Full text of "The Victoria history of the county of Middlesex"

ZTbe Dfctotta Ibistor^ of the
Counties of Enolanb

EDITED BY WILLIAM PAGE, F.S.A.

A HISTORY OF
MIDDLESEX

VOLUME II

THE

VICTORIA HISTORY

OF THE COUNTIES
OF ENGLAND

MIDDLESEX

LONDON

CONSTABLE AND COMPANY LIMITED

This History is issued to Subscribers only

By Constable & Company Limited

and printed by Eyre & Spottiswoode Limited

H.M. Printers of London

INSCRIBED

TO THE MEMORY OF

HER LATE MAJESTY

QUEEN VICTORIA

WHO GRACIOUSLY GAVE

THE TITLE TO AND

ACCEPTED THE

DEDICATION OF

THIS HISTORY

,^3

I
Jk

THE

VICTORIA HISTORY

OF THE COUNTY OF

MIDDLESEX

EDITED BY

WILLIAM PAGE, F.S.A.

VOLUME TWO

LONDON

ICONSTABLE AND COMPANY LIMITED

! /

/ II

CONTENTS OF VOLUME TWO

PAGE

Dedication .............. v

Contents ............... ix

List of Illustrations and Maps .......... xi

Editorial Note .............. xiii

Ancient Earthworks . . By J. C. WALL ........ i

Political History . . By J. VIVIEN MELLOR . . . . . . .15

Social and Economic History . By MARY E. TANNER . . . . . . .61

Table of Population, 1 80 1 -

1901 . . . -By GEORGE S. MINCHIN . . . . . . .112

Industries . . . -By CHARLES WELCH, F.S.A.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Silk-weaving . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Tapestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138

Cabinet-making and Wood-
carving . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139

Pottery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Fulham Stoneware . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Bow Porcelain ............. 146

Chelsea Porcelain 150

Glass .... . -155

Clock and Watch-making . . . 158

Bell-founders ..... . ... 165

Brewing ..... .168

Tobacco '79

Musical Instruments ..... . .180

Coach-making ..... .193

Paper '95

Printing ..... 197

Bookbinding .... . . .201

Agriculture . . . -By CHARLES KAINS JACKSON . . 205

Forestry By the Rev. J. C. Cox, LL.D., F.S.A. . . .223

Sport, Ancient and Modern

Introduction . . .By URQUHART A. FORBES . 253

Hunting -259

Foxhounds . . ..... 259

Staghounds .260

Harriers . . 262

Coursing .... ,, .262

Racing . . ,- -.= . ,, 263

Polo .... 265

Shooting .... 2< >6

Angling ... *7

ix b

CONTENTS OF VOLUME TWO

Sport, Ancient and Modern (continued)
Cricket . : . . By Sir

Middlesex County

The Marylebone Cricket Club

The University Match

The Australians at Lord's .

Harrow School Cricket
Football ....
Golf ....
Pastimes .

Archery .

Rowing

Tennis
Boxing ....

Olympic Games of London
(1908)

Athletics ....
Topography

HOME GORDON, Bart.

By
By

C. J. B. MARRIOTT, M.A.
URQUHART A. FORBES

By C. J. B. MARRIOTT, M.A.

Spelthorne Hundred
Introduction
Ashford

East Bedfont with
Hatton

Feltham .

Hampton with Hamp-
ton Wick

By URQUHART A. FORBES ......

By W. BIRKETT . . .

General descriptions and manorial descents compiled under
the superintendence of the General Editor ; Architectural
descriptions by J. MURRAY KENDALL, R. W. ATKEY, and
C. C. DURSTON, under the superintendence of C. R. PEERS,
M.A., F.S.A. ; Heraldic drawings and blazon by the Rev.
E. E. DORLINC, M.A., F.S.A. ; Charities from information
supplied by J. VV. OWSLEV, I.S.O., late Official Trustee of
Charitable Funds.

By J. VIVIEN MELLOR .......

By EDITH M. KEATE
(Description of Hampton Court by C.

Han worth
Laleham .
Littleton .

R. PEERS, M.A., F.S.A.)

By J. VIVIEN MELLOR

PAGE

270
273
274
274

275
276
278

283
286
290
292

295

301

35
306

39
3H

319

391
396
401

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Hampton Court Palace in 1736 . . . . . . .

Ancient Earthworks :

Enfield Camp ..........

Harmondsworth Camp ........

Hounslow Camp .........

Hanworth Castle .........

The Tower of London ........

Plan of Grimes Dyke through Harrow Weald and Pinner
Bedfont Church, from the South .... .

Hampton Court Palace : Wolsey's Kitchen .

Tennis Court from the West side .

Badge of Queen Anne Boleyn

Arms of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour .

Badge of Queen Jane Seymour

Clock Court from the Colonnade .

,, The Hall, looking towards the Screens

William the Third's Buildings from the South-east

Frog Walk .

Entrance Court, looking towards the Moat

Ground Floor Plan

Chapel Court from the South-west corner

Ground Floor Plan

Terra-Cotta Panel of Wolsey's Arms

,, Bridge over the Most .

The Gateway

Fountain Court from the North-west corner

The Pond Garden

The Lower Orangery

Huntingdon Shaw's Screens .

The Lion Gates .

Hampton Church : Monument to Sibell Penn
Hanworth : Lych Gate
Laleham Church : Nave and South Aisle .
Littleton Church : Nave looking East
Chest .

PAGF

. . Frontispiece

1 1

12
. 310

333

334
full plate, facing 334

335

336

348

359

365

37i
folded plan, facing 372

373
, folded plan, facing 374

375
, full f late, facing 576

-78
378
,81

384
. 385

386
. full plate, facing 388

39'

full plate, facing 400

>, 44

LIST OF MAPS

Ancient Earthworks Map
Index Map of Middlesex Hundreds
Spelthorne Hundred

Topographical Map of Middlesex

PAGE

facing 2

. 304

. 305

at end of volume

EDITORIAL NOTE

THE Editor wishes to express his thanks to all those
who have assisted in the compilation of this volume,
but particularly to Mr. H. B. Walters, M.A., F.S.A.,
Mr. A. F. Hill, F.S.A., and Mr. William Dale,
F.S.A., for information and assistance regarding the
Industries of the county. He is also indebted to
Mr. Ernest Law, B.A., F.S.A., for reading the
proofs and offering suggestions regarding the history
of Hampton Court Palace, and to Mr. W. Lem-
priere, senior assistant clerk at Christ's Hospital,
for information supplied for the topographical section.

A HISTORY OF
MIDDLESEX

ANCIENT
EARTHWORKS

A" THOUGH earthworks are the most durable of all man's handi-
work when exposed to Nature alone, they cannot withstand
the encroachments of the builder. With the continual spread
of habitations for the workers of commercial London, and the
surrounding cultivation of the land for the vegetable supply of so great a
host, there is little cause for wonder that the few works which are known
to have existed in the county of Middlesex have been all but obliterated.
When we consider the exceptionally small size of Middlesex as a county,
that it contains the two cities of London and Westminster, and the amazing
extension of their borders, the marvel is that any ancient works remain.

The natural features of the county lent themselves to no mighty
defensive works ; it was no locality for habitations, seeing that it was
generally of a marshy nature and subject to great inundations, it was itself
a defence for more inland territories. Guest remarks, ' I have little doubt
that between Brockley Hill l and the Thames all was wilderness from the
Lea to the Brent.' Prehistoric and Roman camps were apparently few ; the
Roman stations at Staines (P antes] on the Thames, and Brockley Hill (Sul-
lonicae) near Elstree, have no earthworks to indicate their former sites ; while
the fosse formerly surrounding the walls of London now no longer remains.

One great dyke in part remains to record the boundary line between
British tribes or Saxon provinces ; but the only type of earthwork much in
evidence in the county is that of Homestead Moats, and those are fast
disappearing beneath the foundations of houses.

Moats are more thickly clustered on the north of London than else-
where; they surround the sites of manor houses and farmsteads in close
proximity to the neighbourhood of Barnet. When it is remembered that
this was the scene of two engagements during the Wars of the Roses, that
two other battles were fought within a short distance at St. Albans, and
how marauding bands were the certain accompaniment of fighting forces in
those days, it will be seen how necessary a precaution it was for people of
substance to safeguard their property by the best means then known.

The surface of the county, however, has altogether changed since
Nichols described the moated mansion of Balmes within the parish of St. Leo-
nard Shoreditch. Whilst passing over Willoughbys and other demolished
earthworks, we cannot ignore those that have disappeared in more recent
years, otherwise our task would be light; yet the few remaining works are ap-
parently doomed in the near future unless the growth of London be arrested.

1 Ortgines Celtic*.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

From the general classification of earthworks it is needful to quote
those classes only which are represented in this county.

Class C. Rectangular or other simple inclosures, including forts and towns of the
Romano-British period.

Class F. Homestead Moats, such as abound in some lowland districts, consisting of
simple inclosures formed into artificial islands by water moats.

Class G. Inclosures, mostly rectangular, partaking of the form of F, but protected
by stronger defensive works, ramparted and fossed, and in some instances provided with
outworks.

Class X. Defensive works which fall under none of these headings.

To which is added T for Tumuli.

Out of the four examples of Class C until recently existing one only
in part remains, the other three have been obliterated, one of them as
late as the year 1906.

The greatest number of earthworks remaining are of Class F, among

them are some representative examples, whether surrounding the grounds

as that at Fulham Palace, or washing the walls of the house, as Headstone.

In class G two examples are placed, one of them surrounding the

formerly strong fortress of the Tower.

The most stupendous earthwork of Middlesex is found in Class X,

and the Grimes Dyke will
probably survive all other
works of this nature.

One tumulus survives,
possibly the most ancient
earthen monument in the
county.

SIMPLE DEFENSIVE
INCLOSURES

[CLASS C]

ENFIELD (vii, 6 and
7). In Old Park, nearly
a mile south-west of En-
field Town Station, is the
most extensive fragment of
a camp in the whole county.
Its existence is due to a
situation in private grounds
whilst its partial demolition
is owing to the laying out
of a garden to the house
within the circuit of the camp over a century ago.

A little more than a semicircle the north, west, and south-west
remains of a circular camp upon the top of a shallow hill. The extant
portion consists of a vallum and fosse. The vallum rises from the ground

SCALE Of FEET
100 'ZOO

ENFIELD CAMP

ANCIENT EARTHWORKS

level on the south and quickly attains a height of 5 ft. ; in the middle
of the western side it rises to 8 ft., declining somewhat towards the
north it again rises towards
its termination at the north-
east. The vallum is broad
and a path has been made
on the top, probably at the
expense of a greater original
height, which is now about
2 ft. above the interior area
except at the north where
the vallum stands boldly
above the ground which is
the same internally and ex-
ternally at this spot. A path
pierces the vallum at the
north-east, but a very small
portion of the latter remains
on the eastern side of the

path. The plan of the Works HARMONDSWORTH CAMP

in the neighbourhood of the

path is in perfect harmony with an original entrance between an inturned
vallum, containing a guard-room within the curve and a platform
obtained by the widening of the vallum ; at the same time this arrange-
ment may possibly have been made when the house was built, whereby
an even pathway might be obtained, and by the removal of soil from
the interior area a garden bower formed on the site of the possible
guard-room for which purpose this hollow is now used. Around the
north-west is a portion of the fosse, from 3 ft. to 4 ft. deep, which has
been raised above its original depth to form a gravelled path. On

, the south-east is a modern

SCALE OF FEET
100 00 300

Railway

SCALE OF FEET
O IOO 40O 3OO

HOUNSLOW CAMP

pond, fed by a spring in its
northern part, at a spot
which would have been im-
mediately outside the origi-
nal circuit of the vallum,
and therefore in the fosse.
Thus the constructors of the
camp may have provided a
water-girt stronghold in ad-
dition to a water supply. A
bank on the north-east of
the pond is modern.

HARMONDSWORTH (xix,
8). Three quarters of a mile
north-east from Heath Row,
immediately south of the

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

Bath Road, a small square camp, about 380 ft. square, was extant until
the autumn of 1906. It is now ploughed perfectly flat, leaving no trace
of the work. Stukeley supposed it to have been one of Cassar's stations
after he crossed the River Thames in pursuit of Cassivellaunus ; a
conjecture that has become local tradition, firmly held by the inhabitants
of the neighbourhood.

ISLEWORTH (xx, 3). To the east of OSTERLEY PARK was a small
circular earthwork 200 ft. in diameter inclusive, with the entrance on
the eastern side.

TWICKENHAM (xx, 10). A circular camp 200 ft. in diameter was
situated on Hounslow Heath against the boundary of the cemetery,
south of the railway. It has now all but perished, the slightest depression
in the ground is only iust discernible.

HOMESTEAD MOATS

[CLASS F]

ACTON (xvi, 9) : ' FRIARS' PLACE FARM.' Within a quarter of a
mile north of Acton Station on the Great Western Railway are the
remains of two moats, of which one will be classified under G. That
which we now consider is a water moat, but only two sides remain, the
southern, which is about 50 ft. wide, and the western, which is consider-
ably narrower. Lysons, in the Environs of London, considers this to have
formed part of the lands given by Adam de Hervynton to the prior and
convent of St. Bartholomew in Smithfield.

EDMONTON (vii, 12) : MOAT HOUSE FARM, Marsh side, to the
east of Lower Edmonton. The old Moat House was demolished in
1906 but the moat at present remains. This is a large oblong in plan,
and although varying in breadth it averages about 20 ft., and is 8 ft. deep.
The south-western side has been narrowed by the formation of a road.
Near the north angle the water of the moat intrudes into the central
area in a semicircular course, thus forming an islet. In the Ordnance
Survey two small islands are erroneously inserted.

EDMONTON (vii, 16). A small quadrangular moat to the west of
Angel Road Station has recently been filled up with earth.

EDMONTON (vii, 15). At WEIR HALL, south-west of Millfield
Training School, in the district of Upper Edmonton, is a moat, averaging
3oft. wide. The banks a foot above the water gently slope upwards
towards the centre of the interior site, where a modern house now stands.
At the south-eastern angle the water cuts off a corner of the inner area,
thereby forming an island. It is fed by Pymmes Brook.

ENFIELD (vii, 8). ' DURANT'S ARBOUR,' half a mile north of
Ponders End, was the name of the manor house of the Durant family in
the fourteenth century. The name has survived the house and is now
applied to the large square moat with the bridge on the north-eastern
side.

ANCIENT EARTHWORKS

ENFIELD (vii, 7). A large moat formerly situated on the south-
east of Enfield Town Station has recently been filled in and is now built
over.

ENFIELD (vii, 6). West of OLD PARK FARM, upon the Golf Links,
is a diamond-shaped moat surrounding a small elevated area. At the
western end is a cutting through which the moat is fed by a small
stream which flows into the River Lea.

ENFIELD (ii, 16). North-east of Enfield Lock Station, on Plantation
Farm, is a quadrangular moat crossed by two bridges on the southern and
eastern sides respectively.

ENFIELD (ii, 13): ' CAMLET MOAT.' In Moat Wood, north of
Trent Park and south of Enfield Chase is a large moat, oblong in plan,
with the entrance on the east. The house has long since been demolished.
In the time of Sir Walter Scott it must have presented a similar appearance
as now, for he mentions it as a place ' little more than a mound, partly
surrounded by a ditch, from which it derived the name of Camlet
Moat.' '

FINCHLEY (xi, 8). One mile south of Finchley is the long
rectangular moat of the ancient manor house. It incloses a large oblong
area but is divided by a public road. To the south of it, traces of other
artificial work are being obliterated and it is difficult to determine their
original form or use ; but it is possibly the site of fish ponds.

FINCHLEY (xii, i o) : ' DUCKETTS' or ' DOVECOTS,' north-east of
St. Mary's Church, Hornsey. The site of the manor house is surrounded
by a narrow moat which is fed by water from the New River. A
portion on the east has been filled in, and the bridge is on the western
side.

FINCHLEY (xi, 8). Norden, in his Speculum Brifannica, 1593, states
that

a hill or fort in Hornesey Park, and so called Lodge Hill, for that thereon for some
time stood a lodge, when the park was replenished with deare ; but it seemeth by the
foundation it was rather a castle than a lodge, for the hill is at this time trenched
with two deep ditches, now olde and overgrown with bushes.

This lodge, which was the property of the See of London from the
twelfth to the fourteenth century, occupied a site to the south-west of
the Manor Farm house on the north-east of Bishop's Wood, between
Highgate and Finchley. Although it appears that the lodge was pulled
down in the fourteenth century on account of its great age, traces of the
moat are visible, from which it would seem that it was square in plan
with sides 210 ft. in length. The moat was fed by a spring which still
flows.

FULHAM (xxi, 7). The grounds of the Bishop of London's palace
at Fulham are entirely surrounded by a moat which is crossed by two
bridges. The moat is nearly a mile in circuit and incloses an area of
37 acres. It has been suggested that the moat was originally the fosse
made for the protection of the Danish camp in A.D. 879 ; a conjecture

* Fortunes of Nigel, chap. 36.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

formed solely on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, wherein it is stated that
this year a body of those pirates camped at Fulham.

HANWORTH (xxv, 2): HANWORTH CASTLE MOAT. Why the
moat should be known by this name is not apparent. It is situated in
the grounds attached to the ruins of the Tudor building in which some
of the youthful days of Queen Elizabeth were spent. A large square
area, perfectly flat, and at a slightly lower level than the exterior banks,
is surrounded by a moat averaging 45 ft. in width ; each angle being
broadened by the rounding of the angles of the interior site. At the
south-eastern corner is a culvert, at which point the moat is supplied by
water through a cutting locally called the * Queen's River,' from its
associations with Elizabeth, and the c Cardinal's River,' from the belief
that it was made by the order of Wolsey.

HAREFIELD (ix, 1 2) . At BRACKENBURY FARM, i mile north-west
from Ickenham, near the western bank of the River Finn and fed by its
waters, is a quadrangular moat inclosing a considerable area. The
widest and deepest part is on the south, where it is 24 ft. broad, but it
narrows to 9 ft. in width around the western side. The outer bank
rises above the general level on the north side. The eastern side has
been filled in within the last fifty years to enlarge the surface of the
garden.

HAREFIELD (ix, 12). A quarter of a mile south-west of the last
mentioned a small but perfect moat lies within a bend of the River Finn,
by which it is supplied. By being thus situated the eastern side and its
two angles of the interior area are protected by two widths of water.
The moat, which is walled on the inner side to a height of 6 ft., is 18 ft.
wide, broadening to 28 ft. at the south-eastern corner. Access to the
interior is gained on the western side.

HARMONDSWORTH (xix, 3). On the site of an Alien Priory a
cell to Rouen and west of the ancient Tithe Barn, the course of a large
rectangular moat may yet be traced, although all but a small portion at
the north-east has been filled in. The remaining fragment is nearly 24 ft.
wide. Although situated close to the River Colne the moat was
supplied with water from the ' Duke's River,' on the west, and a spring
rising on the southern side flows into the former, by which the interior
site was doubly protected on the south-west.

HARROW ON THE HILL (x, 1 1). On the west side of the hill, on the
lower ground of the slope and west of the Northolt Road, a small moat
remains in a perfect state in the grounds of The Grange. It is square
with slightly rounded angles, 20 ft. wide between the sloping banks,
which gently rise to 4ft. 6 in. above the water.

HAYES (xv, 13). One mile south-east of Hayes Station, and on
the eastern side of the River Crane, a small moat surrounds the remains
of the old house which was formerly the property of the archbishop of
Canterbury. Rectangular at its two southern angles where the
entrance is situated the moat narrows on the northern side, where
it assumes an almost semicircular course.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

ICKENHAM (ix, 1 6). At MANOR FARM, to the south-east of
Ickenham village, a narrow moat takes a somewhat eccentric plan,
and is evidently the work of two periods. The earlier moat was
quadrangular, with the northern side joining the western at an acute
angle. At some later date the eastern extremity of the northern trench
appears to have been extended, while the eastern side of the moat
about 1 20 ft. from the south-eastern angle was also turned eastwards in
a line parallel to the northern extension ; a fragment of the original
moat remaining between them.

ISLEWORTH (xx, 7). To the west of Isleworth and of the River
Crane is a square moat with the entrance on the east side.

LONDON : HIGHBURY (xii, 14). The site of a moat in this parish is
described by Nichols, 8 who, however, could not but associate it with the
Romans. He says that in fields north-west of White Conduit House is
a large inclosure called the Reedmote, or Six Acre Field, and supposed
to have been a Roman camp ; and at the south-east corner was the site
of a square moated mansion, commonly called Jack Straw's Castle.

LONDON. Highbury Barn was also a moated site in the same
parish.

LONDON : ST. MARY ISLINGTON (xvii, 2). Beyond Bowman's
Lodge, on the west side of Holloway Road, were the demesnes of
Barnsbury Manor. The lines of the moated site of the manor-house
could be traced until recently at the back of some houses fronting
the Hercules Road. In 1835, when the outline was distinct, it was
described as of irregular form.

LONDON : ST. MARY ISLINGTON (xvii, 2). Some eighty years ago
an earthwork was discernible in the gardens of the houses on the west
side of Barnsbury Square. It was the moat of Mountfort House ; but
the southern side almost in a line with the south side or the square
was so pronounced, being about 20 ft. wide and 8 ft. deep, that it gave rise
to the idea that it was the southern fosse of a Roman camp, while about
a century before this it had exercised the minds of the antiquaries of the
eighteenth century. In those days the outer margin of the west side of
the moat was apparently surmounted by a bank.* A fragment of the
trench remains in the garden of Mountfort House.

NORTHOLT (xv, 2). At DOWN BARNS, one and a half miles west
of Northolt, a rectangular site is surrounded by a moat, of regular form
except on the east, where, south of the entrance, it is of wider dimen-
sions, and from it an irregular projection provides a pond.

NORTHOLT (xv, 3). A moat is situated quite near to the church
which, from its exceptional character, demands a more detailed descrip-
tion. It stands upon high ground, and its banks are built up instead of
having been excavated around the protected site. At the southern
angle the moat is 1 2 ft. wide, and the central area rises to a height of
5 ft., overlooking the outer bank which is 4 ft. 6 in. high. The south-

8 Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica, A.D. 178*.
' Nichoh, Literary lilustrationi of Hut. v, 183.

ANCIENT EARTHWORKS

eastern side varies in width from 9 ft. to 12 ft. The western angle is
36 ft. wide, narrowing towards the northern corner, where it is from
28 ft. to 30 ft. broad. On this north-western side the interior ground
continues its former height ; but the external bank is only 4 ft. in
height. At the north the moat is again about 36ft. wide, but the inner
area attains a height of 7 ft. 6 in., while the outer bank is but 3 ft. At
this point the water of the moat is drained into a pond 60 ft. distant,
and although water is retained in the north-eastern side it is reduced in
bulk. On the north-east, between the angle and the entrance, the moat
is from 9 ft. to loft, wide, the interior site is 8 ft. high, but this is the
highest point in the outer bank, which is 6 ft. to 7 ft. 6 in. in height.
The entrance is by a causeway 21 ft. broad. The site of the ancient
house commands an extensive view of the surrounding country.

PERIVALE (xv, 4). In a field west of the church and north-east of
HORSENDON FARM, may be seen the depressions in the land which mark
the site of the old manor-house of Greenford Parva. The house has
long since been demolished, but the moat still remains on three sides.
The northern portion was filled up some fifty years ago.

PINNER (x, 3). ' HEADSTONE ' MANOR, about a mile west of Holy
Trinity Church, Wealdstone, was part of the archiepiscopal manor of
Harrow. A notice of the house in 1 344 opens the probability of the
moat dating from about that time.

PINNER (v, 15). A fragment of a circular moat is crossed by a
road from Pinner to Harrow Weald. The southerly portion is 20 ft.
wide, the northerly is serpentine in form, and the north-eastern has been
filled up and farm buildings cover the site.

RUISLIP (x, 9). At MANOR FARM, on the site of an Alien Priory
that was a cell of the abbey of Bee, is an oval moat, surrounding an
area of 350 ft. by 200 ft. The two entrances are on opposite sides of the
long axis.

RUISLIP (x, 9). At SOUTHCOTE FARM, half a mile south-west of
Ruislip Reservoir is a quadrangular moat inclosing a site about 200 ft.
long by 100 ft. broad ; with the bridge on the south-western side.

SOUTHGATE (vii, 14). In the grounds of BOWES MANOR, north-
east of St. Michael's Church, is a small irregular square moat around an
islet measuring about looft. across.

SOUTH MIMMS (vi, 3). OLD FOLD MANOR FARM, north-west of
Hadley Green, occupies ground formerly protected by a well-defined
moat. The eastern side has been filled in and cow-houses occupy the
site ; but otherwise it retains its ancient appearance. On the southern
side the moat is i8ft. broad, increasing to 28ft. on the west and the
north. The depth to the water is from 4ft. on the north, to 5 ft. on the
south, the banks prettily clothed with wood and undergrowth.

SOUTH MIMMS (vi, 3). At OLD FOLD FARM, about one and a half

miles from the last mentioned, in a westerly direction and close to the

county border, is another moat of smaller size but more complete in its

extant four sides. It is of oblong plan with a rounded broadening at the

292

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

north-west corner. The entrance is on the east towards the south-
eastern angle.

SOUTH MIMMS (i, 10). At BLANCHE FARM, to the south of St.
Monica's Priory, are the remains of that which was undoubtedly a moat,
although the north-west and south-east are the only two extant sides.

TOTTENHAM (xii, 3). BRUCE CASTLE and BRUCE PARK formed one-
third of the ancient manor of Tottenham. The spread of London's
population is responsible for the recent levelling of the moat.

TOTTENHAM (xii, 3). ' MOCKINGS ' was a sub-manor formed from
that of Bruce, lying north of the high road. The moated manor-house
stood on the south side of Marsh Lane.

WILLESDEN (xvi, 6). A moat similar to that in the moated
meadow at Acton was situated near Willesden Junction until finally
obliterated about the year 1890.

[CLASS G]

ACTON (xvi, 9). A quarter of a mile north of Acton Station on the
Great Western Railway, in a field called ' Moated Meadow,' two fields
westward of ' Friars' Place Farm,' are the remains of an earthwork
which the Ordnance Surveyors have marked as a moat. From the slight
indications extant it might possibly have formed a camp; but not enough
remains to decide its original use.

The work occupies a slight eminence and consists of a shallow
fosse, or dry moat, surrounding a quadrangular area. The two short
sides the western and eastern are nearly parallel, the west is 89 ft.
long, the east 136 ft. Of the two long sides the southern, 235ft., is at
right angles to the east and west ; but the northern, 240 ft., takes a
course to the north-east-by-east. The fosse varies from 41 ft. broad at
the south-east, to 60 ft. at the north-west. On the north side, where the
higher ground on the exterior makes it more assailable, is found the
deepest part, which is 6 ft. A bank has surmounted the outer edge of the
fosse, this is still discernible on all sides but the south, and averages 1 5 ft.
wide. The latter feature may have led Lysons to speak of it as ' a deep
trench enclosing a parallelogram (sic) . . . supposed to have been a
Roman camp.'

LONDON : THE TOWER MOAT. The precincts of the Tower of
London are partly within London, but the greater eastern portion is in
Middlesex. The first castle on this spot was built by the conquering
Norman.

No account of earthen ramparts has been bequeathed to us, and
the earliest mention of a fosse is of the twelfth century.

In 1 190 William Longchamp, bishop of Ely and justiciary of
England, while acting as regent during the absence of Richard in
Palestine, caused a deep trench to be dug round the Tower of London,
hoping to bring the waters of the Thames into the City, but after

SCALE OF FEET
IOO 200 30

THK TOWER OF LONDON

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

expending much from the treasury his labours proved fruitless. 6 It
would be interesting to know the cause of this failure ; possibly
Longchamp could not complete the circuit on the river side, where it was
exposed to the force of the tide, a difficulty overcome by the engineers of
Henry III, who constructed the embankment and wharf, and protected
it by piles ; a work completed by his son Edward I.

When the Duke of Wellington was constable of the Tower he
cleansed and deepened the moat ; but its stagnant waters became so
offensive that it was finally drained in 1843. The f sse is an irregular
hexagon in plan, but it has been greatly altered from its original
appearance in the sides and base to provide a drilling-ground for the
garrison.

A vallum, of unknown dimensions, apparently a revetment, formerly
occupied a position on the west side of the moat, for we are told that in
1316 the citizens pulled down a mud wall between the Tower Ditch
and the city, which was supposed to have been constructed by Henry III ;
they were, however, compelled to restore the same, and were fined 1,000

marks for their
lawlessness.

TOTT E N-
HAM (xii, 7).
A rectangu-
lar moat, sur-
rounding an
area now bro-
ken into two
portions, is situated on
' Down Hills,' immediately
south of the River Moselle.
On the exterior of the wes-
tern and eastern sides are
broad banks 2 ft. in height.

MISCELLANEOUS
EARTHWORKS

[CLASS X]

BRENTFORD (xxi, i).
A possible line of defence
to the Brent Ford is traced
by Mr. Montague Sharpe,
of which no definite signs
exist ; even the ' Old

Han

f~inn e. r

PLAN OP GRIMES DYKE THROUGH HARROW WKALD
AND PINNER

* Roger of Wendover, A.D. 1 190
12

ANCIENT EARTHWORKS

Ditch,' two sides of a rectangular fosse on the slope of Cuckoo Hill
at the western extremity of Han well Ridge, and in a curve of the
River Brent, is no more.

HARROW WEALD AND PINNER (v and x) : GRIMES DYKE. Frag-
ments of a boundary earthwork are in evidence over a distance of three
miles within, and close to, the border of the counties of Middlesex and
Hertfordshire, extending from Pinner Green to Bentley Priory. It
consists of a vallum and fosse, the latter on the south-eastern side suggests
that it was part of the south-eastern defence of the territories of the
British tribe of the Catuvellauni.

The dyke appears to have been supported at the south-west extre-
mity by the woodland of the Colne valley, and the other end was possibly
connected with the ancient works on Brockley Hill. Thus the position
of the dyke looked out upon the marshland which extended generally to
the River Thames, and from the Brent to the Lea.

The work is most clearly to be seen to the south of Wealdstone
Common, where the vallum rises 5 ft. from the interior, on the Hertford-
shire side, is 63 ft. wide at the base, and has an escarpment of i 2 ft. into
the fosse ; the latter has been too greatly disturbed to form an adequate idea
of its former strength, but it is 5 ft. at its deepest part, and averages
1 5 ft. broad.

Passing the common, where the rights of carrying gravel have
injured the configuration of the land, the most perfect section is found
in private grounds ; here the base of the vallum retains the same width,
but is 1 5 ft. in height now broken by a path on its escarpment, and the
fosse widens to 2 1 ft ; at one part this has been doubly dammed to form
an artificial lake.

PINNER. See HARROW WEALD.

WEMBLEY (xv, 4). HORSA-DUN HILL, south-east of Harrow, shows
slight traces of defensive works in two terraces on the southern side.

TUMULI

LONDON : ST. PANCRAS (xvii). On Hampstead Heath, between
Hampstead Ponds on the west and Highgate Ponds on the east, on a ridge
of hill running north and south is a bowl-shaped tumulus, known as
* Boadicea's Grave.' It is a gradually sloping mound 10 ft. in height,
with diameters including the surrounding ditch north to south 145 ft.
and east to west 135 ft. The original ditch was within the cincture
of the present one, which is modern. It was opened in 1894 by
Mr. C. H. Read, who thinks it is a monument of pre-Roman burial
by inhumation.

TEDDINGTON (xxv, 8). Formerly situated in a field known as
' Barrow Field,' between Hampton Wick and Bushey, was a bowl-

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

shaped barrow, 96 ft. in diameter and 12 ft. 3 in. high. The tumulus,
composed of burnt sand, was explored in 1854, when three interments
were found, two after cremation and one by inhumation. The first on
the ground level was accompanied by flint flakes and the bronze blade of
a weapon ; with the second, 4 ft. below the apex, were fragments of a
very large half-baked urn and a flint hatchet-head ; whilst in the third case
the bones of an adult were buried superficially.

INDEX

OF THE

PARISHES IN WHICH EARTHWORKS ARE SITUATED, WITH THE LETTER OF THE CLASS

Parish

Acton . .
Brentford .

Class

F,G
X

TO WHICH THEY BELONG

Parish

Edmonton F, F, F

Enfield C, F, F, F, F, F

Finchley
Fulham

Hanworth ....
Harefield . . . .
Harmondsworth .
Harrow-on-the-Hill .
Harrow Weald

Hayes

Highbury . . . .

Ickenham ....
Isleworth ....
Islington, St. Mary .

F,F,F

F, F
C, F

C, F
F, F

London
Northolt

Perivale
Pinner .

Ruislip

St. Pancras (London)

Southgate .

South Mimms . . .

Teddington
Tottenham
Twickenham .

Wembley .
Willesden .

Class

F,F

F
F,F, X

F,F

F,F, F

F,F,G
C

X
F

POLITICAL HISTORY

MIDDLESEX is bounded on the south, east, and west sides by
the rivers Thames, Lea, and Colne respectively. The
district thus formed seems to have been an uninhabited
borderland in British times, 1 a desolate tract round Roman
London, 8 and presents itself later as the portion left over when the neigh-
bouring counties had been colonized by the Anglo-Saxons. The three
rivers formed the natural boundaries to a physically unattractive country,
over which stretched a mass of forest in the north, a marsh in the south-
east, and a barren heath in the south-west. The northern boundary
points to a later period, to the time when manorial estates were formed.
The irregular outline seems to make a special effort to exclude Totteridge,
High and East Barnet, and Monken Hadley from Middlesex, and includes
South Mimms, while leaving North Mimms to Hertfordshire. This
irregularity is explained when we find that the entire north-eastern
portion of Middlesex consisted of the manors of Enfield and Edmonton,
including South Mimms. These large and thinly populated manors
stretched into the forest which was known later as Enfield Chase, until
they met the confines of Totteridge, an outlying portion of the bishop of
Ely's manor of Hatfield ; s of High and East Barnet, which belonged to
the abbey of St. Albans ; of Hadley and North Mimms, which were
given by Geoffrey de Mandeville to Walden Abbey. Friern Barnet is
thus cut off from the other Barnets, and lies in Middlesex, because it
formed part of the manor of Whetstone and belonged to the priory of
St. John of Jerusalem at Clerkenwell.*

It is uncertain when Middlesex was divided into hundreds. Six
appear in the Domesday Survey and six remain to-day, although
' Houeslaw ' (Hounslow) Hundred is now called Isleworth, and a large
portion of Ossulstone Hundred has been included in the county of
London since 1888.

London has naturally been the all-dominating factor in the political
history of Middlesex, although the City is not in Middlesex. We see her
influence in the lack of independent county history ; in the smallness of
the population in early times, as well as in the ever-increasing multitudes
of to-day ; in the absence of county nobility and gentry, as well as in the
unimportance of her towns.

Little is known of the early history of Middlesex. The marshy
valley of the Lea, and the forest stretching northwards from the heights

1 Guest, Orients Celticae, ii, 390, 403.

1 Scarth, Roman Britain, 38 ; Jaunt. Arch. Inst. xxiii, 1 80.

1 Domesday Bk. (Rec. Com.), i, 135. ' Lysons, Environs of London (17 '95), ii, zi.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

of Hampstead and Highgate, saved it for a time from the incursions of
the East Saxons, and the wide channel of the Thames and the fortifi-
cations of London, from the settlers in Kent and Sussex.' It was only
after South Britain had been conquered, and the advance of the East
Saxons up the Essex river valleys had led to the fall of Verulamium, that
the tide of invasion trickled into Middlesex from the north-west, down
the great Roman road, Watling Street. London fell before 552, and
whether inhabited or not during the next fifty years, 6 it is certain that it
was in the hands of the East Saxons in 6o4, 7 so that the colonization of
Middlesex must have taken place during the latter half of the sixth
century. The settlers in the district west of London are known after-
wards as the Middle Saxons, but it is clear that they were only an offshoot
of the East Saxons from the fact that, with London, they always belonged
to the kingdom of Essex, and that Middlesex formed part of the East
Saxon bishopric of London. 8 Thus Middlesex was never a separate
kingdom. The first contemporary mention shows it to be already under
double subjection, for in 704 the king of the East Saxons, himself a
tributary of Mercia, granted a piece of land in Twickenham, ' in provincia
quae nuncapatur Middelseaxon.' ' It was indeed but sparsely inhabited,
the settlers dwelling far apart along the banks of the Thames, and still
farther apart in the valleys of the Brent and the Colne, and the tributaries
of the Lea.

Middlesex suffered terribly and consecutively from the Danish inva-
sions, chiefly because the Thames offered so excellent a winter harbour
for the invaders, and London was the goal of many an expedition.

In 879 a body of Vikings, coming from Chippenham and Ciren-
cester where the main army was assembled, ' sat down at Fulham on the
Thames.' n These were there joined by another army which had been
driven out of Flanders by Charles II, and after both forces had spent the
winter at Fulham, they departed in the spring to make a renewed attack
on Ghent." According to the Treaty of Wedmore in 879, the boundary
between Danes and English was fixed at the River Lea, 18 but the district
between the Lea and the Brent seems to have remained in Danish hands
until 886, u when Alfred gained possession of London (and therefore of
Middlesex), and was in a position to restore or ' re-settle it.' "

In 1009, after harassing the south-eastern counties, the Danes took
up their winter quarters on the Thames. 1 * After mid-winter they went
through the Chilterns to plunder the country round Oxford. As they

6 Green, Making of Engl. i, 124-5, 155 ; Robinson, Hist. Hackney.

* Guest, Origiaes Ctlticae, ii, 31 1. ' Bede, Hist. Eccl. (ed. Plummer), i, 85.

' Freeman, 'Norman Conq. i, 23-7 ; Green, Making of Engl. i, 227.

9 Kemble, Codex Dipt, i, 59.

11 4ngl.-Sax. Chron. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 65 ; Hen. of Hunt. Hist. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), 147-8.

" Angl.-Sax. Chron. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 65 ; Hen. of Hunt. Hut. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), 147-8.

" Stubbs, Select Charters, 63. ' Concerning our land boundaries ; up on the Thames, and then up
on the Lea, and along the Lea unto the source. . . .'

14 Freeman, Norman Coaj. i, 56.

" Hen. of Hunt. Hist. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), 148 ; Angl.-Sax. Chron. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 67 ; Flor. Wore.
Cbron. (Engl. Hist. Soc.), i, 101.

" Hen. of Hunt. Hist. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), 179.

POLITICAL HISTORY

were returning in two divisions, as though to attack London, they
were met by the news that a force was gathered against them in
London. The northern division therefore crossed the Thames at Staines,
and both went back through Surrey to their ships to spend Lent in
repairing them, but Middlesex was again ravaged during the year. 17 In
Edmund Ironside's campaign against Cnut in 1016 the last of his four
great battles was fought at Brentford. Edmund had set out to recover
Wessex from the Danes after he had been chosen king by the citizens of
London. He had gained two victories at Penselwood and at Sherston, but
while he was collecting fresh forces Cnut had laid siege to London.
Edmund with his reinforcements marched along the north bank of the
Thames 18 and won a third battle, which compelled the Danes to raise the
siege and flee to their ships. Two days later he defeated them for a
fourth time, and drove them in flight across the Thames. 19 Apparently
a great number of the English pressed the pursuit in advance of their
main body, and in their eagerness to spoil the enemy were by their own
carelessness drowned in the river. This battle did not finally disperse the
enemy, however, for as soon as Edmund had departed into Wessex,
London was again besieged, ' but Almighty God saved it.' 2

Middlesex is not mentioned in the list of shires whose troops
mustered at Hastings, but the sheriff of the Middle Saxons, the Staller
Esegar, played a prominent part as leader of the London contingent. 81
He was wounded in the battle, and was carried back to London to con-
duct its defence against the Conqueror. William marched westward
from Southwark to Wallingford, and then northward to Berkhampstead,
in order that his triumphant progress might isolate London, and bring it
to submission rather by intimidation than by direct attack. When his
army entered Middlesex from the north-west London had already come
to terms, so that though the northern districts round Enfield, Edmonton,
and Tottenham suffered from the passage of his army, yet his march was
on the whole peaceful. 22

The Norman Conquest brought perhaps less change to Middlesex
than to any county. It is said that William gave to Geoffrey de Mande-
ville all the lands which had been held by the Staller Esegar, 23 and
apparently Geoffrey occupied much the same position with regard to
London and Middlesex as was filled by the Staller before the Con-
quest. His son and heir, William de Mandeville, was made Constable of
the Tower. 24 The greater part of the land in Middlesex had been, and
continued to be, in ecclesiastical hands. The king held no manor in the

17 jingl.-Sax. Chnn. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 115 ; Freeman, op. cit. i, 377.

18 Flor. Wore. op. cit. 1 76. ' Exercitus vice tertia' congregate."

19 Hen. of Hunt. Hist. A*gl. (Rolls Ser.), 183 ; Freeman, op. cit. i, 426.
10 Angl.-Sax. Cbron. (Rolls Ser.), ii, n6.

" Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, i, 32 ; Freeman, op. cit. iii, 486.

21 Wm. of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum (Rolls Ser.), ii, 307 ; cf. Flor. Wore. Chnn. (Engl. Hist.
Soc.), i, 228. See an interesting article on the subject by F. Baring, 'The Conqueror's Footprints in
Domesday,' Engl. Hist. Rev. 1898.

13 Waltham Chnn. de Indentione (ed. Stnbbs), cap. xiv.

14 Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. (Soc. de 1'Histoire de France), iv, 1 08.

2 17 3

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

county, and had only a few houses and some acres of ' No man's land.'"
There were only twenty-four tenants-in-chief. The lay holders, either
English or Norman, held a very small proportion of the land compared
with the large holdings of the bishop of London and the abbot of West-
minster," and many of the lay tenants, such as Geoffrey de Mandeville
and Earl Roger, possessed vastly greater estates in other counties than
those which they held in Middlesex.

Owing to the unimportance of the lay tenures, it was saved from the
evils which attended the building of feudal castles, not one being raised
within its boundaries.

In William IPs reign the only incident of importance connected
with Middlesex occurred in 1095. The quarrel between the king and
Archbishop Anselm was then at its height, and the Council of Rocking-
ham had been held in the spring of that year to discuss the question of the
recognition of Urban II as pope. Anselm kept Whitsuntide at Mortlake,
but immediately after the festival he was summoned to the neighbourhood
of Windsor where the king then held his court, and therefore came to his
manor of Hayes. He was visited there the day after his arrival by nearly
all the bishops, who tried to prevail on him to make his peace by a pay-
ment of money to the king." He refused to buy the king's friendship,
and refused also to accept the pallium which had been sent privately
to William from Rome. The bishops retired discomfited, and William,
realizing that Anselm was inflexible, and being already concerned with
Mowbray's threatened rebellion in the north, sent messages of reconcilia-
tion to Hayes. 88 A few days later the king and archbishop met publicly
as friends at Windsor.

The most important aspect of the history of Middlesex under the
Normans and Angevins is to be found in the definition of the county's
relation to London. Henry I granted Middlesex to the city of London
to farm for 300 per annum, and granted to the citizens the right to
appoint from among themselves whom they would to be sheriff. 89 It
cannot be said that the grant of the sheriffwick made the county a
dependency of the City, but rather that London and Middlesex were from
that time to be regarded as one from an administrative point of view. 80
The citizens were to be responsible for the City and shire as a unity, not
for the City and its dependency. 31 Both the 'firma' and the shrievalty are
spoken of sometimes as of ' London,' 3S sometimes as of ' Middlesex,' and
sometimes as of ' London and Middlesex,' ss but ' for fiscal purposes,
London and Middlesex under any name are indivisible.' 3 * The relation
between the City and shire remained on this basis until the Local

" Domesday Bk. (Rec. Com.), i, 127. * Ibid, ii, 57-63 ; ibid, i, 23-5, 34, 44.

17 Eadmer, Hist. Novorum (ed. M. Rule), 70. " Ibid. 71.

" Liber Albus (Rolls Ser.), i, 128-9 Rymer, Toed. (Rec. Com.), i, II.

10 Cf. Hund. R. of Edw. I (Rec. Com.), ii, 403 sqq.

11 Round, Geoffrey de Mandeville, 347 seq. ; cf. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, i, 42 ; Stubbs,
Const. Hist, i, 439.

" Pipe R. (Rec. Com.), 31 Hen. I, 143. Pipe R. 8 Ric. I.

14 Round, Geoffrey de Mandeville, 347.

POLITICAL HISTORY

Government Act of 1888, although the grant was a frequent cause of
dispute between London and the crown, and was on occasion temporarily
withdrawn. As early as 1130 the citizens had been deprived of their
right to elect the sheriff, for in that year they paid 100 marks that they
might have a sheriff of their own choice. 88

The Civil War of Stephen's reign fell as heavily on Middlesex as
on the rest of England. In the summer of 1141 the empress came
towards London after the election at Winchester. She received a depu-
tation of Londoners at St. Albans, and then leaving the abbey proceeded
by the old Roman road through Edgeware towards Westminster. 58 She
was met by the citizens and rulers of London when nearing the City."
Geoffrey de Mandeville, grandson of the Geoffrey of the time of William I,
was then at the height of his power. He was practically master of
London as hereditary constable of the Tower, and one of the empress's
first acts was to confirm the charter of the earldom and shrievalty of Essex
granted to him by Stephen. 88 Meanwhile the queen was marching on
London from Kent. She crossed the Thames and, ravaging Middlesex,
spread a belt of desolation round the City. 89 The Londoners, who were
already incensed against the empress, rose in arms for the queen. Matilda
was forced to leave the City with all haste, and having galloped clear of
the suburbs, her followers fleeing in all directions, she took the road
towards Oxford. 40

London admitted the queen, and Geoffrey de Mandeville made his
peace with her likewise. To signalize his defection from the empress, he
sallied out of the Tower and seized Sigillo, whom Matilda had lately
installed as bishop of London,* 1 and who was then at the episcopal manor
of Fulham. 43 It is said that he held Sigillo to ransom for an enormous
sum, but the bishop was present at Matilda's court a month later. 43 After
Geoffrey had assisted at the liberation of Stephen, 44 and after the latter
had been crowned for the second time at Canterbury, the king granted
him the shrievalty of London and Middlesex, and of Herts, as well as
that of Essex, which he already held. 46 Even these privileges could not
hold him to Stephen's side. He deserted to the empress in six months'
time, but after she left England he was captured and deprived of his lands
by Stephen. From that time until his tragic death in September, 1 143,
his power was broken. Of his estates in Middlesex he gave the
churches of Enfield, Edmonton, South Mimms, Northolt, with the
hermitage of Hadley, to endow Walden Abbey, 4 ' which he had founded
in 1 136.

The effect of the military operations in Middlesex and of the con-
tinual anarchy of Stephen's reign is shown in the Pipe Rolls under
Henry II. Of the 85 os. 6d. danegeld due from the county in Henry's

u Pipe R. (Rec. Com.), 31 Hen. I, 143, 145. * Cent. Flor. Wore. (Engl. Hist. Soc.), 131.

r Ibid. M Round, Geofre-j de Mandeville, 88-95. " Geita Stephani (Rolls Ser.), 78.

40 Ibid. 79. " Coat. Flor. Wore. (Engl. Hist. Soc.), 131.

Trivet, Annals (Engl. Hist. Soc.), 13. " Coat. Flor. If on. (Engl. Hist. Soc.), IJI.

44 Will, of Malmesbury, Hist. Nov. ii, 580. * Round, Geoffrey de Mandevillt, 138-44.

46 Walden Abbey Chronicle, Harl. MS. 3697, fol. I, cart. I.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

second year, 10 or nearly one-eighth of the whole, comes under the
heading in tvasto.* 7

We hear nothing of Middlesex during the reign of Henry II except
in connexion with the demands made by the king upon London. The
yearly farm for the City and shire was raised above the. original sum of
300, and was not reduced until John's reign. The right to appoint
the sheriffs was not exercised by the Londoners under Henry and his
successor, and in the charter granted by Henry to the citizens no men-
tion is made of Middlesex being let to farm. 48 The king strengthened
his hold on the City and shire just as he increased his control over the
barons. In 1174 Brichter de Haverhalle and Peter Fitz Walter held
office, not as sheriffs, but as ' custodes,' showing that they were acting as
the direct agents of the crown. Two years later the farm was raised to
490. John was frequently at Fulham during the early part of his
reign, 49 but nothing of importance occurred in the county until the crisis
of 1215 drew near. In May, 1215, safe-conduct was granted to the
archbishop to come to Staines to treat of peace with the barons. 50 On
8 June safe-conduct was granted to all who would come to treat with the
king at Staines, 51 but the signing of the Great Charter took place just
beyond our boundaries. During the nominal peace which followed
London remained in the hands of the barons until 1 5 August. 52 Fitz
Walter, the baronial leader, was so fearful of treachery on the king's part
that he thought it wiser to postpone the tournament fixed at Stamford
for the Monday of the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, and ordered that it
should be held instead on Hounslow Heath, 53 so that the barons should
be in a better position to protect London if need arose. To this tourna-
ment came Walter de Albini by special invitation, for he represented
the barons who were less hostile to the king. 54

When Louis of France was called upon to act as arbitrator between
the two parties, a conference was held at Hounslow during the first
months of the reign of Henry III. Safe-conduct was granted to four peers
and twenty knights on the Dauphin's side, to meet an equal number of
peers and knights representing the king. 65 The conference known as
the Treaty of Lambeth was possibly held at Staines, when Henry
under the guidance of William Earl Marshal concluded peace with Louis
and the baronial party. 66

There was a continual struggle between the king and the Londoners
during the early part of Henry's reign. In 1227 the citizens secured a
reduction of the farm for London and Middlesex to jCs 00 / 7 but the dis-
putes with regard to the shrievalty soon broke out again, and Henry
took the City into his own hand on the least excuse. About 1250 a
quarrel arose between the citizens and the abbot of Westminster over a
concession made by the king to the abbot which in some way infringed

47 Pipe R. (Pipe R. Soc.), 2 Hen. II, 5. Charter preserved in the Guildhall.

Rot. Lit. Pat. (Rec. Com.), i, pt. I. Itinerary. M Ibid, i, 142.

" Rymer, FoeJ. (Rec. Cora.), i, 129. Ibid. 133. M Ibid. 134.

M Ibid. Pat. i Hen. Ill, m. 6.

M Rymer, FoeJ. i, 148. Chart. R. 1 1 Hen. Ill, m. 16..

POLITICAL HISTORY

the rights of the citizens in the county of Middlesex. 58 The king had
rcourse to his usual expedient, and took the City into his hand, and
the dispute lasted for fifteen years, at the end of which the Exchequer
Court decided in favour of the Londoners.' 9

The later struggle between Henry and the barons came to a crisis
in the summer of 1263, when the king refused to confirm the Provisions
of Oxford, and Simon de Montfort raised the banner of revolt. The
king's brother Richard, earl of Cornwall and king of the Romans, took
upon himself the post of arbitrator. Henry had granted him the large
manor of Isleworth, 60 and during the negotiations held from 29 June to
1 5 July, Simon de Montfort lay at Isleworth, probably Richard's palace,
while his adherents pitched their tents in Isleworth or * Thistleworthe '
Park." A temporary peace was concluded on 1 5 July, 62 by which the
barons gained their demands, Hugh le Despenser being confirmed in the
office of justiciar, and the Tower of London being given into his custody,
while Henry returned to Westminster. Simon de Montfort was prac-
tically ruler of the kingdom, and throughout July and August 63 he
remained at Isleworth conducting negotiations with the Welsh. The
following February the king of the Romans was at Windsor, organiz-
ing resistance to the barons with Prince Edward. 64 London declared
energetically for de Montfort, and was greatly incensed with Richard
for his espousal of the king's cause, for which he was denounced by the
patriotic song writers of the day. 65 On 31 March 1264 the Londoners,
led by Hugh Despenser, Thomas Piwelsdon, and Stephen Bukerelle, set out
for Isleworth, 86 and there laid waste the whole manor, set fire to the
manor-place and destroyed the ' water-mills and other commodities '
belonging to the king of the Romans. 67 After this act of violence
Richard threw himself vigorously into the campaign on the king's side, 65
and was present shortly afterwards with Henry at the taking of North-
ampton. 69 The citizens were punished for the outrage when Henry had
regained the upper hand, and were forced to pay 1,000 marks for
Richard's losses at Isleworth. 70 Richard was indeed loaded with debt
before the war ended, for he supplied Henry with money and provisions
for the campaign against the ' Disinherited ' in the Isle of Ely. 71

While this campaign was still in progress the earl of Gloucester,
who had retired to his estates to mark his dissatisfaction with the terms
of the Dictum of Kenilworth, 78 marched suddenly upon London, and

69 Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), Hi, 62, 80-1.

69 Fitz Thedmar, Chron. of the Mayors and Sheriffs (Camd. Soc.), 16, 17, 61.

* Lysons, Environs of London (1795), iii, 94.

N T. Wykes, Chron. (Rolls Ser.), 135; Prothero, Simon de Montfort, 250 ; Stow, Annals, 193.

64 Rymer, Foed. (Rec. Com.) i, 427. " T. Wykes, Chron. (Rolls Ser.), 135.

61 Royal Letters, ii, 247-9. " Rishanger, De Bellis (Rolls Ser.), 140.

* Chron. of the Mayors and Sheriff's of London, 65.

67 T. Wyke, Chron. (Rolls Ser.), 140 ; Ann. Dtuist. (Rolls Ser.), 221 ; Holinshed, Chron. iii, 460.

118 Holinshed, Chron. iii, 460. ' Some think that this was the cause of the war which followed,
because till this time the king of Almaine, through alliance with the earl of Gloucester, had been con-
tinually treating for peace ; but after this time he was a bitter enemy of the barons.'

69 T. Wykes, Chron. (Rolls Ser.), 145 ; Prothero, Simon de Montfort, 268.

70 Liber de Ant. Leg. 94-5. " Rymer, Foed. (Rec. Com.), i, 466. " 31 Oct. 1266.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

demanded the removal of aliens and the restitution of their lands to the
* Disinherited.' n London admitted him on 8 April. 74 Four days later
he was joined by D'Eyville and other disinherited lords from the north,
but he forced them to remain outside the City until after Easter
(17 April). 7 ' Hearing of Gloucester's action, the king marched south,
raising as many men as he could by borrowing on the shrines, jewels, and
relics of Westminster. 7 * He met Prince Edward at Cambridge, and
together they went to Windsor, where the royal army daily increased. 77
Gloucester and his friends were somewhat dismayed and sent overtures
of peace which, however, were not well received. Whereupon they
'appointed' to give the king battle upon Hounslow Heath on 5 May.
Their hearts failed them, however, for ' the king coming thither in the
morning found no man to resist him,' and after he had stayed there awhile,
he marched towards London and passing into Essex, took up his abode
at Stratford Abbey, while his army encamped about (East) Ham. 78 The
king of the Romans again acted as mediator, and after several weeks of
negotiation peace was concluded, 79 the earl of Gloucester receiving
liberal terms for himself and the ' Disinherited,' and a pardon for the
citizens of London who had taken his part. 80

We hear nothing of Middlesex during the early years of Edward I.
During the latter half of his reign the effects of the king's pecuniary
difficulties fell on the county as on the rest of England. Repeated orders
were sent to the sheriff for the enforcement of knighthood. In one in-
stance, in February, 1292, all freeholders of land of the annual value of
40 were ordered to receive knighthood, and in January, 1293, the estates
of defaulters were seized by the king's orders. 81 In 1294 war was declared
against France, and Middlesex sent a quota of men to follow the king
into Gascony. 82 The following year 4,000 cross-bow men and archers
were supplied by Middlesex, with Essex, Herts, and London, to meet at
Winchelsea in readiness to cross the seas. 88

Edward was forced, by the need of money for the Scottish war, to
promise the re-confirmation of the charters on his return from the
Scottish campaign of 1298. A great council, therefore, was held at
Stepney on 8 March, 1299, in the house of Henry Walleis, mayor of
London. 8 * The earls pressed Edward to fulfil his promise, but the king
refused to give his answer till the following day. In the night he left
the City and took up his quarters in the suburbs, 86 declaring to the lords
who followed him, the next day, that he removed for the sake of the
purer air. He agreed to the confirmation of the charters, however, and it
was not until the people were assembled at St. Paul's Churchyard that

71 Rishanger, Chron. (Camd. Soc.), 59.

74 Stow, Annals, 196 ; Matt. Westm. Thr. Hut. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 15.

n Diet. Nat. Bug. x, 340. " Holinshed, Chnm. ii, 471.

