have lost a great deal of the power of initiative they 
 once possessed. Owing to the efficiency of the various 
 departments of the central government, men have the 
 authority of the state, rather than that of the county 
 or municipality, before their eyes. Increased ease of 
 communication has much to answer for in this matter. 
 London, as the seat of government, has attained to a 
 degree of activity and importance impossible to conceive 
 in the days of slow travel under the Plantagenets ; and 
 the general modern tendency to substitute the work of 
 highly-trained and state-paid officials for the rough- 
 and-ready discharge of duty on the part of the local 
 authorities, has deprived many a man or office of occu- 
 pation or vitality. It is, for example, to the "War Office, 
 and not to the sheriff, that the militia looks for direc- 
 tion. The importance of the mayoralty has diminished 
 with the rest. Useful for social and charitable pur- 
 poses, and even necessary for the discharge of business 
 of which the public has but an ill-defined conception, 
 the modern mayor presents but an insignificant and 
 shrunken figure in comparison with his worshipful pre- 
 decessor in the days of the Plantagenets. It is not 
 only that the splendour and pageantry have vanished 
 from municipal life, but with the red cloak and velvet 
 tippet, with all the great processions and shows of 
 grandeur, there has also departed some of the real 
 significance which once attached to local authority. 
 
 The story of the decline of municipal and local in- 
 
8o Life ill an Old English Town 
 
 stitutions is a long one, and dates from tlio building up 
 of a strong central gOTernment under the Tudor kings. 
 It is true that the English municipalities had a longer 
 lease of life than the French commttnes,^ which were 
 crushed after a brief existence by the despotic kings of 
 the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries ; for it was not 
 until two hundred years later that they sank into grad- 
 ual decay. Long periods of internal peace lessened the 
 need for the exercise of extraordinary powers by local 
 authority; while the gradual rise of London, its growth 
 in commercial, financial, and political importance, so 
 apparent to any one who studies the part played by the 
 city during the Great Rebellion, tended to diminish 
 the wealth the country towns possessed and the conse- 
 quence in which they were held. It has been said,^ 
 that when Elizabeth ascended the throne the commercial 
 centre of the world was Antwerp ; when she died, the 
 commercial centre of the world was London. And 
 though England was to be a gi'eat gainer by the change, 
 the centralization of trade involved local suffering and 
 local loss. The men of Coventry, under the Stuarts, 
 complained that their trade had departed from them. 
 Their city, they tell us in 1635, had once been "as Lon- 
 don is now," a centre for the traffic of the northern 
 and western parts ; ^ a comparison which falls oddly on 
 modern ears, so completely has London out-distanced its 
 petty rival in the race for commercial supremacy. 
 
 ' See Luchaire, Les Communes Frangaises, passim. 
 
 2 Besant, London, 227. 
 
 3 Corp. MS. A. 86 : Burton on Ship-money, 
 
The Corporation and the Guilds 
 
 Meanwhile, as far as internal government was con- 
 cerned, the towns went rapidly from bad to worse ; 
 for the close corporations, by whose authority they 
 were gOTerned, admitted of little progress under their 
 dominion. Abuses crept in unchecked by popular con- 
 trol, and the remodelling of the charters under Charles 
 II. increased the natural tendency of the ruling bodies 
 to exclusiveness and corruption. ^ The corporations 
 sank into the last stage of senile decay, until the Muni- 
 cipal Reform Act of 18.35 remedied glaring abuses and 
 put some order and coherence into their methods of 
 rule. There has been of late years a slight increase in 
 the prestige of local authority, and a quickening of 
 interest in local government. The mayors of flourishing 
 towns, such as Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool, 
 can rejoice in a position which carries with it a measure 
 of power and dignity ; while there still remain about 
 the corporation of London, which was untouched by 
 the Act of 1835, traces of mediaeval splendour and 
 greatness. 
 
 But to see municipal institutions at work in their full 
 vigour we must look back to the Middle Ages. The men 
 of the town put into the town politics something of the 
 zest and spirit which is now only reserved for pai-ty 
 
 1 The corporation of Helston, in Cornwall, by virtue of ■<>. 
 charter of incorporation given in 1585, had power to admit any 
 " honest " inhabitants to be freemen of the borough. This, how- 
 ever, they obstinately refused to do. So that in 1774 the cor- 
 poration consisted of but six members, and these six electerl two 
 members of Parliament (Jessopp, Sliidies of a Recluse, 138-9). 
 
 G 
 
82 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 struggles involving questions of national interest. The 
 ordinances passed by the town rulers, and their methods 
 of administration, could affect each citizen's life to an 
 extent we can hardly realize. The municipal authorities 
 decided, sometimes on their own initiative, at others in 
 response to the statutes promulgated by the central 
 government, of what material a man's house was to be 
 built ; 1 even of what ingredients his food was to be 
 made ; ^ whether he should starve in case of famine, or 
 have grain supplied by the storehouses of the city, for 
 difficulties of communication hindered traffic, and in years 
 of bad harvest nothing but the forethought of the town 
 officials ^ in storing corn could save the citizens from great 
 distress. The authorities ordained precisely at what hour 
 a man should buy or sell in the market,* and who were to 
 be his customers.^ The clothes he wore,^ the wages he 
 
 ' Led Book, f. 219. An order of leet was passed to the effect 
 that houses were not to be thatclied with straw. 
 
 2 Ih. t. 328a. No inhabitant of S. Michael's parish was 
 allowed to put more wheat but '• the teyre of three strike " of 
 wheat into the holy cake under pain of a fine of 20s., and not 
 to make " bun nor cake besides," and those of Trinity parish 
 were allowed the " teyre of two strike." 
 
 ' In 1520 the mayor, John Bond, ordered the amount of grain 
 in each ward and the number of citizens to be registered {Ih. 
 i. 330). On the custom of storing corn in times of dearth, see 
 Ashley, JEhon. Hist. I. pt. II. 33-7. The mayor of London in 
 1438 sent ships to Dautzig for corn. 
 
 ■• Men of the town could buy corn in the market at nine o'clock, 
 those of the country at twelve {Leet Book, i. 326a). 
 
 5 Butchers were forbidden to sell hides " in great," i.e. whole- 
 sale, to the tanners {lb. f. 278a). 
 
 « Those of the sheriff's degree were ordered not to wear velvet 
 
The Corporation and the Guilds 83 
 
 took, the profits and losses of his trade, his manner of deal- 
 ing with his workpeople, the price he gave, or asked, for 
 any article of merchandise, all these common occurrences 
 of daily life were the subject of municipal surveillance 
 and regulation. The corporation guided und controlled 
 the guilds or insurance companies, to which the towns- 
 folk subscribed their mite in the hope of getting a good 
 provision for old age, and an honoured burial after death. 
 They ruled and controlled those other guilds, the craft 
 fraternities, whose members met together to discuss and 
 frame decisions on all points of their trade or handicraft, 
 so that there was no matter of any moment touching the 
 citizens' lives which was not discussed and made the sub- 
 ject of legislation in the guildhall or council house at the 
 meetings of court and council. They governed, as it were, 
 each man's going-out and coming in, nay, they even de- 
 fended his very life by building the fortifications which 
 engirt the town wherein he dwelt. For should political 
 strife or civil war arise, the lives or fortunes of the towns- 
 folk might be saved or jeopardized by the town rulers' 
 action.^ 
 
 Knowing how far-reaching was the power of the town 
 rulers, how absolute their sway over the action of their 
 fellow-citizens, it is difficult to overestimate the import- 
 ance of the gift of a charter of incorporation. Coventry 
 became in 1345 a free and independent borough, that is 
 
 unless " noted to be . . . of the substance of £300 " (lb. 
 f. 334a). 
 
 ' Of. the action of Bigod, who devastated Norwich becaiTse of 
 the citizens' support of Henry II. 
 
84 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 to say, the affairs of tte town were henceforward to be 
 managed by the elected officers of the townsfolk, not by 
 the nominees of the prior, the earl of Chester, or, except 
 within certain well-defined limits,^ those of the king. By 
 the terms of the royal charter these duly elected officers 
 had power to try pleas in the city courts, arrange for the 
 recovery of debts, supervise the town gaol, and deliver up 
 offenders to judgment, serve the royal writ concerning the 
 processes of the king's court,^ pay the ferm of £50 to the 
 royal exchequer, in short perform much of the business 
 hitherto discharged by the officers of the lord of the 
 manor, or the central government. 
 
 In order that these new privileges could be utilized for 
 the benefit of the community, it was necessary that courts 
 should be reorganized, regulations passed, officials elected, 
 in short the whole municipal administration shaped to 
 fall in with the new order of things.^ "We know nothing 
 of the manner in which this was done, and as so many of 
 the early records have been lost, we can give no account 
 in many cases of the form of municipal rule chosen at 
 this time by the citizens. Here and there curious docu- 
 ments give us a glimpse of the working of certain courts, 
 or the municipal action of this or that body of men. 
 But the information concerning very important points is 
 unfortunately lacking. We are referred, for instance, to 
 
 ' For instance, the itinerant justices tried criminals at the 
 assizes. 
 
 2 On return of writs see Pollock and Maitland, Hint. Law, I. 571. 
 
 ' For the solemn consultations this necessitated see the case of 
 Ipswich, Gross, Gild Merchant, I. 23, 
 
The Corporation and the Guilds 
 
 the "old custom'' of electing oflBcials, biit we are not 
 liold what the old custom was, and are hence left in ignor- 
 ance of the manner in which the election was made. 
 
 The men who took the lead in framing the constitution 
 were surely the same as had previously won from the 
 king the charter of freedom, ^ Belonging to the old well- 
 to-do m.erchant - families of the place, these men had 
 doabtless held office in the prior's time, serving may-be 
 on the jury of the portmanmote or leet. They were thus 
 familiar with the details of local administration, and 
 stepped without difficulty into the higher posts the acquisi- 
 tion of the charter had prepared for them.^ With the 
 ready legal knowledge characteristic of the men of the 
 Middle Ages, they proceeded with as much care and speed 
 as possible to carry the provisions of the charter into 
 effect. Some time elapsed before the whole system could 
 be brought into working order, the rock ahead being no 
 doubt the prior's enmity. Three years after the incorpora- 
 
 1 The mayor lists give twelve names of men who won the 
 freedom, of the city. ^ See note 3. 
 
 " Pour of the twelve served afterwards as mayor, some others 
 as hailiffs of the city. "We may note tliat the leading families 
 under the prior still continue to take the foremost place after 
 the incorporation. Thus to Laurence de Shepey, member of 
 Edward I.'s assembly of merchants {Pari. Writs, I. 135), and in 
 1301 member for the borough, succeeded Jordan de Shepey, 
 whose name is yet commemorated in Jordan's well, second 
 mayor of the city and first master of the guild merchant, 
 (Gross, II. 49). A parallel case is shown in the Kelle family. 
 Eobert was burgess in 1298 {Pari. Writs, I. Hi.), and Henry one 
 of the founders of the Trinity guild in 1364, and four times 
 mayor of the city. 
 
86 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 tion one John Ward took his seat as the first mayor of 
 the city, and in 1365 one of his successors, turning a firm 
 front to the prior, who, as we Iiave seen, was deeply 
 offended at seeing his former tenants exalted to the posi- 
 tion of mayor and bailiffs, brought the old feud to a 
 conclusion, and by the terms of the " Tripartite " freed 
 the courts of the city from any control exercised by 
 the convent in times past. 
 
 Meanwhile the organization of the city courts had been 
 rapidly pushed forward. Summoned in 1354 to account 
 for the withdrawing of certain pleas from the county 
 courts to those of the city, thus creating an annual deficit 
 in the sheriif 's ferm, the townsmen produced their charter, 
 claiming to be exempt from shire jurisdiction in pleas 
 concerning contracts, trespasses and covenants.^ Conflict 
 with the royal manorial officers of Gheylesmore was like- 
 wise averted in 1375, when a charter was obtained from 
 the Black Prince forbidding his officers, under pain of a 
 fine of twenty marks, to interfere in any matter within 
 the city liberties, which at that time were marked off by 
 well-known boundaries from the royal estate.^ Two years 
 later all pretext for the sheriff's interference in matters 
 military was done away ; in commissions of array for bill- 
 men and bowmen the mayor's name was joined to those 
 of the commissioners, in order that he might equip the 
 
 1 Madox, Firma Burgi, 108-9. 
 
 2 Charter of the Black Prince (Burton MS. f. 251a). They 
 were for"bidden to make arrests, or distrain for debt, etc. 
 
The Corporation and the Guilds 87 
 
 number of citizens demanded for the public service, and 
 make provision for their payment.^ 
 
 While the corporation battled with the powers without, 
 and, sealing their victories by compact and charter, gained 
 exemption from all " foreign " interference, the city grew 
 and flourished ; guilds were founded, churches built, and 
 the walls began to rise from the day that Richard Stoke, 
 the mayor, laid the first stone in 1357 at the New Gate. 
 Bat increased powers brought complications in their 
 train, and the improvements the need for heavier internal 
 taxation. Tolls laid on vendibles, if they brought money 
 to the public purse, were highly unpopular, and in 1372 
 the patent giving license for their collection for walling 
 purposes was revoked ; rich men, it was declared, would 
 be assessed henceforth "according to their ability." 
 Richard II., who was ever a good lord to the citizens, per- 
 mitted them to quarry for stone for walling purposes in 
 Cheylesmore Park, and soon after the Peasant Revolt in 
 1381, when it was thought expedient that so important a 
 town as Coventry should be well fortified in case of a 
 future outbreak,^ he likewise bestowed on the corporation 
 a yearly ferm of £24 due to the royal exchequer from 
 sealing pieces of cloth within the city.^ 
 
 In spite of difiiculties surmounted and victories gained 
 
 1 Charter 1 Eich. II. (Burton MS. f. 2o2a). 
 
 2 I am indebted for this explanation of the motive of the 
 king's generosity to Mrs. J. E. Green. 
 
 3 On the assize of cloth and the measuring and marking of 
 the material by the royal " aulnager," see Ashley, JSco«. HisU I. 
 pt. I. 181. 
 
88 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 towards the end of the century many troubles arose for 
 the corporation. Complaints were heard on every side 
 of the corruption of the raling class, and the commonalty 
 set order at defiance, reviled the mayor in the town-hall 
 and sought occasion to break out in riot and tumult. 
 The reason of this discontent is not far to seek. The 
 few wealthy merchants who ruled the city were in no 
 way responsible to their fellow-townsfolk for their actions 
 or methods of rule, and were said by the community to 
 abuse this authority. Theoretically, these officers were 
 the elected servants of the community ; and the common 
 consent could alone make valid any regulations they 
 passed ; but it was very rarely that theory corresponded 
 with practice. 
 
 Oligarchies held full sway over by far the greater 
 number of the towns of England. The " menus gentz," 
 in spite of many protests, were excluded from taking part 
 in the elections of officers in London ; and the general 
 assembly of townsfolk who, as at Ipswich in 1200,^ 
 carried by acclamation the first ordinances framed by 
 the newly-elected officers after the purchase of a charter 
 of liberties, soon found that these delegates in passing 
 any measure could afiord to dispense with the common 
 consent. Here and there we find the "general assembly" 
 in full vigour, voting on the mayor's election, as at Sand- 
 wich, or, as at Hereford, debating on any matter " touch- 
 ing the state of the city " and the common weal.^ But 
 
 1 Gross, Gild Mercliant, I. 23, II. 115 ; Green, Town Life, II. 223. 
 
 2 11. II. 225-6. 
 
The Corporation and tite Guilds 89 
 
 these would seem exceptional cases, and it was only 
 when questions concerning common property, or the 
 assessment of royal taxation and the like, were treated 
 of that the community was universally recognised as 
 having the power to make any measure valid or invalid 
 by giving or withholding its consent. 
 
 The engrossing by the few of all municipal power, so 
 common a feature in town life, is probably due, in this 
 instance, to the growth of a guild organization side by 
 side with the development of municipal institutions. 
 Variously attributed to a Greek, Roman, or German 
 origin, these associations, common throughout Europe 
 during the Middle Ages, all testify to the benefit gained 
 by union and combination. The earlier forms of guilds 
 known in England were the " Frith " or " peace " guilds, 
 found before the Norman Conquest at Abbotsbury, 
 Woodbury, Cambridge, and Exeter. These societies af- 
 forded mutual protection to their members, and made 
 good any loss they sustained from an insurance fund to 
 which they were all contributory. In all these bodies 
 the convivial element was strong ; the members fre- 
 quently met to hold a feast, of which the remains were 
 distributed in alms. Similar associations for the preser- 
 vation of the peace are found on the Continent, one of 
 the most noteworthy existing at Roeskild under king 
 Canute for the suppression of the piracy of the Vikings. 
 In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries these organiza- 
 tions were diverted to purposes of trade, and a third 
 of all the towns of England— London being a doubtful 
 exception— possessed their merchant guild or body of 
 
go Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 traders and handicraftsmen, engrossing the local com- 
 merce to the exclasion of all men without their ranks. 
 The craft guild was a century behind the merchant guild 
 in its rise and development. Its members met together 
 to make rules, by which all who practised a particular 
 calling in the locality were to be directed in all affairs 
 connected with their trade or handicraft. They devoted 
 some of their revenue to religious uses, the members 
 frequently supporting some church or chapel, or provid- 
 ing candles for altar or processional lights. Other local 
 guilds not definitely commercial, but rather social, in 
 character, often called after some saint, were active in 
 the performance of all good works; they clad the poor 
 in their livery, supported churches, colleges of priests 
 and grammar schools, and pensioned decayed and de- 
 serving members. -"^ At Coventry, however, the character 
 of these associations, although they earned a fair reputa- 
 tion for charity, was not altogether what it appeared on 
 the surface. The great Trinity guild, which meets us at 
 every turn in the city's history, was primarily an associa- 
 tion which, by some compact of which we are ignorant, 
 early arrogated to itself the power wielded by the muni- 
 cipal rulers. 
 
 This society, with its fellow -guild of the Corpus 
 Christi, is unheard of in the early days of the rule of 
 the corporation. But its history is foreshadowed in that 
 of its predecessor, the guild merchant of S. Mary. 
 
 1 Encyc. Brit. s.v. Guild ; Gross, Gild Merchant ; Toulmin Smith 
 English Gilds (E. E. T. S.). 
 
The Corporations and the Guilds 91 
 
 Founded in 1340, five years before the incorporation of 
 the oifcy,! it is possible that it was to this and kindred 
 associations which sprang np around it, and to the gifts 
 of their members in land and money,^ that the townsmen 
 owed the purchase of the incorporation charter. The 
 zeal shown by S. Mary's guild for commerce and religion 
 may well have served to cloak its essential character. 
 For although the convenience of the merchants of this 
 inland city, who, we are told, " auoient si grand trouble 
 entour leur merchandises pur loynteignnite de la meere," ^ 
 formed a pretext for the formation of the society in 1340, 
 the time for assuring the monoply of local traffic to a 
 merchant guild was now past.* No doubt the prior 
 understood better the character of these foundations, 
 recognising how they would form at the first a rallying 
 point for the Barl's-men in league against him.^ And it 
 may have been owing to his opposition as lord of the soil 
 that the guild merchant had so much ado to acquire 
 
 1 Bol. Pat. 14 Ed. III. p. 2. m. 21. 
 
 2 For instance, Walter Whitweb, one of the twelve who won 
 the charter of freedom, was master of S. Mary's guild in 1353 
 (Corp. MS. C. 148). 
 
 3 Gross, II. 49. This occurs in a report drawn up in 1389 by 
 the master of the guild. "They had so- much difficulty abovit 
 their merchandise by reason of the distance from the sea." 
 
 ■• The statute of 1335, by declaring that all merchants might 
 traffic with whomsoever they would, and in what vendibles they 
 chose, effectually did away with this monoply of the merchant 
 guild (Ashley, Econ. Hist. I. pt. I. 84). 
 
 5 I am indebted for this interpretation of the fact to Mrs. 
 J. B. Green. 
 
92 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 license to hold lands in mortmain for upwards of forty 
 years after its foundation.^ 
 
 The fraternity of S. John the Baptist,^ founded two 
 years later than the merchant guild, was more fortunate 
 in obtaining the coveted license. Its early patrons, 
 wealthy traders, such as Walter de Stoke, member of one 
 of Edward III.'s merchant assemblies,^ or Peter of that 
 name, who made that memorable attack on the convent 
 bailiff, Simon Pakeman, when he came to collect the 
 rents in the Earl's-half, resolved to commemorate their 
 union by a great achievement. The stately church of 
 S. John the Baptist — saint dear to clothworkers and 
 woolstaplers — rose on ground at Bablake, granted by 
 queen Isabel to the fraternity. A college of priests, 
 whose number was in 1393 increased to nine, officiated 
 at this church, and lived on the bounty of the brother- 
 hood ; * while the brethren of S. Catherine's guild, 
 licensed in 1343, employed three priests to sing in the 
 chapel sacred to their patroness in S. John's hospital in 
 Bishop Street.^ But the priests of the merchant guild, 
 as was meet, occupied from the beginning the most 
 honourable place of all. They sang their " solemn anti- 
 
 1 Toulmin Smith, En^. QiUs, 231. In the return of 1389 it is 
 stated that several messuages worth £37 l'2s. 4cJ. a year are wait- 
 ing for the license of the king and the mesne lords to be given 
 to the guild. No doubt the Statute of Mortmain was often 
 evaded. The corporation records show that the guild held 
 house property as early as 1353 (Corp. MS. C. 148). 
 
 2 Hot. Pat. 17 Ed. III. p. 1. m. 17. » Rot. Pari. 11. 457. 
 * Sharp, Anti(i. 130-2. s jj. 159. 
 
The Corporation and the Guilds 93 
 
 phonies " in tlie lady-chapel of S. Michael's, the great 
 parish church of the Earl's-half, a practice which was 
 still continued after the title of the guild became merged 
 in the yet more famous society of the Trinity ; ^ while the 
 guild of the Corpus Ohristi, composed, it would seem, 
 of the prior's tenants, occupied the corresponding chapel 
 in the parish church of the Trinity.^ 
 
 Having overcome in fair fight their old adversary, the 
 prior, the guilds turned their attention to municipal busi- 
 ness. It became the custom in very early times for the 
 same man to serve in different years as mayor and master 
 of the merchant fraternity.' The town hall of S, Mary, 
 in which not only the guild feasts were held but muni- 
 cipal business * was transacted, and the town chest as 
 well as the guild plate '" stored, tells by its name of its 
 connection with S. Mary's brotherhood. The vaulting of 
 the entrance porch of this building still bears on its key- 
 stone a carving which represents the coronation of the 
 Virgin Mary, the fraternity's chief patroness. '' Nor must 
 the religious achievements of the guilds of S. John and 
 S. Catherine make us forget their municipal significance. 
 
 ' Sharp, Antifi. 24t-b. ^ Ih. 81. 
 
 3 Many early mayors were masters of the guild merchant ; the 
 cases of Jordan de Shepey and Walter Whitweh have been noted. 
 In William Holme, master in 1356 (Corp. MS. 0. 153), we have 
 undoubtedly William Horn of the mayor-lists. 
 
 * Sharp, Anliq. 211. The guild hall was used for municipal 
 purposes as early as 1388. ^ lb. 212. 
 
 « In Mantes the guild " aux marchands " was one with the 
 " confrerie de i'assomption de la Vierge " (Luohaire, Communes 
 Frangaises, 3i). 
 
94 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Closely allied in character, formed no doubt of men of 
 tbe same class, and with identical objects, these bodies 
 actually coalesced between 1365 and 1369 with the guild 
 mei-chant. In the meantime each no doubt contributed 
 its share towards the common need ; and although they 
 were careful that none should hold them responsible for 
 the fee-ferm, they were doubtless expected to contribute 
 towards the annual I'ent of £50 due to the royal 
 exchequer.^ 
 
 But these united guilds were destined in their turn to 
 be absorbed by one great all-embracing fraternity, known 
 sometimes by its full title of the guild of S. Mary, S. 
 John the Baptist, the Holy Trinity, and S. Catherine, 
 sometimes, for brevity's sake, as the Trinity guild. 
 Licensed in 1364, either to smooth over difficulties in 
 the way of fresh charters of mortmain, or to strengthen 
 the hands of the merchants against the lower class of 
 townsfolk who threatened to become mutinous, the 
 Trinity guild joined the ranks of the other guilds, and 
 the union between these societies, which had taken place 
 informally before 1369, was ratified by patent in 1392,^ 
 
 ' We learn in 1384 that the annual ferm of £10, due to the 
 prior according to tlie terms of the Tripartite, had been drawn 
 " time out of mind " from the coffers of the giiild (Leet Book, 
 f. 5a). Directly the guild lands were coniisoated in 1545 the 
 corporation made a gi-eat outcry concerning their poverty. 
 They had, they declared, no lands whence they might derive an 
 income to meet the yearly ferm of £50, and in trying to dis- 
 charge it one or two of the citizens were yearly ruined (Vol. of 
 Correspondence, f. 63, Corp. MS. A. 79). 
 
 2 Sot. Pat. 16 Eich. II. p. 1. m. 19. The guilds of S. Mary and 
 
ABoJj FtUW- «ry '>-"U' "!■ y ^/^i ..>( It y f(.l).^_v;l^,J (it \ llfi ryS -■ 
 
 .wiH.li 
 
 Bas-Reuef ()\ THE Roof of the Porch of S. Mary's 
 
 Hall, shkwixc; the Cokoxatkin of the Virgin. 
 
 (Fnim an old Print.) 
 
The Corporation and the Guilds 95 
 
 •wlien the guild revenues were increased to tlie amount 
 of £86 13s. 4(Z. a year. The completion of S. John's 
 church became the especial care of the united — or 
 Trinity — guild, and the dues taken at the Drapery, a 
 house belonging to the society, where cloth brought to 
 the city by strangers was sold, were devoted to this 
 purpose y 
 
 In these transactions much was effected of which docu- 
 ments and records make no mention. There can be little 
 doubt that the Trinity guild was in reality only the guild 
 merchant under another name, and with the control over 
 a fuller purse. There is also little doubt that this body, 
 together with the Corpus Christi, founded in 1348, and 
 composed, it would seem, of the prior's tenants,^ was but 
 another name for the governing body of the town.^ In 
 spite of many safeguai-ds taken to prevent the seizure of 
 guild property for the payment of municipal debt, we 
 catch sight very frequently of this near connexion with, 
 or identity of, the guilds and corporation.* Probably 
 only those who were admitted to both guilds were 
 
 S. John were united as early as 1362 (Corp. MS. C. 1B9). Sharp 
 says that the union toot place between 1365 and 1369 {Antiq. 
 131) ; but in a deed executed in 1372 the guilds mentioned are 
 SS. Mary, John the Baptist, and Catherine (Corp. MS. C. 165). 
 
 ' Sharp, Antiq. 131. 
 
 ' The boundaries of the Prior's-half correspond roughly to the 
 modern boundaries of Trinity parish. The meeting-place for 
 members of Trinity parish and of the Corpus Christi guild was 
 S. Nicholas' Hall {Leet Book, f. 47). 
 
 8 Cf. the guilds of Lynn and Plymouth (Green, II. 217, 220). 
 
96 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 eligible for municipal office. ^ While as justice of the 
 peace, jnrytnan of the leet, member of the mayor's 
 council, and one of the keepers of the common treasure 
 chest, the master of the Trinity guild was, saving the 
 mayor, the foremost figure in the corporation. His con- 
 nection with the mayoralty was very close. Two years 
 before entering upon office each mayor was master of the 
 Corpus Christi, and two years after quitting it master of 
 the Trinity guild. The control they exercised over the 
 revenues of the guilds, which were often put to municipal 
 uses, gave these masters much power and authority in 
 the city councils. The guilds joined their funds with 
 those of the wardens to pension deserving townsfolk ' 
 and pay the salary of the recorder. ^ Alone the Trinity 
 guild discharged the ferm of £10 due to the prior, re- 
 ceiving a share of common land to be held in severalty — 
 that is separate from the lands of the community — as 
 compensation. Indeed the guild officers were so clearly 
 considered as officers of the corporation that when they, 
 together with the city wardens and chamberlains, neg- 
 lected to present their accounts at the annual audit ^ 
 they were one and all brought to book by the leet, and 
 
 ' This is to be inferred from a rhyme written in defence of 
 Laurence Saunders, an opponent of the governing class, whose 
 name, as a late officer of the corporation, was on the roll of 
 those liable to be summoned to the mayor's council, and to be 
 accounted a " brother " of the mayor. 
 
 " Ye cannot deny that he is your brother, 
 Ani to both guilds he hath paid as well as another.^' 
 (Sharp, Antiq. 235.) 
 
 ^ Leet Book, i. 18. » Ih. f. 334a. ^ lb. f. 171. 
 
Tlie Corporation and the Guilds 97 
 
 ordered to remedy their neglect under pain of pnnisli- 
 ment. Jealous lest other societies should threaten their 
 dominion, the mayor and bailiff obtained three several 
 times patents forbidding the formation of guilds other 
 than those already existing within the oity.i And the 
 meetings of the guilds of S. Anne and of S. George, 
 formed by the journeymen tailors in the first quarter of 
 the century, were suppressed by royal command under 
 the pretext that their meetings were to the manifest de- 
 struction of the ancient foundations, the guilds of the 
 Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi.^ And it was perhaps 
 when the commonalty chafed at their rule, or brought 
 to light some infringement of the law on the part of the 
 Trinity guild, that the fraternity purchased pardon at 
 Westminster granting them immunity for past misdeeds.^ 
 These bodies, so closely united by interest and friend- 
 ship, lent all their strength to support the rulers of the 
 city, and the authority, thus securely buttressed, of the 
 mayor and the small circle of late and present magistrates 
 gathered ai'ound him, was such as no opposition could 
 break. All offices of trust were filled by a few leading 
 men. The mayor, bailiffs and aldermen* tried pleas for 
 
 1 Corp. MS. B. 35. Letters patent against the formation of new 
 guilds, dated Nov. 8 H. IV (1406). This was confirmed in 1414 
 and 1441 (B. 38 and 47). 
 
 2 Corp. MS. B. 40 ; B. 41 ; B. 43. 
 
 = Corp. MS. B. 44 (3 H. VI.); B. 49 (25 H. VI.); B. 56 (1 H. 
 VIII.). See Green, II. 202-17, for the whole subject of the guild 
 merchant of Coventry, 
 
 * The aldermen are first heard of in 1469. In the latter half 
 of the century they are mentioned in connexion with the town 
 
gS Life in an Old English Town 
 
 debt and the like at the fortnightly assemblies of the 
 portmanmote. The mayor and five othei' notables, 
 always including the master of the Trinity guild, were 
 justices of the jseace.i The same, with the exception of 
 the recorder, kept the keys of the common treasure-chest. 
 Twenty-four late officials, headed by the master of the 
 guild, and frequently including the justices of the peace, 
 brought together by some indirect process of which we 
 have lost the secret,^ elected the officers for the ensuing 
 year. The same number, and to all intents and purposes 
 the same men, with the guild-master as usual heading 
 the list, were the jurats of the leet. A council of twenty- 
 four, chosen by the mayor and doubtless identical with 
 the jury of the leet, examined petitions four days before 
 the two great assemblies of this court, in order, it seems, 
 to discuss and decide on their rejection or acceptance by 
 the j nry of the leet. And the power of the magistrates 
 was further increased by the formation of the mayor's 
 council, a body of forty-eight of this officer's nominees, 
 who, it would seem, were omnipotent during the latter 
 part of the fifteenth century. 
 
 government and certain police duties "vvere discharged by them 
 in their respective "vvards. The office had, it appears, no con- 
 nexion with the guilds, and was probably filled by late mayors. 
 
 1 The mayor, recorder and four lawful men of the city are 
 allowed to exercise all that appertains to the office of justice of 
 the peace for labourers and artificers in the county of Warwick, 
 i.e. fix the rate of wages (Charter 22 Rich. II., Burton MS. f. 
 253). For a trial of felons by the justices of the peace see Sharp, 
 Anliq. 212. 
 
 2 Although we have in the first Leel Booh the record of some 
 hundred and thirty elections of the city officers, there is no 
 account of their methods of pi'ocedure on these occasions. 
 
The Corporation and the Guilds 99 
 
 When once these men had put their hand to the plough 
 there was no looking back, — no shirking of the responsi- 
 bilities, which pressed on all who possessed a sum of 
 worldly goods large enough to enable them to enter the 
 ranks of the official class. Men of substance, and they 
 only, were eligible for office, and the terms " degree of a 
 mayoi'," " degree of a bailiff," used in assessing fines, 
 show that there was some strictness maintained with 
 regard to this property qualification. And indeed it was 
 needful that mayors, bailiffs and the like should be 
 moneyed men, for their reponsibilities were great and the 
 tarns of fortune curious. They might, and probably did, 
 add to their incomes while in office, in spite of the annual 
 audit of accounts. On the other hand, should any source 
 of revenue fail, they were compelled to make up the de- 
 ficit, and hence were poorer men at the year's end than 
 at the beginning. Thus when the prior refused to pay 
 the murage tax for twenty years the chamberlains, or 
 treasurers, contributed the sum that was lacking from 
 their own purses.^ The same story is elsewhere to be 
 met with; in 1276, when the receipts for paying the 
 Lincoln ferm had fallen off, it was said that " they who 
 have once been bailiffs of Lincoln can scarcely rise from 
 poverty and misery."^ Still on the whole the magnates 
 who possessed a stout heart and a keen eye, and were 
 ready to cope with the numberless details of business 
 
 ' Leel Book, f. 282. They were afterwards reimbursed when 
 the suit was decided against the prior. 
 2 Green, ToiimLife, II, 250. 
 
lOO Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 with which an official's life in those days was fraught, 
 preferred to acquiesce in their election rather than pay 
 £100, 100 marks or £40 as a fine for refusing to fill the 
 respective offices of mayor, sheriiS or master of either 
 guild. Once, indeed, a certain Roger a Lee declined to 
 occupy the office of chamberlain, though he was a man 
 well-to-do, having received £30 in money and plate with 
 his wife, and must — so the prevailing opinion was — "have 
 had right largely of his own, or else John Pachet would 
 not have married his daughter to him." When solemnly 
 adjured to " come in and exercise the said office," Roger 
 persisted in his refusal, nor did the imposition of a fine 
 of £20 avail to shake his resolution. ^ 
 
 But having once accepted office with all its emoluments, 
 risk and toil, a citizen was forthwith raised to a platform 
 high above the mere " commoner," who had neither lot 
 nor part in the rule of his city. He became one of the 
 " men of worship," whom to insult was a dire offence ; ■• 
 and his doings must not be cavilled at, or explained to 
 the vulgar herd. Gravity, decorum, and, above all things, 
 secrecy ^ marked the councils wherein he took part. 
 
 1 Led Book, i. 300. 
 
 2 See Green, Town Life, II. 256, for examples of the punish- 
 ments of those who insulted officials. In Coventry two men — 
 John Smith and John Duddesbury — for their ill-behaviour to 
 •' men of worship " were in 1495 put under surety from session 
 to session until their submission shoxild content the justices of 
 the peace {Leel Boole, f. 276). 
 
 2 Eight of the mayor's council met every Wednesday. The 
 sergeant kept the council-house doors so that no unauthorized 
 'person might enter, {Ih. if. 251a, 277). 
 
The Corporation and the Guilds loi 
 
 Seetnliness of behaviour was demanded from him ; a late 
 m.ayor m.usfc live cleanly, the leet decreed, and not give 
 way after warning to " avowtere and fornicacion, or osnre," 
 if lie wished to rise higher as master of the Trinity 
 guild, or continue to meet his brethren at the council 
 board.^ Distinguished on great occasions by his official 
 dress, or may-be if he were " noted to be of the substance 
 of £300," by the sumptuousness of his everyday apparel, 
 the mayor, alderman, or sheriff, whether he rode in scarlet 
 cloalv in the procession at Midsummer eve or S. Peter's 
 night, or, in his "fur of marten" and velvet, rubbed 
 shoulders with the " lambs wool" ^ doublet of the common- 
 alty daily in the Cheaping or Broadgate, had great notions 
 of the worth and dignity of his office. He was surrounded, 
 even on ordinary occasions, by an atmosphere of form 
 and ceremony, which no doubt had its eilect on the 
 outside world. When the mayor went to mass every 
 morning at "seven of the clock" the sword-bearer and 
 officers attended him. A like procession was formed on 
 the way back, for though the underlings might go about 
 their business during service, they were commanded 
 to " hearken " the time of the mayor's coming out of 
 church so as to be ready to accompany him homewards.^ 
 
 ' Lee.1 Book, i. 269a. The mayor was to be deprived of his 
 " cloke " {i.e. ofRoial rank) and council, of Avhich body he was 
 an ex-officio member. 
 
 2 The sumptuary laws were directed against expensive dress. 
 Those who were the noted possessors of £300 might indulge in 
 marten or velvet doublets ; and others worth £100 might wear 
 fox or lambswool (lb. f. 334). = lb. f. 32-4. 
 
102 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 So sensible were these worthy men of the dignity of 
 their position, that questions of precedence were ever 
 considered of great moment. Like Chaucer's " Wif of 
 Bath," they were so wroth that they were " out of alio 
 charitee " if another went before them on great occa- 
 sions. When Harry Boteler, the recorder, fell into dis- 
 grace in 148J< by magnifying his office at the mayor's 
 expense, the council thought it a due punishment that he 
 should yield his place to the master of the Trinity guild, 
 who thenceforth went by the mayor's side in all muni- 
 cipal processions, 1 an order they afterwards rescinded to 
 gratify one of Boteler's successors ; the mayor from that 
 time walked alone, the master and recorder together.^ 
 
 The labours of the town officials were greatly increased 
 by the all-embracing character of the local legislation. 
 The people of the Middle Ages believed devoutly iu the 
 efficacy of the law, and many matters concerning prices, 
 wages, and the like, now known to regulate themselves 
 according to supply and demand, were at times the sub- 
 ject of an infinite amount of often fruitless law-making 
 Nothing could check the zeal and energy of the local law- 
 givers ; no subject was too difficult for them to grapple 
 with, none beneath their consideration. The worshipfal 
 men might reverse the whole organization of the crafts 
 connected with the iron industry at one leet sitting,^ or, 
 on the other hand, turn their attention to the local supply 
 of halfpenny pies, or the amount of wheat put by the 
 
 ' heel Bool-, f . 25i. The recorder was the legal adviser of the 
 corporation. 2 lb. i. 316. « lb. t. 89. 
 
The Corporation and the Guilds 103 
 
 families of the two parishes into the holy cake.^ No 
 doubt it was impossible to enforce all these regulations. 
 All the energy of the leet, or council, and the yigilance 
 of the town officers often failed to do away with a 
 long-standing abuse. It was forbidden under penalty of 
 £10 to throw refuse into the Sherboarne ; yet though 
 "great diligence" was made to learn who the offenders 
 were, it did not hinder the commission of the offence.^ 
 And although, according to the decrees of leet and 
 council, people were compelled to be cleanly, honest and 
 peaceable, I make no doubt that ducks ^ and swine still 
 appeared in the streets,* baker's loaves fell short of the 
 proper weight,' and craftsmen bore arms in the city, 
 and wounded each other in quarrel." In short, that many 
 regulations were mere paper regulations to the end of the 
 chapter. 
 
 The mayor and his colleagues had no light work before 
 them on taking office. Numberless and varied details of 
 municipal business went far to fill their days with em» 
 ployment. In addition to his judicial duties, a mayor ex- 
 amined, either in person or by deputy, a great part of the 
 household stuff which came into the city to be sold. He 
 must needs have some acquaintance with matters mili- 
 tary, when a threat of invasion or civil war turned him 
 into a captain, and the citizens under him into soldiers, 
 
 ' V. supra, p. 82, n. 2. Perhaps the modern god-cake, given locally 
 by sponsors to their god-children on Twelfth Night, is a relic 
 of the holy cake of the fifteenth century. See Sharp, Gloss, of 
 Warw. Wds. (ed. Halliwell Phillipps), s.v. God-cake. 
 
 2 Leet Boole, f. 239. ^ /j. f. 3. 4 /j. f. 2, s Ih. f. la. « Ih. f. 3. 
 
t©4 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 such as tliey appeared at tlio lialf-yearlj muster, eacli 
 armed witli such weapons as suited his degree. ^ While, 
 in order to acquit himself with credit in the difficult and 
 delicate relations wherein the citizens were frequently- 
 involved with the outside world of politics, a mediceval 
 major must gather all the information he could upon 
 affairs of state. 
 
 The bailiffs, with their work of court-holding, ferm- 
 paying, and fine-collecting ; ^ the chamberlains, who over- 
 looked the common pastures, and put the murage money 
 to its proper use ; ^ the wardens, who supervised town 
 property and made payment of sundry expenses, delivering 
 up their accounts for the annual audit, were all deeply 
 immersed in business. And the keeping of these accounts 
 was no easy matter, so great a variety of items was in- 
 cluded therein, and so frequent were the demands upon 
 the public purse. Now the wardens would be called upon 
 to entertain and reward the bearward of a neighbouring 
 nobleman, or the groups of strolling players who set up 
 their booth in the inn-yard or market-place ; or, again, to 
 ooutribute to the maintenance of the knights of the shire,* 
 or lay down the ten pounds, which the mayor took as the 
 "fee of the cloak"; ^ now to defray the cost of a civic 
 
 ' Green, Town Life, I. 12 r. 
 
 ^ The bailiffs (sheriffs) by their oaths Avere compelled to '• pay 
 all ferms and fees in discharge of the mayor and community," 
 and to be present on court days, sessions of the peace, etc., but 
 were charged not to collect the fines levied until the justices 
 of the peace had assessed them {Leet Book, f. 107«). 
 
 3 See the chamberlains' accounts {lb. ff. 16a, 17). 
 
 ■* 11. f. 40a. Knight's fees to be paid by wardens, and not by 
 chamberlains. ^ Ihid. 
 
The Corpoi'ation And the Guilds 105 
 
 banquet, or that of tlie mayor's new fur cap, keeping in 
 the latter case, the " olde stuffe " for the use of the town.^ 
 Surely, much of the activity of the House of Commons 
 under Edward III. and the House of Lancaster is in the 
 main due to the training many of its members received 
 at hom.e in the local guild-hall or council-house. 
 
 These town officials, it is true, did not always keep their 
 hands clean from bribes during theu' year of office. No 
 doubt they followed the custom of the times in this par- 
 ticular; indeed the practice of offering douceurs to sheriffs 
 to procure their favour had become so common, that the 
 amount to be given for this purpose was regulated by 
 order of leet.^ Nor were they required to discharge with 
 absolute impartiality the duties belonging to their office. 
 The sherifEs, '' as ferr as they goodely may," the same 
 ordinance continues, were required " to favor all maner 
 persones of this cite " in making their returns, and in a 
 " difficultious and chargeable execution " of any writ, 
 " touching euy maner honest persone of this cite and 
 fraunchises thereof " (i.e. one of the official class), to 
 " councell with the mayor and his brethren afor they 
 precede" to the business.^ 
 
 ' Leet BooJc, t. 201. If the ca-p coat more than 13s. id., the 
 surplus was to be paid by the mayor. 
 
 2 The sheriffs were enjoined to take but -lOd. from one under a 
 sheriff's degree ; a noble (6s. Sd.) from one of a sheriff's rank ; and 
 13s. id., " atte most" from one of a mayor's degree, under pain of 
 a £10 fine. ^ yj. f, 174,,. 
 
VIII 
 
 THE COEPORATION AND THE COMMONALTT 
 
 We liave seen how affairs in Coventry were entirely 
 controlled by a few of the leading men of the place. But 
 no display of authority, no firmness of discipline could 
 entirely keep in check the spirit of restlessness and 
 revolt called forth by the abuses which flourished under 
 this irresponsible rule. The disturbances called forth 
 by the victuallers' misdeeds, and the conversion of the 
 Lammas lands in several holdings, fill the town annals 
 during the later fourteenth and earlier fifteenth centuries. 
 The law passed under Edward II. ^ forbidding victuallers 
 to hold any municipal office was frequently evaded, and 
 in many towns the great power of this class was a source 
 of endless trouble.- Excitements in the guild-hall when 
 the men, whose wages were fixed at statute rate, found 
 they would not avail to buy them proper food, the 
 
 ' Ashley, Econ. Hid. I. pt. II. 53. The act was repealed in 
 1511-12. In 1522 an order of leet was passed in Coventry to 
 the effect that the mayor should warn any haker, who had 
 oifended twice against the assize, not to bake any more in the 
 city unless he could find surety that his fault should not be 
 repeated, and further, no victualler or butcher was allowed 
 henceforth to be on the jury of leet {Leel Boole, i. 335). 
 
 2 For the abuses of the victuallers in Nottingham see Xotting- 
 liam -Bee. x>assim ; at Manchester, Ashley, Econ. Hist. I. pt. II. 47. 
 
 106 
 
The Corporation and the Commonalty 107 
 
 shouting of angry crowds when the chamberlains at their 
 Lammas ride refused to open gates to admit the free- 
 men's sheep and cattle as they had done in times past, 
 must have warned the mayor and his brethren to give 
 heed to their ways. Murmurings were heard at an early 
 date. In 1372 the customs laid on food for the purpose 
 of raising money for murage provoked a rising. Three 
 years after the townsfolk " cast their loaves at the 
 mayor's head, because the bakers kept not the assize,"^ 
 neither did the mayor punish them according to his 
 office." In 1388 the incident is repeated, and again and 
 again we hear of risings owing to one or other of these 
 fruitful cases of trouble, the abuses of the victuallers, or 
 the enclosure of the common lands.^ 
 
 Perhaps the townsmen were more sensitive with 
 regard to the Lammas lands than on any other point. 
 From time immemorial they possessed certain rights over 
 the common and Lammas pastures which surrounded the 
 city. On the former there was pasture for their cattle 
 the whole year through, while, on the other hand, they 
 merely shared with the various freeholders the use of the 
 
 1 The loaf varied in weight, but not in price, with the price of 
 corn (Green, II. 85). 
 
 ' Harl. MS. 6,388 prtssi'm. It is difficult to determine the date 
 of these risings, so great is the variation between the different 
 lists of mayors ; and so often do Coventry historians antedate 
 events, owing to the confusion between the old and new styles. 
 It is noticeable that the mayor in 1888 was Thomas Kele, one of 
 the founders of the Trinity guild. 
 
io8 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Lammas ground, driving their cattle upon it at certain 
 seasons of the year, namelj--, from Lammas to Candle- 
 mas (August 1 to February 2) ; i during the remaining 
 mouths the fields were in pi'ivate hands. The extent of 
 the common pastures was well known, bat the peculiar 
 tenure of the Lammas lands made it a more difficult 
 matter to determine the exact ai-ea of pasture, held six 
 months " in commonalty," and six " in severalty." From 
 time to time angry disputes arose concerning the boun- 
 daries and extent of these lands, and a series of enclosures, 
 whereof there was such bitter complaint in Warwick- 
 shire in the sixteenth century,^ did much to diminish 
 the broad belt of pasture which once engirt the city. 
 
 ' Every freeman was allowed to drive to many cattle on the 
 common grass or stubble from Lammas to Candlemas or (rarely) 
 Lady Day. In the sjjring the land was closed by i^rivate per- 
 sons for hay harvest or the sowing of corn. The number of 
 cattle or " stint " allowed on the common lands was definitely 
 fixed (Rogex-s, iS'j.-k (Jenl. 90). In Coventry in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury two geldings and one co«', or two cows and one gelding, 
 was the stint allowed to each freeman {Leel Book, f. -i06a). The 
 custom of the " stint " obtains to this day; the freemen's cattle 
 have all a certain mark, and there are still various fines levied 
 on those who exceed the rate, as well as on the owners of stray 
 cattle. Mr. Beard, the town clerk, told me of a case that hap- 
 pened only the other day (September 15, 1897). A bullock 
 driven by a butcher along the road escaped across the common, 
 and was seized on and impounded by the city pinner. The 
 owner was fined, not, however, for exceeding his stint, but for 
 allowing a bullock, which is a uon-commonable animal, to be 
 upon the pastures. 
 
 2 Lamond, Common Weal, passim. A Commission of enclo- 
 sures visited the counties of Oxford, Berks, Warwick, Leicester, 
 Buckingham and Northampton in 1548 (2b. xv.). 
 
The Corporation and the Commonalty 109 
 
 Various questions were, however, set at rest by a settlement 
 in 1860, whereby half of the Lammas pasture was made 
 over to the various freeholders who had half-yearly rights 
 over them, and the remaining poi-tion, held in trust for the 
 freemen, was converted into common land for the whole 
 year through.^ To this day there still remain tracts of 
 breezy and often gorse-grown common at Hearsall, Stivic- 
 hall, Whitley, Stoke and Grosford Green. These and the 
 small triangular patch, once known as Grey Friars' Green, 
 form considerable relics of the freemen's pastures. Held, 
 as the common report went, by the commonalty, " afore 
 that any mayor or bailifi was," ^ in. other words before 
 the incorporation of the city — these lands could not be 
 alienated from the burghers' use without their consent.^ 
 The pastures were, however, frequently enclosed, openly 
 for municipal purposes, secretly for private gain. In the 
 latter case there was naturally no word of consulting 
 the burghers, and although ia the former the community 
 gave their consent to the measure, it was accompanied 
 
 ' This was done in pursuance of the Enclosures Act, 1844. See 
 Enclosures Award of Lammas and Michaelmas Lands, 1860. 
 
 2 Corp. MS. P. 3. It is here said that the mayor, bailiffs, and 
 commonalty " were seized in their demesne as of fee " of the 
 common lands in right of the community. There was much 
 uncertainty among the lawyers of that time as to the entity 
 possessing rights over the common lands. 
 
 ^ Cicely de Montalt, in h^r grant to the prior of the manorial 
 " waste" attached to the Earl's-half, reserves for her tenants their 
 reasonable rights of pasture (Harl. MS. 6,388, f. 2). Walter de 
 Stoke bequeathed to his fellow-townsmen and their heirs for 
 ever his rights of pasture (Ibid.). 
 
no Life in an Old English Town 
 
 by open and general disapproval on the part of the 
 citizens. 
 
 The reason of this apparent contradiction lies in the 
 fact that the men in power were faithful rather to the 
 letter than the spirit of ancient custom. When it was 
 necessary to consult the community on any matter 
 touching the public property, the mayor was careful that 
 those representing the whole body of townsfolk should 
 be to a great extent members of the official class, or con- 
 nexions of those in ofRce. Hence these men, summoned 
 from every ward at his requisition, did nothing but 
 approve his policy. 
 
 This calling together of the community, a relic may- 
 be of immemorial cnstom,i affording in its traces of 
 ward^ organization evidence of a form of government 
 older and more popular than the system employed by 
 
 1 Any business touching the public weal— such as the pay- 
 ment of a royal debt, granting away of town property and the 
 like — could not be transacted without the official consent of the 
 community. Thus in 1422, when the mayor summoned sixteen 
 of the magnates to witness the sealing of deeds relating to town 
 property, " it was perceived," says the Leet Book, " by the mayor 
 and all present that it would be expedient for the mayor to 
 summon these following and many commons" (plures comones), 
 i.e. men who had previously held no municipal office (Leet 
 Book, i. 9). 
 
 2 Those who were summoned for purposes of consultation 
 came according to their wards. Thus in 1384 it was determined 
 that the mayor should summon four or six citizens out of every 
 ward, who shonld testify " tam pro seipsis quam pro tota com- 
 munitate ville," what the general will was concerning the 
 enclosure of certain meadows by the Trinity guild {lb. f. 6). 
 
The Corporation and the Commonalty 1 1 1 
 
 the town rulers in tb.e fifteenth century, was absolutely 
 useless for purposes of popular control. Unlike the 
 men of Nottingham,^ who once, when summoned to 
 the common hall, " would iu no wise agree " to the 
 mayor's scheme for disposing of the common lands, the 
 assembly of Coventry, thus tactfully managed, seems 
 to have been compliant to official dictation. When in 
 1384 ~ the mayor summoned four or six out of every 
 ward to learn what the common wish was concerning 
 the Podycrof t and other common lands, which the Trinity 
 guild kept in severalty in return for the annual ferm of 
 £10 paid to the prior on behalf of the corporation, the 
 assembly was in favour of the continuance of the old 
 arrangement, though it was avowedly a most unpopular 
 one. And no orders of leet availed to check the open 
 discontent of the common folk, who certainly did not feel 
 themselves in any way bound by this assembly. The 
 guild constantly found that their fences were broken 
 down, and their fields overrun by the people at Lammas ; 
 and in 1414^ it was thought necessary to decree that 
 people trespassing {delinqiientes) in the enclosures should 
 be arrested, and imprisoned until they had made suffi- 
 cient amends " by view of the guild master and six of 
 the guild brethren." But the discontent of the com- 
 monalty did not abate, and once more in 1421 the officers 
 in high place went through the form of consulting their 
 fellow-townsmen. A hundred and thirty-four citizens, 
 summoned at the mayor's requisition to S. Mary's Hall, 
 
 Green, II. 34i3. ' Leel Book, ff. 5a, 6. ^ /i, f. Qa. 
 
112 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 gave the lie to popular discontent a second time, and 
 approved of the giving over of the Mirefield, the Pody- 
 croft and Stivichall Hiron to the use of the guildsmen. 
 But the anger of the townsfolk became so hot that in 
 the following year they destroyed certain gardens at 
 Cheylesmore, which, it appears, had been enclosed by 
 well-known citizens, members of the mayor's council 
 and justices of the peace.i A view and enregistration 
 of the Lammas lands on all sides of the city, undertaken 
 in that year by four juries specially appointed for the 
 purpose, brought about a season of comparatiye peace; 
 and the question of enclosures was allowed to slumber 
 for nearly fifty years. 
 
 In the year 1422, no doubt with the notion of allaying 
 the prevailing discontent, the idea of selecting a definite 
 number of commoners from every ward, to form a council 
 to watch over the interests of the commonweal, first took 
 shape. There had been " dissentious stirrings," not only 
 concerning enclosures, but also may-be with regard to 
 the disposal of the money collected for murage, and pos- 
 sibly rumours were afloat concerning the convoking of 
 a " general assembly," a thing the rulers of the men of 
 Nottingham abhorred greatly. ^ There is little doubt that 
 
 1 The commons destroyed Julius (? Giles) AUesley's gardens 
 without the Grey Friar Gate (Harl. MS. C,388, f. IG). Giles 
 AUesley was mayor in 1426. Attilboro, a member of the mayor's 
 council of twenty-four, who took part in the election of the 
 mayor {Leel Boole, f. 1), and Southam, a justice of the peace {Ih. 
 f. 12a), had gardens which encroached on the common lands, for 
 which they were allowed, when the survey was taken, to pa3- a 
 composition (i6. f. 15a). ^ J<!oUingham Heo. Ill, 341-2. 
 
The Corporation and the Commonalty 113 
 
 at tlie Michaelmas leet there was some speech of giving 
 those outside the corporation some means of checking 
 the alleged malpractices of the municipal rulers. The 
 mayor had been charged to call forty-eight commoners, 
 "divers out of every ward," to hear the chamherlains 
 accounts for three years last past, and to witness any 
 grants made under the common seal} But- there is little 
 or nothing to tell of the activity of this body of com- 
 moners.^ On the other hand, at the first opportunity the 
 corporation turned this idea of a council into a weapon 
 for their own defence by providing at the election of 
 the mayor in the following Januai'y that there should 
 be one consisting of the stanchest supporters of the town 
 ralers. " It was provided," the Leet Book says, " that 
 the said mayor should call and take to him the same 
 twenty-four worthy men, that were of his election, with 
 other twenty-four wise and discreet men, chosen to 
 them and named by the said mayor,'' and that this 
 company should " put in rule all manner of good ordin- 
 ances " for the benefit of the city.^ And the worthy men 
 
 ' Leet Booh, f. 12. These grants were given to enable certain 
 citizens to dispense with the ordinary regulations of leet ; prob- 
 ably much favour and affection were shown in the granting of 
 them. 
 
 2 "VVe cannot tell whether this council even met. In 1423 we 
 hear that the chamberlains' accounts were audited in the pre- 
 sence of the mayor and " 48 honest and legal men " elected by the 
 aforesaid mayor to hear the accounts [lb. f. 16os). Query, were 
 these the commoners, or the mayor's council of Forty-eight? 
 See below, p. 114. 
 
 3 lb. f. 12a, 
 
114 Lije in an Old English Town 
 
 wore determined that this good ordaining shoiild be 
 followed by prompt obedience. 
 
 "It is and hath been accustomed," says a later inser- 
 tion in the records of leet, " that that the foresaid forty- 
 eight persons ordaineth and establisheth for worship of the 
 mayoralty, bailiffs and commonalty of this city, accord- 
 ing to the law, all the whole body of the same city shall 
 be bound thereby." ^ A certain latitude was allowed to 
 the mayor as to whom summons should be sent " when 
 he had need of forty-eight persons,"^ save that he was 
 always warned to require the attendance of " sufficient " 
 i.e. well-to-do citizens. He was allowed also to add 
 to the number, when it seemed good to him. Thus in 
 1445 " 58 persons and moe of the most worthiest that 
 were at home," came to debate upon the levying of a 
 certain sum of money to meet the purchase of a new 
 charter.^ And indeed the number varies with the occasion 
 of summons. After 1446 we find that the presence of a 
 quorum of twelve persons was sufficient for the trans- 
 action of business, the whole body afterwards giving 
 their assent to the measures ordained by this smaller 
 company.^ The rule of the Forty-eight gradually be- 
 came a veritable tyranny. Even the official class re- 
 belled against its dictates. We hear of a majority, 
 "the most part" of the council, and this includes the 
 idea of a dissentient minority. Those who transgressed 
 the commands of this majority, if they had never filled 
 the sheriff's post lost the freedom of the city; while 
 
 ' Lent Boole, f. 253a. " Ih. f. 72a. 3 lb. f. 12U, ■» Ih. f. 129a, 
 
The Corporation and the Commonalty 1 1 5 
 
 late mayors or sheriffs lost their official rank. He shall 
 "be exempt," the order ran ^ in the sheriff's case, "from 
 wearing scarlet among his company in all common assem» 
 blies, feasts, and processions " ; and shall also be punished 
 with fine and imprisonment at the mayor and council's 
 discretion ; on a late mayor the same penalty was laid, 
 with the addition that he should be " utterly abject 
 from the council"; while any citizens "comforting the 
 disobedient" were to suffer the same penalties. When 
 we learn that this order was framed in 1515 for the 
 correction of John Strong, late mayoi-, and ex-ojficio mem- 
 ber of the council, we may form some conception of the 
 tyranny of this body, whose doings even divided the 
 corporation against itself. 
 
 Deprived of any power of popular control they may 
 have once possessed in the organized meetings of the 
 wardsmen, there remained for those outside the ruling 
 classes the privilege of presenting petitions filled with 
 their grievances at the court leet ; but it is unlikely 
 that this custom gave them any real hold on the corpora- 
 tion ; for the mayor and twenty-four councillors selected 
 by him received and overlooked these petitions four days 
 before the meeting of the court, "for the inore speed," 
 so it was alleged, upon the day of leet.^ We may easily 
 conceive the effect of this practice. Those petitions 
 which were pleasing to the corporation would be 
 accepted, and the rest rejected, either there and then, 
 or set aside for open rejection by the court. Moreover, 
 
 I Led Book, i. 316a. ^ ij, f . 4, 
 
116 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 when the corporation desired to make some change in the 
 customs of the town, one of their number could " sue for 
 remedy by act of lest " and, sure of a favourable hearing, 
 present his bill of grievances to the mayor.' After the 
 preliminary overlooking, petitions were presented " by 
 oath" of the twenty-four jurats,^ to the mayor and 
 bailiffs at the assembly of the leet, and were accepted 
 or rejected according to the jurats' verdict. 
 
 The few petitions which are preserved illustrate in 
 some degree the impotence of those without the official 
 class. When the smiths in 1426' prayed that they might 
 be released from providing fi pageant at the Corpus 
 Christi show, a task they had taken upon themselves 
 some years back out of complaisance to one of the 
 mayors, the worthy men of the leet " endorsed " the 
 petition with words to the effect that the craft should 
 still " occupy and provide the said pageant " every year 
 under penalty of £10. On the other hand, when the 
 master and brethren of the Trinity gaild besought the 
 " maire, bally fs and chambnrlens, et autres bonez gentez 
 del enquest," that they might have their lands several, 
 or be released from the payment which they made yearly 
 
 ' Sij3 Ijelow, p. 117. The bill concerning the workei-a in iron. 
 
 ^ These -were probably identical Avith the twenty-four inspec- 
 tors. The leet jurats were elected, but it is not known by 
 what process. There may have been a larger body outside the 
 jurats who were nominally or actually consulted on these 
 occasions. The phrase " the honest and legal men of the leet, 
 and all other uxion the leet heinrj " is very puzzling. Petitions 
 were said to be " endorsed " {Leet Book, t. 15a). 
 
 ii Ibid. 
 
The Corporation and the Commonalty 117 
 
 to tlie prior in the name of the community, it was 
 ordered that the guild should occupy the lands in peace, 
 keeping them several " all times of the year." And this 
 order was in after years again repeated, although it gave 
 rise to never-ending discontent ; ^ while there is, it seems, 
 little doubt that it was owing to the influence of the 
 official class that a bill, framed for checking certain mal- 
 practices among the workers in iron, was drawn up in 
 1435.^ This petition begins by a statement of the high 
 pretentions the corporation entertained with regard to 
 the control they exercised over the crafts. " It is neces- 
 sary and needful," the bill runs, "to every governor of 
 city and town to see such rule and governance may bo 
 had by the which the king's people may be truly ruled 
 and demened," and gi'eat was the necessity " that certain 
 ordinances of the crafts be taken good heed to," lest the 
 "king's liege people "should suffer thereby. The petition 
 then proceeds to treat of certain abuses prevalent among 
 the workers in iron, and at the conclusion of the reading, 
 the court laid down measures of reform. 
 
 We cannot tell — so meagre is our information con- 
 cerning the presentment of offenders at the court 
 leet — whether the men of Coventry used the court 
 as an instrument for bringing their rulers to justice. 
 They certainly did so at Nottingham. In 1511 a great 
 struggle took place between the people and the ruling 
 classes of that town. The mayor had leased out some 
 of the common lands without, it seems, obtaining the 
 
 ' Leet Booh, f. 6. A council of the wards, not the leet, gave 
 this order. ^ jh, f. 89. 
 
ii8 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 consent of the community, and at the next session of 
 the court he was charged with the encroachment. In 
 the following year another mayor was presented for 
 sundry misdemeanours ; he had, it was said, begun a 
 muck-hill, misused the time of the common-sergeant, 
 sold herrings that were unfit for food, not allowing his 
 competitors, who would have sold eight for a penny as 
 against his five, to appear in the market, " and upon 
 this runneth a great slander in the country and a great 
 complaint"; and, above all, he had failed to account for 
 the spending of the common treasure. ^ In this manner 
 did the good folk of Nottingham endeavour to check 
 abuses which had hitherto flourished among them. 
 
 For a time success justified the stern rule of the mer- 
 chants, and the city's wealth grew apace. Royal visits 
 were frequently made the oocasion of the purchase of 
 new charters, and in 1445 the mayor, bailiffs, and com- 
 munity obtained the confirmation of their ancient liber- 
 ties, with permission to amend all customs that were 
 useless and defective for the benefit of the town.'' This 
 concession, characteristic of a time when there were 
 endless tinkerings at municipal constitutions, made valid 
 all past and future changes made by the oligarchy to 
 strengthen their position.^ The visit of the Court in 
 1451 was fruitful of further privileges. " Whereas ye 
 be now bailiffs," Henry VI. informed the mayor and his 
 
 ' Green, II. 346. 
 
 2 Corp. MS. B. 48 ; Merewether and Stephens, 881. 
 ^ Such a change, for instance, as the formation of the council 
 of Fortj'-eight. 
 
l^he Corporation and the Commonalty 119 
 
 bretliren, " we will that ye be hereafter sheriffs ; " ^ and 
 by the charter thus graciously promised all connexion 
 between the city and shire was severed. Coventry, with 
 the surrounding hamlets, became a county of itself on 
 the analogy of York and Norwich, and returned its own 
 member to parliament, the citzens no longer taking any 
 part in the election of the knights, who represented 
 the county. The mayor also became the clerk of the' 
 market,^ and steward and marshal of the king's house- 
 hold, the latter being a highly important privilege, as 
 the king, together with the travelling officers of the Court 
 jurisdiction, were so often quartered at Coventry ^ dur- 
 ing the civil war. 
 
 Bat times of hardship and misrule were again to over- 
 take the citizens. Henry VI., on the occasion of this 
 aforesaid memorable visit, though he praised the " good 
 rule and demene " observed among them, let also fall a 
 word of warning. " Moreover we charge you," he said, 
 thinking maybe of the growing power of his enemies 
 and the facilities they possessed by livery and main- 
 tenance for getting them adherents among the towns- 
 folk, " that ye suffer no riots, conventicles, nor congrega- 
 tions of lewd people among you, and also that [ye] suffer 
 
 ' Leet Booh, f. 156.-;. 
 
 2 This royal officer overlooked the local weights and measures, 
 and compared them with the standard models. 
 
 ^ The original of this charter is apparently not now at 
 Coventry. See, however, Dugdale, Wane. I. 142 ; Merewether 
 and Stephens, 881-3. Norwich had been made into a county in 
 1403 (Green, I. 24.ij. 
 
120 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 no lords' liveries, knights nor squires to be received of no 
 man within you, for it is against onr statutes." ^ Within 
 the next few years, however, the evils Henry had spoken 
 of came to pass. It is true that it was probably not for 
 political purposes, but rather for protection against their 
 immediate rulers, that the discontented commons and 
 craftsmen appealed to " lords, knights, and squires," with- 
 out the city. And the yet more serious features of 
 misrule, "conventicles and congregations of lewd folk," 
 which became notable in their turn, were called forth 
 rather by the enclosure of certain tracts of common 
 pasture than the reverse or success of either Lancaster 
 or York. 
 
