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                            A SOURCE BOOK OF
                             LONDON HISTORY

                        FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES
                                TO 1800




                               EDITED BY

                            P. MEADOWS, M.A.




[Illustration]




                                 LONDON
                         G. BELL AND SONS, LTD.
                                  1914




                                PREFACE


If the study of History is to be made really valuable from either the
recreative or the educational point of view, it is necessary to have
frequent recourse to original sources and contemporary writings; they
introduce a certain quality of reality and vividness, a kind of
historical atmosphere, which is most essential to a true appreciation of
the subject. This fact is now generally recognised, and many collections
of sources are available for the student of English History. In this
volume will be found a selection of passages, generally from
contemporary sources, relating to the history of London. It is quite
impossible, of course, in a small book to do justice to every aspect of
the subject; and it has seemed best to give special prominence to those
events which concern the City as a whole, its growth, its corporate
life, and its connection with national affairs.

Besides a vast mass of general contemporary literature, a large number
of the most important and interesting documents dealing with London
history have already been printed; but all this material is very
scattered, and frequently rather inaccessible to the general reader. The
Histories by Maitland and Noorthouck, published in the eighteenth
century, contain translations of charters and other documents; Riley's
"Memorials" is invaluable for the fourteenth century; and many useful
suggestions have been derived from Besant's "Survey of London."

The spelling of the extracts has generally been modernised, but in a few
cases the original text has been exactly followed.

It is hoped that the chronological arrangement of the passages, the care
which has been taken in selecting them so as to illustrate events or
circumstances of definite importance in the history of the City, and the
introductory remarks attached to each extract, will save this volume
from being merely a collection of historical scraps, and will enable it
to be of real use to all who are interested in the story of London.

                                                                   P. M.




                                CONTENTS


            DATE                                              PAGE

        TO 1066. LONDON BEFORE THE CONQUEST                      1

           1066. THE CONQUEROR'S CHARTER                         4

           1085. LONDON ENVIRONS IN DOMESDAY                     4

      _c._ 1130. HENRY I.'S CHARTER                              8

           1141. MATILDA IN LONDON                              10

      _c._ 1173. A NORMAN PICTURE OF LONDON                     12

           1177. DISTURBANCES IN THE CITY                       17

           1189. ORDINANCES CONCERNING BUILDING                 19

           1191. THE LIBERTIES OF THE CITY CONFIRMED            22

           1199. JOHN'S THIRD CHARTER                           23

           1202. LONDON BRIDGE                                  25

           1249. OPPRESSION BY HENRY III.                       27

           1258. INTERFERENCE BY BARONS                         29

           1282. THE STEELYARD                                  31

           1282. THE PRESERVATION OF PEACE AND ORDER            33

           1311. THE CITIZENS AND EDWARD II.                    36

           1319. CONSTITUTIONS FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY   37

           1326. A REVOLT AGAINST EDWARD II.                    40

           1329. A PROCLAMATION OF EDWARD III.                  42

           1347. ARTICLES OF THE HEAUMERS AND OF THE HATTERS    44

           1350. REGULATIONS CONCERNING WAGES AND PRICES        46

           1364. THE CHARTER TO THE DRAPERS                     49

           1365. A LETTER FROM EDWARD III.                      51

           1374. A LEASE TO GEOFFREY CHAUCER                    52

           1375. THE CITY ARMS                                  54

           1381. WAT TYLER IN LONDON                            56

      _c._ 1400. LONDON LICKPENNY                               62

           1406. WHITTINGTON'S SECOND MAYORALTY                 66

           1413. THE PERSECUTION OF THE LOLLARDS                68

           1415. IMPRISONMENT FOR REFUSING OFFICE