77 Matt. Westm. flor. Hist. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 15.

m T. Wykes, Chnm. 202 ; Stow, Annals, 196.

n r J une > I2 66. . * Stow, Annals, 196 ; Holinshed, Chrm. ii, 472.

Writ to the Sheriff of Middlesex, Letter-Book K, fol. 25.

1 Palgrave, Part. Writs (Rec. Com.), i, 259. Ibid, i, 270.

* Stow, Annals, 207. W. Hemingburgh, Chrm. (Engl. Hist. Soc.), ii, 183.

POLITICAL HISTORY

they discovered his addition to the Charter of Forests 'saving the rights
of the crown.' 88

There is nothing of interest to record in the history of Middlesex
during the early part of the fourteenth century. The burden of the
Scottish and Welsh wars fell on the county, although it was beyond the
region of actual warfare. Orders for the distraint of knighthood and
summonses for the county's quota to appear on either border form the
chief records during this period. Those specially summoned to serve
against the Scots in 1301 were Richard de Windsor, who had already
represented Middlesex in the Parliaments of 12979, Henry de Enfield,
who had attended the Parliament at Salisbury amongst other justices of
the peace in 1 277, John de Bello Campo, and Adam Badyk. 87

The Mandeville estates were at this time held by the Bohuns, earls
of Hereford, a Humphrey de Bohun having married Maud, the Mande-
ville heiress. The Humphrey de Bohun of the reign of Edward III, who
had succeeded to the title and lands of the earls of Essex and of Hereford
in I335, 88 served the king in France in the expedition for the relief of
Aiguillon. On his return to England he obtained a licence to fortify
and embattle his manor-house at Enfield. 89

Middlesex was the scene of the climax of the Peasant Revolt in
1381. The Commons of Essex entered the county on the Festival of
Corpus Christi (13 June). 90 On that morning they went to Highbury,
led by Jack Straw, and there set fire to the hospital of St. John of Clerken-
well, causing much damage and loss to the Hospitallers." Some of the
Commons then returned to London, but the greater number remained on
the scene of the outrage, surrounding the ruined house which had lately
been built for the hospital by Sir Robert Hales,'* and the remains of
which came to be known as 'Jack Straw's Castle.' 93 On the following
morning (Friday), the peasants of St. Albans and Barnet, marching into
London, found the Essex insurgents still gathered round the burning
ruins. 94 Jack Straw, as leader, received the new comers, and immediately
exacted from them an oath of fealty to King Richard and the Commons
of England. 95 Meanwhile the peasants of Kent and Surrey had entered
London, and after committing many outrages in the City and in West-
minster, they finally passed through Holborn and burnt the hospital of
St. John at Clerkenwell. 98 That night, the insurgents were in three
bodies : those who were still burning and wrecking in Highbury and
Clerkenwell ; and those who were encamped at Mile End, and on
Tower Hill respectively.

The Mile End insurgents demanded that the king should come to
them in person, immediately and unarmed. 97 Accordingly he rode out at

M W. Hemingburgh, Chron. (Engl. Hist. Soc.), ii, 183.

' Palgrave, Par/. Writs (Rec. Com.), i, 270. Inq. p.m. 10 Edw. Ill, No. 62.

* Pat. 21 Edw. Ill, pt. 3, m. 4. Camlet moat in Trent Park is supposed to mark the site of the
Bohun manor-house.

" ' Anominalle Cronicle,' printed in Engl. Hist. Rev. July, 1898.
" Stow, Annals, 285. " Lingard, Hist, of Engl. iii, 290.

1 Lewis, Hist, of Islington, 4. M Walsingham, Hist. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), i, 458.

" Ibid, i, 468. * 'Anominalle Cronicle,' ut supra. " Stow, Annals, 286.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

seven o'clock in the morning, accompanied by his mother in a ' whir-
lecote,' the mayor of London, and many earls, knights, and esquires.' 8
He was surrounded by 60,000 petitioners, who demanded the abolition
of slavery, the reduction of rents, and free liberty to buy and sell at
fairs and markets." By granting their demands and by giving a charter of
liberties to each parish, Richard persuaded the Commons to return to
their homes, not, however, before they had dragged the archbishop of
Canterbury and the prior of St. John of Clerkenwell from the Tower,
and summarily beheaded them. 100

On the following day the king proclaimed that he would meet the
remainder of the insurgents two miles beyond the North- West gate. 101
He rode to the appointed place in the morning and took up his position,
surrounded by the nobles, near the priory of St. Bartholomew, the
Commons being drawn up to the west and further from the City. 102 The
story is well known of how Wat Tyler rode up to the king and saluting
him familiarly, rehearsed the demands of the peasants, and then having
threatened the valet de Kent, who stood among the king's retinue, was
struck to the ground by William Walworth, mayor of London. 103 The
king's marvellous presence of mind saved the situation, and while he led
the Commons to the field of St. John of Clerkenwell, 104 the mayor rode
with all haste to London for armed help. Tyler was carried into
St. Bartholomew's priory, but on Walworth's return he was brought out
and executed, and his head and that of Jack Straw replaced those of the
archbishop and the prior of St. John's on London Bridge. 105 The mass
of the Commons were meanwhile surrounded in Clerkenwell Fields, and
would have been slaughtered if the king had not intervened to spare
them. 108 After quiet was restored, he knighted the mayor, Nicholas
Brembre, John Philpot, and Ralph Laundre, beneath the standard. 107

At the end of the same reign, during the struggle between Richard II
and the barons, the latter marched into Middlesex under Thomas of
Woodstock, duke of Gloucester. The king had spent the year in a
royal progress with the object of consolidating his friends, and in the
late summer had gained the favourable decision of the five judges at
Nottingham, which declared the Commission of Regency to be illegal. 108
In November he marched into London intending to prevent by force
the renewal of the Commission, and to punish as traitors those who had
originated it. News of his intention reached the duke of Gloucester,
and on 12 November the king was surprised to learn that he and
Warwick were marching on London with an armed force, and were
already only a few miles north of the City. 109 The earl of Arundel joined

* ' Anominalle Cronicle,' ut supra. " Lingard, Hist, of Eng/. iii, 291.

00 Riley, Memt. of Loud. 449. M ' Anominalle Cronicle,' ut supra. Ict Stow, .jxnats.

* 'Anominalle Cronicle,' ut supra ; Walsingham, Hist. dngl. i, 43, 389 ; K nigh ton, C4/W. (Twysden),
2637. Riley, Mems. of Lmd. 450.

05 'Anominalle Cronicle,' ut supra. "* Riley, Mems. of Lmd. 450.

107 ' Anominalle Cronicle ' ; cf. Three Fifteenth Century Chronicles (Camd. Soc.), 48.
" Stubbs, Const. Hist, ii, 266 ; Lingard, Hist, of Engl. iii, 328.
" Men. Evtsh. (ed. Hearne), 90 ; Walsingham, Hist. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 163.

POLITICAL HISTORY

them at their camp in Hornsey Park near Highgate. 110 The king
thought of resistance, but London refused to fight, and Richard's
adherents sympathized too keenly with Gloucester's demand for the
removal of the aliens ' to get their heads broken for de Veer's sake,' as
the earl of Northumberland said. 111 Richard could only issue a procla-
mation forbidding the citizens to assist or sell provisions to the enemy.
This was met on the part of the barons by an advance to Hackney with
4,000 men. They dispatched a letter to the mayor and aldermen assur-
ing the City that their only object was to deliver the king from traitors.
On 1 3 November they were joined by the earls of Derby and Notting-
ham, 113 and on the following day at Waltham Abbey, just beyond the
north-east boundary of Middlesex, they ' appealed ' five of the king's
favourites of treason, which charge they repeated three days later at
Westminster. 118

The accession of Henry of Lancaster to the throne led to the
increase of royal influence in Middlesex. Before he came to the throne
Henry had married Mary, one of the de Bohun heiresses, 11 * and thus the
manor of Enfield came into the hands of the crown. The whole estate,
that is from Barnet to Enfield, and from Potters Bar to Winchmore
Hill and Southgate, was strictly preserved, and became a favourite royal
hunting-ground.

The rebellions and wars of the reign of Henry IV scarcely affected
Middlesex, and we hear very little of it during the early fifteenth century.
In 1414 a great meeting was secretly arranged by the Lollards to be
held in St. Giles's Fields. 116 Their intention was said to be to seize and
even to put to death the king and his brothers, to destroy Westminster
Abbey and St. Paul's, and to proclaim Sir John Oldcastle as Regent. 116
It was expected that thousands of apprentices from London would muster
in the fields, and that Oldcastle would place himself at the head of the
insurgents. The date and place of the meeting were, however, made known
to the king. He came quietly to Westminster from Eltham where he
had been keeping Christmas, and on the evening fixed, the Sunday after
Twelfth Day, he set out for St. Giles' Fields with a small body of com-
panions. 117 Panic seized the rebels on the news of his approach, and they
scattered in all haste, though many were killed and others taken
prisoners. 118

Jack Cade's rebellion, in the following reign, had little to do with
the county. Apparently no Middlesex men joined the rebels. 119 Cade
and the men of Kent and Sussex entered London from Southwark, and
Mile End seems to have been the only place north of the river that was
affected by the insurrection. 120 On the same day on which Lord Say was

110 Walsingham, op. cit. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 164. " Knighton, Chron. (Twysden), 2698.

"' Knighton, Chron. (Twysden), 2700. '" Lingard, op. cit. iii, 328.

n< Inq. p.m. 47 Edw. Ill, m. 10. "* Getta Henrici 7. (Engl. Hist. Soc.), 4.

116 Rot. Par!. (Rec. Com.), iv, 108. "' Elmham, Vita Hen. Y. (ed. Hearne), 31.

118 Walsingham, Hist. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 298. "' Owridge, lllus. of Jack Cade's Rebellion, 73.
110 A great number of the Commons of Essex encamped there on the same day that Jack Cade
entered Southwark. Fabyan, Chron. (1811), 623.

2 25 4

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

executed in Cheapside, his son-in-law Cromer, the former sheriff of Kent,
who had been committed to the Fleet prison for extortion," 1 was led out
by the rebels to Mile End, and there, without any judgement, his head
was smitten off in Cade's presence. 188 Cade and his followers seem then
to have returned to the City bearing the heads of Cromer and Lord Say
on poles to London Bridge.

Middlesex suffered but little during the Wars of the Roses, having
no great baronial houses to lose, and being overshadowed by London's
predilection for the White Rose. Except for the passage of armies to
and from London, and in 1461, when the county was in danger
of devastation after the second battle of St. Albans, the tide of war did
not come very near our boundaries during the early part of the war.
On the latter occasion, the known hostility of the Londoners deterred
the queen from nearer approach to the city. 184 On 25 February, 1461,
Edward of York entered London, and the men of all the neighbouring
counties flocked to his standard. On 2 March an enthusiastic crowd
offered him the crown at Clerkenwell, and he was crowned on the follow-
ing day at Westminster. 186 Four years later Henry VI was brought a
prisoner to London after his capture in Lancashire. He was met on
24 July by the earl of Warwick at Islington, 186 where his gilt spurs
were struck from his feet, and he was taken in bonds and under strong
escort to the Tower. 187 The short period of his restoration in 1471
brought about the most important battle to which Middlesex can lay
claim.

Edward of York landed in March of that year after his brief exile.
He was proclaimed king at Nottingham, and marched towards London,
closely followed by the earl of Warwick. London admitted the Yorkist
army on Maundy Thursday (11 April). 188 Warwick hoped that Edward
would keep Easter in London, and that he might then take him by
surprise. In this, however, he was disappointed. Edward allowed his
forces to rest on Good Friday, but on the Saturday set out to meet the
enemy. 129 Knowing that his throne hung upon the forthcoming battle,
he spared no pains to render his army efficient. ' Harness, weapons,
horses, all engines, instruments meet for the war, he neither forgot nor
slackly furnished. What shall I say more ? He determined clearly to
spend all his riches, yea all that he could imagine upon the chance of
this battle ; firmly believing that this conflict should knit up all his
labour and bring him to quietness.' 130 Henry VI, again dethroned and a
prisoner, went in his train, both as a precaution against treachery in his
rear, and as a protection in case the battle should go against him. 131

111 Engl. Chrm. Three Fifteenth Cent. Cbron. (Camd. Soc.), 67. IM Ibid.

1M Chrm. ofRic. II, &c. (ed. Davies), 107 ; Whethamstede, Reg. (ed. Hearne), i, 391.
* Pink, Hist, of ClerkenweU, 612-13.
" Three Fifteenth Cent. Chnn. (Camd. Soc.), 80.

la Holinshed, Chrm. iii ; Hall's Cbron. 285 ; Ramsay, York and Lane, ii, 317.
" Chrtm. of the White Rose (Camd. Soc.), 58 ; Ann. of Edw. IV, 18.

" Warkworth, Chnn. (Camd. Soc.), 15 ; Three Fifteenth Cent. Chrm. (Camd. Soc.), 184 \Chnn.
of the White Rose, 61. Hall, Chrm. 295.

" Ibid ; Warkworth, Chrm. 15 ; Chrm. of the White Rose, 6l.

POLITICAL HISTORY

Warwick had marched meanwhile from St. Albans, and had taken
up a position on Gladesmore Heath, on the northern outskirts of Barnet. 13 *
He encamped there on the night of Easter Eve, hoping from that
position to take the enemy's troops in detail as they came out of the
narrow village of Barnet. Edward was too wary a soldier to be caught
in this trap. Marching north towards Barnet he sent his advance-guard
to drive Warwick's outposts from the town, but would allow none of his
main body to enter it. 183 He drew his forces under cover of darkness
very quietly to the right and took up a position on the then uninclosed
slopes which fell eastward from the Hatfield-Barnet road on which
Warwick's left was stationed. 134 But the manoeuvre was not effected so
quietly that Warwick did not detect it. He accordingly opened
fire on the unseen foe, but not until Edward's forces were mostly under
cover of the hill, so that the Lancastrian guns overshot their mark, 136
and Warwick had to be content to draw up his troops along the high
road, where they passed the night under the hedge-side. 136 Edward
would allow no guns to be fired in reply, so that his exact position should
not be betrayed. He ordered the advance before sunrise on Easter
morning, 187 and without any blowing of trumpets, and taking advantage of
the thick mist, 138 the Yorkists fell upon the enemy. Warwick's right
wing under the earl of Oxford and Lord Montagu swept across the heath
and overpowered Hastings on the Yorkist left, driving him from the
field. 139 His troops fled through Barnet, and spread the news even as far
as London that Edward was already defeated. 1 * Similar misfortune
befell the Lancastrian left under the duke of Exeter, for they were driven
back and overpowered by Gloucester on the Yorkist right. Consequently
the positions of the forces were now so altered that the Yorkists faced
south and the Lancastrians faced north. 141 Meanwhile the fight in the
centre raged fiercely, Edward himself displaying great prowess. 149 The
mist had lain so thick on the ground that the centre was unconscious of
the triumph of the Lancastrian left, and Oxford's men returning from the
pursuit of Edward's right wing were themselves mistaken for Yorkists,
and before the mistake could be discovered, Warwick's men had fallen
upon them. Oxford raised the cry of treason and fled from the field. 143
Edward, quick to take advantage of the confusion, pressed the attack
hard, and after heavy fighting won the day. The Kingmaker was among
the slain, but accounts vary as to the manner in which he met his

188 Ramsay, Tork and Lane, ii, 370 ; Hall, Chron. 295 ; cf. Fasten Letters (ed. Gairdner), ii, 4.
m Chron. of the White Rose, 62 ; Warkworth, op. cit. 1 5, says that Edward reached Barnet first
and that, therefore, Warwick stayed without the town.

184 Ramsay, loc. cit. Edward's left was on the cross road to Monken Hadley (Herts.) and his right
stretched northwards over the Middlesex border along the slopes towards Wrotham Park.

185 Chron. of the White Rose, 62.

" Arrivallof Edtv. IV (Camd. Soc.), 18.

87 Waurin, Ancbiennet Cronicques fEngltterre (ed. Dupont), iii, 125.

88 Fabyan, Chron. 66 1. The mist was ascribed to the incantation of Friar Bungay.

89 Hall, Chron. 296. " Chron. of the White Rose, 63.

141 Waurin, op. cit. iii, 213. "* Arrival! of Edtu. IY (Camd. Soc.), 20.

148 Warkworth, Chron. (Camd. Soc.) 1 5. Oxford's livery was a star with streams, the Radiant Star
of the de Veers. Edward's was a sun with streams.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

death. 14 * That commonly accepted is that he was fighting on toot, but
when he saw that the day was lost, he hurried to his horse which was
tethered near a wood, intending to escape, but encumbered by his
heavy armour, he could not ride away before he was surrounded by the
enemy and slain. 1 * 6 Whatever the manner of his death, his body and
that of his brother Montagu were taken to London by the victorious
Yorkists, and there exposed for several days. Of the Lancastrian leaders,
Oxford alone escaped unhurt. 1 *' The duke of Exeter was badly wounded ;
Sir William Tyrell, Sir Lewis Johns and many knights were killed.
Edward also lost many adherents, among them Lord Cromwell, Lord
Berners, Lord Say, and many others. 1 * 7

The battle over, Edward refreshed himself at Barnet and proceeded
to London. 1 * 8 A dozen years later his son passed along the same road to
his coronation. He was in the charge of Richard of Gloucester, who
had led the Yorkist right at Barnet, and who had just gained possession
of his nephew's person by taking him from the guardianship of the
Woodvilles. The royal party was met at Hornsey Park by the mayor
and 500 citizens of London, 1 * 9 who escorted the boy-king to the capital,
whence his mother had fled to sanctuary at Westminster on hearing that
Gloucester, and not her brother, was approaching in charge of her son.

Under the Tudors, Middlesex began to assume its modern aspect.
The Dissolution of the Monasteries was the first step towards transforming
the county into a residential neighbourhood for London. The Church
continued to be a great landowner in the county, but many small estates
came into the hands of the king, who would grant them for short
periods to favourites, statesmen or merchants of London. There was
hardly a man of distinction who did not at some time in his career build
a house or own a small property in Middlesex. These small estates, how-
ever, were so continually changing hands, so frequently falling to the
crown and being re-granted, so often sold, divided, and forfeited, as practi-
cally to prevent the growth of a county gentry, 160 and thus to keep Middle-
sex from taking an independent part in the history of the time. The
growing importance of London brought greater natural prosperity and
increasing civilization to the county, but little corporate unity.

On the other hand, Middlesex saw much of the personages if not of
the events of the time. Naturally the sovereign was continually passing
through the county on his way to and from the capital. Thus in
August, 1487, Henry VII was welcomed at Islington on his return
from suppressing Lambert Simnel's rebellion. 161 In November of the
same year, when he was journeying to London for the coronation of

144 According to Hall (Chron. 296), Warwick rushed into the thick of the battle to encourage his
troops and died covered with wounds. For other accounts see Chron. of the White Rose, 64 note.

44 Warkworth, Cbron. 1 6 ; Chron. of the White Rose, 65 ; Arrival! of Edw. IV (Camd. Soc.), 20.
146 Paston Letten, ii, 5. ' Warkworth, Chron. (Camd. Soc.), 1 6.

48 Arrivallof Edw. IV (Camd. Soc.), 21.

49 Fabyan, Chrm. 668 ; Kennet, Hist, of Engl. \, 482 ; Coat. Hist, of Engl. 565.

140 Compare the list of the gentry in Fuller's Worthies, Midd. with that made three hundred years
later in Norden, Spec. Brit, and with the names of noblemen and knights in the Antiquarian Repertory,
i, 107- IS1 Stow, Annals, 472.

POLITICAL HISTORY

the queen, they were both met at Hornsey Park by sheriffs, with the
mayor and principal commoners of London. 163 Under Henry VIII
Middlesex became very popular with the royal family, both as a
nursery for the younger members and as a place of recreation for
those whom affairs of state kept within a day's journey from West-
minster. In 1514 Wolsey obtained a ninety-nine years' lease of Hampton
Manor from the priory of St. John of Jerusalem, 163 and began to build
his magnificent palace, so magnificent that he found it prudent to offer
it as a present to the king a year after it was completed. Wolsey was
still allowed to use the palace himself on occasions, and in 1527, by the
king's desire, he entertained Montmorenci, the French ambassador, in
gorgeous state. 16 * Three years later the cardinal passed through the
county on his way to York, in deep disgrace and in comparative poverty.
Nevertheless his train numbered a hundred and threescore persons, and
he had twelve carts to carry ' his stuffe of his owne ' and three score other
carts for his ' daily carriage of necessities.' Coming from Richmond at the
beginning of Passion Week he stayed for a night at the abbot of West-
minster's house at Hendon, 165 and passed on the next day to a ' place
where my lady Parry lay, called the Rye,' never to journey so far south
again. Very different was the exit from our stage of Wolsey's successor to
the chancellorship. Sir Thomas More passed the period after his retire-
ment from public life at Chelsea on the estate which he had bought
about I52O. 168 Very soon after the passing of the Act of Supremacy, he
was summoned to take the oath at Lambeth. 167 Before setting out he
went to Chelsea parish church ' to be confessed, to heare masse, and to
be housed,' and then with forboding in his heart, bade farewell to his
wife and family. Accompanied by his son-in-law, Roper, and his four
servants, he took boat for Lambeth ' wherein sitting still sadly awhile, at
the last he suddenly sounded me in the ear and said " Son Roper, I thank
my God the field is won."' 168 Henry VIII spent much of his time at
Hampton Court after Wolsey's death. Here Edward was born, 169 and
here twelve days later Jane Seymour died. Here Catherine Howard was
disgraced, and here Henry married his sixth wife. The unfortunate
Catherine Howard was confined at Syon House 160 from 14 November
until three days before her execution, where she was ' kept very strict,
but served as a queen.' 161 In 1547, Henry's corpse rested at Syon as the
magnificent funeral procession was on its way to Windsor. 163 The heir
to the throne was at Hertford when Henry died, whence he was brought

ls> Stow, Anvals, 473. IM Lysons, Environs of Lend. (1800), v, 52.

154 Cavendish, Life ofWobey (ed. Holmes), 110-15; Harl - MSS - No - 4*8-

'" Cavendish, Life of 'Wolscy (ed. Holmes), 209.

156 Faulkner, Chelsea, 92 ; Roper, Life of Sir Thomas More, 61-70.

'" Gairdner, L. and P. Hen. Vlll, vii, 112.

49 Roper, Life of Sir Tbomai More, 80-7. ISS 12 Oct. 1537.

M The monastery of Syon is erroneously said by Burnet to have been suppressed in 1532 for
harbouring the king's enemies, and of being in league with the Maid of Kent. (Hist, of the Reformation,
ii, 340.) It was dissolved in 1539 and remained in the hands of the crown until the end of the reign.

61 Holinshed, CAron. iii, 1582.

168 Lysons, Environs of Land. (1795), iii, 87.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

privately to Enfield by the earl of Hertford and Sir Anthony Browne. 188
There he and his sister Elizabeth heard with many tears the news of their
father's death, and on the following day (31 January), Edward made his
state entry into London. 184

Edward VI spent the summers of his reign at Hampton Court. He
was there also in the October of 1 549 when Somerset's ecclesiastical and
economic policy brought his Protectorate to a close. The council was
assembled in London ' thinking to meet with the Lord Protector to make
him amend his disorders.' m Somerset wrote from Hampton Court in
Edward's name asking why they gathered together their ' powers ' and
requesting that they should come peaceably to consult with him. But
the following day, having heard how closely the council consulted
together, 188 and guessing the hostility of their intentions towards him, he
made ready to defend himself at Hampton Court. He had the palace
gates repaired and brought down about five hundred * harnesses ' from the
armoury for his own and the king's men. 187 He raised the country side,
summoning all the king's loving subjects to repair to Hampton Court,
' in most defensible array, with harness and weapons to defend his most
royal person and his most entirely beloved uncle, the Lord Protector,'
against whom a conspiracy was suspected. 188 He requested the aid of
the earl of Oxford's servants, asked Sir Henry Seymour to levy horse and
foot, and wrote under the king's signet to the mayor, aldermen and
citizens of London to send one thousand men ' well harnessed and with
good and convenient weapons ' to Hampton Court. 189 Then not content
with these precautions, he decided to remove the king to Windsor. 170
Accordingly they set out between nine and ten o'clock of the same
evening (6 October). He was subsequently charged with having alarmed
the king by telling him that his life was in danger, and with having
injured his health by the hasty removal to Windsor. 171 Somerset treated
with the council by letter, 178 but on 14 October the lords came in person
to the castle and carried him a prisoner through Holborn to the Tower. 178
The king returned the same day to Hampton Court, seemingly little
affected by his uncle's fate, and the council met on 15 October to
reorganize the government in the favour of Warwick. One of those
who gained by this coup <Tttat was Sir Thomas Wroth of Durrants near
Enfield, who was then made one of the four principal gentlemen of the
king's privy chamber. It was the duty of two of these gentlemen to
be always with the king, and in consideration of ' the singular care and
travail that they should have about the king's person,' and also to secure

* Literary Remains of Edw. VI (ed. J. G. Nichols), 210.
141 Strickland, Lives of the Queens of Engl. vi, 20-1.
** Edw. VI's Journal in Literary Remains of Edw. VI, 233.

" Tytler, Engl. under Edw. VI and Mary, i, 249. Somerset's suspicions were aroused by hearing
that the councillors dined every day at one another's houses.

47 Literary Remains of Edw. VI, 235. * Ibid. ; Tytler, op. cit. i, 205.

'* Str 7P e > El- Mem. ii, App. 44 ; Ellis, Letters, i (2), 166.

"* Literary Remains of Edw. VI, 235.

171 Acts of the P.C. 1547-5, PP- 34i-z- '" Ibid. 333, 337-40.

171 Literary Remains of Edw. VI, 255.

POLITICAL HISTORY

their fidelity to Warwick, their salaries of 50 were increased by yet
another $o. ln Wroth was already a favourite of the king, having been
appointed a gentleman of the chamber to Edward before his accession, a
post which he owed to Cranmer's influence. 178 During the campaign of
Pinkie, Wroth had been sent to Scotland in order that Edward might
have a full and trustworthy account of the war. 177 After Somerset's fall
he was made keeper of Syon House, which then reverted to the king
until 1553, when it was granted to the duke of Northumberland. 178
Wroth was an ardent Protestant, and as such was privy to Northumber-
land's schemes to continue the Protestant succession after Edward's death.

Lady Jane Grey spent the greater part of her life in Middlesex. 179
She entered the household of Queen Catherine Parr when barely nine
years old, and continued to live with Catherine and her second husband,
Lord Thomas Seymour, both at Chelsea and at Hanworth. 180 After
Seymour's impeachment and the fall of his brother Somerset, Jane's father
allied himself closely with the Dudleys, and in 1553 brought his family
to East Sheen, on the Surrey side of the river, in order to be near
Northumberland's house at Syon. A marriage was arranged for Jane with
Northumberland's fourth son, Guildford Dudley, as part of the plot to
win the succession from the Tudors to the Dudleys. The marriage took
place on Whit-Sunday (21 May, 1553) at Northumberland's London
house in the Strand, 181 after which Jane went to live with her husband's
parents in order that she might be at hand when Edward should die.
She detested the duke and duchess, and after some trouble, obtained
permission to retire ' for recreation ' to Chelsea Place, which then
belonged to Northumberland. 188 She was taken so ill there as to imagine
herself to be poisoned. 183

Edward VI died on 6 July. 184 Northumberland took great pre-
cautions that the news of the king's death might be kept secret, in order
to secure the persons of his sisters, so no public announcement was made
until 8 July. 185 Jane was still at Chelsea. Thither came Lady Sidney 189
on the ninth, with the news that Jane must repair the same night to Syon
House, 187 where she must appear before the assembled council. They
went up the river in a barge, the tide running so strongly that it was two
hours before they reached Syon House. Lady Jane has herself described the
scene which followed ; the deference of Northampton, Arundel, and
Pembroke ; her astonishment when her own mother and mother-in-law
paid their homage. 188 Finally, the duke of Northumberland, as president
of the council, declared the death of the king, and that Edward had left

'" Actt of the P.C. 1547-50, p. 345. >" Diet. Nat. Sing. bciii, 164.

177 Literary Remains of Edvi. VI, 50. "' Lysons, Environs of Lond. (1795), iii, 87.

79 Strickland, Tudor Princesses, 97.

80 Howard, Life of Lady Jane Grey, 156 ; Strickland, Lives of the Queens of Engl. iii, 246.
1 Durham House. 1M Strickland, Tudor Princesses, 141.

ra Pollino, L'Historia Ecclesiastica delta Revolution d" Inghilterra, 335-8.

84 Literary Remains ofEdto. VI, cxix. 18S Lingard, Hist, of Engl. v, 370.

16 The sister of Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, and mother of Sir Philip Sidney.
187 Strickland, Tudor Princesses, 143 ; cf. Gent. Mag. May, 1847, p. 491.
181 Pollino, op. cit. 335-8.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

the crown by his will to Lady Jane. The lords of the council then
performed their homage, swearing to support her to the death, ' whilst
I having heard all this, remained as stunned, and out of myself.' Be-
wildered and full of foreboding, surrounded by those she hated and
feared, yet unable, a girl of sixteen, to withstand their will, Lady Jane fell
to the ground, wept, lamented the death of the king, swooned and
submitted. 189 The next day she was conducted to Westminster and then
to the Tower, as much a prisoner then, as the gorgeous procession swept
down the river, as when, the nine days' reign at an end, she was at the
mercy of Queen Mary. 190

All the lords and ladies near London flocked in to see the coronation,
but the popular feeling in Middlesex ran very strongly against North-
umberland. As he rode out through Shoreditch a few days later on his
mission to fetch Mary from Newmarket he remarked to one who rode
near him ' The people press to see us, but not one sayeth God spede
us.' m When, as Mary's prisoner, he again passed through the place, ' all
the people reviled him and called him traitor and heretic.' m Mary's
triumphant entry took place on 30 July. The last miles of her progress
through Middlesex were thronged with crowds, whose enthusiasm left
no doubt as to the popularity of her cause. The Princess Elizabeth rode
out from Somerset House to meet her sister, and at Whitechapel the
mayor and aldermen delivered up the sword of the City to the new
queen. 193

It was fortunate for Sir Thomas Wroth that he was not one of
those who suffered for the attempt to oust Mary from the throne. He
must have been acquainted with the whole scheme, as he was in atten-
dance on Edward VI till the last, 194 and signed the letters patent limiting
the crown to Lady Jane Grey, but fortunately for himself he took no
active part in the rebellion. He was sent to the Tower on 27 July, but
was very soon released. In January, 1553-4, when Suffolk was medi-
tating the second rising, Wroth was urged to join, but he prudently
refrained. Bishop Gardiner proposed his arrest, 195 but Wroth escaped,
probably through the influence of his son-in-law, Lord Rich, and he
spent the remainder of Mary's reign abroad, mostly at Frankfort and
Strasburg. 196

In February, 1553-4, the queen's intended marriage with Philip
of Spain brought about the rebellion of Wyatt and the men of Kent. 197
On the night of Shrove Tuesday (6 February) the insurgents crossed the
Thames at Kingston, intending to pass quickly through southern
Middlesex and to gain an entrance to the City in the early morning. 198

189 Strickland, Tudor Princesses, 144 ; Tytler, Engl. under Edw. VI and Mary, ii, 188.

190 Strickland, Tudor Princesses, 144 ; Howard, Life of Lady Jane Grey, 435.

111 Chron. of the Grey Friars (Camd. Soc.), 58 ; Chron. of Queen Jane (Camd. Soc.), 8.
"* Chron. of the Grey Friari (Camd. Soc.), 8 1. '" Ibid.

M Edward died in his arms ; Literary Remains of Edw. VI, cxcix.

m Wroth was one of the witnesses against Gardiner for the latter's sermon at St. Paul'i in July,
1548.

" Diet. Nat. Biog. Macfyn's Diary (Camd. Soc.), 54.

'" Grafton, Chron. (1809), 538.

POLITICAL HISTORY

But before they reached Brentford their advance was discovered ; 1M and
the news being carried to London, the queen's forces had ample time in
which to take up a strong position across the road by which Wyatt
must advance. 800 As Wyatt had been delayed by the dismounting of
a piece of artillery, when he heard that London was already warned of
his approach, he encamped for the night to refresh his men, who were
very weary and faint from want of food. 801 By ten o'clock the following
morning Wyatt was advancing through Kensington, and on reaching the
corner of Hyde Park he found the queen's troops, under the earl of
Pembroke, drawn up across his path. After a sharp skirmish Wyatt's
little force was cut in two. Those in the rear found it impossible to
rejoin their leader and as many as were able fled back, along the way
they had come, to Brentford. 202 Wyatt still went forward, but the story
of his subsequent battle at Charing Cross 80S and of his disappointment
at Ludgate belong to the history of Westminster and London. 80 *

Wyatt's rebellion nearly cost Princess Elizabeth her life. The queen
sent for her sister to come from Ashridge, Hertfordshire, to answer
the charge of implication in the plot, and sent the royal physician to see
that Elizabeth did not evade the command by pleading illness. 806 Starting
on the day of Lady Jane Grey's execution, 808 and travelling very slowly,
Elizabeth came on the third night of her journey to ' Mr. Dodd's at
Mimms,' and on the fourth to Mr. Cholmeley's at Highgate, where she
stayed for more than a week, too ill to proceed. 807 It is little wonder
that Elizabeth journeyed slowly, nor that she could truly plead ill-health,
for the future looked black enough. There were gibbets at each of the
City gates, and the public buildings were crowded with the heads of the
noblest in the land. 808 Whatever her fears, Elizabeth showed a brave
front. On the day on which she entered London, the same morning
that Suffolk was executed, the road from Highgate was thronged with
gazing and weeping crowds. 809 She bade her attendants uncover the
litter in which she was carried so that the people might see her as she
sat clothed in white ; and though her countenance was pale, her bearing
was ' proud, lofty, and disdainful, by which she endeavoured to conceal
her trouble.' 81 Elizabeth's popularity, as well as her own prudence and
wit, saved her life; but the following Christmas she was again journeying
through Middlesex uncertain of her fate, this time to appear before Mary

m Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary (Camd. Soc.), 47. Before coming to Brentford they
were seen by one of the queen's scouts, ' who then by chance meeting Brett and his company, the said
Brett said to the scout, " Back, villain : if thou go further to discover any company here, thou shalt die
out of hand." The scout returned in great haste.'

100 Grafton, Chron. 539.

101 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary (Camd. Soc.), 48.

"' Grafton, Chron. 541. m Chron. of the Grey Friars (Camd. Soc.), 87.

** Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary (Camd. Soc.), 48-9 ; and Appendix, 131.

>05 Nichols, Progresses of Queen Eliz. i, 6.

** Lodge, Illus. of Brit. Hist, i, 190. Robert Swift to the earl of Shrewsbury.

*" Holinshed, Chron. iii, 1 1 5 1 ; cf. Tytler, Engl. under Edw. VI and Mary, ii, 426.

108 Noailles, Ambassades en Angleterre, iii, 83.

*" Nichols, Progresses of Queen Eliz. i, 6 (note).

" Simon Renard to Chas. V, cited by Strickland, Queens of Engl. vi, 66.

2 33 5

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

at Hampton Court. She was brought under strong escort from Woodstock,
and on her way stayed for a night at the George Inn at Colnbrook,
on the borders of Middlesex and Buckinghamshire. 811 There she was
met by sixty gentlemen and yeomen from her own retinue at Somerset
House, ' much to all their comforts,' for they had not seen her for several
months.* 18 They were not to receive much comfort from their meeting,
for Sir Henry Benefield, who had the custody of Elizabeth, would not
allow them to approach near enough to speak to her, but com-
manded them in the queen's name immediately to leave the town, ' to
both their own and her grace's no little heaviness.' tl3 Hardly reassured
by this incident, Elizabeth reached Hampton Court the next night, and
found herself installed in ' the prince's lodgings,' with the doors locked
and guarded. She was left for several days to wonder what fate was in
store for her, occasionally visited by Bishop Gardiner, who vainly tried to
extort from her some confession of conspiracy against the queen. 81 * Her
suspense was ended one night when at ten o'clock she received a summons
to the queen's presence. Imagining herself to be in great danger, and
requesting the prayers of her attendant ' for she could not tell if she
should ever see her again ' she followed Sir Henry Benefield through the
garden and up the stairs which led to the queen's lodgings. 816 But her
fears proved groundless. The expectation of an heir to the throne made
the queen look upon her sister as a far less dangerous rival than hitherto,
and Philip of Spain was anxious to please the English people, and that
the popular princess should join the royal festivities at Christmastide. A
reconciliation took place between the sisters, 916 and throughout the
brilliant scenes of the following days Elizabeth was recognized as the
second royal personage in the realm. 817

Elizabeth was always a familiar and popular figure in Middlesex.
She had spent the greater part of her youth at Chelsea 818 and at Enfield, 81 '
and during Mary's reign she was allowed to hunt in Enfield Chase. 880 On
her accession in November, 1558, huge multitudes crowded to welcome
her at Highgate, and to witness the procession of bishops kneel by
the wayside to offer their allegiance ; which was graciously accepted
except in the case of Bishop Bonner, to whom Elizabeth refused her
hand. 881

During the early part of her reign Elizabeth often returned to
Elsing Hall at Enfield, 888 and in 1578 she honoured Sir Thomas Gresham,
at Osterley, with a visit, when he entertained her with great mag-
nificence. 888 Hampton Court was one of her favourite residences, and she
kept Christmas there in 1572 and 1593.

111 Holinshed, Chron. iii, 1158. "' Nichols, Progress of Queen ERz. i, 12.

11 Holinshed, Chrm. iii, 1158. '" Ibid
"Ibid. 1158-9.

" It was at this interview that Philip is supposed to have been hidden behind the tapestry ; Strick-
land, Lives of the Queens ofEngl. vi, 117. ibid. 1 18.

18 With Catherine Howard. Strype, Amah, 1,236.

Nichols, Progresses of Queen ERz. i, 17, 102. Holinshed, Chron. iii, 1784.

Strype, Annals, i, 270 ; Burghley Papers, ii, 763.
* Nichols, Progresses of Queen Eliz. ii, 279.

POLITICAL HISTORY

Great indignation was aroused in 1586 by Babington's conspiracy
against the queen's life. Babington had been detained at Walsingham's
house in London, apparently as his guest, until one night he discovered
that the all-powerful minister was fully informed of his intention to
assassinate the queen. 824 Babington immediately took to flight, and
having warned his fellow-conspirators they all fled to St. John's Wood, 826
which then afforded good covert to robbers and outlaws. To disguise
Babington his friends cut off his hair and ' besmeared and soiled the
natural beauty of his face with green walnut shells.' 2S * ' Being con-
strained by famine ' they went to Okington at Harrow--on-the-Hill, a
house belonging to a Roman Catholic family of the name of Bellamy.
There they were hidden in a barn, fed, and clothed ' in rusticall habit.'
Warrants had been issued for their arrest, and such was the popular
indignation aroused by Walsingham's exaggerated reports of the plot 227
that the fugitives did not dare try to make their escape. When they
had been in hiding for ten days, however, they were discovered, and
were taken to London for their trial. Suspicion fell heavily on all recusants
living within a few miles to the north of London. 828 Many houses were
searched, 229 and many persons examined. The Bellamies suffered severely
for having aided the fugitives; Mrs. Bellamy was committed to the Fleet
Prison, and her son Jerome was executed on the charge of having
'aided and relieved Babington, Barnewell, and Dune in the woods and in
his mother's hay-barn after that he understood that search was made for
them as traitors for conspiring the death of the queen's majesty.' 2SO

Two years later the whole county was in a bustle of preparation to
resist the Spanish invasion. The conduct of military affairs in Middlesex
lay mostly in the hands of Sir Gilbert Gerard, Sir Robert Wroth, and
Sir Owen Hopton. 831 Under their direction, the quota of men for the
county was drilled for many months before the invader sailed. 232 In
April 1,500 men were raised, in June 1,000 more, and in July, thirty-
five lances, and eighty-eight light horse. 233 Middlesex with Warwick-
shire and Leicestershire supplied the guard for the queen's person, and in
July, 1,000 of the county's trained bands were specially detailed for this
purpose. 284 When the army was finally mustered, it was quartered

ni Camden, Annals, 305. m Ibid. 306 ; Mackintosh, Hist, of Engl. iii, 309.

"* Camden, Annah, 306.

*" Nevertheless Burghley found reason to complain of the way in which the search was prosecuted.
On his way from London to Theobald's he noticed groups of men standing about in the villages. At
last, in Enfield, he asked some of these what they did, and was told that they were searching for three
young men. He asked how they would identify them, and was answered, ' Marry, my lord, by their
favour.' ' What mean you by that ? ' he asked. ' Marry,' said they, ' one of the party hath a hooked
nose.' ' And have you no other mark ? ' enquired Burghley. ' No,' said they. Burghley to Walsing-
ham, 10 Aug. 1536 ; Cooper, Noticei of Anthony Babington ofDethick, 178.

"" Cal. S.P. Dom. 1581-90, pp. 345-7.

"* Cooper, Noticei of Anthony Babington of De thick, 183.

130 Cal. S.P. Dom. 1581-90, p. 347.

01 Acts of the P.O. 1588, p. 219. n> Cal. S.P. Dom. 1581-90, pp. 271, 441.

"* Acts of the P.O. 1588, pp. 25, 144, 169. There was some difficulty in raising these, for
though the people were willing to serve, they were not well able to bear the expense, the citizens of
London who held lands in Middlesex were also taxed in the City, and the inhabitants of the Tower
Hamlets already served in the Tower. m Ibid. 202.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

largely in East Ham and Hackney, to protect the queen, and to defend
Kent and Essex as need arose. 885 The tense expectation ended at last,
the enemy hove in sight, the long-prepared beacons were lighted, and
' high on bleak Hampstead's swarthy moor, they started for the North.'

We hear little of Middlesex during the rest of Elizabeth's reign,
and as little during the reign of her successor. James was given a hearty
welcome on his accession, when he journeyed from Scotland to London.
At Theobalds (Hertfordshire) he created many new knights, among
whom was Sir Vincent Skinner of Middlesex. On his way thence to
London (7 May) he was met on the boundaries of the county by the
sheriffs of London and Middlesex, and at Stamford Hill by the chief
gentlemen of the hundreds. Of these, Sir Thomas Fowler, Sir Hugh
Losse, and Sir Arthur Attic were knighted at the Charterhouse on
1 1 May.* 36 James took such a fancy to Theobalds, when he stayed
there on his way to London, that he took possession of it, giving the
Cecils, to whom it belonged, their present estate at Hatfield. In 1608
he caused his house at Enfield to be pulled down, and the materials
removed to Theobalds, 837 so that Enfield did not see so much of court
life as hitherto.

Some scenes of the conspiracy of 1605 took place in the county,
though none of the plotters were Middlesex men. Garnet had lodgings
at Enfield, where the conspirators occasionally met. 238 During the ten
days before Parliament assembled, Catesby and Fawkes came to White
Webbes, a house in Enfield Chase, where they were visited by Thomas
Winter. 239 The famous letter by which Tresham conveyed his
mysterious warning to Lord Monteagle was received by the latter at
his house in Hoxton, where he dined on the evening of 26 October. 840
The following morning, Winter went to White Webbes to tell Catesby
his suspicions of Tresham, and to entreat him to give up the enterprise,
and flee the country. Catesby, however, was cool and firm and decided
to wait until the 30 October, when Fawkes would rejoin him, and could
be sent to examine the cellar at Westminster. A week later, the con-
spirators were riding for their lives along the road from London to
Ashby St. Legers Catesby and John Wright first, then Christopher
Wright and Percy ; in the afternoon Rokewood overtook Keyes at
Highgate, and lastly came Winter. Percy had promised to give all he
could get from the earl of Northumberland's rents to the cause, and
expected to raise about 4,ooo. M1 For this reason he went to Syon
House on 4 November, on the night of which Fawkes was seized in the
cellar. Syon House and Isleworth manor had only been granted to
Northumberland the preceding year, and he was now ' treated with
uncommon rigour by the Star Chamber, for what at most amounted to
a presumption of being privy to the Gunpowder Plot.' 84S Feeling ran so

85 S.P. Misc. (ed. Hardwicke), i, 575. > Nichols, Progresses of James I, i, u*-ij.

" Cat. S.P. Don. 1603-10, p. 419. '*> Ibid. 247.

19 Thomas Winter's Confession. * State Trials, ii, 195.

1 Bishop Williams of Chichester, The Gunpowder Treason, 56.
" Lysons, Environs of London (1795), iii, 95.

POLITICAL HISTORY

high at the time, that even a ' presumption ' was sufficient on which to
fine the earl 30,000, and to confine him in the Tower for fifteen years.
Northumberland offered his Isleworth estates to the king in payment of
the fine, but they were not accepted, and he was forced to remain a
prisoner until i62i. 243

During the reign of Charles I, there was a great deal of opposition in
Middlesex to the king's methods of raising money. The committee
raised to collect the forced loan of September, 1626, reported in October
that John Brookes, Edward Bastwick, and William Webb had contemp-
tuously refused to contribute.* 4 * To which the king replied that those
who would not serve him with their purses should serve with their
persons, and ordered that they should be enrolled forthwith among the
soldiers. 8 " Thirteen more persons ' all of reasonable ability ' refused to
contribute on the following day, and warrants were issued against them." 5
The burden of ship-money 247 was felt all the more severely in Middlesex
because the county suffered severely at this time from repeated visits of
the plague. The districts round London naturally suffered most both
from depopulation and from the interruption to trade. 248 The county
had originally been assessed at jCS'5 oo ^ ut tne sum was reduced to
^f 5,ooo. 249 The whole abatement of 500 was taken off the hundred
of Ossulstone, upon which there arose great outcry from the hundreds of
Elthorne, Spelthorne, and Isleworth, urging that those hundreds had
to bear the charges of watch and ward at Hampton Court, as well as
the extraordinary carriage for His Majesty's provisions to the Court, 250
and that therefore they were as much entitled to share the abatement as
was the hundred of Ossulstone. Complaints did not only come from
the poverty stricken. In 1636, the inhabitants of Chelsea, a suburb
which was then increasing in favour with the well-to-do, discovered that
they were taxed at a higher rate than the larger district of Acton. 261
The sheriffs replied to their complaints that Chelsea was rated so highly
because of the persons of honour and quality who had summer houses
there, and who owned land and property elsewhere. 262 In 1639, there was
actual resistance to the collectors of ship-money in the hundred of Gore,
and no less than forty distresses were taken at Harrow-on-the-Hill alone. 265

In 1640, the levies for the Scottish War and the demand for coat-
and-conduct money were greatly resented, 254 and such was the state of
discontent in Middlesex, that in May the trained bands were ordered to
be exercised on all holidays, in order to prevent riots. 255

In January, 1642, some of the Middlesex trained bands were
stationed in the new guard-house built by the king at Whitehall, 958 which

'" Hist. MSS. Com. Ref. vi, 229-31. "* Cal. S.P. Dom. 1625-6, p. 458.

"> Ibid. 459. ' Ibid. 460.

147

William Noy, who discovered ' the precedent for ship-money among the records in the Tower,'
lived at Brentford ; Strafforfs Letters, i, 262. He was one of the Commissioners to raise the forced
loan of 1626 in Middlesex ; Cal. S.P. Dam. 1625-6, p. 435.

118 Ibid. 1636-7, pp. 155, 286. * Ibid. 152.

80 Ibid. 290. * Ibid. 1635-6, p. 344. ^ Ibid.

*" Ibid. 1639, p. 434. IM Ibid. 1640, pp. 68, 155, 164, 228.

'" Ibid. 167, 201. " Ibid. 1641-3, p. 241.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

it was said so frightened the Commons that they decided to hold their
Committee meetings at the Guildhall. On the occasion of the attempted
arrest of the five members, the Commons ' who had been very high before
the King came,' sent for troops to the City. But failing to obtain them,
they sent to the trained bands in the corps-de-garde at Whitehall, ' but
they (the trained bands), stayed still.' 8 " Two days later, the Committee
of the Commons, sitting at the Guildhall, stated that it was necessary for
the safety of both Houses of Parliament that the sheriffs of Middlesex
and London should attend with the ' posse comitatus.' 2W

As far as Middlesex was concerned, the crisis of the Civil War
came very early in the struggle. In September, 1642, Essex passed through
on his way to face the king, taking with him his coffin, scutcheon and
winding-sheet as a sign that he would be faithful to the death."'
Then came Edgehill, and then the king's march southward. London
was in a panic, and when the king reached Reading on 2 November,
the news was received ' with the greatest horror.' The peace-party, led
by the earl of Northumberland, hourly increased in power. Negotiations
were opened with Charles, but he received them coldly. He had
information each night of what passed in Parliament during the day, and
to quicken the desire for peace, he advanced to Colnbrook,* 60 ' this
indeed exalted their appetite to peace.' 2<n On 1 1 November, an
embassy was sent to Colnbrook, consisting of the earls of Northum-
berland and Pembroke, Lord Wenman, William Pierpoint, and Sir John
Hippesley, carrying a petition from Parliament ' for the removal of
these bloody distempers.' 262 On receiving the petition, Charles tried to
gain some immediate advantage by proposing that Windsor should be
yielded to him as a convenient place from which negotiations might be
held. To the surprise of Parliament, Charles said nothing about a
cessation of arms pending the negotiations. Therefore the Houses
thought it prudent to order Essex (who had just brought back the
remnant of his army from Edgehill), to take the field ; but they ordered
that he should abstain from any open act of hostility while they sent
again to the king to point out these omissions. 263 Clarendon admits
that Charles had returned such an answer to Parliament as would lead
them to suppose that he would approach no nearer to London while
negotiations were pending. But he says that Prince Rupert had already
advanced towards Brentford, that the king was bound to follow him in
order to support the cavalry. 264 Charles himself wrote on the following
day that on the night of 1 1 November, ' after the departure of the
Committee of both Houses with our gracious answer to their petition, we
received certain information that the earl of Essex had drawn his forces
out of London towards us, which has necessitated our sudden resolution
to march with our forces to Brainceford.' S66 He still protested his

" Cal. S.P. Dom. 1641-3, pp. 241-2. ' Ibid. 247.

Gardiner, Hut. o/Gt. Civil War, i, 21. * Clarendon, Hist, of the RebelRon, ii, 392.

*' Cal. S.P. Dom. 1641-3, p. 405. Petition that extreme measures might be taken to secure the
safety of the City. Lords' Journ. v, 442. '"Ibid.

164 Clarendon, op. cit. ii, 389-90. * Cal. S.P. Dom. 1641-3, p. 406.

POLITICAL HISTORY

readiness to negotiate, and stated that he would receive terms at
Brentford. Parliament then sent to the king to explain that their forces
were instructed not to open hostilities, but the messenger found an
engagement already in progress, and returned without fulfilling his

mission. 266

Whatever the explanation, the facts were that on the morning of
12 November, Rupert appeared suddenly through the mist 387 which
lay heavily on the ground near the river, and fell on Hollis's regiment,* 68
which had taken up a position just west of Brentford. Hollis was
forced back into the town, where Brook's regiment was quartered.
Here the two regiments maintained an unequal fight, having barricaded
the narrow entrance to the town, and ' cast up some little breastwork at
the most convenient places.' 869 The whole of Charles's army seems to
have come up before the place was taken. 870 A Welsh regiment which
had been ' faulty ' at Edgehill, now recovered its honour and forced the
barricades. ' After a very warm service, the King's troops entered the
town.' 2n The chief officers and many soldiers on the Parliamentary
side were killed, besides many who were drowned in the river in their
attempts to escape ; eleven colours and fifteen pieces of cannon, besides
large quantities of ammunition were captured by the Royalists. 878 The
town was plundered unmercifully, and before nightfall was thoroughly
sacked. S7S That night most of the king's army ' lay in the cold fields.'* 7 *

During the day of this attack on Brentford the Parliamentary army
in and about London drew together with all haste. The life guards
were already mustered in Chelsea Fields when they heard the sound of
the volleys in the west. 876 ' With unspeakable expedition ' Essex
gathered the trained bands together * with their brightest equipage.' 87S
All through the evening of 1 2 November, his forces streamed out along
the Bath road, until by eight o'clock on the morning of the thirteenth, a
large body of troops was drawn up on Turnham Green. 277 This army
was nearly twice the size of the king's, but was of very mixed composition.
There were a few veterans who had fought at Edgehill, but the greater
part consisted of trained bands, and untrained volunteers, who were in-
capable of the complicated evolutions necessary for a successful attack on
the enemy. On the defensive, the stubborn spirit of the troops made
them a formidable array, nerved as they were by the popular report that
if the king once entered London, he would allow Rupert to pillage the
City unrestrained.

The king was in a difficult position. It would be madness to
attack Essex's superior force, for ' he had no convenient place for his

* Clarendon, op. cit. ii, 395. "^ Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 53.

** ' Those honest, religious soldiers.' Pamphlet describing the battle of Brentford, cited by-
Gardiner, op. cit. i, 47.

*" Clarendon, op. cit. ii, 395. * 70 Ashmole MS. No. 830, fol. 85, cited by Lysons.

171 Clarendon, op. cit. ii, 395. "' Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 53-4.

171 ' A True and Perfect Relation of the barbarous and cruell Passages of the King's Army at Old
Brainceford, nesj London." nt Ashmole MS. No. 830.

*" Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 54. *" Clarendon, op. cit. ii, 395. *" Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 54.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

horse (which is the greatest pillar of the army to fight).' 878 Yet it was
useless to stay where he was, while the enemy increased the strength of
their position, and while a force of 3,000 men was stationed under
Sir John Ramsay in his rear, holding the bridge at Kingston for the
Parliament. 8 Essex was strongly urged to order Ramsay to attack the
king's rear, but the professional soldiers in the army were much opposed
to the scheme, and finally Ramsay was ordered to fall back along the
south side of the Thames to defend London Bridge. 280 Later in the day
Essex sent Hampden to sweep round the flank of the king's army, and it
was probably this force which took part in the skirmish on a hill near
Acton ; but the professionals prevailed upon Essex to recall Hampden
before the manoeuvre was complete. 881 The armies remained facing one
another all that day, a few cannon shots only being exchanged, and many
were the complaints of inactivity among the Parliamentarians. 888 A
great number of spectators had ridden out of London to see the fight,
and these were bold enough when all was quiet, but hastily galloped
away whenever the king's army showed signs of movement to the
demoralization of the recruits, a few of whom took the opportunity to
decamp at each stampede. 283

Towards evening, as the king found that Essex did not mean to
attack him, he drew off his troops towards Kingston, leaving only a
small force between Old and New Brentford to cover his retreat. 284
These followed the main body as soon as they were fired upon, and
Essex took possession of Brentford without striking a blow. 285 He was
at once surrounded by a hungry crowd of the plundered townspeople,
who declared that the town had been stripped and clamoured for food.
Fortunately the wives and sisters of the citizens in the trained bands had
provided a goodly supply of loaves for their husbands and brothers, and
these were devoted to the stricken inhabitants of Brentford. 286

The Royalists in Kingston welcomed Charles and gave him the com-
mand of the bridge (the first above the City in those days). Essex
feared that the king meant to make his way into Kent where he had
many partisans among the gentry. The earl therefore threw a bridge of
boats across the Thames from Fulham to Putney, so that he could
speedily transfer his army to Surrey if necessary. 287 But Charles made
no attempt to go into Kent. The army took up its quarters in Kingston,
while he stayed the night at Hampton Court 288 before removing to Oat-
lands. His troops shortly withdrew to Reading, and on 29 November
Oxford became the royal head quarters.