 We see the beginnings of the evil during the next few 
 years. The political position of Coventry, its prominence 
 among the Lancastrian strongholds of the kingdom, 
 possible divisions among its citizens as followers of York 
 or Lancaster, the frequent visits of the Court involving a 
 constant drain of money to provide presents and pageants 
 for the queen and courtiers, all tended to throw the 
 municijial finances into confusion. Officials became slack 
 in the performance of their duty, or unduly greedy of 
 gain, and the commonalty were eager to take advantage 
 of the general confusion. The leet of 1456 was full of 
 complaint.^ The chamberlains, wardens, and guild- 
 masters, one petition declared, omitted to give in their 
 accounts ; the sub-bailifEs made undue return of writs ; 
 while the gaolers, possibly for a " consideration," re- 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 156«, 2 7^^ g_ 171, ^j^^^ 
 
The Corporation and tJie Covimonalty 121 
 
 leased from prison men who had been condemned in the 
 courts of the city. In this and the next year we hear from 
 the same source of the misdeeds of the bailiffs. They 
 collected — probably for their own profit — the fines of 
 offenders before these had been assessed by the justices 
 of the peace, 1 and, making the citizens' necessity their 
 opportunity, took " excess " fines from those outlaws and 
 offenders, who besought their favour." At this season 
 those who thought justice was denied them at the city 
 courts appealed for aid to the outside world. " Diuers of 
 the inhabitants of this cite," begins a measure of leet 
 passed in 1456,''' " beying of froward disposicions, dailly 
 begynnen to gete them mayntenaunce of myghty men 
 of straunge shires, and be their supportacion sewen ful 
 unconciensly diuers of their neyghbors, in this cite 
 dwelling, in forreyn shire.s* be diuers forreyn, feyned and 
 untrue accions to gret sclaunder of theymself and all this 
 cite, and to ther proper grete enpouerysshyng, and gret 
 hurte of ther seid neyghbours." It was therefore ordained 
 that any offender should be "discomyned" out of the 
 city (i.e. lose his freedom), and "be estraunged from his 
 crafte that he vseth her, and of all maner glides and 
 brothcrhedes of this cite, and be reputed and holden as 
 
 ' It is possible of course that the method of assessing fines by 
 tlie justices of peace was a device of the oligarchy to prevent the 
 fines arising from leet presentments from pressing too heavilj- 
 upon the governing ranks. 
 
 2 Possibly as a means of getting the bailiffs to restore con- 
 fiscated goods and the like. {Tjeel Bool; f. Mia.) 
 
 3 Ih, f. 171«. * i.e courts of the shire. 
 
122 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 straunge from eny benyvolence of this cite as eny other 
 estraunger, never adrnytted in this cite ; and oner this 
 to forfet C marcs 1 at every defalt," half to the mayor 
 and half to the chamberlains. 
 
 Probably it is from this time that we must date the 
 backwardness of the city in paying their ferm to the 
 exchequer; and though the vigorous measures of the 
 leet may have kept temporary order for those within and 
 without the ruling body, yet the embarrassments of the 
 corporation were not past. An attack on the franchises,^ 
 made, so it would appear from some words the steward 
 of Cheylesmore lot fall, at the instigation of some of the 
 malcontents within the city in 1464, was the cause of 
 much trouble and fear to the townsfolk. The arrest of 
 one Hikman, a dyer, a craft always at daggers drawn 
 with the corporation, in Cheylesmore Park, was the 
 occasion of the trouble. At the instance of the officials 
 of the royal manor,^ Edward IV. called in question the 
 right of the city officers to make arrests within the 
 manorial territory. But in this strait the worshipful 
 men took courage, and ordered the recorder, a man of 
 fearless bearing, with two others of the chief citizens, 
 to ride forthwith to Northampton, where the Court then 
 was, and beg an audience of the king. And these 
 emissaries ventured to maintain the city's liberties to 
 
 1 100 marks. ^ Leet Book, f. 196c(. 
 
 3 They declared that Cheylesmore was " spyntwary," i.e. sanc- 
 tuary. On the evils of rival jurisdictions, and the consequent 
 escape of offenders fleeing from town justice, see Gi-een, I. 311. 
 
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The Corporation and the Commonalty 123 
 
 the king's face even at the risk of incurring the royal 
 displeasure. 
 
 When Boteler, the recorder, had read the charters given 
 " of olde time " to Coventry, showing how the municipal 
 body had uninterruptedly enjoyed the right of making 
 ari'csts in the park, although " the kyng or his house- 
 hold have ben then present in the seid place of Chey- 
 lesmore," the King and his lords, among whom were the 
 King-maker and Tiptoft, earl of Worcester, " marvelled" 
 that the Cheylesmore officials should assert their claims 
 against those of the corporation. Bat when Edward 
 promised, "in brief time," to come and settle the matter 
 at Coventry, requiring meanwhile that the man whose 
 arrest had proved the source of the quarrel should be 
 restored to the park, whence he had been taken by the 
 constables, the men of Coventry demurred, pleading that if 
 the prisoner were set at liberty the city officers would be 
 held responsible by the party who had brought the action 
 against him. The king asked Danby, the chief justice, 
 whether this was true, and the justice had the honesty to 
 inform his master that the citizens had the law on their 
 side. Edward then hastily dismissed the Coventry men, 
 though we are not told if he laid any commands on them 
 concerning the prisoner's release. When the matter was 
 tried at Coventry, before the justices Markham and 
 Danby and the earl of Worcester, and again in the 
 Tower of London, the steward of Cheylesmore could 
 produce no satisfactory evidence against the claims of 
 the Coventry men, though he owned he was acting on the 
 advice of certain worshipful folk in the city; but, as the 
 
124 Life in an Old English Totvn 
 
 Leet Book says, he guardedly " would in no wise name 
 any person." Then " the forseid recorder besought the 
 kynges good grace to rcmembur the long sute made for 
 his seyd cite in that behalf, and no thing shewed azeyns 
 tlieyre entent tlierin. So that be likelehood the com- 
 pleynt made upon the officers of the seid cite " by the 
 Clieylesmore officers " was supposed to be made only of 
 wylfulnes, besechj'ng his hyghnes that his mair and 
 officers of the seid cite might kepe and enjoy sich liber- 
 ties and fraunchisis as they . . . vsed in the time of 
 his progenitors, remembryng his same hyghnes that the 
 seyd cite ever had be redy, and was, to plese his hyghnes 
 at alle tyme." Whereupon the king was graciously 
 pleased to allow the city to continue to eujoy the same 
 liberties as before. ' 
 
 There were farther signs in the year 1464, that all was 
 not peace within the city of Coventry. This time, a 
 " mighty man," though not of a " straunge shire," namely 
 the Kingmaker, whose name was all powerful in the 
 Midlands, figures also in the municipal strife. A quarrel 
 arose between a certain William Bedon and William 
 Huet 2 about a debt — it may have been a party alfair 
 between the weavers and tailors — and appeal was made 
 to Edward IV. The matter, the king declared, was 
 "screpulus and doubtefuU," and directed that the 
 litigants should abide by the arbitration of certain 
 citizens, or that the mayor, in the event of their in- 
 
 Leel Bool; f, 198« 2 Jhid. 
 
The Corporation and the Commojialty 125 
 
 ability to decide upon the case before Michaelmas, should 
 step in and dispose of the matter. 
 
 Accordingly at the appointed time, when the arbi- 
 trators failed to agree, the mayor took the matter into 
 his own hands, and decreed that Hiiet should ask Bedon's 
 forgiveness for his behaviour towards him, giving also 
 40s. "for amends." "Which laude and decree," the 
 Iieet Booh says, " the seid "William Hnet yn neyther 
 braunche wold not obey, but utterly refusyd," using 
 " right vnfyttyng, inordinate and seducious langage 
 sownyng to the derogacion of the kynges lawes and of 
 his peace, yn right evyll example, for the which the seid 
 mair, vmper,'^ be the advyse of his seid brethern, comyttid 
 hym to warde," the king giving him " right good and 
 special thank" for his action in this behalf. Tiptoft, it 
 appears, who was then in the city, kept Edward informed 
 of the progress of the business. Bat the affair soon 
 assumed serious proportions, and the king wrote to 
 inform the mayor that if any others vexed their 
 neighbours by any " imaginacions, sclaundours or feyned 
 accusacions herafter, or made any . . . conventicles," 
 they were to be repressed; the officer requiring all the 
 king's liege men in the city to aid him in the work " at 
 thair peril." ^ 
 
 But peace was not to be restored by these means, for 
 the city authorities had still to reckon with Huet, who 
 lay in prison. By the " meane of his fr&ndes," the 
 account goes on, he " labored vnto my lord of Warrewyk 
 
 ' i.e. umpire. - Lcot Booh, i. 199. 
 
126 Life in an Old English' Toivn 
 
 for favior and ease to be had yn the said decree at my 
 lordes instaunoe, so that to ouer grete rebuke ne charge 
 were not don to the seid William yn makyng therof. 
 And theruppon the seid mair, allethough after his 
 dimeretys, well and indifferently be hym vnderstondon, 
 he were worthy to have made as lowly submission as 
 cowde be thought therfore, and to have boron to the 
 vtmost of his godes be sides that, and rightwesnes with- 
 out mercy shold have ben don therin ; but at the seid 
 instaunce leyiag rightwesnes apart and folowyng mercy," 
 the mayor "made his laude and decree thus : that the 
 seid William Huet shuld be of good seying and behavyug 
 fro that tyme fourth, and that he shnld yeve the seid 
 William Bedon X marcs in amendes toward his costes. 
 And so he did, which amountid not to the thryd peny 
 that he had made hym to spends ; and yette further at 
 my seid lordes instaunce " — here the mayor, sadly con^ 
 fused and harassed by the divergence of the paths of 
 " mercy " and " righteousness," takes up the account in 
 his own person — " my worshipfull brethern and I so 
 eliectuelly entreted the seid William Bedon, that he yave 
 the seid William Huet agayn V nobles of the seid X 
 marcs." Then Huet, being further bound over to keep 
 the peace, was " set at his large," or released. 
 
 Owing to these repeated attacks, as well as to the 
 unsettled state of the kingdom, things had not prospered 
 with the Coventry corporation. In 1468 they were £800 
 in arrears of their annual ferm of £50. The sheriff was 
 Ordered to seize the goods of the mayor and men of the 
 place as distress. He could find no more than 106s. 
 
Tlte Corporation and the Commonalty 127 
 
 worfcli of goods, and these "remained on his hands for 
 lack of buyers," " and since the said mayor and men had 
 no other goods or lands within the bailiwick that could 
 be taken into the king's hands, no further payment was 
 then made,' * a rather amusing betrayal of the helpless- 
 ness of the central government. But the Trinity and 
 Corpus Christl guilds were bodies possessed of great 
 wealth, though upon their funds the exchequer had no 
 claim, thauks to the astuteness of the corporation in thus 
 disposing of its possessions. But no doubt the I'esources 
 both of guilds and townsmen were . failing, even as those 
 of the monastery, for in 1466 the prior was £560 in 
 arrears to the Crown for the rent of the Earl's-half ; his 
 tenants in the city raust therefore have been backward in 
 paying the rent due to the priory treasury. And to add 
 to the genei'al confusion in 1469 the commonalty rose 
 crying that they were defrauded of their lawful share of 
 the Lammas lands. More serious than all, when civil 
 war again broke loose and Edward and Warwick 
 measured swords together, the men of Coventry chose 
 the losing side, nor did a too late repentance avail to save 
 them from the terrible humiliation of a temporary 
 forfeiture of their franchises. 
 
 ' Madox, Firma Bargi, 'ill ; Green, Town Life, II. 216. 
 
IX 
 
 C'OVKNTEY AXD THE KINGDOM OF EXGLAND 
 
 So far was Coventry from the great centres of the 
 national life, that there is little to connect the place 
 in the earlier part of its history with the history of the 
 kingdom. Now and then, it is true, a great stranger 
 coming from London with his face set towards Chester 
 and the parts of the west, might travel through the 
 little town, bnt his coming scarcely affected the lives 
 of the inhabitants. Occasionally they were visited by 
 a very important personage, and bestirred themselves 
 to get suitable lodging, food, and conveyances for the 
 immense retinue wherewith the lord king travelled in 
 those days. But the monarchs at first troubled the 
 city little. It was too far from the royal manors where 
 good hunting was, like Marlborough, Clarendon or 
 Woodstock, to be an attractive or convenient place of 
 sojourn even for such restless si^irits as Henry II. or 
 John. William I. may have passed through the town 
 on his way from Warwick to Nottingham on one of 
 his journeys to crush the rebellious Saxons, and Stephen, 
 as we have seen, swept down on the castle — that famous 
 " castlelet or pile "^ in Earl Street — and razed it to the 
 
 1 This castle, afterwards rebuilt, fell into decay, and was 
 
Coventry and the Kingdom of England 129 
 
 ground. Heuiy III. probably paid the inbabitants a 
 longer visit. During the siege of Kenilwortb, which 
 lasted from Midsummer to December 1266, the neigh- 
 bourhood was the centre of military operations, but 
 when the castle containing the remnant of De Mont- 
 fort's following surrendered, the smouldering fii-es of 
 civil war died away. Bat of all these events the local 
 documents tell us nothing. In sjpite of the stirring 
 scenes enacted at Kenilwortb, scarce five miles away, 
 we do not know whether the folk of the town took part 
 with De Montfort or with the king. 
 
 The city has no associations with Edward I., but his 
 son, who had strong partisans among the convent folk, 
 appointed a levy to meet him at Coventry on February 
 28, 1322, before he went to fight with and defeat Lan- 
 caster at Boroughbridge.i In spite of her close con- 
 nection with the place, Isabella never, it appeai-s, visited 
 her tenants there. But her ears were always open to 
 the complaints of the hard usage they received at the 
 prior's hands, and messengers doubtless often travelled 
 between Coventry and Castle Rising in Noi'folk, to 
 bear news to the queen of her enemy's undoing. She 
 also took the Grey Triars, who had become famous 
 for their sanctity, under her protection, and a letter 
 from her, written at their request, begging that there 
 
 let out into tenements. Cheylesmore, where the De Mohauts 
 lived, had originally been a nursery for the earl of Chester's 
 children (Stowe in Harl. MS. 539 No. 4 ; see also Corp. MS. 
 C. 61). 1 Stuhbs, Conist. Hist. II. 19. 
 
 K 
 
130 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 might be no interference with their privileges of burial, 
 is still extant.i At that time many bodies of great folk, 
 who "as Franciscans thought to pass disguised," were 
 buried clothed in the habit of the order in the Grey- 
 Friars' chapel, bringing no small profit to that famous 
 house. No doubt the queen's protection of their rivals 
 was another drop in the monks' cup of bitterness. 
 
 After Cheylesmore and the Earl's-half became a royal 
 manor, kings and princes very frequently visited the 
 city ; for as Coventry had by this time become an im- 
 portant place — already accounted the fifth city in the 
 kingdom — its wealth was an attraction to needy kings, 
 who desired to be on good terms with burghers who 
 were becoming a power in the land. In 1397 Coventry 
 witnessed the preparations for the duel between Henry 
 Bolingbroke and Mowbray, duke of Norfolk. The 
 splendour of royal and knightly accoutrements at this 
 meeting must have dazzled the sober townsfolk, and 
 perhaps they shared in the bewilderment of the Court 
 at the strange vacillation of the king, who, when all 
 preparations were made, forbade the duel to take place. 
 Of the whole scene, however, the local chroniclers tell 
 us nothing. It is to Holinshed^ that we look for the 
 description of that " sumptuous theater " wherein the 
 lists were made ready for the combat ; and wherein too, 
 after the combat had been stayed, the two adversaries 
 sat two long hours waiting until the king's pleasure 
 
 1 Sharp, Anliq. 179; Vol. of Correspondence, Corp. MS. A. 7Si, 
 f. 1. '-' Holinshed, III. 494. 
 
Coventry and the Kingdom of England 1 3 1 
 
 should be known. When sentence of banishment was 
 pronounced and leave-takings over, " the duke of 
 Norfolk departed sorrowfullie into Almanie, and at the 
 last came to Venice, where he for thought and melan- 
 cholie deceased"; for Harry Bolingbroke, however, 
 whose sentence was not like his adversary's, for life, 
 but for ten years, many active days remained. Gosford 
 Grreen, where this scene was enacted, is still a green, 
 and as yet unbuilt on. The ruins of Calaudon Castle, 
 where Mowbray, duke of Norfolk, passed the night 
 before the meditated encounter with Bolingbroke, are 
 still visible from the highway leading from Stoke to 
 Leicester, but all trace of Baginton Castle, where his 
 adversary slept, have since disappeared. Richard was 
 lodged in a tower belonging to Sir William Bagot, about 
 a quarter of a mile without the town. Sir William, 
 who with Bushy and Greene acquired such unenvi- 
 able notoriety as creatures of Richard II., lies buried 
 in Baginton church, where a monumental brass of rare 
 workmanship, now placed immediately under the rafters 
 of the chancel roof, once marked the place where ho 
 was laid. 
 
 The coming down of the king and Court to Coventry 
 must have created a sore disturbance. Such a host 
 always travelled with their royal master, and so numer- 
 ous were the exactions of the purveyors. These officers 
 requisitioned anything of which they stood in need for 
 the king's service — carts and horses, hay and oats, food 
 and wine. For all these they were compelled by statute 
 to pay fall mai-ket price, but frequently they did no 
 
132 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 more than give a tally, and merely promised payment.^ 
 We liave ia Northampton a sorry picture of the liavoc 
 these exactions wrought. When Henry III. died, he 
 owed £400 to the community of this town, because his 
 purveyors had taken goods to that value during the 
 last twenty years of his reign in the fairs of North- 
 ampton, Stamford, S. Ives, Boston, Winchester, and 
 S. Edmund's. He also owed £100 to the drapers of 
 the first-named town for cloth. And many of the towns- 
 folk, runs the bitter complaint, had abandoned their 
 homes through poverty, and were dying of hunger or 
 begging their bread.^ A hundred years later the con- 
 dition of the people was still desperate. They mur- 
 mured at these exactions, but secretly, for, as they tell 
 us in a popular poem of the day : — 
 
 " We moste speke faire for drede." 
 The hated purveyors still come — 
 
 " To haue whete and otya at the kyngis nede : 
 And over that befe and Mutton, 
 And hutter and pulleyn [poultry], so God me spede I 
 And our payment shalbe a styk of A hough." " 
 
 Truly villagers and townsfolk were in terror of the 
 king's coming. 
 
 The royal retinue was preceded by twenty-four 
 archers, and consisted of nobles, courtiers, officers of 
 
 1 See, for instance, Langland, Piers Plowman, Pass. IV. 57-8 
 ed. Skeat, Clarendon Press), 38. A tally was a rod of hazel 
 (one of a pair that tallied), with notches on it to indicate the 
 amount owed. 2 Pollock and Maitland, mst. Law, I. 666. 
 
 » i.e. tally. See Pierce the Plour/hman's Crede (ed. Skeat), 70. 
 
Coventry and tJie Kingdom of England 133 
 
 the household, ministers of justice, parties in lawsuits, 
 and a herd of adventurers and adventuresses of the 
 lowest class. Some rode, others drove in heavy spring- 
 less chariots, beautifully ornamented, but slow and in- 
 convenient. '^ A court of justice accompanied the king 
 wherever he went, for the steward and marshal of the 
 household had jurisdiction, superseding other authority 
 of shire or borough, over an area of twelve miles to be 
 counted from the king's lodging.^ Before setting forth 
 the steward gave notice to the sheriff of the place where- 
 in the king proposed to sojourn, so that prisoners might 
 be brought thither for trial at the household officers' 
 court. The king himself, when he came to Coventry, 
 was usually quartered at the priory, the princes of Wales 
 occasionally at the earl of Chester's palace at Cheyles- 
 more, but the vast retinue found shelter within the town. 
 At the command of the marshal the doors of the jjrin- 
 cipal folk of the place were marked with chalk, and the 
 dwellers there found they had to accommodate some mem- 
 ber of the royal party. Once indeed a qaeen and her 
 ladies took up their abode for one night at the house of 
 a simple burgher. Margaret of Anjou, who came to see 
 the famous Mystery Plays in 1457, was lodged at the 
 house of " Richard Wode, the grocer, where Richard 
 
 • See illustration in Jusserand, Wayfariny Life, 9G. 
 
 ^ Green, I. 209. Thi.s mode of administering of justice be- 
 came much disliked. When towns were ricli and powerful 
 enough, it was ciistomary tn make the mayor steward and 
 marshal of the household. ('uventrj' obtained this privilege 
 in 1451, 
 
134 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Sliarpe some time dwelled," and ate a gorgeous supper 
 there of the mayor's providing, consisting among other 
 things of "orynges, couufetys, and gynger." The men of 
 London early acquired certain privileges with regard 
 to the housing of the court. Counsel had to be taken 
 with the mayor before this wholesale billeting began ; 
 and when Edward TI.'s marshal once neglected this 
 preliminary measure, a citizen, who found a royal secre- 
 tary quartered on his household, forthwith turned this 
 unlooked-for visitor out into the street.^ 
 
 Other notable travellers came in these three centuries 
 to Coventry, but secretly, for they wished to escape pur- 
 suit. Many evil-doers claimed the protection of the 
 Church in those days, and when any fugitive laid hold on 
 the knocker of the church door, he was safe from pur- 
 suit.^ On entering the sanctuary, he made confession of 
 his crime, and, if he left of his own free will, he must 
 abjure the kingdom, and make straight for some port 
 appointed him by the coroner, there to take ship for 
 foreign lands. Many criminals on quitting the sanctu- 
 ary found their enemies lying in wait, and perished, 
 although they held the cross, symbol of the Church's pro- 
 tection, in their hand. Men feared to incur the penalty 
 of excommunication, which the violation of sanctuary 
 always brought, by dragging Faulkes de Breaute from 
 Coventry church ; and this Norman adventurei', whom 
 
 » Biley, Liher Alius, 303-5. 
 
 " On the rights of sanctuary and its in-ivileges, see Jusserand, 
 152 sqq. A knocker of this kind remains in the church of Soli- 
 hull, AVarwickshire. 
 
Coventry and the Kingdom of England 1 3 5 
 
 the favour of John and Henry III. had raised to 
 riches and greatness until he was " plusquam rex in 
 Anglia " — of more acconnt than the king — put himself 
 under the bishop's protection, and travelled in his com- 
 pany to Bedford to throw himself on the king's mercy. 
 He was banished the kingdom. With him fell, in 1222, 
 the foreign party under Peter des Roches, who for so 
 many years had thwarted the designs of Henry's great 
 minister, Hubert de Burgh. ^ 
 
 At the time of the Peasant Revolt in 1.381 John Ball 
 was taken in hiding within the city, where he had 
 possibly a home or relatives. The commonalty of the 
 city had, may-be, given ear to his doctrines of equality 
 and communism in former days, for there was at that time 
 great suffering and discontent among the poorer folk. 
 The artizans were oppressed not by their lord — as the 
 men of S. Alban's or Bury S. Edmund's — but by their 
 own fellow- townsfolk, the rich merchants, who held high 
 office in the corporation. Tear after year there comes 
 the saiue complaint. This or that mayor enclosed the 
 common pasture lands, so that the people had not suffi- 
 cient grass for their cattle, or refused to punish his 
 brethren and allies the victuallers, who broke the assize 
 of bread, so that the people were cheated of the barest 
 necessaries of life. The enraged artizans, who " cast 
 loaves at the mayor's head because the bakers kept not 
 the assize, neither did the mayor punish them according 
 to his office," would no doubt listen gladly to the dis- 
 
 1 Dirt. Xat. Biograpliy, s.v. Breaute. 
 
136 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 courses of this old-time socialist. " ye good people," 
 he would say to the assembled multitude, " the maters 
 gothe nat well to passe in Englande, nor shall nat do tyll 
 every thyng be common. . . . We be all come fro 
 one father and one mother, Adam and Eve. Wherby 
 can they [the gentlemen] say or shewe that they be 
 gretter lordes than we be ? . . . They dwell in fayre 
 houses, and we have the payne and traueyle, raine and 
 wynde in the felds ; and by that that cometh of our 
 labours they kepe and maynteyne their estates. . . . 
 Thus Jehan [Ball] said . . . and the people . . . 
 wolde murraure one with another in the feldes and in 
 the wayes as they went togyder, affermyng howe Jehan 
 Ball sayd trouthe," 1 Change a word here and there, 
 substitute "merchant" for "gentleman," and "in the 
 workshops" for "in the fields," and you have a dis- 
 course which would have greatly enraged the men of 
 Coventry at the time of the Peasant Revolt. 
 
 The murmur about another name, greater than that of 
 John Ball, had also reached the citizens. Lutterworth is 
 scarcely fifteen miles distant from Coventry, and if wo 
 may jiidge by the tale of subsequent troubles and per- 
 secutions, there were many followers of WicklifEe within 
 the city.^ 
 
 It is fitting that in a city so unorthodox the first 
 
 1 Berners, Froissart's Chron. quoted in Jusseraud, 285. 
 
 " "Warwickshire may have been a county addicted to Lol- 
 lardry. John Lacy, vicar' of Chesterton, near Warwick, was 
 charged with receiving and harhouring the famous Oldcastle, 
 Lord C'ohham (Onslow and Smith, Diocesan Hi>:t. Woreeater, 103). 
 
Coventry and the Kingdom of England 137 
 
 attack should be made on the vast possessions of the 
 Church. At the summoning of the " unlearned parlia- 
 ment " in 1404 a special precept was given to the sheriffs 
 to prevent tbe return of those skilled in the law as mem- 
 bers of parliament, and Coventry, remote as it was from 
 the law-courts at Westminster, was a happy spot to 
 choose for such an assembly. The respect the rlergy had 
 once commanded was now withheld from them by reason 
 of the dissolute lives so many led, and their greed of 
 Avealth, whereto wo find such abundant allusion in Lang- 
 land and Chaucer; and the proposal to appropriate the 
 wealth of the church to secular ends was well liked 
 by the knights of the shire. Archbishop Arundel 
 pleaded in response to this attack that the clergy 
 gave tenths and the laity only fifteenths towards the 
 king's necessities ; moreover, the Church was not wanting 
 day nor night in rendering the king service by masses 
 and prayei'S to implore God's blessing upon him. Where- 
 at Sir John Cheyne, the speaker of the Common.^, with a 
 stern countenance, said '' that he valued not the pi'ayers 
 of the Church." Bat it was early days for such words 
 as these. " It might easily be seen what would become 
 of the kingdom," was the severe reply, " when devout 
 addresses to Clod, wherewith His Divine Majesty was 
 pleased, were set so light by." The work of Henry VIII. 
 was not to be anticipated, and the knights desisted fi-om 
 the attempt at the threat of excommunication. ^ 
 
 ' Dugdalp, Wariv. I. 142. The only reference to Covcntr3' in 
 the business uf tliis i^arliament is a petition from the convent 
 
138 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 The town was witness at this time of an example of 
 the lack of reverence for the mysteries of religion dis- 
 played by the people who were about the person of the 
 king. Dysentery was very prevalent at Coventry during 
 the session of parliament, and one day the archbishop 
 of Canterbury encountered a procession bearing the Host 
 through the streets to some sick man's bedside. ^ The 
 archbishop bent his knee, but the king's knights and 
 esquires, not interrupting their conversation, turned their 
 backs upon the Sacrament. The ecclesiastic was filled 
 with holy indignation at such irreverence. "Never be- 
 fore was the like abomination beheld among Christian 
 men," he cried, and went to complain of the offenders 
 to the king. Henry was at first loth to punish his fol- 
 lowers, but he was finally moved to do so by the pre- 
 late's eloquence, for the House of Lancaster in its weak- 
 ness had allied itself with the Church, and looking to 
 that body for support, the king was careful not to alien- 
 ate so powerful a friend as the archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 The Lancastrian kings were, however, better known in 
 the city as borrowers than as champions of the orthodox 
 faith. Royal folk at that time, in spite of their great 
 array and state, were often at a loss for ready money, 
 and the treasury of Henry lY. was notoriously an empty 
 one. Henry V. too, wanting money to prosecute his 
 wars, in the third year of his reign borrowed 200 marks 
 from the mayor and community, leaving in pledge "his 
 
 against the men of Coventry, ivho injured tlie conduit built by 
 the people of the priory (Corp. MS. B. 34). 
 
 ■ Trokelowe and Blaneforde, Chron. S. Alhani (ed. Eiley), 394. 
 
Coventry aud the Kingdom of England 139 
 
 great collar, called Ikelton collar," ^ garnished -with 4 
 rubies, 4 great sapphires, 32 great pearls, and 53 other 
 pearls of a lesser sort, weighing 36| oz., and then vahied 
 at £500. When the king or any great noble desired to 
 borrow, and the citizens were willing to lend, collectors 
 were appointed by the corporation to go through each 
 ward and take from every man his contribution towards 
 the loan. Each citizen paid, according to his abilitj^, 
 a sum varying from 13s. 4ti., taken from the most sub- 
 stantial people, to a penny from those of the poorest 
 class.^ The extext of evei'y one's property, was more or 
 less accurately gauged on these occasions, and was 
 a matter of common knowledge. Where there was so 
 little privacy in life aud such frequent assessments, 
 neither wealth nor poverty could well be hid. 
 
 Henry V. seems to have been much beloved in Coven- 
 try, if we may judge by the hearty welcome given to him 
 on his coming thither on March 21, 1421. The mayor 
 and council ordered that £100 and a gold cup worth £10 
 should be presented to the king, and the same to the 
 queen " in suo adventu a Francia in Coventre," for those 
 times a truly magnificent gift." As prince of Wales 
 Henry had often visited the place,* and kept his court 
 at Cheylesmore Palace. He was a discreet youth, 
 history says, much employed in the Welsh wars, and the 
 tale of his wild doings there, which Shakespeare has 
 
 1 Led Book, f. 20. Issue Roll of Exchequer, H. IIL-VI., 4f)2. 
 
 2 Leet Book, passim. ^ Leet Book, f. Ga. 
 4 He was there in 1411 (Corp. MS. B. 37). 
 
140 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 localised at the Boar's Head Tavern in Eastcheap, rests, 
 we are told, on the untrastworthy basis of Elizabethan 
 tradition.! Bat legend and tradition die hard, and for 
 most of us a pleasant picture ^ arises to the mind at the 
 mention of prince Hal's connexion with Coventry. It 
 is a long road leading from London to the city. A hoary- 
 headed, full-bodied man, with a right boastful carriage, 
 rides along followed by a handful of recruits, the rag-tag 
 and bob-tail of a regiment, with scarce a whole body, 
 weapon, or shirt among them. And two persons ride 
 over the hill to meet them, one a courtier-like cavalier, 
 and the other a slim youth with laughter in his eyes. 
 And the youth throws back his head and laughs, and 
 calls the fat man, "blown Jack," and "quilt," and other 
 opprobrious names. But he laughs back, calling the other 
 " mad wag," and asking him " what the devil " he does 
 " in Warwickshire." For all soldiers were at Shrewsbury 
 by that time and ready for the fight. But this pleasant 
 scene has no claims to be authentic history. 
 
 Troubles connected with religion soon came upon 
 Coventry. In 1424 the preaching of a hermit attracted 
 a groat audience in the Little Park during five days' 
 space. The preacher, one Grace, who had been first a 
 monk, then a friar, and lastly a recluse, disarmed sus- 
 picion by announcing that he had been licensed to preach 
 by the bishop's niinisters of the diocese. At last, how- 
 
 ' Church, Henry V. In thp mayor-lists it is said that John 
 Hornby, maj-or in 1411, arrested the prince in the priory (Harl. 
 I\[S. 6,388 f. l.">). INIay-be Shakespeare heard some local tradition 
 of a freak of the prince. " Shake-ippare. 1 Hen. IV. iv, 2. 
 
Coventry and the Kingdom of England 141 
 
 ever, a report spread that he was not " liceuciate," 
 " and grett seying was a mong the people that the 
 priour and frer Bredon would have cursed all tho' that 
 herden the said John Grace preche." This rumour of 
 the intention of the two most influential churchmen in 
 the city — the head of S. Mary's convent, and the best- 
 known member of the community of Grey Eriars — greatly 
 moved the townsfolk, and the two ecclesiastics above- 
 named, fearful lest harm should befall them, refused to 
 leave Trinity church, whither they had repaired for 
 evensong, until the mayor should come to appease the 
 multitude. " Notwythstandyng they might have goone 
 well inowghe whethur thei wold," the Leei Hook says, 
 with a touch of contempt. And thus it was that a report 
 went about in the country " that the comens of Coventre 
 wer rysen, and wold have distroyd the priour and the 
 seid frer," which report unhappily spread to the ears of 
 those that were about the king. The next year the earl 
 of Warwick and a special commission of justices were 
 sent down from "Westminster to inquire into this move- 
 ment within the city.' For some time the franchises 
 were in danger of confiscation ; but after the citizens had 
 borne great charges, upwards of £80 for "counsel" and 
 other costs, their peace with the ruling powers was 
 made. 
 
 It is natural to infer that this disturbance, which the 
 city authorities treated as so trifling, but which appeared 
 to the powers at "Westminster a highly serious matter, 
 
 > Sharp, Anliq^. 205: Lael Book, f. '24. 
 
142 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 was connected with Lollard preaching. It seems that 
 this obscure sect was never wholly crushed, but lingered 
 on in certain districts probably throughout the fifteenth 
 century. Leicestershire, in Wickliffe's time, had been a 
 perfect hot-bed of heresy. " There was not a man or 
 woman in that county," it has been said, " save priests 
 and nuns, who did not at that time openly profess their 
 di.sbelief in the doctrines of the Church, and their ap- 
 proval of the new views of the Lollards." ' The conta- 
 gion soon spread to Warwickshire. No doubt persecution 
 did its work in many parts. The open profession of 
 Lollardism was highly dangerous in the fifteenth century, 
 and the cause counted many martyrs. The Coventry men 
 were, most likely, implicated in the obscure rising under 
 Jack Sharpe in 1431 ; at least arrests were made in their 
 neighbourhood.^ These oifenders, whose scheme for the 
 disendowment of the Church was both behind and in 
 advance of those times, were shown no mercy, but suf- 
 fered the penalty of treason. The bishops of Coventry, 
 at a later date, made the city the theatre of their perse- 
 cutions. In 14!85 Foxe records that various people of 
 Coventry were "troubled for religion," and compelled to 
 recant, though not without injunction to penance.^ The 
 annals tell us they bore faggots about the city on the 
 market day, the dread of fire being no doubt more con- 
 vincing to the suspected heretics than the bishop's logic. 
 But in the next generation both men and women had 
 
 1 Tliompson, Hist. Leicester (pocket ed.), 78. 
 
 " Proceedings Privy Council, IV. 89. Ramsay, Lam. and Yorlc, 
 I. 437. 5 Foxe, Martyrs (1823), XXXIX. 
 
Coventry and the Kingdom of England 143 
 
 strength to endure to the end. In loll bishop Blythe 
 held a " Court of Heresy " at Maxstoke, but the accused 
 saved themselves by abjuration, and went thi-ough the 
 form of bearing faggots throughout the city. All were 
 not thus to be delivered, however, and the next year one 
 Mrs. Joan Ward, who had performed this penance, con- 
 fessed her disbelief in transubstantiation, and her want 
 of faith in the efficacy of image-worship and pilgrimages, 
 and was handed over to the secular arm to be burned. 
 Seven suffered in the Little Park at Coventry this year 
 (1512), say the city annals; but one, who was not 
 staunch enough for martyrdom, recanted, and did penance 
 " on a pipe head," holding a faggot on his shoulder while 
 his comrades were burning. "^ 
 
 Echoes, first of the great doings of Englishmen in the 
 French wars, and then of the reverses which befell them, 
 reach us from time to time, chiefly in the form of requests 
 to relieve the royal poverty. And the chief folk of the 
 town frequently travelled to London in order to procure 
 sureties for repayment of money lent to the king or other 
 members of the royal house. Thus when the' earl of 
 Warwick in 1423 wrote to beg the citizens to relieve the 
 necessities of the child-king Henry, " now in his tender 
 age and greatest need," informing them, as an incentive 
 to their liberality, that the townsmen of Bristol had 
 "notably and kindly acquit them" in these matters, 
 
 1 Harl. MS. 6,388, f. 28. In 152(5 six more were burnt ; their 
 heresy was "because they -would not obey the pope" (!) {lb. 
 f. 29). The next year one Robert Sikerly was taken and burnt 
 for not believing in transubstantiation (Ibid.). 
 
144 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 the citizens lent £100 willingly enough. But with the 
 prudence which distinguished their everyday doings, 
 they sent John Leder, late mayor, to London to nego- 
 tiate for pledges for^future repayraent,i which sureties, 
 we are told, "might not be gotten without great la- 
 bour."- Richard Joy and Laurence Cook^ undertook a 
 like errand the same year, for the protector Gloucester, 
 the husband of Jacoba of Hainault, who proposed — so he 
 informed the citizens — " to pass over the sea with God's 
 might in his own person, for to relieve . . . his lands 
 and lordships," begged the good folk of Coventry to 
 ease him in his undertaking with £200 " uj)on sufficient 
 surety." Whether the good folk believed that the expedi- 
 tion to Flanders would turn to " right great ease of the 
 people, and especially of the merchants of this realm," as 
 the duke boasted, we cannot tell ; but they sent him 100 
 marks, insisting nevertheless upon obtaining the security 
 he had been so ready to offer. They gave, however, "with 
 all their good hearts " to those more worthy of respect 
 than Gloucester ; and when Talbot was a prisoner in the 
 hands of the French, they sent 2.3 marks towards his 
 ransom.^ To the king's later applicatious for a loan, they 
 usually gave a favourable answer. In 1431 Laurence 
 Cook bore to l^ondon £100, lent for the prosecution of 
 
 1 Ud Boole, f. 2-2-3. = lb. f. 23. 
 
 ^ Ibid. The surety for the loan "might not be gotten without 
 great cost," and the different emissaries of the citizens spent, one 
 40s., one 13s. id., and one £6 Is. lO^d. in journeys to London, 
 Boston, and Sandwich about this business {lb. f. 24). 
 
 ^ lb. f. 48a. 
 
Coventry and the Kingdom of England 145 
 
 the war, " and many lords, spiritual and temporal," the 
 Leet Booh says, " that is to say, the cardinal bishop of 
 Winchester, the bishop of Bath, the bishop of Ely, the 
 bishop of Rochester, lords spiritual, the duke of York, 
 the duke of Norfolk, the earl of Warwick, the eai-1 of 
 Stafford . . with other reverent barons and bachelors 
 
 . . took the water at Dover, and rivedon (arrived) 
 thro' God's grace at Calais, and so comen to the city of 
 Roan (Rouen) by the land of Picardy." 1 
 
 Four years later the government was forced yet again 
 to have recourse to borrowing, and on the occasion of the 
 congress at Arras the same sum was collected to relieve 
 the king's necessities " by way of lone " throughout the 
 wards of the city.^ 
 
 There were other charges besides direct loans that the 
 citizens were forced to support that they might pleasure 
 the members of the royal house. The dukes of Gloucester 
 and Bedford came frequently to the royal castle of Full- 
 brook, which lay some four miles beyond Warwick, and 
 the good folk of the town felt called upon to furnish them 
 with appropriate gifts. Thus in 14.34 a sum of 50 marks, 
 with a silver cup, was presented to the duchess of Bed- 
 ford, and an offering to the duke of 24 pike, 12 bream, 
 12 tench, and a ton of red wine.^ These presents were 
 often not without some political significance. Thus in 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 55. 2 lb. i. 83a. 
 
 ^ lb. f. 68. The total cost of these presents (exclusive of the 
 50 marks and the cup), with the carriage, was £12 15s. id. In 
 addition to this, the expenses of offioei-s and all the worthy men, 
 riding to Fullbrook, amounted to 29s. &d. 
 
 L 
 
146 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 1431, the year wherein the protector Gloucester made a 
 progress through England on the track of the Lollards, 
 the Coventry men who were, it seems, not free from the 
 suspicion of holding unorthodox tenets, sent to the duke 
 and duchess at Fallbrook a silver cup, 40 marks, and a 
 plentiful supply of fish and wine.^ 
 
 Lea Book, f, eOd. 
 
THE BED AXD WHITE ROSE 
 
 We are now come to the time when the history of 
 Coventry is closely interwoven with that of the nation 
 at large. The city and its neighbourhood became the 
 chosen home of the Court circle during the earlier part 
 of the Wars of the Roses. The Lancastrian cause found 
 some of its staunchest supporters among the folk of the 
 " queeu's secret harbour," as the city was called, be- 
 cause Margaret of Anjou so often took refuge therein 
 to plot and scheme for the undoing of the Yorkists. 
 But the devotion of Coventry to Lancaster did not last 
 throughout the struggle ; the citizens' minds were 
 alienated by the queen's partizan fury at the " Diaboli- 
 cal Parliament " in 1460, and by the unruliness of 
 her troops, and they afterwards professed themselves 
 devoted followers of Edward IV. These professions did 
 not however hinder them from backing the winning 
 side when Edward's supremacy was imperilled through 
 Warwick's revolt, and the Yorkist king punished their 
 treachery by the confiscation of the city liberties. It 
 was only by means of Clarence's costly mediation and 
 -the payment of an enormous fine that the citizens were 
 enabled to make their peace with Edward. Thus Coven- 
 
 U7 
 
148 Life in an Old Englisli Town 
 
 try partook to a greater extent than other towns of the 
 miseries of this dynastic conflict. The citizen class -n-ere, 
 as a rule, only too glad to let the barons fight out the 
 question among themselves, submitting, as far as we can 
 judge, to whichever army was victorious and at their 
 gates. After all, the battles of the Roses meant little 
 more than the concentration of the fighting power of the 
 kingdom, usually at that period employed in desultory 
 local warfare, into one place, and frequent provincial 
 frays and skii-mishes wei-e really more harmful to the 
 district wherein the feud raged than civil war itself. 
 
 For family feuds, sometimes finding vent in pitched 
 battles or in single acts of violence, at others in long 
 lawsuits, were the chief features of the later Lancas- 
 trian time. Courtenay and Bonvill, Neville and Percy 
 measured swords one against the other, and many noble 
 families made the law - courts ring, year in year out, 
 with their litigations. Both James, lord of Berkeley, 
 aged sixty-nine, and lady Shrewsbury, aged fifty-two, 
 declared in 146.3 that neither of them since their 
 ages of discretion had ever known " any three months' 
 freedom from lawsuits." ^ All this violence and litiga- 
 tion sprang from the excessive power of the nobles, and 
 the power the nobles possessed was in its turn owing to 
 the weakness of the central government. It was a time 
 when a strong man was needed to rule England, and the 
 king was but a weak saint. It mattered little what 
 
 ' Green, Town Life, I. 267, cites Lwes of the Berkeleys, II. 95 
 Seo also Denton, Fifteenth Century, passim. 
 
The Red and White Rose izjg 
 
 minister guided Henry's councils. Affairs prospered 
 ill in England whether Sufiolk or Somerset held the 
 i-eins of government in his hand, while in France siuce the 
 death of Bedford the annals of the army had been one 
 uniform story of disaster. Enraged by the incompetency 
 of the ministers of the Crown, and embittered by the 
 failures it brought forth, the people found in Cade's 
 rebellion in 1450, the nobles in the Yorkish opposition, 
 utterance of the universal discontent. 
 
 Happily for the Coventry men there was in the earlier 
 part of the fifteenth century no great lord living within 
 the walls to drag them into his frays and quarrels, 
 and to anticipate that great period of party strife which 
 was so soon to break in upon the kingdom. It is true 
 that the townsfolk had not always been able to keep 
 clear of baronial infiaence. We hear of fighting between 
 the young earl Stafford, the lord of Maxstoke, and the 
 citizens, though we are not told what was the cause of 
 the quarrel. Such animosity was felt by the two parties 
 at variance that in 1426 the duke of Gloucester sum- 
 moned the mayor with others of the citizens to Leicester, 
 and bound them over to keep the peace.' Men held this 
 carl, better known by his later title of the duke of 
 Buckingham, in great awe, for in war-time he could arm 
 two thousand fighting men bearing the Stafford knot.^ 
 " The indignation of the lordship of the said duke," ^ said 
 Sir Baldwin de Montfort, whom Buckingham imprisoned 
 
 Leet Book, f. 42a. ^ Bamsay, Lane, and York, II. 169. 
 
 3 Dugdale, Warw. II. 1,011. 
 
ISO Life in an Old English Town 
 
 in Coventry because he made some difficvilty about sur- 
 rendering his manor of Colesbill into tbe duke's keeping, 
 ..." had in those days been too heavy and unportable 
 for me to have born." We find the citizens, however, 
 on good terms with this omnipotent nobleman during 
 the civil war; and in 1458 the mayor and his brethren 
 received an invitation to come and share in the festivities 
 which took place at Maxstoke Castle on the occasion of 
 the marriage of one of his younger sons. 
 
 It is doubtful whether even Buckingham's great influ- 
 ence would have been sufficient to turn the scale in 
 favour of Lancaster in the coming season of strife if the 
 frequent visits of the king and the princes of the reigning 
 family, as well as the old connexion between the city 
 and the first prince of the blood as duke of Cornwall 
 and earl of Chester, had not bred among the citizens a 
 feeling of loyalty, which kept them on the side of Henry 
 and Margaret for many years. The year 1449 marks a 
 crisis in the reign of king Henry. The reopening of the 
 French war was the herald of a series of swift disasters, 
 which put an end to the rule of the English in France. 
 Town after town opened its gates to the invading host of 
 Frenchmen, and Rouen, and with Rouen the last English 
 foothold in Normandy, capitulated after a siege of nine- 
 teen days. To this pass had England been brought under 
 the guidance of Suifolk and Somerset, and the king not 
 only breathed no word of dismissing these unpopular 
 ministers, but gave them every mark of his favour and 
 support. 
 
 " It was now," says Mr, Oman, in his Warwick the King- 
 
The Red and White Rose 151 
 
 maker,^ " that the final scission of the two parties that 
 were afterwards to be known as Yorkist and Lancastrian 
 took place. Every man of note in England had now to 
 make choice whether his personal loyalty to the king 
 should lead him into acquiescing in the continuance in 
 office of the ministers whom Henry openly favoured, or 
 whether he would set himself in opposition to the Court 
 faction, even though he was thereby led into opposition 
 to the king." 
 
 An unmistakable sign of the times was to be found in 
 the fact that the nobles were quietly arming ; and acting 
 probably on a hint from the Court, the Coventry men 
 made ready to equip a goodly number of men for the 
 city's defence. "Every man that hath been mayor," 
 runs the order of leet, "shall provide 4 jacks," with as 
 many sallets, habergeons, and sheaves of arrows for 
 this purpose ; while late bailiffs, chamberlains, and all 
 commoners able to bear the cost were respectively re- 
 quired to furnish three, two, and one of these several 
 parts of an archer's accoutrement.^ By this means there 
 was provision made for over six hundred men. In the 
 following year, wherein Jack Cade held London in fear 
 for many days, a strong guard of forty armed men kept 
 nightly watch within Coventry." As the year drew to 
 a close, thei'e were expectations of war on every side. 
 Wherefore in the beginning of Richard Boys' mayoralty 
 
 ' Oman, Kiny-maher, 35. 
 
 " Leel Book, S. 144-8. A Jack was a tunic of stuffed leather ; 
 a sallet, a helmet ; and a huhergeon, a short coat of mail. 
 2 Leel Book, f. 149a. 
 
152 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 (1451) it was resolved that all the fortifications should 
 be made ready in case of attack. At a great meeting 
 of the worthies of the council on the Saturday after 
 the feast of the Purification, a plan of operations was 
 laid down " for strengthening this city, if need be, which 
 God forbid." ^ The town ditch was cleansed by common 
 labour, so as to furnish a surer means of protection. 
 Portcullises were made for the gates, and iron chains to 
 close up the ends of divers lanes in the city.^ There was 
 some debate as to whether aldermen should be made over 
 every ward, to whom the men of their several districts 
 might have recourse "if ony aventure falle," but it seems 
 no steps were taken in this direction. Of ammunition 
 the worthy men laid in a plentiful store. Four " gonnes 
 of brasse," two greater called " serpentynes," ^ and two 
 smaller, were cast and brought from Bristol at great cost, 
 for they weighed, we are told, 328 lbs., and the price 
 of transport amounted to 6s. 8d. These guns, " a barell 
 of gonnepowdur,'' thirteen "pelettes" of iron for the 
 larger, and four dozen of lead for the smaller guns, were 
 kept in the tower of Bablake Gate, in readiness for the 
 troubled times which were at hand. 
 
 Though England was rid of Suffolk, who after his 
 impeachment and banishment was killed on board the 
 Nicholas of the Tower by some political enemies, affairs in 
 1451 prospered no better under the guidance of Somerset 
 and the queen, and the whole kingdom was uneasy 
 with foreboding of the coming strife. Doubtless the 
 
 ' Leet Booh, f. 158a. 2 lb. f. 164. » Ih. f. 155. 
 
Tlie Red and Wliite Rose 1 5 3 
 
 news of tho good ordei- whicli prevailed in Coventry, 
 and of the great military efEorts the citizens had made, 
 reached the ears of the king, as he made a progress 
 through the Midlands in the late summer of that year. 
 And on September 21 he came from Leicester, another 
 famous Lancastrian fortress, to bestow his praises on 
 the rulers of the city."^ The men of Coventry made 
 great preparations for his welcoming. And in order 
 to avoid "great stody and labur "hereafter, the mayor 
 " let to compile " the account of the king's reception 
 and residence within the city, a sort of manual of 
 etiquette to be referred to in future. 
 
 " When the kyng our soveren lord," the Leei Book says, 
 " came fro Leycestur toward Coventre, the meyre . . . 
 Richard Boys and his wurthy bredurn arayed in skarlet 
 and all the commonalty ^ cladde in grene gownes and rede 
 hodes, in Hasellwode be yonde the brode oke on horsbak, 
 attented the comeng of our soveren lorde. And also, sone 
 as they haddon syght of our soueren lordes presens, the 
 meyre and his peres lyghton on fote, [and] mekely thries 
 kneleng on their knees dud unto our soueren lorde ther 
 due obeysaunce, the meyre seyeng to liym thes wordes : 
 ' Most highest and gracious kyng, ye ai-n welcome to your 
 true lege menne withe all our hertes " ; and therewith. 
 
 1 Leet Booh, f. 1.5(3. 
 
 2 MS. Colalte : this coutractioiii will be henceforth written in 
 full. I deviate from the MS. in putting capital letters to proper 
 names, and in writing these in full wherever contractions occur. 
 I have also substituted small letters for capitals whenever the 
 latter would cause confusion to the modern reader. 
 
1 54 Life ill an Old English Town 
 
 after taking the mace from a sergeant, he kissed it, and 
 presented it to Henry. " The kyng," the Leet Booh 
 continues, " tarieng and herkening the meyres speche in 
 faverabull wyse seyde thes wordes r ' Well seyde. Sir 
 meyre, take your bors.' The meyre then rode fortbe 
 afore the kyng bereng his mase in his honde with the 
 knyght-constabuU next afore the kynges swerde, the 
 bayles of this cite rideng afore the meyre withe ther 
 mases in ther hondes makeng wey & rome for the 
 kynges comeng ; and so they ridon afore the kyng till the 
 kyng come to the vtter ' yate of the priory. The kyng 
 then forthewithe send for the meyre and his bredurn be 
 a knyght to come to his presence and to speke withe hym 
 in his chambur, and the meyre and his peres accordeng 
 to the kynges comaundement come into his chambur, 
 and thries ther knelleng dudde ther obeysaunse. Thomas 
 Lytelton then recordur^ seyde unto the kyng suche wordes 
 as was to his thynkyng most pleasaunt, our soueren 
 lorde seyeng agayne thes wordes, ' Sirs, I thank you of 
 your goode rule and demene and in speciall for your 
 goode rule the last yere past for the best ruled pepnll 
 thenne withe in my reame. And also I thank you for 
 the present that ye nowe gaue to vs ' — the whiche 
 present was a tonne wyne & XX" grete fatte oxon. 
 The kyng then moreover gaf hem in comaundement to 
 govern well his cite and to see his pease be well kepte as 
 
 ' Outer. 
 
 2 Thomas Littleton, of famous memor3-, whom Coke made 
 familiar to all. This official -(vas the exponent of the law in the 
 mayor's court. 
 
The Red and White Rose 155 
 
 hit hathe ben aforetyme, seying thenne to hem he wolde 
 be ther goode lorde, and so the meyre and his peres 
 departed." 
 
 With what a glow of pride the town clerk must have 
 recorded all these gracious sayings, little knowing that 
 the king's good will could avail them nothing in the 
 troublous times that were at hand ! Henry, it appears, 
 remained several days at Coventry, the earl of Salisbury 
 and the duke of Buckingham attending upon him there 
 with a numerous following. He was engaged, the 
 historian tells us, upon an ineffectual attempt to bring 
 the dukes of York and Somerset to friendly terms,^ but 
 the former, far from desiring peace, was at that moment 
 weaving plans for his rival's overthrow. The good- 
 hearted king did not neglect religion in all this pressure 
 of political business.- " The kyng then abydeng stille 
 in the seide priory apon Michaelmas Evon sende to the 
 clerke of his closet to the churche of sent Michell to 
 make redy ther his closette, seyeng that the kyng on 
 Michaelmas day wolde go on procession and also her 
 there hygh masse." The "meyre and his peres" sug- 
 gested that the bishop of Winchester (Waynflete) should 
 be asked to officiate. " And agayoe the kynges comeng 
 to sent Michell churche, the meyre and his peres cladde 
 in skarlet gownes with ther clokes and all oder in 
 ther skarlet gownes wenton vnto the kynges chambur 
 darre ther abydeng the kynges comeng.'' As an especial 
 honour to the Trinity guild and corporation the clerks 
 
 ' Jiamsay, II. 147. - Led Boole, f. I'jiSa. 
 
IS6 Life ill an Old English Toivn 
 
 of Bablake went in the procession through S. Michael's 
 churchyard before the celebration, the king devoutly 
 walking in the train, bare-headed, and " cladde in a 
 gowne of gold tussu furred with a furre of marturn 
 sabull, the meyre bareng the mase afore the kyng, 
 tille he come agayne to his closette. At 
 the whyche masse when the king had ofEerd and lies 
 lordes also, he sende the lorde Bemond (Beaumont) his 
 chamburlen to the meyre, seyeng to him, ' hit is the 
 kinges will ye and your bredurn come and offer,' and 
 so they dudde." After the evensong the king sent by 
 " two for his body and two yeomen of the crown," " the 
 seyde gowne and furre . . . and gave hit frely to god 
 and to sent Miohell. Ynsomyche that non of them that 
 brought the gown wolde take no rewarde in no wyse." ' 
 The beautiful piece of Flemish tapestry still preserved 
 in S. Mary's Hall is said to commemorate this act of 
 piety on the part of this unfortunate king. 
 
 Henry did not remain long in Coventry after the cele- 
 bration of the Michaelmas festival. On the following 
 Tuesday he went to Kenilworth, the corporation and the 
 " commonalty " riding with the company and preserving 
 the same order as they had used at his welcoming a few 
 days previously. When they came to Asthill Grove, 
 " agayne a brode lane the (that) ledethe to Canley . . . 
 the kyng willeng to speke with the meyre and his bred- 
 urn seyde to hem thes wordes : ' Sires, I thank you of 
 your goode rule and demene at this tyme, and for goode 
 
 • Leet Book, f. io6a ; Sharp, Anliq. 17. 
 
y. H 
 
 K O 
 
 
The Red and White Rose 157 
 
 rule among yoa hadde and in speciall for your good 
 rule of the yere last past, and where as ye ben now 
 baylies we will that ye be herafter sherefes, and this 
 we graunt to you of onr own fre wille and of no spesiall 
 desii-e. Moreover,' " he went on, mindfal no doubt of 
 his own danger, and of the preparations for war among 
 the factious nobles of the country,^ " ' we charge you 
 withe our pease among you to be kepte and that ye suf- 
 fer no ryottes, conventiculs ne congregasions of lewde 
 pepuU among you, and also that (ye) suifer no lordes 
 lyvereys, knyghtes, ne swyers (squires) to be reseyved 
 of no man withe in you for hit is agayne our statutes 
 . . and yif ye be thus ruled we will be your good 
 lords.' And thus don, the meyre and his bredurn 
 takeng ther leve of the kyng . . . departed and ridon 
 to Coventre agayne," no doubt astounded at the idea of 
 this new responsibility and greatness now thrust upon 
 them. The mayor and council held great consultations 
 concerning the bailiffs' acquisition of the sheriffs' dignity 
 summoning Thomas Littleton, their recorder, and Henry 
 Boteler, who was soon to be this famous lawyer's suc- 
 cessor in the oflBce, to their deliberations, to learn what 
 privileges were most needful for them to include within 
 the charter which was to convert their city into " the 
 city and county of Coventry."^ 
 
 1 See Oman, 36, for the covenant entered into by the earl of 
 Salisbury and a Westmoreland knight in 1449, by which the 
 latter agreed to furnish a following of 290 men to accompany 
 the former in time of peace as of war. 
 
 3 Led Book, f. 156a, The city and the adjoining hamlets 
 
158 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 111 the year 1453, whicli saw the defeat of Talbot at 
 Chatillon, the close of the Hundred Years' War, the 
 outbreak of hostilities between Nevilles and Percies, and 
 the birth of a prince of Wales, Henry was attacked 
 by insanity.i In 1454! the king's recovery maiked the 
 close of the duke of Tork's protectorate and the resto- 
 ration to power of the queen's friends, particularly 
 Somerset. The Yorkist party fell into disgrace, and 
 measures wei'e taken to compass their destruction the 
 following spring in a parliament to be held at Leicester. 
 The duke on hearing this drew sword in the north, and 
 marched on London with a goodly following at his back. 
 The royal troojis barred his way at S. Alban's ; but 
 when the first battle of that long and weary struggle 
 was fought out at that town on the great London high- 
 way, the Coventry men were not found in Henry's ranks. 
 In fact the battle was hardly looked for at that time. 
 It is true the townsfolk received a summons for " such 
 feliship ... in their best and most defensable aray " 
 as they could furnish, and that " having tendurnes of 
 the well fare and also of the saueguard of our soueren 
 lorde," they duly equipped 100 men. Much ado was 
 made to provide the men with a new " pensell " or stan- 
 
 were joined together as a county. The mayor, according to the 
 charter, was made steward and marshal of the king's house- 
 hold. 
 
 1 There ivere great preparations for the civil strife during 
 this year (Eamsay, II, 169). The prince of Wales was invested 
 with the appanage of Cornwall in 1455 (Ih. II. 219). The 
 Coventry men thenceforth owned him as their lord and pro- 
 tector. 
 
The Red and White Rose 159 
 
 dard " in tarturne," at a cost of \%i., 14cZ. went " in 
 rybands " to the same, while the making, with a tassel 
 of silk attached to it, cost a similar sum; "bends," or 
 badges of red and green, were also provided, with a 
 garment of red, green, and violet for the captain. 
 Bat in spite of all this preparation the men never saw 
 S. Alban's fight, or the terrible execution done by 
 Richard, earl of Warwick, among the Lancastrian ranks. 
 For on May 22, the day whereon the mayor received 
 the commission, the battle was fought and over, and 
 the king in the hands of his victorious enemies. " They 
 wenton not," says the lieet Booh, with some reticence 
 in referring to the soldiers, " for certen tydenges that 
 wern brought," the king having returned to London.^ 
 
 Henry was shortly after this again attacked by in- 
 sanity, and for a few months York was appointed regent. 
 Duke Richard's power did not however wholly cease 
 with the king's recovery, and after March 1456 he con- 
 tinued for some months to direct the government, which 
 was nominally in the hands of the Bourchiers, half- 
 brothers of the duke of Buckingham. Meanwhile the 
 two arch-enemies, the queen and the duke of York, 
 watched and " waited on " each other ceaselessly until 
 August, when Margaret's plans were laid, and she drew 
 off the king to sport in the Midlands, having fortified 
 Kenilworth with cannon in case of another appeal to 
 arms. A great council of notables was summoned to 
 meet at Coventry for October 7.^ The news of the 
 
 ' Leel Book, i. 165«; -' Eamsay, II. 199. 
 
i6o Life in an Old E)igHsh Town 
 
 queen's intended visit reached the city about August 24, 
 and a council was called to provide for her highness's 
 welcome. 1 A hundred marks vs^as collected through- 
 out the wards to be given as an offering to the prince 
 of Wales and his mother, together with two cups whereof 
 the joint value exceeded £10 10s. The prince did 
 not, however, accompany the queen on this occasion, so 
 fifty marks were laid aside " against his coming," 
 though the magnificence of his mother'.s reception was 
 not lessened on this account. The " makyng of the 
 premesses " of the queen's welcoming fell to the lot of 
 one John Wedurby, of Leicester,^ and by his arrangement 
 pageants as gaily dressed as at the Corpus Christ! 
 festival, with appropriate personages standing thereon to 
 utter words of welcome, were placed at all the principal 
 points in the streets between Bablake and the "utter" 
 gate of the Priory. John Wedurby thought as other 
 men of his time, that Margaret's son would one day 
 have rule in England, and hoped that each party would 
 forget their differences and live in peace under his 
 government. 
 
 " The blessyd babe that ye have born prynce Edward is he, 
 Thurrowe whom pece & tranqiiilite shall take this reme 
 (realm) on hand," 
 
 said Prudence to the queen in the pageant of the four 
 Cardinal Virtues ; while the prophet Isaiah declared to 
 the queen that, — 
 
 "Like as mankynde was gladdid by the birght of Jehus, 
 So shall this empyre joy the birthe of your bodye." 
 
 1 Leet Book, f, 167o. 2 lb, f. 170o, 
 
The Red and White Rose i6.t 
 
 And the companion prophet Jeremiali was equally 
 positive: 
 
 " The fragrant floure sproiigen of you shall so encrece & 
 sprede, 
 That all the world yn ich (each) party shall cherisshe hym & 
 love & drede." 
 
 In his conception of the queen's character Wedurby 
 was a thorough courtier. 
 
 " The mellyflue mekenes of your person shall put all wo 
 away," 
 
 the same prophet said; and S. Edward greeted her 
 as " moder of mekeness." 
 
 To what strange freaks will not the rules of his art — 
 and especially alliteration — betray a poet! The "she 
 wolf of France" had nothing of the quality thus assigned 
 to her; her name had merely the same initial letter. 
 
 The king and queen entered Coventry on Holy 
 Cross day, by the Bablake Gate.' Close by the entrance 
 was a pageant whereon stood the two above-named 
 pi'ophets, and a "Jesse" or figure representing the 
 genealogy of Christ was placed upon the gate itself. 
 At the east end of Bablake church were the figures 
 of the Confessor — in allusion to prince Edward — and 
 S. John the Evangelist. A few paces distant at the 
 conduit in Smithford Street the four Cardinal Virtues 
 were displayed. A second set of pageants, grouped in 
 the open spaces at the Cheaping, next met the queen's 
 eyes. There were the Nine Conquerors, Hector, Alex- 
 
 ' Led Boole, ff. lG3a-70a, printed in Sharp, Anliq. pp. 22S-2c;i. 
 
 M 
 
t62 Life in an Old English town 
 
 ander, and the rest; and finally by the conduit a stage 
 was placed whereon S. Margaret appeared, "sleying" 
 a grete dragon '^by myracull." While upon the cross 
 itself were grouped a company of angels, and the pipes 
 of the conduit ran wine. The king— that most unwarlike 
 of monai-ohs— received the homage of the Nine Con- 
 querors, while the queen's name-saint gave to her a final 
 salutation : 
 
 "Most notabull prmoes of wymen erthle, 
 Dame Margarete, the ohefe myrtli of tliie empyre, 
 Ye be hertely ivclcum to this cyte, 
 
 To the plesure of your highnes I wyll sette my desyre, 
 Bothe nature & geutilnes cloth me require, 
 Seth we he both of one name, to shew you kyndnes, 
 Wherfore by my power ye shall have no disstresse ; 
 I shall pray to the prince that is endeles, 
 To socour you with solas of his high grace. 
 He wyll here my peticion, this is doutles. 
 For I wrought all my lyf that his wyll wase ; 
 Therefore, lady, when ye be yn any dredeful case. 
 Call on me boldly, ther of I pray you, 
 And trist to me feythfully I well do that may pay you."' 
 
 John Wedurby was, no doubt, an indifferent poet, but 
 viewed in the light of subsequent events, his verses have 
 all sorts of ironical and tragic meanings, whereof he was, 
 of course, wholly unconscious. 
 
 The pageants and welcome entertainments cost the 
 citizens not a little, we may suppose, in time and trea- 
 sure. They made the king a present of a tun of wine 
 costing £8 Os. 4(i. ; while by the " advice of his council " 
 the mayor distributed 20s. among " divers persons of the 
 king's house." ' Lord Rivers too had a glass of rose- 
 
 1 Lid Book, L 170«. On. this lavish system of bribes to secure 
 
The Red and White Rose 163 
 
 water at the mayor's expense, whereof the cost was 2^. ; 
 thirteen years later his lordship had a very bitter drink 
 at Coventry.i Still the coming of the Court no doubt 
 brought trade to the city ; had it brought also peace, all 
 would have been well. The council met on October 7, 
 and a blow was aimed at the duke of York iu the 
 dismissal of the Bourchiers.^ It was even said that 
 the duke's life was in danger, but that his kinsman, 
 the duke of Buckingham, assisted him to escape. Mar- 
 garet required the presence of Somerset to lend strength 
 to her party, and with him there came, it seems, 
 a company of turbulent retainers. These men fell 
 out with the city-watch and slew three or four of the 
 townsmen ; whereat, says a writer in the Paston series, 
 " the larum belle was ronge and the toun arose and 
 would have jouperdit to have distressed the men of the 
 duke of Somerset, ne had the duke of Buks taken 
 direccion therin." ^ Coventi-y was already ceasing to be 
 the well-ordered and peaceful place whereon the mind 
 of king Henry loved to dwell. Next year we hear that 
 the civic finances were disorganized, that the officers of 
 the city were negligent in the performance of their duty, 
 and that the citizens, being " of froward dispositions," 
 
 the friendship of great folk, see Green, I. 212 : " Bribes were 
 given largely and openly,' registered in the public accounts 
 and given to any official, great or small, who might be induced 
 to show his friendship." 
 
 ' Beheaded on Gosf ord Green, 1469. • - 
 
 2 York and Warwick swore to keep the peace (Ramsay, II 
 .199). 3 Padon Letters (ed. Gairdner), I. 408. 
 
1 64 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 ■were inclined to appeal to "mighty men in strange 
 shires " for their support in carrying on lawsuits against 
 their neighbours in courts without the city.' 
 
 In Febi'uary, 1457, the court was again at Coventry ; 
 the king came thither on the 11th "to his bedde," 
 and the queen coming "suddenly" next day "unto her 
 mete."^ Margaret was doubtless burdened with some 
 weighty tidings, for " she came rydyng byhynde a man, 
 and so rode the most part of all her gentylwemen then, 
 at which tyme she sende vn to the meyre and his brethern 
 that she w'old not that [the] spiritualte ne the temporalte 
 shold be laburd to met her then, and so she was not met 
 at that tyme." A great council ^ was held at Coventry 
 from February 15 to March 14, all the great men of 
 both parties being present, and the duke of York was 
 reappointed to the deputyship of Ireland. Henry left 
 the city for Kenilworth on March 14, the mayor and 
 his brethren, and a " goodly fellowship of the city " 
 having " right great thank " for accompanying his high- 
 
 ' See Thompson, 89 (pocket ed.), for the disorganized condition 
 of Leicester in 1467. The towns of England seem to have been 
 more affected by the Wars of the Eoses than historians would 
 have us suppose. '^ Leet Book, f. 172a. 
 
