Mediæval London, Volume 1: Historical & SocialBesant, Walter
History
Mediæval London, Volume 1: Historical & Social
Besant, Walter
London (England) -- History -- To 1500; London (England) -- Social life and customs -- To 1500
Thus (A.D. 1282) it was ordered that every trade in the City should
present to the Mayor a list of those practising that trade; by which
means the Mayor and Aldermen would have accessible a Directory of
the City: those not on the list had no right to remain in the City.
Aldermen, also, were to learn who were staying at the hostels, and what
was their business in the City. Curfew was rung at eight every night
at St. Martin le Grand, St. Laurence, and All Hallows Barking. At a
later period it was rung at St. Paul’s and St. Mary le Bow. At curfew
the gates were to be closed; and taverns and brewers were to shut up;
and no one was to walk about the streets. In every ward six men were to
watch all night: the sergeants of Queenhithe and Billingsgate were to
see that all boats were moored at night: no one was to cross the river
after dark: and each sergeant was to have his boat kept in readiness
with a crew of four men, to guard the river. No one was to walk about
the streets at night.
In 1297 a similar proclamation was made. In the same year it was
ordered, in addition, that everybody was to keep the front before
his own house clean; that low pentices were to be removed; and that
no pig-sties were to be allowed in the streets. By this time four
pig-killers had been appointed, but it is evident that little had been
done to enforce the law.
In 1304 a capture of rioters had been effected. Nine men were returned
to prison as common “roreres” and night-walkers.
In 1309 the condition of the streets called for another ordinance.
No man was to throw ordure or refuse into the streets; it was to be
carted down to the river, there to be placed in boats provided for the
purpose, or to be carried out of the town to the lay-stalls beyond the
walls. The fine for the first offence was 40d., for the second and
subsequent offences, half a mark.
In 1311 there was renewed activity in sending to prison “roreres,”
street walkers, male and female, vagabonds, beggars, dicers, and
gamblers.
In 1312 it was ordered that the gates should not only be closed at
curfew, but that chains should be drawn across them on either side, and
that they should be guarded by twelve, or at least eight, men every
night, and sixteen, or at least twelve, men every day. The warders
were ordered to have a watch on the top of the gate to warn them of
the approach of armed men, and to put up the chains and to lower the
portcullis if armed men attempted to enter.
In the year 1321, when trouble first began between King Edward II. and
his nobles, the Mayor and Aldermen were summoned before the King’s
Council at Westminster, and asked whether they would be “willing to
preserve the King’s City of London to the use of him and his heirs as
being the heritage of them, the Mayor and citizens, and at their own
peril.”
They replied that they would so preserve the City, and they drew up in
writing the method which they proposed to adopt:—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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