The engagement at Brentford and the action of the following day
formed a turning-point in the struggle between the king and the Parlia-
ment. It was now certain that the war must be prolonged. Charles's march
towards London had seemed like a triumphal progress, but it had been

178 Ashmole MS. No. 830. 9 Gardiner, op. cit. 59.

9 Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 54. Ibid. " Whitelocke, Mem. 65.

Gardiner, op. cit. i, 59. '" Clarendon, op. cit. ii, 397.

Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 55. < A True and Perfect Relation.'

Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 55. Clarendon, op. cit. ii, 397.

POLITICAL HISTORY

checked by a hastily gathered army, and his troops never again approached
so near to the capital. His conduct in ordering or allowing the attack
on Brentford while negotiations were pending, though no doubt defen-
sible on military grounds, was most strongly resented both in London and
Middlesex, and did much to turn the scale of favour against him. 289 The
petition of the plundered inhabitants of Brentford, and the generous
response to the order for a collection to be made in their aid, show with
what feelings Middlesex regarded the royal army.* 90

Although after November, 1 64.2, the royal cause had little chance of
success in Middlesex, yet many of the gentry of the county belonged to
the king's party and followed him to Oxford. Sir Arthur Aston of
Fulham distinguished himself at Edgehill by driving the right wing of
the Parliamentary army from the field. 891 He was made commander of
Reading when the king went to Oxford, and was probably at the taking
of Bristol. Later he was made governor of Oxford, where he was much
hated for his cruelty and imperious temper. 294 Among those who
followed the king to Oxford were John Gary of Marylebone Park, Sir
Francis Rowse of Hedgstone Manor, Harrow, and Sir Henry Wroth of
Durrants. Sir Henry Spiller of Laleham took up arms for the king, as
did also Sir Robert Fenn and his son, and Sir John Kaye. 293 One of
the most conspicuous figures in Middlesex at this time was Henry Rich,
earl of Holland, who owned Holland House in Kensington. He was a
man of ability, and had been prominent at court during the early part of
the reign, but his lack of principle and instability of character prevented
him when the crisis came from serving either side with success or fidelity.
Before the war he had attached himself to the queen's party, and was
made general of the horse when war broke out with Scotland. 89 *
When the army was disbanded he retired to Holland House, having
received some imaginary cause for offence. 895 At the opening of the
Civil War, Holland sided with the Parliament, and was present with
Essex at the battle of Turnham Green ; indeed the Parliamentary
historians lay it to his account that Essex made no decisive action
against the king that day. 896 In August, 1643, when the peers who
had remained at Westminster began to leave their seats, Holland set
out with Bedford to join the king at Oxford. 297 They were stopped at
Wallingford while the king deliberated whether they should be received
or not. All considerations of prudence counselled a warm welcome, but
the Royalist hopes were high at that time, and under the queen's
influence the majority of the council urged that the fugitives should be

"* ' If your majesty had prevailed it is easy to imagine what a miserable peace we should have had.'
Letter from the Houses of Parliament, 1 6 Nov. 1642.

" Cal. S.P. Dam. 1641-3, p. 417.

191 Clarendon, op. cit. ii, 358, 361.

"* In November, 1646, he was sent to Ireland with the marquis of Ormonde, and was left to
defend Drogheda with 3,000 men. When the town fell in September, 1647, Aston was butchered with
the rest of the garrison. (Diet. Nat. Biog.)

* 93 Cal. Com. for Comp. ii, 1145, '3 I2 > H 02 * H 8 *> '5^7'

181 Straffbrd Letters, ii, 276. "* Clarendon, op. cit. i, 295.

598 Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 54. w Gardiner, op. cit. i, 199.

2 41 6

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

treated with scorn." 8 Charles took a middle course. The earls were to
be allowed to come to Oxford, but every one was to treat them as he
thought best. Holland received nothing but cold looks, and though he
followed the king to Colchester and was present at Newbury, he was
disappointed in the hope that he would be restored to his office as groom
of the stole. He still refused to acknowledge that he had committed
any offence in siding with the rebels, and leaving the king's party on
6 November he threw himself at the feet of Parliament, * which after a
short imprisonment gave him leave to live in his own house with-
out further considering him as a man able to do little good or harm.' 299
He employed his time in publishing a declaration of the causes of his
going to and returning from Oxford, which lost him the regard of the
few friends he still retained.

After Brentford, Middlesex was completely at the disposal of Parlia-
ment. The proceedings of the Committee for the Advance of Money
fell very heavily on the county in 1643. The object of the com-
mittee was to furnish the sinews of war, and at first its exactions fell
mainly on those within a twenty-mile radius of London. No distinc-
tion of party was made in the first instances, but gradually delinquents
came to be more frequently and heavily taxed. In April, 1643, Sir
Nicholas Crispe, whose house in Lime Street was sold ' by the
candle,' also had his estate at Hammersmith despoiled, and his goods
carried to London for the use of the Parliament. 800 Sir Thomas Allen,
who lived at Finchley, was assessed at 1,000, and his household goods
were distrained for arrears. 801 There is a long list of those who were
called upon to pay sums varying from 200 to 2,000.** Sir John
Wolfenstone of Stanmore was said to have lost 100,000 during the
war by fines, and by the seizure of his estates. 308

The country round London, and especially the south-western
portion of Middlesex, was used as a camping and recruiting ground
for the Parliamentary armies. In August, 1643, when Essex was
about to raise the siege of Gloucester, the rendezvous for the
army was appointed for Hounslow Heath. Some of the Commons
who rode out to inspect the troops reported them to be * a very shattered
and broken body,' and found their general in a very dispirited con-
dition. 804 They used every effort to recruit the army 805 and such was
their energy that in three weeks three regiments of auxiliary forces had
been raised, and these with three regiments of London trained bands
gave Essex an additional 5,000 men. 306 On Saturday, 26 August, he
broke camp from his last stations at Colnbrook and Uxbridge with an
army 'so full of patience as that with one fortnight's pay (being much
in arrears) they were content to march against all these difficulties.' 8or

198 Clarendon, op. cit. ii, 146-51. "" Ibid. 156, 191-9.

" Cal. Com. fir Advance of Money, 21 April, 1643. *" Ibid. 21 June.

m Cal. S.P. Dom. 1641-3, p. 474. * Lysons, op. cit. iii, 400.

1 Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 65. *>* Washbourn, Bibl. Glouc. Ixv.

"" Com. Jount. 3, 15, 1 6 August. *>' Washbourn, Bibl. Glouc. ZJ3-

POLITICAL HISTORY

When Essex returned in triumph at the end of September, he held a
review of all the London trained bands in Finsbury Fields.

In May, 1643, g reat alarm was felt lest the king should march
against London, and trenches were hastily made on all the approaches
to the City, such as at Islington, in the fields near St. Pancras, and at
Mile End, at which men, and even women and children, worked day and
night. 808 There was another alarm in the campaign of 1644, when
Essex and Waller had separated and the king entered Buckinghamshire
with Waller hopelessly in the rear. A force was hastily collected, with
which Major-general Browne was ordered to defend the country
between London and the king. On 25 June Sir Gilbert Gerrard
reported four thousand men to be ready in Middlesex. 30 ' Two days
earlier his own regiment, which he had raised in the county, was
ordered to march to Hertford under Browne. 810 The rest of the force
was composed of men from the eastern counties of a non-military
character, but luckily for Browne's little force the king could not
shake off Waller and on 29 June fought at Cropredy Bridge.

Middlesex supplied many men during that year for the Parlia-
mentary armies. In March sixty horse were sent into the field. 811 After
the second battle of Newbury all the forces of the county were drawn
to Staines to defend the western approaches to London. 812 During the
winter of 1644-5 Middlesex men were in garrison at Windsor Castle. 813
In March, 1645, 2,500 men were raised in Middlesex with London,
Westminster and Southwark, and in June an additional 800 to recruit
Fairfax's army. 314 A troop of forty horse were with Major-general
Browne at Abingdon in January, 1644 5, when he complained of fre-
quent desertions because of the straitness of their quarters, the scanti-
ness of victuals, and the lack of money ; 3U 200 more were sent to him
in June. 81 ' Four hundred foot joined Cromwell before Oxford, 317 and
in June the county forces marched under Colonel Massey to relieve
Taunton, and ' went forth with much cheerfulness.' When Fairfax's
army was at Reading during the summer of 1645 recruiting went on
apace in Middlesex.

The county suffered not only from the continual drain of men
and money, but also from the billeting of troops. In January, 1 6434,
a petition was presented to Parliament from the inhabitants of Mid-
dlesex and other of the south and eastern counties, 318 against ' the in-
tolerable oppression and undoing grievance of Free Quarter ' which ' has
rendered us no better than mere conquered slaves ' of the soldiers, who
' like so many Egyptian locusts feed so long upon us at free costs.' s19
In November, 1644, the gentlemen of Middlesex again petitioned, and

308 Lords' Journ. v, 419 ; Perfect Diurnall, May, June, 1643.

109 Col. S.P. Dom. 1644, p. 274. l10 Ibid. 265.

'" Ibid. 77. ' Ibid. 1644-5, P- 136.

'"Ibid. 124, 134,327- '" Ibid. 359, 625.

315 Ibid. 247. " Ibid. 555. " Ibid. 550.

118 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. vi, 3.

319 Petition of the inhabitants of Middlesex,' &c., B.M.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

Essex was desired to punish the ' particular insolencies ' which were
complained of. MO In the following April Fairfax was commanded to
remove his forces which lay in Middlesex, and the county was em-
powered to refuse lodging to such officers and soldiers as had not proper
warrant from their superior officers. 8 * 1

In 1 644-5 was he^ that abortive conference known as the Treaty
of Uxbridge. The Commissioners met on 29 January. Those repre-
senting the king were quartered on the south side of the town, those
representing the Parliament were on the north side, 352 each party having
a ' best inn ' reserved for their use. 38 * On the evening of their arrival
the two parties exchanged visits. 834 Sir John Bennet's house at the
Buckinghamshire end of the town was appointed as a ' treaty house,' and
it was arranged that the king's party should come in by the ' foreway ' and
the Parliament's by the ' backway,' a room in the middle of the house
having been arranged for the meetings. 326 Uxbridge was in the Parlia-
mentary country, and the Royalists were treated as guests, but Clarendon
declares that the townspeople observed that the Parliament's men did
not look as much at home as did the cavaliers, and adds that the former
had not that ' alacrity and serenity of mind as men use to have who do
not believe themselves to be at fault.' S26 The conference was to last
twenty days, not counting the days of coming and returning, nor the
days spent in devotion, ' there falling out three Sundays and one fast day
in those first twenty days.' On the first morning of the conference
Christopher Love, a celebrated Puritan divine, preached the usual
market-day sermon. He told the large congregation that the king's
commissioners were come with ' hearts of blood,' and that there was
as great a distance between the Treaty and peace as between heaven
and hell. The Cavaliers complained, but the Parliamentarians disowned
him, and he was afterwards reprimanded by Parliament. 387

The discussions and wranglings over ecclesiastical, military and
Irish questions do not belong to the history of Middlesex. The nego-
tiations from the first were hopeless, and early served to show how
unlikely was the chance of any settlement between Charles and the Par-
liament. The main proceedings had opened on 3 1 January, and they
came to an end on Saturday, 22 February. On the Sunday both sides
rested in the town, and spent the afternoon in exchanging farewells,
' parting with such dryness towards each other as if they scarce hoped
to meet again.' The Parliament had allowed two days for the Royalists
to return to Oxford as the time of year was bad for travelling, but the
king's commissioners were so unwilling to run the risk of being caught
on the road after the armistice ended, that they were in their coaches
early enough on the Monday morning to kiss the king's hand at Oxford
that night. 8 ' 8

Cat. S.P. Dm. 1644-5, P- H4- " Ibid. 441, 443 (39).

Lysons, Environs of Land. (1800), v, 179.
Whitelocke, Mem. 127.
"I Clarendon, op. cit. ii, 472. Whitelocke, Mem. 127.

Clarendon, op. cit. iii, 472. Ibid. 474. * Ibid. JO I.

POLITICAL HISTORY

In 1647 came tne struggle between the Presbyterians in Parlia-
ment and the Independents in the army, the bone of contention which
brought matters to a crisis being the control of the City Militia. There
were stormy scenes in Parliament on 26 July, 829 and when the Houses
met again after a four days' adjournment it was found that the Inde-
pendent members with the two speakers, Lenthall and Manchester, had
fled to the army. 530

The army under Fairfax had left Bedford on 29 July en route for
London, and disregarding the order of Parliament that the army should
remain fifty miles from the City, Fairfax had reached Uxbridge after a
hard march on 30 July. 831 A meeting was held privately at Syon House
between Fairfax with his officers on the one side and the earl of North-
umberland, Lord Saye and Sele, Lord Wharton, with the speakers and other
members, on the other. 332 Meanwhile the Independent party in London
had grown bolder, and the City had become tired of anarchy and riots, and
a deputation, therefore, waited on Fairfax at his quarters on 3 August. 333
The general stated in a long declaration that the army was about to
march on London, and that the eleven members of Parliament who had
been previously impeached by the army must be given up immediately. 331
Then followed a dramatic scene which is supposed to have been pre-
arranged. The whole army, 20,000 strong, was drawn up on
Hounslow Heath 336 in battalions which stretched near a mile and a
half in length. 336 Fairfax rode on to the Heath accompanied by the
earls of Northumberland, Salisbury and Kent, Lord Grey of Wark,
Lord Howard of Escrick, Lords Wharton, Saye and Sele, and Mulgrove,
besides the two speakers and about a hundred members of the House
of Commons. 887 The General accompanied by the said lords and gen-
tlemen then rode along the entire length of the army from regiment to
regiment. They were received with tumultuous enthusiasm, and with
cries of ' Lords and Commons and a free Parliament.' 3 After this
demonstration, the fugitive members took their leave of the army, some
going to Syon House with the earl of Northumberland, and some to
Stanwell with Lord Saye and Sele. Later in the day the Elector Palatine
came on to the heath, and reviewed the army in company with Fairfax
and many other gentlemen, and was also warmly greeted. 339

Fairfax was now assured of success. Southwark had sent a message
imploring his aid, and he had dispatched Colonel Raynesborough with
a brigade of horse, foot and cannon from Hampton Court to take pos-
session. 8 * On the afternoon of 3 August the City surrendered, and a
letter was written to Fairfax announcing this decision. He received

m Lord? Journ. ix, 143 ; Com. Journ. v, 256-9. IJO Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 207.

331 Whitelocke, Mem. 262. Fairfax's quarters were at Colnbrook, 'at one Mr. Wilson's neere
the bridge whither he came Sunday night ' (i Aug.). Perfect Diurnall, 2 Aug.
*" Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 208-9.

SJS Com. Journ. v, 266. Perfect Diurnall, 3 Aug. * u Whitelocke, Mem. 263.

835 The army was then quartered at Brentford and Twickenham. Clarendon, op. cit. iv, 246.
136 Perfect Diurnall, 2-9 Aug. s7 Ibid. " Whitelocke, Mem. 263.

m Rushworth, Coll. vii, 743-51. * w Clarendon, op. cit. iv, 247.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

it on the morning of the 4th at Isleworth, whither he had removed on
the previous day. 3 * 1 On the 5th the whole army moved nearer to
London, the General taking up his quarters at Hammersmith in the
house of Sir Nicholas Crispe, who had fled to France. 842 He met the
commissioners from the City at the end of the town that morning, and
they announced the surrender of the forts along the river. On 6 August
the fugitive members met Fairfax at the earl of Holland's house at
Kensington, where they subscribed to a declaration expressing their
agreement with the army in its late proceedings. 843 The whole army
then marched in triumphal procession into London ; Fairfax, with the
Lords and Commons, was surrounded by a guard three deep, and every
soldier in the force was crowned with laurels. 8 * 4

Meanwhile the king had been taken to Stoke Abbey when the
army entered Middlesex, but as soon as Fairfax had come to an agree-
ment with the City, Charles was removed to Hampton Court. 846 Except
that he must remain at the Palace, Charles was allowed absolute freedom.
His friends and servants had free access to his person, and the citizens
of London rode out frequently to Hampton as they had been used to
do at the end of a progress. 846 Lord Capel came with news of the
Royalists in Jersey, 847 and the marquis of Ormond with news from
Ireland. 848 Charles was allowed also to see his children whom Parlia-
ment had placed under the care of the earl of Northumberland. They
had been removed from Whitehall to Northumberland's house at Syon
on account of the plague, and were within easy riding distance of
Hampton Court. 849

The months which followed were passed in negotiations with the
army and with the Scots. At first Cromwell came often from his
quarters at Putney to see the king, but after the latter's refusal of
the Heads of Proposals, the feeling of the army rose hotly against
Charles, and the Scots grew proportionately more pressing in their
demands that he should throw himself into their hands. On
22 October Loudoun, Lauderdale and Lanark presented themselves at
Hampton Court with a written assurance that the Scots were prepared
to assist Charles in the recovery of his throne. 860 They came again on
the following day, accompanied by fifty horse, and urged the king to
escape under their escort. 361 Charles, however, would not take so
decided a step, and when at length he decided on escape, only Ash-
burnham, Berkeley and Legge were in the secret. 852 His first prepara-
tions aroused the suspicions of Colonel Whalley, who was in command
of the guard at the palace. At the end of October, therefore, he posted
guards within as well as without, and on i November Ashburnham

141 Perfect Diumall, 2-9 Aug. "' Ibid. " Whitclocke, Mem. 263-4.

"' Perfect Diurnall, 2-9 Aug. "' Clarendon, op. cit. iv, 244.

116 Ibid. 247-50. > Ashburnham, Narrative, i, 104.

" Warwick, Memoirs, 302-3. " Whitelocke, Mem. 260.

150 Clarendon State Papers, ii, 380.

111 Burner, Hist, of his own Time, v, 123.

151 Ashburnham, Narrative, ii, 100 ; Berkeley, Memoirs, 47.

POLITICAL HISTORY

and most of the king's attendants were removed from Hampton Court. 353
On 9 November Charles received a mysterious letter informing him
that the Levellers, his enemies in the army, had resolved on his death. 354
He could still communicate with Ashburnham, and that night Berkeley
was brought secretly to the palace and final preparations were made for
the escape. 856 On the Thursday, 1 1 November, the king retired early
to his room ; 856 horses were brought to the back door of the garden,
to which there was a passage from the king's room, 357 and accom-
panied by Ashburnham, Berkeley and Legge he made his escape
unnoticed. 3 "

The alarm was given within half an hour of his departure, but
the king and the fugitives were already across the river. The officers
who broke into the king's apartments found only some letters on the
table in the king's handwriting, and a cloak cast aside on the way
to the water. 859 Colonel Whalley immediately sent word to Cromwell
at Putney, who apparently hastened over to Hampton Court, and
having assured himself of the king's escape dispatched the news to
Speaker Lenthall. 360

Middlesex seems to have shared the general Royalist reaction which
preceded the second Civil War. The county joined with Kent, Essex,
and Surrey in a declaration to the army under Fairfax in which were
rehearsed the ' many miseries' of the time, and the attempts to restore
prosperity to the nation by the proposed ' re-establishment of his Majesty
unto his royal rights, the Settlement of Religion and Liberty according
unto the known received Laws, and (upon payment of their arrears) the
disbanding of the army.' 361 Having affirmed the failure of the Parliament
to attain ' the ends for which we first engaged them,' and that the Parlia-
ment had ' for divers years continued free-born people of England in a
greater servitude than at any time since the Norman Conquest,'
the gentlemen of the county announced their intention to arm, and ' by
our power (God assisting) to command what we could not entreat.' To
this end they ' heartily and seriously ' invited the soldiers of the army
either to ' repair unto us with your horses and arms,' or to go to their
own homes, in which case their whole arrears should be paid. 362 Little
result seems to have come of the Declaration. The second Civil War
was soon over as far as Middlesex was concerned.

A general rising was planned by the queen and Jermyn, which was
to follow the appearance of the Scots in England. The earl of Holland,
who through the influence of the lord of Carlisle had made his peace

*" Ashburnham, Narrative, ii, 100. *" Ibid. 105. '" Berkeley, Memoirs, 161.

*" Clarendon, op. cit. iv, 263, says that Charles pretended indisposition, but Berkeley (Memoirs, 50)
that it was his custom to retire early on Thursday to write letters for the foreign post.

157 Clarendon, op. cit. iv, 263. ** Warwick, Memoirs, 305.

"* Bulstrode, Memoirs, 162.

560 Com. Journ. v, 350; Rushworth, Coll. vii, 871 ; Carlyle, CnmvielFs Letters, i, 264. Dated
' Hampton Court, Twelve at night, 1 1 Nov. 1 647.'

861 ' The joint declaration of the several Counties of Kent, Essex, Middlesex, and Surrey, unto the
soldiers of the army, now under the command of the Lord Fairfax' (B.M.).

** ' The joint Declaration.'

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

with the Royalists, was appointed commander-in-chief. 383 The general
scheme was rendered hopeless, however, by the premature rising in Kent
(21 May, 1648). After his defeat at Maidstone, Norwich, to whom
Holland had given the command in Kent, heard that thousands had risen
for the king in Essex, and that there were 2,000 men in arms at Bow. SM
The City refused to let him pass through, so he decided to cross the
Thames below London. 3 " He intended to go only to Bow and Stratford,
but finding that his news had been false and that there was no force
gathered to receive him, he went on to Chelmsford. About 500 men
had followed him, crossing the river in boats, with their horses
swimming. 3 " They meant to land in Essex, but on the morning of the
4 June they found themselves in Middlesex under the Hamlets of the
Tower. Here they were confronted by the regiment of the Hamletteers.
Their leader, Sir William Compton, prevailed upon the regiment to let
them pass on a promise to disband, but when they reached Bow Bridge
they forced the turn-pike to let them through into Essex, and met
Norwich, on his return from Chelmsford, at Stratford. 887 Fairfax had
meanwhile sent Colonel Whalley in pursuit of the Royalists. 388 He pressed
after them, but was beaten back and pursued to Mile End, where the
pursuers themselves fell into an ambuscade, and were forced to retreat.
The Hamletteers then returned to the attack, but were surrounded in Bow
church, where they had taken refuge, and were finally released on condi-
tion that they returned to their homes. The Royalists retired behind the
Lea, setting guards at the fords over the river ; and when a Parliamentary
force of dragoons was collected on Mile End Green, they withdrew to
Stratford. 369 There were a few skirmishes at ' Bow Townes End ' until
7 June, when the rising passed into Essex. 370 The earl of Holland took
the field on 4 July, being forced to act prematurely because the committee
at Derby House had knowledge of his intended rising. He appeared in
arms at Kingston, but after four days' skirmishing in Surrey he gave up
all hope of success, for he found that the Royalists did not join him,
and that the number of his followers dwindled daily. 371 On 7 July
the deputy-lieutenant of Middlesex was ordered to guard the bridges
and ferries over the Thames, and to secure the boats on his side of the
river. 378 Guards were posted in the county to prevent any person
from joining the rising in Surrey. 373 Holland entered Middlesex with a
small following, but without attempting an action ; he pushed through
the narrow lanes about Harrow on his way to St. Albans. 874 The
insurrection was finally ended by his capture on 9 July at St. Neots. 376

" Gardiner, op. cit. iv, 138. >* Carter, A Most True and Exact Narrative, 102. Ibid.

1 Gardiner, op. cit. iv, 138 ; cf. Carter, Narrative, 32 ; Clarendon, op. cit. iv, 358.
Carter, Narrative, 107-1 1. > Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 250.

169 Carter, Narrative, 1 1 1-14.

170 On 5 June Parliament passed an Act of Indemnity for all, except Norwich, who would lay
down arms ; Com. Journ. v, 586. On 7 June Sir William Hicb and others submitted ; Whitelocke,
Mem. 310.

" Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 255. " Qal. S.P. Dom. 1648-9, p. 169.

J bid - 93- Whitelocke, Mem. 3 j 8.

Ludlow, Memoirs, i, 255.

POLITICAL HISTORY

He was condemned to death by the High Court of Justice, 37 " and
his firmness on the scaffold, as well as his last attempt in the king's
cause, went some way towards making the Royalists forget his earlier
vacillation. 377

After the king's death Middlesex settled down quietly under the
Commonwealth. Several prominent republicans lived in the county.
Lambert was quartered at Holland House in i649, 878 where, owing to
his deafness, Cromwell insisted that their conference should be held in
the meadow. After his difference with Cromwell, Fairfax inhabited
Holland House until it was restored to the countess of Holland. Sir
William Waller lived at Osterley 87 ' until his death in 1668. Of the
regicides, Owen Rowe and Colonel John Okey lived at Hackney. 880 Many
of the Royalists made their peace with the government and returned to
their estates. Of these, Lord Campden, who had been a zealous Royalist,
compounded for 9,000, and lived at Campden House during the
Protectorate. 881 Sir John Thorowgood of Kensington, a gentleman-
pensioner of Charles I, joined the republicans during the interregnum.
Several Parliamentarians bought land in Middlesex during the sale of
church lands, and of these Sir William Roberts, who held the manor of
Neasden, 882 represented Middlesex in the Parliament which gave Cromwell
the title of Protector. Some little agitation was caused in 1650 when
Parliament proceeded to break up Enfield Chase into small lots, and to sell
these to soldiers who had fought on the revolutionary side in the war. The
inhabitants of Enfield claimed the right of common, and the rioters broke
down the inclosures in the Chase. 383 Four files of soldiers were sent
against them, and two petitions were sent to Parliament : one from the
officers who had bought lands, the other from the inhabitants of Enfield
and Edmonton. 88 *

Great alarm was felt in August, 1651, when the Scots advanced into
England. Barnet was appointed as the rendezvous for the forces in the
south, and Middlesex was represented there by 1,000 men from the
militia. 885 The news soon came of Cromwell's victory at Worcester, and
the 500 Middlesex men who had marched out to Uxbridge were ordered
to return home, though for over a week troops kept guard on all the main
roads in the county. 886

When Monk marched south in February, 1660, he broke up his
last camp at Barnet on the third, and marched that day into London. 387
Before coming to Highgate the general drew up his forces which
consisted of four regiments of foot and three of horse, 5,800
men in all, with whom he entered the City by Gray's Inn Lane and
Holborn Bars. 888

" Clarendon, op. cit. Hi, 174, 271. '" Andrews, Bygone M iddlesex, 119.

t78 Perfect Diurnal!, 9 July, 1649. m Lysons, Environs of Land. (1795), iii, 27.

"* Ibid. Hackney. > Ibid, iii, 179.

""Ibid. 613. "Ibid, ii, 286-7.
184 Ca/.S.P.Dom. 1658-9, pp. 363, 368 (30).

84 Ibid. 1651, pp. 325, 346. * 86 Ibid. 411-12. ** Ludlow, Memoirs, 818.

388 Price, Mystery and Method of His Majesty's Restoration, 757.

2 49 7

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

After the Restoration Court life returned to Middlesex. Charles II
was frequently at Hampton Court, 889 which had fortunately escaped the
fate of other crown lands, for Cromwell took a fancy to it and reserved it
for his own use during the Protectorate.

By 1686 James II had succeeded in estranging every class in England
by his over-zeal for the re-establishment of Roman Catholicism. Riots
took place all over the country on account of the favour shown to
Roman Catholics. London especially was in great excitement when
the chapel in Lime Street was opened for the Elector Palatine, and the
City-trained bands could not be relied upon to quell the frequent riots.
In the early summer of that year the king formed the idea of establishing
a large military camp on Hounslow Heath, chiefly with the object of
overawing London. The army was always dear to the king's heart, and he
showed the greatest interest in the formation of the camp. As early as
1 6 April he rode out to Hounslow himself to choose a suitable
position on the Heath. 890 Here between 13,000 and 16,000 men were
collected in the circumference of about aj miles ; fourteen battalions
of foot, thirty-two squadrons of horse, twenty-six pieces of artillery,
besides the quantities of guns and ammunition which were dragged hither
from the Tower. 891 The camp was established during May and June,
and the first great review was held on 30 June. It was made an
occasion of great state, and a gallery was raised for the queen, the queen
dowager, and her ladies. James himself led the troops until he had passed
the queens, when he dismounted, and the commander-in-chief, Lord
Feversham, marched before them. 898 On another occasion, in July, the
king, ' as a piece of gallantry,' made all his 4,000 horse march at two
o'clock in the morning into Staines meadow to attend the queen from
thence to the Heath, where she honoured Lord Arran by dining with
him. 898

The general suspicion with which the king's love for his troops was
regarded made James think their presence all the more necessary. He
spared no pains to render the force efficient, and gave his attention even
to details of clothing, arms, and discipline. The army was soon a ' very
compleat body of men.' It had the reputation of being the best paid,
best equipped, and ' most sightly body of troops of any in Europe,' and
raised the king's and the kingdom's credit to no little extent abroad. 894 So
proud was James of his army that he could not refrain from ' des-
canting in his letters to the Prince of Orange on the beauty of his troops,
not without a secret pleasure for the reflection that the exultation could
give no great pleasure to the Prince.' S95 London had at first regarded
the camp with awe, but the king's frequent visits to Hounslow and their

*" Hist. AfSS. Com. Rep. v, 1 53. He went there as early as 9 June, 1660, ' and had by the way a
great fall of his horse, but God be thanked no hurt.'

90 Reresby's Memoirs, 360. 'I waited upon His Majesty to Hounslow Heath. . . . He was after-
wards entertained at dinner by Mr. Shales, the provider, in a little house built there for the convenience
of this business, where his Majesty was more pleasant and entertaining to all the company than he used
to be.'

*' EUii Carres, i, 125, 271. "^ Sir John Bramston, Autobiografhy, 234. *" Ellis Carres, i, 125.

"* J. S. Clarke. Life afjas. II, ii, 71. 3W Dalrymple, Memoirs, pt. i, bk. iv, p. 103.

POLITICAL HISTORY

attendant gaieties soon brought the citizens to look upon Hounslow Heath
as a pleasure resort.

Mingled with the musketeers and dragoons, a multitude of fine ladies and gentle-
men from Soho Square, sharpers from Whitefriars, invalids in sedans, monks in hoods
and gowns, lacqueys in rich liveries, pedlars, orange girls, mischievous apprentices, and
gaping clowns, were constantly passing and re-passing through the long lanes of tents
... In truth the place was merely a gay suburb of the capital. 398

Familiarity had the proverbial result, and London no longer feared the
army, which indeed, soon ceased to be a menace to its safety. The
troops on which the king had so greatly depended, and whose welfare
he had rightly cherished as his own, became imbued with the temper of
the City and of the nation. 897 A strong Protestant bias made itself felt
among the soldiers and ' it appeared on many occasions that the army
had a great animadvertence to the King's religion.' S9S

The Roman Catholic officers, whose admission to the army the
king had gained by the suspension of the Test Act, were very few in
number. James had a chapel in the camp, but few officers or men
heard mass there, and those few were treated with great scorn by their
fellows. 399 Protestant tracts were freely circulated, in which the troops
were exhorted to use their arms in defence of the Bible, the Great
Charter, and the Petition of Right. 400 As the crisis of 1688 drew near
it became evident that the army could not be trusted if trouble arose.
James still went frequently to the camp, driving there as a rule twice a
week, sometimes with Major-General Worden, 401 and sometimes with the
future duke of Marlborough, then Lord Churchill. 402 He went to
Hounslow on the morning of the last day of the trial of the Seven
Bishops. 403 Sunderland sent a courier with news of the acquittal, who
was brought before the king while he was in Lord Feversham's tent.
On hearing the news James exclaimed fiercely, 'So much the worse for
them.' He set out shortly afterwards for London, and scarcely had he
left the camp when a great shout broke out from the soldiers. The king
asked what noise was that, and was answered that it was ' Nothing, that
the soldiers were glad that the Bishops were acquitted.' Then James
broke out, ' Do you call that nothing ? ' and again said gloomily, ' So
much the worse for them.' 404 The news was received with even more
acclamation at the camp than elsewhere, 408 and the soldiers were soon
more dreaded by the Court than ever they had been by the City. James
went several times to Hounslow during July, 40 * but he saw fit to break
up the camp early in August. 407 The troops were scattered over the
country on the excuse that they would be needed to keep order at the
approaching elections, but in reality because they had become more a
danger than a protection to the king. 4

408

** Macaulay, Hut. o/Engl. ii, 102. *" Bramston, Autobiog. 234.

98 Burnet, Hist, of His Own Time, iii, 154. *" Clarke, Life of] as. 11, ii, 70.

100 Macaulay, op. cit. ii, 103. 4C1 Ellis Carres, ii, 24.

01 Ibid, ii, i. 403 Ibid, ii, 2. The jury for the trial was drawn from Middlesex.

14 Macaulay, op. cit. ii, 388. 40S Clarke, Life ofjas. 11, ii, 163.

406 Reresby's Memoirs, 397, 399. *" ///'/ Corw. ii, 116. 408 Ibid, ii, 139.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

After the Revolution Middlesex was connected even more intimately
than before with the life of the Court. William III very soon discovered
a predilection for Hampton Court, and after he had altered and added to
the palace he was seldom in London. The king's Dutch friends formed
quite a colony in southern Middlesex, and after the duke of Schomberg
received an English peerage he took his title from Brentford. The
Princess Anne also lived at Hampton Court during the early part of the
reign, and until her relations with the queen made it desirable that she
should find a house of her own. While the question of her income was
before Parliament she withdrew to Lord Craven's house at Kensington
Gravel Pits, which he had lent as a nursery for her son, the duke of
Gloucester.

Another royal palace was built by William III at Kensington. It
was near enough to London for all business of state and yet it was free
from the smoke which so much affected the king's asthma. Early in 1 690
he bought the lease of Lord Nottingham's house at Kensington, and the
palace was hastily finished on his return from the Irish campaign.* 09 The
political intrigues of the reign centred round Kensington and Hampton
Court Palaces. The feud between the queen and Princess Anne still
continued, and after the duke of Marlborough's disgrace and the duchess's
subsequent exclusion from the queen's presence at Kensington, Anne
fled from Hampton Court and took refuge at Syon House,* 10 the property
of the duke of Somerset since his marriage with the heiress of the Percies.
During the winter of 1693-4 the queen was at Kensington Palace, while
Anne was at Berkeley House and her son at Campden House, but as
her quarrel with Queen Mary still continued, the entree to Kensington
was barred to her although open to her son. On 28 December, 1694
(O.S.), the Queen died at Kensington. Immediately after her death
Somers negotiated a reconciliation between the king and his sister-in-
law. 411 Anne came to Campden House, whence she was carried in a
sedan chair, for she could not walk, into the presence of the king at
Kensington. Her political interests as heir-apparent being now the same
as the king's, they agreed to sink the memory of many mutual injuries.* 18

On 3 1 December the House of Peers went in a body to Kensington
to present an address to the king deploring the death of Queen Mary.
The same afternoon the Commons came with a still longer address and a
still more urgent appeal that the king would direct his attention to his
own preservation.* 13 William lived indeed in great danger of assassina-
tion by the Jacobites, and one of the many plots against his life was
connected with Middlesex. In 1696 Sir George Barclay came to England
from the court of St. Germains, bearing a commission from James II
requiring all his loving subjects to rise in arms on his behalf.* 1 * Barclay
interpreted his commission to mean that he should get rid of the usurper
as best he could. He gathered about him a band of forty conspirators,

* Daliymple, Memoirs, App. ii, 150. 41 Loud. Gaz. No. 2758.

'" Conduct of the Duchess of Marlborough, 108. 4I> Evelyn's Diary (cd. Bray), 505.

" White Kennet, Hist. ofEngl. iii, 674. 4 Wilson, Memoirs of the Duke of Berwick, i, 1 34.

POLITICAL HISTORY

composed of English and Irish Roman Catholics, Non-jurors, and
Jacobites. 415 The place chosen for the attempt was Turnham Green, the
day 1 5 February. The king intended to drive from Kensington
Palace to hunt in Richmond Park. It was agreed that the conspirators
should go in parties of two and three, some to inns at Brentford, some to
inns at Turnham Green. As the king returned to the ferry at Brentford
those who were posted there should ride back towards Turnham Green,
and the whole band would fall upon the royal party in the lane between
the two places, where the road was too narrow and the ditches too deep
for the coach to turn round. 414 On the appointed day, when all was
ready as arranged, news reached Barclay that the king had already
returned in haste to Kensington. Information of the plot had been
given by two of the conspirators, Prendergast and La Rue, and though
Barclay escaped to France many of his subordinates were captured. 417
The attempt roused the greatest agitation in London, and led to the
formation of the association for the protection of the king's person. 418

The accident which caused William's death took place at Hampton
Court as he was riding in the park. 419 He died at Kensington Palace,
and Anne aroused great indignation among his Dutch friends by causing
his body to be removed at once to Westminster, so that she might take
immediate possession of Kensington Palace.

Perhaps the most conspicuous figure in Middlesex during the reign
of William III was Charles Mordaunt, earl of Peterborough, admiral,
general and diplomatist, who had inherited the Carey house at Fulham
from his mother. In his younger days he had been an opponent of
James II, 480 and at the Revolution he had been in close attendance on the
Prince of Orange. 421 He held many court appointments under William,
and in all his dealings and he had much to do with the distribution
of patronage he was known as a man at once liberal and scru-
pulously honest. During the wars under Queen Anne Peterborough
was granted a commission as admiral and commander-in-chief of the
fleet with Sir Cloudesley Shovell. His greatest achievement was the
siege of Barcelona, where he displayed great generalship as well as
the highest personal valour. 422

With the advent of the Hanoverian dynasty Middlesex seems to
lose more and more of its individual history, and to become altogether
merged in London and in the kingdom generally. The first two Georges
went frequently to Hampton Court and Kensington Palace, but these
ceased to be royal residences under George III. The many states-
men and men of distinction whom we find in Middlesex during the
eighteenth century lived there for short periods only, and looked
upon it merely as a place of residence, so they did not contribute
much to the history of the county. In early Georgian times
Holland House was famous for its political gatherings. Even before

415 Evelyn's Diary, 509. '" Clarke, Life of Jas. II, ii, 550.

17 Ibid. 553. 4I " Evelyn's Diary, 509.

419 Burnet, Hist, of His Own Time, iv, 558. 4W Macaulay, op. cit. ii, 287.

4>1 Hiit. MSS. Com. Rep. v, 136. 4I> Burnet, Hist, of His Own Time, v, 214.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

Addison's marriage with the dowager countess of Holland, he had
had a retirement near Chelsea, within an easy walk over the fields
from Holland House.* 88 His marriage in 1716, though it did not
conduce to his happiness, probably facilitated his official advancement.
In 1717 he was Secretary of State in Sunderland's ministry, but he
retired the following year and died at Holland House in 1719.

Walpole was much at Chelsea during the reign of George II. 434
News of the sudden death of George I reached him there on 14 June,
1727. Walpole's fortunes were then passing through a crisis, and his
position had been greatly damaged by the invectives of the Opposition in
the Craftsman. Thoroughly aware of the importance of first audience
with the new king, he is said to have killed two horses in carrying the
tidings of the death of George I to his successor at Richmond. 426 Mean-
while Walpole's great opponent, Bolingbroke, was settled on the other side
of the county, at Dawley near Uxbridge. Here he acted the part of a
country gentleman with great spirit, and had his hall painted with rakes
and spades 'to countenance his calling it a farm.' 486 All the time he was
taking an important though obscure part in politics, leading the attacks
on Walpole in the Craftsman. *" In the new reign, while still at
Dawley, he wrote the articles signed 'John Trot ' which contained such
virulent attacks on Walpole's foreign policy. In 1730 he was working
to bring about the combination between the opposition Whigs and the
Tories, led by Sir William Wyndham, and in 1733 it was from Dawley
that he inspired Wyndham's speeches on the Excise Bill. He did not
leave Dawley until he retired altogether from politics to live in France.

The rebellion of 1715 had not disturbed Middlesex, and that in
1745 affected it but little. When the news reached London that
the enemy was advancing south, a small army, poorly and hastily
equipped, was mustered on Finchley Common, 428 whence the duke of
Cumberland travelled to Culloden. The rebellion had this result : that
the ensuing elections proved a great victory for the Whigs in Middlesex,
owing to the publication of the lists of subscriptions which had been
raised for the defence of the kingdom, whereby Jacobite proclivities
were rendered only too conspicuous. Sir Roger Newdigate of Hare-
field had represented Middlesex since 1741. So high a Tory was he
that Horace Walpole speaks of him as a half-converted Jacobite. In
1 747 h ma de way for Sir William Beauchamp Proctor.

In 1780, when the Gordon Riots reduced London to a state of
panic, 1 1 ,000 troops were gathered round the City. 429 The Queen's
Regiment and the South Hants Militia were quartered on Finchley
Common. 430

At the beginning of the nineteenth century the duke of Orleans
settled at Twickenham with the duke of Montpensier and the comte de

10 Swift, Journ. to Stella, 18 Sept. 1710. '" Gent. Mag. 1737, p. 514.

" Pinkerton, ffalpoliana, i, 86. " 6 Pope to Swift, 28 June, 1728.

" Coxe, Memoir of Sir R. Walpok, ii, 344, 571. 4 " H. Walpole, Journ. ii.

*" Walpole, Journ. ii, 409 ; Ann. Reg. (1780), 3 June. " Lysons, Environs ofLmd. ii, 335.

POLITICAL HISTORY

Beaujolais. Orleans returned after Napoleon's escape from Elba, and
stayed until he was called to take the throne of France as Louis Philippe. 431
His house was sold to the earl of Kilmorey, who sold it again to the
exiled king in 1852 for the use of the latter's son, the due d'Aumale.
From that time until 1871 Orleans House was the centre of the French
loyalists. The comte de Paris lived at York House near by, the prince
of Joinville at Mount Lebanon ; the due de Nemours lived at Bushey
Park.

The introduction of railways has converted so large a portion of
Middlesex into metropolitan suburb that the history of the latter half
of the nineteenth century is somewhat barren except from a social and
economic point of view. The Local Government Act of 1888 marked
a new era in the county's history.* 52 The Act made two great changes. 433
In the first place, a new county of London was formed, which in-
cludes a large district formerly belonging to Middlesex. London now
stretches to the River Lea on the east, and northwards to include Stoke
Newington, Upper Holloway, and Hampstead, and westward beyond
Hammersmith. Any future alteration in the boundaries will naturally
be at the expense of Middlesex. 434

The second change made by the Local Government Act was in the
appointment of the sheriff. The right to appoint the sheriff still
remained in the hands of the citizens of London, but by the Act the
right was transferred to the hands of the crown, as in the case of other
counties. The sheriffs of London ceased to have any jurisdiction in
Middlesex on the day when the first sheriff of Middlesex entered into
office. 436

The parliamentary history of Middlesex dates from 1282, when the
counties south of the Trent were summoned to send representatives to
Northampton. 436 Middlesex also sent representatives to the assemblies
of 1283 and I290. 437 In 1295 William de Brook and Stephen de
Gravesend were chosen for the county. 438 Richard le Rous sat for
Middlesex in every Parliament during the remainder of the reign of
Edward I, his fellow-representative being on most occasions Richard de
Windsor. The names le Rous, de Windsor, de Enefield (or de Enefeud),
and de Badyk occur frequently during the fourteenth century. In 1324
the representatives are described as two of the best and most discreet,
but are not designated as knights. 4383 John de Wrotham sat for
Middlesex in many of the Parliaments of Edward III. There
were few occasions under the Tudors when one of the Wroths, his
descendants, did not represent the county. Sir Robert Wroth sat in the
Reformation Parliament. His son, Sir Thomas, was first returned in
1 544, and with the exception of the Parliaments of the reign of Mary, he
represented Middlesex practically without intermission till his death

" Michaud, Public and Private Life of Louis Philippe, 271.
" Pub. Gen. Stat. xxv, cap. 262. m Clause 40 (2).

14 The county of London and the county of Middlesex are considered as one county for the
purpose of all legal proceedings, civil or criminal ; clause 89 (3). *" Clause 1 13 (2).

" Palgrave, Par/. Writs (Rec. Com.), i, 10. "' Ibid. 16, 21. M Ibid. 39. 43te Ibid, ii, 321.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

in 1573. His son, a second Sir Robert Wroth, was first returned in
1572, and again in 1585, 1588, 1601, and 1602. Sir Gilbert Gerrard
represented Middlesex throughout the Long Parliament, and Sir Thomas
Allen and Sir Launcelot Lake in the Restoration Parliament.

The most familiar name in connexion with Middlesex politics is
that of ' Jack ' Wilkes. When Wilkes offered himself as candidate for
Middlesex in the general election of 1768, he had just been defeated
as candidate for the City. He had already been prosecuted in 1763 for
his criticism of the king's speech in No. 45 of the North Briton. He
had been attacked by the House of Lords for the * Essay on Woman '
(November, ij6^)^ and expelled by the Commons (he was member
for Aylesbury), on account of No. 45, on 19 January, 1764.*" On
2 1 February of that year he had been condemned by the Court of King's
Bench as a libeller and as the author of an obscene poem, and he had
later been outlawed for duelling and forced to flee to France.* 42 His
character was certainly not of the highest, and his personality was most
unattractive. Yet when he returned from France in 1768, he found
himself exalted to the position of popular idol. Technically he had
suffered injustice, because the liberty of the subject had been outraged
by his arrest under a general warrant for the publication of No. 45 ;
and the privilege of Parliament had been denied him by his imprison-
ment in the Tower. But what appealed to the people was that an
unpopular court, the adherents of an unpopular king, had pursued him
with unexampled animosity. The country was just entering on that
period of unrest and smouldering revolution in which it continued until
the Reform Bill of 1832 : the period which beheld the rise of democracy
and the expansion of a formidable party of reform. Wilkes, the son of
a rich distiller of Clerkenwell, an atheist, and a notorious evil-liver, yet
appealed to the people as one who, himself a victim of tyranny, might
lead them to fuller freedom.** 3 He was supported because of his
indomitable resistance to a king who was hated as much for the corrup-
tion by which he controlled Parliament as for the policy by which he
had brought about the war with the American colonies.

In 1768, then, Wilkes was elected for Middlesex by a large
majority in opposition to the established interest of men who already
represented the county, and who, besides having considerable fortunes in
connexion with Middlesex, were supported by the whole interest of the
court. Wilkes's partisans were jubilant, forcing even the inhabitants of
London to celebrate his triumph, and marking every door with the
popular number '45-' 444 Their champion had, however, to appear
before the Court of King's Bench on his outlawry, and he was committed
on a capias utlagatum. He was rescued by the mob, but again surren-
dered himself. His outlawry was reversed, but he was sentenced to two

M Erskine May, Const. Hist, i, cap. x. Par/. Hist, xv, 1346.

"' Com. Journ. xxix, 689. "' GnnviUe Papers, ii, 155.

143 Hist. M 55. Com. Rep. iii, 415. Lord Hardwicke to President Dundas, 16 Mar. 1762 : 'We
are now got into a strange flame about an object, in himself of no great consequence, Mr. Wilkes, and it
has spread far and wide.' Erskine May, op. cit. i, 391.

POLITICAL HISTORY

years' imprisonment for libel, and to a fine of 1,000. Riots took place
in his favour, and an unhappy collision between the mob and the military
occurred in St. George's Fields.

Owing to his imprisonment, Wilkes was unable to take his seat in
the first session of Parliament. In the second session he was expelled
by the Commons on four charges, for the first three of which he had
already suffered, and for the fourth (that of libel on the Secretary of State)
it was not within the province of the Commons to punish him. The
reason for this unconstitutional action was that the court party, to whom
the Commons were bound by a process of corruption and bribery, were
determined that no amount of popularity should prevail against their
own dignity. The weakness and irregularity of the Commons' action
was proclaimed even in the House itself by a powerful party, led by
Burke, Pitt, Dowdeswell, and George Greville.* 46 Wilkes's constituents
were by no means overawed by the attitude of the authorities. His
supporters raised 20,000 to pay his debts, and he was immediately
re-elected for Middlesex. Parliament declared his election to be void.
With increasing popularity, Wilkes was again elected without opposition,
and again his election was declared void. 448 To prevent a repetition of
the farce, Colonel Luttrell vacated his seat and offered himself as candi-
date for Middlesex. He obtained only 296 votes to Wilkes's i,i43, 447
but the Commons rejected Wilkes and declared Colonel Luttrell to be
returned. A petition of the freeholders of Middlesex was presented to
Parliament on 24 May, 1769, by Mr. Serjeant Glynn and others, 448 in
which they pleaded against having a candidate forced upon the county, 449
but Colonel Luttrell's election was confirmed. As evidence of Wilkes's
continued popularity he was elected successively 46 alderman, sheriff, and
Lord Mayor of London, and a subscription was again raised to pay his
debts. In 1774 he was returned for Middlesex and took his seat
unmolested.

An exciting contest took place in 1802 between Sir Francis Burdett
and Mr. William Mainwaring. Burdett was already well known as the
champion of liberty of speech ; he was foremost among the opposers of
the government, had exposed the grievances of war taxation, and the
abuse of power over those who were offensive to the ministry. 451 He
had just rendered great service to the public by obtaining an inquiry into
the mismanagement of Coldbath Fields Prison, where suspected persons
were detained under the Habeas Corpus Suspension Acts ; when it was
shown that no distinction had been made between the treatment of these
persons and that accorded to convicted felons. His opponent, Main-
waring, was the magistrate who had most strenuously objected to the
investigation of the prison abuses, and true to their liberal principles,

'" Cavendish, Debates, \, 151. M Ibid. 345 ; Feb. 17, 1769.

147 Erskine May, op. cit. i, 397. H> Political Tracts, 8, Signed by 1,565 freeholders.

M> ' 1 he case of the late Election for the County of Middlesex condemned on the Principles of
the Constitut : on and the Authorities of the Law* (1769).

160 ' The Sentiments of an English Freeholder on the Late Decision of the Middlesex Election.'
'" Diet. Nat. Stag, vii, 297.

a 57 8

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

the freeholders of Middlesex returned Burdett by a considerable majority.* 5 *
He sat for nearly two years, during which legal proceedings were taken
for nullifying his election. In 1804 his election was declared void.
There was a new contest between Burdett and Mainwaring's son, 455 which
the latter won by five votes. This decision was amended in Burdett's
favour the following year, but in 1806 Burdett was finally excluded,
Mr. William Mellish (Mr. G. B. Mainwaring having withdrawn) and
Mr. George Byng being returned after a sixteen days' poll. 45 * Mr. William
Mellish, who was now elected, represented Middlesex for several years.
During the election of 1 8 1 8 he was spoken of by The Times as ' a thick
and thin man for the government and a jolly, comely, hereditary
Protestant.' 455

Mr. George Byng of Wrotham Park, a descendant of Admiral Byng,
was first returned for Middlesex in the Whig interest in ijqo.* He
represented the county without intermission for fifty-six years, and was
the father of the House of Commons when he died in i847. 457 The
Reform Bill of 1832 created three metropolitan boroughs, Finsbury and
Marylebone, to each of which two members were assigned, and the
Tower Hamlets, which returned one representative. 458 The population
did not begin to increase rapidly until after the establishment of railways.
The market-towns of Uxbridge, Staines, and Brentford, were still little
better than villages, and only in the immediate neighbourhood of London
was there any urgent need for further representation. During the next
fifty years, however, the circumstances were immensely altered. Chelsea
was given two members in 1867, and the Tower Hamlets was divided
into two districts under the names of Hackney and the Tower Hamlets,
each returning one member. 45 ' But further complete representation was
badly needed. Twickenham, Hanwell, and Brentford now contained a
large manufacturing population. The residential suburbs of London had
increased tremendously. There were only two county members to
represent a population of 70,000 voters. 460 By the Redistribution of
Seats Act of 1884, fifteen new metropolitan boroughs were created, and
the representatives of the Tower Hamlets were increased to seven. The
county outside the metropolitan area was divided into seven electoral
districts, Enfield, Tottenham, Hornsey, Harrow, Ealing, Brentford, and
Uxbridge, each of which returns one member.

The trained bands of Middlesex ceased to exist on 25 March, 1663,
when the County Militia was reorganized. 481 The trained bands of the
Tower division of Middlesex, known as the Tower Hamlets, were on
the other hand retained, and continued to be levied, the reason being
that the Tower Hamlets were, and always had been, under the command
of the constable of the Tower. 463 Future legislation continued to treat

151 ' Full Account of the Proceedings at the Middlesex Election,' Political Tracts.

M Diet. Nat. Sing, vii, 297. M Westminster and Middlesex Election.'

u The Times, Saturday, 27 June, 1818. 4M Parliamentary Touchstone and Political Guide, 20.

" Gent. Mag. xxvii, 307. Stat. 2 & 3 Will. IV, cap. 45.

" Representation of the People Act, 1867. ^ Hansard, Reports (3rd Sen), ccxciii, 1195.

" Stat. 13 & 14 Car. II, cap. 3, sect. 20. 46> Ibid. sect. 31.

POLITICAL HISTORY

the Hamlets apart from the rest of Middlesex. When the militia was
reconstituted under George II, in 1757, the number of men appointed to
be raised in Middlesex was 1,160 and in the Tower Hamlets i,6oo. 4M
At the beginning of the next reign the quota for the county was raised to
1,600.*** By this Act separate provision is made for the necessary
qualifications of officers in the Tower Hamlets,*" the militia of which re-
mained on the same basis as in the time of Charles II, and consisted of
two regiments of eight companies each. 466 It was reorganized in 1797,
when the number of men to be levied in each parish within the division
was fixed. 467 Two regiments were raised as formerly, and it was provided
that one or other of these should stay always in the Tower division,
whilst the other might be put under the command of such general officers
as the king should be pleased to appoint, and might be required to serve
at a distance not exceeding twelve miles from London. 468 By 1802 the
number of men in the Middlesex Militia had fallen to 338, 469 but six years
later, when England was in the stress of the Napoleonic War, the number
was raised to 2,O24, 470 and in 1812 to I2,i62, 471 with 4,480 for the
Tower Hamlets and liberties of the Tower. 472

During the revolutionary wars at the close of the eighteenth century,
several ' Loyal Associations ' were formed in Middlesex. These were
volunteer infantry corps on a small scale, to serve in parishes, and mainly
to assist the civil authorities. The earliest of these was the Tottenham
Loyal Association, 473 which was formed in 1792, and drilled regularly for
three or four years. 474 The ' Hadley and South Mimms Volunteers ' were
among the forces reviewed in Hyde Park by George III, on 21 June,
I799. 476 The Hampstead Loyal Association was also reviewed on that
occasion. It numbered probably 150 men, under the command of Josiah
Boydell, esq. 478

Middlesex also furnished a corps of volunteer cavalry, numbering
830 men, 300 of whom were members of the London and Westminster
Light Horse Volunteers. Other cavalry corps were raised at Uxbridge,
Islington, and Twickenham. 477 The associations were disbanded in 1802
after the Peace of Amiens, but when Napoleon threatened invasion in
1803, the Defence Act was passed, by which the lords lieutenant were
empowered to raise forces in each county. The Hampstead Loyal
Volunteer Infantry was then formed, 478 and a force of 108 men was
raised in Barnet and district, and three companies were raised by
Mr. Nathaniel Haden at Highgate. 479 There also existed at this time a
mounted force, raised in Edmonton, Kensington, Baling, and Brentford.
These corps were in turn disbanded in 181314.

465 Stat. 30 Geo. II, cap. 25. ** Stat. 2 Geo. Ill, cap. 20, sect.ij.

464 Ibid. sect. 41. 4M Stat. 26 Geo. Ill, cap. 107, sect. in.

467 Stat. 37 Geo. Ill, cap. 25. 468 Ibid. sect. 6.

469 Stat. 42 Geo. Ill, cap. 90. 4ro Stat. 48 Geo. Ill, cap. 90.

171 Stat. 52 Geo. Ill, cap. 38, sect. 14, 16. tn Ibid. sect. 169.

473 Robinson, Hist, of Tottenham, 72-3.

474 G. T. Evans, Records of the yd Middlesex Rifle Volunteers, 136.

474 Ibid. 64. 47 Ibid. 36. 477 Ibid. 5.

478 Ibid. 38. 47> Ibid. 65-7. 48 Ibid. 46.

480

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

The volunteer movement of 1859-60 was taken up with the
greatest warmth in Middlesex, rifle corps being formed in almost every
village. 481

When the line regiments of the British Army were territorialized
the old 57th became the ist Battalion, and the old 77th the 2nd Battalion
of the Duke of Cambridge's Own Middlesex Regiment. Both regiments
brought great traditions of the Peninsular, Crimean, and South African
(1879) wars.* 8 * The Royal Elthorne Militia and the Royal East Middle-
sex Militia now form respectively the 5th and 6th Battalions. The line
and militia, with the three volunteer battalions, served in the South
African War, 1900-2.