 ^ The archbishop of York, the bishops of Winchester, London, 
 Lincoln, Norwich, Exeter, Worcester, Chester, Hereford and 
 Salisbury ; the abbots of Glastonbury, Bury S. Edmunds, 
 Gloucester, Malmesbury, Cirencester; Lawrence Booth, privy 
 seal; the dukes of Exeter, Buckingham, Somerset ; the earls of 
 Shrewsbury, treasurer, Stafford, Northumberland, Arundel and 
 Devonshire ; the }ord of S. John's, the lords Eoos, Suydeley, 
 steward of the Household, Stanley, Beauchamp, Berners, Grey 
 de Euthyn, Lovell, Wells, Willoughby, and Dudley, were present. _ 
 
The Red atid White Rose 165 
 
 ness " to the utter side of their franchise. "^ A character- 
 istic touch is given concerning Mai-garet's departure for 
 Coleshill two days later.^ The mayor, his brethren, and 
 a " feyre felyship " of the commons — we seem to gather 
 from these words that there was but a scanty attend- 
 ance—went with queen Margaret to the boundary of 
 the city liberties. The mayor, having his mace in his 
 hand, rode immediately before her, the sheriffs with their 
 white yards or rods directly preceding the mayor. Hither- 
 to this ceremony in its completeness had only been 
 observed when the king was in question. " And so," the 
 Leet Booh says, " they did never be fore the queue tyll 
 then, for they here before that tyme alwey theire ser- 
 geant.?' mases ... at her comynges, at which doyng 
 her officers groged (grudged), seying the quene owed to 
 be met yn like fourme as the kyng shold, which yn dede," 
 the writer continues with some trepidation, " as ys seide 
 owe to be so, except her displeser wold be eschewed."^ 
 
 An unexplained rising took place at Hereford in April, 
 and the king and queen went thither to quell it, Margaret 
 alienating even her friends in that district by her severity. 
 At Whitsuntide, however, the whole Court again sojourned 
 at Coventry, and a grand procession at the Pentecostal 
 feast dazzled the eyes of the citizens.* The duke of 
 Buckingham followed next after Henry, but lord Beau- 
 mont " bere the kynges treyne," the earl of Stafford 
 "his cap of astate," and Sir John Tunstall his sword. 
 The great nobles followed every one in his proper rank, 
 
 1 Lcet Booh, f. 172a. 2 Ih. f. 173. » Ibid. * Ibid. 
 
1 66 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 while after the queen and her chief lady, the duchess 
 of Baokingham, there came " mony moo ladyes yn her 
 mantels, surcotes, and other appareyll to theyre astates 
 acustumed." Mass was celebrated in the cathedral by 
 the bishop of Hereford, assisted by the dean of the king's 
 chapel, the prior and his monks. 
 
 Qaeen Margaret could occasionally be gracious, and 
 her eagerness to see the Mystery Plays performed at the 
 feast of Corpus Christi must have flattered the citizens. 
 She came " prively " from Kenil worth on the eve of the 
 festival, and " lodged at Richard Wodes, the grocer,^ 
 where Richard Sharp some tyme dwelled ; and there 
 all the pleyes were furst pleyde," save Doomsday, the 
 drapers' pageant, which could not be seen, for evening 
 came on and put a close to the performance. The mayor 
 and bailiffs sent a present to Richard Wood's house, 
 namely " ccc (300) paynemaynes, a pipe of rede wyne, 
 a dosyn capons of haut grece (?), a dosyn of grete fat 
 pykes, a grete panyer full of pescodes and another panyer 
 of pipyns and orynges, & ij cofyns of counfetys, & a pot of 
 grene gynger." Quite a little court was assembled at the 
 grocer's house to witness those strange spectacles in which 
 the dramatic instinct of the Middle Ages found vent. 
 The duke of Buckingham and his lady, who might be 
 regarded as natives of the city, would do the honours of 
 the place; and let us hope those ardent Lancastrians, 
 lord Rivers and his lady, and the elder and younger 
 countess of Shrewsbury, applauded the ravings of Pilate 
 
 ' Lcet Book, f. 173rr. 
 
The Red and White Rose 167 
 
 and Herod, the pompons characters of the religious drama, 
 or heard with complaisance the devil's jokes. It is hard 
 to imagine qneen Margaret, that tireless fighter and 
 plotter, or lady Shrewsbury, the great Talbot's widow, 
 whose feud with the Berkeleys filled Gloucestershire with 
 strife for over a generation, engaged in such a harmless 
 amusement as laughing over the quaint performances of 
 their citizen supporters, nibbling the while some of the 
 good mayor's supply of apples and sweetmeats. How 
 delighted the citizens were at her highness's condescen- 
 sion ! When she went next day " to her mete " to Coles- 
 hill, "right a good feliship — which plesid her highnes 
 right well," — attended her to the " vtmast side of theyre 
 franchise, where hit plesyd her to gyff them grete thank 
 bothe for theyre present and theyre gentyll attendaunce." 
 In the August of that same year, the month wherein De 
 Breze, seneschal of Normandy, at Margaret's instigation, 
 plundered the English coast, Henry and his queen again 
 visited Coventry, sleeping there from August 31 nntil 
 September 2, and "about x of the belle" on the latter 
 day the queen rode to Sharneford and on to sleep at 
 Leicester "toward the forest of Rokyngham for to hunt,'' 
 while at two o'clock Henry rode forth on his journey 
 towards Northampton, and the men of Coventry did not 
 see them again for two years, when a more troubled 
 scene had opened. 
 
 The records of Coventry are nothing but a blank 
 during the succeeding years ; for the council "merely 
 met at the appointed season to elect a mayor, but trans- 
 acted, as far as we know, no other business ; tradition has 
 
1 68 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 it that the city was divided against itself, a highly prob- 
 able case when we consider how high the tide of Yorkist 
 and Lancastrian party spirit was running in the rest of 
 the country. In the political world this season was filled 
 by inefEectual peacemaliings and renewed preparations for 
 war. Warwick, after provoking the wrath of the Lancas- 
 trian party, fled to Calais, and his father, Salisbury, met 
 and worsted lord Andley, the royalist leader, who had 
 been sent to capture him, at the field of Bloreheath 
 (September 23, 1459). The Yorkist lords flew to arms ; 
 but when the king proposed to give battle at Ludford, 
 weakened by the defection of a certain Andrew Trollope, 
 they all dispersed and fled. The Yorkists being thus 
 humbled, the time was come for Margaret's vengeance. 
 No wx'its were sent to the principal Yorkist chiefs for 
 the parliament summoned to meet at Coventry on 
 Ifovember 20, and the knights and burgesses were 
 nominated by the Lancastrian leaders. The assembly 
 met, and, by one sweeping act of attain dei", deprived 
 twenty-three leading Yorkists of their inheritance. 
 People called this the " diabolical parliament"; hence- 
 forward there was no hope of a reconciliation between 
 York and Lancaster. A petition ^ presented by John 
 Rous, the antiquary of Guy's Cliife, to this parliament 
 calling attention to the pillage of the towns by the 
 nobility, testifies to the misfortunes of those places which 
 fell into the hands of these lawless family chiefs and 
 their retainers. 
 
 ' Did, Nat. Biography, s.v. Eous. 
 
TJie Red ana White Rose i6g 
 
 It seems that the queen's late violent proceedings, oi- 
 the plundering propensities of her followers, had caused 
 the townspeople to grow somewhat cold in her cause. 
 When a commission of array dated from Northampton 
 arrived a few days before the Candlemas feast, 1460, 
 the sheriffs kept it back, and it was fourteen days before 
 the newly-elected mayor, John Wyldegrys,i received the 
 missive addressed to his predecessor conveying the 
 king's command. This was surely not the result of ac- 
 cident but design, the sheriffs having their own reasons 
 for thwarting the mayor, or being ardent Yorkists. Then 
 the duke of Buckingham arrived, perhaps to loarn the 
 reason of the delay, and the mayor bethought him of this 
 indiscretion. "To my lord of Backingham," lodging at 
 the "Angel," he sent to ask whether " any hurt might 
 grow to the city " because of the neglect of the commis- 
 sion, and to ensure the duke's goodwill, sent thirty loaves, 
 two pike, two tench, some capons, a peacock, and a 
 peahen to his lodging. 
 
 A letter which he received from the king about this 
 time hardly tended, it may be thought, to reassure John 
 Wyldegi'ys.^ " For asmuche," the king wrote, " as cred- 
 ible reporte is made vn to us howe diuers of th' in- 
 habitantes of oure cite of Coventre haue, sithe the tyme 
 of oure departyng from thens, vsed and had right vn- 
 fittyng langage ayenst oure estate and personne, and in 
 fauouring of oure supersticious ^ traitours, and rebelles, 
 nowe late in oure parlement there attainted, wlierby 
 
 1 Leet Booh, f. 180a. ^ jj. f. igl. a Query ? 
 
170 Life in an Old English Tozvn 
 
 grete comocions and murmur 13611 like to folovve, to the 
 grete distourbance of oure feithfull, true subgettes, 
 onlesse than punisshement and remede for the redresse 
 therof the rather be had, we therfor . . . charge you 
 diligently t' enqner and make serche among the seid 
 inhabitants of suche vntitting langage as is aboue seid, 
 and do theym to be emprysoned and punisshed accordyng 
 to their demerits, and in example of other of semblable 
 oondioion, as ye desyre to do that shall plaise vs." '^ 
 
 John Wyldegrys probably executed this commission 
 with all the alacrity of fear, and we hear that in the 
 following October the duke of York had a strange 
 commission to sit in judgment on various oifenders in 
 Coventry " to punish them by the fawtes to the kyng's 
 lawys." But the duke, who was on his way home from 
 Ireland, could not afford to tarry, having weightier busi- 
 ness on hand, namely, the laying claim to the throne of 
 England, and the drawing up of a genealogy to lay before 
 parliament, showing that his claim to the throne was 
 based on rightful inheritance. Since the battle of North- 
 ampton (July 10, 1460), the king had been in the hands 
 of the Yorkist lords, Salisbury and Warwick.' At this 
 battle, too, Henry lost Buckingham, the most powerful 
 man at the time in Warwickshire, and a pillar of the 
 Lancastrian cause. After his death, may- be, the men of 
 Coventry felt more free to choose what side they would, 
 
 1 Leel Book, i. 181. 
 
 2 Henry was at Coventry when he heard of the landing of 
 the Yorkist lords Salisbury and Warwick on June 23 (Holin- 
 shed, III. 654). 
 
The Red ana White Rose 171 
 
 and the plunder wLerein Margaret's host indulged after 
 "Wakefield (December 14) and S. Alban's (February 6, 
 1461) completed their alienation from the Lancastrian 
 party. The Yorkists had now the upper hand in the 
 city. After the battle of S. Alban's £100 was collected 
 throughout the wards for men to go to London with " the 
 earl of March," "^ who, since his father's death at Wake- 
 field, had become the hope of the Yorkist cause. On 
 the day after his coronation (March 5) Edward IV. de- 
 spatched a letter to the mayor and his brethren full of 
 thanks for the citizens' loyalty to his cause, praying for 
 their "good continuance in the same," and praising their 
 " good and substantial rule." He thus assured the sup- 
 port of the people of the place, and on the terrible field 
 of Towton, where " the dead hindered the living from 
 coming to close quarters," the men of Coventry fought 
 under the standard of the Black Ram in the Yorkist 
 ranks. The Leet Book tells us that £80 was collected 
 throughout the wards for the 100 men " which went with 
 cure soverayn liege lord kyng Edward the IIII"'" to the 
 felde yn the north." ^ 
 
 Many of the towns took part with Edward in this 
 famous battle, for order and good government seemed 
 more likely to follow from the Yorkist than the Lancas- 
 trian rule. Each town went to the field nnder their 
 ancient ensign. As a contemporary ballad has it : 
 
 " The wolf came fro Worcester, ful sure he thought to byte, 
 The dragon came fro Glovicester, he bent his tayle to smyte ; 
 
 1 Afterwards Edward lY. {Leet Boole, f.l85.) 2 jj. f, jgSa. 
 
172 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 The grifSa cam fro Leycester, flying in as tyte, 
 
 The George cam fro Nottingham, with spere for to fyte." > 
 
 The citizens certainly continued to deserve the king's 
 favour. They presented him with £100 and a cup to his 
 " welcome to his cite of Coventre from the felde yn the 
 North," 3 and decorated the city with pageants and 
 goodly shows in his honoui', the smiths' craft providing 
 the character of Samson, who no doubt, gave in appro- 
 priate verses the promise to use his great strength in 
 defending the king's just claim " to his newly-acquired 
 sovereignty." ^ In that year also all men dwelling in 
 the city were sworn to king Edward to be " his true 
 lege men." In later times the king learnt to distrust 
 this ancient Lancastrian refuge, but for the present 
 th-ere was nothing but amity between himself and the 
 citizens. So vivid was the remembrance of the plun- 
 dering of Margaret's army, that the old loyalty towards 
 the Lancastrians turned to rancour. And the following 
 year, on the King-maker's coming — the first important 
 mention of him in the city annals — £40 was collected 
 to be given to him for the payment of forty men that 
 went to the north to resist " king Herry and queen 
 Margaret iliat were, and alle other with theym accom- 
 panyed, as Scottes and Frenchemen, of theyro entre 
 yn to this laude." The mere whisper of a foreign alli- 
 ance and invasion was sufficient to damn the Lancastrian 
 cause, for lord Rous, with other refugees, aided by the 
 
 Thompson, Leicester, 88. - Leet Bool:, i. 181a. 
 
 ' Sharp, Mjjileries, 152. 
 
The Red and White Rose 173 
 
 Scots, were mating trouble on the Border. The men 
 retarned on July 29, for the north was pacified, men 
 believed, the Scots having rebellions, stirred up by king 
 Edward, to look to nearer home. 
 
XI 
 
 THE LAST STRUGGLE OF YORK AND LANCASTER — THE TUDOES 
 
 The men of Coventry settled down under the rule of 
 Edward IV. ; and if the clash of arms was heard in the 
 north— for Margaret would not tamely submit to lose 
 her son's inheritance — it did not disturb the Midlands. 
 Henry VI., the weak, mad, saintly king, lay in the 
 Tower of London, and men thought the Yorkist firmly 
 seated on his throne. Edward treated the Coventry folk 
 graciously enough, paying them several visits at this 
 time^; but another figure had begun to loom large in 
 English politics, and Warwick, the King-maker, now 
 exercised even more power in the Midlands than had 
 been enjoyed by the Lancastrian Buckingham. The 
 great earl was becoming rapidly estranged from his 
 young kinsman, Edward, whom he had helped to place 
 on the throne. Jealousy of the queen's relations, and 
 the decay of his own influence in the royal councils, were 
 rapidly converting Warwick into a secret enemy of the 
 ruling house. Edward was in favour of a Burgundian 
 alliance ; the King-maker, on the contrary, pressed for- 
 ward the claims of France to the friendship of England, 
 
 1 The king was at Coventry at Christmas 1467, doubtless to 
 keep an. eye of Warwick's movements (Eamsay, II. 327). 
 
 174 
 
The Last Struggle oj York and Lancaster 175 
 
 and when the king- treated the French ambassadors with 
 scant courtesy, his too powerful subject entered into 
 intrigues with Louis XI. on his own behalf. He had 
 some thoughts of placing on the throne his future 
 son-in-law, the duke of Clarence ; and Calais, whei'e 
 the earl and the king's brother were staying, became in 
 1469 a perfect hot-bed of conspiracy. 
 
 How far "Warwick carried with him the general senti- 
 ment of English folk is rather doubtful, but so great was 
 his territorial inflaence that he was a highly dangerous 
 enemy. Besides, there were various elements of disaffec- 
 tion abroad in the land. The Lancastrians had still some 
 hold on the hearts of those living in the north and west, 
 while others who had expected an era of peace and per- 
 fection under Yorkist rule were naturally disappointed at 
 the small results of Edward's government. Though there 
 seems to have been no very distinct notion of what the 
 people wanted, one thing was clear, they wanted a 
 change, and the country was filled with the old tokens 
 of unrest and discontent. Bad times seem rather un- 
 accountably to have befallen the people of Coventry; 
 the city was deeply in debt, and on that account the 
 citizens were probably more willing to lend an ear to 
 Warwick's emissaries. It is possible that foreign trade 
 relations may have more to do than we are at present 
 aware with town politics. The great merchants of the 
 Staple, who were heads of the powerful civic families, 
 and who possessed the monopoly of trade in wool, would 
 welcome the alliance with Burgundy, and a ready ex- 
 port of the raw material to Flanders ; while the bulk of 
 
176 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 the townsfolk, clothworkers and artisans, were glad that 
 the wool should be kept in England and be converted 
 into cloth by home manufacture. For that reason "War- 
 wick and his anti-Burgundian policy may have been 
 popular in clothworking towns such as Coventry then 
 was. 
 
 We follow with difficulty the record of obscure risings 
 which marked the beginning of a fresh struggle. Two 
 movements agitated the north in the early part of the 
 year 1469. One seems to have been a Lancastrian out- 
 break ; the other, under Robin of Redesdale, was un- 
 doubtedly fomented by Warwick. The men of Coventry 
 found themselves as usual drawn into the strife. They 
 were compelled to pay, and send fifty men to York against 
 the rebels,^ who joined their forces together, and finally 
 turned southwards under Sir John Coniers towards the 
 Midlands. For some time Edward appeared unconscious 
 of the danger that threatened him, and during June he 
 ■went quietly on a progress through the eastern counties. 
 At last there came a rude awakening. On July 1 ^ he 
 
 1 Luet Book f. 203a. The mayor, William Saunders, dyer, 
 gave £5 to the collection of money for the soldiers, so that poor 
 people might be spared {Ih. f. 204). Either owing to the fact 
 that the cause was unpopular, or that the people v:sve weary of 
 war, soldiers could not be had under XQJ. u, day The air at this 
 time was filled with rumours ; one John Baldi\in, cordwainer, 
 of Dartmouth, had been committed to ward within the city for 
 delivering treasonable letters in England, though he did it '■ out 
 of innocence of simpleness," being unaware of their contents 
 {Ih. f. 203). 
 
 2 The first commission of array, dated Stamford, July 5, 
 urged the citizens to send 100 archers against the rebels. The 
 
The Last Struggle oj York and Lancaster 177 
 
 wrote from Fotheringay, bidding the mayor take and 
 commit to ward any person using seditious language 
 among the king's liege people to the intent to " stor 
 and incens theym to renior and comocion " ; and later 
 letters were urgent in their appeals for despatch of men. 
 Meanwhile the extent of Warwick's plotting stood re- 
 vealed. On July 12 came tidings from this arch con- 
 spirator, who, far from being the haughty noble of the 
 conventional type, was, as his latest biographer ^ tells us, 
 very affable in his bearing, and an ardent seeker after 
 the] commonalty's good will. Warwick had very prob- 
 ably gained a strong party among the populace at 
 Coventry, and in addition to the letter destined for the 
 mayor, the messenger bore a duplicate addressed to his 
 master's " servonds and welwyllers" within the city.^ 
 " Ryght trusty and well belovyd frende," the earl wrote 
 to the mayor, William Saunders, " I grete you well. 
 Forsomuche as hyt hath plesyd the kings gode grace 
 to sende after hys lords and other hys subgetts to atende 
 on hys hignes northwards, and that both the ryght hye 
 and myghti prince, my lord the duke of Clarance, 
 and I be fully purposid, after the solempnizacion 
 of the mariage by Godds grace in short tyme to be 
 had bytwene my sayd lord and my dohgter, to a wayte 
 upon the same, and to drawe vn to our said soveryn lordes 
 hyghnes, therfor desyr and pray you that ye will in the 
 
 second (Newark, July 10) bade them hasten their preparations 
 and make no risings or assemblies (lb. f . 204a,). 
 » See Oman, Warwick the King-maker. 2 Leet Book, ff. 204(j, 205. 
 
 N 
 
i/S Life in an Old English Town 
 
 meene fcyme geve knowlaclie to all sucbe felysshipp as 
 ye mowe make toward theym in the best wyse they can, 
 and that loothe ye and they defensibly arrayd he redy 
 apon a days warnyng to accompany my sayd lord and 
 me toward the sayd highnes, as- my specyall trust ys 
 in yowe ; yevyng oredens to this berer in that he shall 
 open vnto you on my behalve, and our Lord have you 
 in hys keping. Writon at London the xxvii day of 
 Juyn." The marriage thus referred to was solemnized 
 some ten days or more after the date of the missive^ 
 July 11, Clarence and archbishop Neville having se- 
 cretly stolen over to Calais, where Warwick was then 
 posted, to take part in the ceremony ; and the next day 
 the King-maker and his following landed on the coast of 
 Kent. 
 
 The letter 1 as it stands conveys but scanty indications 
 of the real state of affairs, bat no doubt the citizens 
 read between the lines, and in "giving credence to the 
 bearer" heard as much as the earl wished of his plans 
 for the overthrow of the queen's relations and the re- 
 covery of the Neville influence. Whether they under- 
 stood that Clarence, Warwick's son-in-law, was to occupy 
 his brother Edward's place, and be raised to the throne, 
 is another matter. Nevertheless they must have been 
 somewhat bewildered by Warwick's change of front. 
 
 • A manifesto, dated July 12, calling upon " all true subjects " 
 to join Warwick in presenting certain articles of petition to the 
 king " (u. Eamsay, II. 337), is not mentioned in the Leel Book. 
 The citizens of Coventry did not, it seems, join Warwick, they 
 sent men to Edward {Leet Book, f. 205o). 
 
The Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 179 
 
 Lancaster they knew, and York tlaey knew, but they 
 might with all justice ask, "Who are ye?" of the 
 King-maker. 
 
 Once more, as in Margaret's time, Coventry, with its 
 command of the north-western road, became a centre 
 of operations. News now came thick and fast, Coniers' 
 army of Torkshiremen, supplied with a later manifesto 
 and petition of grievances promulgated by Warwick, and 
 the royal troops under Herbert and Stafford of South- 
 wick, were converging towards Banbury. On Maudlin 
 day (July 22) Coventry was hastily fortified, certain 
 of the principal citizens overlooking the equipment 
 of soldiers and the strengthening of the gates with 
 cannon. On the 26th July the battle of Edgcote was 
 fought near Banbury, ending in the discomfiture of 
 Herbert and the royalist troops. For just when viotorj' 
 seemed assured, a rabble of Northampton men, led by one 
 John Clapham, bearing the banner of the White Bear, 
 and shouting " a Warwick ! a Warwick ! " appeared over 
 the hillside in the rear of lord Herbert's men, and they, 
 thinking the earl himself was come, broke and fled. 
 " Lord Herbert," the lueet Book says, " was taken in fight 
 by Banbury with Robin of Redesdale " on the vigil of S. 
 James, and was brought to Northampton, and there 
 beheaded, and lord Richard Herbert, with others. ^ 
 Some days afterwards Edward was captured at Honiley 
 or Olney, near Kenilworth, and brought by archbishop 
 Neville to Coventry, there to meet the archbishop's 
 
 1 Kamsay, II. 342. 2 Leet Book, f . 205a. 
 
l8o Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 " brother of Warwick." ^ He was detained in the city 
 as a prisoner until August 9. But even then his hu- 
 miliation was not complete. Three days later, when the 
 king was certainly no further removed from the city 
 than Warwick, the father and brother of Edward's 
 queen, lord Rivers and his son, John Woodville, who 
 had been captured by rioters at Chepstow, fell into War- 
 wick's hands, and were beheaded on Gosford Green by 
 his order.^ The Zeei Book also records the executions of 
 lord Stafford of Southwick at Bridgewater, and again 
 that of Sir Humphrey Neville, a Lancastrian, and Charles, 
 his brother, who had risen in rebellion in September, in 
 the " north coasts," and that of the bailiff of Durham at 
 the same time (" et ballivus de Duram eodem tempore"). 
 It was on the occasion of this northern or Lancastrian 
 rising that the Nevilles found themselves forced to re- 
 lease Edward ; for the unpopular ministers having been 
 brought to jastice, there was a feeling abroad that the 
 king should be set free. 
 
 So far Warwick's revolt had been successful, but it did 
 not wholly gratify his ambition. No doubt he felt that 
 the king was hopelessly alienated, and, whenever powerful 
 enough, would free himself from the influence of the 
 house of Neville. Fresh troubles broke out, this time in 
 
 ' Bamsay, II. 343 ; Oman, Warwick, 189. Oman says Olney in 
 Northamptonshire . 
 
 2 " Item XII» die August eodem anno dominus le re vers (lord 
 Eivers), tunc thesaurarius Anglief, fuit decollatus apud Gosford 
 grene,et dominus Johannes Wodvyle, filius ejus, similiter" (Leci 
 Book, f. 205a). 
 
The Last Struggle of York and Lancaster i8i 
 
 Lincolnshire, in February, 1470. Warwick's agents so 
 worked on the fears of the people that they rose in great 
 numbers, and converted a local dispute into a rising of 
 some magnitude. A royal missive, bearing date February 
 9, arrived at Coventry late in the evening, and in 
 accordance with the commission, money was collected 
 throughout the wards for men to go to Grantham by 
 March 12. i The king's letter was imperative; there were 
 rebels and outward enemies abroad, it said, " and many 
 assemble for the retaining of the said enemies, so that if 
 their malice be not withstanden, it might grow to the 
 great jeopardy of us and to the destruction of all true 
 subjects." Edward defeated the rebels at Empingham, 
 near Stamford, on 12th March, and so sudden was their 
 flight that the battle received the name of Lose-coat 
 Field. Meanwhile the ringleaders, mainly belonging to 
 the "Welles family, were brought in ; but before execution 
 they showed that Clarence and Warwick were seriously 
 implicated in their designs. Edward, whose suspicions 
 were thoroughly aroused, sent to the duke and earl at 
 Coventry, bidding them disband their levies, for they 
 were followed by a great number of men, and join him 
 without delay; but they would not, merely sending 
 excuses and promises.^ And perhaps it was then that 
 Clarence, being in need of money, left in pledge a " co- 
 ronall," garnished with " rubies, diamonds, and sapphires," 
 in return for a loan of 300 marks from the citizens.^ 
 
 Leet Book, f. 208. ' Eamsay, II. 350. 
 
 3 Corp. MS. see below, p. 189. 
 
Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Finally Warwick and the king's brother, after trying 
 the disposition of men's minds towards their cause in 
 the northern parts, turned southwards, whither Edward 
 followed them ; but they had already taken ship at Dart- 
 mouth when the king reached Exeter. Edward passed 
 through CoTentry on his way southwards, and forty men 
 went with the king on April 5 to the south coasts, 
 taking the great sum of 12cZ.i a day for payment. For 
 the citizens of Coventry — provident men — afEorded help 
 to either party, hoping surely to have their reward 
 whichever side might prevail in the end. They admitted 
 Clarence and Edward, and furnished the former with 
 money and the latter with men. This shows either that 
 they took a dispassionate view of these dynastic and 
 political struggles in which they had no concern, or 
 that they were more deeply involved in them than we 
 imagine, but parties being so evenly balanced in the 
 city, the presence or near neighbourhood of a leader of 
 either party was sufficient for the time being to turn the 
 scale in his favour. 
 
 The two conspirators sailed for Calais, but there the 
 merchants of the Staple were heart and soul for Edward 
 and the Burgundian alliance, and the garrison being in 
 their pay, closed the harbour against them. So they put 
 
 • Leet Boole, f. 209. Troops went from Coventry to Support 
 Edward in 1469 and 1470. _Oii both these'occasions the men took 
 12c?. a day. But the next year, when the Lancastrians were 
 ruling, and a war with Burgundy was in prospect, only 6cZ. a 
 day- was given to the soldiers. Was the Lancastrian cause and 
 var with Burgundy popular then ? 
 
77;!^ Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 183 
 
 into the Seine, and Warwick, abandoning his old pro- 
 ject of dethroning Edward to make room for Clarence, 
 prepared to take up a more definite policy, and made 
 overtures to the Lancastrians. It is difficult to imagine 
 how queen Margaret could bring herself to forgive the 
 man "who had wrought so much evil to her and hers. 
 But Louis XT., king of France, who knew that if the 
 Yorkists continued to reign they would strengthen 
 Burgundy, his great foe, acted as peacemaker, and the 
 compact between Lancaster and Neville was sealed by 
 the betrothal of Warwick's daughter to the prince of 
 Wales. When the King-maker and the Lancastrian lords 
 landed at Plymouth in September, they caught Edward 
 unawares in the north, and they replied to his summons, 
 ordering them to appear at court " humbly and mea- 
 surably accompanyed," by proclaiming Henry VI. king 
 of England. The army in the north declaimed for king 
 Henry ; for the moment the game was up ; Edward IV. 
 fled to Lynn, and took ship for the Low Countries. 
 
 The Coventry Lett Book thus summarizes the year's 
 events : ^ "In the Lenton when William Stafford was 
 mayor . . . the Lord Wellys^ were behedyd. The 
 duke of Clarance and the yrle of Warw[ick] w[ent] out 
 of the londe, and went to the kynge off France, and 
 there were gretly cheryshyd, and there was a m[arriage] 
 [m]ade by twix prinse Edward and a dohgter of the sayd 
 
 ^ The sq^uare brackets enclose words which are missing in the 
 MS. The records were hastily written at the time, and are 
 much mutilated {Leet Book, f, 210a). 
 
 ' Welles, leader of the revolt in Lincolnshire. 
 
1 84 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 yrle of Warwick. And in the raonthe of Sept [ember] 
 the sayd duke and yrle with the yrle of Oxynford, the 
 yrle of Pembroke/ brother to kyng Harry, the bastard 
 ffawkynbruge ^ comyn a londe at Ex— .^ They ther 
 drewe to hem much pepull, or they com to Coventry, they 
 wer XXX thowsand. [Ky]iig Edward laye at Notynham, 
 and sende for lordes and all other men, but ther com 
 so lytell pep[ull] to hym that he was not abyll to 
 made a fylde a gaynes hem, and then he Avith the yrle 
 [R]evers, the lorde Hastyng,* the lord Howard, and the 
 lorde Say went to Lynne, and ther goten hem shippies, 
 and sayledon to the duke of Borgoyne,° the whiche duke 
 hade weddyd kyng Edwards syster, the lady Margete. 
 And the duke of Clarens, the yrle off "Warwick, the 
 yrle of Oxynford, the yrle of Shroysbery, the lord Stan- 
 ley, [and] the bysshoppe of Yorke " went to the tower at 
 London, and set out of prison kyng Hary the Syxt, the 
 wyche hade be ix yer and a half and mor '^ as a prisonere, 
 and brohgt hym to the bysshoppes palys at Powlys * in 
 London, and made hym there to take on liym to be 
 kyng as he was afore tyme. And then was the yrle of 
 Wyrseter " behedyt at London. . . . The queue that 
 
 ' Jasper Tudor, half-brother to Henry VI. 
 
 ' Thomas Neville, natural son of lord Tauconherg. 
 
 ^ Query ? They landed at Dartmouth and Plymouth. 
 
 ' Hastings. " Burgundy. " Archbishop Neville. 
 
 ' Not quite correct. Henry VI. was taken by the Yorkists, 
 July, 1465. Hence he had only been in prison five years. 
 
 8 S. Paul's. 
 
 " Tiptoft, earl of Worcester, the " Butcher," beheaded October 
 18, at Tower Hill. 
 
The Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 185 
 
 was wyfe to kyng Edward, with liyr moder, the duches 
 of Bedford,' toke seynt wary ^ at Westmynster, and 
 ther the quene was lyght of a son that was crystonyd 
 Edward." 
 
 So the year that had seen such astonishing events 
 now drew to a close. England saw one king displaced 
 by a powerful subject after a bloodless struggle, and 
 another, weak, possibly imbecile, and long a neglected 
 prisoner, restored to his former state ; a'queen driven to 
 take sanctuary for fear of her husband's enemies, and the 
 birth of a prince of Wales, the history of whose short 
 unhappy life accords well with the inauspicious season 
 of his coming into the world. Though Englishmen 
 passively accepted these changes, Warwick's position 
 was still one of great difficulty ; the king's weakness, 
 Margaret's delay in France, and last the unstable temper 
 of "false, fleeting, perjured Clarence," all combined to 
 make the firm establishment of the restored dynasty a 
 matter involving risk on every hand. 
 
 John Bette counted the beginning of his mayoralty in 
 January, 1471, according to the regnal year of Henry VI., 
 and the townspeople doubtless considered that the rule 
 of the Yorkists was a thing of the past.' Perhaps the 
 craftsmen party were pleased with the reversal of policy 
 which followed on the reaccession of the Lancastrian 
 king. The French king held Warwick to an agreement 
 to make war with Burgundy. And war with Burgundy 
 
 ■ Widow, first of the duke of Bedford, and then of lord Elvers. 
 2 Sanctuary. ^ j^g^i Book, f. 211. 
 
1 86 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 meant interruption in the Flemish wool trade, and a 
 plentiful supply of wool for the home market. In the 
 following March forty men, now waged at 6d. a day, were 
 commissioned to go for two months to Flanders.*^ But 
 the Flemings, by their support of the fugitive king, 
 Edward IV., carried the war into the enemy's country. 
 On March 14, 1471, Edward landed at Ravenspur, to 
 claim — so he averred — the duchy of York, his ancestral 
 inheritance. Slipping past Montagu, who had been set 
 to guard the north road, he pressed on towards the Mid- 
 lands. Followers presently flocked to his standard, and 
 on March 29, coming from Leicester, he oifered battle 
 beneath the walls of Coventry. Warwick, who lay 
 within the city, waiting for fresh levies, had not troops 
 sufficient to accept the challenge, and suffered Edward to 
 pass on, and cut off his communications with London. 
 
 The citizens of Coventry must have long remembered 
 this terrible season, " the Lenton next afore Barnet 
 ffeld," and the hurried and almost unintelligible writing 
 of the Leet Book, with the frequent and probably in- 
 tentional mutilation of its pages, bespeak the agitation 
 and confusion which filled men's thoughts. There could 
 be no temporizing now the great earl was within their 
 gates, no making overtures to the returning Yorkists, 
 who, now that there was no army barring the way to 
 the capital, found their position greatly increased in 
 strength. The townsfolk lent Warwick 100 marks,^ and 
 during that period of terrible anxiety, wherein the earl 
 
 1 Led Book, f. 2H«, 2 Jh. f. 211a, 
 
TJie Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 187 
 
 was waiting for the levies under Montagu from the north, 
 Oxford from the east, and Clarence from the south- 
 west, they sent " riders into the country " to bring back 
 tidings, and having fortified their city, kept a strict 
 watch. 1 The levies under Clarence never came to the 
 earl's aid, for meeting Edward on the road between 
 Warwick and Banbury, the duke deserted the cause 
 of his father-in-law, and was " right lovingly recon- 
 ciled " to Edward. Afterwards Clarence, stung per- 
 haps with remorse at his desertion, sent unto the earl 
 " to require him to take some good wail with king 
 Edward ^ . . . the earle (after he had patientlie 
 heard the duke's message) he seemed greatlie to 
 abhorre his unfaithful! dealing. ... To the mes- 
 sengers (as some write) he gave none other answer but 
 this : that he had rather be like himselfe than like a 
 false and perjured duke ; and that he was fullie deter- 
 mined never to leave warre till he had either lost his 
 owne life or utterlie subdued his enimies." 
 
 Strengthened by Clarence's levies, the king again 
 returned to offer battle on April 6 before the gates of 
 Coventry, but as Warwick still refused, he drew off 
 down the Watling Street towards London. The citizens 
 of Coventry continued faithful to Warwick, and when 
 he left for the capital to stake his all on a battle with 
 Edward, twenty horsemen and twenty foot from the 
 city set forth with him on the eventful march, and fought 
 
 ' heel Book, f. 213. 33s. was i^aid for guns, to " riders in the 
 comitry and watchmen." ^ Holinshed, III. 682. 
 
Life in an Old English Town 
 
 at Barnet Field. Bat when the battle was over the 
 terror-stricken townsmen would fain — in Clarence's 
 words — have " made so good a way with king Edward," 
 and did all that in them lay to appease the conqueror. 
 Margaret of Anjou and her son had landed two days 
 after the battle. Prince Edward no doubt expected aid 
 from the Lancastrian stronghold, and sent a pi-oclama- 
 tion from Chard, where he then was, to Coventry. But 
 the townsfolk knew that the day was with the Torkist 
 king. 
 
 The Leet Book records the receipt of " a letter fro 
 Edward, the son of Harry the VI'"' the xxv day of 
 Aprile, that was wry ton at Cherd the xviii day of Aprile 
 the ivhyche was sent to Kyng Edward and the messenger 
 therewith to Ahyndon."^ But they were not allowed to 
 make their peace after this easy fashion. In May 
 Edward came to Coventry, deprived the mayor, John 
 Bette, of the civic sword, and confiscated the liberties of 
 the city, which were only redeemed by a payment of 
 600 marks. ^ The citizens owed even this grace to 
 Clarence's mediation. They received a charter of pardon 
 " for the bevy greffe that our soverayn lord beer to the 
 citee . . . ffor the tyme that Richard, late Erie of 
 Warwyke, with oder to hym then accompanyed, kept the 
 citee in defence against his Royall highness in the Lenton 
 next afore Barnett ffeld." ^ Clarence's mediation and 
 
 ' Leet Booh, f. 211. 
 
 2 Dugdale, I. 143. In the Leet Book (f. 214a) there is the record 
 of a collection evidently made for this fine. 
 
 3 Leet Book, f. 217. 
 
The Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 189 
 
 the king's pardon cost tlie citizens a further sacrifice. 
 Edward brought his influence to bear upon them for 
 the release of the jewel, which the duke's necessities 
 had induced him to leave in pledge, in return for the 
 loan of 300 marks. This " coronall," the deed declares, 
 " had been utterly forfeit for two years past," as the duke 
 had not discharged the debt. But as Clarence had 
 " laboured to be good lord " unto the citizens, the mayor 
 agreed to remit a portion of the money owing, and to 
 deliver up the jewel " for the singular pleasure and good 
 grace of our sovei-eign lord, king Edward."^ 
 
 The reconciliation being accomplished, the citizens 
 were eager to show their entire loyalty to king Edward, 
 and accordingly granted a most splendid reception — 
 equal to that given to Margaret eighteen years before 
 — to the four-year-old prince of Wales on his visit to 
 Coventry (April, 1474) for S. George's feast. The mayor 
 and divers of the commonalty, arrayed in green and blue, 
 met the prince with the gift of a gilt " cuppe " and a 
 "kerchief of plesaunce " upon it. At the Bablake gate 
 stood a pageant, with figures of Richard II. and many 
 nobles thereupon. The character of king Richard II., in 
 allusion to the York genealogy, saluted the child, " of 
 the right lyne of royall blode " with a verse of greet- 
 ing. There were further pageants '' with mynstralcy of 
 harpe and dowsemeris " (dulcimers) ; and at the Broad- 
 gate stood S. Edward (who had done duty on a previous 
 
 1 Corp. MS. (Not in Mr. J. C. JeafFreson's catalogue.) See also 
 Led Boole, t 217. 
 
I go Life in an Old English Town 
 
 occasion) with " mynstralcy of harpe & lute," and more 
 
 verses with allusions to the prince's father's " imperial 
 
 right," wherefrom he "had been excluded by full 
 
 farious intent," by way of welcome. 
 
 What wonderful memories these local poets possessed ! 
 
 Their verses show how the old friendship of the city 
 
 to Lancaster had wholly escaped their remembrance ! 
 
 When the little prince rode in his " chare " down to 
 
 the Cheaping, he beheld three prophets at the Cross, 
 
 and above were " Childer of Issarell " casting down 
 
 flowers and cakes, and four pipes running wine. The 
 
 three kings of Colen (Cologne) were also pressed into 
 
 the service ; but the great feature of the show was the 
 
 pageant of S. George upon the conduit of the Cheaping, 
 
 the saint being represented armed, " and a kyng's 
 
 daughter knelyng a fore hym with a lambe, and the 
 
 father & the moder beyng in a toure a boven, be- 
 
 holdyng Seint George savyng their daughter from the 
 
 dragon." 
 
 " O myghty God, our all socour oelestiall, 
 Wioh this reyme hast given to dower. 
 To thi moder, and to me George, protecoion perpetual], 
 Hit to defende from enimies ffere and nere, 
 And as this mayden defended was here, 
 Bi thy grace from this Dragon devour. 
 
 So, Lorde, preserve this nohle prynce and ever be his 
 socour." ^ 
 
 A truly splendid reception for such a young child, 
 
 who, we will hope, appreciated the "kerchief of ple- 
 
 1 Sharp, Anliq. 231-2. Leel Book, i. 221a. It must be remem- 
 bered that S. George, according to legend, was horn at Coventry, 
 See Seven Champions. S. George's day is April 23, 
 
The Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 191 
 
 saunce," if the drift of the political allusions was above 
 his understanding, True to his policy of ingratiating 
 himself with the burghers and moneyed classes, the king 
 allowed his little son to stand godfather to the mayor's 
 child on this occasion. Nevertheless Edward was not 
 content with mere compliments or protestations of 
 loyalty from the lips of actors, but made this visit of 
 his son an opportunity for strengthening his political 
 position. The mayor and his brethren were called upon 
 to cause the commons of the city to swear an oath of 
 allegiance to the prince of Wales. ^ After this the king 
 and Elizabeth Woodville were all graciousness to the 
 citizens. The queen in September of that year sent 
 twelve bucks from Fakenham Forest as a present to the 
 mayoi', his brethren and their wives.^ She also praised 
 their " sadde polity, guydyng and diligence" in ap- 
 peasing an affray, and thanked them warmly for their 
 duties . . . "by you largely shewed vnto vs and 
 to our derrest son the prince ; and in like wyse to all 
 Gure childern ther in sundry wises hertofore, and namely 
 vnto our right dere son, the Due of York, in this time 
 of our absens." ^ Four years later, Edward sent the 
 prince of Wales with his court to Cheylesmore, where 
 the child sojourned for some time, and was admitted a 
 member of the Trinity and Corpus Christi guilds.'' 
 
 But the fair words of royalty often bore a most un- 
 welcome n;eaning, and the yoke of the Yorkists was not 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 222. "- lb. f. 224. 
 
 = lb. i. 225a. * Harl. MS. 6,388 f. 23. 
 
192 Life i?i an Old English Town 
 
 light. Edward, in 1474, applied to "his feythful sub- 
 jetts " in the city of their "benevolence" to aid him 
 with a substantial sum of money for various undertak- 
 ings incident to a war with France.^ And seven years 
 later there came a commission for 100 archers to take 
 the field against the Scots. ^ The king found " benevo- 
 lences " or forced loans more convenient than subsidies 
 granted by parliament, and in the wars a treaty better 
 served his purpose than a battle, when the French king 
 was willing to pay for peace. The frequent interfer- 
 ence of the prince of Wales's council in city disputes 
 at first ruffled the tempers of the great folk at Coventry 
 not a little. " We, your humble and true servants here," 
 the corporation wrote to the prince of Wales in 1480, 
 " know of no variance . . . here but that we among 
 ourselves, be the grace of God shall amicably and 
 righteously settle." But all thoughts of resistance had 
 been abandoned, when the next year a commotion, raised 
 by the common folk at the enclosure of the Lammas 
 pastures, put the franchises in danger of confiscation a 
 second time, and the corporation earnestly entreated the 
 prince of Wales by intercession to avert his father's 
 wrath. 
 
 Richard III., in his brief reign, did all that in him lay 
 to conciliate the Coventry folk ; in 1485 he kept Whit- 
 suntide at Kenilworth,^ and paid a visit to the city to 
 witness the Corpus Christi pageants, but we hear of no 
 joyous welcome given him by the citizens. Perhaps — 
 
 1 Led Book, t 226a. 2 Jb. f. 244. ^ Eamsay, II. 535. 
 
The Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 193 
 
 — : -TT — — 
 
 though there was little sentiment in contemporary 
 politics — they could not lightly forget the faces of the 
 two little boys, who had visited the city during their 
 father's lifetime, and had since mysteriously disappeared, 
 men knew not by what means, in the Tower of London. 
 In an interesting letter, written probably in the previous 
 year, the king charges the authorities o£ this thorough- 
 fare city to provide horses for the royal messengers. 
 
 " Forasmoche," he says, " as we have appointed and 
 ordeined certain of our servants to lye in diverse places 
 and townea betwix us and the west parties of this onr 
 royaume for the hasty conveiaunce of tydings and of 
 all other things for us necessarie to have knowledge of, 
 we therefore wol and desire and also charge you that, if 
 any of our seid servants comyng by you shall nede any 
 horses for thair hasty spede to or from us, ye will sec 
 them shortly for to be provided thereof for thair rcdy 
 money. And also if it fortune any of them to travell 
 from you by night that ye will see that they may have 
 guydes and that they shalbe suffisauntly rewarded for 
 thair labors. And that ye faile not to doo your effectual 
 diligence herein as we trust you, and as we may undrc- 
 stande the redynesse and good will that ye have to 
 please us." ' There is an undertone of threat underlying 
 these last few words, shewing may-be something of the 
 anxiety the king felt concerning the loyalty of the 
 citizens. But the inhabitants were decidedly worth 
 
 1 Corp, MS. A. 79, 1. 8. Written from Burton Monastery, 
 April 2. 
 
 o 
 
t§4 Life in an 'Old English TdiOn- 
 
 conciliating, and Rictard wrote very cordially in the 
 last year of his reign praising the " sadnesse and cir- 
 bumspect wysdoms " bf the mayor and his brethren in 
 allaying debate, and acknowledging their " auctorite to 
 provide, make and establisshe ordenaunces and rules . . . 
 for the vniversall wele and pollytique guiding of" the 
 
 said city.^ 
 
 It seems that this cordiality was wasted on the men 
 of Coventry, so gladly did they welcome king Richard's 
 rival, the victor of Bosworth, when he took up his lodg- 
 ing at the Bull, in Smithford Street, after the battle.^ 
 The wardens' accounts record payments made "for brede, 
 ale and wyn and other vitailes that was hadde to Maister 
 Onleys, he then beyng mair, at the comyng of Kyng 
 Henry," the most expensive items of the account being 
 "i'pype of Claret wyn iii li., i pype of red wyn iii li.," 
 with "xx motons," "ii oxen," and 7 '• Stockfishes," the 
 price of which made a total of £4 13s-. 6^. It is true 
 that the citizens, with their old supreme indifference to 
 political party, also supplied bread and ale "to the feld 
 of Kyng Richard," ^ and one of their number fought, 
 we know not on which side, at Bosworth, for the 
 accounts record that 2.s. 6(£. was paid by the Corpus 
 Christi guild " towards the hurt that Thomas Marde- 
 
 1 heel Booh, f. 255. 
 ' 2 Frctton, Mayors, 12. Tliey presented him with £100 and 
 u, cup. _, . 
 
 = Led Boole, ff. 2.j7«, 258. It isj not quite certain that tlio 
 words'sifc-tdbe- inidta-'titoo-d.- asiuiplying tliatr -the -citizens- fed 
 Kichard's soldiers. 
 
The Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 195 
 
 ford had in the fylde." Two years after Henry kept 
 S. George's feast at Coventry, and also, like his pre- 
 decessor, saw on S. Peter's day later on in the year 
 (June 29) a performance of the famous mystery plays. 
 A great council was held at this time in the city, and 
 the archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops read in 
 the minster the papal bulls, affirming Henry's right of 
 succession, and threatening with excommunication all 
 such as should rebel against him.i The king was still 
 at Coventry when he heard that the earl of Lincoln, 
 a Yorkist, with help from Burgundy, had landed in 
 Lancashire to support the claim of Lambert Simnel, 
 whom the annals call " the organ-maker's son," but 
 who gave himself out to be the son of the duke of 
 Clarence. After the defeat of the rebels at Stoke, near 
 Newark, Simnel, as all the world knows, became a 
 scullion in the royal kitchen. The annals record that 
 another pretender, Thomas- Harrington, who also called 
 hiniself the son of Clarence, was beheaded in this year 
 " on the cunduit by the Bull," and was buried at the 
 Grey Friars.' ^ At the king's second visit at S. Peter's- 
 tide he lodged with Robert Onley, who had been mayor 
 when the battle of Bosworth was fought, and conferred 
 on him the honour of knighthood.^ After Simnel's 
 rising had been crushed, the good folk no doubt ex- 
 pected to enjoy an era of peace, and in the following 
 year the churchwardens of S. Michael's, and other well- 
 
 ' Gairdner, Henry VII. 63. 
 
 2 Harl. MS. t>,388, f. 'i-I. " Ihid, 
 
196 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 disposed people " for joy brought to S. Micliael's a great 
 bell, and called it Jesus Bell."^ 
 
 Henry's frequent appeals for money must have some- 
 what lessened the good-will the Coventry men bore him 
 for his frequent visits " and complimentary membership 
 of the city guilds. Echoes reach us of the wars he under- 
 took, which after vast preparations and much ingathex-ing 
 of money, usually ended in a truce or j)eace. We hear 
 of the depredations of the king of Scots, who in 1496 
 broke the truce, ci'ossed the border, and after doing all 
 "the harme and crneltee to men, woman, and children 
 . . . that he coulde to th'uttermnch of his power," 
 returned in great haste over Tweed, a crossing which 
 occupied him but six or seven hours, whereas in coming 
 over the river two whole days had been taken up." The 
 insult was to be avenged, and two of the most expert 
 men of the city were summoned to meet at a great 
 council to confer upon this- matter. The confer-ence 
 naturally ended in a demand for a loan. Henry had 
 in Richard Empson, who succeeded Boteler in the re- 
 corder's office, a servant well able to aid him in extorting 
 money from his loyal Coventry subjects. Occasionally, 
 however, this notable calculator made mistakes. Once 
 when a loan was being gathered from among the citizens 
 in 1497, his ignorance of the fact that one Master 
 Richard Smith was '-a man of substance" led to his 
 
 1 Harl. MS. 6,388, f. 25. 
 
 ' He twice visited the city to see the Corpus Christi plays 
 (Sharp, Mtjitcries, 5). s Q^^~^^_ jj;s, A. 79, f. 17. 
 
The Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 197 
 
 making but a small demand upon ttat worthy's purse, 
 so that others of the city who ktjew of Smith's wealth 
 were " greatly discouraged " at the inequality of the 
 assessment. Empson was to proceed, said king Henry, 
 as he thought fit, an injunction which may be construed 
 to mean that he was to get all the money he could 
 out of Richard Smith for the king's use.^ 
 
 Tet the citizens prospered no doubt under Henry's firm 
 and sagacious rule, and when they recorded his death 
 chronicler-fashion in the Tieet Book, it is with some 
 appearance of regret. In "this year," the account 
 begins, " dyed king Henry the Vn"", the xxii day of 
 April, ... at Rochemount . . . and was brought 
 to London in to Pollys- with many nobles of the realme 
 and grete nombre of torches, and a grete nombre of 
 peple both on horsbak and a fotc. And after iii dayes 
 beying in Pollys he was brought to Westmynster, and 
 ther he lieth and his queue Elizabeth with him in a 
 newe chapell, which he causid to be made in his lyffe, 
 on whoos saule Jhesu have mercy. And his son kyng 
 Henry the VIII* was crownyd the same yere at West- 
 mynster the Sonday next after Midsomer day." ^ 
 
 If the father had chastised the men of Coventry with 
 whips, the son was to chastise them with scorpions. 
 Loans and subsidies were the order of the day, for the 
 great treasure gathered together by Henry VII. was 
 quickly dissipated by his successor. In 1524 a hundred 
 
 Corp. MS. A 79, f. 20. 2 s. Paul's. ^ £eet Book, f. 305. 
 
198 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 and ninety-four persons advanced to Henry a hundred 
 and fifty pounds eleven shillings by vcay of loan,i and 
 this is only a single example of what was then a very 
 common arrangement. But the citizens could ill bear 
 the pressure of increased taxation. For some time their 
 prosperity had been waning, for foreign competition had 
 begun to tell upon the English cloth manufacture.^ 
 Discontent and divisions were rife among them as in 
 the preceding century. During years of dearth the 
 common lands had been ploughed up, and when the 
 dearth was over — when, " thanks be now to almighty 
 God," as the Leet Booh says, "corn is comen to good 
 plente and to easy and reasonable price," the ploughing 
 was still continued, and the cattle, of the common folk 
 deprived of pasture. 
 
 In 1525 the citizens rose, after their old practice, to 
 resist the enclosure of the common lands. On " 111 
 Lammas Day," say the annals, "... the commons 
 of Coventre rose and pulled down the gates and hedges 
 of the grounds inclosed, and they that were in the cittie 
 shutt the Newgate against the chamberlain and their com- 
 pany. The mayor was almost smothered in the throng ; 
 he held with the commons, for which he was carried as 
 
 1 Corp. MS. B. 60. 
 
 ' In Henry VIII.'s reign the woollen manufacture of 
 Norwich, was at a low ebb ; the principal cause of this was 
 the manufacture abroad, which led to the export of the raw 
 material to Flanders (Burnley, Hist, of Wool and Wool Comhing, 
 66-67). 
 
The Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 199 
 
 pi-isoner to London ; he was put out of his office^ and Mr. 
 John Humphrey served out the year." A special com- 
 mission under the marquis of Dorset was appointed to 
 try the rioters. Thirty-seven prisoners were sent to 
 Warwick and Kenilworth castles, and seven to the 
 Marshalsea."^ Some suffered at the pilloi-y, others after 
 long imprisonment were pardoned by the king on the 
 occasion of the pope's jubilee.- But tho rulers of the city 
 were highly unpopular, and frequent " slander's " were 
 proclaimed against them.'' 
 
 The annals record the discovery of the wildest schemes, 
 which sprang, no doubt, from the misery of the people, 
 In 1523 two men, Pratt and Sloth, were arrested in Coven- 
 try on the charge of treason. They confessed that their 
 purpose was to kill the mayor and his brethren, rob S. 
 Mary's Hall, where the common chest was kept, and take 
 Kenilworth Castle. They were taken to London for 
 judgment, but executed at Coventry, and their remains 
 figured on the city gates.* The next year a further 
 scheme came to light. This time the king's subsidy was 
 the object at which the plunderers aimed ; it was to be 
 stolen from the collectors on the highway to London ; 
 the conspirators proposed to seize Kenilworth Castle 
 and to fight there for their lives. These men, Phillips, 
 a schoolmaster, Pickering, clerk of the king's larder, 
 and Anthony Manville, gentleman, were hanged, drawn 
 and quartered at Tj'burn. ^ 
 
 1 Harl. MS. 6,388, f. 30. 2 Corp. MS. A. 79, f. 27. 
 
 3 Ih. f. 28. * Harl. MS. 6,388, f. 29«. ^ /j,-,?. 
 
200 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 The " King's Proceedings " of 1536 undoubtedly inten- 
 sified the misery of the citizens. The monastery was 
 dissolved by the royal commissioners ; the cathedral 
 churcli defaced and its roof pulled off, and the lead, worth 
 £647, stacked withia the desecrated building ; ^ the house 
 of the Franciscans razed "because the poor people lay so 
 sore upon it ; ^ and all monastic property seized into the 
 king's hand. Dugdale, quoting Hales' letter to the pro- 
 tector Somerset, attributes to the dissolution the state of 
 decay and misery into which the city had fallen in the 
 third year of Edward VI. " There were not at that time," 
 the letter runs, " more than 3,000 inhabitants, whereas 
 within memory there had been 15,000." ^ It is very 
 doubtful whether the high figure is correct, and certainly 
 the population never sank to so low as 3,000. In a peti- 
 tion coming from the people of Coventry in 154.8 it is 
 stated that there were " to the number of eleven to twelve 
 thousand housling people " ^ within the city. But it was 
 the sweeping and iniquitous act of confiscation, known 
 as the suppression of the guilds and chantries, rather 
 than the dissolution of the monasteries, which brought the 
 citizens to the verge of ruin. So extensive was the house 
 property belonging to the guilds, and so intimately were 
 these bodies connected with the corporation, that this 
 calamity involved the city finances in the most terrible 
 confusion. Having no property from which to draw the 
 money for the annual fee-ferm of £50, one or two persons. 
 
 ' Gasquet, Monasteries, II. 427. 2 Ji^ n 265. 
 
 » Dugdale, Wane. I. 146. •• Harl. MS. 6,195, f. 7. 
 
The Last Struggle of York ajid Lancaster 201 
 
 the citizens declared to the protector Somerset, were 
 yearly rained by the tax levied for its payment. ^ The 
 poorer class — of late years greatly increased in numbers 
 — were 'deprived of the guild charities, the children of a 
 schoolmaster ^ and the less wealthy craftsmen of all hope 
 of provision for old age and an honourable burial after 
 death. The burgesses of Lynn and Coventry protested 
 against the confiscation. There were but two churches 
 in tlie city, the latter declai'ed, " wherein God's service 
 is done, whereof the one, that is to say, the church of 
 Corpus Christi, was specially maintained of the revenues 
 of such guild lands as had been given heretofore by 
 divers persons to that use. ... If therefore now by 
 the act the same lands should pass from them, it should 
 be a manifest cause of the utter desolation of the city." 
 For the people, the petitioners declared, " when the 
 churches were no longer supported, nor God's service 
 done therein, and the other uses and employments of 
 those lands omitted, should be of force constrained to 
 abandon the city and seek new dwelling places." ^ This 
 energetic protest was not without its effect. The citi- 
 zens were permitted to purchase back the guild lands 
 for the sum of £1,315 1,9. 8i., a very large amount in 
 
 ' Vol. of correspondence, Corji. MS. A. 79, f. 63. 
 
 2 The schoolmaster's salary was discharged by the Trinity 
 guild. 
 
 " Harl. MS. 6,195, f. 7. See also Ashlej-, yt. II. 148. The 
 church referred to is the now demolished one dedicated to S. 
 Nicholas, which was supported by the Corpus Christi guild. 
 
202 Life in an Old Eiiglisk Tozvn 
 
 those days,i which, in spite of theii' poverty, they were 
 enabled to g-ather together. 
 
 That the great prosperity and glory of Coventry passed 
 away with the Tudor kings is undoubted, just as the 
 special interest in the city's history closes with the Wars 
 of the Roses. A royal visit ceased to be a political event, 
 it became merely an occasion for splendour, or an act of 
 courtesy. Elizabeth visited the city in 1565, and was 
 greeted with much courtier-like compliment by the re- 
 corder,^ but the reception given to her has none of the 
 significance which attaches to the welcome, say, of 
 Margaret of Anjou. Coventry saw the great queen's 
 rival a few years later, when, in order to be out of reach 
 of her confederates in the north, Mary Queen of Scots 
 was hurriedly conveyed from Tutbury to the city, and 
 placed under a strong guard. But memorable events 
 connected with Coventry grow rarer and rarer as time 
 goes on. 
 
 The chief featare of the Stuart period is the strengthen- 
 ing of the Puritan feeling among the citizens. Either 
 owing to the influence of the Presbyterian Cartwright, 
 who, during his tenure of the mastership of Leycester'a 
 hospital at Warwick, established his system of church 
 discipline among the clergy of the county,^ or from some 
 hereditary instinct, which had led them to embrace Lol- 
 lardisni under the Lancastrians, and furnish martyrs for 
 the faggot under the Tudors, the men of Coventry grew 
 
 Corp. MS. B. 75. 2 Poole, Coventry, 90. 
 
 ^ Green, Hist. Eng. People, 460. 
 
The Last Struggle oj York and Lancaster 203 
 
 more Puritan year by year. They greatly vexed the soul 
 of king James in 1611 by refusing to kneel in receiving 
 the Sacrament, a circumstance the English Solomon never 
 forgot, and ten years later he refused to grant a new 
 charter to the city until he was certified by the bishop 
 that the orders of the Church were complied with.i Nor 
 did a lawsuit, which the prince of Wales carried on for 
 many years with the corporation about the rent due to 
 him from the monastery lands as lord of Cheylesmore, 
 improve the understanding between the people and the 
 Stuart kings. When, however, the famous writ of ship- 
 money was first issued in 1635, it was not against the 
 principle, but rather against the unfair assessment of the 
 local tax, that the men of Coventry murmured. The 
 city, they complained, was no longer prosperous, nor was 
 it able to pay a sum so disproportionate to that levied on 
 the remainder of the county. Many were the journeys 
 the diligent town clerk, Humphrey Burton, undertook 
 ere he could get the tax lightened for the citizens.^ 
 
 But no readjustment of the assessment of this unpopu- 
 lar tax could win over the hearts of the Coventry men to 
 king Charles. And when in August, 1642, a few days 
 before the royal standard was unfurled at Nottingham, 
 Charles appeared before the walls and summoned the 
 people of Coventry to admit him, they refused to allow 
 him to enter the city.^ This circumstance rankled 
 sore in the king's mind, and it seems that the feeling 
 
 ShariJ, Anli(i. 18. ^ Burton on Ship Money, Corp, MS. A. 35. 
 2 Poole, Coventry, 75. 
 
204 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 was shared by his son, for vrhen Charles II. came into 
 his own again, he ordered that the walls of the city 
 where his father had suffered this check should be de- 
 molished. The work of destruction, which was began 
 by the earl of Northampton on July 22, 1662, occupied 
 nearly 600 men for three weeks and three days,i and when 
 it was over the history of Coventry as a fortification 
 comes to a close. Moreover, the title of the bishopric 
 was now transposed, running henceforth not Coventry and 
 Lichfield, but Lichfield and Coventry. 
 
 King James II., who tampered here as everywhere 
 with the civic constitution in favour of the Tories, his 
 supporters, paid the city a peaceful visit in 1687, and 
 touched for the evil in S. Michael's church, on which 
 occasion " the very galleries crackt again," the throng 
 was so great.2 This closes the list of notable royal 
 visits to Coventry, and the interest shifts to the varying 
 fortunes of the citizens. Although, as compared with 
 London, provincial towns ceased to be great centres 
 of trade, Coventry never gave itself wholly up to stag- 
 nation and decay, but always kept alive some sort of 
 manufacturing activity. At first the settlement of 
 Huguenot exiles gave an impulse to the silk industry, 
 and for neai-ly two centuries the weaving of silk and 
 ribbons was the main employment of the citizens. In 
 the eighteenth centuiy the manufacture of watches was 
 introduced,^ but it has been reserved for our own day 
 
 ' Poole, 80. 2 Sharp, Antiq. 22. 
 
 3 Poole, 359-363. 
 
The Last Struggle of York and Lancaster 205 
 
 to see the city again put on that busy, eager, thriving 
 look which must have distinguished it under the later 
 Plantagenets. The cycle manufacture has won back for 
 the city some of the prosperity it once enjoyed. But 
 nothing can bring back the pomp and grandeur and the 
 semi- independence of mediasval times ; neither can the 
 modern builder lend it any of the consistent beauty 
 of the architecture of the Middle 'Ages. Still, unlike 
 Abingdon, Winchester, or S, Alban's, it is a town with 
 a present to work in, as well as a past on which to look 
 back. As for the future, who can tell ? 
 
XII 
 
 THE LAMMAS LANDS 
 
 Close by Whitley Bridge is a piece of meadow called 
 Alderford Piece,i which is still held by the owners of 
 Whitley abbey, although they have no other land on the 
 Coventry side of the river Sherborne. Concerning this 
 and sundry other meadows ^ a bitter feud was waged in 
 Coventry during the fifteenth century between the family 
 of Bristowe on the one hand, and the mayor, bailiffs and 
 community of the city on the other. The account of the 
 struggle, which reveals some of the most interesting per- 
 sonalities in Coventi'y history, shows how tenacious were 
 the memories of the commonalty where the extent of 
 the Lammas lands was concerned, and how fierce their 
 resentment when these suffered diminution by encroach- 
 ment. 
 
 There are doubts whether William Bristowe, of Whit- 
 ley, came of gentle blood, though he spoke of his manor 
 in those parts, and wrote himself " gentilman " with the 
 best. His father, John Bristowe, had gained his liveli- 
 hood in the city as a draper, and growing in wealth and 
 
 1 I am indebted for the identifloation of this piece of land to 
 Mr. Beard, town clerk of Coventry. 
 
 2 The land in question stretched from Whitley brook to Baron's 
 Field, which was enclosed in 1815 as a cemetery. See map. 
 
 300 
 
The Lammas Lands 207 
 
 influence, became mayor in 1428,i and later justice of the 
 peace and master of the Trinity guild. But he left an ill 
 name behind him, and his acts of encroachment were 
 fi'uitfulof many troubles both to him and his descendants. 
 Thinking may-be to improve his position and step into 
 the ranks of the country gentry, John purchased an 
 estate at Whitley, a mile or two south of the city gates. 
 Then began those enclosures of the common pastures 
 which were hereafter to be remembered against him. 
 Forty years later the tale of his doings were related by 
 the oldest of his fellow-townsmen.^ After " the seid John 
 Bristowe had boron office within the cite of Couentre, 
 thynkyng that the common people of the seid cite durst 
 nor wolde contrarie his doyng . . . [he] let sowe with 
 corne dyuers landes and buttes lying in the seid comyn 
 grounde of Couentre fastby Whitley Crosse." But the 
 encroachment did not go unnoticed, nor was the trans- 
 gressor allowed to have his will. " Wherupon " the 
 aged citizens continued glad to remember the stalwart 
 resistance made by a bygone generation, " . . . the 
 seid people of Couentre put the hierdlym'' of bestes of 
 Couentre into the saide corne and eton hit up as corne 
 sowen on their owen common 'grounde." Kevertheless 
 John did not amend his ways, being assured his good 
 friends, the mayor and corporation, would wink at his 
 misdeeds. But "inordynatly be the fauor of dyuers 
 then officers of the cite of Couentre, dyuers tymes, [he] 
 lot inclose parte of the forseid common grounde be 
 
 1 Led Booh, f. Jl). . • Corp. MS. F. <1. " An obscure word. 
 
2o8 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 diuers parcels, with hegges and dykes, and then aftur 
 dyuers tymes let lieire ^ and sowe dyuers of the same 
 closes be hym so wrongfully inclosed, entendyng euer 
 azeyns all good consiens for his singler avayle^ to approwe 
 hym ^ of parte of the seid common grounde, so that he 
 suche coutynuance hit myght he called his owne lande, 
 wher in trouthe he had neuer right, title, nor other 
 possession therin." 
 
 But this was not the least of John Bristowe's en- 
 croachments. He laid claim to share with the freemen 
 of Coventry the rights of pasture on the side of Whitley 
 brook, nearest to the city,'^ a claim no lord of Whitley 
 had heretofore advanced. But he met with a second 
 check. " Whiche wrong, when the people of Couentre 
 understode hit, they pynned ^ the bestes of the seid 
 John Bristowe at Couentre. Wheruppon the same John 
 made amendes for the seid wrong, and never aftur wolde 
 suffer his cattel occupying at Whitley to passe ouer the 
 seid broke toward Couentre be his will." But after his 
 death, when his son William entered into the inheritance, 
 either the relaxation of the citizens' vigilance or the warm 
 friendliness of men in high places enabled the new lord 
 of Whitley to drive his cattle across the brook, the 
 natural boundai-y between the pasturage of the folk of 
 the hamlet of Whitley and the city of Coventry. Morc- 
 
 ' Ear=plougli. 2 Individual profit. 
 
 ^ Got possession of. 
 
 * Perhaps by buying extensive lands outside the city ho for- 
 feited his rights of citizenship. '•> Put in the pound. 
 
The Lammas Lands 209 
 
 over the meadows between Baron's Field and Whitley 
 brook were kept several. The citizens did not, however, 
 forget these encroachments, though, for many yeai'S, 
 custom sanctioned the double wrong. 
 
