London and the Kingdom - Volume 1: A History Derived Mainly from the Archives at Guildhall in the Custody of the Corporation of the City of London.Sharpe, Reginald R. (Reginald Robinson)
History
London and the Kingdom - Volume 1: A History Derived Mainly from the Archives at Guildhall in the Custody of the Corporation of the City of London.
Sharpe, Reginald R. (Reginald Robinson)
London (England) -- History
Whilst Warwick and Clarence were in France in 1470, they concerted
measures with Queen Margaret for effecting another revolution. By
September matters were ready for execution. On the 13th Warwick landed in
England; and before the end of the month the Kentish men so threatened the
City and Westminster, that the newly-elected sheriffs had to be escorted
by an armed force in order to be sworn in at the Exchequer, whilst a
constant patrol was kept in the streets.(924) On the 1st October it was
made known in the city that the king had taken flight. His queen took
sanctuary at Westminster, leaving the Tower in the hands of the mayor and
aldermen and members of the council of Warwick and Clarence. The
unfortunate Henry was quickly removed from the wretched cell in which he
had so long been confined to a commodious and handsomely furnished
apartment which the queen herself, being _enceinte_ at the time, purposed
occupying when she should be brought to bed. A garrison was placed in the
Tower by order of the Common Council, sitting, for safety’s sake, in the
church of St. Stephen, Walbrook. On the 5th October Archbishop Nevill,
Warwick’s brother, entered the city with a strong force and relieved the
civic authorities of the custody of the Tower, and on the following day
Warwick himself appeared, accompanied by Clarence and a large following,
and removed Henry from the Tower to the Bishop of London’s palace.(925)
Two days later (9 Oct.) he obtained from the Common Council the sum of
£1,000 for the defence of his stronghold, Calais, besides a loan of £100
from the aldermen of the city for his own private use.(926) On the 18th
the Earl of Worcester, Edward’s constable and minister of his
cruelties,(927) was beheaded on Tower Hill, the ground being kept by the
Sheriffs of London and a contingent from the several wards.(928)
(M500)
In November Henry was made to hold a parliament, and Sir Thomas Cooke, the
deposed alderman, lost no time in presenting a bill for the restoration of
his lands, which had been seized by the queen’s father, Lord Rivers. He
would probably have been successful had fortune continued to favour King
Henry, for, besides being a member of parliament, he was, writes Fabyan (a
brother alderman), "a man of great boldnesse in speche, and well spoken
and syngulerly wytted and well reasoned."(929) John Stokton had recently
been elected mayor, but there is reason for believing that he, like other
aldermen, preferred Edward on the throne, licentious and extravagant as he
was, to an imbecile like Henry. He fell ill, or, as Fabyan puts it,
feigned sickness and took to his bed, and Cooke assumed the duties of the
mayoralty. At Edward’s restoration Cooke had to seek refuge in France, but
he was taken at sea before he could reach the continent. The same fate
might have awaited Stokton had he shown himself less cautious at that
critical time.
(M501)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account