*" Evans, op. cit. 48, 70, 86, I it, 141 ; The West Middlesex Herald, 1860-1.
4 " H. M. Chichester and G. Surges-Short, Records and Badges of the British Army. At the Battle
of Albuera (1811) the 5/th gained the name of the 'Die-Hards.'

SOCIAL AND
ECONOMIC HISTORY

UNTIL it was flooded by the suburban expansion of London
Middlesex was an exclusively agricultural county, the near
neighbourhood of the cities of London and Westminster pre-
venting any great development of urban life or urban manu-
facture. There was no incorporate town in the county, and no trade but
agriculture attained any degree of importance. But, containing as it did,
some of the best arable land in the kingdom, within such easy reach of the
London market ; having also a sufficiency of good pasture and meadow
land, and in the northern parts some valuable woodland, Middlesex, in
the fourteenth century, was the second richest county in the kingdom. 1
When the wool tax of 1341 (15 Edward III) was levied, Middle-
sex 3 was assessed at 236 sacks, or one sack to 760 acres. The assessment
of the richest county Norfolk was one to 610, and the counties which
were the immediate neighbours of Middlesex were assessed at : Hert-
fordshire, one to 1,200 acres ; Buckinghamshire, one to 1,260 acres ;
Essex, one to 1,580 acres ; Surrey, one to 1,250 acres.

The Domesday Survey of Middlesex distinguishes three categories
of servile tenants : villeins, bordars, and cottars. Of slaves proper there
are only 104 in the whole county, and they make no further appearance
in its history. Nor do we hear any more of the ' bordarii,' unless we
may regard as their successors the holders of ' Bordlond ' at Twicken-
ham. Of the 2,132 tenants who are enumerated on the several
manors in the six hundreds of the county, 1,936 are villeins (1,133),
bordars (342), and cottars (461). The only free tenants mentioned in
the survey are : 1 3 knights, i francus, 1 2 priests, i o foreigners (fran-
cigenae], and 46 burgenses at Staines, nothing being said as to the status
of 23 homines at St. Pancras who rendered 30^. a year. In the later
records, on the contrary, from the time of Henry I onwards, free as well
as servile tenants are mentioned on nearly all the manors of which we
have any account. Already in the reign of Henry I there were at Har-
mondsworth free and custumary tenants and cottars. 8 At Kensington in
12634 the rents of the free tenants amounted to 4 i5/., so that there
must have been a certain number of them. The villein tenants held

1 Prof. Thorold Rogers, Hist, of Jgric. and Prices, i, 107 ; Rot. Par!. (Rec. Com.), ii, 131.
' Exclusive of London. * P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. ptfo. 1 1, No. zo.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

21 virgates, their money rents amounting to 2 I 9- r - 4i^ an d there
were two cottars.*

According to a Westminster Abbey custumal, in the reign of
Henry III there were at Teddington five free tenants holding among
them 10 virgates, and 15 custumary tenants holding i6j virgates, besides
five cottars whose holdings varied from i to 6 acres. Of the three other
manors in the custumal, free tenants are mentioned on one only, Green-
ford. At Hayes and Paddington there appear to have been only custu-
mers. 6 The survey of the St. Paul's manors of Drayton and Sutton in
1222 does not specify the status of the tenants, distinguishing only at
Drayton twenty-nine tenants of demesne land and twenty-four of terra
assiza. The demesne tenants have mostly small holdings, some paying
money rents only, while some are posita ad operatlonem. The holdings of
assized land are larger ; one is a whole hide, two are half hides.
There is one of 2 virgates, twelve of i virgate, and eight half virgates.
The tenants all pay rents, generally at the rate of 4^. for a virgate, and
render various services, but no week work. 6 A Drayton court roll of
the time of Richard II in the library of St. Paul's cathedral mentions
free tenants on the manor. In 1276-7 there is mention of seven free
tenants on the manor of Edgeware.* 3

At Sutton there are three categories of tenants : seven demesne
tenants who hold small tenements for rents and services ; thirty-two
tenants of assize land, one holding 3 virgates, four i virgate, ten half
a virgate, and seventeen with smaller holdings. They hold at a variety of
rents and services, some paying malt-silver (\d. to 5^.), and giving 8//. or
\od. de dono as well, and two paying id. ward-penny. Some of these hold-
ings are in the hands of demesne tenants. Thirdly, there are eight
operarii who hold 5 acres each, for weekly and boon works, paying no
rent, but giving ^d. de dono, and 2j malt-silver. Two of them, who hold
assart lands as well as their 5 acres, pay rent only for them. 7

The number of free tenants at Isleworth varies somewhat. In the
time of Edward I there were four free and twenty custumary cottars, 8
while in 1315-16 nine free tenants superintended the mowing and
reaping. 8 " A rental of the parsonage ' in the reign of Edward III
enumerates nineteen free tenants, and a minister's account of the same
reign mentions thirty-seven free virgaters. 9a According to a custumal
quoted in the Historical Manuscripts' Commissioners' Report on the
manuscripts at Syon House, there were also burgenses who held per cartam,
and some of the free tenants were tallageable. 10 At Fulham by the
reign of Richard II, at Stepney by the time of Edward III, and by
the same reign at Kempton, where they are expressly stated to hold
by socage tenure, the existence of free tenants is recorded. 11 Lastly, at

4 P.R.O. Inq. p.m. Hen. Ill, No. 26. * B.M. Add. Chart. 8139.

' Domesday of St. Parts (Camd. Soc.). P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. 5 Edw. I, rot. 30;

' Domesday of St. Paul's, 1222 Surv. of Sutton. P.R.O. Inq. 28 Edw. I, No. 44

P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 916, No. 12 (8-9, Edw. II.) P.R.O. Rental, ptfo. 1 1, No. 26.

P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 916, No. 17. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. vi, App. 232.

11 P.R.O. Ct. R. bdle. 191, No. 60 ; bdle. 191, No. 41 ; bdle. 188, No. 65.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

Enfield, 12 though no free tenants are mentioned in our earliest account
of the manor in the time of Henry VI, in an Elizabethan syllabus of
all the free tenants in Middlesex, twenty-three are enumerated there ;
seven at Drayton ; four at Fulham ; eleven at Stepney and Hackney ;
and four at Harmondsworth. Neither Isleworth, Teddington, nor
Kensington is given in the list at all. 1 '

On some manors there were special tenures as to which the
information derived from compotus rolls and even from custumals is not
always very definite. Generally they are differentiated from the other
tenants by doing a given number of works at a particular season, some-
times by different customs as to heriot and inheritance. Thus at
Harmondsworth there are seven tenants, undistinguished by any special
name, who render two works weekly between Michaelmas and
Martinmas. 14

There are several of these tenures at Isleworth. Eight custumary
tenants held Forapellond. They had to attend the waterbedrippe, and
they paid money rents as well. 15

' Bordlond ' was held by twenty-one custumary tenants in Twicken-
ham. Their united rents amounted to 5 15*. 6^/., and the net value of
their services was $d. a head. They held at a certain rent and tallage,
and paid heriots of 2s. or is. according to the size of their holdings.
They paid pannage and had to plough and harrow half an acre each at
the winter sowing, fetching the seed from the grange ; in return for
which they each received id. ; besides sending two men to one bedrippe
at the lord's expense. 16 ' Bordlond' occurs at Fulham, but is only men-
tioned in the court rolls without any details as to the nature of the
tenure there.

The tenants of ' Werklond ' did the same ploughing works as the
holders of ' Bordlond,' and they rendered 420 works during the fourteen
weeks between Midsummer and Michaelmas, at the rate of three half
days a week, in return for an allowance of half their rent, amounting to
is. ^d. for each virgate. 17 The nature of the works done varied consider-
ably, probably at the discretion of the reeve. Should they be kept
beyond noon, they received id. each. These holdings passed by inheri-
tance to the youngest son.

There were also at Isleworth six villein holdings, held for rent and
services, ' misfre ' or ' unfre ' lands. The tenants ploughed, harrowed,
sowed and carried grain to the field, receiving zd. each, and sent
two men to two bedrippes, who had one meal of bread, fish and
cheese. If they had no beast they paid money heriots of zs. for a
virgate and is. for half a virgate. The eldest sons inherited. 18 In the
Isleworth accounts for the reign of Edward III custumers called 'gader-

11 P.R.O. Mins. Accts. (Duchy of Lane.), bdle. 42, No. 825.

u EM. Harl. MS. 1711. " P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. ptfo. 1 1, No. 25.

"P.R.O. Inq. 28 Edw. I, No. 44; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. vi, App. 232.

18 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. vi, App. 232 ; P.R.O. Inq. 28 Edw. I, No. 44.

" P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 916, Nos. n, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20.

18 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. vi, App. 232.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

zerdus ' put in an appearance, rendering with the cottars fifteen works at
the ale-bedrippe and fifty-two at the water-bedrippe. They seem to have
done no other works, and whether they paid rents or not, or what was
the size of their holdings, does not appear. 1 ' An unexplained custom
called a ' mismene ' is mentioned in one compotus roll as yielding 6s. 8*/. so

In the Teddington manor rolls tenants called 'hesebonds ' or ' house-
bonds' appear who are mentioned neither in the Westminster custumal,
nor in a rental of the time of Richard II. Nothing is said as to their
status, and it is not easy to account for the land they held. At one time
there are nine of them, at another fifteen. They do boon works only,
it being expressly provided that they do not reap, but only follow tht
reapers, rod in hand, to superintend the work." Certain tenants here
rendered two unexplained customs called ' cherne ' and ' russic.'

At Stepney, in the time of Edward I, 2U there were loj virgates
of 'Shirlond,' 15 virgates of * Cotlond,' and also * Mollond ' and
' Hydlond,' the virgate, for all four tenures, containing 20 acres."
One holding of a virgate containing 25 acres is noted as rendering the
same services as the ' Mollond ' virgates. The shirmen and cotmen
owed weekly works for eleven weeks and three days in each year ; six
works a week being exacted from 8j virgates, and three a week from
the other 2 virgates of the Shirlond; while of the cotlond, 12 vir-
gates owed five, and 3 virgates four days weekly. Instead of a
corresponding number of these weekly works, the shirmen had to do
' redeherth ' ploughing. The 'Hydmen' and * Molmen,' on the other
hand, rendered no weekly works, their services being confined to a
certain tale of ploughing works and ' wodelods,' and to stacking corn, the
amounts due differing for the two tenures.

In the accounts for 1392 22a and later, the redditus assist is entered in
three sums, as accruing from free tenants (17 l ^- l i^-) custumary
tenants (i 6s. 5^.), and from 'Molelond' (13 15*. zd.}. But
' Molelond' was held by freemen and custumers, i6j acres being let on
lease to custumers in I362, 23 while in 1392 12 virgates were in the
hands of free tenants. There were ' Molmen ' at Enfield as well as at
Stepney, but they are explicitly specified as custumers. Like the mol-
men at Stepney, the twenty-two ' molmen and cottars ' at Enfield, SSa who
differed from one another only in the amount, not in the nature of their
holdings, did no weekly works, but sent twenty-six men, among them, to
weed the lord's corn for one day (one man apiece from eighteen holdings,
and two among the remaining four, probably the cottars', holdings) and

P.R.O. Mins. Accts. 17 Edw. Ill, bdle. 916, No. 17.

"Ibid. bdle. 1126, No. 5.

" Ibid. bdle. 918, Nos. 1-25 ; bdle. 919, Nos. i-n.
11 Mins. Accts. of the manor of Stepney in the Library of St. Paul's Cathedral.

" In an account of 1362-3 five half-virgate holdings of ' Shirlond' are estimated at 12 acres to
the half-virgate, but the amount of the rent is corrected to that corresponding to a half-virgate of
I o acres, as if this were an error. There are several allowances for overcharges in the account.

m P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 1139, No. 20, 15-16 Ric. II.

n Ibid. bdle. 1139, No. 18, 36 Edw. III.

* Ibid. 7 Hen. V, bdle. 915, No. 26 ; 17 Hen. VI (Duchy of Lane.), bdle. 42, No. 825.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

mowed 23 J acres of meadow, 23b in the proportion of 2 acres per virgate
for eighteen holdings and half an acre for the others. They also rendered,
among them, twenty autumn boon-works, four tenants sending among
them one man for two days at the lord's cost and the remaining eighteen
each one man for one day. Thirteen of them also owed eleven carrying
works (on foot). In view of the accepted definition of mol (or mal)
men as custumary tenants, whose early release from servile works has
reacted on their status in the direction of freedom,* 4 it is curious to note
that at Enfield the molmen, whose servile status is expressly asserted, were
actually, in 1419, the only tenants on the manor who rendered works at
all ; while at Stepney, where the services generally were commuted
very early, there is nothing to show that the mollond works were
commuted earlier, or more completely, than those of the other tenures.
In the Victoria History of county Durham S4a it is pointed out that the
Hatfield Survey equates Jirmarius to malmannus (malmanni sive jirmarii] , and
it is suggested that the malmen were farmers of portions of the demesne
land, their services being, by special arrangement, extensively commuted
for money payments. But at Stepney, as we have seen, though some
mollond was let on lease, the commutation of molmen works proceeded
pari passu with, and at Enfield was actually later than, those of the other
holdings. Neither is there anything to show that the mollond was
essentially, though some of it might be occasionally, demesne land. In
one Stepney account one acre of mollond is mentioned under the head-
ing of Jirme of demesne lands. Certainly at Enfield the molmen were
not firmarii^ for they rendered the same services before and after the
leasing of the demesne, with the sole difference that afterwards their
services belonged to the demesne farmer instead of to the lord of the
manor. Now the demesne lease explicitly conveyed to the farmer all
the weeding, mowing, and reaping works not let on lease (ad firmam non
dimissis) nor commuted (necque arrentatis)** and these, as the accounts show,
were precisely the works actually rendered to the firmarius by the
twenty-two molmen.

' Acre ware ' occur at Isleworth, Blanchappelton (a Duchy of
Lancaster manor), and Fulham, but, unfortunately, not in a way to
throw any illumination on that much-discussed term. At Stepney
land is measured by ' day-work acres,' and on several manors in
' pyghtellings.'

On the two St. Paul's manors of Drayton and Sutton a portion of
the land is distinguished as 'solanda' or 'scholanda.' This was identified
erroneously by Archdeacon Hales 26 with the Kentish ' sulung ' or ' soli-
nus,' but Mr. Round has shown that it has no connexion with sulung,

nb The account does not expressly state that these mowing works were rendered by the molmen,
but it is clear that this was the case from the proportion in which the works are allotted to the holdings,
and from the identity of the names of tenants for whose works allowances are made with those rendering
specified mollond services.

14 Vinogradoff, Villeinage in England, 183 ; Engl. Hist. Rev. i, 734.

lta V.C.H. Dur. \, 280-2.

" P.R.O. Mins. Accts. (Duchy of Lane.), bdle. 53, No. 1010. '" Domesday of St. Paul's.

2 65 9

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

and is not a measure of land at all, but means a prebend, implying that
the estates in question were prebends of St. Paul's. 27

There are indications that the virgate represented a variable number
of actual acres on different manors, and even, as at Stepney, on different
holdings of the same manor. It is noted in the survey of Drayton of
1222 that the virgate there contained 16 acres, and at Teddington in the
reign of Edward III one or two virgate holdings are stated to contain
i6j acres, and half-virgate holdings 8i acres. At Harmondsworth, where
there was a great deal of sub-letting, a holding generally continued to
be called a virgate however much its actual contents had been reduced
by subdivision.

The earliest custumal we possess for any Middlesex manor is one
of Harmondsworth of 1 1 Henry I (l 1 10-1 1), which is transcribed in a
valor of the reign of Richard II. It is the sworn verdict of twelve
jurors on the customs and services owed by the tenants to the abbot of
Saint Katherine's of Rouen, 28 the lord of the manor, and gives the
services in great detail.

At the time of sowing, every villein tenant who owned a plough
had to plough and harrow 2 acres, one for corn and one for oats. The
lord supplied the seed, and his servant sowed it, but the tenant had to
fetch the seed from the grange and cart it to the field. Of whatever
kind the seed might be, the tenant's horse must not have a feed from
it, but if any remained over after the sowing it was to be taken back to
the grange by the servant. Those villeins who had no plough were
to thrash in the grange till vespers instead of ploughing.

At the hay harvest all the villeins, except the cottars, must mow
for one day at their own cost, it being understood that they are bound
to complete the mowing of the meadow, and that the lord is bound to
find two mowers to help them. Custumers who do not come the first
day may do their mowing on the morrow or at the lord's pleasure
without fine. At vespers, after the day's mowing, each tenant receives
as much grass as he can lift on the heft of his scythe in the presence
of the lord or his ministers. But if the scythe break he loses the hay,
and is fined into the bargain. When all the mowing is finished the
tenants receive from the lord a ram or I 3^. in lieu thereof.

All villein tenants, including the cottars, must attend or send one
man to lift, load, and stack the hay, bringing with them any tenants
they may have. For this work they are at their own expense. Every
tenant who possesses a cart or wagon must carry three loads of hay
to the grange, where those tenants who have no carts stack it, each
working for the time occupied on its three journeys by the cart with
which he came. Should the rain prevent the completion of this task,
the tenants must make good the hours that are lacking either on the
morrow or at the lord's pleasure. Any carrying works which may
not be needed at hay-time must be made up, load for load, at the corn-
harvest cartings. There were three precariae at Harmondsworth : a

" Round, Feud. Engl. 103. * P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. ptfo. 1 1, No. 20, Ric. II.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

water-bedrippe, the Great Precaria, and a third and very ill-named love-
bedrippe, for it was a never-ending source of contention between the
lord and his tenants. Every tenant had to attend the first boon day,
when summoned by the crier, coming at the hour of prime with all his
servants and tenants, and working till vespers. At noon every thirteen
reapers received three loaves made from one bushel of corn. To the
great bedrippe all the free and villein tenants and cottars were sum-
moned to reap from prime until vespers at the lord's cost. After the
day's work they had a supper in the hall, consisting of broth of peas or
beans, bread, cheese and beer in sufficient quantity, and a dish of meat
or fish to the value of \\d. for every two men. Those who were tired
out (gravatt) by their task and could not sup with the others might
carry their portions home with them. The superintendents of the
reapers had beer in the hall at noon as well. They were responsible
for any damage accruing from bad work.

For the third or love-bedrippe every tenant had to provide one
man to bind the corn from prime ; one meal in the hall being provided
for each man. All villein tenants who had carts or wagons must
carry three loads to the grange, without food or drink, and their horses
must not eat of the sheaves. If any tenant worked otherwhere than in
the lord's fields on the days of the first two bedrippes he was in the lord's
mercy. After the wheat was carried the animals of the vill commoned
on the fields.

Except the free tenants and the cottars all must provide one man
to weed and one to clean the ponds (riperia) every three years, receiving
one meal each of bread, cheese and beer, and a dish of meat or fish
for every two men.

Every hide of bond-land must fence one perch every three years
right round the manor, each tenant fetching the pales from the manor
and fencing in proportion to the amount of his holding. The only
week work done on the manor is by seven tenants who render two
days a week from Michaelmas to Martinmas, four of the holdings
rendering twelve, and two six days ; the seventh is quit of his works.
A later compotus states that they must do any kind of work which the
reeve may impose on them.

All the native tenants and the tenants of the freemen whose
holdings border on the woods have a right to wood and pannage, and
whether there be mast in the wood or no they must pay for pannage
id. on every pig over a year old and \d. on all younger. All the
villeins must bring their pigs to the court at Martinmas and pay their
pannage, and if the lord be in doubt as to the age of any pig its owner
is to be quit on oath and for \\d. The lord is bound to provide a herd
to watch the pigs while they are in the woods and to bring them home.

Every tenant in Harmondsworth and Ruislip, man or woman, bond
or free, owes at his or her death a heriot of the best beast on the holding,
and on changing hands the holding must be redeemed by a fine at the
lord's discretion. No bondage tenant may marry son or daughter within

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

or without the vill except by the lord's licence, for which he must fine
at the lord's will, nor may any villein enter holy orders or leave the vill
without his lord's permission. Nor may they let their lands out of the
lord's dominion, nor place metes and bounds without leave and under
the supervision of the lord's servants. Every bondage tenant is tallage-
able at the lord's will and pleasure either annually or when he comes
over sea.

No tenant bond or free may shake down mast in the woods or
thrash in Ruislip woods, on pain of having their teams confiscated by
the forester till they have fined to the lord for their transgression.
Neither may any tenant fish in the lord's water except for a dish of
fish for the diet of himself and his wife, and then any fish more than a
foot long goes to the lord.

The lord may seize the teams oxen or horses of any tenants,
who, owing rent at Trinity, have not paid by the day after the feast,
detaining the teams for a day and a night, after which time, unless the
tenant have redeemed it by paying the rent, the lord may take the team
to his own use.

Any villein tenant must serve as reeve or crier at the appoint-
ment of his lord, being quit of all other service and rent for his
holding during his term of office. 89 The reeve and the crier either
dined daily at the lord's table, or received a weekly allowance of a bushel
of wheat apiece, ' and nothing more save by the lord's grace.' The
crier had charge of the hay while it was in cocks, and was responsible
for any damage to it. While watching the hay he had his lodging
in the meadow.

The smith also held his tenement in return for the special services
of his trade, being quit of all other obligations, except a yearly rent
of 2j. He had to repair and replace the shares of the demesne ploughs,
the lord providing the necessary iron and steel, to sharpen the tenants'
scythes when they mowed for the lord, and to shoe the front feet of two
beasts all the year round, keeping as his perquisite the old shoes, if they
were still on the feet. In 1434 the smith's duties were not rendered
because there was no one on the manor of that custom, and the tenement
was ruinous. 30 So that evidently the smith's duties were accredited to a
particular holding. The manor smiths were sometimes paid a regular
stipend as at Isleworth and Paddington. 81 On the latter manor the
smith's stipend is i8j. 'by custom,' and he makes as well as repairs the
ploughs. At Isleworth he gets 6s. 8</. for repairing the ploughs,
including the materials.

The Harmondsworth custumal does not mention how the forester
of the manor was appointed. On some manors any villein had to serve
in this capacity, too, if appointed by the lord. This was the case at
Sutton, 38 where the forester, who was apparently one of the operarii,

" At Edgeware in 1279-80 (P.R.O. Ct. R. bdle. 1 88, No. 54) a tenant was fined for making
himself reeve.

10 P.R.O. Mins. Accts. 12-13 Hen. VI, bdle. 1126, No. 7.

81 Ibid. bdle. 917, No. 25. Domesday of St. PauPs, Surv. 1222.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

held his 5 acres free of all works in return for his services as woodward,
and also at Paddington, where the woodward had 2 acres free of all
services, pasture in the woods, and the loppings of the timber felled for
the lord's ploughs. 83 Sometimes the office was, or tended to become
hereditary. At Sutton it is particularly stated that the woodward had
no hereditary right to the office and its emoluments. His father, it is
recorded, had 2%d. a year as stipend, he lost and never recovered the
5 acres, and was dismissed from the office. At Harmondsworth, on the
contrary, it was hereditary. In 13834 the horn of office was
successfully claimed by the cousin and heir of the late forester, 34 and
later on it actually passed by inheritance to the second husband of the
incumbent's widow. In the time of Henry VIII 3i one William Norton
was forester, who held a ' principal tenement ' of 1 60 acres by military
tenure and also a small holding, whether bond or free is not stated, called
a ' tile-place,' with a ' tile-house.' If the office of woodward was
connected with any holding, it must have been with this latter one, as
this one only passed at his death to his widow. The widow re-married
within a year of her husband's death, and her second husband succeeded
to the office of woodward jure uxoris suae.

At much less length, and with far less detail, than the Harmonds-
worth record, a custumal of Westminster Abbey states the rents and
services due from the abbot's tenants in his Middlesex estates in the
time of Henry III. S6 The Harmondsworth customs are fairly typical of
the services rendered on the different manors, though there is some
variation in the amount of ploughing and the number of boon-days exacted
and in the amount and nature of the extra works and weekly works. 37
With few exceptions, such as the holders of half virgates at Teddington,
and the operarii at Sutton, who pay no rent, the tenants render money
rents as well as services ; tallage is mentioned nearly everywhere and
remained nominally constant over very long periods, though sometimes
lowered ' by the lord's grace ' in bad times. ' Gersilver ' or ' gerspeni '
or pannage is paid nearly everywhere, generally at the rate of id. or \d.
for each pig according to its age ; but at Paddington the tenants pay a
round sum, 191., among them, and at Greenford it is \d. for every pig,
and at Enfield it is \d. and ^d. per pig.

Of dues in kind, at Greenford the tenants brought ten eggs at
Easter and the Hanwell tenants paid the fourth part of a quarter of
wheat once a year. A bushel of barley and five eggs at Easter were
exacted from each tenant at Teddington, as well as a hen from every
two at Christmas, and they paid a certain number of sheaves of wheat
and barley as a composition for trespassing fines. The Kensington

" Abbey of Westminster Custumal, Hen. Ill, B.M. Add. Chart. 8139.

" P.R.O. Ct. R. bdle. 191, No. 14, Ric. II.

Ibid. Hen. VIII, bdle. 191, No. 31. " B.M. AdJ. Chart. 8139.

v For customs at Paddington, Greenford, Hayes and Teddington B.M. Add. Chart. 8139. For
Teddington also P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 918, Nos. 20, 22 ; bdle. 919, Nos. I, 3, 7, 8. For
Drayton and Sutton, see Domesday of St. Paul's Survey of 1222. For Kensington P.R.O. Midd.
Hund. R. ; Rentals and Surv. 445 ; Inq. p.m. 48 Hen. Ill, file 31. For Isleworth P.R.O. Mins.
Accts. bdle. 916, No. 12 ; bdle. 916, Nos. 17, 18.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

tenants rendered sixteen and a half lambs, thirty-three hens, and 415 eggs
among them.

As to the ploughing works, the tenants at Paddington ploughed,
sowed and harrowed twice a year, while at Greenford the free tenants
ploughed one acre, except one of them who ploughed two ; one foi
wheat and one for oats ; and even a third if exacted by the lord. This
tenant and another defended the manor in the county and hundred
courts. Four acres to plough and three to harrow was the allowance
at Teddington ; two acres for every half virgate at Sutton ; at Drayton
one acre for each holding. The tenants at Isleworth in the time of
Edward III ploughed half an acre for each half virgate, fetching and
carrying the seed, and received zd. for every acre ploughed.

No weekly services are mentioned either at Paddington or at
Drayton ; at Isleworth they are confined to the holders of Werk and
Akerlonds, and at Sutton to the operarii. The custumers at
Teddington rendered three works in every fortnight Monday and
Friday one week, Wednesday the next except from Midsummer to
autumn, when they did only one weekly work, and during the six
autumn weeks, when they rendered three days in each week. At Green-
ford they did five works in each month, except during the autumn
weeks, when an extra day in the week was required. At Hayes and
Kensington one day a week all the year round was exacted, with a
second between i August and Michaelmas.

No weekly works are mentioned in an extent of the manor of Edge-
ware in the year iz^6. m There the majority of virgaters paid a money
rent of 5.;. i \\d., and rendered works valued at is. 6d.: namely, four men
to reap in autumn, one at their own and three at the lord's expense ; one
day's carting at the lord's expense, and two half-days' binding sheaves ;
two half-days' weeding, one half-day's harrowing, and a half-day's fencing,
and four carrying works (averagia). The rent of the half- virgate holdings
was a/. iij</., and their works were worth 9!^., as they sent four men
(three ad cibum domini] to reap instead of five, did only half-a-day's carting
and no averagia. All the tenants had to mow the meadow (6J acre?
i rod) among them.

The extra works were heaviest at Greenford, where they included
besides two days each at harrowing, weeding and thrashing, the hay
harvest of two meadows, a day's carting after the autumn precariae and
half a day's fencing in Easter or Whit-week. At Drayton and Sutton
the two ' firme ' which each manor rendered in kind for the canons' table
at St. Paul's had to be carried to London by the tenants, besides the
usual weeding, thrashing, and carting wood and manures. Washing and
shearing sheep was another extra service, sometimes performed by the
cottars, sometimes by particular custumers. The harvest of one and
sometimes two meadows had to be completed by the tenants on all the
manors. At Teddington the hay-makers received from the lord a
dignarium, at Paddington ijd. and a cheese worth 4^. ; while at Drayton

171 P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. rot. 439 (5 Edw. I).
70

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

they had half a load of wheat, a sheep, and a ' scultellata ' of salt, and at
Edgeware 6</., a cheese worth 2</., and salt to the value of \d.

The usual number of boon-days is either three, as at Paddington,
Kensington, and Teddington, where the free tenants only attend two,
while the custumers send six men to three ; or two, as at Drayton,
the one with food being attended by all the tenants' servants as well
as by the tenants themselves. At Sutton the tenants send one man
to the dry and two to the ' wet precaria ' ; and at Isleworth, where again
the free tenants attend as overseers only one bedrippe and have three
meals a day of bread, cheese, and beer, at the lord's cost, the custumers
have to attend two, receiving only one similar meal in the day, but
without beer at the second bedrippe. At Greenford the free tenants
attend one ' precaria,' while there are six four being dry for the
custumers ; but these probably include ploughing days, which were some-
times called ' precariae,' and are not otherwhere mentioned for the
Greenford custumers. At Hayes no boon-days are mentioned.

The food provided at the ' precariae ' is carefully specified at
Teddington, where at the first ' precaria ' the servants had a meal of
bread, water and two dishes, and the masters received 30 gallons of
beer. Masters and servants had bread, water and two dishes at the
second 'precaria.' At the great 'precaria' the masters had a dignarium
of bread and cheese and beer, the servants had water and two dishes,
and masters and servants supped together, provided with a suffi-
ciency of beer. On the second day of the great ' precaria ' all the
' consuetudinarii ' dined together, and when the harvest was finished
they received a measure (sectarian!) of beer. The fare provided for the
tenants on all the manors was ample in quantity and quality. Bread
and cheese with either fish or meat was the usual dinner, and at
supper there was often a pottage of beans or peas as well. At
Harmondsworth in 1434 the provisions laid in, either from the stock
of the manor or by purchase, for the autumn boon-days included
bread, cheese, milk and butter and eggs, beer, beef, pork and other
meat, ducks, salt-fish, and herrings. If the usual diet of the tenants
at their own tables was in anything like the same proportion,
there would seem to be some justification for Froissart's surprise at
the 'grant aisse et craisse ' in which the English peasant lived, and in which
the chronicler, who was not remarkable for democratic sympathies,
saw the source and origin of their turbulence at the ' hurling-time.' 88

Although the works were apportioned to the separate holdings,
there was a certain amount of joint responsibility for certain services.
Thus it was generally understood that the mowing and carting of the
hay from the whole meadow must be completed, and if tenements
! were in the lord's hands, he had to provide substitutes for a corresponding
share of this work. Again at Kensington all the tenants were responsible
for the ploughing of a given number of acres, and at Isleworth when the
number of cottars fell from five to four, the four had to do the same

" Froissart, Chroniques (ed. Soc. de 1'Hist. de France, Luce), x, 94..

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

amount of stacking hay that was formerly done by the five. This com-
mon liability is illustrated by an Isleworth inquisition M into the status of
a certain Nicholas Est of Heston, who complained that being of free
status he had been presented at the court not by his lord but by the
villein tenants of the manor for failing to render villein services.

Though there are many cases in the records of tenants being not
' heriotable,' as a general rule heriots were paid by free and bondage
tenants alike. Even on the same manor there would seem to be a certain
variation in the heriots, and sometimes special classes of tenants paid
special heriots, as we have seen was the case with some of the Isleworth
tenures. At Harmondsworth it is stated to be the 'custom of the manor'
that no heriot accrued when there was neither live stock nor chattels on
the holding ; but nevertheless there are a great many instances of money
heriots paid because there is no animal on the holding, and often heriots
are paid in money without any reason being assigned. In a few cases
the heriot consisted of clothing, as for instance a * russet kirtle ' and a
tunic ' blodii coloris ' lined with white lambskin. In one case a table
and a scythe were given because there was no beast on the holding.
There would seem to be no fixed amount here for the money heriots, but
in one or two cases the amount of the heriot was specified when
the holding was granted to the tenant. A heriot of 6</. is accepted
from one tenant, ' quia pauper,' and in the time of Edward IV an
apparently accepted heriot of a ' horscolt ' is stated to be of no value
because it is dead. According to the custom of the manor, when a
holding was held jointly by husband and wife the heriot only accrued at
the death of the survivor, because on the death of the first co-tenant the
holding does not change hands. Nevertheless instances occur in the rolls
of heriots paid at the first death, and there is at least one of heriots paid
at both deaths. At Harmondsworth, where disputes were always plenty,
there was a good deal of trouble in obtaining the heriots from the
tenants in the fifteenth century, and orders to distrain for them are
frequent, though more often made and repeated than executed.

It is more than once stated that according to the custom of the
manor a widow's free bench consisted of a fourth part of her husband's
holding, and in the fifteenth century a widower claimed the fourth part
of his late wife's holding, ' per legem Anglic,' and ' according to the cus-
tom of the manor.' In many instances, however, the wife would seem
to inherit the entire holding.

At Fulham the heriot for every holding on which there was no
stock was 3J. ^d. Here a widow had a third of her husband's holding
as free bench.

At Drayton and at Stepney the rule no animal, no heriot, applies,
though there are two cases at Drayton, in a court roll at St. Paul's,
where there being no animal a payment was made ' tam per finem quam
per heriot.' We have already noted the special heriots paid by
holders of Bordlond and ' unfre lond ' at Isleworth of zs. or is. accord-

P.R.O. Inq. I Ric. II, No. 146*.
72

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

ing to the size of their holdings. The usual cottar's heriot here
was 3</.

At Kempton a money payment was made in the absence of live stock,
and the amount would seem to be proportioned to the rent ; in one case
where the rent was %d. the heriot was the same sum, and in two others,
a virgate and a two-virgate holding paid 5-r. id, and los. id. respectively,
which would be roughly equal to the usual rent.

The history of the process by which the services on the Middlesex
manors were commuted for money payments aptly illustrates the wisdom
of Dr. Maitland's warning against facile generalizations from the history
of particular manors to the history of ' the manor.' In Middlesex at
any rate it is impossible to generalize at all as to commutation ; each
manor went its own way, some commuted earlier, some later, some by
the gradual sale of services, some by a formal agreement, some by the grant
of leases at money rents. One would expect a priori the neighbourhood
of London, by providing the tenants with a market and the landlords with
a source of supply for free labour, to accelerate the process of commuta-
tion, and tempt the tenants to desert the manors. As a matter of fact
commutation in Middlesex on the whole was later instead of earlier than
in other counties, and there are very few cases in the manor rolls of either
fugitive tenants or tenants fining to remain away.

The earliest commutation of which the writer has found a record
occurred on the manor of Harmondsworth shortly before irio ii. 40
One of the seven tenants who rendered weekly works between Michael-
mas and Martinmas was released from his six days' work by the prior
then in office, in return for a yearly rent of izd. Another early, but
only temporary, commutation on the same manor is mentioned in 1390,"
in a dispute as to the rent and status of a tenant whom the abbot
claimed as his villein and attached for withholding izd. a year rent
as well as for ' diverse rebellions.' Walter atte Nasshe, on the other
hand, asserted that he was free as were his predecessors, and that he held
a virgate of land as heir to a certain Roger de Fraxino, who came to the
manor as a stranger and took from the lord a messuage and virgate for
an annual rent of 6s. and all the custumary services. At what date the
said Roger came to Harmondsworth is not stated, but it is clear that
there was more than one tenant between him and Walter atte Nasshe.
Subsequently Roger obtained the land ' per cartam ' at a composition
rent of js. in lieu of all services and customs. Roger's heirs, however,
reverted after his death to the original tenure, paying 6s. rent and per-
forming the services due from a virgate of land according to the custom
of the manor. And by this tenure Walter atte Nasshe claims and
apparently desires to hold the virgate, unless indeed the alternative sought
to be imposed on him by the lord was the payment of the higher rent
and the performance of the services as well. After this there were
practically only a few temporary commutations at Harmondsworth until

40 P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. ptfo. n, No. 20 (n Hen. I).

41 P.R.O. Ct. R. 14 Ric. II, bdle. 191, No. 15.

2 73 10

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

after the time of Henry VI. In the reign of Richard II ** the services
rendered on the manor coincided absolutely with those enumerated in
the custumal of the twelfth century, and in 1433-4 (12-13 Henry VI) "
the same number of holdings is rendering exactly the same works as
their predecessors rendered three hundred years before, and receiving
the same dues in return. The mowers still get their heft load of hay
each, and the 1 3^. for their ' mederam.' It is quite clear from the
terms of the account in 1434 that the works were actually performed,
and that the statement is not a mere survival of a formula with no real
meaning. The expenses of the autumn ' precariae ' are accounted for ;
it is noted that the custumary works sufficed for the mowing, and an
allowance is made for the works of three holdings which are in the
lord's hands. Only two tenants pay for their works, Roger Tenterden
3/. 4</. and Robert Hiton i 2d. The latter made this arrangement in
1421," in which year he covenanted with the lord to give a capon in
lieu of services, and in the future to pay for them i zd. a year. This
survival of services is the more remarkable that, although the formal num-
ber of holdings is unaltered, the actual distribution of them has been much
modified by sub-letting, of which there was a great deal on this manor,
subdividing, and consolidating the holdings. During the reign of
Henry VI two or three tenants took up a good many holdings ; Roger
Hubard, the ' prepositus ' of this very account, for one. A good many leases
had also been granted and continued to be granted by this time. In this
matter of commutation, Ruislip, which belonged to Harmondsworth, is a
great contrast to it. In 1434-6, when the tenants on the latter manor
were rendering all their services, the Ruislip tenants were quit of all
theirs, some being sold and some definitely commuted under a new
rental. 45 A curious arrangement made with a tenant in 1417 illustrates
the reluctance with which the lord conceded commutations at Harmonds-
worth. In that year a certain John Samon took over a toft and half
virgate which had escheated to the lord at the death of the last tenant.
The holding was granted to Samon for five years at a rent of js. instead
of all services and customs, always provided that the lord did not, during
that term, concede it to a tenant holding according to the custom of the
manor for rent and services, in which case Samon's lease was to deter-
mine." Another rather curious case occurred in I428. 47 Three tenants of
Stanwell were sentenced to a fine of 2s. for trespassing and cutting thorns
on the Harmondsworth demesne. Subsequently, at the special prayer of
several of his own tenants, the lord remitted the fine on condition that
each of the men should do one day's work at the following autumn
bedrippe. And yet at this time some of the services were actually
not profitable. In the reeve's account for 1433 4* 8 it is stated that the

" P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. Ric. II, ptfo. 1 1, No. 20.

P.R.O. Mins. Accts. 12-13 Hen. VI, bdle. 1126, No. 7.

44 P.R.O. Ct. R. Hen. V, bdle. 191, No. 20.

" P.R.O. Mins. Accts. 13-15 Hen. VI, bdle. 917, Nos. 26 and 27.

46 P.R.O. Ct. R. Hen. V, bdle. 191, No. 20. 4 ' Ibid. 6 Hen. VI, bdle. 191, No. 21.

48 P.R.O. Mins. Accts. 12-13 Hen. VI, bdle. 1126, No. 7.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

expenses of the scouring works exceeded their value, therefore only so
many tenants as were absolutely required for the work were summoned,
the others being quit. The expenses of the great boon-day also were in
excess of the value of the works, in spite of which the works continued
to be exacted and rendered.

In 1 446 * 9 an arrangement was made in full court between the lord
and his steward on the one hand, with the assent of the tenants on the
other, that every tenant might pay for his autumn works at the rate of
id, a day, the money to be paid to the bailiff or some other of the
lord's ministers yearly at the feast of St. Peter in Chains (i August), or
on the Sunday next following, any tenants not paying at this time to be
charged at a double rate. But later than this agreement, tenants still
took up holdings on the express condition of rendering autumn services ;
two years later, in February, 1448, Robert Iver, Edward Bokeland and
Thomas Ravener were summoned to Westminster to have the amount
of their autumn work determined, and in the following October they
submitted themselves to the lord's mercy and petitioned for leave to per-
form their services and to be no longer disquieted for those previously
withheld.' As late as 1455 and 1471 tenants were presented for not
doing works, and in 1492 two tenants paid for their services. 61 No
mention of such payments is made in the two court rolls of the reign of
Henry VIII," but no conclusion as to the absence of commutations can
be deduced from the fact that the holdings in Henry VIII's rolls are still
said to be granted for ' all services and customs due by law and custom,'
or inde prius debita. The survival of this formula in the court rolls
is very misleading, and continues long after it has any meaning in actual
fact. It is used in court rolls of the Stuart reigns, and of the Com-
monwealth, and the tenants are still spoken of as custumarii. The same
formula is used in the leases of manors granted by the Hospitallers in
the reign of Henry VIIL' Sa And in Sutton rolls 63 the formula is still
regularly recited after the Restoration, and at Stepney 63a in the time
of Henry VIII, although by the reign of Henry VI no more services were
rendered on the manor.

At Sutton we find an early commutation in 1222," a tenant holding
'per cartam ' for a rent of 5*. instead of services, and by this time no new
services were imposed, for, as we have already noticed, the assart lands
held by two operarii were paid for by a money rent only. In 14089 no
account of works appears in the rolls ; " the demesne is let on lease, and
there is an entry of 4 iu. id. from the sale of autumn works. A
receipt of 7 Bs. io</. from the lord for the expenses of the autumn
works is noted, and entries of expenses are made. So that evidently
some are still rendered.

49 P.R.O. Ct. R. Hen. VI, bdle. 191, No. 23. *> Ibid. bdle. 191, No. 23.

" Ibid. Hen. VII, bdle. 191, No. 28. Ibid. Hen.VIII, bdle. 191, Nos. 30 and 31.

Ua B.M. Chart, of Hospitallers, Cott. MS. Claud. E. vi.

M Ct. R. at St. Paul's.

a " P.R.O. Ct. R. (i Hen. VIII), bdle. 191, No. 63. M Domesday of St. PauTs. Survey of Sutton.

65 St. Paul's Library, Mins. Accts. 9 or 10 Hen. IV.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

By 1283-4 six out of the ten and a half virgates of ' Shirlond ' at
Stepney were definitely posita ad denarium^ and thirty-five more works
were sold, accounting for 449 out of a total of 65 8 J works due. 450!
cotmen's works out of 854 were sold, as well as the great majority of
Hydlond and Mollond works. In and after 1362 the rolls contain no
compotus operum, but instead account for all the works due from the four
classes of holdings under the heading de operis arrentatis. There was a
dispute this year about the commutation of works due from twelve vir-
gates of mollond held by free tenants, the homage declaring that the
tenants had not been a party to the arrangement, and an allowance for
an overcharge was made to them. In 1464 the accounts cease to distin-
guish the redditus assist of the mollond, and only free and custumary
tenants are mentioned." Stepney suffered badly from the Black Death,
and afterwards a good deal of land was let on lease, the rents of terre
dimisse amounting to 43 14^. 6d. in 1352-3."

As we have already seen, certain molmen's works only were rendered
at Enfield in and after 1419. By 1439 the situs manerii, the demesne,
was let on a six years' lease with the garden, pasture, all demesne and
meadow land, all the custumers' weeding, mowing and reaping works
and the profits of the first annual hunt in the chase. A house over the
gateway, with some adjoining rooms and the stables were reserved for
the king. A good deal of bondage land was also let on lease. The
carrying works due to the firmarius from certain of the molmen were
sold by him at 3^. each. 68

Although many commutations were made with the granting of
leases at Fulham between 1384 and 1396, services were still rendered on
the manor at the latter date, for there is a note in an account of that
year that tenants who had no horses paid ^d. instead of harrowing. The
same account contains a list of custumary holdings, consisting of from five
to twenty-six ' akerware ' each, in Acton and Drayton," and giving their
payments for rents, works and customs to Fulham manor and to Baling.
The demesne was leased in 1401 for seven years with 40 cows and
251 sheep, and in 143940 the manor was leased for nine years with
all demesne land, meadows, pasture, the profits of the court-leet and all
services. The bishop reserved to himself the advowson of the church,
the hall and all buildings and gardens within the lower gate, the great
garden, one grange and all the stables, 6 acres of meadow, the fishponds
and woods and all the judicial rights of the lord of the manor. 60

A few payments for release from works occur in the Edgeware rolls
from 1268, and the sums received do not vary greatly in the few years
during which we have any account of the manor. A certain amount of land

M Compotus roll in St. Paul's Library, dated anno 12 regii Edviardi; P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 1139,
Nos. 18-24 i bdle. 1 140, No. 24 (4-5 Edw. IV).

" P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 1139, No. 18.

M Ibid. bdle. 915, No. 26 (7 Hen. V) ; Mins. Accts. (Duchy of Lane.), bdle. 42, No. 825 ;
bdle. 53, Nos. 1010 and 1014.

" Not to be confused with the St. Paul's Manor of Drayton. This is a small place near Hanwell.
P.R.O. Ct. R. 8-19 Ric. II, bdle. 188, Nos. 65-7 ; Mins. Accts. 19 Ric. II, bdle. 1138, No. 18.

60 P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 1138, Nos. 22 and 23.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

is let on lease ' at the lord's will,' for which the rents amount in 1268 to
jTi 41. 6d., and in 1279 to 3 4^. 6d. There are also lands dimissae
ad seminand'.* 1

The custumal and rental of the manor of Friern Barnet 63 was re-
vised in 1 506-7. In all but four cases the tenants paid a money rent
and were charged with carrying and ploughing services and boon-works as
well. Two holdings paid a money rent only, and two paid no rent and
owed only carrying services. None of the services were sold except
the carrying services, which were all sold at ^d. a load ; and it is clear
from the terms of the custumal that the other works were actually
rendered. By a lease of 1519 granted by the Hospitallers, the ' firma-
rius ' was bound to collect for the prior all ' rents, carriage-moneys,
work-silver and fines.' 6S

At Barnes in 14601 services were still rendered, except for the
lands let on lease, but in the time of Henry VIII no works are men-
tioned." In 14345 at Uxbridge it was apparently left to the tenants'
discretion whether they rendered the boon services or paid for them at
the rate of $d. for one, and lod. for two bedrippes. 88

At Kensington the services were in process of commutation during
the reign of Henry VI, and a valor of that reign gives the money value
of all the works. In 1406 the person and goods of a tenant described
as nativus domini de sanguine arc ordered to be seized for living out of the
manor without paying chevage. 68

A large number of works appear as sold at Isleworth in 131415
and subsequent years, all the superintending works being regularly sold.
In 13612 a very large proportion of the works was sold ; some of the
aker- and wcrklond services and some ale- bedrippes being all that were
rendered, besides the harvest works and sheep-shearing. Three years
before, 1 45 acres were let on five-year leases in small holdings at rents of 6s.
and 7-r. per acre. Much the same proportion of works was sold in 1383-4,
all the werk- and akerlond services being sold this year. Six tenants
were presented for withholding works during the reign of Henry VI, and
a compotus of 14623 shows the same proportion of works sold and ren-
dered as in 1383-4. The demesne was let on lease, the house being reserved
for the abbess of Syon. Indeed, to judge by the sum entered for opera
uendita in a collector's account of 14846 the process of commuta-
tion does not seem to have made much progress. 67 In the inquiry already
mentioned into the status of Nicholas Est,' 8 he asserted that it was the
custom of the manor for free tenants who, like himself, held bondage

" P.R.O. Mins. Accts. Hen. Ill and Edw. I, bdle. 915, Nos. z, 3, 4, 12 ; Rentals and Surv.
5 Edw. I, rot. 439.

61 St. Paul's Library, Custumal 22 Hen. VII.

63 B.M. Chartul. of the Hospitallers, Cott. MS. Claud. E. vi.

" St. Paul's Library, Compotus Rolls, 39 Hen. VI and Hen. VIII.

64 B.M. Rental 13 Hen. VI. Harl. Roll D 22.

" P.R.O. Ct. R. bdle. 191, Nos. 44, 45, Hen. VI ; Rental rot. 445.

" P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 916, Nos. n (8 Edw. II), 18 (35-6 Edw. Ill), 19 (7-8 Ric. II),
22 (2-3 Edw. IV), 25 (2 Ric. III-i Hen. VII).
M P.R.O. Inq. I Ric. II, No. 146(7.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

land as well, to pay a certain yearly increment in order to be quit of
all villeinage. The verdict passed over this assertion and decided his
freedom on the usual ground that one of his predecessors was an
* adventitius.'

At Teddington the first sale of works (258) occurs in 1313-14,
and after that the numbers sold vary a good deal in different years ;
in 1324-5 ninety-eight were sold, and the next year seventy ; the
year after the Black Death only one and a-half. In 1372-3 the
demesne was let to the prepositus on a fifteen-year lease at a rent
of 80 quarters of barley, equivalent at the current price (4;. 6d. a
quarter) to 18. The works then accrued to him, and he rendered no
further account of them. A rental of Richard II, however, shows
them in process of commutation. Six of the free tenants have com-
muted their suit of court and boon-works for i zd. The eight holdings
which are let on lease by 1373-4 are all let at a rent covering all
services, from IQJ. to 1 3-r. ^d. for a virgate of i6j acres ; for half a virgate
(8j acres) 4-r. bd. In 1379-80 seven holdings are still held for services
with or without a money rent. Two holdings have been forfeited for
non-performance of services, and in both cases the new tenant has com-
muted. One of the half virgates still pays no rent, but does all ser-
vices, 69 and three cotmen are still doing their works. Finally, a rental of
1434 70 does not mention works at all the land is all let for money rents:
virgates at i to i 6s. 8*/., and half virgates from 12s. to 13^. ^d.

Owing to the scarcity of early court rolls we are left very much
in ignorance of the effects of the Black Death in Middlesex. 71 The
only court roll in the Record Office for the plague year belongs to
the manor of Stepney, 72 and witnesses to an appalling mortality. At
the court held on the feast of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian (20 January),
1 349, nine tenements were reported in the lord's hands owing to the
death of the tenants. In December, 1 348, four members of one family
mother and daughter and two sons have died, a third son dies in the
following February, and later in the year three more members of the
family are reported to be dead and the holdings passed to heirs of a
different name. After Easter, 1349, the ale-tasters in Stratford, Aldgate
Street and Halliwell Street are all reported to be dead. The plague was
at its worst during the summer and early autumn of 1349: between
February and Michaelmas in that year 105 tenements were vacated by
the death of the tenants, 121 deaths being recorded in connexion with
the vacancies, as in some cases joint tenants, and in others the heirs, have
died as well. Nor must it be forgotten that only the deaths of tenants
and heirs to holdings are recorded in the rolls, and even this list is not
complete, for the rolls are torn off at Hokeday, St. Peter in Chains and
Michaelmas 1349, and it is impossible to know how many entries
are lost.

" P.R.O. Mins. Accts. Edw. II, Edw. Ill, bdle. 918, Nos. 12-25 5 bdle. QIQ, Nos. i-n ; Rental
3 Ric. II, No. 456.

70 St. Paul's Library, Rental 12 Hen. VI.

" See Appendix I. " P.R.O. Ct. R. 22 & 23 Edw. Ill, bdle. 191, No. 60.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

Nothing comparable to these conditions is revealed in the Tedding-
ton manor accounts for the years after the plague. 73 There is no account
for the years 13479, but as there is a gap in the series from 13 & 14 till
23 & 24 Edward III, it does not by any means follow that the account
was not kept in those years. In the account for the year, Michaelmas 1 349
to Michaelmas 1350, five custumers out of fifteen are reported as dead,
and evidently left no heirs, for their holdings remain in the lord's hands
and an allowance is made for their share of services. The number of
hesebonders decreases in this year from fifteen to nine, but it is not stated
that they are dead. There is also a decrease from five or six to only three
and a half in the plough-teams owned by the tenants, as if they were
not so well off. So far as we can see the manor was in its usual working
order; tallage i I3J. zd. was paid in full, and all the works, with
the exception of those of the five dead tenants, are rendered as due.
Nevertheless, as may be seen from the following table, the profits of
the manor show a decrease of over 11 compared with those realized
in 1339-40 (from 13 iSs. $d. to 2 2J. 8j</.), and of 9 compared
with the average of all the preceding years on record. The profits of
the manor of Paddington for the same year 74 are very small, 2 3^.

YEARLY PROFITS OF THE MANOR OF TEDDINGTON

Years

Receipts

Expenses

Profit

3-4 Edw. I

lit

28-29

Edw.

29-30

Edw.

4-5 Edw. II

, 9

1 1

5-6 Edw. II

9-10 Edw. Ill

lot

I3-H

Edw.

Ill ....

23-24

Edw.

Ill ....

11}

24-25

Edw.

Ill ....

Demesne farmed

at lease

47-48

Edw.

Ill

lit

48-49

Edw.

Ill

2 4

49-50

Edw.

Ill

1 1

2 "

but as we only possess this one compotus for the manor, there are no
figures for comparison. There are three holdings in the lord's hand at
Paddington, no reason being given, and it is remarked in accounting for
the servants' expenses at Christmas and Easter that there were fewer

n P.R.O. Mins. Accts. 23-26 Edw. Ill, bdle. 918, Nos. 22-24.
Ji Ibid. 23 & 24 Edw. Ill, bdle. 917, No. 25.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

servants than usual. Walsingham, in the Gesta Abbatum asserts that
the tenants of the St. Albans manor of Barnet in Middlesex took advan-
tage of the disorganization caused by the Black Death ' when hardly any
reeves or cellarer survived, and certainly could not care for such transi-
tory and mortal things ' to tamper with the manor rolls.

The accounts of Paddington and Teddington show a sudden rise of
wages immediately after the Black Death. In 1335-6 at Teddington,
the chief ploughman had 6s., the fugator 5^., carters and herds 4^. 6</., and
the ' daye ' 2s. a year each ; the same wages having been paid as far
back as 1275-7. The year after the Black Death, ploughmen, carters,
and herds all have us. a year and the ' daye ' 4^. The price of thrash-
ing wheat has risen from -2.\d. to 4</. a quarter, and barley from i \d. to 3^.
At Paddington the ploughmen get iu., and a maid to look after the
poultry and winnow the corn has 5-r. In 13512, in obedience to the
statute, the wages fall again, the ploughmen, carters and herds getting
7.1-., while the ' daye ' remains at 4-f. ; but a substantial rise over the
earlier rates is still maintained. Another effect of the Black Death was
to give an impetus to the letting of land on lease. On most manors we find
leases increasing during the latter years of the reign of Edward III. The
five holdings left vacant by the Black Death at Teddington remained in
the lord's hands (excepting a small portion of one, let in 13512) for years.
The first of them was leased for a term of seven years in 1368 9 and
the others gradually after that. By 13734 eight holdings are let on
leases of varying lengths for the life of the tenant, for seven, sixteen,
twenty years.

So far as the paucity of information allows us to judge, in Middle-
sex, at any rate, the Black Death promoted the granting of leases far more
effectually than the Peasants' Revolt. But before we follow the course
of the revolt in Middlesex we must notice some earlier disputes between
landlord and tenants. In all the rolls, more or less, there are the usual
fines for trespassing in the woods and in the lord's fields, for overcharging
commons and pastures, for withholding suit of court and other services,
and orders to distrain for rents and heriots. The leniency with which
these orders are repeated and apparently disregarded at court after court
is very striking, so that there are instances in the rolls of tenants
being ten, twenty and even thirty years in arrears with their rents.
On no other manor in the county of which we have records was
there anything like the constant disputes and insubordination which
appear in the Harmondsworth Court Rolls. 78 Troubles between the
abbot and his tenants began very early, and by the time of Henry III
had been carried to the royal courts for settlement. The tenants asserted
that the manor was ancient demesne and that the abbot was infringing
their rights as ancient demesne tenants by exacting from them services
and tallage to which they had not been subjected when the manor was
in the king's hands. The plea was heard by William of Raseley,
the chief justice, in 1233 and was given against the tenants, it being

" Oman, The Peasants' Revolt, 328. P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. rot. 444.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

decided that the manor was not ancient demesne, that the abbot
and his predecessors were seised of the tallage and merchet of the
tenants ; he was therefore to recover seisin, and the men to be fined
5 marks.