 The fruit of these evil dealings was seen in the year 
 1469, a troubled one for Coventry. The mayor, William 
 Saunders, a dyer, one of a craft which had often been, 
 and was again often to be, at variance with the corpora- 
 tion, seems to have had leanings towards the popular 
 side. Wars and rumours of wars brought some distress 
 upon the city, and the mayor gave £5 " in relesynge 
 of pore men that shuld have bor their part " towards 
 defraying the cost " for fifty men to go to York to the 
 king against Robin of Redesdale," for Warwick's party 
 were rising in rebellion, and the soldiers, weary of 
 war, demanded the unheard of sum of Y)d. a day as 
 payment. Financial difficulties also beset the corpora- 
 tion. The ferm, as we have seen, had in the previous 
 year fallen greatly into arrears ; but the trouble con- 
 cerning the Lammas lands was to dwarf by comparison 
 all the rest. 
 
 It was at this time that William Bristowe by his 
 own deed, brought down upon himself the anger of 
 the corporation. From a house in the West Orchard 
 he built a wall, which was found to encroach "by a 
 foot or more" upon the common river; wherefore "it 
 was taken up again." Indignant at this usage, Bris- 
 towe brought an action for trespass in the county 
 court against the mayor and community. This was an 
 unwise step on his part, for the corporation at once 
 
 P 
 
210 Life tn an Old English Tozvn 
 
 " remembered," the Leet Booh ^ says with unconscious 
 irony, " that he was suffered to overlay the common be- 
 wixt Whitley and Coventry, and had no common there." 
 In other words, Bristowe had continued to tread in his 
 father's footsteps. They resolved forthwith that this 
 should not be suffered to continue. On the eve of S. 
 Andrew, before Sir John Nedam, knight and jastice, 
 they demanded what evidence Bristowe could put forth 
 in support of his claim; and heard the testimony of 
 " agyt " men concei'ning the impounding of his father's 
 cattle in former days when they had been found in the 
 Coventry pastures. While matters were in debate the 
 other encroachment of this family was brought forward. 
 Men told one another how John Bristowe had, by "dyking 
 and hedging," enclosed " divers parcels" of the common 
 pasture by the water at Whitley, and how the father and 
 son had kept these meadows several ever since. 
 
 For once corporation and " commonalty " were of 
 one mind as regards the question of the Lammas lands. 
 It was resolved that John Bristowe's work should be 
 undone. So on the Monday after S. Andrew's day the 
 mayor and divers citizens — such is the account of the 
 affair Bristowe gave in his petition to Edward IV. in the 
 following year ^ — " stered and provokyd and comaundyd 
 mony and dyuers rotys personys ... to the number 
 of vc (500) personys and more . . . [who] in manere 
 of warre arrayed, that is for to say [with] byllys, launce- 
 gayes, jakkys, salettys, bowes, arrowes, and with 
 
 * Leet Book, f. 206. " Corp. MS. F. 3. 
 
The Lammas Lands 211 
 
 mottokys and spadeys, sliolles and axes," with evil 
 intent came to Bristowe's fields. Here they went to 
 work, and " caste down his gatys and his dyches, cutte 
 down his hegeys and his trees . . . and mony 
 grete okeys beyng growyng in the hegeys and dycheys 
 of the age of c years and more," carrying away wood, 
 clay and gravel, and " riotously " destroying two 
 " swaneys ereyrs " (nests). The trespassers would even 
 have pulled down the petitioner's mills had not one 
 of his servants induced them to desist by meeting 
 them with a box of money " by way of a fine." And 
 afterwards, Bristowe continued, with a touch of bitter- 
 ness at this last indignity, "William Pere, con of the 
 aldermen of the same cite, by the commaundment of 
 the seid late mayre and Richard Braytoft, browght 
 with hym the wayteys of the same cite to the seid 
 riotoui's in reresyng ^ of their seid rioteys, and like as 
 the[y] hade doon a grete conquest or victori, . . . 
 made theym pype and synge before the said riotours 
 all the weye ... to the seid cite, which ys by 
 space of a myle largele or more." And that day, the 
 petition goes on yet more bitterly, " these men were 
 in the tavern setting, avauntyng and reresyng of their 
 gret riotes, saying that if your seid besecher ^ sueyd any 
 persone . . . for that cause by the course of your 
 laweys, that they wold slee ^ him." In this manner, with 
 tossing of tankards and playing of pipes, the meadows 
 and arable lands at Whitley were thrown open to the 
 
 ' i.e. rehearsing. ' i.e. petitioner. ^ i.e. slay. 
 
212 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 community at S. Andrew's tide in the year of grace 
 1469. Two citizens— Pere, an alderman, and Squire, a 
 chamberlain — were afterwards put into possession of the 
 closes to hold them in the name of the community. 
 
 "William Saunders, the mayor, found the commonalty apt 
 pupils in learning to resent old encroachments ; but the 
 pupils soon grew too strong for the master's hand. A 
 fresh trouble arose after Bristowe's claims had been dis- 
 posed of. The Prior's Waste was held by the convent, 
 but the community was possessed of a somewhat doubt- 
 ful title to the pasturage of the same. On S. Nicholas' 
 day the people broke out into open riot, threw down 
 hedges round about the Waste and those of other gardens 
 belonging to the convent. The prior professed to be 
 " greatly aggrieved," and proposed to " trouble " the city 
 no doubt with a lawsuit.^ But the mayor, perceiving 
 perhaps that the matter was one of great difBculty, en- 
 treated him to come to terms, and finally granted him as 
 compensation the Waste and a piece of land without 
 the New Gate "to be kept several for evermore." These 
 enclosures were the beginning of troubles. A body of 
 216 men had approved of this measure, but they were, 
 very likely, selected with a special view to obtaining this 
 approval, as the names of sixty-five of them can be iden- 
 tified with those of past or future municipal officers. 
 At least the common people did not approve of the step. 
 They refused to relinquish their ancient rights over the 
 Prior's Waste and the close by the New Gate, though 
 
 ' Uet Booh, f . 207. 
 
The Lammas Lands 213 
 
 the leet forbade them to break open the meadows reserved 
 for the prior's use.^ 
 
 But Bristowe did not tamely endure to be cut off from 
 his supposed inheritance. He waited till June in the 
 following year, and then by force and arms entered the 
 meadows, which Thomas Squire, the chamberlain, held 
 in the community's name, and wounded Squire, "so 
 that he despaired of his life." And now it was Bris- 
 towe's turn to bear off the booty. He carried away 
 from the pastures twenty loads of clay, and the same of 
 sand and of grarel, to the value of 10s., and grass 
 worth 40.?. ; and committed many depredations which 
 were afterwards brought against him in courts of 
 justice.^ Nor was William Pere, holder of the arable 
 land, the delinquent who had summoned the waits from 
 the city to pipe before the rioters, allowed to escape. 
 Judgment came on him in July, before the corn was ripe. 
 Accompanied by one William White, a husbandman, 
 Bristowe came, " vi et armis," etc., and took away Fere's 
 goods and chattels to the value of ten marks — that is 
 to say, ten loads of wheat in sheaves — and did other 
 enormities to his damage, value £20.^ Having therefore 
 dealt these blows to his enemies, Bristowe at once appealed 
 to the pi'ivy council to redress his wrongs; and Saunders, 
 the late mayor, Pere, and another citizen who had been 
 prominent in the affair of the preceding year, were sum- 
 moned before the council to answer for the matters 
 laid to their charge. 
 
 • Leet Boole, i. 216?. 2 Corp. MS. Not in catalogue. 
 
 3 Corp. MS. E. 9. 
 
214 Life in an Old English Tozun 
 
 The late mayor and his assistants scornfully denied the 
 bulk of Bristowe's accusation. Whitley, they averred, 
 was no " manor," and claims such as its present owner 
 put forward had been formerly unknown. They gently 
 ridiculed the complaint of the damage wrought among 
 the "gret okes," whereof none, they declared, were more 
 than twenty years old, the value of the whole timber 
 being but 6s. 8d. ; but they were fain to admit the 
 felling of twelve small trees, as well as of breaking 
 hedges, and carrying away sundry loads of clay and 
 gravel. But it was not on Bristowe's land, they de- 
 clared, that these trespasses had been done. The land 
 he asserted to be part of his inheritance was in reality 
 the property of the community, and in the time of 
 Lawrence Cook (he had succeeded Bristowe's father in 
 the mayoralty in 1429) the corporation had held these 
 meadows in the community's name. And this possession 
 dated back to the days before the city's incorporation. 
 " The commonalty of the same city, afore that any 
 mayor or bailiff was, were seized thereof in their demesne 
 as of fee, time that no man's mind is to the contrary." 
 
 Bristowe's second statement, or " replicacion," and 
 Saunders' " rejoinder," were a mere tissue of mutual 
 contradiction, and the king deputed the prior of Max- 
 stoke, Sir Richard Byngham, and Thomas Littleton, 
 to inquire into the business, and " make a return under 
 their conclusions respecting the same, in the quindene 
 of S. Michael next coming." ^ What the end of these 
 
 ' Corp. MS. r. 3. 
 
The Lammas Lands 215 
 
 wortliy persons' inquisition ivas we have no means of 
 knowing. The matter, however, dragged on, with 
 various appeals to justice, until April, 1472. 
 
 In that year the corporation made a great effort to 
 end the dispute. A large gathering — " these," says the 
 Leel Book, giving about 120 names,i " and of other many 
 mo " — assembled in S. Mary's Hall at the mayor's bid- 
 ding ; and being asked " how they wold be demened 
 in that behalf," answered and said, "they wode abyde 
 with the tnair and his bredern to the utmost of herr 
 goodes " in the matter ; " and as the mair and his 
 cownsaill did in the mater [would] agree thereto." 
 Fortified by this support, the mayor and his council 
 proceeded to seek for means of closing the quarrel by 
 arbitration. On the Wednesday in" Whitsunweek the 
 two sherifEs offered to treat oa Bristowe's behalf, their 
 labour being undertaken, they confessed, " thorow the 
 speceal meanes and lamentable instaunce of the wiffe of 
 the seid William Bristowe." * The mayor and council, 
 " in order that it might not be said that they had refused 
 a reasonable offer," ordered that bills, " endented and 
 ensealed," should be made, setting forth the matter at 
 variance, both parties agreeing to abide by the decision 
 of John Catesby, sergeant-at-law, and William Cumber- 
 ford, Moreover, a representative of the mayor and 
 community was to be chosen to ride to London and lay 
 the matter before the arbitrators.^ 
 
 As there were, of course, no deeds existing testifying 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 215«, ' Jb. f. 216. » Ibid. 
 
2i6 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 to the rights of the community in this case, measures 
 were taken to prepare documents. " And on the Monday 
 next after the blessed Trinity Sunday " ^ the common 
 lands were viewed by certain great men of the neigh- 
 bourhood, the abbots of Kenilworth, Combe, Stoneley, 
 and Merevale, Sir Simon Mountford of Coleshill, Sir 
 Robert Strelley, and William Hugford of Emscote. 
 These, then, had an " examination " of certain of the 
 oldest men of the city. " The whyclie old men all and 
 everych of them by himself deposed and swar openly 
 uppon a boke " that the land in question was " common 
 to the commonalty."^ There was then a "letter testi- 
 monial " made to this effect, to which all the worshipful 
 men and these great folk affixed their seals. 
 
 The thirty old men — their ages ranged from forty 
 years " and more " to fourscore^ — were much impressed 
 with the solemnity of the occasion. " In alsmoche," 
 their " letter testimonial " runs, " as for cure gret ages 
 be liklyhode wee may not long abyde in the erthely 
 lyfe, and we knowe verely that hit is medefull to our 
 soweles to witnesse thynges that be true and in oure 
 knowlech, callyng to our remembraunoe the unlawefuU 
 and wilfuU treble whiche William Bristowe dothe azeyns 
 the maire and commonalte of Couentre, claymyng the 
 common gi'ound that lieth betwyxt Baronfelde * withoute 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 216a. "■ Corp. MS. F. 4. 
 
 5 See Green, Town Life, II, 315, for a similar case at South- 
 ampton. Here one " ancient" man was aged 104 years and more. 
 ■* Baron's Field is now part of the old cemetery. 
 
The Lammas Lands 217 
 
 the Newe Yate under the kyrges park, stretchyng to 
 Whitleybroke, called Shirburne," they affirmed that his 
 claim was contrary to old custom, and "open wrong." 
 They told also the tale of John Bristowe's offences in 
 enclosing and sending his cattle upon the pastares. 
 
 "And sithen the deth of the seid John Bristowe . . . 
 the same William Bristowe, willyng be his power to 
 contynue the forseid wrong done be his seid ffadir, 
 wrongfully put into the same closez, and the forseid 
 other common gronnde residue, dyuers bestes of his ffer- 
 mors of Whitley, saying presumptuously that he and his 
 tennantez of Whitley wolden haue comyn for their bestes 
 at Whitley withoute nombre " in all places upon the said 
 common grounde. Whereas this land, on the contrary, 
 had formerly been occupied by the commonalty of 
 Coventry " yearly " at their pleasure to make their 
 " shutynges, rennynges, daunsynges, bowelyng aleyes, 
 and other their disportes as in their owne ground. And 
 these matiers," the record concludes, " be us after de- 
 clared ben iuste and true, so help us God at the day 
 of Dome." 
 
 No recoi'ds remain to tell us what was the ultimate 
 decision at which the arbitrators, Catesby and Cumber- 
 ford, arrived. In the July of the next year another 
 set of arbitrators were at work, either party of litigants 
 being bound in an obligation of 100 marks to abide by 
 their decision. According to this verdict Bristowe was 
 allowed to retain possession of the enclosed parts, but 
 the mayor and community were to have " common for 
 beasts from Lammas to Candlemas in the said land if 
 
2i8 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 it were fallow, and if it be sown as soon as the corn is 
 carried away," while Bristowe and his heirs were allowed 
 to common with the inhabitants of Coventry on the 
 lands between his estate and the city.i 
 
 It is very probable that the good folk of the city 
 -were ill-pleased with this decision, which was of the 
 nature of a compromise; for although they were al- 
 lowed, as of old, the use of the fields during the 
 autumn and winter months, yet they must, according 
 to the terms of the arbitration, admit Bristowe's cattle 
 to a share in their pastures. And the large flocks, 
 which he kept together with those of the prior, and 
 another grazier, devoured, they said to one another, 
 the pasture which of right belonged to their geldings 
 and cattle. It appears that attempts had been made 
 to break up the Prior's waste and the close by the 
 New Gate, for the leet fixed the penalty of those who 
 should offend in this manner at forty shillings.^ Men 
 of long memories must have pointed out to the anxious 
 crowds at Lammas these encroachments on the land of 
 the community. "The people come at Lammas," runs 
 an order of leet for the year 1'174, "in excess number 
 and unruly to ill ensauraple." And it was ordained that 
 on this day none should accompany the chamberlains, 
 when they rode out into the fields about the city to 
 
 1 Corp. MS. C. 204. The varieties in the nomenclature of the 
 various fields makes it diffio^ilt to pronounce decidedly whether 
 Bristowe gained all he desired according to this arbitration. 
 
 2 Leet Book, i. 216. 
 
The Lammas Lands 219 
 
 throw open the common lands, but those to whom per- 
 mission had been previously given. ^ 
 
 Bat those whose minds dwelt on these abuses of en- 
 croachment and surcharging with others permitted by 
 the corporation found a spokesman and chief of their 
 party in the dyer, Laurence Saunders. To judge from 
 the position of Laurence and his friends, the lieads of this 
 party were men of good standing in the town and well-to- 
 do. They could count among their number brethren of 
 the guild, and men " of substance " sufficient to admit of 
 their filling the lower municipal offices, the warden's post 
 or the chamberlain's. These men had grievances other 
 than the surcharging or enclosing of the common pasture 
 — questions to which Laurence's formal petitions are 
 wholly devoted : their trade was shorn of its profits. 
 In complaints coming from Laurence's followers, we are 
 told that the rulers of the city "j)ick:ed away the 
 thrift " of the " commonalty " ; and reference is made 
 to certain unpopular acts of leet touching the citizens, 
 not only as sharers of the common pasture, but also as 
 makers, buyers, and sellers — in short, as ci'aftsmen. 
 
 William Saunders, the father of Laurence, had been 
 mayor iu the year the Prior's Waste was enclosed. He 
 must have been a wealthy citizen to rise to the mayor's 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 219. Bristowe's case was again under discussion 
 in 1474, see Corp. MS. D. 2, This time a verdict, given not by a 
 Coventry jury, but— at Bristowe's petition— by a jury of twentj^- 
 four knights from the vicinage of the city, was favourable to 
 Bristowe, and acquitted him of the charge of assault, etc., brought 
 against him by the corporation. 
 
220 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 degree. Since 1430 the family had lived in Spon 
 Street,! g^ convenient neighbourhood for those of the 
 dyer's occupation, as the river flowed near. If he had 
 been of a submissive temper, in all likelihood Laurence 
 would have risen to high places, as his father had done. 
 Owing perhaps to William Saunders's influence, early in 
 life the son once gave his adherence to the municipality, 
 in so far as, when the question of enclosing the Waste 
 was brought forward, his name appears among the two 
 hundred and sixteen who consented to the measures 
 which, on looking back eleven years later, he unreservedly 
 condemned. It was in 1480 that he was chosen to fill 
 the post of chamberlain or treasurer, and probably from, 
 that time, as a member of both the guilds, or as a late 
 municipal officer, he was on the roll of those liable to be 
 summoned by the mayor to attend the council.* The 
 chamberlainship was an irksome post. The officers were 
 overseers of the common pasture, and took fines from 
 the owners of strayed cattle. They received the murage 
 dues, which were devoted to repairing the walls and city 
 buildings, giving in an account of the outlay at the end 
 
 ' Leet Booh, f. 11a. 
 
 ^ Laurence was a member of the "council of Forty-eight," 
 Leet Book, f. 2B3o, and a member of both guilds (Sharp, Anliq. 
 233; Leet Book, f. 278). In llOb Saunders was discharged from all 
 attendance at the mayor's council, the common council, and all 
 other councils to he taken within the city {lb. f. 275). The 
 common council is first mentioned iu 1477. Probably the 
 '•Forty-eight" and the common council were identical. The 
 " mayor's council " consisted apparently of such of the " Forty- 
 eight" as he cared to summon. There is no evidence that these 
 councillors wei-e elected by wards. 
 
The Lammas Lands 221 
 
 of the year. The murage money was continually running 
 short about this time, as the prior could not be induced 
 to pay his share, and the chamberlains were frequently 
 called upon to make up the deficit.^ 
 
 The corporation quickly found they had reason to 
 repent of their choice. Laurence was a " masterful " 
 man ; " where he is subject and servant he would subdue 
 us all if he might get assistance," the mayor complains 
 in a letter written this year to the prince of Wales. 
 The Jjeet Book gives a specimen of the new officer's 
 insubordination.^ It appears that labourers had been 
 set to quarry for stone required for repairing the town 
 wall. At the end of the week the two chamberlains, 
 .Saunders and his fellow, "William Hede, refused, con- 
 trary to custom, to give them their wages, Laurence 
 saying " presumptuously " to the mayor that " those that 
 set them awarke shuld pay for hym." The two officei's 
 were there and then committed to prison, where they lay 
 for a week. In the end the petitions of their friends 
 obtained a release. Both were, however, bound in £40 
 to abide by the decision of the mayor and council as to 
 their punishment. The mayor and council fixed upon a 
 fine of £10, and of this they afterwards gave back £6 to 
 the two chamberlains, a piece of liberality which shows 
 that the town rulers knew their cause was weak, or 
 thought it impolitic to push Saunders to extremities 
 while such a strong feeling, in his favour, existed through- 
 out the city. 
 
 ' The prior, in 1498, is said to have refused to pay it for 
 twenty years {Leet Book, f, 282). ^ lb. t 234a. 
 
222 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Matters did not improve as time went on. The Leet 
 Booh relates how Laurence, in spite of the forbearance 
 shown towards him, was " wilfully disposed '' against both 
 the mayor and " common people," distraining their cattle 
 and taking " excess " fines for the pound. When sum- 
 moned before the mayor to " see direction," according to 
 custom, he " many times grudged so to do, and in manner 
 at all times disdained to be led by the said mayor." 
 Finally, on September 20, having obtained licence to 
 leave the city on the plea of business at Southampton, he 
 turned his horse's head in the direction of Ludlow and 
 rode thither, bearing in his hands a petition addressed 
 to the prince of Wales, who, as duke of Cornwall, was 
 the lord and special protector of the city. The prince, a 
 child of ten years old, kept his court at Ludlow Castle, 
 at that time under the guardianship of his uncle, the earl 
 Rivers. 
 
 It is very evident that this account of the first falling- 
 out between the chamberlains and the corporation does 
 not go to the root of the matter. Laurence's conduct is 
 more explicable when we tarn to the version he gives 
 of the aifair in the " Petition of the chamberlains and 
 citizens of Coventry," ^ for in this document, which he 
 tendered to the prince's council, his finger can be dis- 
 tinctly traced. According to this petition, there were 
 two grievances under which the community then 
 laboured. In the first place the prior, the recorder, 
 Bristowe, and others, withheld from them half of the 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 235. 
 
The Lammas Lands 223 
 
 common lands ; in the second, a favoured few " main- 
 tained " by the recorder and the mayor, " surcharged " 
 the pasture with what number of sheep they chose, while 
 the common folk of the city were not allowed to go 
 beyond their "stint," the number laid down by the 
 authorities. In a city where there was much clothmating, 
 and wool greatly in request, there was naturally a good 
 deal of scope for the grazier, and no doubt the men of 
 this calling had come to an understanding with the muni- 
 cipality. The chamberlains' duty, however, was perfectly 
 clear. They were enjoined by an order of leet, passed 
 only nine years before, to drive the flocks of those who 
 surcharged the commons to the pound, and take distress 
 from the owners until they should pay the customary 
 fine.i This order they accordingly fulfilled, but whether 
 they really asked for what the municipal version calls an 
 " excess " fine there is no means of discovering. But the 
 mayor desired .that they should be ruled by his likings 
 and accordingly tried the persuasion of a week's imprison- 
 ment. Finding that after their release the chamberlains 
 still persisted in this course, he again and again delivered 
 up the sheep and remitted the fine. Whenever this was 
 done the officers sustained the loss of several shillings, for 
 the charge for every score was fourpence, and there is 
 mention of nine and ten score, and even of 300 sheep 
 driven into the pound. It would seem that in all these 
 
 ' Leet Book, i. 207 : " Cattle surcharging the common to be driven 
 to the pound and distress taken." And yet this very year the 
 corporation declared to the prior that the citizens always had 
 driven their cattle " without number " on the commons. 
 
224 •^?/^ "^ '^'^ ^^^ Englisli Town 
 
 matters the mayor was but the tool of the recorder, 
 Harry Boteler, or Butler, who had succeeded to the 
 recordership in 1456, in the room of Thomas Littleton, of 
 famous memory. It was Boteler who, according to the 
 petition, kept Saunders and Hede in prison over the day 
 of the Easter leet, and " wolde in no wyse suffre " them 
 " to spake a worde for the said comown." He, too, urged 
 on them the signing of the recognisance in £40 " to obbeye 
 the meirs commandements" about the pinfold charges, 
 although the chamberlains "grudged" to do so, "in so 
 moohe as they were solemply sworen to the contrarie." 
 And from this bond he would not release them, he cried 
 a month later, " for the best peco of scarlet in England." 
 As for the prior's sheep, thotigh four hundred of them 
 were grazing on the common, "contrarie to old custom," 
 the recorder would not suffer them to be pinned, because 
 the prior, forsooth, was " lord of the soil." And when 
 the chamberlains asked that the closes which the prior 
 kept in severalty might be thrown open at Lanamas, it 
 was Boteler who refused, alleging the " composition " 
 made between the prior and the community "in the time 
 of William Saunders beying meir." ^ 
 
 " Wher it ought to be comen as all the body of the city 
 knowen ; in that the forseid Laurens, on of the seid 
 Chamberleins, grugged (grudged) insomoche as the seid 
 mair, decessed, was his fadir and myght not answer for 
 hymself, but saide ' that he trusted in God to see hit 
 comen agen.' " 
 
 ' Led Book, i. 235. The meadows in question were the Prior's 
 Waste and the close by the New Gate. See above, p. 212. 
 
The Lammas Lands 225 
 
 Then the recorder burst forth : 
 
 " That he wold make the seid Chamberlein to curse the 
 tyme that ever he sigh hym and wolde make him to 
 wepe water with his yen,^ and for to be revenged vppon 
 hym he saide he wolde ryde to complayne vppon him 
 unto onr soveraign lorde the Kyng." 
 
 The petition ends with a list of the fields enclosed by 
 the prior, the Trinity guild, and others of the city. 
 
 It is clear from the recorder's speech that there was 
 expectation of battle toward, and Boteler had no mind to 
 give quarter. Meanwhile Laurence, by his appeal to the 
 prince's council, had stolen a march upon his enemies. 
 A- letter, dated September 30, 1480, required that 
 some discreet persons of the city council should ride to 
 Ludlow, bearing a copy of the chamberlain's oath, in 
 order that the prince's council might compose " a vari- 
 ance between certain people of the city about a common 
 pasture." This letter revealed to the corporation the 
 chamberlain's secret mission. " We, your humble and 
 true servants here," the mayor and his brethren wrote 
 in reply, " know no variance betwixt any person here for 
 any common pasture but that we among ourselves, by the 
 grace of God, shall amicably and righteously settle." 
 They begged that Saunders' words might not be "printed 
 in the prince's remembrance," and hoped to have license 
 to punish this troublesome citizen, inasmuch as he 
 would raise up "commotions among the people," and by 
 this means discoarage "other misruled to presumptuously 
 
 ' 4.6, " eyes," 
 
226 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 attempt sucli things herafter." As the prince still in- 
 sisted that the suit should be heard at Ludlow, eighteen 
 " worshipful " men, chosen by the common council, set 
 forth on the journey. Among them were numbered the 
 recorder, lately recovered from sickness; the master of 
 the Trinity Guild ; John Boteler, town clerk, presumably 
 a son of the recorder ; and William Hede, the chamber- 
 lain, Laurence's fair-weather friend, who had betimes 
 humbly submitted to the corporation. The wardens, to 
 whom the paying of extraordinary expenses fell, went 
 with the party to pay for the cost of the journey. 
 There was a goodly following of servants, bi-inging up 
 the number to forty-four persons in all, for the wor- 
 shipful folk travelled luxuriously, and to secure their 
 comfort a cook and a harbinger were of the company. 
 The cost of the journey — amounting to £15 lis. lid. — 
 Was afterwards, by decree of the mayor and council, 
 discharged by Laurence Saunders. There is nothing 
 related of the proceedings of the case, save that the 
 decision was against Laurence. The Leet Book says, 
 as openly was proved, he " entended not reformacion, 
 . . . but feyned matiers to th' entent to have be venged 
 for the due punysshement yeven to him for his obsti- 
 nacy." ' So he came home to receive " correction," and 
 in his company there came a gentleman of the prince's 
 council to see that he fulfilled all the commands laid upon 
 him. There was nothing for it now but to bow before 
 the storm. In the presence of the mayor, the council, and 
 
 1 Leet Booh, f . 236.-8. 
 
The Lammas Lands 227 
 
 divers "commons" assembled iu St. Mary's Hall, Lau- 
 rence, it is said, knelt down and besought tbe mayor's 
 forgiveness, acknowledging his wrong-doing. He was 
 then committed to ward. After a little time his friends' 
 intercession prevailed, and he was allowed to leave the 
 prison, being bound in £500 to appear at the next 
 quarter sessions. The bond, too— for the corporation 
 were little inclined to allow further complaints to royalty 
 — was to be renewed "till content wer' had" of his 
 "sadde demeasnyng." 
 
 But though Saunders had been effectually silenced, 
 the strife he had kindled raged on. Bristowe and the 
 prior, whose transgressions in the matter of surcharging 
 were revealed in Laurence's complaint, were both ready 
 to pour forth counter-claims and accusations against 
 the corporation in the hearing of the prince's council, 
 at the time when Saunders' case was still under discus- 
 sion. Prior Deram being advised to present his grievances 
 in writing to the mayor and his brethren, tendered, on 
 November 16, 1480, an exhaustive list of them,i which 
 list the corporation hardly received in a befittingly 
 serious spirit. 
 
 Although in the prior's complaint the matter of sur- 
 charging is kept somewhat in the background, there can 
 be little doubt that here the real grievance lay. The 
 mayor and his friends had been perhaps very lenient to 
 the convent in this particular until Laurence's petition to 
 the prince had aroused their scruples, and they may 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 237. 
 
228 Life in ail Old English Town 
 
 have been forced to revive old regulations concerning the 
 "stint." When the prior argued that as "lord of the 
 soil " he was not " admeasurable," but able to drive on to 
 the pasture what number of cattle he chose, the mayor 
 and his brethren feigned blank ignorance. They did 
 not know, they declared, that the prior was " lord of the 
 soil,"^ but were of opinion that his action would be 
 " disseizin of the commons."^ They even tried to shield 
 Laurence Saunders when the prior alleged that his 
 " slanders" were a source of great annoyance to the con- 
 vent. He had been examined, they affirmed, and declared 
 he never " noised " such lands as were held by the monks 
 to be common, but those he had believed were so " ac- 
 cording to the black book of the city " ; " but if Laurence 
 had ofiended," they continued, "he would be pleased to 
 abide by what the mayor and prior chose to command 
 him." 
 
 There was another memory that rankled with the 
 monks — the tumialt on S. Nicholas' day, 1469, and the 
 subsequent action of William Saunders to prevent the 
 prior from "troubling" the city with a lawsuit. His 
 gardens, Deram indignantly reminded them, and his 
 woods at Whitmoor, had been broken into at that date ; 
 and he was not allowed to sue the misdoers at law. 
 
 ' Mayor's reply, Leet Book, f . 241. 
 
 2 111 the lord's outwoods, moors, and heaths, which were never 
 under the plough, " he sho^ild not be stinted, for the soil is his"^ 
 (Rogers, Six Cent. 90). It is extremely doubtful whether tlie 
 common lands of Coventry should be included in this category ; 
 many of them had been - under the plough." 
 
The Lammas Lands 229 
 
 Again he was met by a front of stolid ignorance. The 
 mayor and community " remembered no such breaking, 
 nor no hindrance to the prior's suit, which he was at 
 liberty to pursue." Grievances Deram had to pour forth 
 in plenty. The town wall was built on his land, he 
 complained, though his payment of £10 for murage, "of 
 pure good will," for repairing the town wall outside his 
 ground entitled him to some consideration in this 
 matter. The folk of the city gave him hourly tor- 
 ment. They broke down his underwood, birches, holly 
 and hawthorn in Wliitmoor park, and carried them 
 away ; they trod under foot his grass and his corn, 
 damaged his hedges " at their shooting called rov- 
 ing, to his hurt a hundred shillings " ; they washed in 
 . Swanswell pool, and fished in his ponds " by night and 
 by day," and made his orchard and several groands a 
 sporting place with shooting and other games, and when 
 " they been challenged by his sergeants they gyven hem 
 short langage, seying that they will have hit their 
 sportyngo place." The churchwardens lopped off the 
 boughs of the trees in S. Michael's churchyard, and all 
 manner of filth was deposited in the convent ground, " so 
 that the prior may not have his carriage through his 
 orchard " ; while by reason of the refuse swept into the 
 river his mill was "letted to go," and himself and his 
 brethren sorely hurt and discomfited by the stench. At 
 divers times the prior had put up bills against the 
 off'enders " in certen sessions, but," he concluded re- 
 sentfully, " thei ben so supported within this citie and the 
 enquestes so favourable to hem that no reformacion nor 
 pnnysshement hath ben done." 
 
230 Life in afi Old English Toivn 
 
 The mayor and community ^ assured the prior in return 
 that they were most anxious to maintain a friendly un- 
 derstanding with the convent. The authorities of the 
 city, they said, " maten dayly als gret diligens as they 
 can to knowe the stoppers of the seid common river, and 
 when eny be perceyved, they ben punysshed after their 
 deserve." As to the breaking of the underwood, every 
 year masters of the crafts, by the command of the mayor, 
 enjoined the members to refrain from this " in eschew- 
 yng the doughtfall censures of the Church," and also 
 temporal punishment. But the prior was reminded 
 how " the people of every gret cite as London . . 
 yerely in somer doon harme to divers lords and gentyle.s 
 hauyng wods and groves n5'gh to such citees . 
 and yit the lords and gentils suffren sych dedes ofte 
 tymes of tlieir goode will." And if the town wall 
 I'an on the prior's land — as it did on other freehold 
 within the city — the convent owed their security to these 
 fortifications, and ought of right to contribute to their 
 erection and repair, " because their lyffeloode within this 
 citie, and their proper Churche may rest in surte be 
 measne of the seid murage." The lopping of trees in the 
 churchyard they laid to the charge of the vicar ; while 
 as for the fish in Swanswell pool, they profited by the 
 washing there, and thereby grew " the fatter ! " Let the 
 prior, the mayor continued, send in the names of the 
 shooters, trespassers, and the like, and bring an action 
 against them ; and take proceedings against the casters 
 
 Led Book, ff. 237-241. 
 
The Lammas Lands 231 
 
 of refuse — for they were tis own tenants^a W& own 
 court leet, 
 
 The prior fumed at the audacity of this reply, and still 
 more at the delay in returning it, for more than six 
 weeks had elapsed since his bill of complaint had been 
 issued. His rejoinder i was drawn up in two days, a 
 briefer spaoe. The mayor had besought him (not with- 
 out hypocrisy, to Deram's mind) " that he would be as 
 good to the common weal as his predecessors had been," 
 so that "love and unitee betwixt hym and the cite" 
 might " continue and dayly better encresse ' ; but he dis- 
 trusted these professions of peace. "And whereas," he 
 said, " the meire and his brethren prayen hertly to the 
 prior and his convent lovyngly to accept their answeres 
 made to their compleynts, thei think it is (in them) no 
 lovyng desir." "His greves," he reminded them, had 
 been presented in writing " the xvi day of November 
 last past ... to the which the ii'*' day of Januar 
 next followyng" they had returned answer: "by the 
 which I and my bredern," the good man went on, laps- 
 ing into the first person in the heat and hurry of his 
 sentences, " thinke is no thyng accordyngfor reformaoion, 
 but delayes ; wherefore I and they desyre and prey you 
 to have us excused of further communicacion. . . 
 For we trust to God in [that] our compleynts ben no 
 feyned matiers, but such as shall be proved be credible 
 proves in writyng." " And for your answeres," he added 
 with a toiicli of irony, " ye have taken longe leysar to 
 
 1 Led Book, f. 242. 
 
232 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 conceyve, suasyons-like (persuasive) as it appereth, 
 they would have none of it, "but we ti-ust to haue 
 other remedje vpher trowthe shalbe knowen." 
 
 How strangely this dispute sounds in our ears, with its 
 childish display of offended dignity on one side, and half- 
 soothing, half-taunting tone on the other ! But the 
 petulant old prior did not long add to the difficulties 
 of the corporation. When John Boteler, the untiring 
 steward, went to London in the following Lent to find 
 out what course the convent meant to pursue with regard 
 to the suit at law between them and the city, he learnt 
 that the enemy was dead.'^ But though the article about 
 surcharging and the minor questions sank into insignifi- 
 cance the dispute about the murage continued for many 
 years, the convent still refusing to pay the tax. At last, 
 in 1498, the matter was set at rest by the bishop's arbi- 
 tration, the prior paying the annual tax, upon con- 
 dition that he should in future be made privy to the 
 chamberlains' accounts, in so far as they related to 
 murage. - 
 
 But though the prior was dead, and Laurence for the 
 moment quiet, the troubles and litigations in which the 
 corporation was involved were by no means past. On 
 Lammas day, 1481, Bristowe, contrary to the tenor of 
 previous arbitration, refused to allow the chamberlains to 
 enter and throw open his field at Whitley, threatening, if 
 they did so, to sue them for trespass. Immediately the 
 recorder, town-clerk, and others rode to Worcester to 
 
 ' Leel Book, t 243, Boteler. "^ Corp. MS. C. 209. 
 
The Lammas Lands 233 
 
 lay the matter before the prince's council. ^ There it was 
 decided that until the prince could appear to adjust the 
 rival claims neither party should enjoy the use of this 
 meadow. Two experts came^ by order of the prince's 
 council to examine documents, but Bristowe's were not 
 ready, and^after a repetition of the old practice of con- 
 sulting the oldest inhabitants, the decision was post- 
 poned. But the common people could not afford to wait 
 the law's delays. After the departure of the lords of the 
 prince's council, says the Jjeet Booh, " divers evell dis- 
 posed persons in gret nombre of their frowardnesse went 
 to the seid grounde and ther cast down heggs and dikes." 
 Harry Boteler, the recorder, always active when trouble 
 came, went out and bade them " leave off their froward- 
 ness." All went back to their work save one, John 
 Tyler, who gave the recorder "forward and unfitting 
 language," and was committed to prison. A riot took 
 place on the Trinity guild feast day, the Decollation of 
 S. John the Baptist, the rioters rang the common bell, 
 and made an attempt to rescue Tyler. Until, the 
 writer of the Leet Booh says with evident relief, "loued 
 (praised) be God, the meir and dyvers of his brethern 
 came among them and sessed them," Tyler being de- 
 livered to the citizens under surety for that time." ^ 
 
 The news of the riot was not long in reaching the ears 
 of the kino-. He wrote in great wrath, straitly charging 
 
 1 Leet Book, i. 246. 
 
 2 Pineux, one of the prince's council, was deputed to examine 
 the title deeds on behalf of the town, and Cateshy on behalf of 
 Bristowe. ^ Leet Bool;, i. 246a. 
 
!34 Life hi an Old English Town 
 
 the mayor and his bretliren, as they would avoid "his 
 high displesur " and " entende to enjoye the fraunchises 
 and liberties of the seid cite," to show no favour to the 
 rioters, and to inform " our derrest son," the prince, of 
 the whole proceeding. The mayor and his brethren 
 were in an extremity of terror, remembering the king's 
 high actions and the confiscation of ten years back after 
 Barnet Field. They sent a letter to the prince at Wood- 
 stock by the hand of their steward, beseeching him to be 
 a "gracious mean" for them with his royal father, pro- 
 mising speedily to punish the offenders already " endited 
 for riot and trespass." Meanwhile, they laid the cause of 
 the riot at the door of the real offender. " The common 
 peopuU her in gret noumbre," they alleged, " thynken 
 that all the defalt is caused be William Bristowe," who 
 had not kept his promise made to the lords of the 
 prince's council with regard to the meadow, nor removed 
 " the bestes of estraunge persones occupiyng in his name 
 the seid common." ^ Of Bristowe and his lengthy suit 
 they were well weary. " The people understondon," the 
 mayor writes hopelessly, " that be his longe defferyng, 
 cautels, vexacions and troubles, he wold never have cou- 
 clucion, but find measne of trouble and vexacion to hurt 
 and disheryte the pore commons her of their rightfuU 
 common," which he will do, except the prince aid. 
 
 Edward IV. was not altogether satisfied with this 
 humble submission. He complained of conventicles that 
 
 ' Bristowe seems to have allowed his tenants of Whitley to 
 share in his privilege of intercommoning with the people of 
 Coventry. See above, p. 217. 
 
The Lammas Lands 235 
 
 were not suppressed, and evil-doers unpunished, " diuers 
 of yowe in maner supposyng them to be supported and 
 fauored be persones hauying rule in our seid cite.''^ 
 Two of the rioters were ordered to be sent to the king at 
 Woodstock, to to be delivered up to lord Rivers for im- 
 prisonment at Ludlow.^ One of the two was immediately 
 arrested; another "withdrew himself," but afterwards, as 
 it seems, of his own free will, went off to Ludlow to share 
 the imprisonment of his companion. They were released 
 on the following Easter, and returned to the city. 
 
 But this rising had at least the effect of precipitating 
 matters with regard to Bristowe. He appears to have 
 desired the whole affair to be settled according to com- 
 mon law ; but as the community had no evidence to 
 support their claims, save the testimony of the aged men 
 of the place, they were most anxious to have the affair 
 arranged "according to composition." 3 For five weeks 
 the master of the Trinity guild and John Boteler, the 
 steward,* lingered in London about the business, and even 
 undertook a journey to Southampton, where the king, 
 being informed of Bristowe's "wilfulness," seems to have 
 inclined favourably towards the cause of the citizens. 
 In the August of the following year their stubborn 
 antagonist gave way and consented to abide by the 
 arbitration of the prince of Wales. Boteler accordingly 
 
 ' Led Book, f. 247. ^ Ih. f. 247n. 
 
 5 Disputes concernmg the common lands were usually settled 
 liy arbitration, and not before the judges of the king's bench, 
 possibly because the " communitas " had no power to sue in law 
 courts as a legal person (Green, Town Life, II. 239). 
 
 * Boteler filled the post of steward as well as that of town clerk. 
 
236 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 hurried oS to Ludlow, and a final decision was arrived 
 at in favour, we suppose, of the community ; but 
 although such ample details concerning this thirteen- 
 year old dispute are laid before us, nothing is said of the 
 final result. 
 
 Bat although this matter was decided, nothing was 
 done "with regard to the other enclosures, and Laarence 
 Saunders became unquiet. He drew up a second list 
 of the meadows that were withheld from the community, 
 and laid it before the mayor and council. ^ It is note- 
 worthy that " Mr." Onley, a member of one of the oldest 
 merchant families within the city, figures in the list as 
 the holder of a " field called Ashmore." The council 
 condescended to explain how and when the enclosures 
 had been made. The lieet Book says " they made him 
 privy to the evidence of the city in this behalf." But 
 when Laurence desired a copy of these records to show 
 to " certain people of the city " — old men of his party, 
 no doubt, whose memories reached to bygone times — 
 it was indignantly refased him. The mayor and council 
 would never stoop so low as to furnish all chance comers 
 with the means of cavilling at their proceedings ! Then 
 Laurence Saunders burst forth into " untoward " speech, 
 asking to be released from his bond (the £500 ?), and 
 showing he would not " otherwise be ruled than after 
 his own will." The matter was shown to the lords of 
 the prince's council, then tarrying in Coventry. By 
 their advice Laurence was committed to the " porter's 
 
 ■ Leet Bcol; f. 250. 
 
The Lammas Lands 237 
 
 wax'd " on the Sanday before All-Hallows' ; and when, 
 after a week had passed, and he was released "at the 
 great instance " of his friends, it was not without an 
 admonition. The lords told him " that this was the 
 11''° tyme he had ben in warde for his disobeysaunce 
 and for commocions made among the pepull ; they bad 
 hym be war, for yf he cam the IIP' tyme in warde for 
 such matiers, hit shulde cost hym his hedde." The 
 warning was not without its effect. Laurence, for the 
 second time, made a full submission, and also signed 
 a " statute mei'chant,'' this time in £200, undertaking 
 that he would be " of good bearing to the mayor and 
 his successors . . . for ever " ; and four craftsmen, 
 who dwelt near him in Spon Street, '^ were responsible 
 for his conduct in half this sum. Of the fine of £10, 
 which they exacted from him, half was in course of time 
 to be given back, if his submissive temper showed signs 
 of lasting. It might well be thought he would not again 
 question the high ways of the corporation, for by so 
 doing he might involve his friends in ruin.- 
 
 For twelve years there is no record that Saunders 
 ever troubled the peace of men in high places. During 
 this interval death removed his great enemy, the old 
 recorder ; and royal favour-^for Henry VII. was ever 
 prndent in such matters — gained the vacant post for 
 
 ' Leet Book, f. 2J4. 
 
 • It is noticeable that immediately after this the leet gave 
 orders that some of the fields granted to the prior, i.e. the fieJd 
 by the New Gate, should he had again " in a perpetual ferm " 
 of the convent. 
 
238 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Richard Empson. In 1484, three years before his death, 
 Boteler was overtaken by a great disgrace. He magni- 
 fied his own office at the mayor's expense ; ' and, as a 
 panishment, the Forty-eight — with Laurence for the first 
 time on record sitting among the number^decreed that 
 on all public occasions he should not immediately follow 
 the mayor, but should give precedence to the master 
 of the Trinity guild.^ It may be that this blow broke 
 the old man's proud spirit. He became " of so gret 
 febulness " that the men of the city, fearing that "any 
 casualte of disease by God's visitation [might] come unto 
 him," began to take into consideration the claims of 
 possible recorders. Boteler, however, kept the post until 
 his death, when the king, hearing how " it had pleased 
 our bleased Creatur to calle late from this vncertain and 
 transorite lif unto his great and inestimable mercy" ^ the 
 old recorder, wrote to inquire concerning the candidates 
 for the vacant post. 
 
 There are signs that about this time Laurence was 
 looked upon with more favour by those in power.* 
 
 ' He said " he had as much power as the mayor, and could 
 arrest him at sessions sitting on the bench " [Leel Book, f , 258a). 
 
 2 Unless he would submit to this condition and to take an 
 oath at Candlemas— as the mayor did— he was to be dismissed. 
 Boteler chose to submit. 3 i^gj Book, f. 261a. 
 
 * The records are very meagre about this time. The fact that 
 Laurence was a member of the Forty-eight is an indication that 
 the corporation were well disposed towards him. The fact 
 that the very same mayor who occasioned Boteler's disgrace 
 enforced certain acts of leet against the bakers is also a proof 
 that there was a change of policy in his time at least (Ih. 
 I. 253). ^ 
 
The Lammas Lands 239 
 
 la 1494, however, a change of policy, owing perhaps 
 to the influence of the mayor, a grocer, named Robert 
 Green, caused him to take up his old position. In 
 those days the matter of enclosures was but one among 
 many sources of trouble. In the first place, in that 
 same year, the corporation, perhaps suddenly roused 
 to the doings of the various crafts, thought that they 
 had enjoyed in the past few years more liberty than 
 they were disposed to allow. They turned their at- 
 tention to the pewterers' and tanners' fellowships. ^ 
 Complaint being made concerning " discevable " pew- 
 terers' ware, the leet ordained, — " that all such as 
 maken and medle metailles within this cite, as vessels 
 of brasse, peauter and laten," should sell true goods, 
 " medled be due proporcion," and to such merchants as 
 had served an apprenticeship to the craft. Furthermore, 
 the master of the fellowship received orders to seize any 
 faulty vessels and bring them before the mayor and 
 council ; the maker, in the event of the charge being 
 proved, was condemned to forfeit the sum of twenty 
 shillings. Then the tanners felt the effects of the energy 
 of the leet. Certain of the craft were wont to buy raw 
 hides "in grate," with the intention, no doubt, of selling 
 them at a profit. This practice the court forbade, under 
 pain of a forty-shilling fine, to be taken from buyer and 
 seller alike. The irritation these ordinances called forth 
 among certain members of these fellowships can be illus- 
 trated from the records of the leet held the following 
 
 1 Led Book, f . 272a. 
 
240 Life 171 an Old English Town 
 
 year. It was then enacted that John Daddesbury, a 
 tanner,! and John Smith, a pewterer, for their repeated 
 ill-behaviour to "men of worship," were to be put 
 "under surety from session to session,"^ until their 
 submissive behaviour should content the justices of the 
 peace. 
 
 A highly unpopular measure was the work of the 
 mayor himself. This ordinance looks simple enough, but 
 there is possibly a deeper meaning underlying it. Before 
 his indentures were made, every apprentice was ordered 
 to pay twelve pence towards the common funds, have his 
 name entered in a book prepared for the purpose by the 
 town clerk, and " swear to the franchises " of the city.^ 
 The apprentices' friends might feel aggrieved at this new 
 exaction ; it is less easy to understand why the masters 
 were inclined to resist the measure. That they were 
 so inclined is shown by an order made some six months 
 afterwards to the effect that those who still received 
 apprentices contrary to the ordinance, and continued 
 stubborn, were to be committed to ward and find surety 
 that they would in future obey all ordinances of leet:^ The 
 
 ' Corp. M8. A. 6. Cox-pus Christi guild accounts. 
 
 2 Leet Book, f. 276. This order was re-enacted in 1495 
 (lb. f. 279). Ko tanner or butcher was " to make conspiracy 
 . . . contrary to this ordinance." Duddesbury had been a 
 member of the Twenty-four, and was mayor in 1605. 
 
 3 lb. f. 272a. 
 
 * lb. f. 273a. The continuation of this order shows how 
 restive the people were becoming under the recent regulations, 
 a, like surety was to be taken from any one who would not 
 obey orders of leet and be reformed by the maj'or and council. 
 
T]ie Lammas Lands 241 
 
 corporation had some motive in binding the apprentices 
 by a solemn oath, and enrolling them in this methodical 
 fashion ; they evidently wished to keep a tight hold on 
 them for some particular purpose. For a hundred years 
 Coventry had been celebrated for clothmaking, and the 
 sellers of cloth had been the richest men in the city, 
 and members of their fellowship more frequently in 
 office than those of any other occupation. ^ It was im- 
 portant that the merchants and drapers— and of these 
 the corporation was chiefly composed — should be able 
 to keep the maliers of cloth, weavers and fullers, well 
 under control ; and in attempting this, quarrels may 
 well have arisen. The merchants, thinking they would 
 ao-ain arise, determined to weaken the master-makers 
 of cloth by keeping this tight hold over the apprentices, 
 and making them responsible to the corporation. 
 
 Certain practices, in all probability lately revived 
 under this mayor or his successor, were particularly 
 detested by the citizens concerned in clothmaking. Cov- 
 entry was a great centre for the weaver's industry. For 
 a long time past, in accordance with orders of leet, cloth 
 had been sold on market days in the " Drapery," in S. 
 Michael's churchyard, a house of which the Trinity guild 
 had been possessed for the last 1-30 years .^ There was 
 a second selling place, the porch of St. Michael's church, 
 which lay a few yards from the Drapery door. This had 
 
 1 Lists of all the living craftsmen who had held office -were 
 compiled in 14J9 : 15 drapers, 11 mercers, 7 dyers, 2 wiredrawers, 
 2 whittawers, and 2 weavers are mentioned (lb. ff. 144-148). 
 
 2 Drapery granted to the Trinity guild 1365-9 (Sharp, 131). 
 
 E 
 
242 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 been in all probability the traditional sale ground for 
 cloth before the Drapery was fixed on and passed into 
 the possession of the guild. In the church porch the 
 payment of stallage might be avoided, and it may be 
 the makers did not fear for their woi'kmanship the strict 
 supervision of the craft of drapers. In 1456 the sale 
 of cloth in the porch was forbidden by the leet ; ^ yet 
 no doubt, in spite of pains and penalties, the weavers 
 or makers still drove their bargains, whenever it was 
 possible, outside the walls of the Drapery. But the 
 municipality resolved that the orders of leet should no 
 longer be set at nought ; cloth must henceforward be 
 sold in the Drapery ,2 and not elsewhere. 
 
 There was also a fixed place for the weighing and sale 
 of wool, called the Wool-hall, adjoining the Drapery, 
 and likewise the property of the guild.^ The trade in 
 wool was, no doubt, chiefly in the hands of the wealthy 
 merchants, many of whom were "of the Staple of Calais." 
 The wardens also overlooked the weighing, and took 
 from the owners certain dues " for the profit of the 
 town."* These dues must have increased the price of 
 wool, so that the weavers or clothmakers — or whatever 
 body of men purchased the wool for manufacture in the 
 
 1 Leel Book, f. 16G. 
 
 2 These words are almost identical -with a gloss, written in 
 the margin of one -ordinance passed in 1495. For the profits 
 arising from the Nottingham Drapery, see Nottingham Sec. 
 III. 62. 
 
 3 Corp. MS. B. 75. 
 
 * Leet Book, if. 99, 101. These orders were passed in 1439. 
 
The Lammas Lands 243 
 
 first instance ^ — suffered by reason of these regulations, 
 and poor householders who bought the wool to weave foi' 
 their own use were in like case. The enforcement of 
 these orders ^ and the consequent collection of dues were 
 bitterly resented, and the citizens, reminded of the 
 traditional "toll freedom" of their market, cried that 
 the city that had been free was now in bondage. 
 
 Dame goode Eve ^ made us fre, 
 
 But now the custom for -svol and the draperle. 
 
 But before Green's year of mayoralty was past, the 
 corporation found that they would still have to reckon 
 with Laurence Saunders. It was on Lammas day, 1494, 
 in the presence — so the mayor and council were "credibly 
 informed " — of forty persons, that he spoke these words ; 
 " Sirs, her me ! we shall never have our rights till we 
 have striken of iii or iiii of thes churls heds that rulen 
 us, and if thereafter hit be asked wbo did that dede, 
 hit shalbe seid, me and they, and they and me." " He 
 shuld constreyn," Laurence went on, " William Boteler 
 to drive his cart laden with ots into the Croschepyng, 
 
 1 In Coventry the wool buyers appear to have been the cloth- 
 makers. The dyers in 1415, who were " great makers of cloth," 
 took " the flower of the wool " for their own use (Itot. Pari. IV. 
 75). In 1436 we hear of the clothmakers employing combers to 
 card wool {Leet Book, f. 89), and in 1512 we find that certain 
 searchers were appointed to see that the wool was free from 
 filth for the clothier (J6. f . 312o). 
 
 2 There are no nmi ordinances relating to the weighing of 
 wool at this time. Most likely the ordinances of 1439 were 
 often evaded, and it was resolved that a stricter supervision 
 should be exercised. ^ i.e. Godiva. 
 
244 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 and ther to unlade the seid oart." Now, William 
 Boteler was either a forestaller and regrater, who in- 
 tercepted, in defiance of all manner of ordinances to the 
 contrary, the grain intended to be sold openly in the 
 market, or he had encroached npon the common land. 
 Laurence, it appears, fulfilled his threat, and cried out 
 to the crowd assembled in the Cross Cheaping or 
 market place : " Come, sirs, and take the corn who so 
 wull, as youre owne." ^ The whole proceeding utterly 
 scandalised the mayor and his worshipful brethren. On 
 the " Wednesday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross " 
 they committed Laurence to prison, and fixed his fine at 
 £40. For seven months he lay there, and two friends 
 belonging to his own craft,^ brethren of the Corpus 
 Christi guild, were surety for the payment of this great 
 sum. But this amount meant ruin, and drove Laurence's 
 party to fury. The mayor and council had treated a 
 fellow-citizen no better than one of those hated Scots. 
 And this was not enough. They also bound over this 
 sower of strife " to good bearing," and the next year, 
 whether for the sake of old offences or for the com- 
 mission of new ones, wiped out his name from among 
 the number of the " brethren of the mayor." Laurence 
 Saunders was " discharged," the order ran, " from the 
 mayor's council, the common council, and all other coun- 
 
 1 Laurence afterwards committed William Boteler to ward 
 for breach, of regulations of leet doubtless, but " without au- 
 thority.'' 
 
 " Alexander Horsley and Robert Barlow (Corpus Christi guild 
 accounts, Corp. MS, A. 6, f. 5). 
 
The Lammas Lands 245 
 
 oils to be taken and kept within this city for the welfare 
 of the same," and forbidden under the penalty of £40 
 ever to ride out with the chamberlains on Lammas day.^ 
 It was an old custom in Coventry to nail up al) 
 announcements, which for obvious reasons no crier would 
 consent to proclaim, on the church door, where all might 
 read them. It was in this manner that friar John 
 Bredon, on the occasion of a dispute between his order 
 and the monks, some forty years back, appealed to the 
 citizens to thi'ow off the dominion of the prior, as " the 
 thraldom of Pharaoh." So within eight days after 
 Lammas, 1495, some unknown rhymester of the " com- 
 monalty " nailed up some verses of his making on the 
 north door of St. Michael's church ; forgetting in them 
 neither the oppressive acts which had been lately passed 
 nor the punishment visited on Laurence for the tumult 
 of the preceding year.^ 
 
 Be it knowen & understand, 
 
 This cite ahulde be free and nowe is bonds, 
 
 Dame goods Eve made hit free, 
 
 & now the custom for woll & the draperie. 
 
 Also hit is made that no prentis shalbe 
 
 But xiii peuyes pay sliulde he 
 
 That act did Eobert Grene, 
 
 Therefor he had many a curse, I wene. 
 
 And now a nother rule je do make 
 
 That none shall ride at lamas but they that je take 
 
 When our ale is Tunned 
 
 2e shall have drynk to your cake. 
 
 ' Led Book, i. 275. 
 
 2 lb. i. 275n. One of the pieces of " civic poetry " riuoted by 
 Sharp, 235. 
 
246 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 The final lines recall the heavy fine to be paid by 
 
 Saunders : 
 
 Ye have put on man like a Soot to ransauu, 
 
 That wol be remembred when ye have all forgote. Cavlat.' ' 
 
 It may be that, in the face of this wrathful discontent 
 —it was just at this time that the ill-behaviour of John 
 Smith and John Duddesbury to '' men of worship " 
 caused the offenders to be watched so closely — the cor- 
 poration felt some anxiety. At least they thought it 
 prudent to relieve Laurence of the payment of half of 
 the fine they had laid upon him. Of the remaining 
 sum half was paid by the sureties, bat £10 was yet due, 
 and in 1496 Saunders appealed to the king. The fruit of 
 his solicitings was a privy seal, addressed to the mayor 
 and shei'iffs asking them in charity to take £10 and 
 remit the rest of the fine, as Laurence was now old and 
 fallen into poverty.' There was one sentence in the 
 letter very little to the recipients' liking. The king 
 ordered the mayor " to do right " in a variance concern- 
 ing a common pasture which Laurence had informed his 
 grace to be in the city; "whei-e," as the "men of 
 worship" declared with, righteous anger, "no such vari- 
 ance was." It would be folly indeed to smooth the lot 
 of Laurence Saunders or release his friends from their 
 bond. So the great culprit having paid £10 and his 
 sureties a like sum, matters must be set right at Court, 
 
 ' Shai-p, Anliq. 235. 
 
 2 Leet Booh, f. 277a ; Corp. MS. A. 79, f. 14. The poverty from 
 which Laurence suffered now had probably not aifiicted him 
 earlier in his career. 
 
The Lammas Lands 247 
 
 and the appeals of Laurence and liis party made of no 
 effect. So a " writing of the great and many offences 
 of the said Laurence " was sent to Master Richard 
 Empson, who was then in London, to be laid before the 
 king. The mayor and his fellows awaited meanwhile 
 the issue of the recorder's mediation. 
 
 Laurence Saunders, too, had his hopes of Court. "As 
 for Mr. Recorder," he said confidently a little later, " I 
 have reckoned with him before the king, and he shall be 
 easy enough." Meanwhile Lammas time was approach- 
 ing, and he looked for some great movement against the 
 corporation, which that season should bring forth. So he 
 went into the house of the mayor, John Dove, and said : 
 " Mister mair, I advise yowe loke wisely on yourself, for 
 on lamasse day ye shall her other tythyngs, ffor many 
 of these catifes that loke so hy nowe shall be bi'ought 
 lower; and ye knowe wele amongst yowe ye have of 
 myn x li : of money, which I dought not I shall have 
 ayen on lamasse day, or elles ill or iiii of the best of 
 yowe shall smart. Thei-for I advise yowe, her upright 
 the swerd at your peril!, for ye shall knowe mor shortly." 
 
 That allusion to the mayor's sword carried a sting. 
 A century ago, Richard II. had ordered it to be borne 
 behind John Deister, the mayor, rather than before him 
 as the custom was, " because he did not do justice." It 
 may be John Dove was secretly afraid. Had he done 
 justice continually ? What if the king should visit 
 Laurence with his favour now ? Though this man made 
 so light of the mayor's dignity, he was not punished ; 
 but all waited for the news from London. 
 
248 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 On July 20 Laurence determined to justify his posi- 
 tion by putting in his petition of grievances for the third 
 time. He laid befoi'e the mayor a list of the enclosed 
 common lands, drawn up from inquiries made among old 
 men of the city the year of his chamberlainship. He 
 asked that the bill might be read aloud in open court, 
 for the sessions of the peace were then proceeding. John 
 DoYe was not prepared to do this. It was not a matter 
 to be determined in that court, and besides, he under- 
 stood that it requii-ed no haste. - Saunders might come 
 and have his answer on the morrow by nine of the 
 clock. On hearing this the old taunt sprang to Laur- 
 ence's lips, " Maister meir," he said aloud in the assem- 
 bly, " hold upright your swerde " ; and after expressing 
 his hope of " reckoning with Mr. Recorder," he left John 
 Dove to recover his dignity. 
 
 As far as we can tell, Saunders's hour of triumph 
 never came, for there was no rising at Lammas ; but 
 soon after the scandal at the sessions came a letter from 
 the king, giving the mayor and council full permission 
 to deal with the rebel " after the good and laudable 
 custom of the city." This permission must have afforded 
 them untold relief. As Laurence refused to give any 
 pledge as to his future conduct, they committed him to 
 prison. But he never rested, nor did his friends give up 
 the battle. They interceded at Court, this time with 
 Thomas Savage, the bishop of Rochester,^ and it seemed 
 
 1 It is noticeable tliat this bishop sympathized with the unruly 
 people of York. See Miss Sellers, The Cibj of York in the Sixteenth 
 Century in Eng. Hist. Sev. ix. 27.5. 
 
The Lammas Lands 249 
 
 tliat their intercession was likely to bear fruit, for letters 
 arrived to tlie effect that Laurence should be set free to 
 plead his cause before the king at "Woodstock. But the 
 mayor and council would not let him go, for he offered, 
 to their thinking, insufficient surety, letting fall also 
 many seditious words, which are recorded in the Book of 
 Council, and saying, "he wold fynd no other surety 
 what so ever fell therappon." Wherefore, the Leet Book 
 says, he remained in prison. 
 
 Two "seditious bills "—one nailed on the minster door 
 on S. Anne's Day — show how strained the situation was 
 becoming. If ever, during a century and a half, the rule 
 of the Coventry guilds had been as thoroughly detested 
 as now, the feeling had never been put in words that 
 have come down to us with such unmistakable force. Of 
 these attacks, the second has a much loftier tone. After 
 a passing reference to Laurence, lying in prison — 
 
 Ye have hunted the hare, 
 Ye hold him in a snare — 
 
 there come, in the first set of verses, a warning to all 
 the great folk that have forgotten to rule justly : 
 
 Ye that he of myght, 
 Se that ye do riglit, 
 Thynk on your otlie ; 
 For wher that ye do wrong, 
 Ye shall mend hit among, 
 Though ye be never so loth. 
 
 The poet and his friends — he says in the second set of 
 verses — show outward respect to their ruler.s, but their 
 minds are full of bitterness : 
 
250 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 This cyte is bond thad shuld be fre, 
 
 The right is holden fro the commonalte ; 
 
 Our comens tliat at lamas open shuld be cast 
 
 They be closed in & hegged full fast, 
 
 And he that speketh for our right is in the hall,' 
 
 And that is shame for yoive & for us all ; 
 
 You can not denygh hit but he is your brother; 
 
 & to bothe Gilds he hath paid asmoch as another. 
 
 As for the " commonalty," they have no more to lose, the 
 
 verse goes on to say :— 
 
 For eny favour or frenship the commons with yowe fynde, 
 
 But pyke awey our thryfte & make us all blynde ; 
 
 And ever ye have nede to the commonalte, 
 
 Such favour as ye shewe us, such shall ye see. 
 
 We may speke feir & bid you goode morowe. 
 
 But luff with our herts shull ye hav never. 
 
 Cherish the commonalte & se that they have ther right, 
 
 For drede of a worse chaunce be day or be nyght, 
 
 The best of you all litell worth shuld be, 
 
 And ye had not help of the commonalte.'-' 
 
 Matters remained for some time at a standstill ; then 
 at last, early in November, Laurence's " labour and busy 
 suit " brought two privy seals, containing full directions, 
 to Coventry.'* The mayor was required to release the 
 prisoner after taking surety in £100, so that he might 
 appear at Westminster and state his case ; while two or 
 three of the city council, sufficiently instructed in the 
 matters to be laid to his charge, were to bear him com- 
 pany. At a meeting of the council on November 11, 
 certain citizens, amonof whom was John Boteler the 
 
 ' i.e. in prison. 
 
 2 Leel Book, f. 278. The MS. has coHeiis and co'ialtc through- 
 out. Both sets printed iu Sharp, pp. 233-6. 
 
 3 Leet Book, i. 278. 
 
The Lammas Lands 25 1 
 
 steward, -were appointed to ride to London. There, 
 joined by the recorder and others of the city, who no 
 doubt had already entered on various negotiations con- 
 nected with this suit, they were to lay an account of 
 Laurence's " demeasnyng " before the king. Another 
 privy seal had been received, addressed to four friends ^ 
 of Laurence, who were summoned to London " to th' 
 entent that they shuld testyfie with hym in such matters 
 as he wold allege for his greves." And now the business 
 went quickly forward. " The appoyntement was kept," 
 says the Leet Book, " befor the Kyngs Counceill in the 
 Sterr Chambr the Friday next after Seynt Martyn day, 
 and ther continied dayly vnto the Tewesday next' befor 
 the fest of Seynt Andrew ... at which day befor 
 my lords of Caunterbury, London and Rochester, chief 
 Justice Mr. ffyneux, and many other lords, the hole 
 matier was hard at large, both the compleynt of the seid 
 Laurence, and the answer therunto, the replicacion of the 
 seid Laurence, and the rejoynder theruppon, with the 
 deposicions of the witnesses, and preves of the seid Laur- 
 ence, wheruppon the seid Laurence was ther and then 
 comyt vnto the Flete, unto the tyme the kyngs pleasur 
 was knowen." 
 
 So Laurence Saunders vanished into the Fleet, while 
 Boteler and the rest returned in triumph to Coventry. 
 The corporation remained clearly masters of the field. 
 
 1 One of these, William Huet, probably a tailor or shereman, 
 was one of the nine score wealthy men. In 146'1, be — or one 
 bearing this name — bad been in trouble with the corporation 
 {v. ante, p. 125). " Norfolk," the name of one other, was a regu- 
 lar weaver^s name in Coventry. 
 
252 Lije in an Ola English Tozvn 
 
 In a privy seal/ received by tlie mayor and sheriffs the 
 next December, Laurence's complaints were pronounced 
 "feined and contrived," and himself a " seditioux " man, 
 who had " of his gi-et presumpcion and obstinacie not 
 seldom but often tymes disobeyed the lief ell . . . 
 precepts of you the said mair ... to the right evil 
 and pernitioux example, and therby embolded and en- 
 couraged other to offende in like wise." But the king 
 willed that the laudable and prosperous governance of 
 the city should not " surcease or bee sette aparte by the 
 sinistre or crafte meanes of any privat personne," and so 
 the folk of the city were commanded " for the pretence of 
 any rigid herafter hy thaim . . . to hee claimed to 
 make no conspiracies and unlawful assemblies. 
 
 As for the details of the trial, of them we know 
 nothing.^ Boteler kept the complaint and the answer, 
 the replication and the rejoinder, in papers, " the tenor 
 whereof," says the Leet Booh, "her ensueth . . ." 
 but just at this place occurs an unlucky break. The 
 careful and zealous town clerk was called away, no 
 doubt, at that moment on business of the first import- 
 ance ; there are no further entries made ; so there can 
 be nothing told of the trial in the Star Chamber that 
 Martinmas and of the long agony of Laurence Saun- 
 ders. 
 