In 1276 the tenants returned to the charge. Walter de Lestile,
Walter le Disine, Roger le Paternoster, and other men of Harmonds-
worth attacked the abbot on the same grounds as before. This time
the abbot refused to plead on the ground that the manor not being
ancient demesne the men were his villeins and could not sue him at law.
The court declared that a jury of the county could not decide whether
the manor were or were not ancient demesne, because rights of the
crown which went back beyond the memory of man could not be
determined by a reference to that memory. A reference to Domesday
was made by the lords of the Exchequer, who found that Harmonds-
worth was not amongst the manors of ancient demesne entered in
Domesday. The court therefore confirmed William of Raseley's verdict
that the men were tallageable at will and bound to redeem their flesh
and blood.

In this decision the tenants were not by any means minded to
acquiesce. With ' presumptuous and inveterate fatuity ' they flatly re-
fused the disputed customs, ' saying they would rather die than render
them.' When the abbot distrained their teams, they took them back
by force vi et armis ; openly threatened no less than to burn down his
house, and committed ' various homicides and other enormities.' The
abbot was powerless and appealed to the king, ' lest by their insolence
and rebellion worse should befall his prior ' at Harmondsworth. In May,
1277, Edward II dispatched Geoffrey de Pyncheford, the constable of
Windsor, in propria persona^ to the aid of the prior ; and a year later the
sheriff of Middlesex was sent on the same errand. But the men of
Harmondsworth persisted in their ' pristine malice and rebellion,' so that
later in that year or in the next the king sent Robert Fulton and Roger
de Bechesworth with orders to call the tenants before them, and, if they
persisted in their disobedience, to assist the abbot in enforcing his rights
and to punish the men with a severity calculated to deter them from a
repetition of their wrong-doing.

Apparently these drastic measures produced the desired effect, for
there seems to have been no further litigation until ten years later. In
1289 the abbot proceeded against twenty-five tenants for withholding
services and customs which they and their predecessors had rendered
until two years before. The services claimed are practically those of the
custumal ; ploughing, sowing, weeding, mowing, carting hay and corn,
attendance at bedrippes, and the obligation to tallage, merchet, and
' grasenese.' The defendants recognized all the works except sowing
which they claimed (and the custumal states) should be done by the
abbot's servants the third or love-bedrippe and the obligation to bring
their cottars to help with the hay-carting. They also disputed their
responsibility for the adequate performance of the ploughing, their
2 81 ii

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

obligation to pay merchet and tallage (auxi/ium) and to obtain licence to
sell horse or ox. But once more the jury found for the abbot and placed
the tenants in mercy.

After this there appears to have been no further litigation coram
rege, but at the beginning of the reign of Richard II the first court roll 77
discovers a good deal of insubordination amongst the tenants. At the
Martinmas Court in 1377, Roger Fayrher, Thomas Hyne, Walter Lang-
leye, Robert Baker, William Hiton and Nicholas Houtchon were fined
\d. each for not coming to the haymaking ; John Austyn the same sum
for not carting hay, and also, together with Walter Robyn and Roger
Janyn, for reaping his own corn on the day of the great precaria.
Roger Janyn and John Austyn, Walter Smith, Ralph Jurdan, Godfrey
Atte Pyrie, John Felling and Roger Cook were further fined for not
coming to superintend the reapers as they were ' by law and custom
bound.' John Essex, Richard Sheter and Nicholas Herbert were each
fined 6d. for non-attendance at a bedrippe ; William Pompe and Robert
Freke for not obeying the bailiff's summons ; and Roger Cook for a
deficiency of one work, piling wheat in the grange. It is evident that
there was something like organized opposition to the lord ; indeed, Robert
Baker so far forgot himself as to upbraid the jury in full court, and in the
presence of the seneschal, accusing them of finding a false verdict ; while
Walter Breuer disturbed the court with his scornful words, and would
not be prevailed on by the seneschal to behave himself reasonably as
beseemed him (rationabiliter modo prout decebit). At the same time a good
many tenants were letting their land without leave, there is a long list of
trespassers in the woods, some one has been poaching in the abbot's
private waters, and one tenant is a fugitive and undiscovered in spite of
reiterated orders to search for him. The next year the servant of one of
the tenants opened the lord's sluices so that the hay was flooded. Thomas
Reynolds and Nicholas Herberd were fined \2.d. each at Ascension-tide

1379 for abusing the lord's servants. On St. Luke's day in the same
year four tenants were fined for not coming to load hay, by which
default hay to the value of \s. %d. was lost, and William Boyland's land
was ordered to be seized, because he withheld services and customs. It
is not surprising under the circumstances to find that the reeve, elected at
this court, fined i 3^. \d. to be absolved from the office. A year later at
the St. Luke's court of 1380, Walter Frensch, Robert Freke, senior and
junior, John Attenelme, Walter Breuer, Walter Holder, William Atte
Hatche, William Boyland and Roger Taylor were fined for not coming
to superintend the reapers ; seven tenants worked in their own fields on
the day of the great bedrippe, two tenants did not attend the love-bed-
rippe, and four came late to their autumn works. Thomas Reynolds, it
must be supposed for further ' contempts,' had forfeited his land and had
to pledge himself to the amount of IOQJ. to get it back. Again the
elected reeve prudently preferred to decline the office even at the cost of
a fine of i 6/. 8</.

" P.R.O. Ct. R. Ric. II, bdle. 191, No. 14.
82

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

In the following spring the Peasants' Revolt broke out, and it would
seem as if the ferment of the rebellion had been already at work at
Harmondsworth. 78

It is unnecessary to repeat here the account of the burning of the
Savoy, of the Temple, of the Hospital of St. John at Clerkenwell, of the
manor house of the Hospitallers at Highbury, of the properties of the
under-sheriff of Middlesex at Eybury, Tothill, and Knightsbridge, and
of the climax of the rebellion at Mile End, 79 which have no special con-
nexion with the county, belonging rather to the general history of the
revolt.

Although there does not appear to have been anything like a
general Middlesex rising, there is evidence of sporadic outbreaks on
several manors, and the Middlesex men must have taken their full share
in the rebellion, for the list of exclusions from the general pardon is
longer for that small county than for any other, except for London itself. 80
Twenty-three Middlesex rebels were excluded from the amnesty, from
fifteen different parishes, 81 but so far as the evidence goes only two of them
were convicted and outlawed ; eleven were subsequently acquitted in
1386-7, and the remainder were, it must be supposed, never brought to
justice, as there is no record of their conviction or acquittal. Of the two
who were outlawed, 83 Peter Walshe held a cottage and ij acres in Chis-
wick, and was found to possess no goods or chattels ; of the other outlaw,
Thomas Bedford of Holborn, the goods seized by the escheator were
valued at 4^., being chiefly small household utensils most of them ' debil.'
Only one other rebel figures in this Middlesex escheator's account : John
Stackpole, described as of Middlesex, was beheaded as one of the prin-
cipal insurgents in the Corpus Christi rising, and is mentioned in an
inquiry carried out by the sheriffs in November, 1382, as being with
Walter Tyler, one of the leaders of the rebels at Blackheath. His goods
and chattels are valued at i8j., amongst them being a red and green
cloth gown worth 8s. and ' unius cithere et gyterne, precium i6</.' 8S
William Peche, clerk of St. Clements, accused of being with the rebels
at Knightsbridge, Eybury, and Tothill ; John Hore, of Knightsbridge, for
burning the under-sheriffs' houses ; Robert Gardiner (or Rob. Poltayne
gardener) of Holborn, accused of joining in the burning of St. John's
Clerkenwell, of slaying seven Flemings there and stealing a cup, and
Thomas Clerke of Algate Street, butcher all pleaded the general pardon;
and John Norman of Hammersmith, John Smart and John Neue of
Lilleston, and John Brewer of Hoxton do not appear to have been caught
at all. 84 Thus it will be seen that Middlesex was no exception to the

78 See Appendix I. " See ' Political History.' * Rot. Par/. (Rec. Com.), iii, 1 1 1.

81 This hardly seems sufficient justification for Prof. Oman's statement (Peasants' Revolt, 91) that
' inhabitants of almost every parish in Middlesex ' are to be found in the list of exclusions.

63 P.R.O. Coram Rege R. East. 9 Ric. II, m. 2 (rex), m. 16 (rex) r. d.; Trin. 9-10 Ric. II, m. 8
(rex) ; Mich. 10 Ric. II, ms. 20 (rex), 23 (rex) d. and 25 (rex) ; Hil. 1 1 Ric. II, m. 7 (rex) ; Esch.
Acct. 5-6 Ric. II (John de Newinton). Bona et catalla proditorum.

83 Reville, Soutevement des Travailleurs, pp. Ixxvi note 2 and 192 ; Esch. Accts. as above.

84 P.R.O. Coram Rege R. Hil. 5 Ric. II, m. 9 (rex); Trin. 5 Ric. II, m. 34 (rex); Mich. 8 Ric. II,
m. 14 (rex) ; Trin. 6-7 Ric. II, m. 2 (rex); Mich. 6 Ric. II, m. 15 (rex) d.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

general rule of leniency in the suppression of the revolt. As to the
local outbreaks in the county we have little more than the scantiest in-
formation. The disturbances at Pinner were sufficiently serious to
warrant a royal inquiry, the manor of Harrow being in the king's hands
as part of the temporalities of the see of Canterbury during the vacancy
caused by the murder of Simon of Sudbury. 86 An entry in a Fulham
court roll of 1392 states that the court rolls were burnt tempore rumoris.
Amongst the exclusions from the pardon are men from Hendon, Houn-
slow, Ruislip, Greenford, Twickenham, Fulham, Chelsea, Charing and
Heston ; but it does not appear whether they were engaged in local dis-
turbances or in the London rebellion. At Heston the tenants seized the
opportunity to pay off their old score against Nicholas Est. William
Weyland, John Walter and Richard Umfray attacked Est on 5 June,
1381, with swords and staves, abused and wounded him, and finally
imprisoned him for a day and night, until Nicholas paid 4OJ. for
his freedom. When the latter brought an action against them in
1383, the three men pleaded and brought four credible witnesses in
support of their plea that they had not acted of their own free will,
but by the orders of Jack Straw, Walter Tyler, and other insurgents.
The acceptance of this plea entitled them to benefit by the general pardon
and they were actually dismissed sine die* 1 That an outbreak occurred at
Harmondsworth is clear, for Walter Come, Richard Gode and Robert
Freke, junior, forfeited their lands for rebellion against the prior and the
king's peace, and William Pompe's and John Pellyng's lands were also seized
for the same reason. It seems probable that the manor rolls were burnt,
for the early custumals are extant, not in the originals, but in transcripts
of the reign of Richard II, and with the exception of one roll of the
time of Edward I there are no earlier court rolls of the manor extant
than the one actually in use at the time of the rebellion. The prior was
evidently not disposed to be harsh indeed, it was far from the interests
of the landlords to prevent a quiet settlement to the stalu quo for
William Pompe got his land back a few months later, and at the instance
of his friends the prior reduced his fine from 40*. to 40^. John
Pellyng's land was given back to him in 1383 at the prayer of two of
the tenants. Robert Freke, junior, is again in possession in 1385 and
again does not come to superintend the reapers, and in 1386 Richard
Gode is once more in a position to come late to the autumn bedrippe. 88
Indeed, things went on at Harmondsworth after the rebellion just as they
did before. There were quite as many defaults at bedrippes and super-
intending works, and the same names recur amongst the defaulters
John Austyn, Thomas Hyne, William Pompe, John Attehelme,
Nicholas Herbard, Roger Fayrer and Robert Freke. The position
of reeve was so unpopular that William Boyland fined 10 marks to
escape it, although diligently required by the steward to accept the

*> P.R.O. Pat. 5 Ric. II. * P.R.O. Ct. R. 16 Ric. II, bdle. 188, No. 66.

" Cf. ante, p. 72, and Inq. I Ric. II, No. 1460 ; Coram Rege R. Trin. 7 Ric. II, m. 23 (rex).

* P.R.O. Ct. R. 1-9 Ric. II, bdle. 191, No. 14.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

office. In 1399 Roger Cook, when summoned to cart wheat, at first
would not come, and when he did, flung his first load on the tithe heap
and his second on the ground, so that all the sheaves were broken, and
the carts had to pass over them to get into the grange ; but the proceed-
ings against him were stayed by the homage finding he ' had done all
things well.' And so it goes on until in the fifteenth century the
unquiet annals of the manor settle down, except for occasional defaults
and troubles about the heriots. There are always long lists of defaulters
from suit of court, and in 1462 they were called before the steward
and allowed their obligation to render all dues, customs and services
owing to the lord, promising faithfully to observe them in future and
placing themselves in mercy for their past faults ; which did not prevent
most of them being in default again at the next court. 89

As to the effects of the Peasants' Revolt on the economic conditions
of Middlesex, it is difficult to see that they were great, though this con-
clusion may partly be due to the paucity of our information. The granting
of leases was more advanced by the Black Death than by the revolt, and
as for the extinction of base services, commutations had begun on some
manors long before, and in others only commenced long after the
rebellion.

The Middlesex markets and fairs are not of any great importance
or special interest. Henry III and the three Edwards granted charters
founding or confirming grants of seven markets and nine fairs, with all the
liberties and free customs usually appertaining to them. Norden, in the
Speculum, only mentions four market towns, Brentford, Staines, Uxbridge,
and Harrow, but Middleton in rygS 90 gives ten fairs and nine weekly
markets, namely, Barnet, Southall, Finchley, Uxbridge, Brentford,
Hounslow, Edgeware, Staines and Enfield.

Henry III, in 1228, granted an annual fair at Staines to the abbot
of Westminster to last for four days at Ascensiontide. 91 But in his reply
to a Quo Warranto inquisition of 12934, the abbot claimed by grant of
Henry III a four days' fair at the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin
(8 September), as well as a weekly market which he had had time out
of mind and which was altered from Sunday to Friday by Henry III in
1218. 9S The grants were inspected and confirmed by Edward I.

Henry III also granted to the archbishop of Canterbury a Monday
market at his manor of Harrow, and a three days' fair at the Nativity of
the Virgin. 93 Edward IPs only grant of a market in Middlesex was to
the archbishop, of a Wednesday market and of a two days' fair at the
Feast of the Nativity; 94 and finally the archbishop obtained from
Edward III in 1336 a Wednesday market and two fairs at Pinner for
three days at the Nativity and for two at the Decollation of St. John
Baptist (24 June and 29 August.) 9

\9S

89 P.R.O. Ct. R. Ric. II, bdle. 191, Nos. 14-17, 22.

90 Agric. In Mldd. M Chart. R. 12 Hen. Ill, m. 7.

91 Plac. de quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 476 ; Close, 2 Hen. Ill ; P.R.O. Cal. 381.

93 Cal. of Chan. R. ii, 38. M P.R.O. Chart. R. 8 Edw. II, No. 10.

"Chart. R. 10 Edw. Ill, No. 31.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln, who held the manors of Colham
and Edgeware by his wife's right, claimed that his predecessors had had
a Thursday market at Uxbridge, which was a member of Colham, and a
three days' fair there at the Feast of St. Margaret (12 July), time out of
mind. 98 In the same year Edward I granted him a Monday market and
a two days' fair at Michaelmas." Edward I also granted a Tuesday
market and an eight days' fair at Trinity to the brothers of Holy Trinity
of Hounslow; 98 and to Humfry de Bohun, earl of Hereford and Essex,
and his wife the countess of Holland, a Monday market and two three
days' fairs on St. Andrew's day and the Assumption (29 November and
15 August), at Enfield ; 99 and lastly a Tuesday market and a six days' fair
at Brentford at the Feast of St. Lawrence (11 August), to the prioress
and nuns of St. Helens. 100 These ancient rights were surrendered to
Charles I in 1635 by a certain Mr. Valentine Saunders, who then held
the manor of Brentford, in return for a grant of a Tuesday market and
two fairs to last six days each, beginning on 7 May and I September
respectively, for which he was to pay 2os. a year. 101 He also had leave
to enlarge on his own ground the market-place, which was too small
to contain the concourse of people frequenting the town and passing
on the London road. In a charter roll of 4 Edward III there is a grant
of a yearly fair lasting seventeen days at Michaelmas at his manor of
' Scrine in com. Mid', to ' francisco de feipo.' 102 I have been quite
unable to identify either the manor or its owner. The entry is copied
without comment by Palmer in his Index to Markets and Fairs, and from
him by the commissioners on Market Rights and Tolls.

A probably not uncommon institution was a Sunday meat market,
held in the churchyard before service at Enfield, for the retention of which
' old and ancient usage ' the queen's tenants and inhabitants of Her
Majesty's decayed town of Enfield, in 1586, petitioned Burghley, who
was high steward of the manor. 103 The petitioners complained bitterly
of the conduct of their minister, Leonard Thickpenny, 'set on we beleeve
by the vicar,' who in ' a very outragious manner very evyll beseamynge a
man of the churche, in a maddynge mode most ruffynlike ' seized the
butcher's meat one Sunday and threw it on the ground, 'most pyttyfull
to beholde.' He then in the presence of a great many ' honest poore
men ' abused the butcher, threatening to kill him ' if he hanged for it
half an hour afterwards.' Later in the forenoon the vicar improved the
occasion by preaching on the subject of the ' marquet ' in a ' most
mallancolly and angrye vayne.' They have many such sermons, they
concluded sadly, so that ' in church they wish themselves at home.'
Burghley, it would appear, was minded to allow the market on which the
men of Enfield set such store.

Owen's New Book of Fairs gives a list of seventeen fairs as existing
in Middlesex in 1772 : Bow, Beggar's Bush, Brentford (two), Chiswick,

* Plat, de quo Warr. 476, 22 Edw. I, 1293-4. w Chart. R. 22 Edw. I, No. 23.

98 Chart. R. 24 Edw. I, No. 21. Ibid. 31 Edw. I, No. 33.

00 Ibid. 35 Edw. I, No. 49. ' P.R.O. Privy Seal Doc. 10 June, 1 1 Chas. I.
1W Chart. R. 4 Edw. Ill, No. 46. " B.M. Lansdowne MS. 47.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

Edgeware, Edmonton, Enfield, Hammersmith, Hounslow (two), Staines
(two), and Oxbridge (four). Of these, only the two Brentford fairs, one
at Staines, one at Enfield, and one at Hounslow, were still held in 1888.

Elizabethan Middlesex was still a corn-growing county and famous
for the quality of the wheat it produced. Norden in his Speculum Brit-
anniae highly praises the fertility of the soil. ' Although it is so small
a shire, yet for the quantetie of it the qualetie may compare with anie
other shire in this lande.' The soil is ' excellent fat and fertile ' and in
parts of the county about Perivale, Heston and Harrow, there is what
he calls a ' vayne ' of some of the best wheat grown in England. Heston
may be accounted ' the garner or store howse of the most fayre wheate
and pure in this land.' So much so indeed that the ' marchet and cheate '
for the queen's own diet are said to be specially made from Heston wheat.
Times have changed in Middlesex since Norden could admire from
Harrow Hill in harvest time how ' the feyldes round about so sweetely
addresse themselves to the sicle and scythe, with such comfortable
aboundance of all kinde of grayne, that it maketh the inhabitantes to
clappe theyr handes for joy.'

He also notes with approval the good pasture, but regrets that ' things
are more confounded by ignorance and evel husbandrye in this shire
then in anie other shire that I knowe.' This he attributes to the large
number of country seats owned by citizens of London ' prebends, gentle-
men, and merchants ' which afford, with their fair houses, gardens, and
orchards, a fine ornament to the country side, but are less advantageous
to its cultivation, the land being ' noethinge husbandlyke manured.'

Husbandry and the carrying of its produce to London by land and
water were then the only trade and occupation of importance in the
county. Nothing in the way of a manufacture is noted by Norden
except a copper and brass mill at Isleworth, where he admires the in-
genuity with which bellows, hammers and snippers are moved by water
power by means of an ' artificiall engine.'

The northern parts of the shire which used to be well timbered were
in his time ' but poorly ' wooded. In spite of reiterated orders 10 * for the
better preservation of Enfield Chase made by Henry VIII and Elizabeth,
the depredations of keepers and commoners alike have so reduced it that
Norden says it will hardly continue to provide fuel for the inhabitants.
' Cutting green boughs for sale in London ' had apparently become a
trade in Enfield. As for the Hornsey woods, their decrease was largely
due to Aylmer, bishop of London, into whose inroads on the episcopal
timber Cecil caused an inquiry to be made. 1043

Norden was no friend to inclosures ; he praised the ' good store of
lardge commons' in the shire, ' the best and most comfortable neighbours
for poore men,' and noted with satisfaction that the ' many parks erected
chiefly for deer now fall to decay and are converted to better uses.'
Amongst these was the chase made by Henry VIII at Hampton Court,

104 B.M. Harl. MS. 368, fol. 104; Lansdowne MS. 105, Nos. I, tz.
Iota S.P. Dora. Eliz. vol. 137, Nos. 9, 10, 12, 73.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

which was disparked in the time of Edward VI, at the petition of
the inhabitants, who surmise that a younger king will prefer to seek
better sport further afield. The land was re-let to the former tenants at
the old rents, 106 just as Henry III granted 108 to the county of Middlesex,
in 1227, that the warren of Staines should be disafforested 'so that all
men may cultivate their lands and assart their woods therein.'

Long before inclosures became a source of contention, pasture and
common rights were a frequent subject of dispute. There are constant
entries in the court rolls, especially in the fifteenth century, of tenants
fined for overcharging the commons, and pasturing on them beasts not
their own property for which they were paid. The right of the animals
of the vill to pasture on the arable after the harvest was lifted, and
the periodical opening as common for the manor of the ' Lammas ' fields
often led to trouble, and there was the further complication of common
rights enjoyed on one manor by the tenants of another. Thus the men
of Drayton and Herdington exercised pasture rights on the Harmonds-
worth stubble fields, and in 1414, at the instigation of some of the Har-
mondsworth tenants, 140 men of Drayton and Herdington came into the
manor, ' armed with bows and arrows, swords, staves and bills,' and with
their teams and swine trampled and depastured the corn and hay where
they had no right to common till the corn was cut and carried ; neither
the bailiff nor the hayward nor any other of the lord's ministers daring
to oppose them for fear of death. 107 On the other hand the Harmonds-
worth tenants had the right of mast pasture in the Drayton Woods, and
it was reported to the court of the manor in 1521-2, as an infringement
of these rights, that the bailiff of Drayton manor had felled some twenty
oaks in the wood there. 108 At Isleworth in 14456 the court was in-
formed that the abbess of Syon had inclosed and kept separate two
pastures which were always open from the Feast of St. Peter in Chains
to the Purification (2 February) or the Annunciation (28 March), and
in which two other persons, the prior of St. Walery and Emma de
Ayston, shared her rights. 109

The quality of the Middlesex land was so much better adapted to
arable than to pasture farming that comparatively little was inclosed for
pasture. But the rapid expansion of London made land in the neigh-
bourhood of the City valuable, and most of the inclosures near the walls
were probably made rather with a view to building than for any agri-
cultural purpose.

Parts of the depopulation returns made for Middlesex by the inclo-
sure commission of Henry VIII in 1517 are preserved in the Record
Office. 1 " There are only two membranes, a considerable piece being
torn away from the right-hand side of each. They are headed ' Inquisitio
indentata et prima capta apud Hendon in com. Mid. die Lune, 28

104 B.M. Harl. MS. 6195, fol. 3. ' P.R.O. Chart. R. 1 1 Hen. Ill, pt. 2.

07 P.R.O. Ct. R. Hen. V, bdle. 191, No. 20. los Ibid. Hen. VIII, bdle. 191, No. 30.

M Ibid. Hen. VI, bdle. 191, No. 36.

110 Chan. Misc. 7, No. 2 (z). Compare also Leadam, Domesday of Inclosures (Roy. Hist. Soc.) and
Gay, ' Depopulation Inquisition, I 507,' Roy. Hist. Soc. Trans. (New Ser.), xiv.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

die Septembris anno 9 Hen: VIII.' The Middlesex commissioners were
John, abbot of Westminster, Sir Thomas Lovell, Sir Thomas Nevell and
John Heron. 1103 The opening meeting and the appointment of the jury
were held at Hendon, after which the commissioners adjourned to
Westminster to receive the sworn returns of the jurors. Subjoined are
tabulated the inclosures given in the return, and the number of ploughs
put down in consequence. The incompleteness of the returns prevents,
of course, anything like an exact estimate of the amount inclosed, but
they suffice to show that the quantity is not very considerable.

DEPOPULATION RETURN, 1517

Place

Object

Acreage

4 Aratra '
destroyed

Persons
dispossessed

South Mimms

Not stated

Ruislip

Pasture

(Torn off)

Hedgeley

140

Stanwell

(Torn off)

East Bedfont

1(0

Hendon

Deer park

Hanworth

200

Twickenham

Hampton

3OO

(Second imparking, jury do not know how much)

Dawley

Pasture

60 ? (or 100 ?)

2 12

Three messuages ruined

Hackney .

Not stated

IOO

(Two more amounts illegible)

Ickenham

Park

(Name gone)

Pasture

Edmonton .

A ' campus '

40 and 14

Harrow

Willesden (Brownswood)

1 60

Messuages allowed to be ruinous

Ruislip, four (worth 40.;. per ann.). ' The people turned out and the praise of God decayed.'
East Bedfont tenements ruinous. Three persons turned out.
Harrow cot and messuage (worth 2O/.). Three people turned out.

A Lansdowne manuscript in the British Museum m contains a
fragment of a list of inclosures in the suburbs of London, bound up with
no heading, between the returns for the Isle of Wight and Staffordshire.
The inclosures are in Hackney and, with the exception of one of 100 acres
made by the prior of St. Helen's Bishopsgate, which is entered among
the commissioners' returns in the inquisition at the Record Office,

n(h Pat. 9 Hen. VIII, pt. 2, m. 6J.

111 B.M. Lansdowne MS. i, fol. 177 ; see also Leadam and Gay as above.

2 89 12

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

are of small amounts. Altogether, leaving out these 100 acres, 174 acres
of arable land were inclosed in twenty-five separate inclosures. The object
of the inclosures is not stated, but it seems likely that they were for
building.

The inclosure of the commons and waste lands, of which, as we
have seen, there was a considerable amount in the county, provoked, as
usual, much opposition and in consequence made little progress, though
the great stretches of waste land so near the City harboured very
many undesirable rogues and vagabonds ; indeed, the neighbourhood of
London was far from safe, and the county sessions rolls contain a large
number of indictments for highway robberies in Tudor and Stuart
times. In February, 1591, a true bill was found against a band of
seven highwaymen for robberies at Islington, and in November, 1 594, a
band of four was apprehended at Hayes. In 1693 highwaymen were
indicted for robberies on the road between Bow and Mile End. 113 Small
bands of robbers preyed upon the roads in the suburbs ; there are robberies
at Netting Hill, at Tottenham, and at Knightsbridge, and the fields
between Gray's Inn and Paddington were infested with footpads. In
1690 complaints were made that the watches in the county were set too
late and discharged too early, so a double watch was ordered to be kept
from 9 p.m. till 5 a.m. and ward in the daytime from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
There having been robberies in the Strand before the watch was set, it
was ordered, in 1691, that four 'able and sufficient' men were to be
placed at convenient stands in the High Street till the watch was set
at i o o'clock by the constables. The same year 11S the inhabitants of
St. Giles in the Fields and St. Clement Danes obtained leave to set an
extra watch, at their own expense, and the next year Chelsea made a similar
appeal. 114 Norden in his Speculum warns his readers against 'walking too
late ' in the neighbourhood of the old church at Pancras, which stands all
alone and utterly forsaken, the buildings which used to surround it ' all
removed and fled,' and is the haunt of very undesirable company. Even
in the further parts of the county robberies were not infrequent on the
roads ; there are indictments for robberies at Enfield, Edmonton and
Hayes, sometimes three or four in a day, and many of course at Houns-
low. 115 Even in the early years of the nineteenth century, George IV and
the duke of York are said to have been stopped in a hackney coach and
robbed on Hay Hill, Berkeley Square. And it was the custom, on
Sunday evenings at Kensington, to ring a bell to muster people returning
to town.

Henry VIII, in an Act which ' in spirit anticipated the private
inclosure Acts of the eighteenth century,' 116 made an attempt in 1545 to
encourage the inclosure of Hounslow Heath, 117 which had come into his
possession with the estates of Syon Abbey at the dissolution of the

'" Jeaffreson, MM. Sess. Rolls (Midd. Rec. Soc.) ; Hardy, Midd. Sess. Rolls, 96.
" Hardy, MM. Sess. Rolls (Midd. Rec. Soc.), 12, 27, 30, 31.
14 Ibid. 87. s Jeaffreson, Sess. Rolls.

116 Scrutton, Commons and Common Fields.

117 Act for the Partition of Hounslow Heath, 37 Hen. VIII, cap. 2, Statutes of the Realm, 986.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

monasteries, and contained 4,293 acres of waste, extending into fourteen
parishes and hamlets. The king considering that the

barrenness and infertility thereof by want of industry and diligence of men ....
breadithe as well scarsitye and lacke of all manner of grayne, grasse, woode, and
other necessarie thinges amonges thinhabitauntes of the said Parishes ; . . . . even
so the conversion thereof into tyllage and severall pasture by men's labor and
paynes, besides that it shall be an exile of ydlenes in those parties, must of necessitye
cause and bringe furthe to all his saide subjectes plentye and haboundance of all
the thinges above remembred,

has had portions of the heath assigned to each parish, and it is
enacted that the waste and heath can be inclosed by decision of four
commissioners and shall immediately be and remain perpetually copyhold
land, or it may be held on lease for twenty-one years, the tenants to
improve at will.

In 1575 the tenants at Enfield petitioned 118 the queen against an
inclosure of 53 acres, made by the lessee of the manor, of land which
had beyond the memory of man lain open as common once a year. This
' evil example has given courage ' to one of the keepers of the chase to
inclose 12 acres of common land. They, the tenants, are charged with
carrying duties to the royal household ; ' to remove your Majesty with
12 carts in summer and eight in winter, either lying at Endfield or
within 20 miles of London,' besides 400 horse-loads of wheat and grain,
and carrying of poultry, ' which service to doo and see performyd they
shall not be hable if the said Taylor and Holt be sufferyd to inclose their
commen.' In 1589, 90 acres of a piece of ground, which the tenants
claim as common, having been inclosed by nine different owners in pieces
varying from 50 to 2 acres, a feminine riot ensued, 'certain women of the
town ' to the number of twenty-four, the wives of labourers and trades-
men of Enfield, ' assembled themselves riotously and in warlike manner,
being armed with swords, daggers, staves, knives, and other weapons,'
broke into one of the inclosures and plucked up the fencing. The
women, some of whom were ' greate with child and expecting every
hour to travaile,' were in danger of imprisonment for the offence, and
the inhabitants and the queen's tenants of Enfield petition Burghley to
interfere in their favour and to get the common back. 120 What the
results were on these two occasions we do not know, but the persistent
opposition of the Enfield tenants did succeed in impeding the progress
of hedge and pale, as is shown by the report to the Board of Agriculture
in 1795. There are many indictments in the sessions rolls for breaking
into inclosures in different parts of the county, of ' gentlemen ' as well
as of ' yomen ' and labourers.

The Londoners saw with equal disfavour the inclosure of waste
lands near the City walls, which they had been accustomed to use
for their recreation and their archery practice. So 'on a morning '
in 1513 ' they assembled themselves and went with spades and shovels,'

118 B.M. Lansdowne MS. 105, No. 7. "' Jeaffreson, Midd. Sen. Rolls (Midd. Rec. Soc.), i, 188.
110 B.M. Lansdowne MS. 59, fols. 30-1.

9 1

119

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

to some inclosures which had been made in the common fields about
Islington, Hoxton and Shoreditch,

and there, like diligent workmen, so bestirred themselves, that within a short
space all the hedges about those townes were cast downe and the ditches filled.
The king's councell comming to the graie friars, to understand what was meant
by this dooing were so answered by the maior of councell of the citie, that the matter
was dissembled, and so when the workmen had done their worke, they came home
in a quiet manner, and the fields were neuer after hedged. 1 * 1

Indeed the necessity for maintaining open spaces round the City
became very present to Elizabeth's careful government, to whom the
expansion and overcrowding of London and the rural exodus to the
City were a source of great disquiet. At the county sessions of the
peace in May, 1561, John Draney, citizen and clothier of London, was
fined for inclosing an open field in Stepney, through which the citizens
were wont to pass freely to their archery practices. 182 And in the
Act 1S2a by which the government tried to stem the further growth and
overcrowding of the City by limiting the building of new houses within
and without the walls, the inclosure of commons and waste grounds
within three miles of the City gates was prohibited, as interfering with
the mustering of soldiers, the practice of archery, and the recreation,
comfort, and health of the people inhabiting the cities of London and
Westminster.

The problem of providing for the poor of the county was compli-
cated for Middlesex by the neighbourhood of London. London was
one of the first of English towns to provide for itself an organized local
system of poor relief. 123 But this had the disadvantage of attracting a
hungry immigration from less advanced districts, which defied the
terrors of Tudor settlement laws, and flooded the adjoining counties with
undesirable vagrants, to provide for and deal with whom quite overtaxed
their resources. It is not surprising to find from the county sessions
rolls that the Middlesex justices were at once active and uncompromising
in the execution of the Vagrant Act. In 1572 they reported to the
Privy Council 124 that they had caused privy searches to be made on
20 March and 20 April in all the hundreds of the county, by which a
number of rogues and vagabonds of both sexes have been taken, and have
been ' ordered and ponyshed,' according to the statute. That is to say that
those who were not taken into service by some employer who would
make himself responsible for them were whipped and branded, and if
found again wandering, hanged. Three relapsed vagrants found
wandering in the parish of St. Giles were sentenced to be hanged in
June, I575- 126

The sessions rolls for 1572-3 contain twenty-eight, and those for
X 574~5 thirty-five convictions for vagrancy, and in ten weeks of the
year 158990 seventy-one persons were sentenced to be whipped and

111 Holinshed, Chron. (1808), iii, 599. " MM. County Sess. Rolls (Midd. Rec. Soc.), i, 38.

fc 35 EHz. cap. 6. Leonard, Early Hist, of Poor Relief.

" S.P. Dom. Eliz. vol. 86, Nos. 21, 28. '" Jeaffreson, Midd. Sess. Roils, i, 81, 94, 101, 103.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

branded for that offence. 128 Four years later the Privy Council ordered
the City authorities to confer with the Middlesex justices as to the adop-
tion of joint action for the repression of vagrancy, 127 and about 1600 the
Lord Chief Justice at the queen's request called a meeting of the justices
of Middlesex and Surrey and of representatives of the City Wa to consider
what joint measures should be adopted. The best method of dealing
with the vagrants was considered to be the institution of a house of
correction in each of the two counties at a capital expenditure of 4,000
and a yearly allowance of i 50 each, and as it was 'very apparent ' that
London really was the main source of this concourse of beggars, the
representatives of the City consented that they ought to make some
contribution to charges which exceeded the county resources. Con-
fiding in this agreement the counties leased suitable premises and
entered into agreements with ' undertakers ' to take charge of and
employ at suitable trades the vagrants committed to them. Amongst
the Caesar papers in the British Museum 128 there is a scheme submitted
to the justices of Middlesex in 1602 by the undertakers of the poor for
employing pauper children from the age of seven at pin-making. The
undertakers ask for a ' convenient stock of money ' to take and
furnish a house and clothe and provide for the children, who at first,
of course, will be able to earn nothing, and they suggest a quarterly
levy for this purpose at the rate of 4^. for every one rated at 10,
and id. weekly contribution to the poor's rate. Apparently adult
vagrants were to be taken in as well and employed as servants to the
children, and in spinning and weaving linen and wool, making clothes,
and knitting stockings for the house. The house is to be ' ordered like
a college or hospital, whereby the whole nomber may learne exsample
of religion and civilitie.' The children were to wear ' a clean shirt or
smock fyttinge their age,' they are to rise at 5 a.m. and work till 9 p.m.,
and if they misdemean themselves to have 'reasonable correction according
to discretion.' When they have served their time each is to receive
1 double apparrell, and each man a new broad cloth cloke and each
mayde a new gown,' and, it was hoped, be sent out into the world with
the excellent prospect of soon being ' liable themselves to three or four
servants.'

Meanwhile the promised contributions from the City were con-
spicuous by their absence, the undertakers were unpaid and petitioned
the king for the reimbursement of money expended by them, and in
1603 James I appointed a commission of four the earl of Shrewsbury,
Sir John Fortescue, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Sir John
Popham, the chief justice, and Sir John Stanhope, the vice-chamberlain,
to inquire into the matter. Their report emphasized the greatness of
the evil and the necessity for the co-operation of the City, which the
latter obstinately continued to refuse. The king himself addressed a letter
to the City urging on them their obligations, and in June, 1605, the

m Jeaffreson, Sets. R. i, 190. '" Leonard, op. cit. 93 ; Everall, Analytical Index to Remembranda, 358.
1171 B.M. MS. 12503, fol. 278-84 (Caesar papers). " 8 B.M. MS. 12497, fol. 187.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

City sent a petition to the king, in reply, in which many protestations
of their humble duty barely veiled a sufficiently round refusal. No
grant, they submit, can be made without the consent of the commons,
and this is not an opportune moment to make such an application when
they have just been put to great expense in fitting out galleys and
soldiers for the Irish wars, towards which the two counties had persist-
ently refused the contribution to which they were bound. 129

In 1614 the justices levied by a 'rate and taxation' 200 for the
building and furnishing of a house of correction, 130 and at the same time
appointed a commission of five gentlemen: Sir George Coppyn, Sir
William Smythe, Sir Baptist Hickes, Mr. Edmond Dobbleday and
Mr. Francis Mitchell, to collect voluntary contributions from ' well-
affected persons ' with what if any success is not on record. The rate
was less popular in the county than with the justices, but they made
short and exemplary work with grumblers, and in 1615 the house was
finished. The justices appointed as governor, at a salary of 40 marks,
one John (or Jacob) Stoyte, whose petition for the post is preserved
amongst the Caesar papers in the British Museum, 131 in which he asserts
that he ' has been trained up most part of his life in the said service.'
That sanguine ideal of self-supporting pauperism, which Tudor and
Stuart Poor Law administration strove vainly to realize, dictated the
order that the inmates must earn their food by their labour, and that,
except in case of sickness, they were to have no more than they earned.
Stoyte undertook to ' keepe and maintain the exercise of trades of weaving
and spinning of cotton, wooles for drapery, and all other manufactures fit
for their employment and labour,' and some attempt was evidently made
to put them to work, for there are orders for the repair of spinning
wheels and hemp mills, and a new mill was to be provided so that more
might be employed. The inmates were to have fresh straw every month,
and warm pottage thrice a week, and their ' lynnen (if any they have) '
was to be washed. But the house seems to have been little more than
a prison, and not well managed in spite of reiterated orders for its better
government issued by the justices, and an attempt at some sort of classi-
fication of the inmates does not seem to have been realized in practice.

At Clerkenwell in 1666 a 'workhouse' was built at an expenditure
of 2,002 levied on the parishes within the Bills of Mortality by the
'Governors of the Corporation of the Poor,' to accommodate 600 blind,
impotent, and aged poor as well as able-bodied paupers, 132 in which
some advance seems to have been made towards differentiating paupers
and criminals at any rate. It proved, however, so very expensive to
maintain that it was closed and the county exempted for the future
from any workhouse rate by Act of Parliament in 1675. The work-
house itself was let for 30 a year to one Sir Thomas Rowe, who
turned it into a charity school.

1M B.M.MS. I2503,fol. 278-84. " Jeaffreson, Midd. Sess. R.'ii, 102, 103, 105, 120, 1 30; Hi, 7.
131 B.M. MS. 12496, No. 256 (it is here dated 1626).

** Hardy, Sess. R. 296 ; Jeaffreson, Sets. R. iii, 337.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

A certain number of aged and impotent poor were relieved by
pensions of 2s. 6d. a month or is. or is. 6d. a week. In 1690 the
parish of St. Andrew Holborn complained that owing to the great
increase of the pensioned poor the available money is insufficient to
maintain them. In 1701 Baling attempted to replace these pensions
by indoor-relief, and obtained leave to accommodate eight of their
pensioned poor in a house, and to levy for this purpose a rate of
3*/. in the pound, hoping to effect a saving of 12 a year. 132 " Invalided
soldiers also were provided for under an Act of Queen Elizabeth's
reign by pensions of about 40^. a year, raised by a special county
rate managed by two county treasurers. As these pensions were given
without any inquiry there was a great deal of abuse and fraud, and
in 1623 the treasurers were ordered to give no pensions without strict
investigation. 138

To meet the expense of the poor, besides the special rates levied for
the purpose, certain fines were apportioned to the justices, such as the fines
for not taking the oath and the fines levied on alehouse-keepers for using
false measures. 133 * In 1631 m the justices sent into the Council the accounts
of the expenditure of 92 received from such fines in the parishes of
St. Sepulchre, Clerkenwell, St. Giles Cripplegate, Islington, Hornsey,
Finchley, and Friern Barnet, reporting that they have apprenticed
twenty children of poor men, that they are ' maintaining a manufacture '
in the house of correction, founded by a 'stock' of 100 given by
Sir John Fenner, by which an artisan is to instruct in the said manu-
facture twenty poor orphans, ' such as before wandered in the streets,'
and that they have dispatched many idle and loose persons to serve with
His Majesty of Sweden, besides distributions of money to the poor ' at
their discretion.'

In consequence of many complaints of the inequality and uncertainty
of the rates and charges for the poor and the highways, an assessment
was ordered to be made according to an equal pound rate on the yearly
value of the houses. 1341 The increase of the poor, ' owing to the present
war ' led the churchwardens in Ratcliff to apply for an extra assessment
in 1 694, and a similar request was made by the parish of St. Clement
Danes.

Special endowments for the benefit of the poor were often bequeathed
to their parishes by well-to-do parishioners. A list of such benefactions
belonging to the parish of Enfield in 1709 is in the British Museum, 135
amounting to a capital sum of 184, besides yearly income to the amount
of JI 9 7 s - 6d. Of this some is to be spent in distributions of money
or bread or clothes to the poor ; some is for the maintenance of poor

Ua
133a

Hardy, MM. Sets. R. 229. m Jeaffreson, MM. Sen. R. ii, 142, 164, 176 ; iii, 2, 25.

Elizabeth's act forbidding inclosures near London (35 Eliz. cap. 6) allotted a moiety of the fines
imposed, viz. $ for every inclosure, and $ for every month it was kept inclosed, to the churchwardens
of the parish in which the inclosure was made, for the benefit of the poor.
114 S.P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 202, No. 20.
" ta Hardy, Midd. Sen. R. 33, 107, 119.
'" B.M. Egerton Library, No. 2267.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

widows, impotent men and orphans, and for apprenticing and schooling
of the latter ; i js. 6d. is left in consideration of an inclosure made by
the testator, and 22 is to keep a competent master for the new free
school just built by the parish, to teach the children ' The Cross Row
and the arts of writing, grammar and arithmetic.'

The plague epidemics were another frequent charge on the poor's
rates. Sporadic cases of plague were of constant occurrence, and the
authorities seem always to have had the fear of an epidemic before their
eyes. In 16079 the Sessions Acts contain orders against the plague,
enforcing the strict seclusion of infected persons in their houses, and
forbidding the importation of rags from London for paper-making ; and
on one occasion eleven persons were actually committed to Newgate
for attending the funeral of a victim of the plague. 135 " In 1625 tne
Cockpit Theatre in Whitehall was closed for fear of infection. 136 In the
same year there was an outbreak at Enfield, and in 1630 at Edgeware. 137
In 16367 there was a serious outbreak in and round London. Except
for an isolated parish here and there the plague at this time and in the
great outbreak of 1665 was chiefly severe in London and its immediate
suburbs, the only rural parish for which the weekly assessment was
made in 1637 being Isleworth. 138 This assessment was levied on the
county for the relief of the affected parishes in sums varying from i os.
to 3. The plague was worst in Stepney, and the ' Green goose fair '
held there in Whit week was prohibited for fear of spreading the
infection. 139

After the Great Plague in 1665 the overseers of the poor in
St. Katharine's, Ratcliff, Whitechapel, and Limehouse were called upon
to answer for refusing to make an assessment in their districts. 1 *

During the latter half of the sixteenth century the persecutions
of Protestants in France and the Netherlands led to a considerable immi-
gration of refugees from both countries into the suburbs of London, 1 * 1
where a small alien population was already settled, protected by Tudor
governments both as Protestants and as the importers of new and
improved methods in the various trades they plied. The new comers
settled chiefly in the parish of St. Katharine by the Tower, where in
1583, 285 foreigners were living; in East Smithfield, where there were
445; in Whitechapel 146, in Halliwell Street 152, in Blackfriars
275, and in the adjoining parishes, 148 making altogether a population of
1,604 foreigners. A small number were more or less substantial mer-
chants, but the great majority were wage-earning servants and artisans
of a great variety of trades.

The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 caused a fresh
immigration, this time from France, the great majority of the immi-
grants belonging to the silk-weaving industry and trades connected

" ia Jeaffreson, Midd. Sest. R. ii, 3 1, 41, 50 ; iii, 167. IM MM. Seu. R. iii, 3, 4, 6.

137 Ibid, iii, 33. 1M Ibid, iii, 62, 63.

Ibid, iii, 62. ' Ibid, iii, 387.

" Burn, Hiit. of Foreign Protestant Refugees in Engl. ; Returns of Aliens in Lend. (Huguenot Soc.).
)4> Returns of ARens in Land. (Huguenot Soc.), x (2), Cecil MSS. 208-14.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

therewith. They settled chiefly in Spitalfields and its neighbourhood. 1 * 3
Strype writes :

The north-west parts of this parish became a great harbour for poor protestant
strangers, who have been forced to become exiles from their own country for the
avoiding of cruel persecution. Here they found Quiet and Security and settled them-
selves in their several trades and occupations, weavers especially. Whereby God's
Blessing surely is not only upon the Parish, but also a great advantage hath accrued to
the whole Nation by the rich Manufactures of weaving silks and stuffs and camlets :
which art they brought along with them. And this benefit to the neighbourhood, that
these strangers may serve for patterns of Thrift, Honesty, Industry, and Sobriety as well.

And indeed it is a fact that foreign names are of the rarest occurrence in
the indictments of the county sessions. But the introduction of the silk-
weaving industry cannot have been so entirely their work as Strype
states. Even camlets were introduced by earlier immigrants, if we may
trust an entry in Evelyn's Diary on 30 May, 1652 : ' Inspected the man-
ner of chambletting silks and grograms at one Mr. La Doree's in Moore-
fields.' And a decade before the Revocation, in 1675, the Shoreditch
and Spitalfields silk weavers indulged in an anticipation on a small scale
of the future frame-breaking riots. 1 * 4 For three days, the 9, 10, and 1 1
August, bands of from 30 to 200 persons went about Stepney, Shoreditch,
Whitechapel, Hoxton, and Clerkenwell breaking into houses, carrying
out the obnoxious ' wooden machines called engine weaving looms,'
which they smashed and burnt in the streets. Now it is curious to note
that none of the indicted rioters, and none of the owners whose
machines they destroyed, bear foreign names. The riots were easily
suppressed, and the ringleaders sentenced to heavy fines and stations in
the pillories in different parts of London.

Middlesex, as described in the reports on the county drawn up for
the Board of Agriculture at the end of the eighteenth century, differs a
good deal from the corn-producing county described by Norden two
centuries before. The subordination of the whole county to the rapidly
expanding capital has increased. That city which already in Norden's
day ' draweth unto it as an adamant all other partes of the land,' still
' attracts people so strongly from every part of the kingdom that no large
towns can exist in its neighbourhood.' U5 ' The whole county may be
very properly considered as a sort of demesne to the metropolis, being
covered with its villas, intersected with innumerable roads leading to it,
and laid out in gardens, pastures and inclosures of all sorts for its con-
venience and support.'

These reports commend the fertility of the soil as emphatically,
though not so picturesquely, as Norden. The best wheat was still grown
at Heston and towards the western boundaries of the shire, but most of
the highly cultivated ground beyond Hounslow was given up to growing
hay for the London market, and between this and London, from Kensington
to Hounslow, ' is one great garden for the supply of London.' On the
north-eastern side, about Islington and Hackney, a great deal of ground

'" Huguenot Soc. Publ. vol. xi. "* Jeaffreson, MM. Sest. R. iv, 60-65.

'** Rep. lo the Bd. of Agric. 1793-5 ; also Middleton, Agric. in Midd. published by the Bd. of Agric.

2 97 13

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

was occupied by cow-keepers, and to the east, by Bethnal Green and
Stepney, there was nursery ground again, chiefly devoted to the raising
of trees and plants. To the west, ' about a mile along the Kingsland
Road there are some 1,000 acres of valuable brick fields.' The reports
compute the number of acres in the county at 250,000, and of these
130,000 were meadow or pasture and 50,000 nursery gardens and
pleasure grounds. The land had greatly increased in value, and ' as is
natural in the neighbourhood of a large city ' was held in small portions
by a number of proprietors. Rents varied a good deal near London
under leases the land stood at about 50*. an acre, and inclosed garden
ground was worth from 5 to 8 an acre, and near Chelsea and Ken-
sington even to 10, and in the common fields near Fulham 3.

The woods and copses of the county were nearly annihilated ; there
were still a few acres left on the northern slopes of Hampstead and
Highgate, and about 100 acres on the east side of Finchley Common,
1,000 in Enfield Chase, and 2,000 on the west side of Ruislip. The hills
about Copt Hall and Hornsey which were wood a few years before were
then meadow.

Inclosure being, to the reporters of the Board of Agriculture, the
one saving grace of rural economy, the uninclosed condition of much of
the Middlesex arable appeared very unsatisfactory. ' It is hardly to be
credited 146 so near the metropolis, yet certain it is that there are still
many common fields in the county.' Middleton w? calculated that out of a
total arable acreage of 23,ooo, 148 20,000 acres were still in common fields,
and not producing sufficient wheat to supply one-fiftieth of the inhabi-
tants with bread. At Enfield, Edmonton, Tottenham, and Chiswick,
there were still meadows held by the old Lammas tenure. 149 In 1789
Stanwell inclosed 200 acres of its common fields, thereby increasing their
value almost immediately from 14.;. to 2OJ. the acre. 160

Thirty acres were set apart and let at a rent of 2os. an acre and the
rent divided among those cottagers of the parish who did not pay above
5 a year rent and were not in receipt of public alms.

The condition of the waste lands and commons was as unsatisfactory
to the reporters as that of the cultivated land.

To the reproach of the inhabitants and to the utter astonishment of every
foreigner who visits us, the county contains many thousand acres, still in a state of
nature, though within a few miles of the capital, as little improved by the labour of
man, as if they belonged to the Cherolcees. 161

By which neglect a yearly income of some thirty to fifty thousand
pounds is thrown away. Middleton 1M estimates the uncultivated soil at
1 7,000 acres, something like a tenth part of the entire acreage of the
county distributed among the following commons :

Hounslow, Finchley (1,240 acres), the remains of Enfield Chase,
Harrow Weald and part of Bushey Heath (1,500 acres), besides eight
smaller commons in the parish of Harrow. Uxbridge Moor and

l * Baird, Rep. m Midd. (1793). " r Agric. in Midd. (1798), 138.

"* In 1827 Porter estimates the cultivated land of the county at 155,00030.; Progress of the 'Nation,
(1850,158. M Rep. to Ed. ofAgric. (1794). Iio Ibid. (1793). '" Ibid. (1795). '"Ibid.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

Common (350 acres), Hillingdon Heath (160 acres), Ruislip Common
(1,500 acres), Sunbury (1,400 acres), Memsey Moor, Goulds Green, Peil
Heath, Hanwell Common, Wormwood Shrubs in the parish of Fulham,
and between 400 and 500 acres of waste in Hendon.

The good intentions of Henry VIII evidently bore but little fruit, for
Hounslow Heath was far the largest waste, still containing in 1754 over
6,000 acres. According to the reports the common rights were profit-
able only to a few wealthy farmers, borderers on the heath, who over-
charged the pasture with immense numbers of ' grey-hound-like sheep ' ;
and to a few cottagers who cut turf and fuel for sale. In 1789 Stan well
inclosed its share of the heath, and 300 acres of practically valueless land
was by 1793 worth from I5J. to 2$s. the acre.

There still remained of Enfield Chase some 3,000 to 4,000 acres
uninclosed of ' good soil and improvable,' thanks mainly to the tenacity
with which the Enfield tenants, like their Elizabethan predecessors, clung
to their common rights, which their unstinted exploitation had reduced
to little more than scanty and very unhealthy pasture for a few half-starved
cattle. They badly needed small inclosed fields, but the Enfield commoners
may, not unwisely, have reflected that inclosure was by no means certain
to bring the desired inclosed fields into their hands. A considerable
portion of the chase was inclosed by Act of Parliament in 1777, as
the reporter allows, not profitably ; a failure which he attributes to bad
management. Better success attended an inclosure made by the parish of
South Mimms (nearly 1,000 acres) which raised the annual yield of the
land from 2s. to 15^. the acre. 153 Practically the whole chase, 3,540
acres, was inclosed in 1801 (see table).

Finchley Common, which in 1754 contained 1,243 uninclosed acres,
was reported to be good soil for cultivation, though part of it was excellent
road gravel. 900 acres were inclosed here in 1811 (see table). The
annexed table of inclosures in Middlesex 164 has been put together from a
list of Inclosure Acts 1702-1876 in Clifford's Private Bill Legislation
and a list of Middlesex inclosures in the Middlesex and Hertford Notes
and Queries, supplemented from the tables in Dr. Slater's The English
Peasantry and the Inclosure of Common Fields. 1 The table shows that a
great deal of land was inclosed in Middlesex during the latter years of
George Ill's reign. As the increased inclosures so near London began
to assume a less admirable complexion, the necessity of maintaining open
spaces round the City which had been so clear to Elizabeth's ministers
once more impressed a less far-seeing public opinion, and an Inclosure
Act of 1854 prohibited the inclosure of common fields within ten miles
of London. The general Inclosure Act of 1845 required the special
consent of Parliament for inclosures of wastes within fifteen miles of
the capital. And the later history of Middlesex inclosures is that of
the struggle for open spaces led by the Commons Preservation Society.

Iu Rep. to Bd. of Agrtc. (1794). ** A PP- IIJ - "* P- cit - ' A PP- B - 495 se q-

"* Op. cit. i, 55. Between 170* and 1796 five private inclosure Acts were passed for Middlesex,
inclosing among them 7,875 acres. Dr. Slater states the area inclosed by these five Acts at 1 1,854 seres.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Middlesex was not
exempt from the enormous increase of pauperism due to the demoralizing
effects of the unreformed poor law.

In 1798, in his report on the county, 187 Middleton draws attention
to the

numerous efficient and comfortable funds raised for the support of the idle poor in
this county, which operate against the general industry of the labouring poor. The
thriftless pauper in the workhouse was better housed and fed than the industrious
labourer and his family. In some parishes the paupers cost 15*15 guineas a head,
while their earnings did not reach 8*., at a time when the ordinary labourer's family
of five or more persons had to subsist on thirty. Charity added to the evil by raising
voluntary contributions during every temporary inconvenience, and by the constant
clothing of upwards of ten thousand of the children of the labouring poor in this

county

158

The report on the Poor Laws of 1834"' states the cost of the
workhouse poor in the rural districts of the county at from 4*. to $s. a head,
whether farmed or not. Not very much seems to have been done towards
the sixteenth-century ideal of ' setting the poor on work.' At some
workhouses the inmates cultivated a garden ; at Harrow the paupers
were employed in picking oakum and at a corn-mill ; at Isleworth any
parishioner could have a pauper out of the house to work at is. a day:
but in general the report states that no parish was in a situation to put
able-bodied paupers to profitable work.