 1 Corp. MS. A. 70, f. 19. 
 
 2 I am afraid that there is nothing further to he learned of 
 Saunders. Professor S. E. Gardiner was so good as to make 
 inquiries at the Record Office whether there were any Star 
 Chamher records hearing upon his case, but none belonging to 
 this period ai-e in existence. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE COMPANIES OF THE CRAFTS 
 
 The men of Coventry, a city whioli, in later mediceval 
 times, stood fourth among the wealthy towns of England,' 
 gained a livelihood by the buying and selling of wool 
 and the making of cloth.^ As early as 1398 the traffic 
 in the frieze of Coventry ^ extended beyond the modest 
 limits of the city itself. In that year two hundred 
 pounds' worth, the export of one merchant, lay in the 
 port of distant Stralsund, on the Baltic coast,' and in 
 London and other places the cloth was in great request 
 during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. ^ 
 
 For over a hundred years Coventry held a very promi- 
 nent position among the clothmaking towns of England. 
 But about 1518 there was great depression in the local 
 industry. The weavers and fullers were crying out for 
 work, and the city was brought to the verge of desola- 
 tion. We cannot tell with any certainty the reason of 
 this decay, but suspect that foreign competition lies at 
 
 ' Rogers, Six Cent. I. 116. 
 
 " Previous to 1320 there was a special place in the market 
 assigned to the sale of cloth. See undated deed Corp. MS. C. 40. 
 2 Rot. Pari. III. 437. 
 
 < Literce Cantuarienses (Eolls Series, 85), III. 81. 
 5 Leet Boole, f. 322« (1518). 
 
 253 
 
2 54 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 the root of the matter.^ Kindred trades also underwent 
 a like vicissitude. Thus the making of blue thread, 
 whereof there had once been '' great and common mer- 
 chandise " ^ in the city, was abandoned before the time 
 of Edward YI. " The chiefest ti'ade of Coventry," said 
 one of the writers of that day, " was heretofore in mak- 
 ing blue thread, and then the town was rich, even upon 
 that trade only," ^ but he goes on to say how some 
 material from " beyond seas " had driven the Coventry 
 wares from the market. The cappers also, who took 
 their place as a flourishing and exclusive craft at the 
 end of the fifteenth century, found that a change in the 
 fashion brought poverty upon them in the days of Eliza- 
 beth.-* And the city, indeed, never completely regained 
 its old position. 
 
 The men of medieval Coventry naturally attached 
 great importance to the maintenance and extension of 
 the cloth trade in view of the wealth it brought. Special 
 buildings were set apart for the staple traffic of the city. 
 The Drapery and the Wool-hall, both in Bayley Lane, 
 under the shadow of S. Michael's church, were the re- 
 
 ' Burnley, Hisl. Wool and Wool-combing, 66-7. 
 
 2 In 1415. Rot. Pari. IV. 75. 
 
 3 John Hales in the Common Weal of ilie Sealm (ed. Lamond) 
 128. In the cloth trade the story is a similar one. In 1485 and 
 1495 the aulnage of Coventry and district was £23 ; that of 
 Worcester and Hereford £13. In 1552 Worcester was a more 
 important centre than Coventry {Ih. 77, note). 
 
 * Ashley, Econ. Eist. pt. II. 95. A new fashion under Eliza- 
 beth of wearing " hats and felts " seriously affected the makers 
 woollen caps. 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 255 
 
 cognisad selling places for tlie raw and finished material ; 
 and a small illicit market went on in the porch of the 
 church itself.i Hard hy stood the Searching-house, a 
 place devoted to the examination of all. the cloth made 
 by the city workpeople. Two weavers and two fullers, 
 specially appointed for the purpose, overlooked the 
 handiwork of their fellow-craftsmen ; while six drapers 
 were appointed to superintend these weavers and fullers, 
 so as to guard against any exhibition of partiality or 
 slackness in the execution of the task. If the material 
 were sufficiently fulled and well woven, the city seal was 
 attached to it in token of its genuine quality ; but the 
 searchers were straitly charged to warrant no piece that 
 fell short of the standard excellence, and bad wares were 
 returned to the owner to make therewith as good a bar- 
 gain as he conld.^ 
 
 An order of leet passed in 1.518 gives very precise 
 directions for the searching process. 
 
 " Hit is to be had in mynde that for a trueth of cloth- 
 m.akyng to be had in this cite as foloeth, if it myght be 
 folowed, and the execucion of the same to be don shortly, 
 or els the cite wolbe so f er past that it wolbe past remedie 
 to be recouered to eny welth or prosperite, hit is thought 
 hit were good to have ij wevers & ij walkers sworn to 
 make true serche of the wevers doyng & also of the 
 walkers & to present the trueth ; and also to be chosen vj 
 
 1 Led Book, I. 166. See above, pp. 241-2. 
 
 2 Ih. i. 322«. The system was also applied to the cappers, who 
 chose two from among their number as overlookers {Ih. f. 325). 
 
2 $6 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 drapers to be maisters, & ouerseers of the doyng of the 
 serchers, that if some of them cannot a lesour to be at the 
 serohyng at the dayes of the serchers, yet some of these 
 vj maisters schall euer be ther. And by catise it were to 
 great a besynes for the serchers to go to every mannes 
 house, hit is enacted at this lete to haue a howse of the 
 glide,' or of some other mannes nyghe the drapery doore, 
 to be ordeyned well with perches to drawe ouer the 
 clothes when they be thykked, and also weightes & bal- 
 launce to wey the cloth, and when it cometh frome the 
 walkers, the walkers to bi-yng it to the serchyng house, 
 and to serche it, & to se it oner a perche, and if it be good 
 cloth as it owght to be in brede & lengh, that the cite may 
 have a preise by hit & no sklaunder, then to sett upon hit 
 the Oly vaunt in lede,^ and of the bak of the seall the lengh 
 of the cloth, by the which men shall perceyve and see it 
 is true Coventre cloth, ffor of suerte ther is in London & 
 other places that sell false & nntrewe made cloth, & name 
 hit Couentre cloth, the which is a gret slaunder to the 
 cite than it deserveth by a gret partie. And if ther be any 
 man that hath eny cloth brought to the serchyng house, 
 what degre so ever he be of, if it be not able for the 
 worschip of the cite to be let passe, let hym pay for the 
 serche & lett hym do his best with hit, but set not the 
 Olyvaunt upon it. And this serche to be made also this 
 fourme,^ that is to sey ij days in the weke, Tewesday & 
 
 ' i.e. the Trinity guild. 
 
 = The elephant, i.e. the city seal, which bears the device of an 
 elephant and castle. 
 3 Led Book, f. 323. This system did not by any means insure 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 257 
 
 Saturday, and ij of the serchers to be tlier from viij of the 
 clok to a xi, and fro me on to iiij of the clok ; and a sealer 
 to be ordeyned & sworne to stryke the cloth and seale hit, 
 and wrete hit, and fynde leed, & to have a peny for his 
 labor ; and the sealles to be put in a oof re with ij keys, the 
 master of the vj drapers to have the on, and the serchers 
 the other, and for the serche of every cloth to the serchers 
 to have j d. and it is to be thought every good man schal 
 be gladde of that payment." 
 
 The person -who consistently reaped the greatest benefit 
 from this activity was the draper, the merchant of cloth. 
 Within the city his fellowship ranked next to that of the 
 mercers, or merchants proper, who traded in wool as 
 members of the Staple of Calais, or traflScked in wine and 
 wax, which they brought in barges from Bristol. ^ Kone 
 but the well-to-do could enter into the ranks of the 
 drapers' craft. ^ Some of its more fortunate brethren were 
 able to purchase estates and take rank among the county 
 gentry. Thus John Bristowe, draper, sometime mayor and 
 justice of the peace in Coventry, became possessed of land 
 
 good workmanship. It was noted in the middle of the century 
 that when the make of cloth deteriorated, the cloth-making 
 towns still set the seal upon the material, " and so abased the 
 credit of their predecessors to their singular Inker " (Lamond, 
 Common Weal, 77). 
 
 1 Sot. Pari. V. 569. There is a petition concerning the 
 hindrance of the navigation of the river Severn; Coventry, 
 among other towns, is spoken of as being injured thereby. 
 
 " The mercers' and drapers' apprentices were compelled to 
 pay the admission iines on the sealing of their indentures, 
 whereas in other fraternities these were not demanded until 
 the period of apprenticeship was past {Leet Book, f . 322). 
 
 S 
 
25^ Life in an Old English Town 
 
 at Whitley; and his son William spoke of his "manor" 
 in those parts, and frequently described himself as a 
 "gentleman." And John, grandson of Julian Nethermill, 
 a city dignitary of the same craft, held lands in Exhall, 
 and had his arms blazoned among those of the great 
 county folk.i Many members of this fellowship have 
 left a name showing the great power for good or ill that 
 they possessed within the city. There was John Bris- 
 towe, mayor in the early fifteenth century, who, as the 
 oldest inhabitants declared, "after he had boron office 
 within the cite of Couentre thynkyng that the common 
 people of the seid cite durst nor wolde contrarie his 
 doyng, claymed unlawfully " to have certain rights over 
 the common pasture. John Haddon, another draper- 
 mayor, has left a better reputation ; it was he who 
 came to the rescue of the poverty-stricken clothiers of 
 the city in 1618,^ and by a timely loan enabled them to 
 continue work. While John Bond, who, as his epitaph 
 declares, gave " divers lands and tenements for the main- 
 tenance of ten poore men, as long as the world shall 
 endure," is yet remembered as the founder of the Bablake 
 hospital. 
 
 The near connection between these great cloth mer- 
 chants and the corporation is one of the most striking 
 features of municipal life in Coventry during the fif- 
 teenth and sixteenth centuries. The marks of the 
 drapers' influence in civic affairs are continually before 
 our eyes. It was in a draper's mayoralty that ordinances 
 
 1 Warw. Antiq. Mag. pt. "VI. 110. = Leet Book, i. 323. 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 259 
 
 were first made respecting the searching of cloth.^ And 
 when the system of overlooking was perfected in 1518, 
 a few years later, it was to six men of this craft that 
 the task of superintending the searchers' investigations 
 was assigned. Just as, about a hundred years before 
 that time, when an unsuccessful attempt was made by 
 the town rulers to exercise complete control over the 
 dyers' craft, it was suggested that two drapers as well 
 as two dyers, in either case nominees of the corporation, 
 should keep watch over the dyers' movements, and " pre- 
 sent" them for any " fault or confederacy " at the court of 
 the mayor.^ 
 
 Measures framed by this body in the interest of any 
 particular craft or class were doubtless found oppressive 
 by those who had no lot or part in their enactment. Thus 
 while the yea or nay of the fullers had little weight in 
 municipal councils, the wealth of the drapers gave them 
 a control over the local trade to an extent which we can 
 hardly realise. The reason of this supremacy is not far 
 to seek. The mercers and drapers in their character of 
 wealthy men usually occupied the principal oiScial posts 
 in the city.^ No one, unless he were possessed of a certain 
 amount of wealth, could rise to a high place in the cor- 
 poration. Men were ranked according to the amount of 
 property in their possession, and to speak of a citizen as 
 
 1 Leel Book, f. 314. 
 
 2 Rot. Pari, IV. 75. I am indebted for the explanation of the 
 significance of this petition to parliament against the dyers to 
 Mrs. J. E. Green. 
 
 3 The terms "degree of a mayor — of a bailiff" were used in 
 
26o Life in an Old E?tglish Town 
 
 " of the degree of a mayor" or "bailiff," conveyed as defi- 
 nite an idea as tlie assertion that " So-and-so has a fortune 
 of £20,000 or £30,000" would convey to our minds at 
 the present date. 
 
 The traders were thus enabled to rule the craft com- 
 panies with an iron hand ; and the crafts were on the 
 whole fairly submissive, for they stood alone. Each 
 fellowship, with a few exceptions, formed a distinct body, 
 and could rely for no support on any large and all-embrac- 
 ing brotherhood of which they were members, for though 
 individual craftsmen might belong to the Trinity and 
 Corpus Christi guilds, they formed among themselves 
 no united body. There was in Coventry, as far as I 
 know, no "merchant guild " in the shape of an " aggre- 
 gate of all the crafts," into which comprehensive society, 
 according to the theory of Dr. Gross, the merchant 
 guild during the fifteenth century had a tendency to 
 " resolve itself." In citing a certain " counsell of all 
 the fellowship of the crafts " as an illustration of this 
 tendency, the historian of the Gilda Mercatoria has, I 
 venture to think, been misled by the ambiguous word- 
 ing of the rules drawn np by the pinners, tilers, and 
 
 assessing fines. In the year 1449 a list of the craftsfolk of the 
 city enables us to find out to what calling the members of the 
 corporation belonged {Leet Book, ff. 144-9). On January 25, 
 1447, the twenty-four (the mayor's council) met to elect the 
 ofiicials for the ensuing year. The occupation of four of these 
 men I cannot identify. Three were craftsmen, i.e. two dyers 
 and a whittawer, and the remaining seventeen were either 
 drapers or mercers who had previously filled either the mayor's 
 post or the bailiff's {Leet Booh, f, 132). 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 161 
 
 coopers, copied in the diary of Humphrey Wanley> 
 This association was one in which these three mysteries 
 (and these only) were included, and for very practical 
 reasons ; the pinners, tilers, and coopers, being neither 
 rich nor numerous, could only when united support the 
 burden of furnishing a pageant at the Corpus Christi 
 festival.^ Many of the fifteen brethren of the united 
 crafts, whose names are mentioned in Wanley's "Diary," 
 can be identified with pinners, tilers, or coopers living 
 in 1475 within the city, and beyond a doubt they all 
 belonged to one or other of these fellowships. Indeed, 
 the only occasion on which John Goodknabuff, the cooper, 
 supposed master of all the craft fraternities within the 
 city, including necessarily the affluent companies of the 
 drapers, dyers, and mercers, was summoned to St. Mary's 
 Hall to be consulted on any municipal question was in 
 
 1 Gross, I. 123, and II. 51 ; Harl. MS. 6,466, if. 5, 6, cited by 
 Gross, II. 51. The matter is capable of refutation in detail. 
 This " general fellowshiiJ " consisted exclusively of pinners, tilers, 
 and coopers. Jokn Goodknabuff, or Godeknave, the master of 
 the fellowship, was a cooper, and is mentioned in the Leet Book 
 as belonging to that calling. He was a man of no standing 
 whatever, and was never, as far as I know, employed in any- 
 municipal office. John Swift, one of Godeknave's " fellows," 
 presumably one of the three keepers of the three united crafts, 
 Godeknave having the precedence, may have been a son of 
 William Swift, mentioned among the twelve pinners and tilers 
 in a list composed in 1449 {Leet Boole, f. 147o). 
 
 2 Cf. the fellowship of the cardmarkers, saddlers, masons 
 and painters. Of this fraternity it was said (1444) " they be 
 long tyme ypast have byn as oone fellauship in berying costys, 
 charges, and all other dueties of old tyme to ther jjagent " 
 {Leet Booh, f, 109). 
 
262 Life in an Old English Totvn 
 
 1472, when tis name occurs in a list of 180 persons who 
 gave a tumultuous approval to the action of the mayor 
 and his brethren in a dispute concerning the common 
 pasture.^ It is not in the nature of things to suppose that 
 a great and wealthy fraternity, such as the drapei'S, ac- 
 customed to exercise authority in civic affairs, would con- 
 sent to be associated in a body, exercising the functions 
 of the ancient merchant guild, but presided over by citizens 
 so poor and unimportant as John Godeknave, the cooper, 
 and John Swift, the tiler. All our evidence goes to prove 
 that the functions of the merchant guild were exercised by 
 the corporation, a self-elected body chiefly composed of 
 the richest traders of the city. 
 
 This body of wealthy merchants, in whose hands was 
 vested all control over the city trade, could and did make 
 and unmake regulations of the deepest significance to the 
 various crafts. By an ordinance of the city leet they 
 could completely alter the conditions regulating the work 
 of salesmen or artificers, as they had an absolute control 
 over all workers, since by the craft system all who prac- 
 tised the same calling were compelled to obey the same 
 regulations. Nominally the regulations were drawn up 
 by the crafts. In reality, as certain members of the 
 corporation overlooked them, amending and annulling at 
 their pleasure, this power of the crafts was held at the 
 will of the municipal rulers.^ And the corporation did 
 
 1 Leet Booh, f. 215a. 
 
 2 Leet Boole, t. 4o. The mayor, recorder, and bailiffs were to 
 take eight or twelve of tlie general council of the city, and to 
 summon before them the wardens of the crafts with their ordin- 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 263 
 
 not let their power lie idle. In the interests of the 
 general public they forced the crafts to embody in 
 their rules the ordinances framed by the court leet. 
 Thus the weavers were compelled to bring the cloth 
 they had woven to be measured and examined by the 
 searcher,! the fullers to adopt the custom of using a 
 special mark whereby the work of every individual 
 craftsman could be recognised and known,^ the dyers 
 to abstain from using a certain French dye of inferior 
 consistency,^ and, much against the wills of this com- 
 munity, to admit another member into their craft.* It 
 was not only as regards the working of their cloth, but in 
 all other matters the crafts had to bow before the will of 
 the corporation. Any special courts framed for the pur- 
 pose of punishing those who disobeyed the ordinances of 
 the fellowship were looked coldly on by the municipal 
 rulers, and when possible suppressed. In 1518 the mys- 
 teries were compelled to make the mayor the arbiter of 
 all cases of dispute between offenders and the wardens 
 of their respective fellowships. If anyone committed a 
 fault against the fellowship, he must be asked to pay a 
 " reasonable " penalty, and " if he deny and will not pay 
 . . . according to the ordinance . . . within three or 
 
 anoes, and these " poynts that byn lawfull, good and honest for 
 the cite be alowyd hem and all other throwasid {sic], and had 
 fer none." And this order was in substance repeated many 
 times {Ih. f. 90<s). ' Leel Book, f. 322ff. 
 
 2 This rule was embodied in the fullers' rules. See Booh of the 
 Fullers (in possession of the fullers' company at Coventry), f. 6. 
 
 3 Leet Booh, f. 351. * 1530. lb. if. 346a, 351. 
 
264 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 four days, let the master ask it of him again, and if he 
 deny it eftsoons and will not pay, then let the master of 
 the craft and three or four honest men of the craft come 
 to master mayor and show unto him the dealing of that 
 person." Whereupon the mayor and justices, should he 
 refuse to pay double the original sum to the craft, were 
 bound to commit him to ward until he promised obe- 
 dience. The ofEender on his release was to make submis- 
 sion to the master entreating him to be "good master" to 
 him during his year of office, and "his good lover" in time 
 to come.' 
 
 We may follow in detail the dealings of the corporation 
 with several of the crafts. The fullers seem to have 
 combined with the tailors to form the guild of the Nativity 
 some time in the reign of Richard II., but were prevented 
 from acting under the terms of their charter. In the 
 seventeenth year of the reign of Henry VI. the royal 
 license was renewed.^ But the guild was a singularly 
 inefBective body, holding little if any property, and soon 
 after, possibly at municipal instigation, the two crafts 
 who formed it were separated. The fullers obtained a 
 third renewal of their license in the twenty-eighth year 
 of Henry VIII., but at the time of the dissolution of 
 the monasteries the master of their craft was nominated 
 by the city leet.^ The dyers appear to have been more 
 
 ' Leet Book, t 322. A part of the proceeds of the craft fines 
 frequently "vvent to the repair of the town "vvall in the early 
 fifteenth century. Among the cappers fines for breach of 
 regulations went " half to the mayor and half to the craft " (J6. 
 f . 276a). ' Corp. MS. B. 46 ; B. 63. ^ i^ggt ^oojfc, f. 369«, 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 265 
 
 stubborn. Early in the reign of Henry V. they combined 
 together to increase the price of dyeing of cloth by one- 
 half, and to have the first claim to buy wool in the 
 market. 1 In 1475 they attempted, perhaps, to renew 
 their old combinations of sixty years back; and five 
 years later Laurence Saunders, a member of their calling, 
 became the leader of the opposition which prevailed dur- 
 ing the close of the century within the city.^ In 1496 
 all the thunders of the leet ordinances launched against 
 those who, of their " froward wills," refused to contri- 
 bute to the furnishing of the pageants played on Corpus 
 Christi day, failed to make the dyers join with the other 
 
 ' The corporation proposed in a petition to parliament that 
 the twenty-four who elected the mayor should choose two 
 drapers and two dyers to overlook the craft, and " present " 
 them for any " fault or confederacy." See above, p. 259. 
 
 ^ In spite of the provision for overlooking regulations, says 
 an order of leet for the year 1475, " divers craftsmen of this 
 city now late have made divers conventicles and ordinances 
 against the common public of this city. And amongst others 
 the craftsmen of dyers' craft have made an unlawful ordinance, 
 that is to say that none of them should colour nor dye but 
 under a certain form amongst themselves ordained upon certain 
 pains . . . ordained by surety of writing and oaths unlaw- 
 ful in that behalf. It is ordained by this leet , . . that the 
 said unlawful and hurtful ordinances made by the said dyers 
 and all other unlawful ordinances made in any other craft 
 . . . and the unlawful oaths and writing made for the same 
 be utterly void, quashed and annulled." None were in future, 
 the order continues, to be bound by these rules, and masters suing 
 others of their fellowship for not obeying them were to be fined 
 £10. The largeness of the sum, and the fact that precautions 
 were taken to have this order proclaimed once a year, "so that 
 craftsmen might have knowledge " of the penalties incurred 
 by any breach of the same, prove that the corporation was 
 
266 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 crafts in paying their stare.' When the municipality 
 desired to thrust a new member into their craft, the 
 dyers forbade the journeymen to work for him, and it 
 was only by circumventing their tactics that the town 
 rulers could compel the admission of the new candidate 
 into their ranks. 
 
 Not only the workers in cloth, but all the fraternities 
 were forced to bow to the corporation's will. In 1436 the 
 attention of the leet was drawn to certain malpractices 
 which had arisen among the workers in iron. A bill, 
 drawn up no doubt by some member of the ruling class 
 and presented by him to the court, shows the full extent 
 of the evil and suggests certain measures of reform. 
 Certain workers in iron, we are told, by employing 
 labourers of the four allied crafts of smiths, brakemen, 
 girdlers, and card-wiredrawers, had acquired entire con- 
 trol over the trade, and were able to pass off ill-wrought 
 iron upon their customers. It was suggested that labour- 
 ers of but two occupations should be employed by one 
 master instead of those of four occupations as had been 
 the custom hitherto. 
 
 "Be it known to you," the bill runs, "but yif 
 certen ordenaunces of craftes withe in this cite . 
 be taken good hede to, hit is like myche of the kynges 
 pepull, and in speciall poor chapmen and clothemakers, in 
 tyme comeng shullen be gretely hyndered, and as hit 
 may be supposed the .principall cause is like to be 
 
 thoroughly alarmed and determined to suppress the movement 
 {Leet Boole, i. 2'27a). i Leet Boole, ff. 273, 273a. 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 267 
 
 amonges hem that han all the craft in her own hondes, 
 that is to sey, smythiers, brakemen, gurdelmen, and cai'd- 
 wire drawers, for he that hathe all thes craftes may, 
 offendying his conscience, do myche harme." A negli- 
 gent smith, the bill continues, might heat the iron by 
 '' onkynd hetes," so that it became unfit for future use. 
 "Never the later for his own eese he will com to his 
 brakemon and sey to hym : ' Here is a ston of rough iron 
 the whiche must be tendurely cherysshet.' " When the 
 brakeman has done his task, the metal comes to be sold 
 for making fish hooks. " And when hit is made in hokes 
 and shulde serve the ffisher to take fisshe, when hit comythe 
 to distresse then for febulnes hit all to-brekithe, and 
 thus is the ffisher foule disseyved and to him grete harme." 
 And if the iron be used for making girdles, the master 
 passes it to the girdleman with these words : " ' Lo, here 
 is a stryng or ij (two) that hathe ben misgouerned atte 
 herthe, my brakeman hathe don his dever ; I prey the, 
 do now thyne.' And so he dothe as his maister bid- 
 dethe hym." Or it may be passed on to the cardmaker, 
 who finds that it " crachithe and faritlie foule ; so the 
 cardmaker is right hevy therof, but neverthelater 
 he sethe be cause hit is butte (bought) he must nedes 
 helpe hym self in eschueing his losse, [so] he makithe 
 cardes * ther of as well as he may, and when the cardes 
 ben soldo to the clothemaker and shuldon be ocupied, 
 anon the tethe brekon and fallen out, so the clothe 
 maker is foule disseyved. Wherefore, sirs," is the 
 
 1 i.e. combs for combing wool. 
 
268 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 conclasion of the bill, " atte reverens of God in 
 fortheryng of the kynges true lege peapull, and in 
 eschueng of all disseytes, weithe (weigh) this mater 
 wysely, and ther as ye see disseyte is like to be, therto 
 settithe remedy be your wyse discressions." For, as 
 the petitioner suggested, if the two crafts of smiths and 
 brakemen, and these only, were united on the one hand, 
 and the two crafts of girdlers and card-wiredrawers, and 
 these only, on the other, " then hit were to suppose that 
 ther shuld not so myche disseyvabull wire be wrought 
 and sold as ther is." For if the crafts were severed in 
 this manner, it was argued, then the girdlers and card- 
 makers would buy their wire from the smiths, and look 
 well to their bargain. "And if the card-wiredrawer," 
 the petitioner proceeds, " were ones or thies disseyved 
 withe ontrewe wire, he wolde be warre, and then wold 
 he sey vnto the smythier, that he bought that wire of : 
 ' Sir, I hadde of you late badde wire, sir, amend your 
 honde, or in feithe I will no more bye of you.' And 
 then the smythier, lest he lost his customers, wold 
 make true goode ; and then withe the grase of godd 
 (God) the craft shuld amend and the kinges peapull 
 not disseyved with eontrewe goode." ^ 
 
 The mayor, we learn, on this important occasion sent 
 round to all the worthy men of the leet to take their 
 advice upon the matter. Either the corporation sought 
 an occasion of humbling the workers in iron, or the com- 
 mon sense expressed in this bill was irresistible ; for the 
 
 ' Leel Book, f. 89, 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 269 
 
 leefc fell in with the arrangement of severing the crafts. 
 A number of master smiths agreed to employ only 
 journeymen of this occupation and brakemen, while the 
 cardmakers on the other hand undertook to find occupa- 
 tion for girdlers and cardmakers only. Furthermore, the 
 lest decreed that their two last-named crafts should by " no 
 colour ne sotell ymagynacion ' sell or buy ' no cardwyre 
 ne mystermannes wyre, the which may be hynderying 
 or grevying to the kinges lege pepull ' under pain of 
 £20.' " 
 
 The craftspeople, however, occasionally resented muni- 
 cipal interference, and endeayoured by all means within 
 their power to get the control of the industry in which 
 they were engaged into their own hands. Any temporary 
 weakness or disorganization on the part of the corpora- 
 tion was taken advantage of by these fraternities. It 
 was in 1456, when the finances of the city were in some 
 disorder, owing to the expense of entertaining the Court 
 and the active support given by the city to the Lancas- 
 trian cause, that the craftspeople took occasion to organ- 
 ize special courts wherein to punish offenders who had 
 broken the rules observed by members of fellowships. 
 
 " Discord daily falleth out in this city among the people 
 of divers crafts " — such are the words of an order of leet 
 passed in 1457 — " because that divers masters of crafts 
 sue in special courts divers people of their crafts, affirm- 
 ing they have broken their oaths made in breaking divers 
 their rules and ordinances, which rules ofttimes be un- 
 reasonable, and the punishment of the said masters over 
 excess, which, if it continue, by likelihood would cause 
 
270 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 much people to void out of the city." The masters were 
 thenceforth forbidden to bring " any manner suit, cause 
 or quarrel in any court special against any person of their 
 craft," until "the mayor for the time being have heard the 
 matter and variance . . . and have licensed the suit 
 to be had." ^ But though defeated in this scheme, the 
 crafts doubtless did not give up the battle. The dyers^ 
 attempt in 1475 to form confederacies happened in a 
 time of great division within the town respecting the 
 enclosure of the common pasture. And the same dis- 
 putes agitated the community twenty-one years later, 
 when a member of the party of discontented craftsmen 
 nailed up inflammatory verses on the church door, 
 taunting the corporation with injustice and inveighing 
 against the rules they had made for the buying of wool 
 and selling of cloth. 
 
 And indeed it may have been well that persons high 
 in authority curbed the self-seeking spirit of the crafts. 
 These bodies, formed early in the thirteenth century for 
 
 ' Leet Boole, f . 174a. In 1514 the crafts -ft'ere oommanded to give 
 in their books so that the fines might he moderated at the mayor's 
 discretion. According to an order of leet passed in 1515 a refusal to 
 give in the hooks of regulations was to he visited hy a fine of 100s. 
 New rules were also to he enregistered in the mayor's hook, and 
 a 20s. fine taken from any craft for every month that a rule had 
 been observed without the mayor's knowledge and license {lb. f. 
 314o, 315a). In this year also the weavers " put up a bill " in the 
 leet instead of punishing two men of their calling for defective 
 workmanship at a special court. The offenders were commanded 
 to find surety to the master of the craft to be true in their 
 working, and if they were in future found in fault, the surety 
 was to satisfy the aggrieved party and pay damages {Ih. i. 314). 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 271 
 
 mutual help aud preservation, had since degenerated into 
 close corporations eager to exclude competition at any 
 price. 1 Fettered as they were by ordinances fixing price, 
 hours of labour, and the like, there was so little free play 
 allowed the craftsman in the management of his business, 
 that the difficulty of acquiring wealth must have been 
 great. Each company of craftsmen practically monopolised 
 all the traffic or business connected with their special call- 
 ing in the district in which they lived, and were bound to 
 take good heed that the numbers of those who formed 
 their body should not be greatly increased, lest the indi- 
 vidual profits should be reduced. They were resolved at 
 all hazards to guard against competition. The trade of 
 the town might support ten tanners for instance, but the 
 admission of an eleventh or twelfth into the craft might 
 endanger the older members' prosperity. Thus, in 1424, 
 the weavers showed a distinct dislike to allowing their 
 members to take any number of apprentices,^ who were 
 potential masters of the craft ; and the cappers, who in the 
 fifteenth century had risen to be a very important body, 
 demanded a fine of 2s. from any master on his taking a 
 fresh apprentice into his house.^ This last-named fra- 
 ternity allowed each master to take but two apprentices 
 only, and when one departed before his serving-time of 
 seven years was accomplished, the master was forbidden to 
 take another in his place, without licence from the keepers 
 of the craft, until the allotted time should be past.* The 
 
 1 Green, Town Life, II. 100. ^ £ee< Booh, f . 27. ' /j. f. 276a. 
 < Ibid. In a later version of the rule {lb. f. 829) this matter is 
 
272 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 corporation, however, wished to break down this exclu- 
 siveness, and in 1524 declared that any member of what 
 craft soever might receive what number of apprentices 
 he would " notwithstanding any ordinance to the con- 
 trary." 1 Some twenty years later, finding perhaps that 
 this sweeping measure aroused too much opposition, the 
 leet tried to thrust a modified form of it on the cajspers.^ 
 Twice within a few months [1544-5] they decreed that 
 any master of the fellowship might take an extra ap- 
 prentice when one of them had served five and a half of 
 the allotted seven years, and they repeated the order 
 after a few years' space.^ 
 
 The craftspeople had another method for keeping 
 would-be members out of their ranks. They demanded 
 on admission such fines as could only be paid by the 
 well-to-do. And it was owing to their jealousy that 
 precautions were taken to ensure the payment of these 
 admission fines. Trouble came about, we are told, be- 
 cause new members departed from the town just when 
 
 worked out in detail. Each apprentice put in surety in £5 to 
 remain with, his master for the seven years. If the lad broke 
 his covenant, it was only by handing over the £5 to the craft that 
 the master could immediately take an apprentice in his place. 
 
 ' Lcel Booh, t. 338. 2 Ih. if. 398o, 395a. 
 
 ^ 11. f. 408a. The masters of crafts exercised a particular 
 form of oppression in forcing apprentices to take oaths on enter- 
 ing their service (cf. " the xmlawful oaths of the dyers ") per- 
 haps to the effect that they would not set up in business after 
 their apprenticeship was over. The craft masters were forbidden 
 by leet to cause others to take an oath on " any point of their 
 occupation" under penalty of a fine of 100s. "without any 
 pardon " {Ih. f. 322). 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 273 
 
 the fine was due, a year after setting np tlieir shop. They 
 were henceforth to be compelled to pay half their fine at 
 setting up, and to put in two sufficient sureties that the 
 second half should be paid at the end of the first year.^ 
 
 It was part of the policy of the town rulers to recog- 
 nise the apprentice's possible future citizenship, and 
 withdraw him somewhat from his master's authority. 
 The lad was therefore forced by the ordinance of 1494^ 
 to take the oath "to the franchises," and bring his 
 twelve pennies to the steward for the town use when 
 his term of service began. We see from the list of those 
 
 ' Leet Book, i. 342 (1525). The flues for admission varied with 
 the different crafts. The smiths (1497) asked 20s. from those de- 
 siring to enjoy the freedom of the craft. The cappers took from 
 strangers 26s. 8(1. and 13s. Ad. from town apprentices — payments 
 extending in the smiths' case over three, and in the cappers' 
 four, years, but nevertheless so high as to prevent the poorer 
 class from entering the ranks of the crafts in question. In 1518 
 the leet determined to overcome the crafts' exclusiveness. 
 Fines were then fixed for apprentices at 6s. 8d., payable at set- 
 ting up shop, and for strangers at 10s., of which 5s. was paid at 
 the end of the first, and 5s. at the end of the second, year after 
 starting business {lb. ff. 279, 276a, 322). The mercers' and drapers' 
 apprentices paid the fine at the sealing of their indentures. 
 Among the cappers, if any stranger neglected to pay his admis- 
 sion money, the journeymen were forbidden by the craft to work 
 for him {lb. f. 276a). 
 
 2 lb. ff. 272a, 274. For the discontent this act called forth 
 see p. 240. The words of the oath, "I shall no felony nor 
 treason do or thereto consent, and if I know any to be done I 
 shall show it to the king and his officers . . . and duly 
 . . . observe ... all good rule and ordinance made . . . 
 within the city," recall the craft conspiracies in the time of 
 Laurence Saunders. 
 
274 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 who took the oath in 1495 that the apprentice lived in 
 his master's house, serving him usually — though not in- 
 variably — for seven years' space. He earned a nominal 
 sum, perhaps a shilling, or even 4d., the first six 
 years, and a larger one, perhaps 10^'. or 13s. 4iS,., 
 during the seventh. Thus the son of John Preston, 
 of Stafford, " gentleman," who was apprenticed to 
 a grocer, earned 12c?. a year, the wages of his last 
 year of service — the ninth — being unfixed ; while an- 
 other lad, learning the same trade, received 2>s. 4id. as 
 his last year's earnings. The son of a Durham " hus- 
 bandman" took from his master, a hat-maker, 4d, a 
 year for six years, and 6s. 8d. during the seventh. 
 The crafts seem to have made it their business to see 
 that the boys were properly cared for. If any one of 
 them complained that his master did not give him 
 sufficient " finding," i.e. food and raiment, the oSender 
 was to receive first an " admonition," and on the repe- 
 tition of the offence to pay a reasonable fine ; if matters 
 did not mend, the lad was to be removed and placed 
 elsewhere. 1 The master exercised a superintendence over 
 the apprentice's moral well-being. In an early indenture 
 of the time of Richard II. the lad promises to haunt 
 neither taverns, nor houses of ill-fame, nor hold illicit 
 intercourse with any of the women of the household.^ 
 
 No doubt the number of apprentices was limited partly 
 in order to prevent any one master from engrossing 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 329. Such was the rule among the cappers. 
 2 Corp. MS. F. 2. 
 
The Companies of the Crafis 275 
 
 more than what was deemed his fair share of trade and 
 profits. The craftspeople were very sensitive on this 
 point. Thus, in 1424, quarrels arose between a certain 
 John Grinder on the one side and his fellow-members 
 of his craft of weavers on the other. The fact that 
 Grinder wove linen as well as cloth, and had two sets 
 of looms for the purpose,^ had aroused the jealousy of 
 the other weavers of the citj. It may be remarked 
 that this weaver was a man wise in his generation. 
 He gained his cause and made his fortune, and filled 
 the post of bailiff some time before 1449, being appar- 
 ently the only man of his calling during the second 
 quarter of the fifteenth century who ever occupied a 
 high municipal ofiice. Many precautions were taken to 
 prevent undue rivalry between brethren of the same 
 fellowship. It was usual among the artisan crafts for 
 the m.ember to report the closing of a bargain to the 
 master or keeper of his fraternity.^ And no other mem- 
 ber of the calling could come between the contract- 
 ing parties until the work was finished.' But among 
 the more powerful craftsmen means were often taken 
 to defraud their brethren of the poorer sort. By col- 
 lusion between butchers and tanners the latter were 
 able to buy raw hides "in grate," or wholesale, with 
 the intention, no doubt, of reselling them at a profit to 
 others of the craft, a practice the corporation forbade 
 
 » Leel Booh, f. 27. 
 
 2 The member was " to warn " the master, who was to warn 
 the other members of the fellowship {Carpenters' Accounts, Corp. 
 MS. A. 4). 3 Under penalty of 6s. 8d. 
 
2/6 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 under a penalty of forty shillings, to be taken from 
 buyer and seller alike.i When any excessire profit was 
 to be made, the public, then as now, was fair game. In 
 Coventry, as elsewhere, ale-wives gave short measure, 
 and used an unsealed cup. The clothmakers stretched 
 out broadcloth to the "high displeasure of God and de- 
 ceit of the wearers " to a length the material could ill 
 bear. Of all these matters the corporation took cogni- 
 zance, inflicting fines, punishing by the pillory, or in 
 extreme cases by loss of the freedom of the city. 
 
 There was one point, however, on which both crafts 
 and corporation were agreed, and that was on the ad- 
 visability of checking unions and combinations among 
 their workmen for the purpose of obtaining better wages. 
 The journeymen's, or, as they were called, " yeomen's " 
 guilds, which seem to have been fairly universal at the 
 close of the fourteenth and during the fifteenth century, 
 appear in Coventry with great frequency and persistence. 
 Three several times the coriDoration obtained patents 
 against the formation of guilds other than those already 
 existing in the city.^ The patent for the suppression of 
 the first of these combinations that comes before our 
 notice, the fraternity of S. Anne, is addressed to the 
 mayor and bailiifs, in 1406, and relates how it had come 
 to the ears of the government that a certain number 
 of youths, serving men of the tailors and other artificers 
 
 ' Leet Book, f. 273a. This order was re-enacted the next year 
 (1495). lb. f. 279. 
 
 2 Corp. MS. B. 35 (18th Nov. 8 Hen. IV. 1406) ; B. 88 (8th 
 Mar. 1 Hen. V. 1414) ; B. i7 (25th Jan. 19 Hen. VI. 1441), 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 277 
 
 working by the day called journeymen, gathered to- 
 gether in the priory, or the houses of the friars, and 
 formed a fraternity called the fraternity of S. Anne, 
 to the end that each might maintain the other in their 
 quarrels. This action was likely, in the opinion of those 
 in authority, to breed dissensions in the city, do great 
 harm to the societies founded of old time, namely, the 
 Trinity and Corpus Christi guilds, and hence bring final 
 destruction upon the townsfolk. The meetings were de- 
 clared unlawful, and all who persisted in assembling to 
 hold them after the patent had been openly proclaimed 
 were to bo arrested, and their names certified to the 
 king, who would have them punished according to their 
 deserts. '^ But, in spite of this warning, the journeymen 
 did not give up the conflict, for the fraternity had again 
 to be crushed in the first year of Henry V.,^ only to re- 
 appear in 1424 under the title of the guild of S. George. 
 
 Connected with this last movement was the discon- 
 tent which affected the journeymen weavers ip the year 
 1424. Indeed it is possible that the whole company 
 of journeymen within the city were at that time mak- 
 ing demand for higher pay. The weavers had a bond of 
 union in a common fund which they apparently appro- 
 
 ' Corp. MS. B. 40 (22acl Nov. 8 Hen. IV. 1406). 
 
 2 Corp. MS. B. 41 (8th Mar. 1 Hen. V. 1414). These last two 
 deeds are misdated — though with a query — in Mr. JeaiFreson's 
 catalogue. A comparison of the dates of the patents of general 
 prohibition with those for a particular suppression will show 
 that they were executed in one instance on the same day, in 
 another instance within an interval of four days. 
 
278 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 priated to the furnishing of altar or processional lights, 
 a pretext possibly like that of the journeymen saddlers 
 in London in the time of Richard II., -who, under " colour 
 of sanctity " and religious meetings, " sought only to 
 raise wages greatly in excess." -^ The movement among 
 the Coventry weavers assumed all the forms of a modern 
 strike. The men not only refused to serve at the usual 
 wages, but hindered others from filling their place. The 
 corporation took the matter in hand, and the question 
 was finally settled by arbitration. The men were for- 
 bidden to hinder any of their fellows from working for 
 their masters as they had done aforetime, and a regular 
 rate of wages was established, whereby the journeymen 
 took a third of the sum paid to their employers for the 
 weaving of each piece of cloth, while the masters were 
 ordered to exact threepence and no more from their 
 workmen as a fine for each "contumacy," being, how- 
 ever, forbidden, under colour of this rule, to oppress 
 their servants.^ 
 
 Nearly a hundred years later we find that the frater- 
 nities of journeymen were still in existence, albeit jeal- 
 ously watched by the masters of the crafts. In 1518 
 all initiative was taken from them. " No journeymen 
 of what occupation or craft soever," runs the order of 
 leet, " shall make or use any cave or bylaw, or as- 
 sembly, or meetings at any place by their summons 
 without license of the mayor and the master of their'' 
 occupation " upon pain of 20*. at the first fault ; at the 
 
 1 Ey]o_v, Memorial', biS. 2 ^^.^t Soolc, f. 27. 3 Mg. his. 
 
The Companies of the Crafts 279 
 
 second the offender's " body to prison," there to re- 
 main until the master and six honest persons of his 
 occupation wotild speak for him.' At the same time 
 the workers' fraternities were ordered to bring in 
 the rules already made for the mayor's inspection. 
 Bnt the attempts on their part to form closer unions 
 in order to facilitate concerted action still continued, 
 and in 1527 we find the dyers' serving men assem- 
 bling together for the apparently paciSc purpose of at- 
 tending marriages, betrothals, and burials, as if " they 
 had been a craft or fellowship." These meetings 
 served most likely as a cloak to more serious proceed- 
 ings, and they were forbidden by the leet.^ Nor was 
 the movement entirely confined to the workers of the 
 crafts ; it spread among those outside guild organiza- 
 tion. Jn 1517 the daubers and rough masons were 
 forbidden to form a fellowship of themselves, but 
 were henceforth to be common labourers, " and to take 
 such wages as are limited by statute." ^ 
 
 In other matters we may see the discontented attitude 
 of the workfolk. Thus the journeymen cappers objected 
 to the lengthening of the hours of their working day, 
 which in 1496 had been fixed to last from six till six, 
 but which by 1520 was further increased by two hours 
 in the summer-time, thus lasting from five in the morn- 
 ing to seven in the evening.* Six years later it was 
 enacted that, unless they kept these hours, it was per- 
 
 • Led Booh, f. 322«. 2 lb. f. 346a. ^ jj. f. 320a. 
 
 * Jb. t, 329a. The winter hours were also increased. The 
 workmen came at 6 a.m. and left at 7 p.m. 
 
28o Life in an Old English Town 
 
 mitted to any master to " abridge their wages according 
 to tLeir time of absence." Any rivalry in trade between 
 masters and men was crashed whenever the masters' 
 power availed to do so. Thus in 1496 the journeymen 
 cappers carried on a contraband trade, and scorning to 
 be content with the permission to "scour and fresh old 
 bonnets " for that purpose, made new caps for sale ; nor 
 did the imposition of a fine of twenty pence at every 
 default avail to check their activity. Therefore accord- 
 ing to the rules of 1520 members of the craft were 
 forbidden to give any work to thoso who knitted the 
 journeymen's caps, or to the spinners who span for 
 them, thus indirectly checking this illicit competition. 
 In other ways the journeyman was made to feel the 
 weight of the master's hand. Among the carpenters 
 none could be set to work unless he had served for 
 seven years as apprentice to the handicraft ; ^ and a 
 journeyman capper was compelled to certify the cause 
 of leaving his late master to his new employer's satis- 
 faction.^ 
 
 These are some points connected with the life of 
 mediasval craftsmen. Although so much has been 
 written on the economical, social, and religious aspects 
 of the subject, we are still very ignorant as to the 
 actual workings of the craft system. Modern industry 
 seems to have entirely passed through, and, as it were, 
 forgotten this immature phase of its existence. The 
 companies in Coventry which were able to survive the 
 
 ' Carpenters'' Accounts (Corp. MS. A. 4). ^ l^^gt Booh, f. 276«. 
 
Tlie Companies of the Crafts 281 
 
 stock of the suppression of the guilds and chantries 
 under Edward VI., and have lasted to our own day — 
 the mercers, drapers, cappers, fullers, clothiers, and 
 worsted weavers — possess none of the powers or organi- 
 zation of their predecessors, and are mere survivals of 
 a bygone time, " the shadows of a great name." ^ 
 
 ' The bakers' company is the only one existing at present 
 in Coventry that possesses " any regulative power over the 
 concerns of their special trade interest " (Fretton, Memorials of 
 Fullers' Guild, 33). 
 
XIV 
 
 DAILY LIFE IN THE TOWN — THE MERCHANTS AND THE 
 MARKET 
 
 At the " beating of the bell called daybell," the towns- 
 folk rose and began their daily work. Country people, 
 wayfarers and chapmen, bearing their burdens of mer- 
 chandise, saw the city in the morning light, with its ring 
 of walls and upstanding posterns and gates overtopped by 
 six tall spires, lying in the midst of fields and far-i'each- 
 ing common grounds in a slight dip in the plain. Enter- 
 ing the newly-opened gates, they were at once inside 
 the narrow paved ^ streets, bounded on either side with 
 black and white timbered houses, for travellers from the 
 "Warwick side did not make their entrance by spacious 
 Hertford Street,^ but by the Grey Friars' and Warwick 
 Lanes, then part of the main thoroughfare of the city. 
 Passing up the hill, they found that the street on a line 
 with these — the Broadgate — belied its name, being but 
 a very narrow thoroughfare, bounded on the left hand 
 
 1 Kough stones were used for paving (Riley, Liber Albus, xliv.). 
 The Chamberlain'' s Accounts (Corp. MS. A. 7) contain frequent 
 allusions to paving : " Item, paid for paving within the Bablake 
 gate, iiis.'' " Item, ii lods pebuls for the same, xviiic^." 
 
 ' Built 1812 (Poole, Coventry, 345). 
 282 
 
Daily Life in the Town 283 
 
 by a block of houses, whereof the removal in 18201 \^^ 
 caused moderns to think that the open space on the 
 crown of the hill is yery rightly named. 
 
 Soon after daybreak the streets were alive with the 
 noise and press of a busy throng. It is true there 
 were many impediments to traffic. Cattle^ and ducks 
 wandered hither and thither; fishmongers' stalls stood 
 in the middle of the streets, greatly to the hindrance 
 of the passers-by, whether horsemen or pedestrians;^ 
 while inn signs * had perforce to be limited in length, 
 lest they should strike the heads of unwary riders in the 
 by-lanes of the city. But the medieval trader was well 
 inured to inconvenience. Neither did noise distract him, 
 though taverners and cooks standing at the door offered 
 good things hot from the oven to passers-by,^ each seek- 
 ing to cry louder than his neighbour ; while in the open 
 
 ' Poole, 3:15. See Mr. Addy's Evolution of the Rouse in this 
 series for a description of medieval houses. 
 
 2 Daily hurt comes from having beasts at large " {heel Book, 
 f. 210). In London only the swine of S. Antony's hospital were 
 allowed to be at large in the streets, and " chiens gentilz," 1.5. 
 dogs belonging to the gentry (Biley, Liher Albus, xlii.). 
 
 3 Leet Book, f. 178a. 
 
 " In London the length of inn-signs was limited to seven feet 
 (Liber Alhus, Ixv.). Signs were also affixed to shops to attract 
 the eye ; of this custom the barber's pole is a relic. Merchan- 
 dise was usually kept in cellars partly underground beneath the 
 solar or front dwelling-room. In great thoroughfares goods 
 were displayed in covered sheds projecting in front of the 
 dwelling-place (.Turner, Dom. Arch. I. 96 ; IV. 84). Shops were 
 usually open rooms on the ground floor, with wide windows 
 closed with shutters {Liber Albus, xxxviii.). 
 
 ^ Langland, Piers Plowman, Prologus, 225-9. 
 
284 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 places the crier proclaimed the terms of a recent charter, 
 or newly-made ordinance of leet or council ; ^ and over- 
 head the church bells pealed forth, calling folk to their 
 prayers, to the market, or, in case of a brawl or riot, 
 to a common meeting-place.^ 
 
 Long before curfew the countryman had gone home 
 to his village in the Arden country or by the London 
 road to Dunsmoor Heath ; while the traveller in his 
 inn and the townsman under his own roof were soon 
 abed. What light there was in the deserted streets 
 on winter evenings came from the lamps which hung 
 over the door of every hostelry and every substantial 
 citizen's house, until nine o'clock,^ after which time 
 the city gates were closed,* and none were abroad 
 
 ' Led Booh, ff. 159a, 38q!. 
 
 ' We hear of the " daybell " rung probably at dawn, and the 
 curfew rung by the clerks of S. Michael's and Trinity chiu'ches 
 {lb. f. 202ai). A " larum bell " was rung on the occasion of the 
 quarrel between Somerset's servants and the watch {Paslon Let- 
 ters, I. 408). Probably there was a recognised " change " in 
 the ringing for each of the various summonses. The ringing 
 of changes is said to have been peculiar to this country. Bells, 
 before they were hung up, were baptized and anointed with 
 holy oil, blessed and exorcised. Their uses were expressed in 
 the Latin lines : 
 
 "laudo Deum verum — plebem voco — oongrego olerum 
 
 Defuntos ploro — pestum fugo — festa decoro." 
 
 (Strutt, Sxiorta and Pastimes, 291, 292). 
 3 Leet Boole, f. 134. ' ' / 
 
 * In 1450 the chamberlains requested that four men should be 
 appointed out of each ward to guard the gates,' and these four 
 were to choose one man to keep the keys and close them every 
 night at nine (76. f, 149a). 
 
Daily Life in the Town 285 
 
 save thieves and wafccTimen. Indeed, the very fact of 
 being out after dark was in itself presumptive evidence 
 of some dishonest purpose on the part of the belated 
 wayfarer. At any suspicious sight or sound the watch 
 were ou the alert, and prepared to arrest the wan- 
 derer ; should the prisoner escape and take to flight, 
 they would instantly give chase, and fill the dark and 
 empty streets with the echoes of their pursuit. A hue 
 and cry would be raised, doors open, and householders 
 pour forth to aid the watch. If the unlucky fugitive 
 were captured, he would be committed to ward in all 
 haste. 1 
 
 What a crowd of difierent types of men must have 
 jostled against one another in the noisy throng ! Crafts- 
 men, attired in the livery proper to their calling, a 
 custom whereof we have this day a relic in the butcher's 
 blouse; merchants from foreign parts, or natives fresh 
 from a sea voyage ; mayor and aldermen clad may-be 
 in estal scarlet ; the crier and sergeants in the livery 
 of the city ; men-at-arms, the retainers of some great 
 lord, bearing the badge of the earls of Warwick, or 
 the Stafford knot ; Benedictines, clad in white cassock 
 and black gown and hood ; Franciscans, with their 
 brown habit and knotted girdle ; Carmelites from White- 
 friars in white frock and brown scapulary; Carthusians 
 from the Charterhouse, with white cassock and hood; 
 chantry and parish priests— all these, laymen and clerics. 
 
 I Jusserand, Wayfaring Life, 169. 
 
286 Life in an Old English Toiun 
 
 warriors and traders, met, passed, and gave greeting in 
 the streets. 
 
 Strange figures might be seen in the streets or the 
 road neighbouring the city, such as the hermits, whose 
 dwellings —the one hj Bablake church, ^ the other at 
 Gosford Green — stood at either end of the highway 
 leading through Coventry. Times had changed ; it was 
 now customary for hermits to build by the highway, 
 and no longer withdraw into solitary places, and spend 
 their lives in prayer and meditation. They rather pre- 
 ferred to dwell in " boroughs among brewers," seeking 
 society and good cheer. Nor did the pilgrims, who 
 might be seen flocking to the shrine of S. Osburg * to 
 pay their devotions, invariably set about their task in a 
 religious spirit. Many who travelled to the far-famed 
 shrines of S. Thomas of Canterbury, S. Edmund of Bury, 
 S. Cuthbert of Durham, or to " Our Lady " of Walsing- 
 ham, to the Roods of Chester and Bronholme, or the Holy 
 Blood of Hayles, looked on their journey as a holiday 
 jaunt rather than as an act of devotion. Langland 
 thought little spiritual good came from this gadabout 
 
 • Sharp, Antiq. 131. In 1362 licence was. given to a recluse, 
 Bobert de "Worthin, to inhabit a dwelling adjoining the church. 
 A hermit was permitted to hold communication with his fellow- 
 men, and might leave his hermitage when need required ; but a 
 recluse could not quit his dwelling, and must refrain from all 
 unnecessary intercourse with the outside world (Cutts, Middle 
 Ages, 94). 
 
 2 Miracles were worked at S. Osburg's shrine, and her birth- 
 day was a local holiday. Palmer Lane and the Pilgrim's Rest 
 preserve in their names token of ancient customs. 
 
Daily Life in the Tozvn 287 
 
 religion. A palmer in Tiers Plowman covered with 
 tokens of his journeys to the holy places of the east 
 and west, " signes of Synay and shelles of Galice," 1 a 
 " vernicle " 2 and " keys of Rome," says : 
 
 " Ye may se bi my signes, that sitten in myn hat, 
 That I have walked f ul wyde in wete and in dry, 
 And soughte god seynts for my soules helth,'' 
 
 But his hearer is not daunted by such a display of 
 supererogatory holiness. " Knowest thou," he says, — ■ 
 
 " Knowesto-w oughte a eorsient (relic) that men oalle treutlie? 
 Couldestow oiighte wissen (show) the weye where that wy 
 (wight) dwelleth ? " 
 
 "Nay," replies the pilgrim — 
 
 " Nay, so me God helpe, , . . 
 I seygh (saw) neuere palmere with pipe ne with scrippe 
 Axen after hym, er till nowe in this place." ^ 
 
 A pity it was, thought this great fourteenth century 
 moralist, to go a-wandering in search of holy places, 
 and neglect the homely virtues of truth and goodness 
 which flourish beneath a man's own roof-tree rather than 
 at the shrine of the most noted saint in Christendom. 
 
 Interesting, too, are several persons occurring in 
 Coventry history, whose occupations were hardly so 
 legitimate as those of pilgrim or hermit. We have had 
 a glance at the ruinous house where John de Nottingham, 
 the necromancer, by means of his waxen eifigies wrought 
 
 ^ Cockle shells from the shrine of S. James of Compostella. 
 
 2 A copy of S. Veronica's handkerchief, which bore a supposed 
 impression of Christ's face. 
 
 3 Langland, Piers Plowman, Pass. V. 523-43. 
 
288 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 such terrible evil to one o£ the prior's servants, and 
 revenged the wrongs of the Coventry men. We vp^ould 
 fain know more of John French, the alchemist, vpho 
 appears in the Leei Booh,^ only to disappear directly from 
 its pages. We learn in 1477 that he intended, " be his 
 labor, to practise a true and profitable conclusion in the 
 cunnyng of transmutacion of meteals to " the " profyte 
 and pleasur of " the king's grace, and was, so Edvsrard 
 IV. charged the mayor, never to " be letted, troubled, 
 or vexed of his seid labor and practise, to th' entent that 
 he at his good liberte may shewe vnto vs, and such 
 as be by vs therfor appointed, the cler effect of his said 
 conclusions." There can be little doubt that the citizens 
 looked askance at John French, and whispered that he 
 dabbled in black magic and had dealings with the 
 Prince of Darkness. We know not how many years the 
 alchemist spent in his fruitless labours ; or if he imparted 
 his views on the subject of the " transmutation of metals" 
 to the citizens, or ever journeyed to London to pour a 
 tale of hope deferred into the ears of the disappointed 
 king. 
 
 There were many sights in a mediseval city to remind 
 us that men seldom cared to cloak their brutality in 
 those days. The stocks, where offenders were held by 
 their feet, the pillory, where they were held by the 
 head and hands, stood conspicuous, probably in neigh- 
 bourhood of the guild-hall. A pillory, a favourite place 
 for the chastisement of fraudulent bakers, may yet be 
 
 ' Leet Book, t 230a, 
 
Daily Life in the Town 289 
 
 seen in Coleshill, and stocks stand yet on many a 
 village green.* Here the great punishment lay in the 
 shame of exposure : the criminal stood for hours unahlo 
 to move, a pitiful target for the derision of the multitude, 
 The like penanoe was imposed on those who suffered 
 at the oucking-stool,^ followed by ducking in water, a 
 highly disagreeable incident in the punishment. The 
 prisoners in the gaol looked out into the highway,^ and 
 perhaps held conversation with their friends as they 
 passed. Now and then a craftsman might be seen among 
 the debtors pursuing his calling, for it was not thought 
 expedient to bring a man to utter destitution by depriving 
 him of the means of livelihood during imprisonment ; and 
 those who chose might cobble shoes or work at the loom 
 during those monotonous days. Hard by the busy 
 worker might stand a felon, traitor, or murderer, his mind 
 full of gloomy thoughts of his coming end.* The gallows, 
 naturally reai'ed on high where all men might see them 
 and their ghastly burden, were probably in sight of 
 the prison ; and rich and poor crowded to see a con- 
 demned man drawn in a tumbril, or executioner's cart, 
 
 ' There is a specimen at Berkswfll, near Coventrj-, and at 
 Malvern. 
 
 2 Order of leet : " Bailiffs to make a cuokstool before Whit- 
 suntide " {Leet Book, i. 93o). 
 
 3 The gaol was certainly in the highway {Ih., f. 149a). 
 
 < lb., ff. 82a and 315. The prisoners paid the gaoler Id. a 
 week for their lodging when they had their own bed, M. a 
 week if the gaoler provided them with one; over and above, 
 debtors paid the gaoler 5(7. for fee, if the debt for which they were 
 liable exceeded AOd. 
 
 V 
 
2^0 Life til an Old English Town 
 
 to the gallows, or a woman exposed to open shame. 
 " It is ordained," an order of leefc ran, " that William 
 Rowett, capper, and his paramour be carried and led 
 through the town in a car, in example of punishment 
 of sin, and that all other that be proved in the same 
 sia from this time forward shall have the same pain." > 
 Bat these were only a few among many unpleasant 
 sights that would attract the notice of a passing stranger. 
 Heads of traitors stuck on the top of long poles often 
 adorned the gates. Part of the body, of Jack Cade was 
 sent down in 1450, no doubt to breed terror into all 
 disloyal beholders, and in 1470 the head of one Chap- 
 man 2 was set- up on the Bablake gate ; while that of 
 Sir Henry Mountford, an adherent of Perkin Warbeck, 
 shared the same fate in 1496.^ Gosford Green was the 
 Tower Hill, and the Little Park the Smithfield of Cov- 
 entry. At the former place Lord Rivers and his son 
 suffered death under "Warwick in 1469 ; while the latter 
 saw the burning of many martyrs, inolading the famous 
 Marian victim, Laurence Saunders. 
 
 Many were the efforts made to keep the place clean 
 and wholesome to live in ; but frequent appearances of 
 the plague show that they met with but partial success, 
 
 > Leet Book, f. 99. See also for punishment of immorality, Ih. 
 f. 125a. 
 
 2 Harl. MS. 6,388, f. 22. The other lists have Eliphane. I 
 have no doubt that the right reading is Clapham. This man 
 was an ally of Warwick, and led the rabble of Northampton to 
 the battle of Edgecote in 1469. He was beheaded next year. 
 
 3 Ih. f. 25. 
 
Daily Lije in the Town 291 
 
 At the awful visitation known as the Black Death there 
 remained not " the tenth person alive," we are told, 
 to bury the dead ; ^ while in 1479 the plague carried 
 off 8,300 of the inhabitants.^ Filth of every kind 
 was deposited in the Cross Cheaping under the mag- 
 nificent cross itself, much incommoding the folk who 
 thronged to the market-place, and " dangerous," the 
 leet jury complained, "of infection of the plague," and 
 by sweeping the pavement there dust was raised, which 
 did " deface and corrupt " the said cross.^ In that half 
 of ^the city wherein the Iprior held sway ^the people 
 put all the refuse of their houses just outside the Cook 
 Street gate, with the result that when the country 
 people did not come to carry it away to manure their 
 fields, the lord prior could not " have his carriage 
 through his orchard."* 
 
 According to orders of leet, however, a better system 
 should have prevailed. The sergeants collected every 
 quarter a penny from each citizen dwelling in a house 
 with a hall door, and a halfpenny from every shop, 
 to provide a cart which carried away the filth from the 
 streets.^ Moreover all the citizens were enjoined to clean 
 that portion of the pavement which lay in front of 
 
 ' Harl. MS. 6,388, f. 8. A slight exaggeration, no doubt. 
 
 ^ Ih. f. 23. It is computed that the ordinary mortality of a 
 boroiigh in the Middle Ages was almost equal to that of a town 
 during u, visitation of cholera in the present day (Green, II. 
 30). 3 Leet Book, f. 394. * Ih. f. 287a. 
 
 ^ Ih. f. 11. The filth and street sweepings were ordered to he 
 carried " beyond the stake set in the dyke beyond the Friars' 
 Gate," or to pits without the gates {Ih. f. 4). 
 
292 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 their dwellings every saint's day under payment of a 
 fine of 12tZ. This order was hardly a popular one, and 
 the sergeants were continually taking distress from those 
 who would not pay the quarterly cart-rate, or raising 
 fines for the omission of the festal cleaning. Tor the 
 good folk evaded all sanitary regulations whenever they 
 might do so with impunity. As for those misdoers who 
 threw filth into the common river, to enquire concerning 
 them was a hopeless task,' This was, as the mayor and 
 corporation owned to prior Deram when he loudly com- 
 plained thereof, one of the worst evils of the city. 
 Coventry seems, however, never to have fallen into such 
 an evil plight as Hytho did in the fifteenth century. 
 Here, owing to the abominable habit of casting refuse 
 into the streets, to say nothing of blocking them with 
 all imaginable obstructions,^ they were more like evil- 
 smelling swamps than highways fit for traffic. 
 
 Measures, somewhat primitive in character,^ were 
 taken to guard against an outbreak of fire, which so fre- 
 quently wasted mediseval cities, where the plaster and 
 timber of the houses, with their projecting storeys 
 almost touching one another across the narrow streets, 
 afforded excellent fuel for the flames. A stone house was 
 
 1 Leel Boole, i. 239. The worthy men of the leet besought the 
 mayor that there might be certain citizens appointed to have 
 oversight of the river, each in their several district, and that 
 the rules for cleaning it should be duly kept {Tb. f. 41a). 
 
 2 Such as timher frames for houses, trunks of trees, etc. 
 (Green, II. 29, 30). 
 
 ■= In London the bedels of each ward had a hook to tear down 
 burning houses (Eiley, Liher Alhiis, xxxiv.). 
 
Daily Life in the Town 293 
 
 a rarity, and in the fifteenth century bricks were as yet 
 not in general use. The leet forbade the building of 
 wooden chimneys or the i-oofing of houses with straw 
 in liea of tiles. ^ Moreover late mayors and other 
 officers with " commoners of thrift," were forced to pro- 
 vide leather buckets, "such as the aldermen think 
 sufficient " to hold the water wherewith to quench the 
 flames, In order to prevent the supply of water — 
 brought in a leaden pipe from a spring without the 
 city- — from being exhausted, a lavish use of it was 
 not permitted. The cunduits, whereof there was one 
 in Cross Cheaping, and another, called the Ball, prob- 
 ably by the Bablake Grate, -^ were kept locked daring 
 the night, and brewers were forbidden to take water 
 thence for their brewing, or any one to wash linen and 
 clothes therein.' The practice whereby individuals, by 
 means of a grant sealed with the common seal, obtained 
 a licence to take water continually from the ciindait 
 for their private use, was looked on most unfavourably, 
 and finally forbidden by the leet.^ No doubt the people 
 who wished to obtain this permission were the wealthy 
 brewers and victuallers who were answerable for so 
 many disturbances in Coventry. 
 
 For here as elsewhere this important class of towns- 
 folk made great profit out of the " pence of the poor," 
 in spite of law and ordinance. One of the great prob- 
 
 1 Leel Boole, f. 219. 
 
 - The spring was called CLinduit Head, (Corp. ILS. C. 227). 
 ' There is still a yard called Cunduit Yard close to Bahlake 
 churoli. * Leet Book, ft'. 115a, 202«, ^ Ih. f. 72«. 
 
294 Lije in an Old English Town 
 
 lems facing mediseval legislators and local authorities 
 was the task of ensuring the natural price of provisions. 
 " No police of the Middle Ages," says Thorold Rogers, 
 " would allow a producer of the necessaries of life to fix 
 his charges by the needs of the individual, or, in eco- 
 nomical language, to allow supplies to be absolutely 
 interpreted by demand. The law did not fix the price 
 of the raw material, wheat or barley. It allowed this 
 to be determined by scarcity or plenty — interpreted, 
 not by the individual's needs, but by the range of the 
 whole market. But it fixed the value of the labour 
 which must be expended on wheat and barley in order to 
 make them into bread and ale.''^ The central govern- 
 ment ordained what weight of bread was to be sold for 
 a certain sum, and what price should be given for a 
 gallon of ale ; and the enforcing of the law was the 
 business of the local authority. The local rulers them- 
 selves fixed the price of other provisions — fish, meat, 
 poultry, and wine— allowing for profits according to a 
 certain scale on their resale by victuallers. ^ Stringent 
 rules were laid down against the enhancement of price 
 by " forestalling and regratery," that is intercepting 
 merchandise on the way to market and selling it at an 
 increased price. For example, native fishmongers, it was 
 feared, would lay in wait for travelling salesmen bringing 
 in " panyers " of salt fish, and, after buying the same, 
 would ask a higher price for^it before the next fasting 
 
 1 Kogers, Six Cent. 140. 
 
 2 Green, Toion Life, II. 36. Profits on wine were in some 
 oases id., in others 4c/. a gallon. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 295 
 
 day. So to guard against this contingency, strangers 
 selling fish were forbidden to be " osted or inned " in the 
 house of a native brother of the craft, but to pass the 
 night at inns at the mayor's " limitation," and after 
 "making relation" to him. of the kind of fish they brought, 
 to sell the same openly in the common market-place. ^ A 
 multitude of regulations were also made to ensure the 
 good quality of provisions, the mayor examined all 
 fish brought by foreign fishmongers, whilst ale-tasters, 
 appointed by the bailiif, summoned by each brewer to 
 taste his new beer, received " a gallon of the best 
 ale " at the detection of any default. In addition to 
 all these expedients for regulating price and quality, 
 the statute-book provided for the giving of a just quan- 
 tity to the buyer at the conclusion of every bargain. 
 On each opening day of a new mayoralty all shop- 
 keepers and victuallers delivered up their weights and 
 measures for the mayor's inspection, and after com- 
 parison with the standard model, kept in the town 
 chest, they were sealed if found correct, or, if faulty 
 destroyed. 
 
 On his entry into office, the mayor's " crye " or procla- 
 mation informed all and sundry of these regulations, and 
 of the perils consequent on their infringement. Here 
 we learn the price of "coket" bread ^ and horse-bread 
 
 ^ Leel Book, f. 4«. 
 
 ^ lb. i. la. The three most common kinds of bread were 
 waste! , — bread of the finest quality ; co7cei (seconds); SA\Asimnet, 
 twioe-baked bread, used in Lent (Green, II. SB). 
 
296 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 at that time ; liow in 1421 wine of Roolielle was to be 
 sold at Qd. a gallon, Malvoisey at IQd,, and " no derer 
 upon the peyn of xss. at every trespas," and tliat 
 on Oseney, Algarbe and Bastarde the " mayor and 
 his pares " would set a price when any occasion of 
 selling offered. 1 The " crye " tells us what penalties 
 were laid on those who made use of fraudulent 
 measures, " coppes and bollys " unsealed, ^ and how in- 
 formers were stimulated by the promise that whosoever 
 gave notice to the mayor of this abuse should " have 
 iiiii^. for his travayll and a gallon of the best ale " 
 and also what hard punishments were meted out to 
 those who practised forestalling and regratery.^ 
 
 But in spite of all these regulations the task of 
 curtailing pi-ofits seemed a hopeless one, and again and 
 again the worthy men of the leet confess that the law 
 remains a dead letter through the frauds of the vic- 
 tuallers. These, we are told, holding their heads high, 
 refused to sell their wares at the "limited" price, 
 "and in maner destitncion the seid cite of wyne and 
 vitayle " to the manifest liurfc of the inhabitants, and 
 of all people " confluent to the same." While, when the 
 mayor insisted that the bakers should obey the orders 
 of leet regulating their trade, the whole craft " struck " 
 with the greatest unanimity, and, leaving the city 
 " destitute of bread," took sanctuary at Bagington, 
 a village about four miles distant. Night, however, 
 brought council, and they submitted next day to the 
 
 Lcel Book, f, 'J. 2 Ibid. 3 _fi_ £_ 3„^ 
 
Daily Life in the Town ig'j 
 
 mayor, paying for their lawlessness a fine of £10.^ 
 As for the brewers in the sixteenth century, they found 
 their calling so lacratire that others were thereby en- 
 couraged to forsake their occupations and take up this 
 profitable trade. At that time, said the worthy men of 
 the leefc in 1544, '■ divers of the said brewers nothing 
 regarding the displeasure of God, the danger of the 
 laws of the realm, nor the love and charity which 
 they ought to bear to their neighbours in the com- 
 monwealth of this city, for their own private lucre 
 . . . do . . . regrate and forestall barley coming into this 
 city to be sold," and sell ale at excessive and unreason- 
 able prices.^ 
 
 Regulations, however, affected this powerful and 
 wealthy class but little, and in listening to the ever- 
 renewed complaints against them we begin to realize the 
 univei'sal detestation in which they were held in the 
 Middle Ages. Medieeval imagination, with its love of 
 the grotesque, delighted to picture the unhappy end of 
 those who bade defiance to the laws of God and man. 
 How hardly shall an alewife, thought the Ludlow artist, 
 " enter the kingdom of Heaven," and in carving the 
 miserere seat of the parish church he shadowed forth 
 her fate. " A demon is bearing away the deceitful one ; 
 she carries nothing about her but her gay head-dress 
 and her false measure ; he is going to throw her into hell- 
 mouth, while another demon is reading her offences as 
 entered in his roll, and another is playing on the bag- 
 
 1 Lerf Booh., f. 25i3. • lb. If. 302, oO-Ik, 
 
Life in an Old English Tozvn 
 
 pipes by way of welcome." ^ A pleasant man was that 
 Ludlow artist, — one, we mny fancy, who abhorred cheat- 
 ing, and dearly loved his glass. 
 
 Ordinances of leet were frequently passed upon the 
 order to be maintained upon a market day, for there 
 was but scanty room for traffic in the Cross Cheaping, 
 even though the carts can have been no wider than trol- 
 lies, taking up but "the brede of a yard" ia passing by. 
 Stalls and boards were a great encumbrance. " No fish- 
 monger," runs an order of leet, " (can) have his board 
 standing forth at large in the street for to let carb, horse 
 or man, but that there be a reasonable space left 
 between their houses and their boards."^ Round about 
 the' market-place were clustered the dwellings of provi- 
 sion merchants and the lesser craftsmen. Ironmonger 
 Row, Butcher Row or the Poultry, Cook Street and 
 the Spicer-Stoke ^ tell by their names the calling of those 
 who lived or chiefly trafficked there ;* while the drapers 
 made their homes hard by the Drapery, in Bayley Lane 
 and Earl Street.' On market days this neighbourhood 
 
 ' "Wright, Domestic Manners, 337. 
 
 2 Leet Book, f. 178a. Probably carts made for town use were 
 always narrow ; see illustration in Wright's Domestic Manners, 
 314. Compare the trollies made for the "Rows" at Yarmouth. 
 
 ' The old name for the thorovighfare between Trinity church 
 and Batcher Row. A spicer is equivalent to the modeim grocer. 
 ' * Cf. Milk Street, Pish Street and S. Margaret Pattens in the 
 city of London ; Bridlesmith Gate and Fletcher Gate (fietcher 
 = an arrow maker) in Nottingham. See on this subject Mr. 
 Addy's Evolution of the House iu this Series. It was custom- 
 ary for the members of each calling to live close together. 
 
 5 Poole, 896. 
 

Daily Life in the Town 299 
 
 was crowded with the overflow of stall-holders and 
 salesmen ; the poulterers standing before the Priory 
 gates, and round about the Bull-ring "usque finem de le 
 Litel Bochery,"! while the fishmongers and leather sel- 
 lers had stalls within the Cheaping itself.^ Other stalls 
 were placed in the procession way in S. Michael's 
 churchyard, and the sellers of cloth had an illicit mar- 
 ket in the church porch opposite the Drapery dooi', 
 until it was made forbidden ground by a leet ordinance. 
 For all merchants and chapmen resorting to the city 
 on the Friday were forced by this authority to sell all 
 their mercery, cloth and linen inside the Drapery ; ^ 
 and all sellers of wool to have their merchandise weighed 
 at the Wool-hall hard by, and pay a fee for the weigh- 
 ing thereof at the "Beam" or public weighing machine. 
 
 Equally stringent were the orders of leet, which cur- 
 tailed the privileges of the "foreyn," who came to buy 
 or sell within the city. He was not allowed to purchase 
 corn in the market until mid-day, three hours after 
 the townsfolk had been admitted to make their bargains.* 
 A certain time of sale was assigned him,^ and very 
 frequently his goods were examined by the mayor ere 
 
 1 Lsel Book, f. 1337. ^ Ih. f. 412. 
 
 ' See Corp. MS. B. 75 for description of the Trinity guild 
 lands, of which the Drapery was a ijaroel. The annual rent 
 payable to the Trinity guild of a half bay in the Great Drapery 
 was 6s. M. (C. 194}. 
 
 * Leet Book, f. 326a!. All people dwelling outside the town 
 liberties were called " foreign." 
 
 ^ For regulations concerning " foreign " bakers, lb. ff. 362, 413. 
 
300 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 he could dispose of them in the market.^ If his trade 
 competed in any serious degree with that of the city 
 craftsmen, there was no end to the restrictions where- 
 with he was hampered. Urged by a spirit of local 
 monopoly, 2 the authorities regulated the trade in hides 
 and tallow in favour of the dealers of the city, though 
 on the butchers' assertion that the country tanners 
 would give a better price for the hides than their town 
 brethren, the rules were somewhat relaxed. No chan- 
 dler, however, was permitted to sell more than twelve 
 pounds of candles out of the city ^ to one pui'chaser. 
 
 The frequent enactment of these and similar regu- 
 lations in the early sixteenth century shows the terror 
 with which the townsfolk looked on the spread of in- 
 dustry in country districts. Owing to the conversion 
 of arable land to pasture for sheep farming, agricultural 
 labourers had been thrown out of work ; many therefore 
 were employed in handicrafts in their own houses and 
 their competition was thought to seriously threaten 
 the prosperity of their town neighbours.* 
 
 At the Corpus Christi fair all was bustle and activity 
 in Coventry, and the mayor had doubtless much ado to 
 settle all the disputes arising from differences of cur- 
 rency or hard driving of bai'gains at the pypowders 
 court, for all the world of the neighbourhood came to 
 lay in stores for the year, and merchants from far and 
 
 ' (,. supi'a^ p. 205 for tho fishmongers. 
 
 2 See Green, II. 39. ^ Leei Book, f. 315a, 
 
 * Kogers, Six Cent. 3i0. 
 
Daily Life in the Toivn 301 
 
 near to sell their wares, Eight weeks a farmer's 
 
 life is said to have been spent more or less in visiting 
 fairs and markets, ^ and undonbtedly a merchant em- 
 ployed a far longer period in travel to and from these 
 centres of trade. Our forefathers were not altogether 
 such simple stay-at-homes as we love to picture, but, 
 rather, experienced travellers, and in those days tra- 
 velling meant experience, and was not as it is now — 
 at least in civilized countries — a method of getting from 
 place to place which puts no tax on the body, and the 
 least possible on the mind, of the traveller. All manner 
 of nien and of merchandise ^ were to be seen at the 
 fair. Irish traders brought druggets from Drogheda ; 
 coarse cloth came from the west country ; ^ Frenchmen 
 brought dyes for cloth ; Bristol traders wine from 
 Guienne and Spain ; country gentlemen and local graziers 
 bales of wool for export or home manufacture. 
 
 It is true that in spite of its popularity, the Corpus 
 Christi fair never equalled the S. Giles' fair at Winches- 
 ter, the centre of trade between the southern countries 
 and France, or that of Stourbridge, near Cambridge, the 
 great mart for horses, and the centre for commerce be- 
 tween the eastern counties and Flanders. The former 
 
 1 Eogers, Six Cent. 152. In Leicester there -n-ere no pleas held 
 when the great merchants ivere absent at fairs (Green, II. 25). 
 
 2 Merchants from Dublin, Drogheda, London, and Kingston- 
 on-Hull, were members of the Corpus Christi guild ; so were 
 many local country gentlemen and yeomen. 
 
 3 Devon and Ireland supplied coarse cloth sold in the Drapery 
 (Burton MS. f. 98-103). 
 
302 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 lasted fourteen days, and bronglit no inconsiderable 
 profit to the bishop of Winchester, into whose coffers the 
 tolls found their way. Meanwhile all trade within the 
 city was suspended, and even in Southampton nothing 
 save victuals could be sold, so that all the local traffic 
 was diverted into the channel of the bishop's fair. Still 
 more important was the September fair of Stourbridge. 
 For three weeks the allotted space, covered with wooden 
 buildings arranged in streets named according to the 
 nations or to the special trade of those who occupied 
 them, were thronged with English and foreign mer- 
 chants. The former came to bargain for the Italian 
 freight of eastern spices, for Spanish iron and Norwegian 
 tar and pitch, for Flemish diapers and lawns, and for 
 amber from the Baltic, while the latter carried home 
 English cloth and wool, and when barley was cheap, 
 a plentiful supply of it for the Flemish breweries.^ 
 
 To many, however, the fair at Coventry, the centre 
 of traffic on the great road to the north-west, was the 
 chief event of the whole year. The local makers dis- 
 played to the utmost advantage the bales of Coventry 
 cloth, and the blue thread, to which the skill of the 
 native dyers gave the colour which was the envy 
 of the whole country. This merchandise could be 
 bought openly by the strangers, who jostled against 
 one another before the stalls in the Drapery. But 
 many transactions, which the dealers hoped would not 
 come to light, must have taken place unnoticed in 
 
 1 Ashley, Econ. Ilisl. pt. I. 100. ^ Bogers, Six Cent. 149-152. 
 
Daily Life tn tJie Town 303 
 
 the busy crowd. The prior of Salby, in terror of 
 the rapacity of Henry VIII., sold his cross-staff to the 
 wife of a London goldsmith at Coventry fair one Corpus 
 Christi day, just as the monks of Stoneley — provi- 
 dent men — -about this time disposed of a silver censer-, 
 and other things " worth £14 or thereabouts," to Master 
 John Calans, goldsmith, of Coventry.^ May-bo the spare 
 scholar might there be seen, as at the fair of S. Frideswide, 
 at Oxford, counting the few coins his purse contained 
 to find out if they would avail to purchase a book 
 he coveted greatly. While in Elizabeth's days Puritan 
 purchasers, who found the " Martin Marprelate " tracts 
 edifying reading, could obtain these locally printed 
 attacks on the episcopate from some discreet salesman.^ 
 But the bulk of the buyers were local folk : farmers on 
 the look-out for a good horse, or intent on replenishing 
 the stock of sheep-dressing, and their wives keenly 
 enjoying a bargain over some pewter vessels, or article 
 of " mercery," a gay belt or kerchief for the daughters 
 at home. 
 
 More important transactions than these frequently 
 took place, and not at fair time only but throughout the 
 year, as the records of the mayor's court of Statute 
 
 1 Gasquet, Monasteries, II. 285. This took place shortly before 
 the dissolution. 
 
 " The "Marprelate" printing press was for some time at 
 Coventry (Morley, Sketch of Literature, 431). Eogers thinks un- 
 licensed books were sold at fairs. " I cannot conceive how the 
 writings of such an author as Prynne could have been disposed 
 of except in a place which was at once so open and so secret " 
 (Six Cent. 149). 
 
304 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Merchant clearly show. The amount of the various pur- 
 chases was, when viewed from a mediasval standpoint, 
 very large ; a '' gentilman " of Attlehorough, for in- 
 stance, in 1415, acknowledges that he is bound to certain 
 Hinckley folk and others " in ducentis libris " (£200 
 sterling), while a Dublin merchant, Dodenhall, without 
 doubt a connection and kinsman of the Coventry mayors 
 of that name, owed in 1394 a fellow-merchant of the 
 latter place £210, money which he did pay before distress 
 was levied upon him, The following, however, would 
 be a more usual example of recognition of debt : " On 
 the eighteenth day of the month of February, in the 
 third year of king Henry the Fifth after the^Conquest, at 
 Coventry, William Lyberd, hosier, of Coventry, acknow- 
 ledges that he is bound (" reoognoscit se teneri ") to 
 Thomas Dawe of Coventry, passengei', in sixteen pounds 
 sterling, payable at Coventry at the feast of S. Michael 
 the Archangel next ensuing." ^ 
 When all the bargaining was over, when the debt had 
 
 ^ Corp. MS. E. 6. This court was kept in accordance with the 
 Statute of Merchants, of 1283. By this a merchant had the 
 power of bringing a debtor before the mayor, the debtor bound 
 himself to pay the debt by a certain day ; if he failed to do so, 
 the mayor caused all his movables to be seized to the amount 
 of the debt and sold. If, however, he had no movables within 
 the mayor's jurisdiction, application was made to the chan- 
 cellor, who caused a writ to be sent to the sheriff within whose 
 county the debtor had movables, ordering these to be seized. 
 If the debtor had no movables, he was detained in prison 
 until terms were made, the creditor meanwhile providing him 
 with bread and water, the cost of which was added to the 
 amount of the debt (Ashley, Hcon. HUt. pt. I. 204). 
 
Daily Life in the Tozvn 305 
 
 been duly paid, or the amoant enrolled at tlie mayor's 
 court, men thought of other things. The " commons " 
 of Coventry could discuss the everlasting " Lammas " 
 question with the Nottingham men, while those who 
 took more interest in national politics whispered to one 
 another complaints against abuses in church and state. 
 They hinted darkly at the cause of the death of the 
 " good " Duke Humphrey, condemned the malice of the 
 Yorkists, the scandals of the archdeacon's court, or 
 lifting their eyes to the defaced monastery and cathe- 
 dral, spoke of the high-handed character of the " King's 
 Proceedings." ^ 
 
 The nightly sojourn at inns was a great feature of the 
 wayfaring merchant's life, for it was only in sparsely- 
 peopled districts that monasteries afforded hospitality 
 to the travelling trader.^ " Strangers and baggers of 
 corn between Yorkshire, Lancashire, Kendal, and West- 
 moreland and the bishoprick," the people of the north 
 declared at the dissolution, " were greatly helped both 
 horse and man by the said abbeys ; for never was in 
 these parts denied either horse-meat or man's meat, so that 
 the people were greatly refreshed by the said abbeys, 
 where now they have no such succour." ^ But the 
 majority of wayfarers sought shelter * either at inns or 
 
 ' Beers thinks that rebellions were often planned, at fair 
 time. 2 Kogers, Six Cent. 136-7 ; Ashley, Econ. Hist. pt. I. 98. 
 
 3 Gasciuet, Monasteries, II. 96. It seems that the amount of 
 assistance rendered to wayfarers hy monasteries has heen much 
 exaggerated. 
 
 ^ Beyers notes that when the warden of Merton and two 
 
 X 
 
3o6 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 at herhergeors' houses, for the private citizens, even the 
 richer merchants, frequently increased their gains by 
 the entertainment of travellers. The public inns were 
 often the scene of gambling and intrigue, and unwai'y 
 guests, who had not the wherewithal to discharge the 
 heavy bills they had been induced to contract, fre- 
 quently found their baggage seized to several times the 
 amount of the debt. " The greater barons and knights 
 were in the custom of taking up their lodgings with 
 herbergeors, rather than going to the public hostels ; 
 and thus a sort of relationship was formed between par- 
 ticular nobles or kings and particular burghers, on the 
 strength of which the latter adopted the arms of their 
 habitual lodgers as their signs." ^ It might still be 
 possible to learn the story of the connection between 
 certain noble houses and the inhabitants of a given 
 district by means of inn-sign heraldry ; while from the 
 same source we could gather a hint of popular political 
 feeling at a later date. The jubilant cavalier would 
 swing his sign of the Boyal Oak at the Restoration, and 
 the staunch adherent of the " Great Commoner" flaunt his 
 Old King of Prussia in the next century, just as surely 
 as the medieeval inn-keeper decorated his sign with the 
 
 fellows of the college made a joiirney from Oxford to Nortli- 
 umbei'laud in 1032, they always stayed the night at inns, 
 except when they lodged at one of their own manors {Six Cent 
 137). 
 
 1 Wright, Domestio Manners, 333-4. Lar.wood and Gotten 
 assign another reason for this practice. Great men's town 
 houses were frerjuently let during their absences from home 
 {Histori/ of Signboards, 4). 
 
Daily Life in the Town 307 
 
 White Hart, Blue Boar, or Bear and Baculus, in honour 
 of Lis patrona Richard II., Richard III., or the earl of 
 Warwick. Famous old inns in Coventry were the 
 Grown, in " platea vocata Brodeyatys " hard by the 
 Langley's inn, the Cardinal's Hat, in Earl Street.^ The 
 Peacock, still existing in the last century, was near the 
 Butcher Row, but the locality of the Angel, where 
 Stafford, duke of Buckingham lodged, is unknown. One 
 authority speaks also of the White Rose, of late years 
 the Boehuch, still standing in Little Park Street, where 
 the Yorkists held rendezvous, and the Red Rose in Much 
 Park Street, a meeting-place for Lancastrians.^ The 
 herbergeors frequently received distinguished guests. 
 Henry VII., after a triumphal entry into Leicester on 
 his way from Bosworth field, came to Coventry, and took 
 up his lodging in the house of Robert Onley, the mayor, 
 at the Bull, in Smithford Street, a visit he repeated 
 in two years' time, when he conferred on his host the 
 honour of knighthood.^ 
 
 The Coventry merchants, like their fellows in other 
 towns, had plentiful dealings with the outside world. 
 The Botoners, whom tradition credits with the building 
 of S. Michael's spire and chancel, held intercourse, it 
 seems, with the men of Bristol, for they married a 
 daughter of their house to a native of those parts, and 
 
 1 Corp. MS. C. 202 ; Led Booh, f. 218. 
 
 2 Fretton, Mayors of Coventry, 10. 
 
 3 lb. 12 ; Poole, 403. An interesting sign, the Lamh and Flag 
 (Agnus Dei), in Spon Street, reveals some connection witb 
 the Templars. 
 
3o8 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 she became tlie mother of the chronicler, William 
 Worcester.' As the traders of a later generation, the 
 Botoners, most likely, conveyed their wine and wax in 
 vessels towed up the river Severn, a journey beset with 
 diflB.oulties, as the towing-path was overgrown with 
 brushwood, and private landowners and corporate towns 
 on the river bank demanded tolls from the passers-by.^ 
 The Bristol men, too, were not averse from straining a 
 point in the matter of tolls, and in spite of the grants of 
 freedom the Coventry men possessed, demanded "keyage" 
 from them,3 when their goods were upon the landing 
 stage. Many times did Adam and William Botoner serve 
 in the mayor's office, and their donations to the church, 
 to town guilds, murage funds and the like are number- 
 less. As for the great tower of S. Michael's steeple that 
 the brothers built, tradition credits them with spending 
 £100 every year for twenty-one years upon the woi-k.* In 
 the early part of the fifteenth century the family entered 
 the ranks of the country landowners by the purchase of 
 an estate at Withybrook. Not only at Bristol, but at 
 Southampton, the chief port of the south, where French 
 dyes were sold, did Coventry men carry on a great part 
 of their trade. And William Horseley, mayor in 1483 
 and member of the dyers' craft, brought about an agree- 
 ment between the men of this port and his fellow- 
 
 ' PastoH Letters (eel. Gau'dner), I. cxiii. Worcester often pre- 
 feiTed to call liimself by his mother's maiden name. 
 
 2 Hot. Pari V. 569. 3 Led Book, f. 270a. 
 
 ■'Sharp, Antiq. 61. It seems an incredible sum, and the state- 
 ment should be received -vvith caution. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 309 
 
 citizens in 1456, whereby mntnal freedom of tolls was 
 secured. 1 
 
 But the trading enterprize of these inland dwelling- 
 townsfolk was not confined to their native country 
 merely. Another family, the Onleys, whereof one John 
 Onley, the founder, was mayor of the Calais Staple,^ had 
 dealings with merchants beyond sea. This foreign inter- 
 course was often beset with danger to life and limb. 
 John Onley, son of the above, was apprenticed to one 
 Thomas Aleyn, a London mercer. When travelling to 
 Bruges in 141.3, where the chief staple for cloth then 
 was, on his master's errand, this apprentice fell into the 
 hands of a goldsmith of that place, who, because he could 
 not obtain redress for the treatment he and his goods 
 had received from an English " roberdesman " in the 
 neighbourhood of Dover, kidnapped and kept John Onley 
 as hostage. At last the good folk of Bruges, fearing the 
 anger of the English, forced him to let the apprentice go.^ 
 Our sympathies are divided between the innocent lad and 
 the outraged goldsmith, for in the wilder parts of England 
 " roberdesmen " were a veritable scourge to the foreign 
 trader. Did not Henry III. hang more than sixty of the 
 brigands of Alton, who had plundered certain merchants 
 of Brabant, though the whole county of Hants conspired 
 to ensure the acquittal of the accused ?* Occasionally the 
 
 ' Leel Booh, f. 174o. 
 
 2 Harl. MS. 6,388, f. 13. Onley is said to have been the first 
 Englishman horn in Calais after it was taken by Edward III. ; 
 his father was a standard-bearer in the English army. 
 
 ' Proceedings Privy Council, I. 355. ■* Rogers, Six Cent. 99. 
 
310 Life in an Old Efiglish Town 
 
 highwaymen also attacked English, folk. In the days of 
 the third Bdwarij, there was a pretty gang, composed 
 chiefly of "gentlemen Lorn," who bensath the shelter of 
 Cannock Chase did much harm to the merchants of 
 Lichfield, and apportioned what spoil they took " to each 
 according to his rank."i 
 
 Bat foreigners were quick at reprisal when debts were 
 owing to them, or any injury had been done by English 
 merchants. And the proud traders of Liibeck and 
 Bergen, members of the Hanseatic League, who warred 
 with and dictated to kings, were especially sensitive in 
 this respect. This may be seen by the fate which befell 
 Laurence Cook, afterwards twice mayor of Coventry, in 
 the days of his apprenticeship to William Bedforth, and 
 Thomas Walton, servant to John Cross, another local 
 merchant, who aided in the erection oE S. Mary's Hall. 
 For in 1398, as they lay in the ship of one Thomas 
 Herman, of Boston, in the port of Stralsund, certain allies 
 of the League, who had some grudge against the English 
 traders, fell upon the apprentices, beat and wounded 
 them " minus juste," taking moT'eover from the ship 240 
 dozen pieces of cloth of divers colours, Bedforth's pro- 
 perty, valued at £200 ; " much merchandise " belonging 
 to Cross, worth half the sum, and' other pieces of cloth, 
 exported by a third Coventry merchant, valued at £50.^ 
 Such incidents as these were not uncommon in the lives 
 of mediD3val merchants, and for the making of a 
 
 ' Archceological Journal, IV. 69. 
 
 2 Sheppard, Litterce C'antuarienses (EoUs Series, 85), III. 81. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 311 
 
 successful trader it was necessary that a man should 
 have a dash of the warrior and a great deal of the 
 adventurer in his composition. Trained by exposure to 
 such perils by land and sea as now-a-days only explorers 
 undergo, it is little wonder that they proved themselves 
 keen, e.nergetic, and resoux-ceful in their civic life. 
 
 The servant of one Mr. Wheatley had a happier 
 adventure than Laurence Cook when in the sixteenth 
 century he undertook a joui-ney to Spain. For, wishing 
 to purchase steel gads, he bought a chest at a fair, 
 and lo ! when it was opened it was found to contain 
 ingots of silver, treasure brought perhaps from over the 
 Spanish main. The servant, not knowing of whom he 
 bought them, Mr. "Wheatley — honest man — kept them for 
 a time, but as no enquiry was ever made, he gave the 
 profits, amounting with contributions from the city to 
 £96 a year, to the maintenance of twenty-one boys at a 
 school at Bablake, an institution which exists and thrives 
 even to this day. This benefactor, the " Dick Whitting- 
 ton " of Coventry, is a person of whom we would gladly 
 learn more. The real Sir Richard, " thrice Lord Mayor 
 of London," was, as historians tell us, not the poor 
 friendless wanderer of legend, but the hopeful son of 
 a well-to-do family of the country gentry, and was 
 apprenticed to a wealthy London merchant by his kins- 
 folk after the orthodox fashion.^ But as yet no historian 
 has deemed it necessary to investigate Mr. Wheatley's 
 early career, and we still believe that he came to 
 
 Besant and Eice, Hit Richard Whittington. 
 
312 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 Coventry as a nameless adventurer, "a poor boy in a 
 white coat," as Dngdale sajs. He died a bachelor, and 
 bequeathed his fortune to charity. i 
 
 Bat Mr. Wheatley was not the only benefactor the 
 city knew. Wealbhy merchants were generous givers, 
 and the education of youth and provision for the 
 sick and needy were nob matters held to be solely 
 within the Church's province. The names of Richard 
 Whittington and John Carpenter ^ of London, and of 
 Cannynges of Bristol, deserve ever to be held in 
 remembrance, and there are hundreds of other half- 
 forgotten donors entitled to an equal fame. Thomas 
 Bond, merchant of the Staple, founded at Bablake a 
 hospital for ten men " and one woman to look after 
 them," the candidates to be chosen on a general day of 
 the Trinity guild, and, as bedesmen of this omnipotent 
 fraternity, to repeat three times a day Our Lady's Psalter 
 for the brethren of the guild. Both Bond's almshouse 
 and that erected by William Ford, merchant, and 
 William Pisford, at Grey Friars, still remain, and are 
 among the few perfect specimens of domestic architec- 
 ture of the sixteenth century that we possess. The lat- 
 ter, first enriched by Ford's will in 1509, contained six. 
 men and their wives, the nominees of the Trinity guild, 
 each couple receiving 1\A. a week for their mainten- 
 ance.^ The guilds indeed made the relieving of the 
 
 1 Dugdale, I. 194. 
 
 2 The City of London school was founded on Carpenter's 
 devise. ^ Poole, 292-301. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 313 
 
 poor, whether in almshouses or without thera, au im- 
 perative duty. There was always a regular sum paid 
 to "m.eiidyaunts" (beggars) appearing in the accounts 
 of the Corpus Christi guild each year. Thus in 1492 
 we learn that 25s. 4(?. was paid to beggars, and that 
 the master also " asked allowance " of £17 6s. for 
 diminutions of the guild rental " and allowances for 
 mendyaunts of the seid gilde."^ 
 
 But it was not the welfare of the aged alone which 
 absorbed the charity of these merchants. To John 
 Haddon, draper, is due the honour of initiating the 
 system of granting loans to young freemen to aid them 
 in beginning commercial life. By his will (1518) he 
 bequeathed £100 to be distributed among men of the 
 drapers' fellowship — poor cloth makers the lieet Book 
 calls them — in loans of £5 each, to enable them to buy 
 wool or cloth, for the cloth trade at that time was 
 undergoing a period of great depression in Coventry, 
 and £100 to be similarly divided in £4 loans among 
 young freemen of all occupations ; all loans, free of 
 interest, to be repaid at the end of the first year. ^ His 
 example had numerous imitators ; ^ but undoubtedly 
 the gifts of Sir Thomas White, mayor of London and 
 founder of S. John's College, Oxford, whom Mary 
 knighted for his loyalty at the time of Wyatt's rebellion. 
 
 1 Coi-pus Christi Ouild Accounts, Corp. MS. A. 6, f. 43a. 
 
 2 Leet Boole, f. 323 ; Fretton, Mayors, 14. 
 
 3 Thomas White, alderman and vintner, of Coventry, Henry 
 Over and others. 
 
314 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 surpassed the rest. At the time of their greatest need, 
 in 1543, he lent the corporation £1,400, wherewith they 
 purchased certain lands and tenements confiscated at 
 the Reformation, and they agreed to distribute £40 
 arising from the rents of the tenements in loans to 
 apprentices of the city for nine years' use. ^ From 
 sonie cause or other, probably by reason of his great 
 and numerous acts of benevolence, and the backward- 
 ness of the corporation in paying a promised annuity. 
 Sir Thomas fell into poverty in his later years, and 
 seems to have been utterly east down by the thought 
 that his wife would be left without provision. 
 " Whereas I have gently written unto you hereto- 
 fore," he writes in 1566 to the mayor and corporation, 
 " to let my wife have her annuity of £16 for part of 
 her jointure, I require you as you shall answer before 
 God at the day of judgment that yon lett my wife have 
 £24 assured to her during her life." Two days after 
 another letter betrays his unbearable anxiety on this 
 subject. If the mayor and corporation are not able 
 to perform the undertaking with regard to the jointure, 
 " I shall even," he says desperately, " cast my coUedge 
 for ever ... so am 1 utterly shamed in this world 
 and the world to come."^ Happily for the cause of 
 " true religion and sound learning," the college was not 
 abandoned, and we will hope the Coventry folk fulfilled 
 their contract. 
 
 Long before the Reformation and Mr. Wheatley's gift 
 
 ' Poole, 303. 2 Corp. MS. A. 79, t 63. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 315 
 
 the soas of the Coventry bui'ghers attended school, for it 
 is an error to sappose that the education of the laity 
 began with the grammar schools founded by Edward VI. 
 Indeed these foundations were bat the " fresh and very 
 inadequate supply of that which had been so suddenly 
 and disastrously extinguished" ^ at the Reformation. Nor 
 was the occupation of teaching confined to the monas- 
 teries. The ti-ading-class in or before the fifteenth cen- 
 tury threw themselves heartily into the work of provid- 
 ing schools for the coming generations. In most cases 
 the support of these institutions was committed to the 
 leading local guild. In London alone nine grammar 
 schools wei-e set up in the reign of Henry VI,^ and in 
 many other places the bounty of some well-to-do bishop 
 or merchant enriched country towns with the endow- 
 ment of a grammar school. At Coventry there was, it 
 is true, a .school at the priory for the " children of the 
 aumbry," 3 but it appears that there were other "teachers 
 of grammar " in the city, whose well-being was a source 
 of anxiety to the leet, and to these, perhaps, the citizens 
 preferred to send their children to be instructed in the 
 Latin tongue. In 1426 it was enacted by leet that " John 
 
 ^ Eogers, Six Cent. 1G5. Leaoh in his Schools of the Beforma- 
 tion gives this theory substantial support. 
 
 2 Green, 11. 13-16. The drapers had a school at Shrews- 
 bury, the merchant-tailors in London. The guild of S. 
 Laurence of Ashburton had c*liarge of the grammar school, 
 founded by bishop Stapledon in 1314. Other schools — as far as 
 we know — not immediately connected with guilds were at Hull, 
 Rotherham, Ewelme, Canterbury, Beading, Appleby, Preston, 
 Liverpool, Cambridge. ^ Leet Boole, f. 100a. 
 
3i6 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Gai'ton shall come to tlie city of Coventiy, if he will, 
 to keep a grammar school there." ^ Garton, however, if 
 he came at all, probably soon made way for a successor, 
 for in 1429 we find an order of loet to the effect that 
 " Mayster John Pynshard, skolemayster of grammer, 
 shall have the place that he dvvellethe inne for xls. 
 (40s.) be yere, whyles that he dwellethe in hit, and 
 holdyth gramer skole hym self ther inne." ^ The prior 
 appears to have looked upon these teachers as the rivals 
 of the conventual schoolmasters, bat the corporation 
 did their best to soothe his jealousy, and in 1439 the 
 mayor and six of the council, at the~request of the leet, 
 went to the prior to " commune " with him concerning 
 this matter, " wylling hym to occupye a skole of gramer, 
 yffe he lyke to teche hys brederen and childerun of the 
 aumbry, and that he wolnot gruche ne move the con- 
 trari, but that every man of this cite be at his fre 
 chosse (choice) to sette his chylde to skole at what techer 
 of gramer that he likyth as reson askyth." ' No doubt 
 the town school continued to prosper, for we find at 
 the time of the suppression of the chantries in 1543 that 
 the Trinity guild paid- £6 13s. AtA. as a yearly salary to 
 the schoolmaster. All this general activity in education 
 goes to prove that the men of the later Middle Ages 
 were not the illiterate boors historians have loved to 
 imagine. The knowledge of reading, writing and Latin, 
 or, as they called it, grammUr, was surely very widely 
 diffused, when not only a multitude of scribes, but farm 
 
 ' Leel Booh, f. 38.-?. 2 lb. f. 48. s lb. t. 100a. 
 
Daily Lije in the Town 317 
 
 bailiffs could make, audit and balance accounts in that 
 language. 1 
 
 Not only were tlie citizens called on to support by their 
 charity almshouses and schools, and to furnish loans for 
 youthful enterprize, but the poor made a constant demand 
 on their bounty, and in the sixteenth century poverty 
 was greatly on the increase. The town rulers were con- 
 fronted with a problem which, then and subsequently, 
 has been found incapable of solution — the problem of the 
 " unemployed." In the reign of Henry VIII. a terrible 
 influx of vagabonds from the country set in, well-nigh 
 driving the local rulers to distraction. Here we first 
 gain some glimpses of a surplus population of shiftless, 
 landless, moneyless folk, driven by the decay of tillage 
 to seek work in the towns. These families, together with 
 the whole labouring class, were later reduced to un- 
 speakable poverty by the debasement of the coinage and 
 depreciation of silver, circumstances which, while affecting 
 wages but little, greatly increased the price of food. This 
 difficulty was at first unfamiliar to men's minds. Society 
 had been hitherto somewhat stationary. Individuals 
 lived and worked where their fathers had lived and 
 worked before them, or at least remained in a town where 
 they had been able by a seven years' appi-enticeship or 
 by purchase to obtain civic rights. Bat townspeople 
 were jealous of granting freedom to any but the well- 
 to-do, who would be able to share the burden of taxation, 
 
 ' Eogers, Hix, Cent. 105 ; Ar/ric. and Prices, IV. 502. Even arti- 
 sans could draw uj: accounts. 
 
3i8 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 and the wanderer, who by quitting home had dropped 
 out of the framework of local society, became one of a 
 lierd of vagabonds liable to be punished according to 
 the utmost rigour of the law. 
 
 The town rulers did not attempt to solve this question, 
 they shelved it. This wretched population was perpetu- 
 ally ordered to "pass on." "And those bygge beggers," 
 says an order of leet passed in 1618, "that wilnot 
 werke well to gete their levyng, but lye in the folds and 
 breke hedges and stele mannys fruyte ... let theym 
 be banysshed the town, or els punysshe theym so without 
 favor, that they shalbe wery to byde theym." ^ And 
 again and again aldermen were exhorted to cause " lusty 
 beggars and vagabonds " to " voyde out of their ward " 
 upon pain of imprisonment.^ Only such impotent and 
 needy beggars as were licensed, and had the city seal, 
 the sign of the elephant, on their bags, were allowed 
 to remain and demand charity .3 But the worthy men 
 of the leet did not refuse to aid those who suffered un- 
 deservedly from the acutest misery. "If any by in- 
 firmity or multitude of children be not able by his 
 labour to sustain his family," the aldermen were ordered 
 to provide for their sustenance out of the town chest. 
 
 1 Leel Book, f. 323. ' Ih. f. 319a. 
 
 " lb. f. 332. " A token of their hagges of the sigue of the 
 Olyvaunt." 
 
XV 
 
 DAILY LIFE IN THE TOWN {coiltiliued) 
 RELIGION AND AMUSEMENTS OF THE TOWNSFOLK 
 
 High above market-place and churcliyard, above booth 
 and stall, and the life and movement of a busy crowd, 
 rose a forest of naagnificent spires, three from the 
 cathedral and one from either parish church. And 
 after the day's chaffer many a busy trader would turn 
 aside and enter the long aisles to listen to the chanting 
 of vespers or tell his beads before the image of his 
 patron saint. But there was little quiet and repose 
 to be found within the sacred walls, for the parish 
 church was not wholly reserved for the uses of religion, 
 being rather a centre of the common life of the town, 
 a place for the transaction of daily business. In South- 
 ampton church the merchants stored their grain or wool, 
 the theft whereof was punished by excommunication ; the 
 overflow of markets and fairs pressed within the aisles 
 or precincts as at Salisbury and Wells. Local lampoons 
 were fixed to its doors, and in many places councillors 
 met within its walls for consultation, or the common- 
 alty assembled there to make grants of land or transact 
 business. The cathedral was the place chosen by the 
 bishop and mayor of Exeter wherein to discuss their mutual 
 
320 Life ill an Old English Town 
 
 grievances. While at Bridgewater the king's judges 
 held trials in the Grey Friars' church.^ We hear of se- 
 ditions verses nailed to the door of S. Michael's, and of a 
 cloth market in the porch,^ and the Coventry churches 
 were put to a stranger use than any before noted— they 
 were converted into hospitals in time of plague. So in 
 the long dim aisles of the cathedral the sick and dying, as 
 they looked up from their rough beds, beheld the glory of 
 the saints and the torments of the lost on painted window 
 and frescoed wall. Meanwhile the priests went backwards 
 and forwards at their work of administering the last 
 Sacraments to those about to die, and the Hospitallers 
 of S. John the Baptist's hospital,^ who were well used 
 to nurse the sick, tended may-be to the bodily needs of 
 the sufferers. The laity highly valued this custom, and 
 at the dissolution of the monastei'ies the mayor pleaded 
 that the cathedral might be spared, not only because 
 the " lack and decay of it," he says, " will be a great 
 defacing of the said city, but also a great hurt and in- 
 convenience to all the inhabitants there in time of plague. 
 The friars' churches there being already suppressed, 
 and no place for the infected people and others, who 
 are no small number in plague time, to resort to, but 
 
 • See for these particulars, Green, I. 153-6. 
 
 2 lu 1659 the memliers of ijarliament were elected in the 
 church (Sharjj, Antiq. 21). 
 
 " On S. John the Baptist's hospital see Sharp, 155-60. The 
 poor and infirm were received into the hospital. Tliere is no 
 evidence that the brt'thren nursed the sick in plague time, 
 but from their office one would expect them to do so. 
 
Daily Life in tJie Town 321 
 
 only the parish churches, having but two in all the 
 city."i The major's plea, however, was unavailing; of 
 S. Mary's cathedral, defaced, pillaged, then used as a 
 local quarry, there scarcely remains one stone upon 
 another. 
 
 In these days of tempered enthusiasm and lukewarm 
 local interest we can hardly realize what a source of 
 joy and pride these churches were to the townsfolk. 
 Self-denial had enabled them to raise these goodly build- 
 ings, which they gave of their best to beautify. The 
 painters, masons, carpenters and carvers of the city did 
 the work; the red sandstone, which, alas! so soon crum- 
 bles and decays, came from the local quarries ; and 
 though the grand outline of S. Michael's may be due to 
 some bishop of the thirteenth century, ^ the design of the 
 building, with which we are now familiar, came from the 
 brain of a local architect, — some parish priest, perhaps, or 
 master mason of the city. For the churches of Trinity 
 and S. Michael's were practically built anew from their 
 foundations,^ neither perhaps by one family of mer- 
 chants, but by the whole body of parishioners in the 
 hey-day of the city's wealth,* while the small colle- 
 
 ' Gasquct, MonasUrles, II. 4o5. 
 
 2 Perhaps to bishop PatteahuU, who died 123S. Berosford, 
 Diocesan Hist. Lichfield, 127. 
 
 ' Eogers assigns the comparatively low cost of building in 
 niediceval times to the aljscnce of middle-men's profits. A tower 
 which cost — allowing for the relative value of money— 
 £1,703 12s. 6c?. in the fifteenth century could not be now raised 
 under a sum between £4,000 and £o,000 {Six Cent. 543). 
 
 ■* In 1391 the prior agreed to pay an annual pension of 100*. 
 
 Y 
 
322 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 glate cliuroh of S. John the Baptist was raised by the 
 Trinity guild. All these show the influence of the new 
 "Perpendicular" style; but S. Michael's more than the 
 rest is a triumph of the amazing lightness and technical 
 skill so characteristic of the architecture of the fifteenth 
 century — a style which, though lacking the strength 
 and mystery of the earlier Gothic of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury, has yet a certain majesty of its own. 
 
 Having once built the churches, the townsfolk made 
 provision for continual prayer and supplication to be 
 held therein. With a touching belief in the efficacy of 
 prayer, even vicarious, and a business-like intention of 
 making the best of both worlds, these worthy men 
 devoted large sums to the support of chantry priests, 
 who, while their patrons were engaged in secular busi- 
 ness, prayed for\the souls of the faithful departed and 
 for living membeXs of the town guilds and brother- 
 hoods. * III the lady -chapel of S. Michael's the priests 
 of the Trinity guild chanted daily the "Antiphones 
 of the Virgin " and the psalm Be Profundis on behalf 
 of the founders of the fraternity.' Similarly a priest 
 said miss at the altar of Our Blessed Lady in Trinity 
 
 for six yuai'.i and to i^roviJe si.v trees if tlie parisliioners would 
 rebuild the chancel of Trinity church at their own charge, 
 providing the materials and paying for workmanship (Sharp, 
 Antl [. 71). 
 
 1 Besides parochial chaplains there were six chantry priests 
 at S. Michael's in 1522 : two at Trinity ; a warden and seven 
 tecular priests at Bablake ; and, at the Eeformation, according 
 to one account, fourteen or fifteen chaplains at S. Nicholas' 
 church (Sharp, Antiq. 5, 72, 132, 129). 2 Ih. 25. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 323 
 
 cliurcli " for tte good estate of king Richard and Anne 
 his queen, the whole realm of England, and all those by 
 ■whom this altar is sustained . . . and for their 
 souls after death," remembering especially his patrons, 
 the brethren of the Corpus Christi guild. ^ The dyers' 
 and drapers' priests had their appointed task, so had 
 the cliaplains of S. John the Baptist's and S. Nicholas' 
 chm'ohes, while the bedesmen, as their name implies, in 
 the almshouse offered daily prayers for the welfare of tho 
 members of the Trinity guild. 
 
 But the good folk were not content with offering 
 their supplications by pi-oxy. Although much of the 
 spiritual fervour of the thirteenth century died away in 
 the later Middle Ages, the townsfolk were methodical 
 and regular in their religious observance and attended 
 church with due decorum on Sunday and holy-days. 
 In the pews sat the city officers and their wives each 
 in their degree, the various craftsmen occupying no doubt 
 the special chapels called after their names, and the 
 apprentices and servants sitting or standing " in tho 
 alleys.'' '^ The walls of the churches were bright with 
 fresco, where even the most ignorant could learn the 
 stories taken from the lives of the saints or from Holy 
 Writ ; it is only within living memory that the smoke 
 has blackened a rediscovered representation of the Last 
 Judgment above the chancel arch of Trinity church. And 
 when the worshippers lifted their eyes to the window- 
 glow they beheld amid the company of the saints scenes 
 
 1 Sharp, 81. - Green, I. 154. 
 
324 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 taken from local legend/ the old compact for the free- 
 dom of the market between Leofric and Godiva, the 
 blazoning of the arms of founders and benefactors, and 
 the insignia of trade and craft. ^ For the mediseval 
 artist saw no firm line sundering the things of religion 
 from the affairs of daily life, and the people did not 
 care to keep their civic patriotism and aspirations 
 solely for the guild-hall. In the aisles and chapels 
 lay the most honoured of the city dead ; Bond and Had- 
 don were laid among their fellow drapers, and the tomb 
 of Ralph Swyllington, recordei', may yet be seen on the 
 mercers' side in S. Michael's church. 
 
 The craft companies paid an annual rent for the 
 chapels within their keeping, whither they repaired 
 at least once a year to keep the festival of their 
 patron saint and present their offerings. Thus each of 
 the cappers subscribed twelve pence a year towards 
 the maintenance of the furniture in S. Thomas's 
 chapel in S. Michael's and presented a jDenny as an 
 offering on the feast of the translation of the saint.^ 
 In these chapels, where the glory of goldsmiths' and 
 
 1 The figures of GoJiva ami Luufric wero to bo scon even 
 ill tho last centuiy in the window in Trinity cluircb. 
 
 - The scissors of tlic shcrcmeu may yet he seen in a ^^'in- 
 dow in S. Michaul's. 
 
 ■' Sharp, Anliq. 30. The girdelers paid 3v. fur their cliapel 
 to the churchwardens {lb. 33). The company of the cappers 
 is still in existence ; and every year, in the mouth of February, 
 the members repair to the chapel and eat bread and butter 
 and drink wine there. 
 
Daily Life in the Tinvn 325 
 
 artist's work 1 testified to the munificence of the crafts- 
 folk, dead members of the brotherhood ^Yere occasionally 
 buried, and their ohits or anniversaries kept. 
 
 It was a common practice to bequeath house property 
 to provide funds for the continual commemoration of the 
 testator's death and prayers for his soul's peace. Thus 
 in 1492 Richai'd Clyff, late parson of S. Greorge, London, 
 bequeathed to the church of Holy Trinity, Coventry, 
 a tenement in Well Street " to the entent . . . that 
 the Wardeyns of the same Church, for the tyme beinge 
 yerely, for evermore, observe and kepe within the same 
 Church, in the vigyll of Saynt Alphege, placebo, and 
 dirige over nyght, bj' ii well-dysposyd prestys, there to 
 be said devoutly without note; and on the morowe 
 after, ayther of the same prestys to say messe of Re- 
 quiem for the soules of John Cliff, and Margarete hys 
 wyff, hys ffader and moder, hys own soule, all hys 
 ffrendys.Saulys, and all Crystyan Saulys." Other fea- 
 tures of the obit were the distribution of alms to 
 the poor, and the feast which followed the service. Thus 
 on. the day whereon Robert Burnell's obit wa kept 
 4?. was given to the poor, and 3s. lOi?. expended iu 
 bread and ale.^ 
 
 When a craftsman died, the whole oompan}' of his 
 brethren wei-e present at his burial, which, if he were 
 a noteworthy citizen, would take plaeo with much 
 solomnity at the Grey Friars' or one of the parish 
 
 ' See Sharp, Anli<i. 30, for an inventor_v of the cappers' 
 possessions in the chapel, ^ Ih, 92, 
 
326 Life in an Old English Tcxun 
 
 cluirches.i Faneral masses were invariably said in the 
 cathedral, the offerings remaining to the use of S. Mary's 
 minster and convent ; the candles also that had bnrnt 
 about the coffins'- were left in the cathedral after the 
 dead had been borne away to their graves. Whether 
 the people of Coventry disliked this practice we cannot 
 tell, but it brought the convent into collision with the 
 Grey Friars, who, as an active and popular body within 
 the town, were rather disposed to call the authority of 
 the monks in question. The matter of the funeral 
 candles and offerings touched the former very nearly, 
 for their chapel was a favourite burial place ; and in 
 1415 friar John Bredon threw down his glove. Wo 
 wonld fain know if brother John wore a more busybody 
 or a born reformer ; perhaps ho belongs rather to the 
 latter than the former class, as he also appears, it seems, 
 as a champion of the poorer folk against the deceiving 
 victuallers.^ Be this as it may, he was a man of great 
 
 ' The drapers, mevcer.=;, dyei5:, cardmakers, and saddlers (later 
 the cappers), smiths, and girdlers had chapels in S. Michael's 
 church ; the butchers, d3-ers and tanners in Trinitj'. The fullers 
 held the chapel of S. George on the Gosford Gate. Some of the 
 inferior crafts, viz. the pinners, tilers, and coopers had their 
 annual mass and drinking at Whitefriars. 
 
 ^ This matter of the candles seems to have roused dissensions 
 at an early date. In 1282 the coi'pse of a woman to be buried 
 in tlie friars' cemetery at Dunstable was first conveyed to the 
 priorj' church there for the funeral mass. The monks boasted 
 that out of eight candles they only gave two to the Franciscans, 
 keeping all the rest for themselves {Corvh. Mag. YI. 835). 
 
 3 The MS. annals note that in 1438 " Friar Bredon got .the old 
 strike again '' (Harl. MS. G,:^ f, 1.8). 
 
Daily Life in the Town 327 
 
 influence with the citizens, and, together with the prior, 
 had helped on a former occasion to still the religions 
 excitement which had followed on the preaching of 
 Grace, the hermit. The enmity between the friars and 
 the convent, dating as far back as the time of Edward 
 I.,^ was at last the cause of his overthrow. Concerning 
 this matter of the candles, the friar was so moved to 
 bitterness that he openly preached and affirmed " in the 
 parish churches of this same citee . . . that alle 
 maner offerynges owen to be yeven alonely to theymo 
 that mynistren the Sacraments to ths parisshens," and 
 bade the people give these candles to the parish 
 churches; " permytting my selfe," he says, "to defende 
 theyme that so did." Moreover the friar declared 
 "that in Englond was not so bondo a Citee as this 
 Citee of Coventry is, in keping and observyng the said 
 custome"; and in bills which he set up on the church 
 doors ho " promysed to delyver the pepuU of this same 
 Citee from the thraldom of Pharao." The prior of S. 
 Mary was not to be daunted by this audacious front, 
 and petitioned the king' against friar Bredon. In due 
 time sentence was pronounced, and a form of recantation 
 nrrijipd prescribed by parliament. In presence of the 
 Forty-eight- the friar was compelled to admit that 
 the custom he had inveighed against " is a custom 
 commendable, and so owyng to be kept and observed 
 
 ' In 1-289 arcliliishop Peokham wrote to the monks concern- 
 ing the '-root of bitterness germinating between them anil 
 tlie friars ^' (Peckham, Ilea- Ep. III. 903). ' Lret Bool:, i. V2f)ci. 
 
328 Life in an Old English Tozvn 
 
 to encrese of mede, by pleasure made to Almighty 
 God, -who graunte to you and me to lif in this world 
 tiftir juste lawes and lawful customs vertuonsly, soo 
 that we may deserve to rejoyse (enjoy) hevenly recom- 
 pense everlastyngly." 1 After which recantation he was 
 banished the city. 
 
 The citizens were as thorough and systematic in their 
 pastimes as in their prayers, and all sorts of amusements 
 of a vigorous character, wherein they gladly indulged, 
 were rarely discouraged by the corporation. The prac- 
 tice of archery was looked on as part of every man's 
 necessary training, and crafts were ordered to keep 
 butts in good repair, so that all members of their 
 fellowships could keep their hands well in use.^ Bull- 
 baiting, a favourite sport, gave its name to the Bull- 
 ring hard by Trinity church ; ^ but the traces of " le 
 cokfyting place"* and of the bowling-green near the 
 Charterhouse,'' have been lost. 
 
 Bear-baiting was highly popular likewise, and frequent 
 
 ' Leland, Collectanea, V. 301 ; Sharp, Anliq. 207. 
 
 2 Leet Booh, i. 202a. The old archery ground is commemo- 
 rated in " the Butts," now a street, but once outside the walls. 
 A "butt"' is projierly a mound on which the target is set up. 
 In Edward IV. 's reign butts were ordered to be made in every 
 township, and the inhabitants were to shoot on all feast 
 days under pain of hi. at every omission (Strutt, Sports ami 
 Pastimes, 57). 
 
 s Chamberlains to make a ring for thii '■'■ baiting of bulls as 
 heretofore " {Leet Booh, t. 21a). 
 
 ' No one to shoot arrows in " ]e cokfyting place " (lb f 
 102«). » Jb. f, 322«. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 329 
 
 gifts to Sir Fulk Greville's bearwardi form a feature 
 in the chamberlains' accounts in the early days of 
 Elizabeth. Like all the great queen's subjects the men 
 of Coventry delighted in theatrical representations, and 
 now that the local religious drama was dead, their 
 appreciation of the strolling players' art caused con- 
 stant inroads to be made on the public purse. The 
 wardens were frequently called upon for payments, such 
 as " to the Earle of Darbyes players vs.," " to the lord 
 Chamberlain's players xs.," ^ items which accord ill with 
 the payments for sermons at this time.-' In the end 
 the sermons gained the day, and it would be hard to 
 find in the Midlands — save Banbury — a more staunchly 
 Puritan town than Coventry under the Stuart.^. 
 
 In the sixteenth century the corporation appear to 
 have become disquieted at the reckless lives and illicit 
 amusements of those over whom they ruled. A new 
 era was about to dawn, wherein mediaeval barriers would 
 be broken down ; and it seems as if the discreet and 
 worthy burghers were afraid of the lawlessness and 
 unrest which had entered into the spirit of society, and 
 which in itself was the sign of coming change. Orders 
 directed against gaming,* or interooarse, especially on 
 the part of apprentices, with women of evil fame had 
 always been a feature of the regulations passed by the 
 
 1 Chamherlains^ and Wardena'' Accounts (Corp. MS. A. Ih, f. 2) 
 " Paid to Sir ffoulke Grevile Bearewarde iiis. iiii ?." 
 
 2 Ih. ir. 2, 8. 
 
 3 " Paid for 3 sermons of Mr. Butler's and ringing to them 
 3.5s. 3;?." {lb. f. 1). ^ Led Booh, f. 169». 
 
330 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 leefc ; but as time goes on the mention of " unlawful 
 games " becomes more and more frequent. As early as 
 1509 the aldermen of the several wards were charged 
 to make search "for all tliora that keep misrule,'' 
 who on being discovered were to be committed to ward, 
 or, if they persisted in their evdl ways, to be banished 
 the city.i In 1516 this command was followed np by 
 a fresh ordinance enjoining them to make enquiry for 
 vagabonds, "as well women as men," suspected alehouses, 
 ' blynde ynnes," unlawful games, and the like.'^ But 
 the evil appeared to increase as the century advanced, 
 and in 1548 a complaint of leet reveals a state of things 
 which has quite a modern look, so little change ha=i 
 human nature and human habit undergone these three 
 hundred and fifty yeai's. Many, we learn, passed their 
 time drinking in taverns, and " jilayinge at the cardes 
 and tables,^ and spende all that they can gett prodigally 
 upon theym selfes to the highe displeasure of God and 
 theyre owne ympovershyng, whereas,'' the worthy men of 
 the leet were of opinion, " if it were spente at home in 
 theyre owne houses theyre wiffes and childerne shuldo 
 have part therof." ^ It was forthwith decreed that anj' 
 of these prodigals, whether " labourer, joui'neyman, or 
 apprentice," if discovered resorting to any alehouse on 
 a work day should be imprisoned for a day and night. 
 
 ■ Lie\ BooTc, I. 308. 
 Ih. f. 320«. " Blind inns " >vere socrot tavorns, wlifrp, of 
 oonvso, all sorts of irregular propppflings went on. 
 3 i,p. draughts. -i Leet Bool; f. 40-1. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 331 
 
 In those days, as in our own time, tlie lower classes 
 had the keenest appreciation of all that appertained to 
 sport, and the loafer loved to roam the country lanes 
 with a dog at his heels. Long time since the prior had 
 oomplainel how the citizens hunted and hawked in his 
 warren, and in the sixteenth century the corporation 
 were hard put to it to keep this passion within the 
 bounds prescribed by the statutes of the realm. People, 
 we hear in the eighteenth year of Henry VIII., who did 
 not possess the necessary qualification, a 405. freehold, 
 presumed to keep birds and dogs, " whereby idleness is 
 greatly encreased " ; henceforward they were forbidden 
 to keep hawk, hound, greyhound, spaniel, or ferret, or 
 to presume to hunt with the same under a heavy 
 penalty.! 
 
 Other practices in which the citizens indulged wore 
 looked upon with an unfavourable eye by the rulers of 
 the town, brawling being expressly forbidden. No one 
 was allowed to carry defensive weapons through the 
 streets, and hosts were charged to bid their stranger 
 guests leave their swords behind them, when they had 
 occasion to leave the hostels wherein they had taken 
 lodging.^ The penalty for smiting " with a knife 
 drawyn " was half a mark, unless the smiter were " him- 
 self defendant." " Xo man of craft," another order runs, 
 " shall bear bills, or gysarnes or straight staves," upon 
 pain of forfeiture of the same weapons. Those who were 
 driving cattle to market could, however, carry a small 
 
 1 Lid Booh, f. y-ll, "- Ih, f. 3«, 
 
332 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 staff in tlieir hands. ' These orders did not suffice bj 
 any means to abolish brawls, and sometimes lords, 
 knights and squires, the '' mighty " men of the country 
 round, fought out their ancient family quarrels among 
 the dwellings of the burgher folk ; ^ at others the 
 citizens had their own grievances to urge against one 
 or other of these mighty men, and drew sword upon 
 him and his retainers. In these cases there would bo, 
 most likely, death or shedding of blood, while in 
 disputes arising among the citizens themselves merely 
 blows and beatings would be given on either side, but 
 with such violence that combatants wore afterwards 
 often spoken of as "in despair of their lives " from the 
 injuries they had received. 
 
 Troubles of this kind were a feature of the times when 
 the gentry flocked into the city to see the far-famed 
 Corpus Ghristi shows, or to be near the Court, for 
 Henry Vf. and his queen tarried frequently at Coventry. 
 On Corpus Christi even in the year 1440, Sir Humphrey 
 Stafford and lii.s son Richard were attacked in the Broad- 
 gate 3 after nightfall, as they came from Lady Shrews- 
 bury's ^ lodging, by Sir Robert Harcourt and his men. 
 Richard_was slain and his father wounded in the dark- 
 ness and confusion, while two of the Harcourt faction 
 died also in the fray. All this took place, says John 
 Northwood, writing to Viscount Beaumont, " as men sav. 
 
 1 Leet Book, i. 3. 
 
 2 See below. The Harcourt and Stafford quarrel. 
 
 3 Sharp, Mysteries, 169. 4 ^yi^ ^f ^.j^^ U^-a<,v.^ Talbot. 
 
Daily Life in the Tozvn 
 
 333 
 
 in a Paternoster while." It was a terrible business; 
 ISTorthwood, evidently striving to be exact, could hardly 
 describe how it happened. The two chief enemies, he 
 says, " fell in handes togyder, and Sir Robert smot hym 
 (Sir Humphrey) a grette stroke on the hed with hys 
 sord, and Richard with hys dagger hastely went toward 
 hym, and as he stomljled on of Harcourts men smot hym 
 in the bak with a knyfe, men wotte not ho hytt was 
 reddely ; hys fader hard noys and rode toward hem and 
 
 MAX&rOKE CASTLE, THE ADODE OF HUMrilEEr, DUKE OF IIUCKINGHASI. 
 
 {Fiom Dugdale'fi WarmicUshirc.) 
 
 hys men ronne before hym thyderward, and in the goyng 
 downe of hys hors, on, he wotte not ho,^ be hynd hym 
 smot hym on the hede with a nego tole,- men know not 
 with us with what wepone, that he fell down and hys son 
 fell down be fore hym as goode as dede." And the 
 whole affray — characteristically enough — was " be cawse 
 of a nold debate that was betwene heme for takyng of a 
 
 Wlio. 
 
 Erl2;e tool. 
 
334 ^^>-f<^ ^'^ ^'^ ^^'^ Englis/i Town 
 
 dystres as liyt is told." The law was not always prompt 
 in bringing gentlefolk to account, and Sir Robert Har- 
 court at that time escaped justice, only to be overtaken 
 by revenge, however, twenty-two years later, when he 
 died at the hands of the Staffords.' 
 
 Among the citizens also certain feasts and meny- 
 makings ministered occasion for riots and quarrels. 
 Such were the Lammas feasts, whereon the chamberlains, 
 with a tumultuous following, opened out the common 
 pasture lands that encircled the city.^ Sach again were 
 the three great processional nights, the vigils of Corpus 
 Christi, of S. John the Baptist (Midsummer eve) and 
 S. Peter. "The people come at Lammas," runs an order 
 of Leet, " in excess number and unruly, to ill ensamjile ; " 
 and it was laid down that only a few from each Avard, 
 who had been appointed by the corporation, should 
 accompany the chamberlains on their annual ride. 
 Moreover '• great debate and manislaughter and other 
 perils and sins" fell out on Midsummer eve and S. 
 Peter's night, because so "great a multitude" was 
 gathered together at that season within the city, " that 
 it lieth in no man's power . . . for to please them 
 all"; ■^ and the Church ti-ied to interfere in the interests 
 of peace, but without success. Occasionally the good 
 folk of the place fell to blows, it would seem, on ordi- 
 nary working days, without having their presence at a 
 
 1 Padon LoUerx. I. 73. 
 
 " Chamborlains to have 5s. allowed tliom for Lammas ex- 
 penses {Led Booh, i. 208a). ' ^Sharii, Mijileries, 180. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 335 
 
 meiTj-making to urge in extenuation of their fault. Thus 
 in 1444 the corvesars, or tanners of leather, fell out about 
 some obscure point or other with the weavers, and so 
 hotly did the quarrel rage between them, and so frequent 
 the exchange of deadly blows, that Thomas Burdeux, 
 weaver, was said to be in " despair of his life " by reason 
 of the sore beating he had received. The quari-el was 
 allayed, according to the wisdom of the mayor and 
 his discreet council, by the drinking of a certain amount 
 of ale among the fellowship of both crafts at their joint 
 expense. '^ 
 
 But few pleasures appealed to the mediteval citizen 
 so strongly as that of dining well; and besides these 
 peace-promoting drinkings there were many occasions 
 whei'eon members of guilds and crafts met together to 
 feast and do their best to justify the reputation, which 
 still clings to city folk and aldermen, of loving good 
 cheer. The meals of the Middle Ages were long and 
 heavy. The highly-flavoured cookery, with its strange 
 mixture of meat and sweets — fowls stuffed with currants 
 was a favourite dish— would appear barbarous to modern 
 epicures ; but such as it was, vast preparations and 
 much money were lavished upon it. The members of 
 each craft fellowship met once a year to hold a feast, 
 while the brethren of the Trinity guild celebrated the 
 Assumption and S. Peter's Eve by a banquet, and prob- 
 ably also the festival of the Decollation of S. John. The 
 Corpus Christi had a " Lenton " dinner, a "goose" 
 
 Led Bvolc, f. 10S«. 
 
33^ Life in an Old English Town 
 
 dinner in August, and a " venison^' one in October/ and 
 in 1492 they spent £26 0^. Ad. on their feasts, a sum 
 only 13s. less than the annual stipend due to the five 
 priests supported by the guild. ^ Bat the record of 
 common feasting is not yet exhausted. The members of 
 the Corpus Christi fraternity met together at a breakfast 
 on the morning of the festival of the Body of Christ, 
 and all the crafts supped on cakes and ale on the great 
 processional nights. One dozen spiced cakes, three 
 dozen white cakes, "^a seysterne " and a half of ale with 
 " comfets," and a pound of " marmalet " were ordered 
 for the carpenters' merry-making on Midsummer eve, 
 1534.-' Nor were the journeymen forgotten on these 
 joyous evenings ; they partook of plainer fare — bread 
 and ale — at their masters' expense. 
 
 Ou Midsummer and St. Peter's eves the townsfolk 
 gave themselves up to mirth and jollity, decorating 
 banqueting -halls, streets, and houses with birchen 
 boughs and all manner of greenery.* This custom was, 
 Stowe tells us, also observed in London, where every 
 man's door was " shadowed with Greene Birch, lons" 
 Fennel, iSt. John's wort, Orpin, white Lilies, and such 
 like, garnished with Garlands of beautiful! flowers, and 
 
 1 Corp. MS. A. 6. Corpiu Christi Guild Accounls, if. 3-1, .jG, 
 SO. -■ lb. f. -111. 
 
 " The smiths ripunt moiioy recklessly at this season until 1472, 
 when it was ordained that the master of the craft should he 
 allowed 5s. on Jiidsummer, and 3.». Qd. on S. Peter's eve, '" and 
 not a penny more," wherewith to provide supper (Sharp, Mijs- 
 teries. 183). * Ih. 179. 
 
Daily Life in the Totvn 337 
 
 had also Lamps of glasse witb. Oyle burning in them 
 all the night." ^ But lamps were not the only means 
 of illumination on those joyous nights. " On the Vigils 
 of Festivall dayes and on the same Festivall dayes in 
 the Evenings," continues the London chronicler, " after 
 the San-setting, there were usually made Bone-fires in 
 the streets, every man bestowing wood or labour to- 
 wards them. The wealthier sort also before their doores, 
 neere to the said Bone-fires, would set out Tables on 
 the vigils, furnished with sweete bread and good drinke, 
 and on the Festivall days with meat and drinkes plen- 
 tifully, whereunto they would incite their neighbours 
 and passengers also to sit, and be merry with them in 
 great familiarity, praysing God for his benefits bestowed 
 on them. These were called Bone-fires, as well of amity 
 amongst neighbours, that being before at controvorsie, 
 were there by the labour of others reconciled, and made 
 of bitter enemies loving friends." ■' 
 
 It is good to dwell on this scene of frank gaiety and 
 open-handed hospitality, the pleasantest, to my thinking, 
 that has come to us from medieval times. The dusk 
 lio-hted by the flicker of the bonfires, the flower- wreathed 
 houses, the merry groups, the hand- clasp in token of 
 reconciliation, what a picturesque glimpse we have here 
 of common union and common joy to which our fetes and 
 holidays nowadays can afford no parallel ! 
 