The standard of comfort in the workhouses was high. At Sunbury
the paupers had beer every day, and at Isleworth the victuals and com-
fort were so excellent that people went in, especially for the winter, and
it was very difficult to get them out again. Here in 1821, 28 out of the
130 persons in the house were children. At Staines the children went
out to school, and here also a successful trial of allotments had been
made to stop the increase of out-door pauperism. 160 The apprenticing of
children to trades was hardly practised at all. The annexed table gives
the poor law expenditure of the hundreds and of the county from
1776-1841.

POOR LAW EXPENDITURE, 1776-1803 161

Hundred

Total, 1803

Total, 1776

Number
relieved, 1803

Children
in School of
Industry

Edmonton

10,700

3,200

J 375

Elthorne

9,200

3,500

855

Gore .

3,9

2,000

275

128

Isleworth

6,600

2,500

548

Spelthorne

7,4.00

2,400

721

Ossulstone (Finsbury Division)

41,900

1 1, 800

14,692

330

(Holborn )

84,200

22,500

8,069

629

(Kensington )

24,100

7,264

6,879

214

(Tower )

59,800

35,4

6,773

305

"' Rep. to the Bit. of Agric. (1798).

Poor Law Rep. 1834, App. to 1st Rep. pp. 530, 531.

61 From State of Population and Poor and Poor Rates in Middlesex, 1805.

158 Agric. in Midd. 63.
Rep. p. 576.

100

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

MIDDLESEX EXPENDITURE ON POOR IM

Arerige per Head
Expended on Poor of Population

' d.

1 80 1 . 349,200 8 6

502,900 10 6

582,000 IO 2

681,500 10 o

. . 476,200 6 o

1811 .
1821 .
1831 .
1841 .

The general history of the county during the latter half of the nine-
teenth century is simply the record of the suburban expansion of London,
effacing all local distinctions and characteristics under an undistinguished
chaos of villas and streets. The ' huge and growing wen,' which so
powerfully impressed the imagination of Cobbett, has almost absorbed
the entire county, so that it appears at the present day, not as it did to
Middleton, as ' the demesne of the Metropolis,' but almost as a part of
that Metropolis itself.

161 From Porter's Progress of the Nation, 1851, p. 96.

tOI

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

APPENDIX I

MATERIALS FOR THE ECONOMIC HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

The materials available for the economic history of Middlesex are neither copious nor
consecutive. Of the Hundred Rolls usually such a valuable source of information only
two fragments are extant, 168 " and yield little or nothing to the purpose. The first membrane
contains a list of persons holding land to the value of 20 who are not knights ; and
on the second, Kensington is the only manor described with any particularity. The majority
of the Court Rolls at the Record Office are too late to be interesting, and it is only for the
one manor of Harmondsworth that there is a consecutive series long enough and early
enough to be valuable.

While the earliest roll of this manor belongs to the reign of Edward I and contains
nothing of interest, there is a complete series of eighteen rolls, extending from I Richard II
to 21 Henry VIII, 183 which, with a couple of custumals and some rentals and ministers'
accounts, give with some detail an interesting history of an interesting manor. There is a
very complete custumal of the time of Henry I, and rentals of the reign of Edward III,
Richard II, Henry VI, and Henry VIII ; and although the two earlier compotus rolls, of
dates in the reigns of Edward II and Richard II respectively, yield little beyond prices and
wages, a third, dating from the time of Henry VII, contains a full account of the tenants'
services. 164

Seeing the paucity of the available material, it is particularly regrettable that the fine
custumal and almost complete series of Court Rolls of the manor of Isleworth, belonging to
the duke of Northumberland at Syon House, are not accessible for research. Only a rather
disjointed account of the manor can be derived from the brief summary of the Syon Manu-
scripts published by the Historical Manuscripts Commission, 166 and the materials at the Record
Office, where there are Court Rolls for periods in the reigns of Edward III, Henry VI,
Edward IV, Richard III, and Henry VIII, besides some useful ministers' accounts for the
reigns of Edward III and Richard II. An inquisition of 28 Edward I would afford much
valuable information as to the tenures, were it not unfortunately so badly torn and dis-
coloured as to be practically useless. Another Isleworth inquisition throws light incidentally
on one of the indictments of the Peasants' Revolt. 166

Teddington is the only other manor of which we have any consecutive account ; and
that only for the reigns of the three Edwards, in a series of compotus rolls extending with
a good many breaks from 3 Edward I to 50 Edward III. 167 These are usefully supplemented
by a rental of 3 Richard II, and a custumal of the manor in a Westminster Abbey custumal
of the time of Henry III, in the British Museum, 168 which also contains accounts of the
tenants and services on the manors of Paddington and Knightsbridge, Greenford and Hayes.
For no other manors are there more than isolated documents, and for many only rolls too
late to be of any use. The Domesday of St. Paul's, published by Archdeacon Hales for the
Camden Society, includes two Middlesex manors Sutton and Drayton and for both there
are later Court Rolls, and for Sutton a minister's account, in the library at St. Paul's
Cathedral, which by the kindness of the librarian I was permitted to examine. The numerous
prebendal manors, held in Middlesex by canons of the cathedral, are not included in the
Domesday.

For the period of the Black Death we are practically reduced to such information as
may be derived from one Court Roll of the manor of Stepney, and from some compotus rolls of

"*" In the Public Record Office. They have not been printed.

10 P.R.O. Ct. R. bdle. 191, Nos. 13-31.

164 P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. ptfo. 11, No. 20 ; rot. 443, 444, 446, 449 ; Mins. Accts. bdle.
1 1 26, No'.. 5, 6, 7.

164 Hiit. MSS. Com. Rep. vi, Appendix 232 (Syon House MSS.).

'** P.R.O. Ct. R. bdle. 191, Nos. 33-40; Inquisitions, 41 Edw. Ill, No. 49 and I Ric. II, \\6a ;
Mins. Accts. bdle. 916, Nos. 17-20.

167 P.R.O. Mins. Accts. bdle. 918, Nos. 1-25 ; bdle. 919, Nos. i-n : Rental No. 456.

'B.M. Add. Chart. 8139.

102

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

Teddington for the years immediately following the plague year. The post mortem inqui-
sitions do not help us at all ; there are no more of them for 1348 and 1349 than for other
years, and the owners of estates who died held lands in other counties as well, and it is not
certain, and in some cases not even probable, that they died in Middlesex at all. Then the
registers of institutions to benefices, which are generally so useful in estimating the plague
mortality (Seebohm and Rogers, Fortnightly Rev. ii, iii, iv), are missing for the diocese of
London for the years 1337-61. Materials for the history of the Peasants' Revolt, so far as
it concerns Middlesex and Middlesex men, are found in Walsingham's Historia Anglicana
and the Gesta Abbatum, in John of Malvern, in Froissart, and in the Anominalle Cronicle, first
printed in the original French by Trevelyan (Engl. Hist. Rev. 1898), and in a translation
by Professor Oman in his Peasants' Revolt. There is also an account of the burning of
the houses at Highbury and Knightsbridge in Stow's Annals. The two latest modern authori-
ties on the rebellion are, of course, the late Andre Reville and Professor Oman. The
former writer (R6ville, Le Soulevement des Travailleurs d'Angleterre en 1381, App. ii, 199-215,
225, &c.) has collected and printed all the unpublished records concerning the revolt in the
several districts. These consist chiefly in the indictments in the king's courts of the rebels,
in escheators* accounts of their confiscated effects, and in Patent and Close Rolls containing
orders for inquiries, appointments of commissions to try the rebels and of keepers of the peace.
A list of the rebels excluded from the general pardon is printed in the Rolls of Parliament.
The poll tax returns for the county are not extant. (Oman, Peasants' 1 Revolt, 158.)

For the Markets and Fairs Palmer's Index (and the Report of the Commission on Market
Rights and Tot/s, vol. liii, 1 88) gives a list of all grants and references to the originals in
Charter and Close Rolls, &c., and Middleton's Agriculture in Middlesex and Owen's New Book
of Fairs record the later survivals of these early markets.

Norden in his Speculum Britanniae gives a good general description of the county, but no
details as to inclosures. For these there are only two mutilated membranes, in the Record
Office, of the depopulation returns made by Henry VIII's commission in 1517, as well as a
list, also fragmentary, of suburban inclosures in a Lansdowne manuscript in the British
Museum. Another Lansdowne paper contains some information about inclosure disputes and
regulations for the preservation of the chase at Enfield. Middlesex owes to the Middlesex
Record Society the publication of an abstract of the County Sessions Rolls, from the reign of
Edward VI to 1709, made by Messrs. Jeaffreson (4 volumes) and Hardy (i volume). These
rolls are a mine of valuable information as to vagrant and poor laws, plague measures, the
dangers of the neighbourhood of London owing to highway robbery, &c. Some Caesar papers
in the British Museum contain valuable information about the poor law and so do the Domestic
State Papers.

A good deal of information about the alien immigrations into the suburbs of London has
been brought together by the Huguenot Society, in their Publications, chiefly derived from
returns of Aliens and Lay Subsidy Rolls.

Finally, the reports on the county made to the Board of Agriculture in the later years of
the eighteenth, and early years of the succeeding century are our chief sources of infor-
mation for the agricultural conditions in the county, inclosures and wages at that period.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

APPENDIX II

WAGES

YlA

CAMINTIU

TYLIM

THATCHIRS

Rogers'"'
Average

Rogers'

Highest
Price

Middlesex
Wage

Rogers'
Highest Price

Middlesex
Wage

Rogers'

Average

Middlesex
Wage

1273-4

^d.-^V.

Edgeware,2</.

1278-9 .

___

^^~

^\d.-^\d.
man)

Edgeware,
4^. (with
man)

1300-1 .

3j</. (with
man)

Teddington,
3j</. (with
man)

131 I-I2 .

.'.-*.

Teddington,

>3'4->5-

3'"3K

4 ,- s ,

Isleworth,
4<^. & t,d.

(with help)

Isleworth,

,i^.

Isleworth,

1320-1 .

Isleworth, \d.

ifi-jt^

Isleworth, \d.

i o^</. a week

5</. (with
help)

ifd. (with
man)

^d.

'335-6

Teddington,

(with help)

Teddington,

' 349-5

^.^J. 4-J^-

C <? 7*

Teddington,

5</.-6</.(with
man)

Paddington,
<)d. (with
man)

1350-1 .

44^*~3^'

7w***4-wt

Teddington,
6d.

'35'-2

9</. (with
man)

Isleworth, 6d.
Teddington,
(>d. & 4</.

Isleworth, jd.
(with boy)

6f</. (with
man)

Isleworth,
id. (with boy)
Teddington,

'384-5

5 ,- t ,,.

Isleworth,

1407-8 .

*-*

s ,- 6 ,

Sutton, 5</.
(without food)

*HK

Sutton, 5</.
[without food)

'433-4

*-"

6..-8J,.

Harmonds-
worth, 6J.

H34-5

8J,

Sawyer, 6d.
Carpenter,5<^.

1439-40 .

6</. c4(/.

*- X

6d.

W-84

6d.

'* Hist, tfjlgric. and Prices, i and iv.
104

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

WAGES (continued)

HELPS AND WOMIN

CARTERS AND PLOUGHMIN

THRASHING

RS" 8 ' Middlesex Wage
Average

Roger*'
Highest
Price

Middlesex Wage

Rogers'
Highest
Price

Middlesex Wage

1273-4

Edgeware, \\d.

Edgeware,
Messor, \s.6^J.

1274-5

if/.

Teddington,
Daye, 3*. 6</.

Teddington,
Ploughman, 6s.

and 5;.

iy.

2^.

Teddington,
Barley, if/.
Wheat, r\d.

Teddington,
Herdsman,
\s. 6J.

1278-9 .

Edgeware, 3</.

^"^

3^-

!*</.

Edge ware,
Wheat, 3^.
Barley, \d.

1300-1 .

\d. to

\d.

Teddington,
Daye, 3/. 6</.

Teddington,
Ploughman, 6s.
Fugator, e,s.

l&.

tf-

Teddington,
Barley, \\d.
Wheat, i\d.

Teddington,
Herdsman,
4/. 6</.

1311-12 .

i \d. to
If/.

Teddington,
Daye, 3*. 6^.

Teddington,
Ploughman, 6s.
Fugator, 5/.

Teddington,
Herdsman,
4/. 6</.

3'4~i5

if.

Isleworth,
Help^^.&ija'.
Women, i\d.

Isleworth,
Wheat, id.
Oats, id.

1320-1 .

I^.tO

If/.

Isleworth,
Help, \\d.
Labourer, zd.

^~~

i\J.

Isleworth,
Wheat, 3^.
Oats, id.

I3H-5

!</.

Woman help, id.

id-
id.

Wheat, 3</.
Oats, i^.

> 335-<> .

1 1/. tO

Teddington,
Daye, 2s.

Teddington,
Tentor, 6s.
Fugator, 5/.
Carter, 4^. dd.

After Black Death

1349-50.

if/.

Teddington,
Daye, 4/.
Paddington,
Poultry-maid,
5'-

Teddington,
Ploughm'n, i is.
Carter, I is.
Herdsman, I is.
Paddington,
Ploughm'n,! is.

sy-

^\d.

TeJdington,
Wheat, 4</.
Paddington,
Wheat, 6d.
Oats, 2^.

Serjeant, 1 3;. ^d.
per ann.

1350-1 .

Teddington,
Daye, 4/.
Labourer, $d.

Teddington,
Tentor, us.
Fugator, los.
Carter, los.

i&l.
&

Teddington,
Wheat, 4/.
Barley, 3</.

Teddington,
Herdsman, io/.

After Statute of
Labourers

1351-2 .

ija'.to

If*

Isleworth,
Woman, zd.
Teddington,
Daye, 4/
Woman, ^d.
Labourer, 3</.

Teddington,
Tentor, Js.
Fugator, js.
Carter, -js.

zd.

*K
J*.

Isleworth,
Oats, 2</
Teddington,
Wheat, 4</.
Barley, 3</.

Swineherd, 61. SJ.

105

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

WAGES (continued)

YEAR

HILTS AND WOMEN

CARTERS AND PLOUGHMEN

THRASHING

Rogers'
Average

Middlesex Wage

Rogers'
Highest
Price

Middlesex Wage

Rogers'
Highest
Price

Middlesex Wage

1376-7 .

Totenhale,
Wheat, 4V.
Oats, zd.

1384-5 .

zd.