 But the chief glory of these festal nights was the set- 
 
 1 Sharp, Mijsteries, 176. 
 
 2 See quotation from Stowe in Sharp, Mysteries, 175. 
 
 Z 
 
338 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 ting forth of the armed watch. i This was not such an 
 imposing spectacle in Coventry as in London, where the 
 route extended," says Stowe, "to 3,200 Taylors yards 
 of assize." The procession way was lighted by 700 
 cressets, and the marching watch numbered 2,000 men. 
 Yet the Coventry folk made great preparation for their 
 humbler show, which was undertaken, so said the 
 drapers' craft with pardonable pride, " to the lawde and 
 prayse of God and the worship of this city." All the 
 craft fellowships met together to consult as to ways and 
 means some days beforehand, " at the mayor's command- 
 ment," and dire penalties were laid on those who 
 should refuse to attend on Midsummer night when 
 the chief master sent his "clerk or sumoner" to warn 
 them.^ When all was ready for the procession, the 
 worthy folk rode forth, two by two, each man in the 
 livery proper to his calling, the least important brother- 
 hood going first, the others following, each in their degree, 
 nntil the train of fellowships closed with the mercers, the 
 senior craft. ^ The journeymen, perhaps on foot, followed 
 their masters, and the chief folk of the corporation rode 
 conspicuous in their scarlet cloaks, each one having an 
 attendant torchbearer.* But the chief glory of the pro- 
 cession was the sight of the watch riding in shining 
 
 ' This was a universal custom, but there were special local 
 feasts. For instance, at Canterbury, on the eve of the Transla- 
 tion of S. Thomas, a watch was kept. At Chester, Shrove Tues- 
 day was a day for general merrymaking (Green, I. 149). 
 
 2 Among the dyers, the penalty was 13s. 4c?. (Sharp, Mysteries, 
 183.) 3 jj. 160. 4 lb. 184. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 339 
 
 armour, and bearing battle-axes, swords and guns. Thus 
 the dyers sent forth two clad in complete white armour, 
 and four in brigandines, the drapers fonre " in almayno 
 revetts," while the smiths among others Jiired four, and 
 the butchers made provision for six, armed men.^ More- 
 over a crowd of minstrels and hirelings bearing cressets, 
 torches, spears gay with pennons and bells ,^ streamers 
 whereon were depicted the arms of the various crafts,^ and 
 mirth- provoking figures of giants and giantesses,"* caused 
 the streets to fill with colour, light, music and laughter. 
 The citizens in the dusk of those June evenings beheld a 
 right gallant show. There was the sound of minstrelsy, 
 broken by a sudden discharge of guns,^ with the murmur 
 of many voices and the tramp of many feet, and between 
 the rows of densely packed crowd the torchlights glinted 
 on the bright advancing line of the armed watch, or 
 glowed on the stately figures of my masters the mayor, 
 sheriffs and aldermen, arrayed in scarlet, bringing up 
 may-be the rear of the train. In this manner did ihe 
 good folk of Coventry celebrate the vigils of S. John 
 
 1 Sharp, Mysteries, 193-4. ' lb. 194. " lb. 196. 
 
 * The cappers paid 9i. for canvas to make a new skirt for the 
 giant, and " xviti. for the mendyng of hys head and arme " {lb. 
 201). The dyers also furnished a pageant wherein a hart and a 
 herdsman blowing a horn figured. Perhaps this Was a cause 
 why they had been so long allowed to escape from providing a 
 pageant on Corpus Christi day. See below, p. 242. 
 
 5 Sharp, Mysteries, 193. Drapers' Accounts, 1555, " payd to 
 xviij gonnarys Ixiis, iiijf?. ; payd for xxij'i of gonepother, xij.?. 
 vjf?." 
 
340 Life in an Old English Tozvn 
 
 the Baptist and S. Peter, according to the ancient cus- 
 tom of the city, until the changes of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, or the growth of Puritan feeling, or poverty, or a 
 combination of all these, caused the observance to be 
 laid aside. The riding on S. Peter's eve Tvas discon- 
 tinued after 1549,1 though Midsummer eve was still 
 celebrated by a procession for some years after that 
 date. 
 
 On the morning of the Corpus Christi festival, before 
 the Mystery Plays were acted, another procession of the 
 crafts, more strictly religious in character than those we 
 have described, also took place. Following the train of 
 companies of traders and artificers came the members or 
 priests of the Trinity guild bearing the Host, the various 
 religious bodies of the city probably walking behind 
 the Sacrament. The Corpus Christi guild provided gor- 
 geous vessels, wherein the consecrated elements were 
 placed, and four burgesses hired by the fraternity carried 
 a canopy of costly material over the same, while the effect 
 of the religious ceremonial was heightened by banner and 
 crucifix coming from the treasuries of the guilds. A 
 pageant setting forth the Annunciation, which, on account 
 of its mystical meaning, was highly appropriate to the 
 occasion, also figured in the train, and the records of the 
 Corpus Christi guild show the payments made to the 
 persons who represented S. Gabriel bearing the lily,^ the 
 
 1 Sharp, Mysteries, 184. 
 
 2 " To gahriell for beryng the lilly iiijrf." (7J, 162). 
 
Daily Life in the Toivn 341 
 
 Virgin with a crown of gi'eafc price upon her head,^ the 
 twelve apostles, eight virgins, S. Margaret and S. Cather- 
 ine. And the smiths caused the actor who was to re- 
 present Herod in their pageant to ride on horseback in 
 a gorgeously painted coat in the procession.^ After this 
 portion of the festival was over, the craf tsfolk set forth 
 the famous Mystery Plays, whereof the fame filled 
 Coventry from time to time with royal and noble visit 
 tors, and all the good folk of the surrounding country. 
 Henry V., Margaret of Anjou, Richard III., Henry VII., 
 and Elizabeth of Tork^ witnessed these shows, which, in 
 the fifteenth century were at the height of their popu- 
 larity, but soon after the Reformation the zeal of the 
 Puritans and the rise of the secular drama caused all 
 such performances to languish. 
 
 Each craft was required by the authorities to contribute 
 towards the setting forth of a pageant at the festival. 
 The more important fraternities — such as the mercers 
 and drapers — were able to bear the expenses of furnish- 
 ing stage scenery, paying actors, and providing suitable 
 accessories without any aid from bodies outside their 
 ranks. But among the lesser crafts it was usual for two, 
 
 1 " Payd for a Ci'ou-n of sylver and gyld for the Mare 011 
 Corpus xpi day xliij.s. ix(Z" (Sharp, 161). ° Ih. 160-6. 
 
 3 Ih. 4-12. The assertion that Henry YII. viewed the 
 plays acted liij the Grey Friars in 1102 has given rise to some 
 controversy. Dugdale asserts that the Lucius (Joventrice was 
 acted by the Grey Friars {v. infra, p. 344). But the plaj-s or 
 pageants exhibited by the trading companies formed an ah- 
 sohitely distinct cycle (Shai-p, Mysteries, 7). 
 
342 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 three or four to band together in order to lessen the indi- 
 vidual burden, 1 while in all cases the journeymen prob- 
 ably contributed towards the expenses of their masters' 
 pageant.^ The task of adjusting these payments accord- 
 ing to the means of the various inferior craft companies, 
 was a delicate one, and often brought trouble upon the 
 corporation. None of them cared to undertake the 
 expenses and responsibility involved in the provision of a 
 play. The smiths in 1428 pelitioned the leet to be 
 released from the burden ;^ the dyers in 1496 could not 
 be induced to take the load upon their shoulders ; ' while 
 for many years the skinners, fishmongers, cappers, cor- 
 vesars, butchers, and others contrived to evade payment 
 towards the support of a pageant, until a complaint arose 
 from some of the contributory crafts that they were over- 
 burdened with charges consequent thereon. 
 
 This primary difficulty being overcome, the crafts took 
 no little pains to make the representations as perfect as 
 possible. They provided the dresses and stage furniture 
 from, their own funds, each company having a pageant- 
 house, wherein these properties were stored. They paid 
 the composer of the piece, if need were, or the copyist ; 
 the actors also, who were may-be lower craftsfolk, had 
 a fixed hire, with " bread and ale " at rehearsals, and 
 
 ' See Leel Boole, f. 109, for the case of the cardmakers, saddlers, 
 painters and masons. 
 
 ^ lb. f. 27. The case of the weavei-s' journeymen, who'paid id. 
 a piece, is the only one on i-ecord. ' Sharp, 8. 
 
 * lb. 9, 10. There is no record that the dyers ever contributed 
 to the Mystery Plays. 
 
Daily Life in the Toivn 343 
 
 between tlie repetition of the performance on tlie fes- 
 tival day in different quarters of tlie town. All were 
 required by order of leet to play " well and suffi- 
 ciently," "lest any impediment should arise" in the 
 performance, under pain of 20>'. to the town "wall,^ and 
 in order that they might be perfect in their several 
 parts, there were usually two, or in the. case of a new 
 play no less than five, rehearsals before the festival,'- 
 some of these taking place in the presence of the assem- 
 bled fellowship, while the " keeper of the play book " 
 attended, no doubt in the capacity of prompter. 
 
 There "was, of course, no question of a theatre. The 
 pageants vs^ere presented oa movable stages, dragged 
 from place to place by the hirelings of the various 
 crafts, each play being repeated at each of the convenient 
 points within the city, beginning with Gosford Street.^ 
 The stage itself was divided into two parts ; the actors 
 dressed — and no doubt waited also, when their presence 
 was not required on the stage — in the under pai't, where 
 they were concealed by hanging cloths; the play was 
 set forth on the upper part, which was open to the view, 
 and furnished with suitable scenery, the walls in many 
 cases being hung with tapestry and the floor strewn with 
 rushes. 
 
 Unlike those of Chester and York, the plays repre- 
 sented by the Coventry mysteries were few in number, 
 
 1 Sharp, 9. = Ih. 20. 
 
 ' The second and third stations appsar to have been at the 
 end of Much Park Street, most likely the corner of Jordan Well , 
 and at the New Gate, respectively (Ibid.). 
 
344 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 and, it seems, formed a series illustrating tbe life of 
 Christ, closing with His second coming on the Day of 
 Judgment; whereas in the York cycle,i and the so-called 
 Ludus Coventrice,' there are many representations of 
 scenes drawn from the Old Testament. It is impossible 
 to construct the whole series of the Coventry plays, for, 
 save two pageants — ^that of the Sheremen and Tailors,^ 
 and that of the Weavers * — all are missing, and ia some 
 cases the very titles of the plays cannot be recovered. 
 The first pageant set forth was undoubtedly that of the 
 guild of the Nativity, the company of tailors and shere- 
 men, representing the Annunciation, the Birth of Ghrid, 
 the Angels and the Shepherds, the Offering of the Magi, 
 the Flight into Ugypt, and the Murder of the Innocents. 
 The weavers' pageant, wherein was set forth the Pre- 
 sentation of Christ in the Temple, would follow as a 
 matter of course. The titles of many pageants — those of 
 the mercers, tanners, whittavvers, and girdlers — are lost, 
 but most likely the striking scenes in the life of Christ, 
 
 ' Ses Yorlc Mysterij Plays, ed. "by Mit^s Tovilmin Smith. 
 
 ' Cott. MS. Vesp. D. VIII. This MS. of plays, which has been 
 eJited by Halliwell-Phillips, used to he identified, on very slender 
 grounds, with those acted by the Grey Priars of Coventry. The 
 MS. was shoii-n to Dugdale by Cotton, probably in 1638, and on 
 the strength of the fame, which had reached him, of the friars' 
 acting at Coventry, and of the title, written in an Elizabethan 
 hand, the historian of '\^'arwickshire supposed it to be the Cov- 
 entry cycle of mystery plays. It is now universally agreed that 
 this cycle had its origin in the eastern counties ; the dialect has 
 no affinity with that of the Midlands. 
 
 3 Included in Sharp's Dissertation on the Coventry Mysteries. 
 
 ■• The Presentation in the Temple (ed. Sharp), 1836. 
 
Demdxs. 
 
 Xc). I is taken from a fl■e^co in tlie Cliapel of the 
 
 Holy Cross, Stratlord-on-Avon ; 
 
 ^'os. 2 and 3 are taken from old German wood-cuts. 
 
Daily Life in the Toivn 345 
 
 sucli as the Temptation, the Supper in the House of 
 Simon the Leper, or the Baising of Lazarus, formed the 
 subject of these representations. The story of Christ's 
 Trial and Crucifixion was the theme of the smiths' 
 show,i the Besurrection and Descent into Hell ^ was 
 enacted on the stage furnished by the cappers, and this, 
 with the drapers' Doomsday,^ closes the list of the plays 
 that are known to us. 
 
 One of the chief of the actors represented Pilate ; ' he 
 received 4s. for his hire from the smiths' company, 
 whereas his fellow, the personator of Herod, received but 
 3s. 8d. ; " the former, too, drank wine in the intervals 
 between the performances, while the minor players were 
 refreshed with mere ale for the nonce. Both these 
 above named were rampant characters, Pilate always 
 posses.sing the organ of Stentor. The Herod of the shere- 
 mten and tailors' play, who raged "in the pagond and 
 in the strete also," was terribly arrogant and vindictive, 
 and swore— a pardonable anachronism^" be Mahownde " 
 (Mahomet) . 
 
 Among the cappers' list of actors there is one which 
 has about it a certain Miltonic grandeur; it is the 
 " ilother of Death." ^ It is to be regretted that Doom 6- 
 day has not survived, for the names of the persons 
 I'epresented ai'e very suggestive ; two demons, two spirits 
 were among them, two " worms of conscience," three 
 black — or damned — souls, and three white — or saved — 
 souls, and a Pharisee.'^ The details of the stage property 
 
 1 Sharp, Mysteries, 13. = Jb. 45. ^ jj. 66. 
 
 ■t lb. 32. ^ lb. 28. « lb. iJ. ■ lb. 66- 
 
34^ Life in an Old English Town 
 
 abound iu ndij and grotesque allnsions. Thus we learn 
 that "3 lbs. of liair " was bought for the "Demon's coat 
 and hose " ; ' a " new hook '' for hanging Judas was 
 purchased at the cost of 6d. ; ^ one Fawston received 4i. 
 for "coc croyng," presumably "to startle the penitent 
 Peter " ; 3 while another hireling earned the same sum 
 " for kepyng of fier at hell mouthe "* from the drapers. 
 This craft also j)urohased a "baryll," whereof the rolling 
 might imitate the sound of the " yerthequake " on the 
 Judgment Day.^ 
 
 On certain occasions also the city put on its most 
 gorgeous dress to welcome royal personages, particularly 
 the princes of Wales, who, as the lords of Cheylesmore, 
 were always looked upon as the special protectors of the 
 city. An account will be found elsewhere of the recep- 
 tion of Margaret of Anjou and the little prince of Wales, 
 afterwards Edward V. Arthur, prince of Wales, who 
 came to the city in comparatively peaceful times, when 
 the vexed question of the succession was settled, was 
 greeted, not inappropriately, by the queen of Fortune, as 
 well as the characters of S. George and king Arthur, 
 at different quarters of the Cross Cheaping and Spon 
 Street." Thirteen years after, in 1.511, the prince's 
 brother, king Henry VIII., who must have entered on 
 the eastern side of the city, found at Jordan Well three 
 pageants, embellished with the " nine orders of angels," 
 to greet him. There wei-e others, with " divers beautiful 
 
 1 Sharp, Mysteries, 69. 2 Ih. 87. " Ih. 36. * lb. 73. 
 
 5 Ih. <^ lb. 146-57. 
 
HELL-iroUTH. 
 
 (From an old German wood-cut.) 
 
Daily Life in the Town 347 
 
 damsels," and " goodly stage play " upon them, but we 
 have no record of the verses composed in the king's 
 honour. 1 The mercers' pageant stood most gallantly 
 trimmed at the Cross Cheaping in 1525 to -welcome the 
 princess Mary. This was before the divorce question 
 had become the talk of Europe, and the daughter of 
 Catherine of Arragon was still held in high honour ; so 
 that the citizens made great preparations for her coming, 
 even taking down the heads and quarters of traitors from 
 the gates lest they should annoy the lady's sight.'^ 
 
 Fifty years later another sovereign witnessed a 
 memorable performance of the Coventry men. On Hox 
 Tuesday — the second Tuesday after Easter — certain 
 games were held to commemorate, so the historians of 
 the sixteenth century declared, the defeat of the 
 Danes in the eleventh. These games, "invented" in 
 1416, fell into disuse soon after the Reformation, but 
 were revived on the occasion of Elizabeth's visit to 
 Kenilworth in 1575. At that time certain "good harted 
 men of Couentree," led on by Captain Cox, alecunner 
 and mason, presented the " olid storiall sheaw " before 
 the queen, " whereat," Laneham tells us in his delight- 
 ful letter, written in the Warwickshire dialect, and 
 quoted in Grascoigne's Princely Pleasures of Kenilworth 
 Castle,^ "her maiestie laught well," while the players 
 " wear the iocunder . . . becauz her highnes had giuen 
 them too buckes and fine marke in mony to make 
 
 Harl. MS. 6,383, f. 26 dorso. -' Sharp, Mysteries, 158. 
 
 See the account in Sharp, Mysteries, 126-32. 
 
34^ Life in an Old English Town 
 
 mery togyther." The play consisted in a sham fight 
 between the English and the Danish " lannzknights," 
 bat whether accompanied by recitations or no we cannot 
 tell. " Eeuen at the first entree," says Laneham, who 
 greatly enjoyed the fun, " the meeting waxt sumwhat 
 warm. ... A valiant captain of great prowez az 
 fiers az a fox assauting a gooz, waz so hardy to give the 
 first stroke : then get they grisly togyther : that gi-eat 
 waz the activitee that day to be seen thear a both sidez : 
 ton^ very eager for parchaz of pray, toother^ utterly 
 stoout for redemption of libertie : thus, quarrell enflamed 
 fury a both sidez. Twise the Danes had y" better, but 
 at the last conflict, beaten down, ouercom, and many 
 led captive for triumph by our English weemen." The 
 last detail was no doubt a compliment to the sex of her 
 majesty, who was certainly proving that she shared in 
 the mettle of these women of long ago, and who could 
 laugh well— that great royal Tudor laugh— at the rude 
 performances of her subjects. 
 
 Music was always a great feature of these pageants 
 and processions. "Mynstralcy of harp and lute," or of 
 "small pypis," or that of " orgon pleyinge," formed a 
 part of the greeting which came to prince Edward from 
 the stages ■whereon S. Edward, the prophets, or "the 
 iii Kyngs of Colen " or " seint George " were shadowed 
 forth.''' There were four chosen minstrels or city waits, 
 and it may be remembered how on one occasion the 
 mayor and aldermen sent for these and bade them go 
 
 ' The one. ^ Tho other. » Sharp, AnViri. 23-2. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 349 
 
 before the throng making their way from Whitley to 
 the city, "which is by the space of a mile largely or 
 more," and pipe and play as they went, "like as the 
 people had done a gi-eat conquest or victory." The 
 waits played also on less stirring occasions than the 
 opening of Bristow's meadows, being greatly in request 
 at the banquets of the guilds and crafts, ' and much 
 sought after in all the country round. They wore 
 silver chains and badges chrirged with the arms of 
 the city,- and besides occasional fees given for their 
 performance daring feasts, they received a regular 
 " quarteredge," that is to say, a penny from every 
 citizen having " a hallplace," and a halfpenny from 
 every one dwelling in a cottage four times a year for 
 their maintenance.' 
 
 The citizens themselves delighted in music; some must 
 have been practised singers, as the representation of the 
 Corpus Christi pageants ,was diversified by songs. One 
 of these, a lullaby from the tailors' and sheremen's play, 
 of which the music has been preserved, is so pretty that 
 it will well bear quotation. 
 
 " As I rode out this enderes ■* night 
 Of thre ioli sheppardes I saw a, sight, 
 And all a bowte there fold a star shone bright ; 
 They sange terli terlow. 
 So mereli the sheppards ther pipes can blow. 
 
 1 The carpenters in 1464 paid 8c?. to the minstrels at the feast 
 (Sharp, Mijsteries, 213) ; the dyers paid 2d. {Tb. 214.) 
 
 2 Ih. 209. ' Il>. 207. * i.e. last. 
 
350 Life in an Old English Tozvn 
 
 Lully lulla, thow littell tini child, 
 
 By by lully lullay, thow littell tyn6 child, 
 
 By by lully lullay. 
 O sisters too, how may we do 
 For to preserve this day 
 This pore yongling, for whom we do singe, 
 By by lully lullay? 
 
 Herod the king in his raging 
 Chargid he hath this day 
 His men of might in his owne sight 
 All yonge children to sla3'. 
 
 That \co is me, pore child, for thee. 
 And ever morne and say 
 For thi parting nether say nor singe 
 By by lully lullay. 
 
 Doune from heaven from heaven so hie 
 
 Of angeles ther came a great companie, 
 
 With mirthe and ioy and great solemnitye 
 
 Th6 sange terli terlow. 
 
 So mereli the sheppards ther pipes can blow." ' 
 
 The provision of these games, pageants and processions 
 must have entailed great cost and labour, yet every 
 member of the various fellowships helped to support 
 them, and bore as well his part in the common labours 
 and daties involved in his citizenship. Every one was 
 compelled to obey the mayor's summons under penalty 
 of a fine, whether called upon to come to the leet or 
 the council, or to help in the common labour of the 
 town. In 1451, when wars were threatening, the call 
 went round for all to come and aid in the work of 
 cleansing the town ditch.^ The summons went twice 
 
 > Sharp, Mysteries, 113-4, 2 Leet Book, i. 154, 
 
Daily Life in the Town 351 
 
 round the town according to the watch, we are told, "in 
 right great charge and in speciall " to the poor folk, who 
 had to leave their other occupations in consequence, be- 
 sides paying their quota towards the taxes, which were 
 necessarily heavy at that time. Aad the council hearing 
 thereof ordered that £12 10s. should be collected from 
 " thrifty" men to pay for the work, and the poor people 
 spared, save that labourers earning 4(Z. a day were to 
 pay Yd. or 2fZ. towards the required sum. In addition to 
 their labour in the common defence, all citizens were 
 required to make one of the company of watchmen when 
 their turn came round, or to find a substitute. Fifteen 
 men usually kept the nightly watch, bat in times of 
 disturbance their number was increased; thus in 1450 
 it was enacted that forty men of decent, good and honest 
 communication and strong in body . . . shall nightly 
 watch and guard the city from the ninth hour until the 
 beating of the bell called daybell," 1 and the light en- 
 abled all to see thief or enemy approach. 
 
 Neither were the citizens permitted to shirk the com- 
 mon military duties. At the " view of arms " all the 
 freemen appeared in military accoutrement as suited 
 their degree, and the threat of a siege turned artisans 
 into soldiers and aldermen and councillors " for savegard 
 of the cite " into captains of the wards and guardians 
 of the gates. In 1469 — the year of the battle of Edgcote 
 — the city was changed into a very arsenal and barracks, 
 so lively were the military preparations going forward 
 
 » Leet Book, f. 149a. 
 
352 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 at that time. The city accounts show the heavy charges 
 which the distribution of arms and armour entailed upon 
 the public purse. 
 
 "Item," says the lieet Book, " dely vered to Robert 
 Onley on Maudelyn day a serpentyne . . . for the Newe 
 yate and a honde gnnne with a pyke in the ynde and a 
 fowler." To John Hadley for Bishop Gate " i staffs 
 gunne." " Item delyvered to William Saunder.=!, meyr, 
 ii staffe gunnes and a grett ganne with iii chamburs, iii 
 jacks and xxiv arowys." "Item ... to John Wyldgris 
 i ganne with iii chamburs to the fryrs' garden." There 
 also follows the mention of the distribution of jacks and 
 arrows to the various captains, ^ until possibly the sup- 
 plies ran shoi-t, and the last obtained but " i newe jaoke 
 and a olde." In the " Lenton " of 1471 the scene was 
 repeated. Guns and pelettes were again delivered to the 
 captains for the gates, and money was hastily collected 
 throughout the wards for the company of soldiers 
 who followed my lord of Warwick to Barnet Field, 
 whereby the citizens incurred king Edward's enmity 
 and great displeasure. 
 
 The provision of soldiers according to the terms of the 
 commissions of array, so common in civil warfare, were 
 a heavy tax on municipal resources. When the city 
 officers were ordered by the king's commission to send 
 the local forces to join the royal army, the corporation 
 had to " reteyn " their contingent, provide their dresses, 
 badges and equipment, appoint a captain, and collect 
 
 Leet Booh, i. 205a. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 353 
 
 money, according to assessment, tliroughout the wards for 
 their pay. At the beginning of the civil war all went 
 merrily enough, and the citizens threw themselves wdth 
 right good will into the equipment of the soldiers who 
 were to have gone to S. Alban's. But in a few years the 
 artizans, called from their homes and business, were 
 heartily weary of the continual strife, and clamoured for 
 12(^. a day in payment. The hiring of recruits must 
 have become a more difficult matter as time went on, 
 though, like the clinching of all bargains in the Middle 
 Ages, it was accompanied by plentiful drinking. The 
 Leet Book records the following items in July, 1470, 
 after Edward IV. had summoned a company of archers 
 to a rendezvous at Nottingham: " dedit ad le sowders 
 ad bibendum xvid.," ..." a gallon wyne vitZ.," . . . 
 "for ale to sowders vid."^ But even after the Wars of 
 the Roses were over we have a sorry picture of the 
 numerous inconveniences attending the hiring of troops. 
 In February, 1481, Edward IV. sent commissioners to 
 find out what money and what number of men the bur- 
 ghers would provide in the event of a Scotch invasion 
 in the summer. After various discussions, commandings 
 and countermandings, it was finally agreed that sixty 
 men should be waged for the royal service for a quarter 
 of a year at a cost of £150 10s, ; recruits were found and 
 arrows and salets distributed amongst them. More how- 
 ever was to be wrung from the reluctant burghers ; £40 
 was collected from 180 of the " most sufficient " men of 
 
 1 Leet Boole, f. 209(?. 
 
 A A 
 
354 Lifa in an Old English Toivn 
 
 the town to provide horses and jackets for the soldiery.' 
 Bat sixty archers were not deemed a safficient contingent 
 by the Court ; and when in the following June lord 
 Rivers came to know if the number could be increased, 
 the mayor called a " Hall" of divers out of every ward 
 to know what the common will was in this matter, and 
 it was finally ordained that the citizens should equip and 
 pay forty additional men, bringing up the number to 100. 
 As all the recruits could not be drawn from the ranks 
 of the townsfolk, the worthy men enlisted the service of 
 strangei's, and these had to be kept together, housed and 
 fed, at great trouble and cost^ until the time for de- 
 parture. In the end, however, the levy was counter- 
 manded, and the troops thus laboriously collected were 
 merely dispersed j^ a statement of facts the town clerk 
 may be pardoned for recording in a murmuring and dis- 
 contented spirit. 
 
 But however onerous these duties may have been, the 
 Coventry men were loyally proud of their city and 
 citizenship. Albeit a traveller, the medieeval merchant 
 loved, as he loved nothing else on earth, the small stretch 
 of land enclosed by the walls of his native town. He or 
 his ancestors had won and maintained at great cost the 
 city's liberties, and he and they spared no pains to make 
 it beautiful. Historians are wont to despise the English 
 
 1 Leet Book, f. 244a, 
 
 ^ Old. a week was collected from all the citizens of the mayor's 
 rank, and dcZ. and 2d. from those of the sheriff's and warden's 
 rank respectively to pay for the soldiers' board. 
 
 8 Leet Booh, f . 246. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 355 
 
 burglier of the fourfceeutli and fifteenth centuries, by rea- 
 son of his insignificance and poverty, and his neglect of 
 the highest forms of art, and pointedly contrast his small 
 achievements with those of the merchant princes of Italj', 
 or the proud and daring members of the Hanseatic 
 League. It is true he was a commonplace person, living 
 in what was for his country a commonplace age ; never- 
 theless his doings are worthy of remembrance. If the 
 English townsfolk never produced a Van Eyck or a 
 Da Vinci, a Peter Fischer or a Donatello, they patronised 
 all the local forms of art they knew. They had the same 
 great delight in the common possession of a beautiful 
 object as the people of the Italian republics. Though 
 they lacked wealth to build themselves tall and stately 
 houses like their brethren on the Continent, the English 
 burghers could raise tall steeples, build vast churches, 
 adorn their common halls, and rear exquisite crosses 
 in the market place. The fifteenth century glass in 
 S. Mary's Hall, Coventry, still attests the skill of William 
 Thornton, a native of the city, and one of the first acts of 
 the council of Forty-eight was to decree that a cross 
 should be set up in the Cheaping, which was done, 
 though at a cost of £50.^ In Coventry, as elsewhere, 
 the rich merchants and craftsmen set carvers to carve 
 the miserere seats, — enjoying the grim humour these 
 sometimes display, a quality which crops up everywhere 
 in the fifteenth century, even now and then in legal 
 documents, — and bade the engraver commemorate the 
 
 1 Le&l Booh, ff. 13, 19«. 
 
356 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 dead by tracing their effigies on brass, or the mason by 
 fashioning their portraits in stone. 
 
 Neither should we regard as contemptible the English- 
 man's achievements in trade and travel. The Merchant 
 Adventurers, in the teeth of the opposition of the Staplers 
 and the Hanseatic League, first by piracy and chance trad- 
 ing and then by organized and chartered commerce, filled 
 the North Sea with their ships, founded settlements at 
 Bergen and Antwerp, and on the ruins of their rivals 
 built up one of the most successful trading companies of 
 northern Europe. English merchants carried from Crete 
 or Lisbon the precious stores of eastern wine and 
 spices, and brought their bales of wool to the port of 
 Pisa to supply the makers of Florentine cloth, or to the 
 ports of Normandy to supply the looms of northern 
 France.^ 
 
 But it is not for his patronage of art or for his enter- 
 prise in foreign trade that the English burgher is chiefly 
 noteworthy, but rather for his " politic guiding " of the 
 cities in which he lived. Pirates, perhaps, on the Narrow 
 Seas, he and his fellows were at home, for the most part, 
 law-abiding men. A certain innate conservatism, a truly 
 British love of appeal to custom and precedent, marks 
 their rule, and, although the populace was frequently 
 unquiet and discontented, the result was, on the whole, 
 happy and successful. If the dangers of foreign com- 
 merce made them hardy and fearless, their political and 
 civic life, with its manifold responsibilities, taught them 
 
 ' Green, 1. 90-120. 
 
Daily Life in the Town 357 
 
 a prudence and worldly wisdoin, which appears in all 
 their transactions. Never were men who paid such heed 
 to the Gospel precept, " Be ye wise as serpents." Liable 
 to be deserted or oppressed by the king, thwarted by the 
 open violence or secret maintenance of some great noble 
 or the factiousness of some fellow-burgher, their self- 
 reliance turned these necessities to "glorious gain." It is 
 true that we meet with little heroism, and few distinct 
 types of character. The men of this class can boast of no 
 individuals who can be rightly considered as important 
 historical figures. Like the great Gothic architects, 
 these men, who built up such a flourishing and snccessful 
 society, have been chary of leaving their names to us. 
 Now and then, however, a bit of grimy and neglected 
 parchment reveals a striking histo,ry. We see the clothes 
 they wore and hear the words they said. The quarrel 
 resounds once more in the guild-hall. The stei-n 
 recorder testifies against the supposed factiousness of 
 Laurence Saunders ; and the aged men, lifting up their 
 hands, swear to the ancient extent of the common 
 pasture. These are not heroic or world-known scenes, 
 but they represent the life of the citizens of an old-time 
 city, men whose labours are not entirely forgotten. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 OLD COVENTRY AT THE PEESENT DAY 
 
 Coventry is well worth a whole day's visit, though the 
 day may be an easy one, as the principal buildings lie 
 very near together, and are practically aliuays open, so that 
 no time need be wasted ringing up this or that caretaker 
 or running after the sacristan. Either the powers that 
 be have little leisure to think of tourists, or they must be 
 men of singular enlightenment, for I know of no place 
 which can be seen so freely and cheaply, where lingering 
 over a charming effect, a boss, inscription or painted 
 window may be done with such pleasure because inter- 
 ruption is so rare.i The tourist will show his wisdom 
 by not going too far afield in his sight-seeing ; the three 
 churches and S. Mary's Hall will, with a passing look 
 at many a picturesque narrow street, carved gable, or 
 interesting relic of old Coventry, furnish him with some 
 hours' occupation. Those, of course, who possess in- 
 domitable physical and mental energy may ascend S. 
 Michael's spire for the view's sake, or brave a walk 
 through the somewhat dreary environs of Coventry to 
 the historic but commonplace-looking strip of land 
 known as Gosford Green. Or, if they ai-e proof against 
 the depressing influence of the workhouse — for into this 
 building the remains of the Carmelite monastery have 
 been incorporated — may follow the line of Much Park 
 Street to White Friars, and there see the fine monastic 
 cloister, which now serves as the paupers' dining-room.^ 
 
 1 This is a condition of things tourists ought to be thankful 
 for; it is unhappily rare. S. Michael's closes at 5 o'clock in 
 summer, 4 o'clock in winter ; the other churches at 4 all the 
 year round. The sight-seer ought to have an opera glass. 
 
 ^ I have omitted a description of the Charterhouse because 
 it is private property. 
 
 3§8 
 
PLAN OF cove, \ TRY. 
 
Old Coventry at the Present Day 359 
 
 Castle and monastery have been destroyed in Coventry, 
 and, after all, nobles and monks had very little to do with 
 the making of the city, which, in 1381, was the fifth, and 
 about seventy years later the fourth, among the cities 
 of the kingdom. A fortunate junction of high roads, 
 and the enterprise of the inhabitants, accounts for the 
 great riches and large population during those seventy 
 years. And mark that the most noteivorthy huildings 
 loere raised within this period : the churches of S. 
 Michael, and the Holy Trinity, and S. Mary's Hall. 
 S. John's church is a little earlier in date. During this 
 period the people of Coventry were possessed with a 
 magnificent frenzy, such as shames our modern efforts, 
 for building and making their city beautiful. That is to 
 say, within a little over two generations the inhabitants 
 of a town of what we should call nowadays contemptible 
 smallness, for it contained at first a population of only 
 about 7,000, and later certainly no more than 10,000 
 souls, raised two parish churches of unusual size, and a 
 fine town hall. One of these churches is indeed the 
 largest in the kingdom, and possesses a spire almost 
 unrivalled in height and beauty. They also kept their 
 fortifications in good repair during this period, and raised — 
 to speak of inconsiderable trifles — a mai-ket cross, which 
 has unfortunately perished, besides giving- to all the 
 buildings their bounty was making or had made, all the 
 riches of suitable adornment that the carpenter's, car- 
 ver's, painter's, glazier's, weaver's and goldsmith's art 
 could devise. Much has perished in the destruction of 
 the cathedral, the friars' and other chapels, the cross, a 
 parish church, a guild-hall, and many tinremembered 
 buildings ; but enough remains to show that we owe a 
 great debt to those dear, dead folk who knew so many 
 things we have forgotten and loved so many things we 
 have ceased to care for, and, above all, knew what to 
 do with stone and glass and metal, and loved their handi- 
 work, for it was good. 
 
 In coming from the station down Warwick Row, as 
 you pass the angle of Grey Friars' Green, look at the 
 modern statue of Sir Thomas White, merchant, lord 
 mayor of London in 1555, founder of S. John's College, 
 
360 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Oxford, and benefactor of the city of Coventry. This is, 
 I think, the only memorial raised to the famous dead 
 connected with the city. Nothing tells that Laueence 
 Saunders, the Marian martyr, was led out to die in the 
 park to the right of Christ church, the spire of which is 
 close before you, or, as readers of the Elizabethan drama 
 may care to know, that John Maeston, satirist, writer of 
 plays, friend and foe of Ben Jonson, was born and lived 
 here. Perhaps some day our cousins from over the 
 Atlantic may raise a tribute to the memory of John 
 Davenpokt, Puritan, of this city, who, after a troubled 
 career as pastor in the city of London, fled to Amsterdam ; 
 and finally, in 1644, at the invitation of John Cotton, 
 departed for New England, where he lived as pastor of 
 Newhaven for twenty-five years ; and, after mnch con- 
 troversy concerning baptism, and writing of books, 
 departed this life at Boston on March 13, 1669. Others 
 may feel more interest in his brother or kinsman, Chris- 
 topher, a convert to Romanism, and hence the religious 
 antipodes of the aforesaid John. After an education at 
 Donay, this Franciscan fi'iar became chaplain to queen 
 Heniietta Maria, and subsequently to her daughter-in-law, 
 Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. He died in 
 1680, and was buried at the Savoy Chapel, London. 
 Being suspected of designs for promoting the nnion of 
 the English and Roman Churches, it was one of the 
 indictments against archbishop Laud that he held 
 frequent converse with Christopher Davenport. Other 
 notable folk have at one time or another been connected 
 with the city. Sir William Dugdale, Garter King-at- 
 Arms under Charles II., author of the Monasticon and the 
 Antiquities of Warivickshire, "maestro" and " autore " of 
 all such as love the lore of the famous shire of Warwick, 
 received his education at the Free Grammar School. 
 While Humphrey Waxley, to whose skill and knowledge 
 the British Museum owes — not the gift — but the collec- 
 tion and arrangement of the Harleian manuscripts, while 
 he held the post of librarian under Harley, earl of 
 Oxford, in queen Anne's time, was son of a vicar of 
 Trinity church. 
 
 Full in front is the view of the " three tall spires." 
 
Old Coventry at the Present Day 361 
 
 The neai-est, that of Chkist Church, is all that remains of 
 the far-famed chapel of the Grey Priars, wherein so many- 
 local notables and members of noble families lay buried. 
 The church having been demolished at the suppression of 
 the monasteries under Henry VIII., the steeple remained 
 a solitary landmark until 1830, when the body of a new- 
 church was added. This is an uninteresting structure, 
 and not worth a visit. 
 
 We are now inside the compass of the ancient wall, and 
 those who wish to keep up old illusions, and enter the 
 city by the ancient road, should turn up Warwick Lane, 
 alongside of the Grapes Inn, avoiding modern Hert- 
 ford Street, and so along Grey Friars' Lane to High 
 Street and the main thoroughfare of the city. A little 
 below the junction of the Warwick and Grey Friars' Lanes 
 stands Foed's Hospital, a beautiful black and white 
 timbered house with carved gables such as artists love. 
 Some of the seventeen old women who are housed there, 
 and daily bless, or should bless, the memory of John 
 Ford, merchant of the Staple at Calais, may often be 
 seen sitting in the little inner quadrangular court. The 
 worthy Master Ford, by his will, dated 1609, made provi- 
 sion for six old men and their wives, " being nigh unto 
 the age of threescore years and above, and such as were 
 of good name and fame, and had been of good honesty 
 and kept household within the said city, and were decayed 
 and come to poverty and great need." Nowadays, how- 
 ever, it is only old women who profit by his benevolence. 
 
 On reaching High Street, which is part of the great 
 north-west road, and the old coaching way between Lon- 
 don and Holyhead, it is best to go rig-ht on down Pepper 
 Lane, which immediately faces you, until you come to 
 S. Michael's churchyard. This broad open space was, and 
 is still, the centre of the life of the town. Here stood the 
 cathedral and the two great parish churches, the house 
 containing the cloth market, and the guild-hall, where the 
 rulers of the city assembled to take council together. 
 Possibly while the churches, as we know them now, and 
 S. Mary's Hall were yet unbuilt, the common assembly of 
 city folk met together here to hold courts, and decide on 
 questions touching the common weal. Now the cathedral 
 
362 Life in an Old English Toivn 
 
 and Drapery are gone, but the ohuroli spire still stands 
 fronting the spectator, and a few paces will bring him 
 where, behind the projection of a small black and white 
 cottage, stands the red and crumbling entrance porch of 
 S. Mary's Hall. 
 
 Tradition, which we can never afford to disregard, says 
 
 that S. Michael's Chdech — spire, tower, chancel, and 
 
 ■ nave, was built by the Botoners, a great merchant family, 
 
 further affirming that a brass plate was found in the 
 
 church, with the following lines engraved upon it: — ■ 
 
 " William and Adam built the tower, 
 Ann and Mary built the spire, 
 William and Adam built the church, 
 Ann and Mary built the quire." 
 
 Undoubtedly the Botoners were wealthy and generous 
 folk, but whether this little quatrain is founded on fact 
 or no, we have no means of proving. 
 
 The famous steeple, whereof the tower, begun in 1371, 
 occupied twenty-one years in building, is 300 feet high or 
 thereabouts, but gains a fictitious appearance of greater 
 height in that it springs immediately from the ground. 
 The architect had a marvellously happy thought when he 
 added the flying buttresses, which connect the pinnacles' 
 of the main tower with the octagon above it, converting a 
 mere tall spire into a " star-ypointing " thing of lightness 
 and beauty.'- The stone figures in the niches are modern ; 
 the ancient ones, worth inspection though worn past 
 identification, have been placed in the crypt, to which 
 entrance is gained on the north side of the church. The 
 steeple recently underwent restoration under Mr. Oldrid 
 Scott, and whatever was gained in stability by the pro- 
 cess, much was lost with the look of old age which 
 vanished when the crumbling surface of the stone was 
 scraped away. 
 
 Before entering the church by the south door notice 
 the beautiful trefoil-headed arch of the south porch a few 
 steps beyond, opposite the door of S. Mary's Hall. What 
 first strikes the spectator on entering is the great size 
 
 1 Contrast the putline of Trinity spire— -svprk pf the J7tl] 
 pentury, 
 
Old Coventry at the Present Day 363 
 
 of the building, a fact mainly owing to the simplicity of 
 the ground plan, no space being lost in transepts, and to 
 the absence of any partition between nave and chancel, so 
 that from the west end there is an uninterrupted view of 
 the entire church. From this spaciousness and simplicity 
 comes a grandeur which mere size could never wholly 
 give. The style of architecture — of the kind called 
 "Perpendicular" — shows that the fabric belongs to the 
 first half of the fifteenth century. The width of the 
 arches, and slightncss of the pillars display the tech- 
 nical skill of the architects of this period, who, by a just 
 distribution of weight, etc., contrived to raise churches of 
 maximum size at a minimum expense of material and 
 labour. It is a church where a large congregation may 
 be comfortably housed, but it has the great defect of the 
 later style of Grothic building, — all sense of mystery and 
 aspiration, with which the lofty roof and high-pointed 
 arch of the earlier periods impress the beholder, are 
 wholly absent. 
 
 On looking down from the west end, a curious break in 
 the line of the roof at the j unction of nave and chancel is 
 very apparent. The nave inclines to the north, probably 
 because on the completion of the chancel it was found 
 that there was not sufficient space for the necessary en- 
 largements on the southern side. 
 
 The LANTERN at the west end has been opened out since 
 the recent restoration, and the sight of the beautiful 
 groining of the roof is not one that should be missed. 
 The church is, however, poor in detail, having suffered 
 from the zeal of reformers, and from the ignorance and 
 carelessness of " Bumbledom " in the succeeding centuries. 
 At the Reformation there came down a fellow with a 
 "counterfeit commission," and for "avoiding of supersti- 
 tion " tore up all the memorial brasses on the tombs, so 
 that those that are left date from Elizabethan times — or 
 later — and are of small interest. In a " restoration" of 
 ■1851 there was a regular "double twilight" among the 
 tombs, which were taken up from their original resting- 
 places, and deposited wherever the restorer thought fit. 
 Amongst those thus displaced, and now standing at the 
 west end of the -north aisle, was the alabaster tomb of 
 
364 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 Julian Nethermtl, a worthy draper of the city, whose 
 family entered the ranks of the squirearchy of "Warwick- 
 shire, and bore arms like gentlefolk. In the front of the 
 tomb is a bas-relief of Julian and his wife, with their five 
 sons and five daughters, and the following inscription : — 
 
 "Hie jacit Julianus Nethermyl, pannarius, quondam 
 Maior hujus clvitatis, qui obiit xi die mensis Aprilis anno 
 domini MDXXXIX., et Johanna, uxor ejus, quorum ani- 
 mabus propitietur Deus. Amen." ^ 
 
 The various crafts or trading companies had special 
 chapels allotted to their use before the Reformation ; 
 the dyers, the present baptistery ; the cappers, a little 
 room over the south porch, whore they still meet once a 
 year, transact the company's business, eat, drink, and 
 spread upon the table the venerable velvet cloth, which 
 bears at its corners and in the centre a copy of the scissors 
 which were the distinguishing mark of the cappers' calling, 
 an interesting relic, albeit torn and faded, o£ the days 
 ■when the making of cloth caps was one of the main indus- 
 tries of the city. The smiths and girdlers had chapels off 
 the north aisle ; and the drapers and mercers the space at 
 the east end of the north and south aisles respectively. 
 It was from its place among its fellows in the drapers' 
 chapel that Nethermyl's tomb was brought, and many 
 others stand behind a railing in the Meecees' Chapel in 
 the south aisle. Here is a much defaced erection, tradi- 
 tionally known as "Wayd's tomb," and a most interesting 
 relic of a city officer in the memorial to Dame Elizabeth 
 SwiLLiNGTON and her two husbands, one of whom, Ralph 
 Swillington, was sometime recorder of the city. Round 
 the tomb is the legend : " Orate pro anima Elizabethe 
 Swyllington, vidue, nuper uxoris Radulphi Swillyngton, 
 Attornati Generalis Domini Regis Henrici octavi, Record- 
 atoris Civitatis Coventrensis ; quondam uxoris Thome 
 Essex, armigeri ; que quidem Elizabeth obiit anno domini 
 
 millessimo GCCCC ."^ The worthy attorney-general 
 
 and recorder lies on the side nearest the spectator; the 
 squire. Master Thomas Essex, in armour, on the side 
 
 Pools, 150, 2 7j, 142. 
 
Old Coventry at the Present Day 365 
 
 which is farthest off ; Dame Elizabeth, her hand sadly 
 mutilated, ia the middle. The dame, the date of whose 
 death is unknown, as the tomb was erected in her life- 
 time, lived at Stivichall, near Coventrj, and gave £140 
 for the support of the poor and repair of roads in the 
 neighbourhood of the city. Master S wyllington, who was 
 made recorder in 1515, doubtless discharged his duties 
 with all faithfulness, but I know of no memorable event 
 in which he figures during his tenure of office. 
 
 In the Drapers' or Laby Chapel, which is divided 
 from the north aisle by an oak screen, we are contin- 
 ually reminded of the powerful Trinity guild, as well 
 as the drapers' company, whose priests said daily service 
 here. This part of the church was chosen as a burial 
 place for the chief members of the latter society. In 
 a brass plate let into the north wall of the chapel you 
 may see the memorial inscription to the most notable 
 of these: — "Here lyeth Mr. Thomas Bond, draper, some- 
 time mayor of this cittie, and founder of the Hospitall 
 of Bablake, who gave divers lands and tenements for the 
 maintenance of ten poore men so long as the world shall 
 endui-e, and a woman to look to them, with many other 
 good guif ts ; and died the xviii day of March, in the yeare 
 of our Lord God MDVI." 
 
 Bond's Hospital still stands by S. John the Baptist's 
 church. May it endure — -as the epitaph has it — as long 
 as the world itself. 
 
 The dark oak roof of the chapelis ancient, and in some 
 cases angels carrying shields are figured on the corbels. 
 The first of these, at the east end of the north wall, bears, 
 however, the Agnus Dei, a reference to S. John the 
 Baptist, one of the patrons of tbc guild ; the next a 
 pelican " in her piety," i.e. feeding her young from her own 
 breast, a symbol of Christ. 
 
 The miserere seats are worth inspection, though the 
 carving is somewhat rough. They seem to fall into three 
 classes, illustrating : — 
 
 1. The Idhowrs of life. 
 
 2. The saints of the guild. 
 
 3. The certainty of death, and judgment to come, illus- 
 
366 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 trated by the favourite mediEeval series, the Dance of 
 Death . 
 
 They may be taken in the following order, beginning 
 with the north wall : — 
 
 First series. — Labours of life. 
 
 1. A man thrashing ; a man bat-fowling (agriculture 
 and hunting). 
 
 2. Shepherd piping (pastoral life). 
 Second series. — Saints of the guild. 
 
 3. (Defaced.) Decapitation of a martyr, perhaps S. John 
 the Baptist. 
 
 4. (Defaced.) The Assumption of the Virgin. 
 Third series. — Dance of Death. 
 
 6. A burial scene. Two men are^ laying the body, 
 wrapped in a winding sheet, in an open grave ; a priest, 
 holding a torch in his hand, and two attendants stand 
 near; mattock and spade are beside the grave. ' On 
 either side of the central carving Death is represented 
 leading a mortal — in this case the pope — by the hand. 
 
 6. A man is being stripped of his shirt, symbolical 
 perhaps of the fact that in dying we must relinquish all 
 worldly possessions. A cripple, whom by the irony of fate 
 Death has spared, watches the process of unclothing. 
 The side subject has been cut off, but Death's companion 
 is a bishop ; see the outline of his mitre. 
 
 7. A death -bed scene ; the sick person is in bed, bis 
 friends surround him. 
 
 8. The tree of Jesse. " The Word was made flesh." 
 
 9. The Last Judgment. 
 
 10. Grotesque. 
 
 11. The chaining of Satan. 
 12. 
 
 13. Grotesque. 
 
 14. 
 
 The church terminates in a five-sided apse, with five 
 large, slightly pointed windows. The modern coloured 
 glass of the three central ones is a miracle of ugliness, 
 but the two outer ones are composed of fragments of 
 ancient stained glass, out of which it is impossible. 
 
 ' Poole, 145. 
 
Old Coventry at the Present Day ^6j 
 
 however, to disting'uisli any connected group. Figures 
 of the cherubim standing on wheels are scattered about 
 the various lights, still in fair preservation. Other 
 fragments show the Apocalyptic Lamb, the kiss of Jadas, 
 and the description of the Trinity beginning, " Pater est 
 Deus," etc.i In the clebestoky windows may also be seen 
 more of these beautiful, but sadly fragmentary remnants 
 of ancient glass. On one of these on the south side, the 
 scissors, which were the mark of the tailors' and shere- 
 men's company, are conspicuous. 
 
 One more window, the third in the mercers' chapel, 
 should be looked at — not for any artistic merit, but for 
 the man it commemorates, Thomas Sharp, author of the 
 Antiquities of Ooventry, one of the most faithful workers 
 in the field of antiquarian learning, whom it would be 
 presumptuous to praise. 
 
 Painted on the beam above the coving which spans 
 the nave between the rood piers are traces of an old 
 Latin hymn on the nine orders of angels (a facsimile 
 will be found in the vestry) : 
 
 " Archangeli presunt ciuitatibus. 
 Potestates presunt demonibus. 
 Dominaoiones presunt spiritibus angelicis. 
 Cherubyn habent omnem soienciam. 
 Virtutes faoiunt mirabilia. 
 Seraphyn ardent in amore dei. 
 Troni eorum est judicare. 
 Angeli sunt nuncii domini." 
 
 Opposite the south porch of S. Michael's is the 
 entrance to S. Mary's Hall, the banqueting room and 
 meeting-place of the guild of the Holy Trinity, S. Mary, 
 S. John Baptist and S. Catherine, and the centre for 
 the transaction of all municipal business. The great 
 north window, of which the mullions bear trace of a recent 
 restoration, is visible from the street, and from an open- 
 ing in the front to the hall, long since blocked up, it was 
 customary to proclaim the acts of leet passed by the 
 fathers of the city to the crowd below. Built as it was 
 for the honour and glory of this guild, whose members 
 
 '■ Sharp, Antiq. 58. 
 
368 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 were the chief folk of the citj, the building is full of 
 detail reminding us of the patron saints of this fraternity. 
 We shall see this more clearly later, when we come to 
 examine the tapestry which hangs in the Hall itself. In 
 the meantime note that the PORCH, which gives entrance 
 to the court-yard, bears on its keystone a carving, repre- 
 senting the Coronation of the Virgin, and from one of the 
 stones, whence the inward arch springs, is a sculpture of 
 the Annunciation, now almost unrecognisable, save that 
 on the inner side the feathers of S. G-abriel's wings are to be 
 clearly made out. To the right of the court-yard, under- 
 neath the great Hall, is the entrance to the crypt, a 
 beautifully proportioned chamber, with a plain groined 
 roof, probably once a storehouse, now a receptacle for 
 lumlser. On the western side are cupboard-like open- 
 ings in the wall, intended. Sharp thinks, to receive the 
 deeds and valuable propei-ty belonging to members of the 
 guild. 
 
 On the south side of the court-yard is the kitchen, full 
 of memories of the great feasts which were once cooked 
 there, and whence dishes were borne smoking hot up 
 the stairs to the Hall above. Now the modern cooking 
 appliances stand out in all their incongruity. The arches 
 on the north side bear rudely sculptured figures of angels, 
 each holding a shield on which is a merchant's mark, 
 bearing the initials J. P., i.e. John Percy (living 1392), a 
 benefactor of the guild.' Opposite to the crypt is the 
 STATECASE, at the foot of which is a figure supposed to 
 represent Henry VI., once placed on the long since 
 demolished cross. On the ground floor is the NEW 
 MUNIMENT ROOM. (For admission apply to the hall- 
 keeper.) When inside the pretty little modern Gothic 
 chamber, ask the hall-keeper to point out Ranulf's 
 charter, and notice the beautiful twelfth century writing, 
 which you can contrast with the more fanciful hand of 
 the great charter of Edward III. The Tieet Booh, from 
 which so much contained in this history has been 
 
 1 Memorials of the visit of the British Archaeological Institute 
 in 1864. The kitchen is part of the original building, and be- 
 longs to the middle of the fourteenth century. 
 
Chair of State, S. Mary's Hall. 
 (From an Old Print). 
 
Old Coventry at the Present Day 369 
 
 obtained, stands on one of the bookshelves which line 
 part of the room. The municipal scales, engraved with 
 the "Elephant," the city arms, are also visible in an 
 inner compartment of this chamber. 
 
 If the council is not sitting, the hall-keeper will also 
 show the mayoress's paeloqk, on the upper floor. Here 
 stands the chair of state,i used on great occasions, 
 probably by the mayor and the master of the guild. 
 Only half remains of this magnificent relic. No doubt 
 the side where the guild-master took his seat was sawn 
 oif, cast aside as useless on the suppression of this 
 "superstitious" society at the Reformation. The chair 
 bears on one side a figure of the Madonna, " the arms of 
 Coventry surmount the back on the one side, and on the 
 other (which was the centre in its complete state) are 
 two lions rampant supporting a crown." ^ Several por- 
 traits line the room, those of John Hales, founder of the 
 Free Grammar School, of Christopher Davenport, mayor 
 of the city, and Sir Thomas White, are of great local 
 interest ; but undoubtedly the most artistic is a curious 
 portrait of queen Mai-y, said to be by Zucchero or 
 Antonio More. 
 
 As the GREAT HALL^ Served as a banqueting-hall for the 
 Trinity guild, a flight of steps at the south end communi- 
 cates directly with the kitchen. At the north end was a 
 dais, where the principal guests took their seats. The 
 room was also used for municipal purposes, particularly 
 when the town rulers found it necessary to convoke a 
 large assembly of their fellow-citzens. Many a stormy 
 scene has this beautiful room witnessed. Here it was — 
 or in an earlier hall — that the common folk, enraged at 
 the bad quality of bread, threw loaves at the mayor's 
 head when he neglected to punish the frauds of the 
 victuallers. Here Laurence Saunders defied or submitted 
 to the dictates of the corporation, and the citizens met 
 together promising to uphold the mayor and council in 
 their attack on William Bristowe, who had encroached 
 
 ' See illustration opposite. ^ Sharp. 
 
 ' The architecture of the Great Hall shows it was raised after 
 1392, when the union of the guilds took place. 
 
 B B 
 
370 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 upon the Lammas lands. Here tte mayor was elected 
 and courts held. Bat when the council met, they chose a 
 smaller room communicating with the Great Hall, for 
 privacy's sake. 
 
 The right way to study the Hall is to mount the little 
 flight of steps at the southern end, and, sitting in the 
 MINSTREL CiALLEEY, behind the array of Cromwellian 
 armour, examine the glorious fifteenth century WINDOW 
 at your lelsare. A few years back the glass was in utter 
 confusion, having been carelessly replaced after re-lead- 
 ing, and the respective heads, bodies and legs of the 
 magnanimous conquerors and kings therein commemorated 
 were sadly astray, their anatomy being rendered thereby 
 most perplexing. This has, however, been judiciously 
 remedied, and we can now clearly see in the nine com- 
 partments — as the artist, William Thornton, designed — 
 the figures of the emperor Constantine, king Arthur, 
 William I., Richard I., Henry III., Edward III., Henry 
 IV., Henry V., and Henry VI., the last occupying the 
 place of honour in the central light. Above are the arms 
 of various nobles and cities, among others the " elephant 
 and castle" of this city, the three "garbs," wheat-sheaves 
 of Chester, and the sable eagle of earl Leofric, the city's 
 earliest benefactor. 
 
 The dark oak roof belongs also to the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, and is worth, even at the cost of some strain to 
 the muscles of the neck, a careful study. At the centre 
 of each beam are whole-length figures of angels, ten in 
 number, of whom eight are playing on various instruments. 
 The first, close to the great north window, has a violin- 
 like instrument, the second a harp, the third a flute, the 
 fourth a flute, but of a peculiarly flat shape, the fifth a 
 violin, the sixth a curved tube, the seventh a tabor, the 
 eighth a curved tube, while the ninth and tenth have no 
 wings or instruments at all ; possibly they represent the 
 " morning stars singing for joy." 
 
 Under the great north window hangs a piece of tapes- 
 try, dating, so say experts, from the beginning of the six- 
 teenth century. It is of Flemish design, and was woven, 
 possibly in England, with the intention of filling the place 
 it now occupies. Faded in colour, often blurred in outline. 
 
Old Coventry at the Present Day 371 
 
 the tapestry still remains a glorious memorial to the love 
 of beauty and artistic workmanship and corporate pride 
 of the great guild. It is divided into six compartments, 
 and represents a king, queen, and their Court adoring the 
 Virgin, the Trinity, and divers saints in glory. Naturally 
 among the company of saints the place of honour is given 
 to those who were the chosen patrons of the guild. 
 Unfortunately the tapestry has not come down to us in 
 the condition in which it left the makers' hands. The 
 figure of Justice holding the scales is obviously out of 
 harmony with the whole design. There is no doubt that 
 the personification of the Trinity, God the Father on the 
 throne holding Christ extended upon the Cross, with the 
 Dove, once occupied this space. The Hebrew letters of 
 the word Jehovah found above the cross still remain, but 
 the reformers, who could not endure the representation 
 of this mystery, cat out the rest.^ Round the present 
 incongruous figure of Justice, kneel angels bearing the 
 instruments of the Passion, the nails, the sponge of 
 hyssop, the crown of thorns, the scourge, pillar and 
 spear. The Assumption of the Virgin in the lower 
 central compartment reminded the guildsmen of their 
 earliest patroness, whose festival was one of their chief 
 days of assembly. The Virgin's feet rest on the crescent 
 moon, which is supported by an angel. The apostles 
 kneel round in attitudes of adoration. On either side of 
 the lower tier a king kneels in prayer, on the right a 
 queen, two figures which have been identified with 
 Henry VI. and Margaret of Anjou. Both were members 
 of the Trinity fraternity, and the tapestry was probably 
 designed to celebrate their admission into the ranks 
 of the guild. The hypothesis that the pair may be in- 
 tended for the then reigning Henry VII. and his queen, 
 Elizabeth of York, is untenable, as the heraldic roses in 
 the border are Lancastrian and not Tudor. The king 
 kneels at a table whereon lie a crown and missal; he 
 wears a jewelled cap. None of his followers can be 
 identified save the kneeling cardinal, who probably is 
 
 1 Sharp, Anl\(i. 221. 
 
372 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 intended for Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, and the 
 standing figure behind the king, who may be the " good 
 duke Humphrey." Queen Margaret kneels opposite. 
 None of her ladies can be identified, but we may easily 
 conceive that some of her train were intended to pourtray 
 her constant attendants, the duchess of Buckingham and 
 the elder and younger lady Shrewsbury. The queen has 
 a head-dress embroidered with pear pearls, upon which 
 is a crown of fleur-de-lis ; her dress is yellow, and the 
 sleeves lined with ermine. 
 
 In the upper left-hand division is a group of male, on 
 the right-hand a group of female, saints respectively led 
 by the patrons of the guild, S. John the Baptist and 
 S. Catherine. The former "are the less interesting com- 
 pany ; they consist of S. John the Baptist bearing the 
 book and Agnus Dei ; the next is probably S. Thomas, 
 holding a lance. There follow S. Paul with a sword ; 
 S. Adrian, patron of brewers, standing on a lion, and 
 holding a sword and an anvil, instrument of his martyr- 
 dom ; S. Peter with the key ; S. George holding a banner, 
 but, oddly enough, with no dragon at his feet ; S. Andrew 
 with a transverse cross ; S. Bartholomew with a knife ; 
 S. Simon with a saw ; and S. Thaddeus with a halberd, 
 lu the opposite division stands an array of saints in 
 charming Tudor dress ; S. Catherine with her wheel ; 
 S. Barbara with the tower ; S. Dorothea with the basket 
 of roses ; S. Mary Magdalene with the vase of ointment ; 
 S. Margaret, name-saint of the queen who kneels in the 
 compartment beneath, with a queer, flabby, spotted 
 demon curling round her body; S. Agnes with a delightful 
 little lamb, which she holds by a string. Then follows an 
 abbess; concerning whose identity there has been much 
 discussion. She is arrayed in a monastic habit, bears a 
 crozier, and has three white mice about her person, one 
 on either shoulder, and another springing in the air above. 
 This is S. Gertrude of Nivelles in Flanders, ^ patroness of 
 travellers, and may-be also of the locality where the tapes- 
 try was designed. Noted far and wide for hospitality in 
 
 ' See Mr, Scarf's paper quoted in Sharp, Antiq. 2'22. 
 
Old Coventry at the Present Day 373 
 
 her lifetime, the saint did not cease her ministrations to 
 wayfarers after death. The journey to Paradise is a loner 
 one occupying three days, so that the popular fancy said 
 that the souls slept with S. Gertrude on the first night, 
 with S. Gabriel on the second, and the third they rested in 
 Paradise. " The saint therefore became," says Mr. Baring 
 Gould, "the patroness and protector of departed souls. 
 Next because popular Teutonic superstition regarded 
 rats and mice as symbols of souls, S. Gertrude is repre- 
 sented m art as attended by one of these animals. Then, by 
 a strange transition when the significance of the symbol 
 was lost, she was supposed to be a protectress against 
 rats and mice, and water from the crypt at Nivelles was 
 distributed for the purpose of driving away these 
 vermin."! It may be noted that the two nuns in the 
 compartment of ladies attending upon the queen, wear 
 the same habit as S. Gertrude. The next saint of the 
 company is usually identified with S. Anne, but on what 
 grounds I am unable to discover. She bears a long staff 
 (or taper) in her hand. Now the saint likely to be 
 associated with S. Gertrude would be her godchild, 
 S. Gudule, patroness of the cathedral of Brussels. Her 
 appropriate symbol is, however, a lantern.^ But the 
 artist is not very careful about these, and possibly may 
 have substituted the taper.^ In this case the demon 
 hovering over S. Apollonia, who follows next, bearing 
 her pincers, really belongs to S. Gudule, and is a remi- 
 niscence of the saint's nocturnal difiiculties in keeping her 
 lantern alight, so persistently did the evil spirit blow it 
 out.* 
 
 After examining the tapestry there is little to detain 
 you. The oriel window contains some fragments of 
 old glass, and there is an oak sideboard in its recess. 
 The inscriptions about the Hall are reproductions of 
 Elizabethan black letter. A brass commemorating the 
 
 ' Baring Gould, Lines of the Saints. 
 
 2 Husenbeth, Symbols of Saints. 
 
 ^5 Or it may be S. G6nevieve, patroness of Paris, of whom a 
 similar story is told. 
 
 * It would be well if this beautiful relic were kept under glass 
 for its better preservation. 
 
374 Lip in an Old English Town 
 
 lease of Clieylesmore Park, granted to the citizens by 
 the duke of Northumberland in the reign of Edward 
 VI., is fixed in the wall close to the entrance to the 
 Mayoress's Parlour. As for the terrible windows, filled 
 with glass in 1826 in imitation of the old work, which 
 had been destroyed in an affray concerning a contested 
 election of 1780 known as the " bludgeon fight," let us 
 not speak of them. In a little room on the southern 
 end is a carving of S. George and the Dragon, which 
 was brought from S. George's Chapel on the Gosford 
 Gate. 
 
 Crossing the churchyard, you arrive at Tkikity church, 
 which suffers in its exterior from the neighbourhood of 
 S. Michael's, but the interior is of earlier and more finely 
 proportioned architecture than its giant neighbour. 
 Rebuilt at the close of the fourteenth century on the 
 site of a parish church, which existed at least as far 
 back as the reign of Henry III., this building is also 
 somewhat poor in detail. The fresco of the Last Judg- 
 ment which could once be discerned above the chancel 
 arch is now obliterated. As in S. Michael's, the mullions 
 of the clerestory windows are continued to the top of 
 the arches of the nave, forming a series of stone panels. 
 The stone pulpit is probably contemporary with the 
 building of the church. The lectern, which is also 
 antique, aroused the suspicions of the Puritans, and 
 in 1654 there was some talk of selling it, a transaction 
 which was happily not accompli.shed, though the "eagle" 
 at S. Michael's, the gift of William Botoner, had been 
 sold at so much the pound a few years previously. 
 Not a vestige now remains of the ancient stained glass 
 which once made the church beautiful. Its disappear- 
 ance was owing not perhaps so much to Puritan zeal 
 as to the deliberate action of the authorities in the 
 last centui-y. From -1774 to 1787 the masons of 
 Coventry must have revelled in the w^ork of mutilating 
 the window traceries, and the old glass after being taken 
 down was never put back. The old sexton told the 
 antiquarian Sharp particulars of the famous window, 
 wherein Leofric and Godiva were represented, the former 
 holdinrr a charter with the words : 
 
Old Coventry at the Present Day 375 
 
 " I Luriche, for the Love of thee, 
 Doe make Coventre Tol-free." 
 
 But this was removed in 1V79 ; and on my last visit to 
 Coventry I savr that the fev? past fragments of old glass 
 had disappeared from a window in the north wall. 
 