Isleworth,
Labourer, 3^.
and 4<y.

~~~

^~~

Isleworth,
Barley, 3</.

Bailiff, zo/.

1385-6 .

zd. to

Workman, 4V.

4'.

Wheat, 3 V.

1388-9 .

zd. to

3</.(without food)

Ploughman, %s.,

Wheat, 4^.

Swineherd, 6/.

Carter, I 3/. \d.

1407-8 .

Haymakers, men
and women, 3^.

Ploughman, l6/.
Carter, i6/.
Second plough-
man, 1 3*. 4^.
Third plough-

Bailiff, 40/.

man, g/.

'433-4

Harmondsworth,
Daye, 5*.

Harmondsworth,
Ploughm'n, i6/.
i 3/. 4</.
Carter, 1 6s.

2 J</. tO

Wheat, 41^.
Barley, -i,\d.

Reaper, i6/.
Swineherd, lot.
Bailiff, \os.

'434-5 3<*-

Help, 4V.

1439-40 . i,d. to
4V.

Help, 4^ and 5i/.

Bailiff, 53/. \a
Foresters, 50^.

Carpenter!

Tylers

Winter

Summer

Winter

Summer
f Winter

ASSESSMENT OF WAGES FOR THE COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, CHARLES II

Artificers by the year, ^10 iz/. ; second sort, 6 8/. Husbandmen, carters, and drivers : First
sort, 8 ; second sort, 6 ; third sort, 4. Women servants, 4, 3, and 2.

DAY WAGES

With food, izd. and \od.
Without food, z/. and zo^.
With food, is. 6d. and I/.
Without food, 2s. 6d. and zs.

< With food, is. and lod.
' j Without food, z/. and is. %d.
With food, is 6d. and is.
Without food, zs. 6d. and zs.

With food, %J. and 6d.
Without food, is. 6d. and is. d.

Thatchers

I Summer

( Wit
' t Wit

j With food, izd. and yd.
( Without food, zs. and is. 6d.

REPORTS TO BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, 1794

Labourers, it. 6J. to it. SJ. a day ; handy workmen near London, z/. winter and summer.

Thrashing barley and oats, z/. 6d. a quarter ; wheat, 4/.

Common labourers by the week, izi. to 8/. ; i 5*. at harvest time. Women, 5/. and 6/.

106

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

PRICES

OlIN

Cows

SHUT

YlAR

Rogers'
Average

Middlesex Price

Rogers'
Average

Middlesex Price

Rogers'
Average

Middlesex Price

1268 . .

6s. %d.

With calf, 8/. i id.

1269 . .

I OS. Q\d.

I OS.

6s.

js. <)d.-\os.

1275 . .

is. lod.; ewe,

21. 6J.

I 3OO . .

s/. oy.

With calf, 8/.

I3II . .

l\s. t,\d.

QS. Qd. l^s. 4</.

1314 . .

I OS. 2\d.

With calf, 1 3/.

1321 . .

I2d.

I32S . .

IS/, if/.

8j. 5/. v^d.

IOS. lO^d.

6s. %d. & 5/. 8f^.

lod.

1344

I2/. %\d.

1 6s. 6^3.

9 s - 3$^-

I OS.

23.

I3SO . .

<)S. %d.

8/.-i8/. 6d.

gs. %%d.

JS.-IOS. id.

1353

i^s. 3</.

1 3/. \d.

1364 . .

1 6s. %d.

101. 6d.

IS. 8J.-2S.

1389 . .

I3/. i,d.

9/. ; with calf,

I OS. 6d.

I4O8 .

'3>- 5i^

3'- \\d.

H34 ' '

IS/.

121. \<1.

8/.; with calf, I is.

2S. 4J.

I2-J-.

PIGS

Hoisu

POUITHY

YlAK

Rogers'
Average

Middlesex Price

Rogers'
Average

Middlesex Price

Rogers'
Average

Middlesex Price

1269 .

1 21. 0\d.

Affri, 6s.-i2s.

1275 .

3'- 3K

v- ; h g> 2S - \ d -

Goose, 3$</.

I30O .

23. 6d.

21. 3$., 2s. 6d.

Eg8 s 4^- P er I0 ;

goose, 3^. ; hen, 2d.

I3O2 .

<)S. (>\d.

Affri, l6s.

Goose, 3^. ; capon, ^d.

I3II .

4/. id.

3/. id.

Goose, 3^.

>3>4

Cart. 6s.

1325

V- if/.

IS 6J.-2S.

161. 6d.

Cart i os.-$s.

Duck, zd. ; goose, 2d. ;

3'- "f

SOW, 2I.-2S. 6d.

capon, zd. ; hen, i\d.

3'. </

Boar, 2i.-T,s. \d.

336

Hen, 2d. ; goose, 3^.

1344

i6s. 8<t.

Cart. 23*.

9>- \-

Affri, I3/.

135

Pig, 2S. -Jd.

Boar, 3;. 6d.

Capon, 3</. ; hen, 2d. ;

Boar, 3/.2<^.

Pig, 2s 6d. and 21.

goose, z\d.

'353

Affri, 12s.

Capon, \d.

1364 .

Goose, \d. ; eggs, 1 2

for id.

1389 .

2i. 6J.

1408 .

4 </.

Capon, \d. ; pullet, l^d.

'434

3/. 4^.

21.

Hen, 2J.

Goose, \d. ; hen, 2d. ;

Goose,4<j'.

eggs, 5^. per 100

107

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

PRICES (cmtinutd)

YEA*

WHEAT

OATS

BARLEY

SALT
(per bushel)

Rogers'
Average

Middlesex Price

Rogers'

Average

Middlesex Price

Rogers'

Average

Middlesex Price

1268 .

5 ,. 3F .

I/. Id,/., 2;. 5</.,

1269 .

4;.

is. 7*4

2S. ^d.2S. I 1 4

4 4

1275 .

$' '-

8/. 8</.

2/. 2^4

6^. 84

5'-

1300 .

Af t Qff,

5 ,. ew.

U. I If/.

i/. 44

3'- 8J4

3'- 4'.

4'-

1302 .

A.S, I I TT tt ,

4.. 84

z/. if 4

U. \d.-2S.

3/. 4^4.

4'-

64-84

1311 .

5'-

1314 .

2/. 8J4

5, 4'.

4'- '"

1321 .

4 /. of4

2S.

7'-

1325 .

5/. 8 J4.

6, 84

2;. 1 4

is. io4.

3;. 8^4

4 ,.-6,.

7'-

1344

I/. 24.

>35

8/. 34

6s. and 6/. 8i/.

3'- 84

2/ -4/.

6s. 44

5'-

'353

ifS. 2\d.

IOS.

2/. 3^4.

2/. 84.

i/. 64

1364 .

7'- Si'-

los. 9>d.

2s. 8|4

2,.

4_r. 2J4.

6/. 84.

1389 .

5'- 5ft'-

4'-

3;. o|4

2/. 84.

1408

7* 3K

I0/. 2d., IOS.,

8s. 84

4;. 4^4.

84.

'434

5, 4*'.

6/. 84

i/. i iJ4

2S.

2/. IO4.

5, 4 4

7'-

Year
1275
I 300
I3II
1321

1336
'353

Wool, 2S. <d. per St. (92 fells = 13 st.)

Wool, 2s. i,\d. per st. (i 19 fells= 15 st.)

Wool, 21. zd. per st. (83 fells = 14^ st.)

Salmon, zs. ftd.

Keep of prior, 3/. weekly ; his attendant monk, it. 6J. ; price of donkey, Jr.

Wool fells, <i,d. each.

Wool fells, ^d. each ; \\d. represents cost of daily keep of workman.

Rents in Middlesex vary a good deal from holding to holding, but the most usual rent for
one virgate is $s. (^s.-js. 6J.) and for half a virgate 2s. 6d. (zs.) from the time of Henry III to
Henry VI.

108

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

APPENDIX III

INCLOSURE ACTS IN MIDDLESEX, 1702-1876

Ruislip, 1769.

Laleham, 1774.

Enfield Chase, 1777.

Ickenham, 1780.

Stanwell, 1789.

Hillingdon and Cowley, three fields, 1795.

Feltham, Sunbury, and Hanworth, 1798, 1799, 1800, and 1801 (39, 40 & 41 Geo. Ill,

cap. 51 & 146).
Teddington, 1799, 883 acres.
Edmonton, 1800, 1,231 acres.

Enfield Common and Common Fields, 1801, 3,540 acres (41 Geo. Ill, cap. 143).
Harrow, 1802-3 (43 Geo. Ill, cap. 43).
Ruislip Common, 1804 (44 Geo. Ill, cap. 45).

Harmondsworth Common, 1805, 3,000 acres (45 Geo. Ill, cap. 176).
Chiswick, extinction of Common, 1806 (46 Geo. Ill, cap. in).
Harrow, 1805-6 (46 Geo. Ill, cap. 33).
Ashford Common, 1809, 1,200 acres (49 Geo. Ill, cap. 17).
Hayes Common, 1809, 2,000 acres (49 Geo. Ill, cap. 151).
Harlington, 1810 (50 Geo. Ill, cap. 33).
Finchley Common, 1811, 900 acres (51 Geo. Ill, cap. 23).
Hampton Common, 1811 (51 Geo. Ill, cap. 138).

Harefield and Moor Hall Common, 1811, 700 acres (51 Geo. Ill, cap. 66).
Hillingdon, 1811-12, 1,400 acres (52 Geo. Ill, cap. 28).
Littleton, 181 1.

East Bedfont and Hatton Common, 1813, 1,300 acres lro (53 Geo. Ill, cap. 172).
Hornsey Common, 1813, 400 acres (53 Geo. Ill, cap. 7).

Isleworth, Heston and Twickenham Common, 1813, 7,870 acres (53 Geo. Ill, cap. 174).
Laleham, 1813 (53 Geo. Ill, cap. 25).
Hanwell Common, 1813, 350 acres (53 Geo. Ill, cap. 6).
Great Stanmore Common, 1813, 216 acres (53 Geo. Ill, cap. n).
Greenford Common, 1814, 640 acres (55 Geo. Ill, cap. 5).
Chiswick, 1814, 40 acres (54 Geo. Ill, cap. 69).
Willesden, 1814, 560 acres (55 Geo. Ill, cap. 49).
Harmondsworth, 1815 (56 Geo. Ill, cap. 72).

Cranford Common, 1818, 395 acres (private) (58 Geo. Ill, cap. 50).
Heston, 1818 (58 Geo. Ill, cap. 10).
Harlington Common, 1819, 820 acres
West Drayton Common, 1824 (5 Geo. IV, cap. 44).
Northolt Common, 1825 (6 Geo. IV, cap. 59).

" Dr. Slater states the area inclosed at 1,100 acre*.

109

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX
APPENDIX IV

TABLE OF POPULATION, 1801 TO 1901
Introductory Notes

AREA

The county taken in this table is that existing subsequently to 7 & 8 Viet., chap. 61 (1844).
By this Act detached parts of counties, which had already for parliamentary purposes been amalga-
mated with the county by which they were surrounded or with which the detached part had the
longest common boundary (2 & 3 Wm. IV, chap. 64 1832), were annexed to the same county for
all purposes ; some exceptions were, however, permitted.

By the same Act (7 & 8 Viet., chap. 61) the detached parts of counties, transferred to other
counties, were also annexed to the hundred, ward, wapentake, &c. by which they were wholly or
mostly surrounded, or to which they next adjoined, in the counties to which they were transferred.
The hundreds, &c. in this table are also given as existing subsequently to this Act.

As is well known, the famous statute of Queen Elizabeth for the relief of the poor took the then-
existing ecclesiastical parish as the unit for Poor Law relief. This continued for some centuries
with but few modifications ; notably by an Act passed in the thirteenth year of Charles II's reign
which permitted townships and villages to maintain their own poor. This permission was necessary
owing to the large size of some of the parishes, especially in the north of England.

In 1 80 1 the parish for rating purposes (now known as the civil parish, i.e. 'an area for
which a separate poor rate is or can be made, or for which a separate overseer is or can be
appointed ') was in most cases co-extensive with the ecclesiastical parish of the same name ; but
already there were numerous townships and villages rated separately for the relief of the poor,
and also there were many places scattered up and down the country, known as extra- parochial
places, which paid no rates at all. Further, many parishes had detached parts entirely surrounded
by another parish or parishes.

Parliament first turned its attention to extra-parochial places, and by an Act (20 Viet.,
chap. 19 1857) it was laid down (a) that all extra-parochial places entered separately in the
1851 census returns are to be deemed civil parishes, (b] that in any other place being, or being
reputed to be, extra-parochial, overseers of the poor may be appointed, and (c) that where, how-
ever, owners and occupiers of two-thirds in value of the land of any such place desire its
annexation to an adjoining civil parish, it may be so added with the consent of the said parish.
This Act was not found entirely to fulfil its object, so by a further Act (31 & 32 Viet., chap. 122
1868) it was enacted that every such place remaining on 25 December, 1868, should be added
to the parish with which it had the longest common boundary.

The next thing to be dealt with was the question of detached parts of civil parishes, which was
done by the Divided Parishes Acts of 1876, 1879, and 1882. The last, which amended the one of
1876, provides that every detached part of an entirely extra-metropolitan parish which is entirely
surrounded by another parish becomes transferred to this latter for civil purposes, or if the population
exceeds 300 persons it may be made a separate parish. These Acts also gave power to add detached
parts surrounded by more than one parish to one or more of the surrounding parishes, and also to
amalgamate entire parishes with one or more parishes. Under the 1879 Act it was not necessary
for the area dealt with to be entirely detached. These Acts also declared that every part added to
a parish in another county becomes part of that county.

Then came the Local Government Act, 1888, which permits the alteration of 'civil parish boun-
daries and the amalgamation of civil parishes by Local Government Board orders. It also created the
administrative counties. The Local Government Act of 1894 enacts that where a civil parish is partly
in a rural district and partly in an urban district each part shall become a separate civil parish ; and
also that where a civil parish is situated in more than one urban district each part shall become a
separate civil parish, unless the county council otherwise direct. Meanwhile, the ecclesiastical parishes
had been altered and new ones created under entirely different Acts, which cannot be entered into
here, as the table treats of the ancient parishes in their civil aspect.

POPULATION

The first census of England was taken in 1801, and was very little more than a counting
of the population in each parish (or place), excluding all persons, such as soldiers, sailors, &c., who
formed no part of its ordinary population. It was the de facto population (i.e. the population

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

actually resident at a particular time) and not the de jure (i.e. the population really belonging
to any particular place at a particular time). This principle has been sustained throughout
the censuses.

The Army at home (including militia), the men of the Royal Navy ashore, and the registered
seamen ashore were not included in the population of the places where they happened to be,
at the time of the census, until 1841. The men of the Royal Navy and other persons on board
vessels (naval or mercantile) in home ports were first included in the population of those places
in 1851. Others temporarily present, such as gipsies, persons in barges, &c. were included in
1841 and perhaps earlier.

GENERAL

Up to and including 1831 the returns were mainly made by the overseers of the poor
and more than one day was allowed for the enumeration, but the 18411901 returns were
made under the superintendence of the registration officers and the enumeration was to be
completed in one day. The Householder's Schedule was first used in 1841. The exact dates
of the censuses are as follows :

10 March, 1801 30 May, 1831 8 April, 1861 6 April, 1891

27 May, 1811 7 June, 1841 3 April, 1871 I April, 1901

28 May, 1821 31 March, 1851 4 April, 1881

NOTES EXPLANATORY OF THE TABLE

This table gives the population of the ancient county and arranges the parishes, &c. under the
hundred or other sub-division to which they belong, but there is no doubt that the constitution of
hundreds, &c. was in some cases doubtful.

In the main the table follows the arrangement in the 1841 census volume.

The table gives the population and area of each parish, &c. as it existed in 1801, as far
as possible.

The areas are those supplied by the Ordnance Survey Department, except in the case of those
marked ' e,' which are only estimates. The area includes inland water (if any), but not tidal water
or foreshore.

t after the name of a civil parish indicates that the parish was affected by the operation
of the Divided Parishes Acts, but the Registrar-General failed to obtain particulars of every
such change. The changes which escaped notification were, however, probably small in area
and with little, if any, population. Considerable difficulty was experienced both in 1891 and
1901 in tracing the results of changes effected in civil parishes under the provisions of these
Acts ; by the Registrar-General's courtesy, however, reference has been permitted to certain
records of formerly detached parts of parishes, which has made it possible approximately to
ascertain the population in 1901 of parishes as constituted prior to such alterations, though the
figures in many instances must be regarded as partly estimates.

* after the name of a parish (or place) indicates thar such parish (or place) contains a union
workhouse which was in use in (or before) 1851 and was still in use in 1901.

J after the name of a parish (or place) indicates that the ecclesiastical parish of the same name
at the 1901 census is co-extensive with such parish (or place).

o in the table indicates that there is no population on the area in question.

in the table indicates that no population can be ascertained.

The word 'chapelry ' seems often to have been used as an equivalent for 'township* in 1841,
which census volume has been adopted as the standard for names and descriptions of areas.

The figures in italics in the table relate to the area and population of such sub-divisions of
ancient parishes as chapelries, townships, and hamlets.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

TABLE OF POPULATION
1801 1901

Acre-

i So i

1811

1821

1831

1841

1851

iSOi

1871

1881

1891

1901

age

Ancient

181,320

818,129

953.774

I.M4.53'

1,358,13

I,574.4i6

1,886,576

2,206,485

2.539,765

2,920,485

3.251.671

3.585,323

or Geog-

raphical

County

PARISH

Acre-
age

1801

1811

1821

1831

1841

1851

1861

1871

1881

1891

1901

Edmonton

Hundred

Edmonton f

7,483

5,93

6,824

7,900

8,192

9,027

9,708

10,930

13,860

23,463

36,351

61,892

Enfield f .

12,653

5,881

6,636

8,227

8,812

9,367

9,453

12,424

16,054

19,104

31,811

43,042

Hadley, orMonken

641

584

718

926

979

945

1,003

',053

978

1,160

1,294

1,389

Hadley t

Mimms, South .

6,386

1,698

1,628

1,906

2,010

2,760

2,825

3,238

3,57i

4,002

5,785

7,402

Tottenham . . .

4,642

3,629

4,771

5,812

6,937

8,584

9,120

13,240

22,869

46,456

97,174

136,774

Elthorne

Hundred

Brentford, New a J

217

1,443

1,733

2,036

2,085

2,174

2,063

i,995

2,043

2,138

2,069

2,029

Cowley f ...

306

214

382

349

315

392

344

371

491

498

525

601

Cranford J . . .

737

212

267

288

377

370

437

530

557

503

507

488

Drayton, West t .

878

5'5

555

608

662

802

906

95i

984

1,009

1,118

1,246

Greenford 1 1

2,078

359

345

4'5

477

588

507

557

578

538

647

HanwelP't . .

1,067

817

803

977

,213

1,469

i,547

2,687

3,766

5,178

6,139

10,438

Harefield \ . . .

4,621

95 '

1,079

1,228

,285

1,516

1,498

1,567

i,579

1,503

1,867

2,008

Harlington J . .

1,465

363

461

472

648

841

872

','59

1,296

1,538

i,542

1,690

Harmondsworth \ .

3,37

879

926

1,076

,276

i,330

i,37

',385

1,584

1,812

1,914

i,97i

Hayes J . . . .

3,3"

1,026

1,252

1,530

,575

2,076

2,650

2,654

2,891

2,651

2,594

Norwood Precinct 4

2,461

697

875

1,124

,320

2,385

2,693

4,484

5,882

6,68 1

7,627

12,499

Hillingdon :

4,944

3,894

4,663

5,636

6,885

9,246

9,588

10,758

11,601

12,641

13,776

14,895

Hillingdon * f .

4,845

1,783

2,252

2,886

3,842

6,027

6,352

7,522

8,237

9,293

10,622

11,832

Uxbridge

2,111

2,411

2,750

3,043

3,219

3,236

3,364

3,346

3,154

3,063

Chap, f J

Ickenham f

1,458

213

257

281

297

396

304

35'

386

376

368

329

Northolt 1 1

2,230

336

392

455

447

653

614

658

479

496

538

589

PerivaleJ . . .

633

Ruislip ....

6,585

1,012

1,239

1,343

i,'97

1,413

1,392

1,365

1,482

1,455

1,836

3,566

Gore Hundred

Edgeware J . . .

2,000

412

543

551

591

659

765

705

655

816

864

868

Harrow-on-the-

10,027

2,485

2,813

3,017

3,86 1

4,627

4,95'

5,525

8,537

10,277

12,988

22,157

Hill

Hendon * . . .

8,382

i. 95 5

2,589

3,100

3,"o

3,327

3,333

4,544

6,972

10,484

15,843

22,450

Kingsbury . . .

1,829

209

328

360

463

536

606

509

622

759

58i

757

Pinner ' . . .

3,782

761

1,078

1,076

1,270

1,33'

I,3!0

1,849

2,332

2,519

2,727

3,366

Stanmore, Great J

1,484

722

840

990

i,i44

i,i77

1,180

1,318

1,355

1,312

1,473

1,827

Stanmore, Little J

i,59'

424

547

712

876

830

811

891

818

862

926

1,069

1 Ancient or Geographical County. the County as defined by the Act 7 & 8 Viet , cap. 61. The population figures
exclude (i) in 1821, 526 Militiamen; (2) in 1831, 200 Militiamen; and (3) in 1841,2,220 Police on duty. (See also
note to Willesden.)

1 New Brentfvrd appears to be a Township of Hanwell Ancient Parish.

* Hanwell. The Central London District Workhouse School was established in this Parish between 1851
and 1861.

4 Norwood Precinct. The boundary was not accurately known in 1831.

5 Pinner. The Commercial Travellers' School was established in this Parish between 1851 and 1861.

112

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

TABLE OF POPULATION, 18011901 (continued)

PARISH

Acre-
age

1801

1811

1821

1831

1841

1851

1861

1871

1881

1891

IQOI

Isleworth

Hundred

Heston ....
Isleworth* . . .

3,823
3,15

1,782
4,346

2,251
4,661

2,810
5,269

3,407
5,590

4,071
6,61-:

5,202
7,007

7,096
8,437

8,432
11,498

9,754
12,973

10,389
15,884

11,690
19,874

Twickenham . .

2,421

3,138

3,757

4,206

4,571

5,208

6,254

8,077

10,533

12,479

16,027

20,991

Ossulstone

Hundred

Finsbury Division

Charterhouse

10-3

249

162

144

164

185

277

255

271

161

136

140

Extra Par.

Clerkenwell . .

380

23,396

30,537

39,io5

47,634

56,756

64,778

65,681

65,380

69,076

66,216

64,077

Finchley ....

3,384

1,503

1,292

2,349

3,210

3,664

4,120

4,937

7,146

11,191

16,647

22,126

Friern Barnet 7 1 .

1,304

432

487

534

615

849

974

3,344

4,347

6,424

9,'73

11,566

Hornsey'f . .

3,039

2,716

3,349

4,122

4,856

5,937

7,135

11,082

'9,357

37,078

61,097

87,626

Islington ....

3,109

10,212

15,065

22,417

37,316

55,690

95>329

'55,341

213,778

282,865

3i9,i43

335,238

Old Artillery

5'3

1,428

1,385

1,487

1,411

i,558

1,972

2,168

2,467

2,516 2,138

2,098

Ground Liberty

Extra Par.

St. Botolph Al-

dersgate (part

of) 8 :-

Glasshouse

5-6

1,221

1,343

1,358

1,312

1,415

1,476

'455

1,232

93i

779

741

Yard Liberty

St. Luke ....

237

26,88l

32,545

40,876

46,642

49,829

54,055

57,073

54,995

46,849

42,440

37,443

St. Sepulchre

3,768

4,224

4,740

4,769

4,801

4,832

4,609

2,888

2,392

i,972

i,53

(part of) 8

Stoke Newington .

638

1,462

2,149

2,670

3,480

4,490

4,840

6,608

9,841

22,781

30,936

34,293

Ossulstone

Hundred

Holborn Division

Hampstead . . .
Paddington . . .

2,248
1,251

4,343
i, 88 1

5,483
4,609

7,263
6,476

8,588
14,540

10,093

25,173

11,986
46,305

19,106

75,784

32,281
96,813

45,452
107.218

68,416
118,054

82,329

127,557

St. Andrew Hol-

76]

21,438

23,355

22,384

23,096

born (the part

above the

k
l

22,205

23,972

26,492

27,334

28,874

26,228

23,683

Bars) 9

St. George the

36)

. 7,897

8,763

9,867

10,397

Martyr

Saffron Hill, Hat-

ton Garden,

Elv Rents, and

7,78i

7,482

9,270

9,745

9,455

8,728

7,148

5,907

3,98o

4,506

3,396

Ely Place

Liberty 10 1

St. Giles in the

123

28,764

34,672]

f36,432

37,3"

37,407

36,684

35,703

28,701

23,087

20,332

Fields f

> 5 ', 793

St. George

121

7,738

3,86 4 J

.'6,475

16,981

16,807

'7,392

17,853

16,681

16,695

14,202

Bloomsbury

St. Marylebone

1,506

63,982

75,624

96,040

122,206

38,164

57,696

161,680

159,254

154,910

142,404

132,295

St. Pancras f . .

2,672

31,779

46,333

71,838

103,548

129,735

66,956

198,788

221,465

236,258

234,379

234,912

The Liberty of the

2,409

2,620

2,737

2,682

2,557

2,567

2,274

',757

546

421

258

Rolls Extra

Par.

The Savoy

6'6

320

287

222

43'

414

372

380

365

245

201

1 60

Precinct 101 \

Clerkenwell. A detached part was wrongly included in the return for Hornsey Parish, 1801-1831. This detached
area only contained 48 persons in 1841.

l Friern Barnet. Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum established between 1851 and 1861.

8 St. Sepulchre and St. Botolph Aldersgati Ancient Parishes are situated in Ossulstone Hundred Finsbury Division
and in London City Without the Walls.

St. Andrew Holborn Ancient Parish is situated in (A) Ossulstone Hundred Holborn Division, (B) London City
Without the Walls, and (c) the Inns of Court and Chancery.

10 Saffron Hill, &*. The 1821 increase attributed partly to the absence of the fear of being compelled to serve in
the Militia.

10a See note 36, f>st.

2 113 15

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

TABLE OF POPULATION, 18011901 (continued)

PARISH

Acre-
age

1801

iSn

1821

1831

1841

1851

1861

1871

1 88 1

1891

1901

Ossulstone Hun-

dred Kensing-

ton Division

Acton

2.1OC

1,425

1,674

1,929

2,453

2,665

2,582

3,Ii:i

8,306

17.126

24,206

37,7O3

Chelsea ....

i j j
794

11,604

18,262

26,860

32,371

39,896

56,185

JJ J

63,104

70,738 88,128

96,253

J / If J

95,086

Chiswick f

1,210

3,235

3,892

4,236

4,994

5,8u

6,303

6,505

8,508

15,663

21,344

28,513

Baling f . . . .

3,850

5,035

5,36i

6,608

7,783

8,407

9,828

",963

18,189

25,748

36,267

47,5'o

Fulham" . . .

1,701

4,428

5,903

6,492

7,317

9,319

11,886

'5,539

23,350

42,900

91,639

'37,249

Hammersmith u :

2,286

5,600

7,393

8,809

10,222

'3,453

17,760

24,519

42,691

71,939

97,239

111,970

Hammersmith .

2,101

9,888

13,293

19,104

36,029

64,349

88,653

102,474

Hammersmith,

185

3,565

4,467

5,415

6,662

7,590

8,586

9,496

St. Peter

Chapl.

Kensington . . .

2,188

8,556

10,886

14,428

20,902

26,834

44,053

70,108

120,299

163,151

166,308

'73,073

Twyford Abbey

281

Extra Par.

Willesden 12 . .

4,383

75'

1,169

1,876

2,930

2,939

3,879

15,869

27,453

61,057

1 14,582

Ossulstone

Hundred

Tower Division

Bethnal Green . .

755

22,310

33,6i9

45,676

62,018

74,088

90,193

105,101

120,104

126,961

129,132

129,727

Bow, or Stratford-

565

2,IOI

2,259

2,349

3,37i

4,626

6,989

11,590

26,055

37,074

40,365

42,181

le-Bow

Bromley ....

610

I,68 4

3,58i

4,36o

4,846

6,154

11,789

24,077

41,710

64,359

70,000

68,37'

Hackney ....

3,299

12,730

16,771

22,494

31,047 37,771

53,589 76,687

115,110

163,681

198,606

218,998

Holy Trinity

644

602

680

508

579

572

420

417

449

301

Minories

Limehouse :

244

4,678

7,386

9,805

15,695

21,121

24,561

29,108

29,919

32,041

32,202

32,538

Limehouse . .

244

4,678

7,386

9,805

15,695

19,337

22,782

27,161

29,919

32,041

32,202

32,538

Ratcliff Hamlet

1,784

1,779

1,947

(part of) l3

Norton Folgate

1,752

1,716

1,896

1,918

1,674

1,771

1,873

1,550

1,528

',449

1,622

Liberty Extra

Par.

Poplar" . . . .

1,158

4,493

7,708

12,223

16,849

20,342

28,384

43,529

48,611

55,077

56,383

58,334

St. Botolph with-

6,153

5,265

6,429

3,453

3,627

4,163

4,000

3,812

2,883

2,971

3,051

out Aldgate, or

East Smith-

field Liberty"

St. George in the

244

21,170

26,917

32,528

38,505

41,350

48,376

48,891

48,052

47,157

45,795

49,068

East

St. Katharine by

2,652

2,706

2,624

5'7

208

241

104

182

the Tower

Precinct ls

Shadwell" . . .

8,828

9,855

9,557

9,544

IO,o6o

11,702

8,499

8,230

8,170

8,123

8,633

Shoreditch . . .

648

34,766

43,93

52,966

68,564

83,432

109,257

129,364

127,164

126,591

124,009

117,706

Spitalfields . . .

15,091

16,200

18,650

17,949

20,436

20,960

20,593

20,783

21,340

22,859

24,192

Stepney 14 :

830

20,767

27,491

36,940

51,023

63,723

80,218

98,836

120,383

132,393

133,823

140,532

Mile End New

5,253

6,028

7,091

7,384

8,325

10,183

10,845

11,100\ 10,673

11,303

13,157

Town Hamlet

Mile End Old

677

9,848

14,465

22,876

33,898

45,308

56,602

73,064

93,152

105,613

107,592112,565

Town Hamlet

Ratcliff Hamlet

111

5,666

6,998

6,973

9,741

10,090

13,433

14,927

16,131

16,107

14,928

14,810

(part of) 1S

Tower of London

417

463

433

1,107

954

783

1,021

928

868

736

Extra Par.

Old Tower With-

563

775

205

280

310

819

626; 308

233

out Precinct

Wapping 16 . . .
Whitechapel " . .

41
I/O

5,889
23,666

3,313
27.578

3,078
29,407

3,564
30,733

4,108
34,053

4,477
37,848

4,038
37,454

3,410
34,874

2,225
30,709

2,123
32,326

2,125

33,640

11 Hammersmith Parish created out of Fulham Ancient Parish in 1834 by Act of Parliament.
la Willisdeit. The 1811 figures are an estimate.

13 Ratcliff Hamlet is situated in Limihousi and Stepniy Paris/its. The entire area and population, 1801-1831 and
1871-1901, are shown in Stepney Parish.

14 Poplar Parish created out of Sttpney Ancint Parish about 1817 by Act of Parliament.

" East Smithfield and St. Katharini by the Tower. The decline in 1831 of the population in these two places is
attributed to the formation of the St. Katharine Docks between 1821 and 1831.

16 Shadwell and Wapping. Many houses were demolished in these two Parishes between 1851 and 1861 in
order to construct a new dock.

w Whittchapel.A. small part, containing only 22 persons in 1901, is situated in the City of London Without the
Walls ; none shown there.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

TABLE OF POPULATION, 18011901 (continued)

PARISH

Acre-
age

1801

1811

1821

1831

1841

1851

1861

1871

1881

1891

1901

Spelthorne

Hundred

AshfordJ. . . .

1,402

264

266

33'

458

524

497

784

1,019

1,484

2,700

4,816

Bedfont, East J .

1,926

456

577

771

968

982

1,035

1,150

1,288

1,452

1,815

2,131

Feltham % . . .

1,790

620

703

962

924

1,029

1,109

1,837

2,748

2,909

3,66 1

4,534

Hampton :

3.35

2,5'S

2,754

3,549

3,992

4,7ii

4,802

5,355

6,122

6,940

8,200

9>4i9

Hampton . . .

2,036

1,722

1,984

2,288

2,529

3,097

3,134

3,361

3,915

4,776

5,822

6,813

Hampton Wick

1,314

793

770

1,261

1,463

1,614

1,668

1J94

2,207

2,164

2,378

2,606

Hamlet t

Hanworth t . . .

1.373

334

533

552

6 7 I

75'

790

763

867

1,040

1,309

2,159

LalehamJ . . .

1,301

372

481

499

588

612

6 3 7

613

567

544

500

Littleton J . . .

i,37

147

130

149

134

III

106

III

165

126

320

Shepperton t . .

1,492

731

751

782

847

858

807

849

1,126

1,285

1,299

1,810

Staines ....

1,843

1,750

2,042

i,957

2,486

2,487

2,577

2,749

3,659

4,628

5,060

6,049

Stanwell* . . .

3,999

893

1,032

1,225

1,386

1,495

1,723

i,7i4

i,955

2,156

2,383

2,849

Sunbury ....

2,659

i,447

i,655

J.777

1,863

1,828

2,076

2,332

3,368

4,297

4,099

4,544

Teddington . .

1,214

699

732

863

895

i,i99

1,146

1,183

4,063

6,599

10,052

14,037

London City

Within the

Walls

Allhallows Bark-

ira

2,087

1,777

1,664

1,761

1,924

2,001

1,679

1,065

716

447

326

ing J

Allhallows, Bread

2-6

345

320

336

263

251

Street

Allhallows the

572

502

526

588

672

700

603

187

Great

Allhallows the

3'3

244

179

'54

181

130

Less

Allhallows, Honey

'75

161

'37

189

'55

150

Lane

Allhallows, Lom-

2-9

679

620

580

596

516

456

4'5

259

169

bard Street

Allhallows, London

8-5

1,552

1,601

1,677

i, 86 1

1,620

2,070

1,999 805

535

183

164

Wall}

Allhallows Staining

4'i

714

623

577

502

512

358 243

175

128

121

Christ Church,

I2'2

2,818

2,744

2,737

2,622

2,446

2,541

i,975 1,899

i,359

958

999

Newgate Street "

Holy Trinity the

558

513

502

443

633

691

553 190

5'/

Less

St. Alban, Wood

3'4

682

621

63'

582

479

424

276 345

176

167

209

Street

St Alphage, Sion

4'2

i, 008

1,009

1,206

1,087

976

919

699

274

College J

St. Andrew Hub-

2'O

376

333

287

354

331

342

205

'39

bard

St. AndrewUnder-

9'3

1,307

i, 068

1,161

i, 080

1,163

1,181

1,071

580

327

218

'57.

shaft, with St.

Mary Axe J

St. Andrew by the

6-6

900

709

690

756

750

680

682

35i

175

170

iie

Wardrobe

St. Anne and St.

952

392

561

421

5'3

459

362

229

158

2 4

2 I

Agnes Alders-

gate 18 "

St. Anne, Black-

12-3

3,071

2,609

2,938

2,622

2,846

3,029

2,615

1,381

943

728

487

friars

St. Antholin

2'6

363

367

365

356

357

305

263

59 62

St. Augustine Wat-

333

247

307

289

273

>5'

76 20

ling Street

St. Bartholomew

4'i

560

398

339

345

307

254

236

181

'99

'55

112

by the Royal

Exchange
St. Benet Fink . .

2-9

539

526

459

383

3'4

213

165

126

St. Benet Grace-

1-9

429

358

290

348

333

294

278

church

St. Benet, Paul's

5'4

620

636

552

612

588

663

537

105

Walk

St. Benet Shere-

1 86

152

142

1 80

'45

144

114

hog

18 Christ Church, Newgate Street, includes Christ's Hospital School.

'* See note 35, post

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

TABLE OF POPULATION, 18011901 (continued)

PARISH

Acre-
age

1801

1811

1821

1831

1841

1851

1861

1871

1881

1891

1901

London City
Within the

Walls (cont.)

St. Botolph Bil-

2-6

196

176

191

207

278

34i

222

"54

'33

lingsgate

St. Christopher le

2-8

'33

Stock

St. Clement

1-8

352

262

273

256

236

233

198

Eastcheap

St. Dionis Back-

868

75S

791

810

806

746

534

211

161

112

church

St. Dunstan in

i r8

1,613

1,249

i,i5S

I,t57

1,010

1,025

971

669

442

395

294

the East \

St. Edmund the

2'4

477

452

442

382

391

440

333

'53

106

105

King and Martyr

St. Ethelburga \ .

3'3

599

564

704

665

669

693

606

315

199

158

100

t. Faith the

5-6

964

942

999

841

781

853

761

606

403

201

Virgin

St. Gabriel Fen-

2-8

509

408

343

355

386

274

178

125

III

church Street

St. George

i'3

254

215

229

235

225

217

162

Botolph Lane

St. Gregory by

1 1-4

i,634

1,444

1,468

1,456

1,444

1,428

1,154

896

730

515

512

St. Paul's

St. Helen Bishops-

7-1

655

652

696

692

659

674

558

404

289

251

177

gate

St. James Duke

3 - 2

851

823

732

805 964

827

851

747

622

359

187

Street

St. James Gar-

3'3

595

594

473

637

520

627

461

39'

222

146

lickhithe

St. John the Bap-

1-9

412

369

417

411

367

249

132

tist Walbrook

St. John the

0-8

125

118

1 06

1 08

Evangelist

St. John Zachary

2 - 2

408

322

241 183

156

132

127

109

4 6

St. Katharine

6'2

732

716

712

650 606

547

444

3'7

277

237 136

Coleman J

St. Katharine Cree

9-2

1,727

i,47i

1,814

1,718 1,740

1,905

1,794

1,291

858

445

178

St. Lawrence

800

',39

702

756 : 625

526

410

214

162

187

298

Jewry "

St. Laurence

2-9

355

337

352

372

38i

3'4

233

'3i

Pountney

St. Leonard

i "4

304

290

I 10

137

152

Eastcheap

St. Leonard

2-5

905

197

377

220

33'

297

Foster Lane 19a

St. Magnus .

3'4

289

248

227

239

300

197

262

169

136

172

St. Margaret

3-9

569

327

33'

252 189

191

164

124

Lothbury

St. Margaret

1-6

265

241

149

199 250

249

137

Moses

St. Margaret,

2'0

365

346

344

16 7

266

305

317

165

106

Fish Street Hill

St. Margaret

221

'59

185

181

167

169

103

104

Pattens

St. Martin Iron-

1*1

[92

189

132

218

198

181

185

179

"37

103

monger Lane

St. Martin Lud-

4'8

1,229

1,199

1,200

1,185

1,255

1,246

1, 080

247

158

'75

gate

St. Martin Orgar .

393

290

367

353

324

296

212

152

150

105

St. Martin Outwich

3'2

326

236

252

245

'35

174

165

'37

132

102

St. Martin Vinery

4'4

543

356

205

226

288

300

244

118

107

St. Mary Ab-

2-6

549

505

501

526

273

264

191

142

144

114

church

St. Mary Alder-

4 '4

822

743

883

789

751

687

443

308

168

102

man bury J

St. Mary Alder-

2-4

562

472

429

507

494

232

154

121

139

mary

19 The return for St. Lawrence Jtwry includes the population of St. Mary Magdalen, Milk Street, in 1811.
lta See note 35, post.

*> St. Martin Vintry. Many houses demolished in this Parish between 1811 and 1821 in order to give access to
the new Southwark Bridge.

116

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

TABLE OF POPULATION, 18011901 (continued}

PARISH

Acre
age

1801

1811

1821

1831

1841

1851

1861

1871

1881

1891

1901

London City

Within the

Walls (cont.)

St. Mary le Bow

468

363

368

376

346

363

317

170

130

129

St. Mary Botha w

236

233

225

253

257

194

161

146

101

125

St. Mary Cole-

1-6

276

275

274

238

225

164

church

St. Mary at Hill

4-2

762

696

818

773

987

812

738

477

206

127

150

St. Mary Magda-

2-4

521

711

721

762

783

890

732

354

224

len, Old Fish

Street

St. Mary Magdalen

207

300

288

207

'93

125

Milk Street **>

St. Mary Mount-

i'o

3 66

357

358

434

378

406

474

haw 41

St. Mary Somer-

3'6

459

289

270

374

375

394

271

200

set

St. Mary Staining

239

224 221

309

268

202

161

St. Mary Wool-

2".

270

229

206

247

150

125

102

church Haw

St Mary Wool-

2-6

551

457

414

317

328

291

242

290

'37

109

noth

St. Matthew

I '4

209

196

228

225

1 60

164

I6 7

Friday Street

St. Michael Bassi-

5-8

747

652

661

687

616

501

357

215

127

shaw

St. Michael Corn-

3'6

691

603

492

508

454

491

371

254

227

198

162

hill J

St. Michael

3-1

618

523

576

327

329

443

323

222

127

Crooked Lane M

St. Michael Queen-

827

739

7i6

773

647

76i

548

267

189

hithe

St. Michael le

390

317

252

248

212

134

Querne

St. Michael Pater-

2"!

219

181

198

2 5 I

171

169

101

noster Royal

St. Michael Wood

2'0

574

435

433

404

328

286

214

I 5 6

139

Street

St. Mildred Bread

i'5

281

322

329

302

351

310

4 6

Street

St. Mildred Poultry

2'5

504

302

271

285

280

319

257

St. Nicholas Aeons

i'5

275

264

1 80

228

194

221

1 68

144

116

St. Nicholas Cole

257

178

228

209

254

379

230

104

Abbey

St. Nicholas Olave

1'4

324

264

372

43 1

533

355

167

III

St. Olave Hart

10-3

1,216

1,030

I,OI2

1,041

816

893

757

363

255

2 3 6

184

Street, with St.

Nicholas - in -

the-Shambles

St.Olave Old Jewry

2-5

301

236

239

213

168

177

'43

121

St. Olave Silver

3'3

1,078 1,131

I,'35

711

972

948

527

Street

St. Pancras Soper

I '2

217

153

190

168

162

177

107

Lane

St. Peter CornhillJ

6-0

1,003

860

73'

729

656

533

418

196

162

1 08

St. Peter Paul's

2-5

353

370

346

354

34 r

383

410

107

Wharf

St. Peter le Poor .

9'3

867

638

576

546

559

562

540

438

404

270

266

St. Peter West-

1-6

335

271

266

226

227

209

148

cheap

St. Stephen Cole-

267

3,225

2,957

3,062

4,014

3,699

3,936

3,324

2,647

i,799

1,038

540

man Street J

St. Stephen Wai-

2-8

340

289

2 7 8

281

322

312

300

147

103

brook

St. Swithin Lon-

3-0

474

428

508

486

389

333

297

200

142

118

120

don Stone

'"a See note 19, ante.

11 St. Mary Moutttkaw. All the houses in this Parish, except two uninhabited ones, were pulled down between 1861
and 1871 in order to form Queen Victoria Street.

M St. Mickail Crooked Lane. The Church and 35 houses were demolished between 1821 and 1831 in order to
improve the access to the new London Bridge.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

TABLE OF POPULATION, 18011901 (continued)

PARISH

Acre-
age

1801

1811

1821

1831

1841

1851

1861

1871

1 88 1

1891

IOOI

London City

Within the

Walls (cont)

St. Thomas the

2'4

$66

483

565

53'

648

369

112

122

'39

Apostle

St. Vedast Foster

*'S

423

412

398

496

427

410

2 7 8

224

184

'39

Lane

London City

Without the

Walls.

St. Andrew, Hoi-

207

5,5"

5,741

6,234

5,570

5,966

5,965

6,337

3,818

2,883

2,546

',365

born below the

Bars""" 3 "

St. Bartholomew

8-9

2,645

2,769

2,931

2,923

3,4'4

3,499

3,426

3,"4

2-373

1,843

J44I

the Great J

St. Bartholomew

4-2

952

843

823

863

744

827

849

747

819

847

869

the Less J w

St. Botolph Alders-

19-9

4,161

4,135

4,003

3,994

4,49'

4,745

4,744

3,5'2

2,399

1,670

826

gate (part of) Ma

St. Botolph, Aid-

387

8,689

8,297

9,067

9,615

9,525

",325

9,421

8,433

6,269

5,866

4,653

gate 26

St. Botolph without

44 - 5

lo.SM

9,184

10,140

10,256

10,969

12,499

11,569

6,107

4,905

3,078

i, 660

Bishopsgate J

St. Bride :

34'2

7,531

7,462

7,731

7,3i6

6,655

6,569

6,070

4,563

3,516 2,676

1,918

St. Bride . .

28-9

7,078

7,003

7,288

6,860

6,126

6,039

5,660

4,095

3,001 2,208

1,528

Bridewell Hospi-

5-3

453

459

443

456

529

530

410

468

515 468

390

tal and Pre-

cinct Chapelry

St. Dunstan in the

'3'4

3,021

3,239

3,549

3,443

3,266

2,887

2,511

2,316

1,584

1,058

775

West *

St. Giles without

42'6

11,446

11,704

13,038

<3,'34

'3,255

I4,36l

13,498

8,894

3,863

2,090

1,052

Cripplegate J

St. Sepulchre (the

35'5

8,092

8,724

8,271

7,710

8,524

8,620

7,475

3,701

2,166

',754

1,160

part without

Newgate) *"

Whitefriars Pre-

8-5

783

929

1,247

1,302

1,294

1,230

','55

965

467

393

170

cinct Extra Par.

Inns of Court

and Chancery

Barnard's Inn (in

0-6

St. Andrew Hoi-

born) " *

Clement's Inn (in

140

143

112

St. Clement

Danes') 27

Clifford's Inn,

ill

101

Extra Par. M

Furnival's Inn,

100

160

213

164

202

'55

121

Extra Par. M

Gray's Inn,

11-5

289

344

208

324

325

366

308

361

328

253

232

Extra Par.

Inner Temple,

IPS

485

460

405

288

278

162

148

116

156

'27

Extra Par.

> See note 9, ante

' St. Andrew. Holborn below the Bars and St. Bride. Many houses were pulled down between 1821 and 1831 in order
to erect Farriugdon Market.

M St. Bartholomew the Less comprises only St. Bartholomew's Hospital in 1901.

*"* See note 8, ante.

St. Botolph, Aldgate.This Parish is partly Within the Walls, but none is shown there.

* Hanaro" s Inn was returned with St. Andrew, Holborn below the Bars in 1821 and 1831.

v St. Clement Danes Ancient Parish is situated in (A) Ossulstone Hundred Holborn Division, (B) the City and
Liberty of Westminster, and (c) the Inns of Court and Chancery. The entire area is shown in the City and Liberty
of Westminster, including that of New Inn and Clement's Inn ; the populations of these two Inns are included there
in 1811-1831 and 1871-1901. The population of New Inn is also included there in 1801. No part of this Parish is
shown in Ossulstone Hundred Holborn Division.

* Cliford's Inn and Serjeants' Inn (Chancery Lane). The areas of these Inns and their populations, 1831 and
1861-1901, are included In those of St. Dunstan in the West Parish.

" Furnival's Inn was returned with St. Andrew Holborn Parish in 1811.

118

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

TABLE OF POPULATION, 1801 1901 (continued)

PARISH

Acre-
age

1801

1811

1821

1831

1841

1851

1861

1871

1881

1891

1901

Lincoln's Inn (part
of), Extra Par. *>

179

242

268

142

Middle Temple,
Extra Par.

5 '4

382

423

298

'95

229

124

107

New Inn,

Extra Par. 30a

Serjeants' Inn,

Chancery Lane,

Extra Par. 3llb

Serjeants' Inn,
Fleet Street,

0-6

104

Extra Par.

Staple Inn,

Extra Par.

Thavies Inn,

0-8

'75

'55

185

237

121

109

Extra Par.

Westminster

(City and

Liberty)

St. Anne Soho . .
St. Clement
Danes 30 "

53
55

11 , 6 37
12,861

12,288
13,706

15,215
14,763

15,600
I5>442

16,480
'5,459

17,335
'5,550

17,426
15,477

17,562
11,503

16,608
IO,28o

I2,3'7
8,492

",493
6,0 1 o

St. George Han-
over Square 34 37

1,117

38,440

41,687

46,384

58,209

66,736

73,45 s

88,066

89,988

89,573

78,364

76,734

St. James
Westminster

163

34,462

34,093

33,8i9

37,053

37,426

36,406

35,326

33,6i9

29,941

24,995 '21,588

St. John the
Evangelist 31
St. Margaret 3237 .
St. Martin in the

2IO

603
286

8,375

7,508
25,752

10,615

19,027
26,585

16,835

22,387
28,252

22,648

25,344
23,732

26,223

30,258
24,917

34,295

30,942
24,461

37,483

30,407
22,689

38,478

27,572
21,238

35,496

24,430
17,508

34,io6|
} 50,559
2i,433J
14,616 'u,qq6

Fields 333337

Buckingham Pa-

99 12?

lace (the Palace

Proper), Extra

Par. 34

St. James's Palace,

174

179

Extra Par. 33

St. Martin le

688

Grand Liberty 35

St. Mary le

2,178

2,021

2,273

2,462

2,520

2,517

2,072

2,007

1,989

1,549

494

Strand M t

St. Paul Covent

4,992

5,304

5,834

5,203

5,7i8

5,810

5, '54

4,376

2,919

2,142

1,692

Garden J

The Close of the

'75

181

185

231

372

323

209

249

235

231

Collegiate

Church of St

Peter, Extra Par.

Verge of the Pa-

1,685

249

641

238

laces of St. James

and White-

hall 3437

*o Lincoln's Inn. The remainder was not Extra Parochial, neither was it shown separately in the Census Returns.

> See note 27, anti. *> See note 28, ante.

81 Westminster, St. John the Evangelist. Millbank Penitentiary was built in this parish between 1811 and 1821.

" The population of Whitehall and Privy Gardens was returned in 1801 and 1821 with the Verge of the Palaces of
St. /amis and Whitehall, in 1831 in St. Martin in the Fields, and in 1811 and 1841-1901 in Westminster, St. Margaret.
The area is included in the last Parish. This area seems to have claimed to be Extra Parochial; the population in
1811 was 347.

88 St. Martin in the Fields includes the area and the population, 1801-1831 and 1861-1901, of St. James's Palace.

st St. George Hanovtr Square, includes the area and the population, 1881-1901, of Buckingham Palace (the Palace
Proper).

85 St. Martin It Grand Liberty is locally situated in the Parishes of St. Anne and St. Agnes, Aldersgate, and St. Leonard,
Foster Lane (both in London City Within the Walls), where its area is included. Its population was apparently
included in that of St. Leonard in 1801. The Liberty was added to the City of London under the Act for erecting
the new Post Office (55 George III, cap. 91), under which Act part of the new Post Office was erected upon it,
covering its entire area.

M The population of the Duchy of Lancaster Liberty is entirely shown in St. Mary It Strand Parish 1801-1831.
From 1841-1901 the population is rightly divided among St. Mary It Strand, St. Clement Danes, and the Precinct of the
Savoy. Its area is also divided between these. The Liberty contained 410 persons in 1831.

" The Verge of tht Palaces of St.Jamts and Whitehall. The population, 1841-1901, is divided between St. Martin in
the Fields, St. George Hanover Square, and St. Margaret Westminsttr Parishes. The area is also divided among these
three Parishes

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

GENULAL NOTES

1. The Populations in 1841 of the Parishes (or Places) marked thus $ were markedly
increased by the presence of temporary residents, such as haymakers.

2. The following Urban Districts are co-extensive at the Census of 1901 with one or more
places mentioned in the Table :

Urban Dutnct
Finchley .
Friern Barnet
Hampton .
Hampton Wick .
HanweU
Hendon
Kingsbory .
Scnbury-on-Thames
Teddington .
Twickenham

Finchky Parish (Oxulstone Hundred Finsbory Dirision)

Friern Barnet Parish (Ossu'stone Hundred Finsbury Dirision)

Hampton Township (Spelthorne Hundred)

Hampton Wick Hamlet (Spelthorne Hundred)

Hanwell Parish (Elthome Hundred)

Hendon Parish (Gore Hundred)

Kingsbury Parish (Gore Hundred)

Sunbury Parish (Spelthorne Hundred)

Teddington Parish (Spelthorne Hundred)

Twickenham Parish (Isleworth Hundred)

120

INDUSTRIES

INTRODUCTION

BEFORE entering into a detailed
relation of the industries of Mid-
dlesex it will be well to look
at the characteristic features of
the county. A glance at the
map reveals its somewhat compact shape, with
rivers on three boundaries, and an irregular
range of hills on the north.

As regards its history, Middlesex has been
for centuries an appanage of London ; and its
natural resources have been more or less at
the service of the inhabitants of the metro-
polis. A closer topographical inspection
shows further that all the highways radiate
from London, and that there are no impor-
tant cross-roads whatever. There are five
so-called market-towns, but none of them
are of high rank, unless Uxbridge should
claim to be so. Except that Brentford and
Staines are upon the same road, and that
Brentford connects with Uxbridge by a
branch of that main road, there is no special
connexion between any two of them as mem-
bers of the same community. Of cross-roads
those worth naming are : traces of an old
highway from Kingston (Surrey) through
Uxbridge to the north-west ; traces of a very
ancient way from Brentford to Harrow and
beyond ; and perhaps a road joining Enfield
with Barnet (Hertfordshire). Every other
track tends directly to the metropolis.

Even little more than a century ago the
condition of the turnpike roads near London
was very unsatisfactory, in spite of the large
sums of money available for cleansing and
repair. The road from Hadley through
South Mimms was insufferably bad, and
disgraceful to the trustees. The Edgware
road was no better, the mud being 4 in. deep
after every heavy rain in summer, and 9 in.
all the winter. The menders never thought
of scraping it, but laid fresh gravel on the
sloppy surface ; the first cart cut it into
ruts, and so it remained all the year round.
The Uxbridge road was even worse; and
during the winter 1797-8 there was only
one passable track, and that less than 6 ft.

wide and usually 8 in. deep in fluid mud. The
rest of the road on either side was covered
with adhesive mire from i ft. to i ft. deep.
And it must be remembered that the road
from Tyburn to Uxbridge was supposed to
have more broad-wheeled wagons pass over
it than any other in the county ; they natu-
rally monopolized the fairly traversable 8 in.
of mud, and forced light vehicles and horse-
men into the bordering quagmire. During
that winter, remarks an indignant sufferer, 1
' The only labourers to be seen on the road
were those of a neighbouring gentleman,
and they were employed in carting the foot-
path into his inclosures.' The road from
Hyde Park Corner through Brentford and
Hounslow was equally filthy in winter,
though the king often travelled along it
several times a week. It is rather curious
that the parish highways were sometimes
much better : ' hard and clean in every sort
of weather, so much so, that gentlemen may
ride along them, even directly after rain, and
scarcely receive a splash.' At the present day
the main roads out of London, and many of
the by-roads also, are well looked after, and
furnish little occasion for reasonable complaint.
The main roads, it may be said, have for
the most part existed on their present sites for
long ages past. Where they have been
altered, the cause of displacement has been
sometimes local necessity or caprice, and
sometimes national interest. One example
(of those few which have been investigated)
will be an interesting illustration of the point.
The great road to the north of London,
passing to the eastward of old St. Pancras
Church, along what is now the HornseyRoad,
went over Muswell Hill and by Colney Hatch
to Whetstone. This proved so deep and
miry in winter 'that it was refused of way-
faring men and carriers, in regard whereof it
was agreed betweene the Bishop of London
and the Countrie that a newe waie shoulde bee
layde forth through the said Bishops parks,

121

1 Middleton, fiete ofdgrit. ofMitU. 395 et seq.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

beginning at Highgate Hill to leade directly
to Whetstone." The old road to Highgate
was doubtless but a communication along the
ridge to Hampstead, with little more than local
value. The augmentation of the toll revenue
at Highgate must have benefited greatly by
the change. But the time came at last,
when 'way-faring men and carriers' were
not the only classes to be served by the new
highway. Coaches and carriages found it an
arduous affair to cross the hill, and at length,
after much protest and waiting for redress,
it was determined to improve the road by
diverting it to the right upon a lower level.
This was in 1812. At first a tunnel was
projected, about 300 yds. in length. After
about half of it was constructed, the whole
fell in early one morning, luckily before the
workmen were on duty. It was then deter-
mined to revise the plan. Operations were
resumed with a deep open cutting, an arch-
way to be thrown over at the point where
the road is traversed by the Hornsey Lane.
The road was completed, and opened for
traffic on 21 August 1813, and proved very
welcome as an easier route to the north. 3
The acclivity was still considerable, and in
actual distance only 100 yds. or so were
saved, but it has well justified the enterprise
of the promoters. The archway was of stone
with enormous brick supports and a stone
balustrade, and had the merit of being rather
ornamental when approached from either
side. It is now superseded by an iron bridge,
on bolder lines, more suitable to the needs of
a busier generation.

The decrease of traffic on the Middlesex
roads after 1840 was never so marked as on
some of the great trade routes in more rural
counties; and any falling-off has been regained
within the last decade owing to the develop-
ment of electric tramways, and the heavy
motor goods-services of various companies.
Both of these systems, in fact, are now vigor-
ous competitors with the suburban railway
lines. Owing, however, to the position of
London at its heart, few counties are so
well supplied as Middlesex with railroad
facilities, since the national trunk lines radiate
from the capital as a centre ; the latest to
acquire a terminus within the metropolitan
area being the Great Central Railway at
Marylebone. The construction of the elec-
tric tubes and their gradual extension to the
suburbs has also, within the last few years,
introduced a further element of competition
as regards passenger traffic. The tramways,

1 John Norden, Speculum Brit. (1723), 15.
' E. W. Brayley, lond. and MidJ. x (4), 223.

the omnibus companies, and the older rail-
ways have all been affected, though in differ-
ent degrees. The loss of suburban traffic has
been the main factor in suggesting the pro-
ject for amalgamating the three great lines
of the Great Northern, Great Eastern, and
Great Central which is under consideration.

The county of Middlesex has the advantage
of extensive means of water-carriage. Before
the railways came, this advantage was more
apparent than it is now when the value of
time, in speedy dispatch and removal, is
more fully appreciated. To begin with, the
entire eastern and southern borders of the
county are provided with navigable rivers, in
the Thames and the Lea, while the Grand
Junction Canal and its offshoots supply the
needs of the county from Uxbridge in the
west to several parts of the metropolis. The
first canalization of the River Lea was under-
taken about the year 1770, at a period when
such measures were in their infancy, or were
being undertaken with timidity. During the
remaining years of the i8th century more
ambitious efforts were made. A great many
useful canals were formed throughout the
kingdom, some of which have become disused
through the influence of railway enterprise.
Among those which remain in operation, and
are to some extent prosperous, the Lea and
Stort Navigation and the Grand Junction
Canal may be included. They are almost a
necessity to the localities they serve, and their
proprietors may be congratulated on their divi-
dends.

The Grand Junction Canal, with its
direct and uninterrupted communications with
Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Lancashire,
enters the county at Uxbridge on the western
outskirts of the town. Its course is through
the levels of Cowley, West Drayton, and
Southall, at a nearly uniform elevation above
the ordnance datum of looft. In the last-
named parish a short series of locks brings it
to the level of the River Brent, which is from
this point canalized until it reaches the
Thames at Brentford. It is significant of the
importance of this canal to the traffic for
which it was designed that a short branch of
the Great Western Railway runs nearly
parallel, from Southall to Brentford, without
seriously diminishing the prosperity of the
canal.

The success of the Grand Junction Canal
naturally led to extensions of the principle. It
was determined to make a supplementary
cutting in order to bring navigation to the
West End of London, and an Act of Parlia-
ment was obtained for extending the canal
to Paddington. At the end of the i8th

122

INDUSTRIES

century Paddington was a rural hamlet,
thinly populated, one of those almost un-
noticed places that lie apart from the highways.
A spirited life was put into the place when
the new canal was opened in 1801 ; ware-
houses were built, dwelling-houses sprang up
around, and by the day of opening Paddington
had become a suburb. Great expectations
were formed of its future ; the first day was
kept with festivity, and inaugurated by an
aquatic procession.

The Paddington Canal begins with a
junction at Bull's Bridge, on the River Cran,
north of Cranford, pursuing thence a winding
course, without locks, by Northolt, Greenford,
Alperton, and Kensal Green ; an ideal coun-
try for canal-constructors. The success of the
enterprise was immediate. Traders had found
a new and excellent route to and from the
Midlands. Passage-boats with merchandise
went daily to Uxbridge. Twice a week
during the summer months other boats with
passenger accommodation went backwards and
forwards, and as late as the year 1853 a
Sunday traffic of pleasure trips to Greenford
Green was largely patronized. 4

In 1812 a further extension was proposed
and soon carried into effect. Under the name
of the Regent's Canal, a cut was made round
the entire metropolis to the River Thames,
near Limehouse. There are many locks and
bridges, and two tunnels, one under Maida
Hill, and another of considerable length at
Islington. There is a dock with large depots
and warehouses in the City Road, besides a
substantial dock at Limehouse. 5 The canal
has been of immense benefit to the eastern
and north-eastern districts of London. Miles
of warehouses and yards occupy now the
space of the green fields that existed at the
period of its construction. Few undertakings
of the kind have been justified so signally in
their results.

In olden times there was one harbour in
the very heart of the City of London, at the
mouth of the Fleet River, which was navi-
gable at least as far as Holborn. A mention
of Fleet Hithe, in an old record,* is enough

4 Personal recollections kindly supplied by Mr.
E. Smith.

* Brayley, op. cit. x (4), 163.

' In the third folio (recto) of the ancient book
known as Liber A. live Pilosus, containing the
ancient evidences of the Dean and Chapter of
St. Paul's, is a Process of Recognition of the reign
of Henry I which states that stone ships or barges
belonging to the dean and chapter unshipped their
lading at Fleet Hithe, and that the owners com-
plained of a toll levied upon them. W. J. Pinks,
Clerkenwell, 377.

to establish the former existence of a tiny
port near Blackfriars. Besides this, on the
extreme eastern boundary of the county there
was some sort of harbour at the mouth of the
River Lea.

The extension of the canal system naturally
incited the commercial and engineering classes
to fresh efforts for the convenience of navi-
gation. Docks were now wanted, and not
many years elapsed before several spacious
docks were given to the metropolis. Dock
extension has never since these times ceased
to be demanded. Indeed the need for
remedial measures has long become urgent,
and it is to be hoped that the Act of 1908
establishing the new ' Port of London Autho-
rity ' 7 will afford a much-needed relief, and
stop the serious decline in the trade of the port.

The West India Docks were the earliest
of such enterprises, at least in the county of
Middlesex. They were begun in July 1800
and took something over two years in con-
struction. A good feature of the undertaking
was the making a water-way across the Isle
of Dogs, thus avoiding a long bend of the
river. The West Indian trade at this time had
grown enormously. Shippers were rather tired
of waterside wharves, with their lack of ware-
house room, and lighterage was increasingly
troublesome and expensive. The first stone of
the docks was laid in the presence of a great
assemblage of merchants and shipowners,
headed by William Pitt and Lord Chancellor
Lough borough. The enthusiasm of that day
was well justified when the work was done.
The docks were occupied, and the new ware-
houses speedily filled with sugar, rare woods,
and other staple products of the West. The
saving to the mercantile community was
immediate and permanent, and the revenue is
understood to have benefited no less. Confi-
dence in the docking system was established.
A few years saw the completion of the
London Docks (1805), the East India Docks
(1806), St. Katharine's Dock (1828). Since
those days dock extension has proceeded with
intermittent but steady steps outside the
boundary of our county.

The River Thames, after all, has a practical
utility to which no combination of artificial
water-courses can aspire. It is a perfect high-
way ; and in its course of about 43 miles as
the southern boundary of the county from
Staines Bridge to the mouth of the River Lea,
affords a prodigious water-supply, beside all the
possible conveniences offered by water-side
premises. As to actual traffic upon its sur-
face, the Thames was, until the middle of the

' Stat. 8 Edw. VII, cap. 68.

I2 3

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

1 9th century, a most important and lively
artery for the purpose either of business or
pleasure. The existing steps, wharves, and
water-lanes are as old as anything on the
river, and betoken a habit of passing to and
fro by water, even if our chronicles did not
testify to the prevalence of the waterman's
calling. The rise of steam-navigation did not
materially affect the waterman ; it is rather
the haste engendered by a busier age which
has rendered the pursuit of his calling less
lucrative. The first steamer that usurped the
pleasure side of his trade was the Endeavour,
which plied to Richmond in the year 1830.
By 1842 the passenger traffic by steamers had
grown enormously. In the summer of that
year there were no fewer than four steamboat
companies making a profitable traffic on the
Thames. 8 But, as in the case of the Padding-
ton barge above mentioned, these things lost
their popularity when speed, alike in pleasure
and business, was the urgent demand of a
rising generation.

The government of the river was originally
in the hands of the Corporation of London,
whose jurisdiction was limited to the lower
part, beginning at Staines Bridge. This
lasted until the year 1857, when the Thames
Conservancy Board was created by Act of
Parliament. Later legislation gave the Thames
Conservancy power over the whole length of
the river, besides a distance of five miles up
all its tributaries. The duties of the board
include the maintenance of weirs, locks, &c.,
prevention of pollution by sewage, regulations
as to fishing and pleasure-traffic, care of the
towing-path (which is continuous from Putney
upwards), dredging, and the general control
of the disposition of" the water.

Middlesex is wholly within the Thames
basin ; so that every spring within the county
finds its way into one or other of the northern
tributaries of the river. Of these, the Colne
skirts the western boundary of the county,
receiving no less than five important affluents
at or near Oxbridge ; near Staines it pours a
good volume of water into the Thames, be-
sides forming a separate channel which finds
its way to Hampton Court. The Cran,
rising in the higher levels near Harrow, and
augmented by the Yeading brooks, passes
through Cranford to Twickenham and Isle-
worth. The Brent, the stream of which is
arrested by a large reservoir constructed by
the Canal Company, meets the Thames at
Brentford. Several small bourns flowed into
the Thames in ancient times, which have
long since been converted into artificial lakes

' lllus. Land. News, 1842.

or suffered to become mere drains. The Lea
is a contributory from Bedfordshire and Hert-
fordshire, fed in its course by numerous
springs, and by storm-waters from several
rivulets. It is fairly certain that the Lea once
flowed with a more powerful stream, and was
a good natural water-way along the entire
eastern boundary of Middlesex.

There has been a good deal of vicissitude
in the process of bridging the Thames. Be-
fore the present fine bridge at Staines was
built there was a succession of failures. A
bridge existed here in very ancient days.
There is repeated mention of a bridge at
Staines in old records. The wooden one
existing towards the end of the 1 8th century
was at last condemned, and an Act of Parlia-
ment obtained for rebuilding. A stone bridge
was forthwith put in hand, and opened for
traffic in 1797. But this was found to be
insecure, and it had to be taken down. A
cast-iron bridge followed, and in its turn
failed. A third attempt was made, with a low
arch of cast iron supported on wooden piles ;
but this in turn was at length condemned.
George Rennie then undertook the construc-
tion, and the result was the handsome bridge
now standing. It was opened in 1832, with
much state, the ceremony being attended by
William IV and his queen.

Chertsey Bridge is a substantial structure in
stone, opened in 1785. It is hardly equal to
modern needs, with the increased speed and
size of modern traffic. A bridge was raised at
Walton, an eccentric-looking structure in wood
and brick, which required alteration and repair
from time to time. The central arch fell in
1859, an d a new bridge was opened in 1863, a
rather ugly but more convenient structure.
Hampton Court Bridge was built in 1865, in
place of a wooden structure erected in 1750.
Kingston Bridge is one of the handsomest on
the river. It replaced a wooden one several
centuries old, and was opened in 1828. This
bridge now has a strain on its accommoda-
tion, and is fated to be altered if not entirely
superseded. On account of the busy popula-
tion in and around the town, Richmond
Bridge is likewise becoming inadequate to the
wants of the neighbourhood. It was built in the
year 1777. Haifa mile lower down is the foot-
bridge and lock, opened 19 May 1894. The
shallowness of the stream hereabouts prompted
a design which should hold up the tide at
half-ebb, and always provide sufficient water
for navigation. The plan was quite success-
ful, and added a new triumph to the arts of
modern bridge-building.

The new bridge at Kew, inaugurated
by King Edward VII in 1905, is a great

124

INDUSTRIES

ornament to the river, and an immense
improvement upon the old one of 1789.
That was of stone and brick, but it became
unfit for modern usage. The next bridge
is at Hammersmith, on the suspension prin-
ciple, opened in 1827. It has served its pur-
pose, and is highly attractive in appearance ;
but it is destined to make room for a heavier
structure, in view of modern needs. Fulham
Bridge is a very fine modern one, suitable to
the needs of an immense traffic. It was com-
pleted in 1885, replacing one of quaint-look-
ing appearance which dated from 1729. At
Wandsworth an iron lattice bridge was opened
in 1873. Battersea Bridge is one of the best
and handsomest on the river, raised in place
of an old wooden structure dating back two
centuries and a half. Below this are two
handsome suspension bridges, which were
rendered necessary by the extension of London
suburbs on this side.

The new Vauxhall Bridge, opened in 1906,
represents all that is complete in modern bridge-
building, being spacious, elegant, and substan-
tial, yet less expensive than its predecessor,
which cost nearly 300,000. This older
bridge had lasted only from the year 1816.
The suspension bridge at Lambeth was opened
in 1862, but is already considered defective as
far as concerns the upper works. The splen-
did iron bridge at Westminster was opened in
18602 after a long period of obstruction of
the water-way by its half-ruined predecessor
of 1750. This latter had been injured at the
foundations through the increased scour of
the river caused chiefly by the demolition of
old London Bridge. Near Charing Cross a
suspension-bridge was raised in 1842, named
after Hungerford Market, which has since
been superseded by a railway bridge with
accompanying footway. Waterloo Bridge is
still in some respects one of the finest in the
world, and was built some two years after the
date of the celebrated battle.

The remaining bridges are in London
proper. The Blackfriars Bridge of 1760 was
an excellent work ; but it suffered like its
neighbour from the stronger scour of recent
years. Its successor was finished in 1869,
and has lately been widened to provide tram-
way accommodation. Southwark Bridge was
built 1813- 1 g. 9 The new London Bridge
is slightly to the west of the site of a
wooden structure of Saxon times, which
had several successors. The first stone was
laid in 1825. Half a million pounds were

9 A scheme is on foot for rebuilding Southwark
Bridge or improving its gradients and approaches ;
abo for building a new bridge near St. Paul's.

expended on the work, which was finished in
1831 and opened in state by William IV.
The congestion of traffic was relieved in 1 904
by widening the bridge to allow of four lines
of vehicles, the centre being reserved for light
carts and passenger conveyances. Finally,
the Tower Bridge, one of the great triumphs
of modern engineering, was completed in 1894.
The natural water supply of Middlesex is
copious. Some parts of the county are better
served than others. Until the invention of
artesian wells, there was both difficulty and ex-
pense in reaching water, because of the thick
deposit of clay beneath the surface. The
numerous springs which rise from northern
declivities supply every district of the county.
When these rivulets failed from drought, it was
formerly of great concern to have deep wells
for occasional supply. But well-sinking was
a serious affair in the London Clay. There
is record of a well at Paddington, where the
workmen had to go to a depth of 300 ft.
before reaching water. Another well at
Holloway, dug early in the igth century,
required an excavation of 172 ft. It is matter
of wonder that a system of storage was never
resorted to. At Ruislip, and at the head
waters of the Brent, near Hendon, are large
reservoirs which were provided for the wants
of the Canal Company. Similar constructions,
for domestic and other purposes, might have
been of immense utility in some districts.
Doubtless the question of initial expense hin-
dered resort to this sort of economy.

In selecting for detailed treatment the more
prominent industries, due weight has been
given to the following among other con-
siderations : (i) The importance of the in-
dustry from its national character ; (2) its
historical interest ; (3) its first appearance in
this country ; and (4) its being principally
carried on in Middlesex. But a number of
trades, some of which merit more attention,
must for lack of room be allowed only a
cursory notice in this introduction.

It may be convenient to turn our attention
in the first place to the trades of East London
and Hackney, where the proportion of the
population engaged in manufacturing industries
is exceptionally large. It shows a percentage
of 39'95, whilst that of all London is 28^38,
and that of the whole of England 30*7. Out
of this army of workers we shall treat here
principally of those engaged in home occupa-
tions.

Tailoring is one of the chief industries, and
is carried on in some 900 workshops of Jewish
contractors, and by home workers both for
West End and City firms. 'The Jewish

125

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

coat-making industry is practically concen-
trated within an area of less than one square
mile, comprising the whole of Whitechapel, a
small piece of Mile End, and a part of St.
George's-in-the-East.' 10 Here is congregated
a compact Jewish community of from 30,000
to 40,000 persons of all nationalities. Yiddish
is the language of the streets, and Hebrew
announcements are everywhere to be seen.
The work of the English journeyman cannot
be equalled, but the conditions of his home
workshop are too often deplorable. Excellent
work is also produced in the Jewish workshop,
together with inferior work of every grade
down to the ' slops ' manufactured for the
export trade. The existence of the lowest
trade is dependent on the presence of a class
of workers such as Jews and women, with an
indefinitely low standard of life. Domestic
workshops are most numerous in the eastern
portion of Mile End Old Town ; Stepney and
Poplar are the centres of the slop, trouser, and
juvenile trade.

In point of numbers, bootmaking is an
equally important East End industry, and is
rapidly growing in extent, especially in the
districts of Shoreditch and Bethnal Green,
where it gives occupation to a considerable
fraction of the population. 11 Under the old
system of bootmaking, the various workmen
engaged for bespoke work were the last-maker,
the clicker, who cut out the material for the
'uppers,' the closer, who sewed the upper or
top portion, and the maker, who fitted on the
sole or heel. Last-making is now almost a
separate business, and it is becoming increasingly
the custom to make uppers in a factory in
wholesale quantity. In the hand-made be-
spoke work, the labour of the closer was largely
done in the home, generally with the help of
the wife and daughters of the family. Since
the introduction of sewing-machines, many
closers have left the trade and no one is learn-
ing it. The machine-made bespoke work is
constructed with ready-made uppers from the
provinces, and completed by makers working, at
home or in associated workshops, on the fitted
last. In the ready-made wholesale trade the
organization is more complex, as cheapness is
an indispensable element. A complete machine-
sewn boot passes through the hands of twenty
different workers. The work of clickers and
rough-stuff cutters is usually done in the
factory in London, whilst lasters, closers, and
sole-sewers are out- workers. The manufac-

10 The writer has to acknowledge his indebtedness
to the splendid survey of this subject in Booth's
Life and Labour In Land.

11 Charles Booth, op. cit. (Ser. i), iv, 69.

tories in London vary considerably in extent.
There are the large makers who turn out
1 0,000 and more pairs a week, and the cham-
ber-masters who chiefly employ members of
their own family and whose weekly output is
limited to a few gross. Then we reach the
lowest level, that of the owner of a couple of
rooms, who cuts his uppers, gets his wife and
daughter to close them, and lasts and finishes
the boots himself. Owing principally to the
conditions resulting from the restrictions im-
posed by the Trade Union wage-standard, the
work is being driven from London to North-
ampton.

Shirt-making is largely carried on by women
in East London ; both shirts and underclothing
requiring good handiwork are made in several
middle-class London suburbs. The shirt ma-
chinists who take work home belong to various
grades of the social scale. Many are widows
who are partly assisted by their relatives or by
the parish. Some are young ladies who work
for pocket money for a mere trifle, and so lower
the standard of payment. Other causes of
low wages are incapacity (many of the workers
being feeble or inexperienced), sub-contract,
and the indifference to the quality of work on
the part of the consumer. Tie-making is
carried on partly in factories and partly in the
home. There is much sub-contracting, and
prices paid for labour greatly vary, although the
rate of payment is higher than that for shirts.

In umbrella-making, the covers and the
frames are made in factories, and are then
put together in dozens and given out to the
home-workers. There are also small umbrella-
makers in the East End who supply shops in
the neighbourhood ; they buy sticks and frames,
and their families are all employed in the actual
umbrella manufacture.

Corsets and stays are principally made in
provincial towns, but there are a few factories
in the East End. Several small stay-makers
have workshops of their own, employing a few
hands besides the members of their families,
and a few hundred women do work at home
for the factories.

The fur-trade is, with very few exceptions,
in Jewish hands, both in the City and in the
East End. The City furriers have part of the
work done at their own warehouses ; but most
of them give out the sewing to be done by
home-workers. The fur-sewing is most dis-
agreeable and unhealthy, besides being the
worst paid of any industry carried on in East
London workshops.

The box-making industry gives employment
largely to women. Fancy boxes are made
almost entirely on the premises of the manu-
facturer, but much of the work in plain boxes

126

INDUSTRIES

is done by out-door hands at home. The card-
board is cut by men, and then made up by
women and girls. Skill is required ; and a
girl does not become a good hand at plain
work under two years, whilst for fancy work
three years' training is required. Matchbox
making requires no previous training, and is
the lowest in the scale of the industries of the
poor. It is the last resort of the destitute, and
the employment of children of the earliest age.
A child can earn id. an hour, and few women
can earn more than i\d. an hour.

Brush-making is carried on principally in fac-
tories, very few of which give out work. The
work is fairly regular, and requires a combina-
tion of skill and honesty. The lighter parts
of the work are performed by women, and
shorter hours on the whole prevail in this
trade than in most others.

Match-making is a notable industry of East
London, in which over one thousand women
and girls are employed. The match girls have
successfully combined to promote their in-
terests, and make each other's cause their own.
They form clubs among themselves for buying
clothes and feathers, seven or eight paying is.
a week, and drawing lots to decide who shall
have the money each week. Their prolonged
strike in July 1888 resulted in the formation
of a Trade Union, the largest in England com-
posed of women and girls. By improvements
in the manufacture, the quantity of phosphorus
employed has been very greatly reduced, and a
considerable diminution in the terrible disease
necrosis has consequently resulted.

In the confectionery factories, the manufac-
ture of jam, preserves, pickles, and even sweets,
is in greater part performed by men, women
only being employed for labelling, packing, &c.
The employment is of an irregular kind, only a
certain number of the better hands being kept
on permanently.

Among other industries which deserve more
than a passing notice is that of cap-making.
Here the factory system is driving the small
workshops out of the field. The largest fac-
tory employs 600 girls, and the work is very
laborious, although fairly well paid.

Artificial flowers are made in Hoxton and De
Beauvoir Town, as well as by a few workers in
the East End. This is a season trade, and subject
also to much irregularity from the caprices of
fashion.

Feather-curling, although fluctuating with
changes of fashion, gives fairly regular employ-
ment to a large number of girls in East and
North-East London.

The industries which supply man's every-
day wants have the same characteristics more
or less in every locality. Among beverages,

the manufacture of aerated and mineral waters
is carried on by many firms such as Perrier,
Idris & Co., Schweppes Ltd., and John G.
Webb & Co.

Turning to solid food it is a noticeable
feature of the present day that the wants of
residents and visitors of all classes of society
were never so well provided for as by the
various hotels, restaurants, bread and dairy
companies, and people's cafe which now
abound. In this great improvement the me-
tropolis has certainly led the way. Of sauce
and pickle manufacturers there are two well-
known firms in Middlesex, John Burgess and
Son, and Crosse & Blackwell. In its vinegar
works the metropolis until lately took the lead,
and among the principal firms were those
of Champion & Co., in Old Street, and Henry
Sarson and Sons, City Road.

Middlesex was formerly noted for its exten-
sive distilleries ; the duty paid by English distil-
leries for the year ending 5 January 1833 was
1,420,525 io*., which was nearly 100,000
above that paid in Scotland, but below that in
Ireland. 12 Of the total duty paid in England,
two firms in the metropolis contributed to-
gether more than one-fourth, viz., O. H.
Smith and R. Carrington of Thames Bank
201,287 5*., and T. and G. Smith of
Whitechapel 207,559 2s. 6</. This industry
is still extensively carried on in Middlesex, but
almost wholly within the metropolitan district.

There are maltsters at Brentford, Chiswick,
Isleworth, Staines, and many other localities.
Malting seems to have b^en carried on at En-
field to a considerable extent at an early period.
In the latter half of the 1 5th century it is re-
corded 13 that John Hunnesdon of ' Endefeld '
sought to recover 8 135. lod. from Robert
Trott of Southwark, brewer, who ' hath used
wekely to bye malt by the space of many yeres
of your seid besecher,' and who it seems never
settled in full for the same. ' At some tyme
ther hath remayned unpayed for 2 or 3 quarters
of malt, at som tyme 4 or 5, at som tyme mor,'
until at length Hunnesdon's patience was ex-
hausted. Other Middlesex maltsters (of the
same period) of whom record exists are William
Hall of ' Endfeld,' 14 Henry Wynn of Enfield, 15
and William Barley of ' Enffelde.' I6

Hat-making was formerly a great Middlesex
industry, but has of late years shrunk to very
small proportions in the metropolis. The
manufacture of felt hats was introduced early
in the reign of Henry VIII ; while in 1530

" Commissioner! 0, Excise Enq. Rep. vii, 1834-5,
p. 229.

11 Early Chan. Proc. bdle. 60, no. 97.

14 Ibid. bdle. 64, no. 189. " Ibid. no. no

" Ibid. bdle. 86, no. 47.

I2 7

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

letters of denization were granted to Martin
Johnson from Guelders, 17 ' strawen hat maker,
otherwise splyter hat maker.'