 To the north of Trinity churchyard are the Cathedeal 
 RUINS. Little more than the bases of a few fine pillars 
 are left of the once splendid minster, dedicated to 
 S. Mary, S. Peter, S. Osburg, and All Saints. From 
 th.e gates of Trinity church yon pass the top of the 
 picturesque Butchek Row, and, if time does not fail you, 
 may turn down Ci'oss Cheaping — alas that the cross 
 should be no longer there ! — till you come to the Old 
 Geammak School, at the corner of Hales Street. This 
 was the ancient home of the Hospitallers, who tended the 
 infirm and sick, but was converted after the Reformation 
 into a free grammar school. It is now a parish room ; ^ but 
 round the walls of the ancient chapel of the Hospitallers 
 are the old stalls they once occupied, cut and hacked 
 by many generations of schoolboys. Here Dugdale 
 received his education ; also the Davenports and a great 
 many more who have never risen to fame in the world. 
 Mr. Tovey, father of Milton's Cambridge tutor, and 
 Philemon Holland, translator of Camden's Britannia, 
 the " translator -general of his age," were mastei's here. 
 
 On returning up the Broadgate to the cross roads give 
 a glance at the authentic " Peeping Tom " looking out of 
 a window in the top storey of the King's Head Inn. 
 The figure is far older than the legend, which dates only 
 from the eighteenth century. It is a full-length wooden 
 statue of a man in armour, with helmet, greaves, and 
 sandals ; the arms are cut off at the elbows. What the 
 statue anciently represented is, I believe, unknown. 
 
 The turning to the right, Smithford Street, leads to 
 S. John's Chuech, another building raised to the glory 
 of God and the guild of the Holy Trinitj^ S. Mary, 
 S. John Baptist, and S. Catherine. Built on ground 
 
 ' Mrs. Garner, 2nd Court, right-hand side in Well Street, 
 keeps the key, but the place is not worth spending much time 
 
3/6 Life in an Old English Town 
 
 given in 1342 by Isabella, wife of Edward IP., to the 
 fraternity, this beaatifiilly proportioned little Perpendi- 
 cular church also lacks any wealth of interesting detail. 
 It was not a parochial church, but reserved for the 
 ministration of the college of priests, which were sup- 
 ported by the fraternity until Reformation times. 
 
 Close by the churchyard, forming the view of all 
 views to be dwelt on in the city, stand two picturesque 
 black and white timbered houses, one given by John Bond 
 for an almshouse for aged and decayed folk recommended 
 by the Trinity gaild, and the other the Bablake school, 
 raised by the benevolence of Mr. Wheatley in the six- 
 teenth century. The sight of these houses, grandly 
 planned and strongly built, with lovely gables where 
 barge-board and finial are marvels of the house-carver's 
 art, is a fitting close to a day in Coventry. Let us hope 
 that no restorer, modern builder, well-meaning vestry 
 or enterprising commercial man will ever rob us of 
 the loveliness of Bond's Hospital and Wheatley's school 
 at Bablake.^ 
 
 1 This has, alas ! been done since the above was written, by 
 the erection of a modern house. The view of one of the most 
 picturesque groups of domestic buildings in England has been 
 ruined. 
 
APPENDICES 
 
 ON THE MS. AUTHORITIES EMPLOYED 
 
 Although the fire at the Birmingham Free Library in 1879 
 destroyed the valuable collection of MSS. made by the anti- 
 quary, Thomas Sharp, there still remain in the possession of 
 the corporation of Coventry many valuable documents, the 
 chief source of information from which the history of the city 
 is to be gathered. The more important of these were catalogued 
 by Mr. Cordy Jeaffreson in 1896, and arranged under the fol- 
 lowing heads : (A) Books ; (B) Charters, Letters patent ; (C) 
 Deeds, leases, etc. ; (D) Curial records ; (E) Eolls and files ; 
 (F) Miscellaneous matters. Among these the first Leet Book 
 (Corp. MS. A. 3a) is of supreme interest. Save for some 
 extracts referring to the city buildings, pageants, processions, 
 etc., which Sharp incorporated into his Antiquities of Coven- 
 try, and Dissertations on the Coventry Mysteries, and one or 
 two casual references in Poole's Coventry, this bulky folio 
 of over 340 pages, written in various hands, containing a 
 yearly account of matters ranging from 8 Henry Y. to 1 and 
 2 Philip and Mary (1421 to 1B54-5), has been hitherto left 
 untouched. We find recorded there year by year the election 
 of the mayor and the city ofiicials, with the names of the 
 twenty -four electors ; the names of the twenty-four jiirats 
 of the court leet which met at Easter and Michaelmas ; the 
 regulations framed bj' this court, and much miscellaneous 
 matter. In the last-named category may be mentioned the 
 account given of the reception of royal persons, the chronicle 
 of passing events with which the writer occasionally 
 favours us, the enrolment of the rules of various crafts, or 
 of the extent of the Lammas pastures, and the like. Next 
 in importance is probably the folio of Humphrey Burton 
 (Corp. MS. A. 34). The writer was town clerk in the first half 
 of the seventeenth century, and in order to obtain evidence 
 for a lawsuit then pending between the prince of Wales, 
 son of James I., on the one hand, and the corporation on 
 the other, ransacked the city archives and the records in the 
 Tower of London, entering all bearing upon this case in this 
 volume, of which a transcript, referred to here as Burton 
 
 377 
 
378 Appendices 
 
 MSS., is to be found in the Coventry Free Librarj'. By this 
 means, the purport of many deeds lost in the Birmingham 
 fire, particularly those referring to the quarrel between the 
 prior and queen Isabella, have been preserved for us. In 
 Burton's hand, too, is a smaller volume, relating to the col- 
 lection of ship-money in the reign of Charles I. (Corp. MS. 
 A. 35). The records of the Trinity guild vrere burnt, but 
 those of the Corpus Christi still survive (Corp. MS. A. 6), 
 though they are a mere record of the names of, and fines 
 paid by, the guild members, with the receipts and expenses of 
 the fraternity from 1488 to the time of its suppression. Two 
 volumes of correspondence (Corp. MS. A. 79) contain much 
 interesting matter on subjects ranging from the time of 
 Edward III. to the Hanoverian period. Here ai-e to be found 
 autographs of royal persons, eminent and unknown towns- 
 folk, and various notable people, of whom we might mention 
 the Lady Margaret, mother of Henry VII., and Prince Henry, 
 son of James I., two signatures which are perhaps unique, 
 Henry VIII., Wolsey, Cranmer, Laud, Sir Thomas White, 
 Endymion Porter, Juxon, Eichard Baxter, and others. 
 
 Among the rolls and files may be noted the remains of a 
 statute merchant roll for the recognition of debts (Corp. 
 MS. E. 6), extending from 15 Eichard II. to 3 Henry V. 
 with detached membranes belonging to the reigns of Henry 
 VI., Henry VIII., and later kings. 
 
 Although the two earliest charters relating to Coventry, those 
 of Edward the Confessor and William I. to the monastery, are 
 in the British Museum, many others, dating from Henry II 
 onwards, are in possession of the corporation. Humphrey 
 Wanley's Diary (Harl. MS. 6,466) contains matters relating 
 to Coventry, as is the case with the Patent and Close 
 Rolls in the Eecord Office, though the information the latter 
 contain is also generally to be found in the archives of the 
 city. 
 
 LIST OF AUTHORITIES CITED IN THIS WORK. 
 
 Add. MSS. Ch. 11,205, 28,657 (British Museum). 
 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (ed. Thorpe). 
 Annales Monastici (Rolls, ed. Luard). 
 Ashley, Economic History and Theory. 
 
 Baring-Gould, Lives of the Saints. 
 
 Beresford, Lichfield (Diocesan Histories). 
 
 Besant, London ; — and Rice, Sir Richard Wliittinylon, 
 
 Birch, Charter of JEdicard the Confessor. 
 
 Burnley, History of Wool and Wool-comhinc/. 
 
 Byrjone Wariviclcshire. 
 
Appendices 379 
 
 Chronicon Ahbatim de Evesliam (Eolls). 
 
 Church, Life of S. Anselm ; Henry V. 
 
 Clark, Observances in Use at the Augustinian Priory of BarnweU. 
 
 Cooke, Cistercians in England, in English Historical Review, viii. 
 625. 
 
 Cornhill Magazine, vi. 830, How Prior Richard rided his Monks. 
 
 Dictionary of National Biography, s.v. Breaxdi, Fmdkes de; 
 Qodiva ; Leofric ; Sous, John. 
 
 Drayton, Polyollion. 
 
 Dugdale, Antiquities of Warwickshire (1730) ; Monasticon Angli- 
 caniim. (1817-30). 
 
 Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Gilds. 
 
 Fosbroke, British Mmiachism. 
 
 Foxe, Book of Martyrs (1823). 
 
 Freeman, Exeter (Historic Towns) ; Norman Conquest. 
 
 Fretton, Mayors of Coye«<ri/("Warwickshire Field Cluh) ; Me- 
 morials of the Fullers'' or Walkers'' Guild. 
 
 Froude, Short Studies on Great Subjects. 
 
 Gairdner, Henry VII. 
 
 Gasquet, Henry VIII. and the English Monasteries. 
 
 Giry, Etablissements de Eouen. 
 
 Green, Town Life in the Fifteenth Century. 
 
 Gross, Gild Merchant. 
 
 Harl. 'mSS. 6195, 6466, 6388 (British Museum). 
 
 Plolinshed, Chronicles (1587). 
 
 Hudson, Leet Jurisdiction in Xonuich (Selden Society). 
 
 Hunt, Bristol (Historic Towns). 
 
 Husenheth, Emblems of Saints. 
 
 Issues of the Exchequer. Henry III.-VI.— (Eecord Commission). 
 
 Jessopp, Coming of the Friars ; Studies of a Recluse. 
 Jusserand, English Wayfaring Life (1889). 
 
 Kemble, Codex Sipilomaticus /Evi Sa.zonici. 
 
 Kitchin, Conumtus Rolls of the Obedientiaries of S. Swithun's 
 
 Priory, Winchester. 
 Lamond, Discourse of the Common Weal. 
 Langland, Piers Plowman (B. text, ed. Skeat, 1881). 
 Lansdowne MSS. 290, f. 553 (British Museum). 
 Larwood and Hotton, History of Signboards. 
 Leach, Schools of the Reformation. 
 Leland, Collectanea. 
 Liber Albus (Bolls, ed. Eiley). 
 Literce Cantuarienses (Rolls, ed. Sheppard). 
 Loftie, History of London (1883). 
 Luchaire, Les Communes Franqaises. 
 Liidus Covenlrioe (ed. Halliwell-Phillips). 
 Madox, F'lrma Burgi ; History and Antiquities of the Exchequer. 
 
380 Appendices 
 
 Maitland, Select Pleas in Manorial Courts (Selden Society). _ 
 
 Memorial of the Visit of the Archceological Institute of Great Britain 
 
 and Ireland to Coventry, 1864. 
 Morley, First Sketch of English Literature. 
 
 Nottingham, Mecords of Ih e Borough of. 
 
 Old Cross, a M''aricickshire Quarterly Magazine. 
 
 Oman, Warioick the King-maker. 
 
 Ormerod, Ilistonj of the County Palatine and City of Chester. 
 
 Parliamentary Writs (Beoord Commission). 
 
 Paslon Letters (ed. Gairdner, 1872). 
 
 Peokham, Pegistrum Epistolarum (Eolls. ed. Trice Martin). 
 
 Pollock audMaitlaud, History of English Law. 
 
 Poole, Coventry. 
 
 Proceedings of the Privy Council. 
 
 Kamsay, Lancaster and York. 
 Rashdall, History of Universities. 
 Header, Domesday for Warwickshire. 
 Kiley, Memorials of London and London Life. 
 Robert of Gloucester, Chronicle. 
 Eoger of Wendover, Flores Hisloriarum. 
 
 Hogers, History of Agriculture and Prices in England ; Six Cen- 
 turies of Work and Wages. 
 Potuli Parliamentorum (Record Commission). 
 Round, Ranulf Earl of Chester in English Historical Review, x. 87. 
 
 Sellars, Tlie City of York in the Sixteenth Century in English 
 
 Historical Review, ix. 275. 
 Sharp, Antiquities of Coventry (ed. Pretton, 1870) ; Dissertation on 
 
 the Coventry Mysteries; Warwickshire Worcls (ed. Halliwell- 
 
 Phillips). 
 Smith, J. Toulmin, Etiglish Qilds. 
 Smith, L. Touljnin, York Mystery Plays. 
 Smith & Onslow, Worcester (Diocesan Histories). 
 Stanley, Memorials of Westininster. 
 Strutt, Sports and Pastivies. 
 Stubbs, Constitutional History ; Select Charters. 
 
 Thompson, Essay on English Municipal History; History oj 
 Leicester (1849) ; History of Leicester (pocket ed.). 
 
 Timmins, Warwickshire. 
 
 Trokelowe & Blaneford, Chronica Monasterii Sancti Alhani (Rolls, 
 ed. Riley). 
 
 Turner, Domestic Architecture. 
 
 Walter of Coventry, Memoriale (Rolls ed. Stubbs). 
 
 Warwickshire Antiquarian Magazine. 
 
 Weaverh Pageant; Presentation to the Temple (ed. Sharp, 1836 — 
 
 Abbotsford Club). 
 Wright, History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England 
 
 during the Middle Ages. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abhotsbuht, guild at, 89. 
 ABiNGDOjf, monastery at, 3; letter 
 sent to, 188. 
 
 ^LFGAR, 10. 
 
 Affiliation- of boroughs, 4J, note. 
 
 Alcestbh, 14. 
 
 Alchemist, an, 288. 
 
 Aldeemett, appointment of, proposed, 
 152; try pleas, 97 and note, 98 note ; 
 their search for unruly, 330; for 
 vagabonds, 318. 
 
 Aldgxth, 11. 
 
 ALE-TiSTEEs appointed by bailiff, 295. 
 
 Ale-wives, 276, 297. 
 
 Algaebe, 296. 
 
 Almshouse, 323 ; founded at BabLike 
 by Bond, 312; at Grey Friars' by 
 Ford, 312. 
 
 Alton, brigands of, 309. 
 
 " Angel " inn, 169, 307. 
 
 Annunciation, pageant of, 340. 
 
 Antwerp, 80. 
 
 Appuentices, swear to franchises, 240, 
 241, 273, 274 ; morals of, 274, 329, 330 ; 
 number of, limited, 271 , 272 ; on re- 
 ceiving, masters pay fine, 271 ; on 
 setting up shop, pay fine, 272, 273, 
 and note ; treatment of, 274. 
 
 Aegheey, 328. 
 
 Aeuen, forest of, 13, 281. 
 
 Aemed watch, riding of, on Midsum- 
 mer and St. Peter's eves, 338-340. 
 
 Aemour provided by citizens, 151 ; 
 delivered to captains, 352. 
 
 Abms, view of, 351. 
 
 Ajithub, prince of Wales, 346. 
 
 AsHEuiiTON, school at, 315 note. 
 ' A3SIZB of ale, 294; of bread, 49, 76, 
 106 note, 135, 294, 295 ; of cloth, 87, 
 note. 
 
 Assumption, guild of the, 93 note. 
 
 AuDLET, lord, 168. 
 
 AuLNAGB, 254 note. 
 
 Adlnagee, 87 note. 
 
 AuMBET, children of the, 315. 
 
 Bablaee, church of St. John the 
 Baptist at, see Churches; Hospital, 
 see Almshouse. 
 
 Bagington, 12 note, 131, 296. 
 
 Bagot, Sir William, 131. 
 
 Bailiffs, duties of, 104; misdeeds of, 
 121; aee also Sheriffs. 
 
 Bakers, offend against assize of 
 bread, 106 note, 107; company of, 
 survives, 281 note ; take sauctuary 
 at Bagington, 296; rules of, 299 
 note. 
 
 Ball, John, taken at Coventry, 135; 
 discourse of, 136. 
 
 BANBunr, 179, 187; Puritan feeling 
 at, 329. 
 
 Barnet FiELn, 186, 188. 
 
 Barnstaple, 43 note, 
 
 Bahon's Field, 206 note, 208, 216. 
 
 Bastaude, wine, 296. 
 
 Bath, Roman town, 2; size of, at 
 Domesday, 31 note. 
 
 Battle, trial by, 51. 
 
 Beam, wool weighed at the, 299. 
 
 " Bear and Baculus" inn, 307. 
 
 Beab-baitikg, 328. 
 
 Beab-wabd, 104, 329. 
 
 Beaumoht, lord, 156, 165. 
 
 Bedford, 135 ; duke of, 145 ; duchess 
 of, 145, 185. 
 
 Bedon, William, quarrels with'Huet, 
 124-6. 
 
 Bell, church, 196, 284 and note ; day- 
 bell, rung at dawn, 282, 284 note, 
 351; "larum" bell, 163. 
 
 Benedictines, their love of sheltered 
 spots, 13; order of, 14, 15 ; houses of 
 the order, 15 ; life among the, 16-22 ; 
 habit of, 285. 
 
 *' Bemetolbnces," 192. 
 
 Berkeley, family of, owners of Eed- 
 clifEe, 57 ; feuds of, 148, 167 ; James, 
 lord of, 148 ; Sir Maurice of, 53. 
 
 Berkswell, 289 note. 
 
 Bills, see Leet. 
 
 BisHOPEic of Coventry, title of, 204. 
 
 Bishops of Coventry, see Coventry. 
 
 Black Prince, charier of, 86, 
 
 Black Death, 291. 
 
 Blood, Holy, of Hayles, 286. 
 
 Bloeeheath, battle of, 168. 
 
 " Blue Boar" inn, 307. 
 
 Blue thread, decline of trade in, 254; 
 special colour used in dyeing, 302. 
 
 Bolingbeoke, Henry, 130, 131. 
 
 Bond, John, 258; see also AlmshoiiEe. 
 
 Bond's Hospital at Bablake ; see 
 Almshouse. 
 
 BoKSiEEa on St. John's eve, 337. 
 
 BoNViL, lord, 148. 
 
382 
 
 Index 
 
 Books sold at fairs, 303. 
 BoBDAES, 31 note. 
 Boston, fair at, 132; ship of, 310. 
 BoswoaiH Field, battle of, 19J,, 307. 
 BoTELEE, Henry, see Recorders. 
 BoTOKEn, family of , trade with Bris- 
 tol, 307, 308 ; buiid St. Michael's 
 steeple, 307, 308 ; purchase estate, 
 308. 
 BoTONEE, Adam, 308. 
 BoTONEH, William, 308. 
 Bbakhmen, workers in iron, 266-263. 
 Brass, memorial, to Sir William 
 
 Bagot, 131. 
 Brawls, 331, 332-334. 
 Beattoft, Richard, 211. 
 Bbeaute, Paulkes de, 13i-135. 
 Beedon, Friar John, opposes tbe 
 hermit's preaching, 111; attacks 
 monks, 326-328 ; recantation of, 327- 
 328 ; nails hills on the church door, 
 327. 
 BBETUHBN.of the mayor, 241; see oX&o 
 
 Mayor's Council. 
 Brewehs, forbidden take water from 
 conduits, 293 ; forestall barley, 297; 
 trade of, lucrative, 297. 
 Beibbey of officials, 105, 163 note." 
 Bhidgewateh, church at, 320. 
 Bbigahds of Alton, 309. 
 Bristol, division of land in, 57; 
 arrest of a burgess of, 58; cannon 
 brought from, 162 ; trade with 257, 
 301, 307, 308; toll demanded at, 
 308. 
 Bbistowe, John, draper, 206, 258; 
 mayor, 207 ; encroaches on common 
 lands at Whitley, 207-208, 217; drives 
 cattle on Ooventry pastures, 208. 
 Bbistowe, William, of Whitley, 206, 
 208 ; offends the corporation, 208- 
 209; the mayor and citizens break 
 into his 'closes, 210-212, 214; breaks 
 into the closes occupied by Pere and 
 Squire, 213; appeals to the privy 
 council, 213 ; suit between, and the 
 community about the ownership of 
 enclosed lands, 216-218 ; surcharges 
 commons, 222 ; keeps meadows, 
 several^ 232, 233, 234 ; further suit, 
 235-236 ; see oXzo Whitley. 
 Beugeb, staple for cloth at, 309. 
 Buckingham, duchess of, 166. 
 Bdckingham, duke of, Humphrey- 
 Stafford, quarrels with Coventry 
 men, 149; retainers and badge of, 
 149, 285 ; power of, 149, 150 : attends 
 Henry VI., 165, 165; assists duke 
 of York to escape, 163 ; visits 
 Coventry, 169; dies at Northamp- 
 ton, 170; his castle of Maxstoke, 
 333 (ill.). 
 *' Bdll" inn, 307. 
 Bdll-baiting, 328. 
 
 BuLL-EiNG, poulterers stand near the, 
 
 299 ; bulls baited in, 328. 
 BuEGAGE, free, 43, 
 BoRGUNDT, wool trade with, 175, 185, 
 
 186, 
 BuETOir, Humphrey, town-clerk, 4 
 
 note. 
 Bnay St. Edmund's, monastery at, 3, 
 
 15; guild at, 54 note, 65 note; men 
 
 of, get concessions from the abbot, 
 
 69 ; rise against abbot, 65 ; fair at, 
 
 132. 
 
 Cade, Jack, 151 ; quarters of, exposed 
 
 on town gates, 290. 
 Caen, abbeys at, 3. 
 Calais, 178, 182; see also Staple, 
 Oaludon Castle, 131. 
 Cambeidge, guild at, 89. 
 Candles, funeral, 326-327. 
 Cannock Chase, robbers at, 310, 
 Canons, see Lichfield. 
 Canteebubt, monastery at, 15 ; size 
 of, at J)o7nesclaT/, 31 note; divisions 
 in, 57 ; archbishop of, 251 ; Arundel, 
 137, 138 ; Peckham, 327 note. 
 Cantilupe, Fulk de, 27. 
 Cappers, 254, 255 note, 271 j company 
 of, survives, 281 ; fines for admission 
 to freedom of craft of, 273 note ; 
 treatment of apprentices among, 
 274; see also Apprentices, Chapel, 
 Journeymen, Pageants. 
 Caps, making of, by journeymen for- 
 bidden, 280. 
 " Cardinal's Hat " inn, 307. 
 Caedmakees, fellowsbip of the, 261 
 note ; bill concerning abuses of the, 
 266-269 ; see oXso Journeymen. 
 Caeds for wool-combing, 267. 
 Cabd-wieedbawees, see Cardmakers. 
 Carmelites, habit of, 285. 
 Caepentee, John, of London, 312. 
 Caepentbrs, apprentices of, 280; 
 
 feasts of, 336, 349 note. 
 Carthusians, order of, 15 ; house of, 
 
 at Coventry, 15 ; habit of, 285, 
 Oaetweight, Presbyterian, at War- 
 wick, 202. 
 Castle, feudal lord's, 33. 
 Castle of Coventry, destroyed by 
 
 Stephen, 35. 
 Catesbt, John, 215, 217. 
 Catherine o£ France, queen, 139. 
 Cattle impounded, 223 ; in streets, 
 
 283. 
 Chamberlain, duties of, 104, 223; 
 petition of the, 222 ; Roger a Lee 
 refuses to fill the office of, 100; see 
 also Saunders, Laurence. 
 Chapel Fields, 37. 
 
 Chapel of S. George on the Gosford 
 Gate, 326 note. 
 
Index 
 
 383 
 
 Chapel of S.Mary Magdalene, at Spon, 
 37. 
 
 CHiPELS of the crafts in the parish 
 churches, 324, 336 note, 
 
 Chakd, 188. 
 
 CHiEiTT of the merchants, 313 ; of the 
 Corpus Christi guild, 313 ; of the 
 corporation, 318. 
 
 Charles I. is refused entrance to 
 Coventry, 203. 
 
 Charles II. remodels town charters, 
 81 ; orders the walls to be dis- 
 mantled, 201. 
 
 Chaetee, granted to corporation, 86, 
 118, 119, 157; to Earl's-men, 45, 46, 
 60, 61. 65, 72, 73, 74, 77 note, 83. Si ; to 
 prior, with license to form merchant 
 guild, 60, 61. 
 
 Charterhouse, at London, 15 ; at 
 Coventry, 15, 328; see aiso Carthu- 
 sians. 
 
 Chepstow, 180. 
 
 Chestee, bishop's - seat transferred 
 from, 22 ; canons of, 25 ; S. Wer- 
 burgh's at, 7 note, 8 note; earls of, 
 32"; Hagh rebels against Henry II., 
 35, 36 ; builds lazar-hoiise, 37; Hugh 
 Lupus, 33 ; Ranulf Blonvil's career, 
 37-39 ; gives charter to burghers, 45 ; 
 protects Jews, 52 ; RanulE Gernons, 
 his career, 3i-3o ; Ranulf Meschines, 
 32, 34. 
 
 Chetlesmore, officers of, 86, 124; be- 
 comes royal manor, 130; Park of, 
 man arrested in, 122 ; citizens 
 quarry in, 87 ; earl of Chester's 
 dwelling at, 129 note, 133; princes 
 of Wales at, 139, 191. 
 
 CniMNErs, wooden, 293. 
 
 Chueches, uses of, 319, 320 ; converted 
 into hospitals, 320, 321 ; of Coventry, 
 327.— S. John the Baptist's at Bab- 
 lake, built by Trinity guild, 92, 322 ; 
 priests of, 156.— S. Michael's, bell 
 brought to, 195, 196; chapels of 
 crafts in, 323-325; door of, verses 
 nailed to, 245, 320 ; priests of guilds 
 employed in, 93, 93 ; royal visits to, 
 156, 166, 201; sale of cloth in porch 
 of 241.— S. Nicholas, supported by 
 Co'rpas Christi guild, 201 note ; 
 chaplains of, 322 note. — Holy 
 Trinity, building of, 321-322 note ; 
 fresco in, 323 ; priests employed in, 
 93, 322 note. 
 
 Chuechtard, S. Michael's, 46, 299. 
 
 Clapham, 179, 290. 
 
 Clarence, duke of, George, conspires 
 with Warwick, 177, 178; pledges 
 jewel, 181; deserts 'Warwick:, 187; 
 mediates with Edward IV. for 
 Coventry men, 188, 189, 
 
 Clakendos", 128, 
 
 Clehk, enrolls court records, 47 ; of 
 the market, 119, 158 note. 
 
 Cloth, 132 ; of Coventry, 253-358, 302 ; 
 drapers, merchants of, 257 ; dyers, 
 great makers of, 243 note; dyeing 
 of, 265 note ; Florentine, 356 ; 
 makers of, 241, 243, 276 ; manufac- 
 ture of, 63; illicit market for, 212; 
 sale of, in drapei-y, 264, 365 ; seaKng 
 of, 266, 257 note; trade in, decays, 
 251 note ; weaving of, how paid, 278 ; 
 S(3c also Drapery, Frieze. 
 
 Clothiees, company of, survives, 291. 
 
 CLornMAKERS, see Cloth. 
 
 COCK-FIQHTING, 328. 
 
 CoKET bread, 295, and note. 
 
 Colchester, 2. 
 
 Coleshill, 165, 167; pillory at, 289. 
 
 Combe, abbey of, 16 ; abbot of, 11 
 note, 216. 
 
 Commission of array, 352-354. 
 
 Common council, 211. 
 
 Common labour, 351. 
 
 Common lands, commission on, 108 
 note; enclosures of, 107-110, 113 
 note, 207, 208, 270 ; part of, held by 
 Trinity guild, 111, 112; old nieu 
 testify to the extent of, 216, 317; 
 view of, 112; ploughed up, 198; 
 technical possessors of, 109 note; 
 fee also Enclosures, Lammas lands. 
 Prior's Waste, Saunders, Laurence, 
 Stint, Surcharging. 
 
 Common seal, 113. 
 
 Communes, French, 83. 
 
 Competition, rules against, 271 ; of 
 outsiders, 300. 
 
 CoMPURQATroN, 40 noto. 
 
 CoNiBES, Sir John, 176. 
 
 Cook, Laurence, 141, 310. 
 
 CooKERT in Middle Ages, 335. 
 
 CoopEES, feast of, at Whitefriars, 326 
 note ; fellowship of, 261 and note. 
 
 " Coronall," left in pledge, 181, 
 
 COEONEK, 61, 77. 
 
 Corpus Christi, eve of, 334 ; proces- 
 sion on feast of, 310 ; see aiso 
 Pageants. 
 
 Corpus Christi guild, see Guild, 
 
 CoBHODT, 66 note. 
 
 COEVESABS, 335. 
 
 Council, great, held at Coventry, 
 163, 161 ; see also Mayor's Council, 
 Prince of Wales. 
 
 Court, of the royal household, 133 : 
 of statute merchant, 303, 304 and 
 note ; special, for trial of craftsmen, 
 263 ; see also Leet, Portmanmote. 
 
 CouETENAT, family of, 148. 
 
 Coventet, bishops of, Blythe, 143 ; 
 Durdent, 25, 35 ; Livesey, 22, 23 ; 
 Meulong, 29, 30; Nunant, expels 
 monks from Priory, 23-25; Pucelle, 
 la, 25, 26; elections of the, 25-30; 
 
384 
 
 Index 
 
 burgesses of, and Lynn, protest 
 against confiscation of guild lands, 
 201; cathedral of, 6, 7; used as a 
 hospital in plague time, 320, 321 ; 
 %eeoX^(i Charter, Mayors, Recorders. 
 
 Cbapts, combinations of, suppressed, 
 265 note ; companies of, now ex- 
 isting, 280, 281; special courts of, 
 269, 270 ; discontent of, 270 ; feasts 
 of, 335, 336 ; fines paid by, 264 note ; 
 fines exacted for admission to the 
 freedom of, 272, 273 and note; no 
 general fellowship of, 260 and note, 
 201 ; men of, fill municipal offices, 
 259, 260 note ; power of corporation 
 over, 262, 203 ; rules of, overlooked, 
 262 and note; see aiso Apprentices, 
 Cappers, Dyers, etc.. Pageants. 
 
 Citoss, market in Cross Cheapiag, 291, 
 3S5. 
 
 " Cbown" inn, 307. 
 
 " CsT," mayor't*, 295, 296. 
 
 CucKiNQ stool, 239. 
 
 GuN-nuiTa, 293. 
 
 Custom on food, 107: on wool, 213. 
 
 Danby, chief justice, 123. 
 
 Danes, 3, 317, 348. 
 
 Dabtmodth, 176 note. 
 
 Datjbebs and rough masons forbidden 
 
 to form a fellowship, 279. 
 Demesne, ancient, 43. 
 Despensee, 55 ; plot to destroy by 
 
 witchcraft, 67. 
 
 DiEULACBES, 33. 
 
 Dissolution of the monasteries, 200. 
 
 Domesday Survey, Godiva's estate 
 mentioned in, 31 ; size of towns re- 
 corded in, 31 note ; Prior's-half not 
 mentioned io, 32, 
 
 Doomsday, drapers' pageant, 166, 345. 
 
 Dbapees, apprentices to, pay fines at 
 the sealing of their indentures, 273 
 note ; chapel of, 326 note ; influence 
 of, 257, 258 ; fill municipal posts, 260 
 note; overlook searchers of cloth, 
 256 ; propose to overlook dyers, 259, 
 265 note ; survival of company of, 
 281- ; pay men to ride in armed 
 watch, 339. 
 
 DitAPEBY, cloth sold in, 241, 254, 299; 
 ordinance for sale of cloth in, 242 ; 
 belongs to Trinity guild, 95 ; drapers 
 live in neighbourhood of, 298. 
 
 Deayton, Michael, 1, 7. 
 
 Deogheda, 301 and note. 
 
 Dublin, 301 note, 301. 
 
 Duel of Bolingbroke and Mowbrav. 
 130,131. ^' 
 
 DuGDALE, Sir William, attributes the 
 Xudus Co'^enirim to the Grey Friars, 
 
 DuMSTABLE, 53, 328 note. 
 
 DxE, French, 263, 301 ; sold^ab South- 
 ampton, 308. 
 
 Dyers, men of, ride in armed watch, 
 339; chapel of, 326 note; cloth- 
 makers, 2^3 note ; combinations of, 
 259, 265 and note ; fill municipal 
 offices, 260 note; payment of, to 
 minstrels, 349 ; petition against 
 abuses of, 265 note ; treatment of, 
 by corporation, 284-266 ; see aX^o 
 Journeymen, Saunders, Laurence, 
 
 DlBENTEBY, 138. 
 
 Eadeic Streonn, 3. 
 
 Eabl*s-half of Coventry, 32, 56 ; 
 manor of the earls of Chester, 32 ; 
 becomes a royal manor, 70; sea 
 also Prior's-half. 
 
 Edgcoi'e, battle of, 179, 290 note. 
 
 Education widely diifused in Middle 
 Ages, 316. 
 
 Edwabd L, 63. 
 
 Edwabd II„ borrows from citizens, 
 63; supports prior, 64; plot to kill, 
 by witchcraft, 67. 
 
 Edwaed III., 72. 
 
 Edwaed IV., appeal made to, 124 ; 
 citizens embrace cause of, 171 ; citi- 
 zen's give welcome to, 172; confis- 
 cates franchises, 188; fiies to Low 
 Countries, 184; interferes with right 
 of arrest, 122-124; plots of Warwick 
 against, 178, 181 ; a prisoner in Co- 
 ventry, 180 ; war between, and War- 
 wick, 186-183 ; visits Coventry, 174. 
 
 Edwabd T., as prince of Wales, ap- 
 peal to, made by Laurence Saun- 
 ders, 222; arbitrates in Bristowe's 
 case, 235; born, 185; corporation 
 entreat mediation of, 192; member 
 of guilds, 191 ; oath of allegiance 
 taken to, 191 ; reception of, 189-191. 
 
 Edwaed the Confessor, 4; charter of. 
 to monastery, 5, 6. 
 
 Edwaed, prince of Wales, son of 
 Henry VI., 184, 188. 
 
 Elephant, city seal, 256, 318. 
 
 Elizabeth, queen, visits Coventry, 1, 
 202 J sees Hox Tuesday plays, 347. 
 343. 
 
 Elizabeth, queen of Henry VII., 197, 
 341. 
 
 Elizabeth Woodville, 185, 191. 
 
 Empson. Kichard, see Recorders, 
 
 Enclosubes, award, 109 note; com- 
 mons rise to break into, 198 ; list 
 of, presented by Saunders, 226, 236 v 
 of Prior's Waste, 212; see also Com- 
 mon Lands. 
 
 Ethelnoth, archbishop, 7. 
 
 Evesham, 7 note, 14, 15, 18. 
 
 ExBTEE, 182; Vespasian at, 2; cathe- 
 dral of, 319 i size of, at T)om^zd.o.-)i, 
 31 note. ■ 
 
Index 
 
 38S 
 
 Fair, grant of, 52 ; o£ CovsTifcry, 300: 
 
 301, 302-305; of Stourbridge and 
 
 Winchester, 301. 
 FEE-FEaar, 77, 94p, 200; in arrears, 126, 
 
 127 ; paid by Trinity guild to prior, 
 
 96. 
 Fbuds, family, 148. 
 FifTEux, chief justice, 251. 
 FiBE, protection against, 292, 293. 
 FiSHMOMGEES, 283, 298 J "foreign," 
 
 294. 
 Fleet prison, 251. 
 FLOEENTrwEs, 16 note. 
 Fonn, William, merchant, fountls 
 
 almshouse at Grey Friars', 312. 
 FOEESTALLIHG, 291., 296, 297. 
 FoETiFiCATiox of Coventry, 151, 152, 
 
 352. 
 FoETr-EiGHT, mayor's council of, 113- 
 
 115, 355 ; see aZso Mayor's Council. 
 Foss Way, 13. 
 
 FOTHEHINGAT, 177. 
 
 FuANKPLEDGE, view of, See Leet. 
 Freedom of the city, loss of, 121. 
 Fbesco in Trinity Church, 323. 
 Feties, Grey, 52 note, 32G ; habit of, 
 
 235; Isabella protects the, 129, 130; 
 
 plays acted by, 341 note, 344 note; 
 
 see also Bredon. 
 Feieze of Coventry, 25 J. 
 Fulbeook:, castle oE, 145, 146. 
 Fullers, craft of, 241, 253, 281 ; chapel 
 
 of, on Gosford Gate, 326; guild of, 
 
 264; adopt special mark, 263; two 
 
 appointed searchers of their fellows' 
 
 workmanship, 255, 256. 
 
 Gallows, 289. 
 
 GiMiNG, 329, 330. 
 
 Gaol, 289. 
 
 Gates, closed at nine o'clock, 284. 
 
 Gavel-pbnnibs, 33. 
 
 GiEDLEES, 266-268; chapel of, 321 
 note. 
 
 Gloucesteb, city of, 171. 
 
 Gloitcestee, duke of, Humphrey, 149, 
 305 ; loan demanded by, 144 ; pre- 
 Bent made to, 145, 146. 
 
 GoDEKNAVG (or Goodkn"ABi;fp) , John, 
 cooper, 261 and note, 262. 
 
 GoDivA, buried at Coventry, 6; dies, 
 11 ; founds and endows Coventry 
 Priory, 3, 5; estate of, 31 and note, 
 32 ; employs goldsmiths, 7 ; honour 
 paid to, 3, 4; procession, 10; legend 
 of the ride of, 7-10, 243, 245; win- 
 dow in Trinity Church commemo- 
 rating, 8, 9 ; see also Leofiic. 
 
 Goldsmith, 7 ; of Bruges, 309, 
 
 GooDE Eve ; see Godiva, 
 
 GosFOHD Green, common land, 109; 
 duel to take place on, 131 ; hermit- 
 age at, 286; lord Rivers beheaded 
 on, 180, 290, 
 
 Geace, John, disturbance caused by 
 preaching of, 140, 141. 
 
 Gbauntpee, William, suit of, with 
 prior, 64, 65. 
 
 Gkeville, Sir Fulk, 329. 
 
 Grey, Walter de, election of, as bishop 
 of Coventry, 27-29. 
 
 Guild of S. Anne, founded by jour- 
 neymen, suppressed, 97, 276, 277. 
 
 Guild of S. Catherine, priests of, 92 ; 
 union with Trinity guild, 93, 94. 
 
 Guild, Corpus Christi, 90, 97. 277; 
 chapel of, 93; charity of, 32, 33; 
 church of S Nicholas supported by, 
 201 note ; feasts of, 336 ; and Trinity 
 guild governing body of town, 95 ; 
 members of, and municipal oflBce, 
 96 ; composed of Priory tenants, 95 ; 
 and Corpus Christi procession, 340 ; 
 petition for .recovery of property 
 of, 201 note. 
 
 Guild of S. George, foimdedby jour- 
 neymen, suppressecl, 97, 277. 
 
 Guild of S. John the Baptist, founded 
 and builds church at Bablake, 92; 
 members of, 92 ; union with Trinity 
 guild, 93-95. 
 
 Guild Merchant of S. Mary, founded, 
 73, 91 ; connection with S. Mary's 
 Hall, 93; masters of, early mayors, 
 93 note ; trade question pretext for 
 foundation of, 91; priests of, 92; 
 union with Trinity guild, 93-95. 
 
 Guild Merchant formed by Priory 
 tenants, 61, 62 ; no trace of, as ag- 
 gregate of crafts, 260. 
 
 Guild of the Nativity, founded by 
 fullers and tailors, 264; pageant of, 
 844. 
 
 Guild of Holy Trinity, character of, 
 90 ; and Corpus Christi injured by 
 formation of other guilds, 97, 277; 
 governing body of town, 95; en- 
 closes common lands. 111, 112 ; feasts 
 of, 336; andfee-ferm,94note; pays 
 ferm to prior. 111; master of, 96, 
 93, 102 ; and Corpus Christi proces- 
 sion, 340; pays schoolmaster, 316; 
 union of, with other guilds, 93-95 
 and note. 
 
 Guilds, "frith," 89; rise of, 89, 90; 
 fcuppression of fresh, in Coventry, 
 97; suppression of, and chantries, 
 200. 
 
 Gor of Warwick, 13. 
 
 GuxH Cliffe, 168. 
 
 Haddok, John, draper, 324; lends 
 money to clothiers, 258, 313. 
 
 Hales, John, 251 note; letter of, to 
 protector Somerset, 200. 
 
 Hawseatic League, 310, 355, 366. 
 
 Haecouet, Sir Richard, brawl be- 
 tween, and the Staffords, 332-334, 
 
 c c 
 
386 
 
 Index 
 
 Hawking, 331. 
 
 Heaesall common, 109. 
 
 Hell-mouth, 346. 
 
 Henbt II.. 36, 46. 
 
 Henet III., 129. 
 
 Henet rV"., 13S. 
 
 Henet V. visits Coventry, 139, 311; 
 loan to, 138, 139. 
 
 Henet VI., 148, 149; visits Coventry, 
 153-157,161-163,164, 167; warns men 
 of, against treachery, 169, 170; men 
 of, tura against, 172 ; released from 
 Tower of London, 184 ; see also 
 Church, Margaret of Anjou. 
 
 Henry VII., 237 ; visits Coventry, 196, 
 307, 341 ; appeals for loan, 196. 
 
 Hem-et VIII. visits Coventry, 346. 
 
 Hebbeegeobs, 306. 
 
 Heebeet, lord, 179. 
 
 Heeepoed, 165 ; general assembly of 
 citizens of, 88 ; anlnage of county 
 of, 254 note. 
 
 Hebest, court of, 143. 
 
 Hebmit, Grace the, 140, 141 ; in Coven- 
 try, 286. 
 
 Heeod, character of, in Mystery 
 Plays, 345. 
 
 Heetpokd, size of, at I>ome%d,a\jt 31 
 note. 
 
 Hincklev, 304. 
 
 Holy cake, 82 note, 103 note. 
 
 Hospital of St. John the Baptist, 
 320; sec also Almshouse. 
 
 Hospitality, monastic, 305. 
 
 Hobpitallebs, 320. 
 
 Hox Tuesday plays, 347, 348. 
 
 Hdet, William, 124-126, 251 note ; ap- 
 peals to Kingmaker, 125. 
 
 Huguenot silk weavers, 204. 
 
 Hull, 301 note, 316 note. 
 
 Hytub, condition of, 292. 
 
 ** Ikelton " collar left in pledge, 139. 
 
 Immorality, punishment of, 290 and 
 note ; mayor to refrain from, 101. 
 
 Indentube tripartite, 76. 
 
 Inns, 306-307 ; blind, 330. 
 
 Inquisition on convent property, 73. 
 
 Ipswich, 84 note, 88; size of, at 
 Domeuday, 31 note. 
 
 Ieeland, 13 note. 
 
 Iron, workers in, abuses of, 266-269; 
 Spanish, 302. 
 
 Isabella, queen of Edward II., in- 
 herits the Earl's-half, 70; feud be- 
 tween, and the prior, 70-72, 73-75 ; 
 protects the Grey Friars, 129, 
 
 James I., 203, 
 James II., 204. 
 Jews in Coventry, 62. 
 John, 23; forces his candidate on 
 chapter, 26-29, 
 
 JouHNEYMEN, cappcrs, making of caps 
 by, forbidden, 280 ; working hours 
 of, 279-280 ; card-wire drawers, 209 ; 
 dyers, forbidden to work for certain 
 masters, 266; attempt to form a 
 guild, 279; guilds of, see Guilds; 
 rules of, 278-279; suppers of, 336; 
 tailors, 276-277; weavers, 277-279, 
 342 note. 
 
 Jury of presentment, 43, 50. 
 
 Justices of the peace, 93 note. 
 
 Kenilwokth, abbot of, 216 ; castle of, 
 fortified, 169; prisoners kept in, 
 199; royal visits to, 164, 192, 347; 
 siege of, 129. 
 
 " King of Prussia, Old," inn, 306. 
 
 Lady chapel of S. Michael's, 93, 322; 
 of Trinity, 93. 
 
 " Lame and Flag '* inn, 307 note, 
 
 Lammas day, 198, 218, 247. 
 
 Lammas lauds, when opened, 107, ICS; 
 settlement of, by award, 109; see 
 also Common Lands, Enclosures. 
 
 Landoe, Walter Savage, 7. 
 
 Laneham, 347, 348. 
 
 Lanfbanc, 19. 
 
 Leet, court of, or view of frank- 
 pledge, 50 note; jurats of, 98; 
 business of, 102; petitions to, 116- 
 117, 266; presentments at, 117, 118 ; 
 profits of, 77. 
 
 Leicesteb, 163, 172, 186; bailiff of, 
 33 ; men of, rebelagainst Henry II., 
 36 ; size of, at Domesday, 31 note. 
 
 Leicestebshire, 142. 
 
 Leofric, buried at Coventry, 6; 
 founds and endows Coventry 
 Priory, 3, 6; family of, 10, 11 ; sees 
 vision, 4 ; see also Godiva. 
 
 Leominstee, 7 note. 
 
 Leprosy, 37. 
 
 Letters patent forbidding the forma- 
 tion of new guilds, 97, 276. 
 
 Lichfield, 13; title of bishopric of, 
 204 ; canons of, feud with monks 
 of Coventiy about episcopal elec- 
 tions, 16, 25, 26, 28, 29. 
 
 Lighting of streets, 284, 
 
 Lincoln, bailiffs of, 99; freedom oF, 
 62 note; Coventry liberties modelled 
 on those of, 44, 45, 66. 
 
 LivEttY and maintenance, Henry VI. 
 warns men of Coventry against, 
 157. 
 
 Loans to royal persons, 138, 139, 143- 
 146, 181, 198 ; of Sir Thomas White, 
 314. 
 
 Lollaedey, 130 note, 142. 
 
 London, 80, 82 note, 298 note, 311, 
 313 ; division oF, into various estates 
 and jurisdictions, 57; precautions 
 against fire in, 292 note; lazar- 
 
Index 
 
 387 
 
 house in, 37; S. John's eve in, 
 336, 337; schools in, 316; sym- 
 pathy of men of, with other towns, 
 
 65, 68 note ; Tower of, 33, 
 Ludlow, castle of, 222, 226, 235 ; 
 
 rtiU&ro.re seat at, 297, 298. 
 **Ltjdt;s CoTENTEiiE," 341 note, Si-t 
 
 and note. 
 Ltjlxaby, 349, 350. 
 luttebworth, 136. 
 Ltnw, 184 ; burgesses of, protest 
 
 against consfication of guild lands, 
 
 201 ; gailil of, 96 note. 
 
 Mace, 166. 
 
 Maintckance, 121, 
 
 Manchektek, abuses of the victuallers 
 
 iu, 106 note. 
 Maeeshai-t,, Robert le, informer, 
 
 66, 67. 
 
 Mabgabet of Anjon, queen of Henry 
 VI., men of Coventry, turn against, 
 172; Coventry called "secret har- 
 bour" of, 147; reception of, at 
 Coventry, 160-162; visits Coventry, 
 164, 165, 166 ; sees Mystery Plays, 
 133, 166, 341 J is reconciled to 
 Warwick, 183. 
 
 Marisco, Richard de, 20, 27. 
 
 Market, hold in Prior's-half, dispute 
 about, 64, 65; rules for regulation of, 
 298-300. 
 
 Maklbohough, 46 note, 128. 
 
 Makmioh", of Tamworth, 34. 
 
 "Marprelate, Martin," 303, and 
 note. 
 
 Marshall of the royal Household, 
 133 and note. 
 
 Mart, Queen of Scots, 202. 
 
 Masows, 261 note, 279. 
 
 Matilda, queen of Henry I., called 
 Godiva, 11. 
 
 Maxstoke, 143 ; castle of, 149, 150. 
 
 Matob, arbiter in disputes among 
 craftsmen, 263, 264; cap of, 105; 
 supports discontented "commons," 
 198 ; duties of, 103, 104 ; fee of, 104 ; 
 attends mass, 101; overlooks rules 
 of crafts, 262 note. 
 
 Mayor's Council of Forty-Eight, 113, 
 114; tyranny of, 114; Saunders ex- 
 pelled from, 24i; of Twenty- Four, 
 9 
 
 MiTOBS of Coventry: Bette, John, 
 deprived of civic sword, 188 ; Cook, 
 Laurence, 214; Deister, John, sword 
 borne behind, 247; Dove, John, 
 247, 243; Green, Robert, 246; Onley, 
 Sir John, Henry YII. lodges with, 
 194, 195; Saunders, William, 177; 
 throws open Bristowe's fields, 210, 
 211, 213, 214; Stoke, Richard, 87; 
 Strong, John. 115; Ward, John, 86; 
 Wyldegrys, John, 169. 
 
 Melton, 43. 
 
 Mempbic, founder of Oxford, 2. 
 
 Meeoebs, craft of, apprentices of, 273 
 note; chapel of, 326 note ; company 
 of, survives, 281 note; fill municipal 
 posts, 260 note. 
 
 Mebchaht Adventurers, 356. 
 
 Mebchamts, 300, 301, 302, 305; of 
 Coventry, attend council, 63 ; fami- 
 lies of, 307-311 ; manage municipal 
 affairs, 85 note, 262. 
 
 Merevale, abbey of, 14; abbot of, 
 216. 
 
 Military duties of citizens, 351-354. 
 
 Miwstrels, 3i8, 349. 
 
 MoiTASTic life, 16-22 ; officers, 16-18. 
 
 Monks, of Coventry, receive charterp, 
 6, 6, 32 ; dispute with bishops, 22- 
 25 ; with canons of Lichfield, 25, 26, 
 28, 29 ; with men of Coventry, 60- 
 67, 70-72, 73-75, 227-232 ; with Grey 
 Friars, 327, 328 ; with Isabella, 7C- 
 72, 73-75 ; as landlords, 30. 
 
 MoNTALT, Roger de, lord of Earl's- 
 half, 69, 60, 129 note. 
 
 MoKTFORT, Simon de, 64. 
 
 MoKTMAiN, license to evade Statute 
 of, 91, 92, 94. 
 
 " Mother of Death," 345. 
 
 MuKiciPAL authorities, power of, 82, 
 83; institutions, decay of, 79,80; 
 Reform Act, 81. 
 
 MysiERT plays, see Pageants. 
 
 Necromancy, sec Nottingham, John 
 de. 
 
 Neville, Sir Humphrey, 180. 
 
 " Nine Conquerors," 162. 
 
 Nobles, feudal, 33; grant charters, 
 41. 
 
 Northampton, 122, 167, 169 ; battle of, 
 170 ; men of, owed money by Henry 
 ILL, 132; size of, at Domesday, 31 
 note ; earl of, 204. 
 
 Norwich, 83 note, 119; dispute be- 
 tween prior and men of, 65 and 
 note ; court leet at, 48 note ; size of, 
 at Domesday, 31 note, 
 
 Nottingham, 298 note; castle of, 27; 
 receives customs on pattern of 
 Coventry, 45 note ; court leet at, 
 117, 118; men of, dispute with their 
 rulers about common lands, 111; 
 victuallers in, 106 note. 
 
 Nottingham, John de, necromancer, 
 
 "Obits," 325. 
 Onley, family of, 309. 
 Onley, 179, ISO note. 
 Ordeal, trial by, 61. 
 OsENET wine, 296. 
 Oven, feudal lord's, 42, 43. 
 
388 
 
 index 
 
 OxpoKD, 2 ; fair of S. Frideswide's at, 
 303. 
 
 Pageawtb, Corpus Christi, actors em- 
 ployed in, 342, 313, 345 ; of cappers, 
 345; cardmakera, etc., 261 note; 
 crafts required to contribute to, 110, 
 341,342; of crafts distinct from those 
 performed by Grey Friars, 341 note ; 
 the Xwdus Couentrice not to be identi- 
 fied with Coventry cycle of, 3M note ; 
 of drapers, 166, 345 ; of dyers, 339 
 note ; of mercers, 344, 347 ; of shore- 
 men and tailors, 344, 349, 360; of 
 smiths, 116, 345 ; royal spectators of, 
 341; stage property of, 340; stations 
 of, in streets, 343 note ; of weavers, 
 342note,344; for receptionof royalty, 
 Arthur, prince of "Wales, 340; Ed- 
 ward, prince of Wales, 189; 190 ; 
 Henry VI., 346 ; Margaret of Anjou, 
 160-162 ; Princess Mary, 347. 
 
 Painters, 261 note. 
 
 Pakeman, Simon, prior's bailiflF, at- 
 tack on, 71, 92. 
 
 Pake, Little, 140 ; martyrs burnt in, 
 143, 290. 
 
 Paeliament "unlearned," 137; dia- 
 bolical, 168. 
 
 Pavement, 282 and note. 
 
 " Peacock " inn, 307. 
 
 Peasant Revolt, 87. 
 
 " Peepins Tom," 7 note. 
 
 Peect, 148. 
 
 Pewteeciis, 239, 240. 
 
 Pilate, character in Mystery Plays, 
 345. 
 
 PlLQEIMS, 286, 287. 
 
 PiNNEES, 260, 201 note; feast of, 326 
 
 note. 
 PisFOBD, William, 312. 
 Plague, 291. 
 Platees, strolling, 329. 
 Plymouth, guild at, 95 note. 
 PODDT Croft, common laud, 112. 
 PoLEswoETH, uunnei'y at, 3; S. Edith 
 
 of, 34. 
 Pope, appeal to, by an exiled monk of 
 
 Coventry, 24. 
 Population, of Coventry, 200 ; at 
 
 Domesday, 31. 
 
 PORTMANMOXE, COUrt of, 45, 46, CO 
 
 note; proceedings of, 47-60. 
 PoBTMOTE, see Portmanmote. 
 
 PoULTEEERe, 299. 
 
 Preston, 43 note. 
 
 Prince of Wales, lord of the Earl's 
 half, 70, 203; council of, 193; see 
 also Edward V., Henry V. 
 
 Prior, 60, 141, 221, 316 : suit between, 
 and burghers, 64, 66; quarrel be- 
 tween, Isabella and the men of 
 Coventry, 69-77. 
 
 PaioKS of Coventry : Brightwalton, 
 
 William of, purchases Earl's-half, 69; 
 
 Deram, dispute between, and the 
 
 corporation, 227-232 ; Geoffrey, 21 ; 
 
 Irreys, Heni-y, 64; plot to kill by 
 
 witchcraft, 67 ; Joybert, and king 
 
 John, 26-28. 
 Peioe's-Half, of Coventry, 32, 56. 
 Pbioe'b Waste, 218, 224; made over 
 
 to the monks, 212. 
 Priobt, forlifled by Marmion, 34 ; 
 
 Henry VI. lodges at, 154. 
 Procession, of royalty, 156, 165 ; on 
 
 midsummer eve and S. Peter's 
 
 night, 337-310; at Corpus Christi, 
 
 340, 341. 
 
 PUEVETANOB, 131,132. 
 
 Pypowdebs, court of, 44. 
 
 Eeabino 3, 43 note ; abbot of, and 
 townsmen dispute, 54 note. 
 
 TIecorler, 154 note, 
 
 Recoedees of Coventry: Boteler, 
 Henry, 167 ; death of, 237 ; disgrace 
 of, 102, 238; opposes Laurence 
 Saunders, 224; pleads for city's 
 liberties, 123, 124; quells tumult, 
 233; Bmpson, Richard, 196, 197,238, 
 247; Littleton, Thomas, 157, 214; 
 greets Henry VI., 164 ; Swillington, 
 Balph, 324. 
 
 •* Reu Rose " Inn, 307. 
 
 Reqeateey, 294 ; of brewers, 297. 
 
 Resueeection and Descent in Hell, 
 cappers' pageant, 346. 
 
 Richard II.,323; forbids duel,130, 131. 
 
 Richard III., 192, 194; sees pageants, 
 192. 
 
 Rivers, earl, 184; guardian oE prince 
 of Wales, 222. 
 
 RivEBs, lord, 162, 163 ; beheaded on 
 Gosford Green, 180. 
 
 Robin of Redesdale, 176, 179, 209. 
 
 Rochester, bishop of, Thomas Sav- 
 age, 248. 
 
 •' Roebuck " inn, 307. 
 
 Roger of Wendover, 8, 9. 
 
 Rood, of Bronholme, of Chester, 286. 
 
 Rous, John, antiquary, 168. 
 
 *' Royal Oak" inn, 307. 
 
 Saddlers, 261 note, 326 note ; journey- 
 men, of London, 278. 
 S.Alban's, battle of, 158, 159, 171 ; men 
 
 of, rebel against abbot, 69; monks 
 
 of, 20. 
 S. Augustine of Hippo, 7. 
 S. George, Coventry birthplace of, 
 
 190 note ; chapel of, 326 note. 
 S. John the Baptist's eve, 334, 336-340. 
 S. Margaret, character of, welcomes 
 
 Margaret of Anjou, 162. 
 S. Mary's Hall, 111, 199, 215, 227 ; and 
 
 the guild merchant, 93; tapestry 
 
 in, 166 ; window in, 355. 
 
Index 
 
 389 
 
 S. Nicholas* Hall, 95 note. 
 
 S. OsBTJRG, 3; shrine of, 286 note. 
 
 S. Paul's cathedral, London, 197. 
 
 S. Pbteb's Eve, see S. John the Bap- 
 tist's eve. 
 
 S. Thomas' chapel, 324. 
 
 Salisbury cathedral, 319. 
 
 Samson", character of, welcomes Ed- 
 ward IV., 172. 
 
 SAHCTUAitT, right of, 134, 135, 
 
 Sanitatioit, in towns, 290-292. 
 
 Saunders, Laurence, dyer, 96 note, 273 
 note; made chamberlain, 220, 221; 
 champion of discontented craftsmen 
 and commonalty, 219, 245, 216; com- 
 plains of the enclosure and sur- 
 charging of the common lands, 222 
 -226, 230, 316 ; imprisoned, 237, 244, 
 262; member of the Forty-eight, 
 238 ; seditious speeches of, 243 ; 
 trial of, at Ludlow, 227 ; in the Star 
 Chamber, 251. 
 
 Saundbrs, Laurence, martyr, 290. 
 
 SCHOOLMASTEE, at Covcntry, 316, 316 ; 
 paid by Trinity guild, 316. 
 
 Schools, general before the Refor- 
 mation, 315. 
 
 Sealing of cloth, 256, 267 and note ;— 
 of weights and measures, 296. 
 
 Seteem", river, navigation of, 308. 
 
 Shahpe, Jack, rising of Lollards 
 under, 142. 
 
 Shekbourne, river, regulations a- 
 gainst throwing refuse into, 103. 
 
 Shbbbmen, see Tailors. 
 
 Sheriffs, 133,301 note; bribery of, 
 105 ; county court of, 50, 61 ; Henry 
 VI. promises to make, 157. 
 
 Sbip-money, 203. 
 
 tJHOPS, 64 note, 283 note. 
 
 Sheewsburt, countess of, 148, 167. 
 
 Shrines of saints, 286. 
 
 Silk industry, 204. 
 
 SiMNEL bread, 295 note. 
 
 Smiths, craft of, 339; abuses of, 266- 
 269; chapel of, 326 note; fines de- 
 manded by, for admission to f lec- 
 dom, 273 note ; journeymen of^ 269. 
 
 Soap, making of, 63 and note. 
 
 SoLitiuLL, 134 note. 
 
 Somerset, duke of (the younger) 
 retainers of, and city watch, 163. 
 
 Somerset, duke of, protector, 200, 201. 
 
 Southampton, 308; size of, at Domrs- 
 day, 31 note. 
 
 SowE, Richard, killed by witchcraft, 
 67. 
 
 Spain, 311. 
 
 Spicbr-stoke, 298. 
 
 Staffoed, Sir Humphrey, brawl be- 
 tween and the Harcourts, 332, 333. 
 
 Stamford, 132, 176 note; division of 
 estates in, 67 note. 
 
 Staple of Calais, assist Edward IV., 
 
 182; John Onley of Coventry, 
 
 mayor of, 309; monopoly of wool 
 
 trade, 175, 257. 
 Star Chamber, 261, 253 note. 
 Stephen, king, 35. 
 Stewabd, see Town Clerk. 
 Stint of cattle on pastures, 108 note. 
 Stivichall, 35; common at, 109. 
 Stocks, 288, 289. 
 Stoke, common at, 109. 
 Stone LEY (mod. Stoneleigh), abbey 
 
 of, 14 ; abbot of, 216 ; monks of, 
 
 303. 
 Stodebeidge fair, 301, 302. 
 Stowe, antiquary, of London, 336. 
 Stbalsdnd, 310. 
 Strike of journeymen, 278. 
 SwANSWELL Pool, 13 and note, 229, 
 
 230. 
 Swift, John, tiler, 261 note, 262. 
 Swine, of S. Anthony's Hospital, 283 
 
 note. 
 SuLBY, prior of, 303. 
 Sdmptdaey laws, 101 note. 
 Surcharging of common lands, 223, 
 
 224. 
 
 Tables, draughts, 330. 
 
 Tailors journeymen of, 276; and 
 
 fullers, 264; and sheremen, pageant 
 
 of, 344. 
 Tamwohth, 34, 
 Tannees, craft of, 314; abuses of 
 
 239. 
 Tapestet, 156. 
 Tewkesbury, 27. 
 Thomas, monk of Coventry, 28 ; pleads 
 
 with the pope for the exiled monks, 
 
 21. 
 Thornton, William, window of, 355. 
 Tilers, 260, 261 note, 326 note. 
 Toll, 6, 308 ; Coventry free from, 8, 
 
 213 ; charter conferring freedom 
 
 from, 72, 73 ; at S juthampton, 308, 
 
 309. 
 Town clerk, Boteler, John, and stew- 
 ard, 226, 232, 23 1, 260, 252. 
 Towton, battle of, 171. 
 Travelling, frequent, in Middle Ages , 
 
 301. 
 Trial and Crucifixion of Christ, 
 
 Smiths' pageant, 345. 
 
 TCMBEIL, 289. 
 
 Vagabonds, sturdy, 317. 
 Vespasian visit of, to Exeter, ?. 
 Victuallers, 106 note; abuses of, 
 107, 293-298. 
 
 Wakeeield, battle of, 171. 
 Walkers, see Fullers. 
 Walls of city, begun, 87 ; dismantled 
 204. 
 
390 
 
 Index 
 
 "Walter of Coventry, 17 note. 
 
 Ward, Joan, martyr, 113. 
 
 ■Wardens, 242 ; duties of, 101. 
 
 Wards of the city, meeting of men of, 
 110 note, 113. 
 
 Warwick, 187; size of, at Domesday, 
 31 and note; castle of, 13, 199; 
 Leycester Hospital at, 203. 
 
 Warwick, earl of, Beauchamp, 111, 
 143. 
 
 Warwick, earl of, Richard Neville, 
 the King-maker, 123, 172 ; appeal 
 made to, by Huet, 135, 126 ; plans 
 to raise Clai'ence to throne, 175; 
 foments rebellion, 170, 181; keeps 
 Coventry against king Edward, 
 186,187; letter from, to Coventry, 
 177, 178 ; marriage of daughters of, 
 177, 178. 183, 181 ; Edward IV., pri- 
 soner of, 180. 
 
 Wastet, bread, 295 note. 
 
 Watch, 235, 351 ; fray between and 
 Somerset's retainers, 163. 
 
 Watling Street, 12 and note. 
 
 Weapons, carrying of, forbidden, 331. 
 
 Weavers, craft of, 241, 242, 253 ; ap- 
 prentices of, 271 ; journeymen, 
 277^278; searchers of cloth, 255; 
 cloth of, searched; 263; pageant of, 
 314. 
 
 Wells, cathedral.of, 319. 
 
 Welsh road, 2 note, 13 note. 
 
 Westminster, abbe^?' of, 3, 4, 15, 185; 
 abbot of, 22 ; judicial courts at, 350. 
 
 Wheatlet, founder of school at Bab- 
 lake 311 
 
 White', Sir Thomas, 313,314. 
 
 " White Hart" inn, 307. 
 
 " White Rose" inn, 307. 
 
 Whitley, common at, 109 ; Bristowe 
 encloses land at 207-208; meadows 
 at, thrown open, 210-212 ; suit con- 
 cerning, meadows at; 213-18,231-230. 
 
 Whittington, Sir Richard, 311-312. 
 
 WlCKLIPFE, 136, 
 
 William I., 3, 20, 32. 
 
 Winchester, 2, 57, 68, 205; fair at, 
 58, 132, 301; men of, receive cus- 
 toms after pattern of Coventry, 45. 
 
 WoonBUBT, guild at, 89. 
 
 Woodville, John, 180. 
 
 Wool, 15, 16, and note, 223, 301 ; trade 
 in, 175, 257 ; hall, 242, 213, 264, 299. 
 
 Worcester, aulnage of, 245 note ; 
 monastery at, 7 note; earl of. Tip- 
 toft, 123, 185. 
 
 York, 2. 31 note, 119; men of, 248 
 note; Mystery plays at, 344; arch- 
 bishop of, George Neville, 179, 
 181; duke of, Richard, 155, 164, 
 170. 
 
Index to Guide 
 
 391 
 
 INDEX TO GUIDE 
 {Glvtp. X7L) 
 
 Ahwukciation-, 368. 
 AssiTAIPIIOlf, 368, 371. 
 
 Beam ia S. Michael's Church, 367. 
 BoNn John, 365. 
 Bond's Hospital, 376. 
 BoioifEE, family o£, 362; William, 
 371. 
 
 Cathedeal ruins, 375. 
 
 Ohaie of State, 369. 
 
 Chapel, cappers', 364 ; drapers', 3G5, 
 
 366; mercers', 361-365. 
 CiTABTEE of Eanult, 368. 
 CHnKcn, of Christ, 361 ; of S. John 
 
 Baptist, 375; of S. Michael, 362- 
 
 367 ; Holy Trinity, 371. 
 
 " Dance of Death," 366. 
 Davenpoet, Christopher, 363 ; John, 
 
 360. 
 D DGDALE, Sir William, 360. 
 
 Foud's Hospital, 361. 
 
 GosFOED Green, 353. 
 
 Grauuae School, Old, 375. 
 
 Guild of the Holy Trinity, S. Mary, 
 
 S. John Baptist, and S. Catherine, 
 
 387. 
 
 HzifEr yi, 369, 371. 
 Kitchen, 363. 
 
 Lantebtt, 363. 
 Lecteen, 374, 
 
 Maegaeet of Anjou, 371, 372. 
 Mayoress's Parlour, 369. 
 Minsteel Gallery, 370. 
 Miseeebe seats, 365,366. 
 Muniment Room, 368. 
 Musical Instruments, 370. 
 
 " Peeping Tom," 375. 
 Peecy, John, 368. 
 Pulpit, 371. 
 
 Roof, of the drapers' chapel in S. 
 Michael's, 365; of S. Mary's Hall, 
 
 sro. 
 
 S. Geetrude of Nivelles, 372. 
 S. Maey's Hall, 367-374. 
 Saundees, Laurence, martyr, 300. 
 Steeple, 362. 
 Swillingion, Blizaheth, 361. 
 
 Tapestey, 370-373. 
 Thornton, William, 370. 
 
 Wanley, Humphrey, 360. 
 Wayd's tomh, 361. 
 Wheatley, 376. 
 White, Sir Thomas, 339. 
 Whitefeiaes, 358. 
 
 Window, in S. Michael's, 306. 367 ; iu 
 S. Mary's Hall, 370. 
 
 Buller & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Fiome, and London.