Norden mentions a copper and brass mill
at Isleworth between that place and Horton,
where the metal was wrought, melted, and
forged from ore which came from Somerset.
Manic artificial! deuises,' he says, ' are there
to be noted in the performance of the
worke.' 18 These works formed the subject
of a lengthy dispute between John Erode and
Sir Richard Martin, Lord Mayor of London
in 1593, which came before the Privy Council
in I596. 19 The manufacture carried on was
that of ' lattin and battry,' the metals being
produced chiefly in an unwrought state,
although the term ' battry ' was usually ap-
plied to brass or copper vessels and chiefly
those for culinary and table use. Erode in
his petition states that the metal was procured
from a mixture of copper and calamine ore by
a process employed by one Christopher Shutz,
who had ' great cunning and experience ' in
its use. In 1565 Shutz, with a partner,
William Humphrey, obtained an exclusive
licence to search, dig for, and use calamine
stone. These partners, as Erode alleged,
although they brought over divers strangers,
did not bring anything to pass, 'and so gave
yt over as not fecible.' The project then, he
says, continued without hope for nineteen
years, when he in partnership with others
leased the privilege for fourteen years at a
yearly rent of 50. During the period of
his lease his expenditure upon the works at
Isleworth had amounted to 3,500, and he
claimed to have brought the undertaking by
his study and labour to a state of perfection.
He is now (1596) threatened with forfeiture of
his lease and seizure of his ' stuffe and tooles '
for non-payment of rent. He prays that his
tools and metal may not be seized, as he is
willing and able to pay, and not personally
defaulting ; he is equally prepared to buy
out his partners or that they should buy him
out. Sir Richard Martin in his reply states
that he, Andrew Palmer, and Humphrey
Michell, were persuaded to become Brode's
partners by his statement that he could per-
fectly produce ' commixed copper,' and that
it would bring in 1,000 a year. The alder-
man then agreed to defray the charges of the
first year, amounting to about 3,000, and
each of the other partners contributed 800,
so that Brode's statement that he had paid
3,500 was not true. Erode was allowed

" W. Page, Denizationi and Naturalizationi
(Huguenot Soc.), p. xlvii.

18 Speculum Britanniae (ed. 1723), 41.
"Lansd. MS. 81, fol. I.

by the partners 50 a year to direct the
works, but this he must have taken out of
capital, as no profit was made. He would not
divulge the secret (if it existed) either to his
partners or to the Mines Corporation, although
that company offered him and Palmer on such
condition a further lease of seven years. Shutz
and Humphrey's ' privilege ' had meanwhile
been acquired by the Mines Corporation.
Erode in his rejoinder gives some curious
information about the works. He asserts
that Shutz and Humphrey did not succeed in
perfecting their discovery, although they had
from 20 to 30 tons of calamine stone from
Worle Hill in Somerset conveyed to Tintern
Abbey, where it was experimented upon with-
out success by one Hinckins, a stranger whom
they employed. He denies Sir Richard's
account of the financial side of the transac-
tions, and reaffirms his previous statement.
The co-partners employed one John Dickson,
coppersmith of London, to ' melte and batter
out 20,000 wt. of copper and make it into
plates and make the same malleable.' Dickson
failed, but he the said Erode performed the
task, and also refined 43 tons of Barbary copper,
and brought it into plates, 'an act perfected
never before by any Englishman.' About
eight years since, Sir Richard Martin and
Michell withdrew from the partnership and
received the whole of their stock back again
and 238 more in copper, plates, and kettles.
The ' lattin ' works were also attempted, but
nothing brought to pass ; by expending his
own money Erode has brought these to per-
fection. On 17 April 1596 the Mineral and
Battry Company petitioned Lord Burghley 20
to order Erode to supply their new lessees
with materials at reasonable rates. They
state that the patent granted in 7 Elizabeth to
Shutz and Humphrey was for making ' lattyn,
battrye, castworke, and wyre.' In 10
Elizabeth the patent was acquired by their
company then incorporated, which consisted
of thirty-six shareholders, among whom were
the Duke of Norfolk, the Lord Treasurer,
Lord Cobham, and others. The company
pursued the work for a time, and then took
up wire-work and other work under another
patent. In 24 Elizabeth they granted a lease
of their battery works for 150 years at 50
a year to John Erode and his partners, who
built the works at Isleworth, Erode having
sole management with 50 a year for his
pains. Erode caused great loss to his partners,
refused to divulge his secret, and now refused
to pay the rent. The company then by judicial
order made his lease void, and granted a new

" Ibid. fol. 2-3.

128

INDUSTRIES

lease of twenty-one years to others at i oo
rent for the first year and 400 yearly after.
They conclude by stating that Erode has
secured the supply of calamine and will not
supply it to the new lessees. The petition is
signed by Sir Julius Caesar, Sir Richard
Martin, Thomas Caesar, William Bond,
Richard Martin, jnr., and others. The com-
pany and Sir Richard Martin were also in
controversy in 1596 with Richard Hanbery
and Edmund Wheler. 21 How these disputes
ended does not appear. Lysons wrote in
I 795 2S 'these copper-mills still exist, being
situated at Baberbridge ; they belong fb the
Duke of Northumberland, and are rented by
the incorporated Society of the Mines Royal.'

Although cutlery as a trade has long since
left the metropolis, the making of surgical
instruments is a branch which still continues
to flourish in this county, and to produce
some highly-skilled workmen. Among the
principal Middlesex firms are Down Bros.,
Ltd., St. Thomas's Street, S.E. ; Allen and
Hanbury's, Ltd., Wigmore Street ; and John
Weiss & Son, Ltd., now of Oxford Street, but
originally established in the Strand in 1787.

In its highest and most costly form gold-
smiths' and silversmiths' work is largely carried
on in Middlesex by firms of high standing.

Soap-manufacture is an old established
Middlesex industry. From the report of the
Excise Commissioners for 1835 23 it appears
that whilst the total amount of duty paid for
all England was 1,418,832 4*., fifty-five
firms in London contributed no less a portion
than 378,175 135. 6d. Ten of these firms
paid over 10,000 each. One of the oldest
firms in Middlesex is that of D. & W. Gibbs,
Ltd., whose premises, known as the City Soap
Works, are in Wapping. The business was
established in 1712, and was subsequently ac-
quired by David Gibbs, whose grandsons are
now directors of the company. Until 1889 the
manufactory was in Milton Street, Cripplegate;
but that building being destroyed by fire, the
firm purchased the business of Paton and
Charles at Wapping together with that of
Sharp Brothers. The works cover 2% acres
of ground, and employ 2OO hands, excluding
the clerical and travelling staff, numbering
about fifty. The firm holds patents for many
specialities in soap. Other important Mid-
dlesex firms are A. F. Pears & Co., who have
large works at Isleworth ; Osborne Bauer and
Cheseman of Golden Square ; and T. D.
Rowe & Co., and Wylie & Co., both of
Brentford.

"Lansd. MS. 8 1, fol. 4-7.
28 Environs of Land, iii, 122.
" Rep. xvii, 64.

Although the London streets have much
improved in cleanliness, the art of the
shoe-black has long been a necessity, and
blacking has always been an important Mid-
dlesex industry, the firm of Day and Martin
being one of its chief representatives.

In the metropolis, with its concentration of
public and private boards and institutions, its
ever-increasing population, and the rebuilding
and repairs of existing property, there is always
so much work for builders that the building
trade is one of the most important of its in-
dustrial groups. Brick and tile-making is ex-
tensively carried on, more especially on the
outer fringe of the London districts. It seems
probable that bricks and coarse tiles have been
made in Middlesex from an early period.
Late in the I5th century we hear of John
Maier and Agnes his wife making tiles for
William Code of Harlesden Green at the rate
of lid. per i,ooo. 24

There are floorcloth and linoleum factories
at Staines (Linoleum Manufacturing Co.), Ed-
monton (Ridley, Whitley & Co.), and Ponders
End (Corticene Floor Covering Co.).

Ever since Robert Barren of Hoxton took
out a patent 25 for a lock ' far more secure than
any hitherto made,' the locksmiths and safe-
makers of Middlesex have done their best to
provide secure keeping for the great wealth of
the metropolis. Some of the principal firms
in Middlesex are Bramah & Co., New Bond
Street ; C. H. Griffiths & Sons, Bethnal
Green ; Ratner Safe Co., Ltd., Bromley-by-
Bow ; and John Tann, Old Ford.

London being distant from the coalfields,
manufactures in iron are carried on to a small
extent only. Copper is worked largely in
Middlesex, and so is lead ; both metals being
so malleable and ductile that their manufacture
can be effected with much less heat than iron
requires. The extensive lead-smelting works
of the old firm, Locke, Lancaster and John-
son & Sons, Ltd., are situated at Poplar,
Limehouse, and Millwall.

Gas-tar works form an important feature of
the East London Industries. The works of
Messrs. Burt, Boulton, and Haywood for the
distillation of gas-tar occupied in 1876 about
1 7 acres at Prince Regent's Wharf, Silvertown ;
and another 2 acres at Millwall. Gas tar
produces by distillation four valuable sub-
stances : naphtha, creosote oil, anthracene, and
pitch. But still more valuable products are
the series of aniline dyes, the discovery of
which forms one of the greatest triumphs of
modern chemistry. In another department

I2 9

14 Early Chan. Proc. bdle. 150, no. 82.
" No. 1 200, 31 Oct. 1778.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

of these large works the making of creosote
railway sleepers was carried on upon an ex-
tensive scale. 26

Many leading firms of manufacturing
chemists have extensive works in Middlesex.
At Southall are the premises of W. Houlder,
Son & Co. ; at Poplar are F. Allen & Sons ; at
Ponder's End, T. Morson & Son ; at Houns-
low, Parke, Davis & Co. ; at West Drayton,
Alfred White & Sons; in the City Road,
Stafford Allen & Sons ; at Limehouse, Chap-
man & Messel ; and at Hackney Wick, W. C.
Barnes & Co., Ltd., and E. Beanes & Co. At
the works of Carless, Capel & Leonard, at
Hackney Wick, the various products of petro-
leum are manufactured on a large scale, and
oil-refining is well represented by Fenner,
Alder & Co. of Millwall ; Hubbuck & Co. of
Ratcliff ; and the Union Oil and Cake Mills at
Limehouse. Compressed and liquid gases are
produced by Coxeter & Son at Seaton Street,
N.W. ; and the British Oxygen Company
manufacture oxygen at Westminster.

Paint, colour, and varnish manufacturers
are represented by D.Anderson & Son of Old
Ford, and Denton & Jutsum of Bow Common ;
Louis Berger & Son of Homerton, and Dugsjan,
Neel, & McColm, Ltd., of Millwall. "Of
makers of electrical appliances we can only
mention the Jandus Arc Lamp and Electrical
Company, of Holloway. Among the drug
manufacturers are Allen & Hanbury of
Bethnal Green, and Burgoyne & Burbidges
of Mile End New Town. The manufacture
of perfumery is represented by Hovenden &
Sons of City Road, and W. J. Bush & Co.
of Hackney. That of celluloid is carried on
by Frederick Hill & Co., at Kingsland.

There are extensive powder-mills in the
parish of Twickenham, 2 miles from Houns-
low, generally known as the Hounslow Powder
Mills ; also at East Bedfont.

Among the decayed industries of Middle-
sex is that of sugar-refining, which at one
time was an important trade in the east of
London. We learn from Stow that 'about
the year 1544 refining of sugar was first used
in England. Then there were but twosugar-
fiouses ; and their profit was but very little, by
reason there were so many sugar bakers in
Antwerp, and sugar came from thence
better cheap than it could be afforded at
London ; and for the space of twenty years
together those two sugar-houses served the
whole realm, both to the commendation and
profit of them that undertook the same.' * 7

Sugar undergoes but little manufacture after

* Crory, East London Industries (1876), 25.
17 Survey, 1720, bk. v, 244.

it reaches our shores. The business of the
sugar refiner, or sugar baker as he has been
wrongly termed, is that of preparing from the
common brown ' moist ' the white conical
lumps or loaves of crystallized sugar, familiarly
known as lump sugar. This used to be
carried on in the neighbourhood of Goodman's
Fields, the factories being congregated within
a circle of half-a-mile radius immediately east-
ward of Aldgate. 28 The chief supply of Eng-
lish sugar came formerly from the West
Indies, where the sugar-cane was cultivated to
a vast extent. Its preparation for shipment
involved three stages : it was first a juice ex-
pressed from the cane, then a syrup from
which the impurities had been removed, and
lastly a brown granulated substance from
which a considerable portion of molasses or
uncrystallizable sugar had been separated. The
ponderous hogsheads which used to be seen
forty or fifty years ago outside the shops of
the retail grocers contained moist sugar, some-
what resembling that imported by the refiner,
but with a finer and softer grain. This sugar,
well known to the housewife in those days as
'sevenpenny or eightpenny moist,' had various
shades of brown colour, according to its
quality. This was caused by the presence of
molasses to a greater or less extent, but the
sugar was largely consumed in the condition
in which it arrived from the producing country,
this being possible, and even pleasant, with
the sweet and fragrant cane muscavadoes.
Loaf sugar (which was a luxury in the fifties,
even to the middle classes) and other sugars
of fine quality were obtained by purifying
still further the sugar of commerce, the object
of the refiner being to expel the molasses
together with other impurities which still re-
mained in the sugar as imported. The
factories for sugar refining were of special con-
struction, the chief object being to obtain a
large extent of flooring. Hence the buildings
were lofty, containing a large number of
stories, and being lighted by numerous small
windows. The interior presented a peculiar
appearance arising from the small height of
the rooms compared with their great extent.
As a precaution against fire, rendered necessary
by the inflammable nature of sugar, the re-
fineries were largely constructed of iron, stone,
and brick. The great increase in the use of
beetroot sugar made no difference to the
operations of the refiner. The hogsheads of
sugar or the bags of beet were emptied on an

** Among the tenants of the Cutlers' Company
on their Houndsditch estates were many who
rented melting houses between 1584 and 1598,
the period for which the information is available.

130

INDUSTRIES

upper floor, and then discharged in shoots to
a lower floor to be melted in the ' blow-ups ' ;
these were cast-iron tanks fitted with me-
chanical stirrers and steam pipes for heating
the water. The solution, called ' liquor,' was
brought to a certain degree of gravity (25 to
33 deg. Baume) and then filtered through twilled
cotton bags, encased in a meshing of hemp.
The syrup was next decolorized by being
passed through beds of animal charcoal, in-
closed in cisterns to a depth of from 30 ft. to
50 ft., the sugar being then discharged into
tanks. It was then boiled in vacuum pans,
and variously treated afterwards according to
the nature of the finished sugar required. To
make sugar loaves, small crystals only were
formed in the pan, and the granular magma
was poured into steam-jacketed open pans,
and raised to a temperature of about 180 to
190 deg. Fahr., which liquefied the grains.
The hot solution was then cast into conical
moulds of the shape of the loaves, where it
crystallized into a solid mass. A plug at the
bottom of the mould was then opened to
allow the syrup containing coloured and other
impurities to drain away. This process was
assisted by pouring into the cone successive
doses of saturated syrup, ending with a syrup
of pure colourless sugar. The syrup which
drained from the loaves was sold as golden
syrup ; the liquor which obstinately remained
in the interstices being driven out by suction
or centrifugal action ; the loaf was then
rounded off, papered, and placed in a stove for
drying.

The art of dyeing textile fabrics and
leather had been practised from an early
period in different parts of England, and
much woad from Toulouse, and madder and
scarlet dye from Italy, were imported by
Florentine and Genoese merchants. So great,
however, was the skill of the Continental
dyers that much English cloth was from the
1 4th to the 1 6th century sent abroad to be
dyed and finished. During the Tudor and
Stuart periods improved methods of dyeing
were introduced into this country. John
Baptist Semyn, 29 a Genoese dwelling in
Southwark, the king's dyer, was made a
denizen in 1533. In the same reign several
foreign leather dyers settled in or near
London, and James Tybault, who took out
letters of denization in 1544, describes him-
self as ' a leather dyer after the Spanish dye-
ing.' He had been then eighteen years in
England. In 1561 Stiata Cavalcaunti, a
Florentine, obtained a licence to be the sole

" W. Page, Denizations and Naturafizatitm
(Huguenot Soc.), p. xliii et seq.

importer of indigo into England, where it
was then apparently unknown as a dyeing
agent, though it had been employed at a
much earlier time in Italy. It did not, how-
ever, come into general use, and was quite a
novelty in England sixteen years later. 30 In
1567 Peter de Croix 31 offered to set up the
' feate of dying and dressing of clothis after
the manna of Flaunders.' In a return of
aliens 32 in 1568 he is described as a French-
man ' who goeth to the Frentche church,'
while in a house crowded with refugees in St.
Magnus parish we hear of ' Francis Tybbold
dyer, borne in Ipar, in Flanders, and goeth to
the Dutch churche ; he paith no rent.' With
the immigration of Protestant refugees foreign
dyers of silk, leather, and cloth increased in
numbers in and about the city of London ;
but the most important enterprise undertaken
by a dyer of foreign origin belongs to the
next century when Dr. Johannes Sibertus
Kuffler of Leyden, who had married a
daughter of the famous Dutch chemist
Drebbel, set up a scarlet-dye house at Bow,
probably putting to practical use improved
methods learnt from his father-in-law. The
scarlet he obtained soon became known as
' Bow dye." Further improvements in dye-
ing cloth were made by Bauer, a Fleming
who came to England in i667. 33

Gun-making and the manufacture of small
arms is an important industry of the county.
The Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield
was built in 1855-6 at a cost of ^150,000 ;
and has a station (Enfield Lock) on the Great
Eastern Railway. The buildings form three
sides of a quadrangle, and, with the testing
ranges, cover an area of about 5 acres. The
new magazine rifle is now made instead of
the Martini-Henri, and machine-guns and
swords are also manufactured. About four
thousand rifles can be turned out weekly. At
Edmonton are the ammunition works of Ely
Brothers, Ltd. This industry is under the
control of the Gunmakers' Company, the only
livery company whose hall is situated outside
the boundaries of the City of London. As
compared with the majority of City gilds the
Gunmakers' Company is quite a modern in-
stitution, not having been incorporated until
the reign of Charles I. Under the charter of
this sovereign, dated 14 March 1637, power
was given to the company to prove and mark
all gun-barrels made in London, which the

"Lansd. MS. 24, fol. 156.
" Ibid. 9, fol. 208.

11 Kirk, Returns of Aliens (Huguenot Soc.), iii,
370 et seq.

13 J. S. Burn, Hist. Foreign Refugees, 259.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

makers were obliged to bring to the company's
proof-house for such purpose. The authority
of the company over the trade was confirmed
by the Act of 53 George III, cap. 115,
(1813), and by subsequent amending statutes.
The last of these Acts, under which the
company now exercises its powers, was passed
in 1868, 31-2 Victoria, cap. 113. The
proof-house is in Commercial Road East, and
serves the company for the purposes of a hall.
In one of the principal apartments is a fine
trophy of arms. Apart from its trade duties
and privileges the company exercises all the
functions of an ordinary livery company. It
is governed by a master and two wardens,
chosen annually from the members of the
court of assistants, and has a clerk, proof-
master, beadle, and other officials. The com-
pany, in common with the other City gilds,
makes liberal grants from its income to pen-
sioners and general philanthropic objects.

The Thames near the metropolis was once
the seat of a flourishing trade in shipbuilding,
which has now almost become extinct. In
April 1594 Peter Hills of Redrith (Rother-
hithe) received a tally for 431 crowns, value
55. each, as the queen's gift towards his
charges in building three new ships. 3 * The
number of shipwrights employed in the
metropolis shows a rapid decrease in the census
returns. The number in 1 86 1 was 8,300;
in 1871, 6,200; in 1881, 5,300; and in
1891, 2,300; this last return being little
more than one-fourth of those counted in
1 86 1. 35 The finest vessels in the East India
trade were made in the Thames shipbuilding
yards, but this valuable industry is being gradu-

ally lost to the metropolis. In August 1907
it was announced that Yarrow's yard at Mill-
wall would be entirely closed within twelve
months, and the business removed to Scotstoun
on the Clyde. 38 This well-known firm of
marine and mechanical engineers was esta-
blished in 1864, and their premises at Poplar
covered 12 acres of ground at the river side.
Here they had given employment to hun-
dreds of artisans in East London during the
last fifty years. Their speciality was torpedo
boats, torpedo-boat destroyers, vessels of shal-
low draught for military and trading pur-
poses, and the ' Yarrow ' water-tube boilers.
They especially succeeded in the construction
of high-speed naval craft, which they supplied
both to the British and to foreign govern-
ments. The firm was incorporated as a
limited company in 1897. Another well-
known firm of shipbuilders below bridge is
the Thames Iron Works, whose extensive
premises are at Canning Town, on the side of
the River Lea. At Chiswick there are the
large engineering and steam-launch build-
ing works of Thorneycroft & Co., equally
famous with Searle & Sons, their old com-
petitors on the Surrey shore.

The control of all Middlesex industries
within a radius varying from three to ten or
more miles from the metropolis lay, in former
times, with the City authorities ultimately,
and more directly with the companies con-
trolling the various trades. This authority
still exists in some industries the goldsmiths
and stationers, for example. But it fell gene-
rally into disuse towards the close of the i8th
century.

SILK-WEAVING

The origin of this important industry as
located in Spitalfields dates from the revoca-
tion of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in
1685, when the French Protestants, driven by
persecution from their own country, took
refuge in England in large numbers. Long
before this, however, silk-weavers from abroad
had settled in England, and during the reign
of Henry VIII a considerable number of silk-
workers, principally from Rouen, made their
homes in this country. During the reign of
Elizabeth, French and Flemish refugees had
crowded into England, but do not appear to
have settled in Spitalfields and Bethnal Green,

M Cat. S.P. Dm. 1591-4, p. 480.
* Booth, Life antl Labour of the People of London :
Industries, i, 178.

which were at that time mere country
hamlets.

A great body of the refugees of 1685
occupied a large district which is usually called
Spitalfields, but which includes also large por-
tions of Bethnal Green, Shoreditch, White-
chapel, and Mile End New Town. The
great majority brought with them little beyond
the knowledge of their occupations, and being
in great necessity, subscriptions for their im-
mediate relief were procured to a large amount
by means of the King's Briefs. On 16 April
1687 an Order in Council prescribed a fresh
general collection in England, Scotland, and
Ireland. The amount thus obtained was
about ,200,000, which formed a fund known

* Daily Telegraph, 23 Aug. 1907.

13*

INDUSTRIES

as the Royal Bounty. A lay French com-
mittee composed of the chiefs of the immigra-
tion was entrusted with the annual distribu-
tion of a sum of 16,000 amongst the poor
refugees and their descendants. A second
committee composed of ecclesiastics under the
direction of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Bishop of London, and the Lord Chan-
cellor, was formed for dividing amongst the
distressed pastors and their churches an annual
sum of 1,718 drawn from the public
treasury. 1

From the first report of the French com-
mittee, dated December 1687 and published
in the following year, it appears that 13,050
French refugees were settled in London, the
greater part of whom were probably located
in Spitalfields. The editor of Stow's Survey
of London pays a high tribute to the character
and industry of the refugees. Speaking of
Spitalfields he writes : 2 ' Here they have found
quiet and security, and settled themselves in
their several trades and occupations ; weavers
especially. Whereby God's blessing surely is
not only brought upon the parish by receiving
poor strangers, but also a great advantage
hath accrued to the whole nation by the rich
manufactures of weaving silks and stuffs and
camlets, which art they brought along with
them. And this benefit also to the neigh-
bourhood, that these strangers may serve for
patterns of thrift, honesty, industry, and sobriety
as well.'

The principal source of information as to
the Spitalfields weavers themselves is contained
in the registers of the various Huguenot
churches to which they belonged. A cluster
of eleven of these congregations existed 3 from
the latter part of the I7th century to the
beginning of the igth, in Spitalfields, Shore-
ditch, Petticoat Lane, and Wapping.

The registers of one of these churches, that
known as ' La Patente,' which after various
migrations settled in Brown's Lane near
Spitalfields Market, have been printed by the
Huguenot Society. 4 They extend from 1689
to 1786, when the congregation was merged
in the London Walloon Church, and show
that the French population of the district con-
sisted very largely of silk weavers and their
allied trades. A great preponderance of

1 For an exhaustive account of the sums raised
for the relief of foreign Protestant refugees and
the distribution of the amount, see an article by
W. A. Shaw, in Engl. Hut. Rev. (1894), ix,
662-83.

'Stow, Surv. of Lund. bk. iv, 48.

* Burn, Hiit. Protestant Refugees in Engl. (1846),
159-80.

4 PMcationi, xi (1898).

weavers over those engaged in other trades is
found in the settlements of foreign refugees ;
and the editor, Mr. William Minet, 5 suggests
in explanation that the new religion may
have spread specially among the men of this
trade.

The strangers were skilled weavers from
Lyons and Tours, who set up their looms in
Spitalfields and there manufactured in large
quantities lustrings, velvets, brocades, satins,
very strong silks known as paduasoys, watered
silks, black and coloured mantuas, ducapes,
watered rabies, and stuffs of mingled silk and
cotton all of the highest excellence, which
previously could only be procured from the
famous looms of France. The refugees soon
taught the people of Spitalfields to produce
these and other goods of the finest quality
for themselves, and their pupils soon equalled
and even excelled their teachers. Weiss says 6
that the figured silks which proceeded from
the London manufactories were due almost
exclusively to the skill and industry of three
refugees, Lauson, Mariscot, and Monceaux.

The artist who supplied the designs was
another refugee named Beaudoin. A common
workman named Mongeorge brought them
the secret recently discovered at Lyons, of
giving lustre to silk taffeta : this enabled
Spitalfields to obtain a large share of the trade
for which Lyons had long been famous. Up
to that time large quantities of black lustrings
specially made for English use, and known
as English taffetas, had been annually
imported from France. The manufacture
of lustrings and alamode silks, then
articles in general use, was rapidly brought
by the Spitalfield weavers to a state of great
excellence, and the persons engaged in this
industry were, in 1692, incorporated by char-
ter under the name of the Royal Lustring
Company. 7 The company then procured the
passing of an Act prohibiting the importation
of foreign lustrings and alamodes, alleging as a
ground for passing such a restriction in their
favour that the manufacture of these articles
in England had now reached a greater degree
of perfection than was obtained by foreigners.

An anonymous writer in 1695,* who de-
claims against the tricks of stock-jobbers and
the great number of joint-stock trading
companies, makes exception in favour of
(among other undertakings) the Royal Lus-
tring Company, which he says has ' throve,

1 Ibid. p. xx.

* Charles Weiss, Hist, of French Protestant
Refugees (1854), 253.

7 G. R. Porter, ' Treatise on the Silk Manu-
facture,' Lardner 1 ! Cab. Cycl. (1831), 60-1.

* Angliae Tutamen, or the safety of Engl. 31.

'33

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

and will so long as they keep the stock-jobbers
from breaking in upon them.' In spite of its
prohibition the importation of French goods
still continued, and for its greater protection
the company received a confirmation of their
charter by Act of Parliament in 1698," and
an important extension of their powers and
privileges. The sole right ' of making, dress-
ing and lustrating of plain and black alamodes,
renforcez, and lustrings ' in England and
Wales was granted to them for fourteen years.
Before the expiration of its charter, however,
a change in the public taste had set in, fabrics
of a different texture had become fashionable,
and the company lost all its money and was
finally broken up.

The weavers in 1 7 1 3 10 presented a petition
to Parliament against the commercial treaty
with France, in which they stated ' that by
the encouragement of the Crown and of divers
Acts of Parliament, the silk manufacture is
come to be above twenty times as great as
it was in the year 1664, and that all sorts of
as good black and coloured silks, gold and
silver stuffs and ribands, are now made here
as in France. The black silk for hoods and
scarfs, not made here above twenty-five years
ago, hath amounted annually to above
,300,000 for several years past, which before
were imported from France. Which increase
of the silk manufacture hath caused an
increase of our exportation of woollen goods to
Turkey, Italy &c.'

The silk industry received a great impetus
from the exertions of Sir Thomas Lombe,
who introduced from Italy the process of
organzining (or preparing for the weaver) raw
silk by machinery, for which he was granted
a patent in 1718. When his patent ran out
in 1732 he applied for a renewal on the
grounds that it was owing to his ingenuity
that silk was now 5*. a pound cheaper in
England. Such outcry, however, was raised
by the cotton manufacturers and others, who
wished to use his apparatus, that Parliament
refused the renewal, but voted him 14,000
as compensation.

In 1718 also a certain John Apletree
conceived the notion of rendering England
independent of importing Italian raw silk by
a system of silkworm farming upon an ex-
tensive scale. A patent was granted him,
and he issued a prospectus inviting the public
to subscribe to the amount of a million pounds.
A plantation of silkworms was actually made
in Chelsea walled park. The apparatus
included an evaporating stove and ' a certain

* Slat, of the Realm, vii, 428.
" S. W. Beck, Draper"! Diet. 309.

engine called the Egg Cheste.' u But the
English climate not being suitable for silk-
worm farming, the experiment soon proved a
complete failure.

The Spitalfields industry now advanced
with great rapidity ; but foreign competition, in
spite of prohibitory legislation, continued to
increase, and was much encouraged by the
preference shown to French materials and
fashions over those of native design. On the
other hand, the tide of fashion in France set
with at least equal strength in favour of
English goods. 1 *

The growing fashion for wearing Indian
calicoes and printed linen was the cause of
serious disturbances in 1719." On 13
June a mob of about 4,000 Spitalfields
weavers paraded the streets of the City attack-
ing all females whom they could find wearing
Indian calicoes or linens, and sousing them
with ink, aqua fortis, and other fluids. The
Lord Mayor obtained the assistance of the
Trained Bands to suppress the rioters, two of
whom were secured by the Horse Grenadiers
and lodged in the Marshalsea Prison. As
soon as the Guards left, the mob re-assembled,
the weavers tearing all the calico gowns they
could meet with. The troops were hurried
back from Whitehall, and new arrests were
made. The weavers then attempted to
rescue their comrades, and were not deterred
by volleys of blank cartridge fired by the
soldiers ; one of the troops then fired ball,
wounding three persons. The next day
four of the mob were committed to Newgate
for rioting, and on Sunday night two more
were sent there for felony in tearing the
gown off the back of one Mrs. Beckett. 14

In 1721 the manufacture of silk in England
had increased in value to 700,000 more
than formerly. 16 It is described as ' one of
the most considerable branches of the manu-
factures of this kingdom ' in an Act passed in
the same year for the encouragement of this
industry. 16 This Act granted on the exporta-
tion of wrought fabrics a drawback, or re-
payment of part of the duties exacted, on the
importation of the raw material, which was
practically equivalent to a bounty. The high
duties on foreign silk led to smuggling on a
most extensive scale. French writers estimate
the average exportation of silks from France
to England from 1688 to 1741 at about

11 H. D. Traill, Social Engl. v, 148-9 ; T. F.
Croker, Walkfr. Lond. to Fulbam (1860), 90-1.
" Porter, op. cit. 63.

11 William C. Sydney, Engl. and the English, ii,l95-
" Orig. Weekly Journ. 20 June, 1719.
" C. King, Brit. Merchant (1721), ii, 220.
" Stat. 8 Geo. I, cap. 15.

'34

INDUSTRIES

12,500,000 francs or ^500,000 a year in
value.

In the rebellion of 1745 the silk manu-
facturers of Spitalfields were especially promi-
nent in loyally supporting the throne ; they
waited personally upon the king and assured
him of their unswerving loyalty and readiness
to take up arms in his cause if need required.
Each firm had endeavoured to induce their
workpeople to give a like promise, and the
total number of men which Spitalfields thus
offered to furnish was 2,919. The address to
King George 17 presented by Mr. Alderman
Baker is followed by a list of the manufacturers'
names, against each of which is placed the
number of workmen ' who have been engaged
by their masters to take up arms when called
thereto by His Majesty in defence of his per-
son and government,' amounting to 2,919 as
above. The list includes eighty-four masters,
the greater proportion of whom bear French
names.

In 1763 attempts were made to check the
prevalence of smuggling, and the silk mer-
cers of the metropolis are said to have recalled
their orders for foreign goods. It appears,
however, from an inquiry made by a Committee
of the Privy Council appointed in 1766 that
smuggling was then carried on to a greater
extent than ever, and that 7,072 looms were
out of employment. Riots broke out in the
beginning of October 1763, when several
thousand journeymen assembled in Spitalfields
and broke open the house of one of the masters.
They destroyed his looms, cut to pieces much
valuable silk, carried his effigy in a cart through
the neighbourhood and afterwards burnt it,
hung in chains from a gibbet. 18

Although the English silks were now con-
sidered to be superior to those of foreign make,
the latter found a ready market in England,
and their importation caused great excitement
among the weavers, who petitioned Parliament
to impose double duties upon all foreign wrought
silks. Their petition not being granted, the
London weavers went to the House of Com-
mons on 10 January 1764 'with drums beat-
ing and banners flying,' to demand the total
prohibition of foreign silks. 19 This was the day
of the opening of Parliament, and its members
were besieged by the weavers with tales of the
great distress which had fallen upon them and
their families. Some relief was afforded by
Parliament 20 by lowering the import duty on
raw silk and prohibiting the importation of

" Proc. Huguenot Sac. ii, 453-6.

18 Gent. Mag. xxxiii, 514-15.

" Knight, Land, ii, 394 ; Porter, op. cit. 66-7.

'" Stat. 5 Geo. Ill, cap. 29, 48.

silk ribbons, stockings, and gloves. The dealers
in foreign silks also undertook to countermand
all their orders for foreign silks, and a contri-
bution was made for the immediate relief of
the sufferers. By these means the weavers
were for the time appeased, and the only
violence committed was that of breaking the
windows of some mercers who dealt in
French silks.

The agitation was increased rather than
suppressed by these concessions, and an Act
was passed in 1765 21 declaring it to be felony
and punishable with death to break into any
house or shop with intent maliciously to
damage or destroy any silk goods in the process
of manufacture. This was occasioned by an
outbreak on 6 May when a mob of 5,000
weavers from Spitalfields 22 armed with blud-
geons and pickaxes marched to the residence
of one of the Cabinet Ministers in Bloomsbury
Square, and having paraded their grievances
marched away threatening to return if they
did not receive speedy redress. Next day
serious rioting began, and to the end of the
month kept London in such a state of general
alarm that the citizens were compelled to en-
rol themselves for military duty. ' Monday
night,' says a contemporary newspaper, 23 ' the
guards were doubled at Bedford House, and
in each street leading thereto were placed six
or seven of the Horse Guards, who continued
till yesterday at ten with their swords drawn.
A strong party of Albemarle's Dragoons took
post in Tottenham Court Road, and patrols of
them were sent off towards Islington and
Marylebone, and the other environs on that
side of the town ; the Duke of Bedford's new
road by Baltimore House was opened, when
every hour a patrol came that way to and round
Bloomsbury to see that all was well.' In

1767 24 the ' culters,' as they were called, again
became rioters, breaking into workshops, cut-
ting the work off the looms, and dangerously
wounding several who endeavoured to arrest
their progress ; similar outbreaks occurred in

1768 and 1769.

These outbreaks and those which soon after-
wards followed were caused by the bitter dis-
putes between the journeymen and master
weavers on the subject of wages. Their
differences gave rise to the famous ' Spitalfields
Acts' of 1773, 1792, and 181 1. 25 The first
Act empowered the aldermen of London and
the magistrates of Middlesex to settle in

" Porter, op. cit. 68.

"Sydney, Engl. and the English, ii, 197.

"Lloyd's Evening Post, 22 May 1765.

14 Sydney, loc. cit.

"Knight, LonJ. ii, 394-5.

135

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

quarter sessions the wages of journeymen silk
weavers. Penalties were inflicted upon such
masters as gave and upon such journeymen
as received or demanded either more or less
than should be thus settled by authority, and
silk weavers were prohibited from having more
than two apprentices at one time. The Act
of 1792 included those weavers who worked
upon silk mixed with other materials, and that
of 1811 extended the provisions to female
weavers. The ' Spitalfields Acts ' continued
in force until i824; 26 and their effect can
only be described as disastrous. They were
passed to get rid of an evil, but they originated
an evil of a different kind ; they were intended
to protect both masters and men from unjust
exactions on either part, but they only brought
about a paralysis of the Spitalfields trade which
would have ended in its utter ruin but for
their repeal. But, as the effects of the Acts
did not immediately manifest themselves, they
were at first exceedingly popular. After 1785,
however, the substitution of cottons in the
place of silk gave a severe check to the manu-
facture, and the weavers then began to dis-
cover the real nature of the Spitalfields Acts.
Being forbidden to work at reduced wages
they were totally thrown out of employment, so
that in 1793 upwards of 4,000 Spitalfields looms
were quite idle. In 1798 the trade began to
revive, and continued to extend slowly till
1815 and 1816, when the Spitalfields weavers
were involved in sufferings far more exten-
sive and severe than at any former period. 27
At a public meeting held at the Mansion
House on 26 November 1816, for the relief
of the Spitalfields weavers, the secretary stated
that two-thirds of them were without employ-
ment and without the means of support, that
' some had deserted their houses in despair un-
able to endure the sight of their starving families,
and many pined under languishing diseases
brought on by the want of food and clothing.'
At the same meeting Sir T. Fowell Buxton
stated that the distress among the silk weavers
was so intense that ' it partook of the nature of
a pestilence which spreads its contagion around
and devastates an entire district.'

The repeal of these Acts was largely brought
about by a petition presented to the House of
Commons on 9 May 1823. The petitioners
stated 28 that ' these Acts by not permitting
the masters to reward such of their workmen
as exhibit superior skill and ingenuity, but
compelling them to pay an equal price for all
work whether well or ill performed, have

* Repealed by 5 Geo. IV, cap. 66.
"McCulloch, Did. of Commerce (1882), 1279.
" Knight, op. cit. ii, 395.

136

materially retarded the progress of improve-
ment and repressed industry and emulation.'
In consequence of an order from the magis-
trates that silk made by machinery should be
paid for at the same rate as that made by
hand, few improvements could be introduced,
and ' the London silk-loom with a trifling
exception remains in the same state as at its
original introduction into this country by the
French refugees.' 29 On the effect of this
important legislation McCulloch remarks : M

The monopoly which the manufacturers had
hitherto enjoyed, though incomplete, had had
sufficient influence to render inventions and dis-
coveries of comparatively rare occurrence in the
silk trade ; but the Spitalfields Act extinguished
every germ of improvement. Parliament in its
wisdom having seen fit to enact that a manufacturer
should be obliged to pay as much for work done
by the best machinery as if it were done by hand,
it would have been folly to have thought of attempt-
ing anything new. It is not, however, to be denied
that Macclesfield, Norwich, Manchester, Paisley,
&c., are under obligations to this Act. Had it
extended to the whole kingdom it would have
totally extirpated the manufacture ; but being
confined to Middlesex it gradually drove the most
valuable branches from Spitalfields to places where
the rate of wages was determined by the competi-
tion of the parties, on the principle of mutual
interest and compromised advantage.

During the continuance of the Acts there
was in the Spitalfields district no medium
between the full regulation prices and the
total absence of employment, and the repeal
of this restrictive legislation gave immediate
relief to the local industry. The introduction
at this time of the loom invented byjacquard, 31
a straw-hat manufacturer at Lyons, for the
manufacture of figured silks, largely helped
to restore the falling fortune of the Spitalfields
trade. The elaborate brocades which were
previously made at Spitalfields 32 were pro-
duced only by the most skilful among the
craft, who bestowed upon them an immense
amount of labour. The most beautiful pro-
ducts of the Jacquard loom are executed by
workmen possessing only the ordinary amount
of skill, whilst the labour attendant upon the
actual weaving is but little more than that
required for making the plainest goods. In
1 846 the figure weavers of Spitalfields engaged
in the production, by the aid of a Jacquard
loom, of a piece of silk which was to surpass
everything hitherto made in England, and to
rival a masterpiece of the Lyons weavers pro-

89 Porter, op. cit. 78.

'" Diet, of Commerce (1882), 1279.

" Thos. R. Ashenhurst, Weaving (1893), 61.

" Porter, op. cit. 245.

INDUSTRIES

duced in the previous year. The subject of
the design was partly allegorical, introducing
Neptune, Mars, Time, Honour, and Harmony,
with medallion portraits of English naval and
military heroes, and figures of Queen Victoria
and Prince Albert. 33

In the evidence taken before a committee
of the House of Commons on the silk trade
in 1831-2 it was stated that the population of
the districts in which the Spitalfields weavers
resided could not be less at that time than
100,000, of whom 50,000 were entirely de-
pendent on the silk manufacture, and the
remaining moiety more or less dependent
indirectly. The number of looms at this
period 34 varied from 14,00010 17,000 (in-
cluding too Jacquard looms), and of these
about 4,000 to 5,000 were generally unem-
ployed in times of depression. As there were
on an average, children included, about thrice
as many operatives as looms, it is clear that
during stagnation of trade not less than from
10,000 to 15,000 persons would be reduced
to a state of non-employment and destitution. 35
An excellent account of the condition of the
silk trade, written in 1868, will be found in
Once a Week?* From the census of 1901
it appears that the number of silk weavers in
the various processes of the trade in the entire
county of London reached only 548, of whom
48 were employers. The relations between
the employer and the operative deserve a pass-
ing notice. The manufacturer procures his
thrown ' organzine ' and ' tram ' either from
the throwster or from the silk importers, and
selects the silk necessary to execute any par-
ticular order. The weaver goes to the house
or shop of his employer and receives a suffi-
cient quantity of the material, which he takes
home to his own dwelling and weaves at his
own looms or sometimes at looms supplied by
the manufacturer, being paid at a certain rate
per ell. In a report to the Poor Law Commis-
sioners in 1837 Dr. Kay thus describes the
methods of work of a weaver and his family :

A weaver has generally two looms, one for his
wife and another for himself, and as his family
increases the children are set to work at six or
seven years of age to quill silk ; at nine or ten
years to pick silk ; and at the age of twelve or
thirteen (according to the size of the child) he is
put to the loom to weave. A child very soon
learns to weave a plain silk fabric, so as to become
a proficient in that branch ; a weaver has thus not
unfrequently four looms on which members of his

" Penny Mag. (1841), x, 478.

M Badnall, A View of the Si/A Trade (1828), 93.

35 Hogg, Weekly Instructor, 1854 ( new ser -)> "

38.

Vol. xviii, 228, 250, 276.

own family are employed. On a Jacquard loom
a weaver can earn 2 $s. a week on an average 37 ;
on a velvet or rich plain silk-loom from 161. to
lot. per week ; and on a plain silk-loom from 121.
to I4/. ; excepting when the silk is bad and re-
quires much cleaning, when his earnings are re-
duced to I Of. per week ; and on one or two very
inferior fabrics 8/. a week only are sometimes
earned, though the earnings are reported to be
seldom so low on these coarse fabrics. On the
occurrence of a commercial crisis the loss of work
occurs first among the least skilful operatives, who
are discharged from work.

Porter in his Treatise on the Silk Manufacture
gives a pleasing picture of the home life of a
Spitalfields weaver and of his happy and pros-
perous condition ; but a writer in Knight's
London 38 paints in much more sober colours
the condition of a weaver and his family. 39
Each account is taken from personal observa-
tion, and the difference is probably to be ex-
plained by the state of trade at the time of the
visit, and the class of workman visited. The
houses occupied by the weavers are constructed
for the special convenience of their trade,
having in the upper stories wide, lattice-like
windows which run across almost the whole
frontage of the house. These Mights' are
absolutely necessary in order to throw a strong
light on every part of the looms, which are
usually placed directly under them. Many
of the roofs present a strange appearance,
having ingenious bird-traps of various kinds and
large bird cages, the weavers having long been
famed for their skill in snaring song-birds.
They used largely to supply the home market
with linnets, goldfinches, chaffinches, green-
finches, and other song birds which they
caught by trained 'call-birds' and other
devices in the fields of north and east Lon-
don. The treaty with France in 1860 which
allowed French silks to come in duty free,
found Great Britain and Ireland unable to
compete with France, and in a short time the
trade dwindled immensely with disastrous
results to Spitalfields and other centres.

The progress of the decay of the Spitalfields
silk trade from 1 860 onwards and the recent
attempted revival of its silk brocade industry
are well treated in an interesting article by
Lasenby Liberty contributed in 1893 to the
Studio on ' Spitalfields Brocades.' 40

" For the best kind of work weavers have been
paid as much as 1 5/. a day. Knight, Land, ii,
396 note. See also Eclectic Mag. iSqi.xxiii. 268.

Vol. ii, 397.

39 See also for the darker side of the picture,
Dr. Hector Gavin, Sanitary Rambling! (1848), 42 ;
Hogg, Instructor (Ser. 2), ii, 96.

40 Studio, \, 20-4.

137

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

TAPESTRY

Both Henry VIII and Elizabeth kept a
staff of tapestry workers or arras-makers, of
which the chief members were usually of
foreign birth. 1 Amongst the adherents of the
Dutch Church in 1550 were Hendryck
Moreels, ' tapitsier,' and Roelandt de Mets,
living in St. Martin's-le-Grand, and the first
of these is probably the ' Henrhicus Moreels 2
tapestarius in opere Reginae ' of a return of
1561. Another of the queen's workers at
this time was John Celot, and the names of
several other tapestry -makers are to be found in
later returns of the reign of Elizabeth, living
for the most part within the limits of the
City of London.

A small tapestry manufactory was set up at
Fulham by some Walloon refugees at the end
of the iyth century. The parish register of
burials 3 records the name of ' William King,
Clarke at the Manufactori ' in 1699, and that
of ' Richard fflower, a weaver, from the Manu-
factori ' in 1 700.

Early in the next century another attempt
was made to introduce the manufacture of
tapestry into Middlesex. James Christopher
Le Blon, a Fleming by birth and a mezzotint
engraver by profession, some time subsequently
to 1732 'set up a project for copy ing cartoons
in tapestry, and made some very fine drawings
for that purpose. Houses were built and
looms erected in the Mulberry-ground at
Chelsea (see p. 1 34 ante), but either the ex-
pense was precipitated too fast or contribu-
tions did not arrive fast enough ', and the
enterprise proved a failure. 4 Le Blon is said
to have died in a hospital at Paris in 1 740.

A more noted manufactory for weaving
carpets and tapestries was started by Peter
Parisot, a Frenchman domiciled in England,
in 1753- Parisot's undertaking is described
by himself in a scarce little book entitled An
account of the new manufacture of Tapestry
after the manner of that at the Gobelins ; and of
Carpets after the manner of that at Chaillot
&c. now undertaken at Fulham, by Mr. Peter
Parisot, 1753.

Parisot had engaged some workmen from
Chaillot whom at first he employed at Padding-
ton, but afterwards removed to Fulham, where

1 W. Page, Denizationi and NaturaRzations (Hu-
guenot Soc.), p. 1.

' Kirk, Returns of Aliens (Huguenot Soc.), i, 205
et scq. and 274.

*C. J. Feret, Fulham Old and New (1900), 85.

' Walpole, Cat. of Engravers (1794), "7 8

this manufacture had already been established.
Here he procured spacious accommodation
for his business and for instructing young
persons of both sexes in the arts of drawing,
weaving, dyeing, and other branches of the
work. In his book Parisot speaks of the
patronage of the Duke of Cumberland, who
gave him great financial help ; other members
of the Royal family, including the Princess
Dowager of Wales, also supported the work.'
His goods however were too expensive, and the
manufacture soon declined. George Bubb
Dodington the diarist, who lived at Fulham,
records a visit he paid to this factory on
8th March 1753 : 'We went to see the
manufacture of tapestry from France, now set
up at Fulham by the Duke. The work both
of the gobelins and of chaillot, called savonnerie,
is very fine, but very dear.' 6

According to Giuseppe Baretti, Parisot was
a renegade priest, once a noted Capuchin,
whose real name was Pere Norbert, and his
failure was due to his own shortcomings as a
spendthrift. 7 Within three years of its estab-
lishment the Fulham manufactory, which
was chiefly devoted to the production of velvet
pile carpets, had to close its doors. Parisot
left Fulham for Exeter in 1753, and on
12 January 1756 his whole stock was sold off.
The highest price reached at the sale was
^64 is., given for 'a magnificent large carpet
1 8 ft. by 13 ft. of a most elegant and beau-
tiful design '. A catalogue of the collection
consisting of four small pages (the only known
copy) is in the British Museum.

The various items mentioned in this
catalogue 8 show clearly the nature of Parisot's
business. Amongst the fire-screens after the
manner of the Gobelins one bore a represen-
tation of a ' landscape with two doves billing,'
another a ' Chinese pheasant with a green
parrot and a butterfly,' and others, such fables as
'the Monkey and the Cat', 'the Fox and
the Crane' and 'the Bear and the Bees.'
Amongst the stock also were chairs similarly
adorned ; one ' large seat for a chair, depicting
in the background a range of hills at a distant
view, and a fountain in the middle ; the
border of which is ornamented with flowers. '
Cotton-work after the manner of the manu-

'Lysons, Environs of Land. (1795), ii, 400 ; Gent.
Mag. 1754, p. 385-

s Dodington, Diary (4th ed. 1 809), 1 99.

7 Feret, op. cit. 87-8.

8 Brit. Mus. pressmark, - 7po |' < *- >*

138

INDUSTRIES

factory at Rouen in imitation of needlework
was represented by large pieces with birds and
flowers. Besides these there were also fire-
screens, chairs, and velvet carpets after the
manner of the velvet manufactory of Chaillot
with similar designs. Three of the carpets

had been worked by Parisot's apprentices,
' natives of England, ' as a note on the cata-
logue informs us.

Another 17th-century factory of which no
information appears to exist was set up in Soho
Fields, the site of Soho Square. 8

CABINET-MAKING AND WOOD-CARVING

Horace Walpole mentions among the artists
in woodwork of the Tudor period Law-
rence Truber, a carver, and Humphrey Cooke,
master carpenter of the new buildings at the
Savoy. 1 Another workman in this art is met
with in the reign of Henry VIII, one William
Grene the king's coffer maker, 2 who received
6 i8x. ' for making of a coffer covered with
fustyan of Naples, and being full of drawers
and boxes lined with red and grene sarcynet
to put in stones of divers sorts'. There is
ample evidence that many foreign wood-
carvers and cabinet-makers were working in
London in the i6th century. In 1540
foreign joiners 3 are found in East Smithfield.
Ten years later the roll of the Dutch Church 4
records a large number of Flemish ' schryn-
makers ' and ' kistmakers ' living in the City,
South wark, and St. Giles. In 1567 in the
Ward of Bridge Without 5 alone there were
at least twenty-four foreign joiners and car-
penters, and many later instances might be
cited. Indeed in 1582-3 so serious had be-
come the competition of the strangers that the
Joiners' Company returned a list of 100
foreigners exercising this craft, and declared 6 :

The Master and Wardens of the Companye of
Joyners never licensed nor admitted any of the
persons hereunder expressed to use their said trade,
yett they, dwelling somme in Westminster, somme
in Sainct Katherins, and somme in Sowthworke, do
use the sayd occupacion, and have joyned them-
selves togeather and have sued the joyners these
tenne yeres in the lawe and procured to be spent
above 400 only to thend to worck in London as
fullye as a freeman may doe, to the utter undoing
of a great number of freemen joyners, mere Eng-
lishemen, who are all sowayes [sic] ready for any
service for her Majestic, this Realme and Citie of
London.

The greatest master of the school of Eng-

8 J. H. Pollen, Anct. and Modern Furniture in tbt
South Kensington Museum (1874), Introd. cxxxix.

1 Works (1798), iii, 87.

N. H. Nicolas, Privy Purse Exp. of Hen. Vlll,
index, s.v. ' coffer', p. 311.

'Kirk, Returns of Aliens, i, 22 et seq.

* Ibid, i, 342 et seq.

lish wood-carving was Grinling Gibbons, who
flourished in the latter part of the I7th and
in the early 1 8th century. He was of English
parentage but born in Holland, and was
brought by Evelyn under the notice of
Charles II, who gave him an appointment in
the Board of Works. He afterwards lived
in Belle Sauvage Court, Ludgate Hill. Here
he carved so delicately a pot of flowers for his
window sill, that the leaves shook with the
vibration caused by the coaches as they rum-
bled through the yard. His finest work is at
Petworth House, Sussex, but the choir stalls
at St. Paul's Cathedral afford an excellent
example of his style. He died on 3 August
1721 at his house in Bow Street, Covent
Garden. His followers built up a school of
architectural carvers whose beautiful work
abounds in old London buildings, such as the
court-room at Stationers' Hall, the vestry of the
church of St. Lawrence Jewry, &c., the traditions
of which continued down to the last century.
With the reign of William and Mary
marquetry furniture became the fashion in
the form of bandy-legged chairs, secretaires
or bureaux, long clock-cases, &c., that afforded
surfaces available for such decoration. This
art had not previously been practised in Eng-
land, specimens being procured by importation
chiefly from Italy. The leaves and other
figures composing the pattern were cut out of
dyed woods, shading being given by means of
hot sand. 7 George Ethrington was a London
maker of this work about the year 1665.
Many London cabinet-makers subsequently
engaged in this manufacture, and a national
style was developed. Another style of decora-
tion known as Boule (from its inventor Andr6
Charles Boule, born in 1642) shared with
marquetry the favour of the public. This
was a kind of veneered work usually composed
of tortoiseshell and thin brass. Sir William
Chambers, the celebrated architect (1725-96),
published a book of designs of Chinese furni-
ture, dresses, &c., in 1757, and largely em-
ployed the best artists in wood-carving for the
decoration of his interiors. John Wilton, one

1 Ibid, i, 202 et seq.
* Ibid, ii, 312.

7 Tomlinson, Cycl. (1866), ii, 133.
' F. J. Britten, 014 Clocks, 320.

'39

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

of his protigis, was born in London in 1722,
and studied abroad for many years, returning
to England in 1757 with Sir William Cham-
bers. He was employed in designing carriage
and furniture decorations, and painted the royal
state coach now in use. John Baptist Cipriani
and Angelica Kauffinan, painters of the same
period, did much decorative work for Cham-
bers, Adam, Chippendale, and other furniture
designers ; Cipriani decorated Carlton House.

Thomas Chippendale, the son and father of
furniture makers, exercised the same trade in
London in the latter half of the 1 8th century.
He published in 1758-9 a book of designs of
furniture of every kind. 9 He used mahogany
as a material instead of oak, and brought that
wood into general use. His designs are dis-
tinguished for their fine architectural mould-
ings, and his workmanship is admirable. In
his gilt- work he is specially celebrated for his
frames, which are in the French style, and cut
with great freedom and delicacy. He also
designed Chinese scenes in his gilt-work, follow-
ing the taste introduced by Sir William Cham-
bers. Another of his published works was
intituled The Gentleman and Cabinet-maker's
Director, a collection of designs of household fur-
niture; of this a third edition appeared in 1762.

Matthew Lock, a London carver and
gilder, with whom was associated a cabinet-
maker named H. Copeland, published a book of
furniture designs, undated, but probably of the
year I743- 10 At the exhibition of 1862 a
collection of his original drawings and those
of Chippendale was shown. The accom-
panying notes gave the names of his workmen,
their wages, &c., in 1743, from which it
appears that 55. a day was the sum earned by
a wood-carver at that time. Lock belonged
to and left behind him a talented school of
wood -carvers.

The brothers Robert and James Adam are
known to fame chiefly as architects who
greatly improved street architecture in London,
and as architects to King George III. Hav-
ing obtained from the Duke of St. Albans'
estate a lease for i oo years of Durham Yard,
they built the terrace known as the Adelphi
on ground largely reclaimed from the Thames.
Robert and James Adam rank also as the
most important designers of furniture of their
day, adapting a suitable and harmonious system
of decoration to the houses which they built.

9 Chippendale, Ornaments and interior decorations
in the old French style.

10 Collection of ornamental designi appKcable to the
decoration of rooms in the style of Louis XIV.
Another book by Lock, A book of ornaments, drawn
and engraved by M. L., was republished by John
Wealein 1858-9.

An explanation of the general principles
which they adopted is afforded by the pub-
lished plates of Derby House, Grosvenor
Square, now destroyed. The brothers Adam
designed fireplaces, steel grate fronts, side-
boards, and other articles of furniture, which
are much sought after at the present day by
those who follow the prevailing fancy for
antique furniture. Robert Adam published, in
1773, a volume of illustrations of the buildings,
room decoration, furniture, &c., designed by
him, which was reprinted in 1823. A. Heppel-
white, a cabinet-maker of this period, trading
with his assistants as Heppelwhite & Co., pub-
lished in 1 789 a complete set of designs for all
sorts of reception-room and bedroom furniture.
These mahogany chairs, library tables, desks
and bureaux, continued in fashion during the
early years of the next century, as did also
the lighter objects in satinwood painted with
various decorations.

The work of Thomas Sheraton, another
cabinet-maker, is still in high repute for its
admirable workmanship, which unites lightness
and strength. The specimens of his work
seem to resist the ravages of time, being made
of wood well-seasoned and admirably put to-
gether. Sheraton was the author of a com-
plete dictionary of his trade, 11 and of a Cabinet-
maker's Drawing-book^ 2

Throughout the 1 8th century the work of
upholsterers in England was much influenced
by the designs of the brothers Adam, Chippen-
dale, Sheraton, and Pergolesi. They evince
regard for general utility and comfort, com-
bined with skill and delicacy in design and
sound workmanship.

Mr. J. Hungerford Pollen, in his Ancient
and Modern Furniture in the South Kensington
Museum says : ' Only the most meagre
notices are to be found of the artists to whom
we owe the designs of modern furniture . . .
of the furniture makers who attained such
eminence during the last [i8th] century very
little is known.' A principal reason for this
is to be found in the fact that for a hundred
and fifty years after the Renaissance furniture
design was so closely associated with architec-
ture that it almost ceased to exist as a separate
art. The woodwork of rooms and the charac-
ter of their furniture followed the style of
architecture employed for the building ; the
ornamental chimney-pieces, &c., were mostly
designed by the architects themselves, and
fashioned by excellent artist workmen of
whom no record has been preserved.

11 The Cabinet Dictionary (1803).
11 Published in 1793-4.
" 1874, Introd. p. ccxviii.

140

INDUSTRIES

During the last century inspiration was
obtained from many eminent artists, of whom
it is unnecessary to mention more than A. W.
Pugin, H. Shaw, Owen Jones, William
Morris, William Burges, and C. L. Eastlake.
Among the firms which have honestly endea-
voured to lead and improve public taste in
furniture and have gained a high reputation
for the quality of their work are Gillow's,
Jeffrey, Jackson & Graham, Grace, Shoolbred,
and Trollope & Sons. The list might be
considerably increased.

With regard to the system of production,
valuable information is afforded in Charles
Booth's Life and Labour of the People in London^*
The districts comprise Shoreditch, Bethnal
Green, Hackney, and the Tower Hamlets.
The Curtain Road district in Shoreditch is
the chief market of the trade and the centre
of its distribution. ' From the East-end
workshops,' says Mr. Booth, ' produce goes
out of every description, from the richly in-
laid cabinet that may be sold for jCioo or
the carved chair that can be made to pass
as rare " antique " workmanship, down to the
gypsy tables that the maker sells for 9*. a dozen
or the cheap bedroom suites and duchesse tables
that are now flooding the market.' 15

The producers fall into four main groups.
The first class, that of the factories, forms
but an insignificant portion of the trade, there
being not more than three or four large fac-

tories with elaborate machinery, where from
about 50 to 190 men are employed. They
supply the large dealers in the Tottenham
Court Road, in the provinces, or in the
colonies. The second class, that of the larger
workshops, comprises shops in which from
15 to 25 men are generally employed. Here
the best East-end furniture is made, but the
number of first-class shops is very small, many
good firms having been obliged to give up
altogether in recent years through the prevail-
ing demand for cheapness. In the third class
are the small makers, masters who employ from
4 to 8 men in small workshops, either built
behind the house or away from it, sometimes
even in the houses themselves. 'As a general
rule the larger shops turn out the better work.
But even among the small men excellent
work is done, in the same way that large
shops often turn out cheap and inferior goods.' 18
These small men sell at the nearest market,
that is, the Curtain Road and its district ;
here they can be sure of getting cash, whilst
the West-end shops and the provincial trade
take credit, which the small maker can rarely
afford to give. In a fourth class are the inde-
pendent workers. These are mostly found
among the turners, carvers, fret-cutters, and
sawyers, and are not a large class. Other
special classes described by Mr. Booth are
chair makers, looking-glass frame makers,
carvers, french polishers, and upholsterers.

POTTERY

The most famous of Middlesex industries
is certainly its pottery, but few traces can be
found of any local manufacture before the
1 7th century. Down to the latter half of
that century English home-made pottery was
of a very rude kind, and consisted chiefly
of common domestic vessels, 1 such as large
coarse dishes, tygs, pitchers, bowls, cups, and
other similar articles. Vessels of stoneware
of greater durability and more artistic work-
manship were imported from abroad. Among
these were the bellarmines or grey-beards and
ale-pots, which were largely imported from
Germany and Flanders.

In 1570 two potters, 2 named Jasper Andries
and Jacob Janson, who had settled in Nor-

14 (1902) Ser. I, iv, 157 et seq.

" Ibid. 163.

"Ibid. 174.

1 Llewellyn Jewitt, Ceramic Art (1878), i, 89.

' Stow, Surv. of Land. bk. v, 240-1.

wich in 1567, 'removed to London, and in
a petition to Queen Elizabeth asserted that
they were the first that brought in and exer-
cised the said science in this realm, and were
at great charges before they could find mate-
rials in this realm. They besought her, in
recompense of their great cost and charges,
that she would grant them house room in or
without the liberties of London by the water
side.' A similar petition was preferred to
the queen by one William Simpson, 3 who also
asked for the sole licence to import stone pots
from Cologne. Patents were granted in 1626
to Thomas Rous (or Ruis) and Abraham
Cullyn of London, 4 merchants, and in 1636
to David Ramsey, esq. for making stone pots,
but nothing is known of any use which they
made of the privileges granted to them.

1 Lansd. MS. 108, fol. 60 ; Jewitt, op. cit.
1,90.

4 Cal. S.P. Dm. 1625-6, p. 575.

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

FULHAM STONEWARE

It was not until the beginning of the reign
of Charles II that the secret of this manufac-
ture was discovered in England, and the credit
of the discovery belongs to John Dwight of
Fulham. Dr. Plot, writing in 1677,' says:

The ingenious John Dwight, formerly M.A. of
Christ Church College, Oxon., hath discovered the
mystery of the Stone or Cologne wares (such as
D'Alva bottles, jugs, noggins) heretofore made only
in Germany, and by the Dutch brought over into
England in great quantities, and hath set up a
manufacture of the same, which (by methods and
contrivances of his own, altogether unlike those
used by the Germans) in three or four years' time
he hath brought it to a greater perfection than it
has attained where it hath been used for many
ages, insomuch that the Company of Glass-Sellers,
London, who are the dealers for that commodity,
have contracted with the inventor to buy only of
his English manufacture, and refuse the foreign.

Dwight, who is said to have been a native
of Oxfordshire, took his Oxford degree of
B.C.L. in 1 66 1, and afterwards became secre-
tary to Bryan Walton, Bishop of Chester, and
his episcopal successors Henry Feme and
Joseph Hall. After a long series of trials
and experiments upon the properties of clays
and mineral products as materials for porcelain
and stoneware, he obtained, in April 1671, a
patent for his discoveries. 6 In his petition he
claimed to have ' discovered 7 the mistery of
transparent earthenware comonly knowne by
the name of porcelaine or China and Persian
ware, as alsoe the misterie of the Stone ware
vulgarly called Cologne ware.' As regards
his first claim, Professor Church 8 admits that
Dwight ' did make some approach to success
in producing a body which if not porcelain is
distinctly porcellanous.'

Dwight's experiments and researches into
the properties of various clays and their proper
treatment for the production of china ware
must have extended over a considerable num-
ber of years before he took the patent for his
'discovery' in 1671. An interesting confir-
mation of his claim occurs in a periodical
work, entitled A Collection for the Improvement
of Husbandry and Trade, by a contemporary
writer, John Houghton, who was a Fellow of
the Royal Society. 9 He is speaking (12 January
1 693-4) of the tobacco-pipe clays, ' gotten at
or nigh Pool, a port town in Dorsetshire, and
there dug in square pieces, of the bigness of
about half a hundredweight each ; from thence

5 Nat. Hht. Oxon. (2nd ed. 1705), 255.

Cal.S.P.Dom. 1 67 1-2, p. 420. 7 Ibid. 335.
8 Engl. Earthenware (1904), 44.

* Houghton, op. cit. iv, no. 76.

'tis brought to London, and sold in peaceable
times at about eighteen shillings a ton, but
now in this time of war is worth about three-
and-twenty shillings.' He proceeds : ' This
sort of clay, as I hinted formerly, is used to
clay sugar and the best sort of mugs are made
with it, and the ingenious Mr. Dwight of
Fulham tells me that 'tis the same earth
China-ware is made of, and 'tis made not by
lying long in the earth but in the fire ; and if
it were worth while, we may make as good
China here as any is in the world. And so
for this time farewell clay.' In another
letter, 10 dated 13 March 1695-6, he writes :

Of China-ware I see but little imported in the
year 1 694, I presume by reason of the war and
our bad luck at sea. There came only from Spain
certain, and from India certain twice. 'Tis a
curious manufacture and deserves to be encourag'd
here, which without doubt money would do, and
Mr. Dwoit of Fulham has done it, and can again
in anything that is flat. But the difficulty is that
if a hollow dish be made, it must be burnt so
much, that the heat of the fire will make the sides
fall. He tells me that our clay will very well do
it, the main skill is in managing the fire. By my
consent, the man that would bring it to perfection
should have for his encouragement l,ooo/. from the
Publick, tho' I help'd to pay a tax towards it.

Dwight's discovery seems to have stopped short
at the practical point, the time and expense
involved in the manufacture proving totally
unremunerative. Mr. L. M. Solon, 11 however,
after a careful analysis of all the evidence, in-
cluding the recipes and memoranda contained
in two little books in Dwight's own hand,
concludes that he got no further than making
transparent specimens of his stoneware by
casting it thin and firing it hard.

His claim to the discovery of the com-
position of stoneware is beyond question.
Dwight's stoneware vessels were equal if not
superior to those imported from Germany,
and very soon superseded them. A list of his
wares is given in the specification of his second
patent granted in 1684 for a further term of
fourteen years. This description is as follows:
' Severall new manufactures of earthenwares
called by the names of white gorges, marbled
porcellane vessels, statues, and figures, and
fine stone gorges and vessells, never before
made in England or elsewhere.'

Mr. Solon, in his work above quoted, 11
pays the following high tribute to Dwight's
skill and genius : ' To him must be attri-
buted the foundation of an important industry;

10 Ibid, viii, no. 1 89.

11 The Art of the Old English Potter (ed. 2,
1885), 32-5. "Ibid. 31.

142

INDUSTRIES

by his unremitting researches and their practical
application, he not only found the means of
supplying in large quantities the daily wants of
the people with an article superior to anything
that had ever been known before, but besides,
by the exercise of his refined taste and uncom-
mon skill, he raised his craft to a high level ;
nothing among the masterpieces of cera-
mic art of all other countries can excel the
beauty of Dwight's brown stone-ware figures,
either of design, modelling, or fineness of
nwerial.'

Very little is known of Dwight's personal
history ; the facts are few and somewhat ob-
scure. Professor Church 13 conjectures 1637 or
1638 as the year of his birth, and states that
his eldest child John was born at Chester in
1662. In the patent which he obtained in
1671 Dwight states that he has set up at Ful-
ham a manufactory, but in 1683 when his son
George matriculated at Oxford he is described
as ' of the city of Chester.' The year fol-
lowing, his second patent describes him as a
manufacturer at Fulham, whilst in 1687 and
1689 in the matriculation entries of his sons
Samuel and Philip he is styled John Dwight
of Wigan. It is not till the matriculation of
his son Edmund in 1692 that the university
register gives his address as Fulham. Professor
Church u states that this child was born at
Fulham in 1676. He also says that 'until
1665 Dwight lived at Chester, but before the
end of 1668 he moved to Wigan; some time
between March 1671 and August 1676 he
settled at Fulham.'

This does not, however, agree with the
statements in the matriculation registers. A
more probable explanation is that Dwight
opened his factory at Fulham before he left
Chester and carried it on whilst still living
there and at Wigan. He may have had
friends or relatives in Middlesex, as a family of
that name was living at Sudbury near Harrow
in 1637. Lysons states ls that Mr. William
Dwight in that year gave 40*. per annum out
of his lands at Sudbury to the poor of Harrow.
John Dwight died 16 at Fulham in 1703, and
was buried there on 13 October. His widow
Lydia was buried at Fulham on 3 November
1709.

Dwight had the habit of hiding money,
and left memoranda in his note-books of places,
such as holes in the fireplace, holes in the fur-
nace, &c., where packets of guineas were con-
cealed. He also buried specimens of his stone-
ware which were found during some excava-

11 A. H. Churcn, op. cit. 46. " Ibid. 44..
14 Environs ofLind. (1795), ii, 582-3.
u Church, op. cit. 47.

tions for new buildings at the Fulham factory
in a vaulted chamber or cellar which had been
firmly walled up. The objects thus discovered
were chiefly bellarmines and ale-jugs, identical
in form with those imported from Cologne.
Another authentic collection of examples from
the Fulham works, which had been kept by
the family, was sold to Mr. Baylis of Prior's
Bank about the year 1862. These pieces were
shortly afterwards disposed of to Mr. C. W.
Reynolds, and finally dispersed by auction at
Christie's in 1871.

The two collections have afforded valuable
criteria for assigning to the Fulham factory
specimens of stoneware about which collec-
tors previously were in considerable doubt.
The Baylis-Reynolds collection also revealed
the high artistic merit of Dwight's pottery,
the variety of his productions, and the
great perfection to which he had brought
the potter's art, both in the manipulation and
in the employment of enamel colours for
decoration. The collection contained twenty-
eight specimens which had been carefully
preserved by members of the Dwight family,
and kept as heirlooms from the time of their
manufacture. The most interesting piece, and
probably the earliest in date, is a beautiful half-
length figure in hard stoneware of the artist's
little daughter, inscribed 'Lydia Dwight, dyd
March the 3rd, 1762.' The child lies upon
a pillow with eyes closed, her hands clasping
to her breast a bouquet of flowers, and a broad
lace band over her forehead. The figure,
evidently modelled after death, exhibits, as
Mr. Solon well remarks, 'the loving care of a
bereaved father in the reproduction of the
features and the minute perfection with which
the accessories, such as flowers and lace, are
treated.' This beautiful work was purchased
for .150 at the Reynolds sale, and is now n
the Victoria and Albert Museum. Another
figure, also at South Kensington, was bought
at the Reynolds sale for 30, and is believed
to represent Lydia Dwight ; she is figured
standing, wrapped in a shroud, with a skull at
her feet. The fine life-size statue of Prince
Rupert, now in the British Museum, was
bought at the Reynolds sale for thirty-eight
guineas, and is a magnificent specimen of model-
ling. The ' Meleager,' also in the British
Museum, and the 'Jupiter' in the Liverpool
Museum, are declared by Mr. Solon to be
worthy of an Italian artist of the Renaissance.
Other specimens in the collection 17 were a life-
size bust of Charles II, smaller bustsof Charles II

17 An account of his collection before its pur-
chase by Mr. Reynolds was contributed by Mr.
Baylis to the Art Journ. Oct. 1862, p. 204.

143

A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX

and Catherine of Braganza, others of James II
and his queen Mary, full-length figures of Flora
and Minerva, a sportsman in the costume of
the reign of Charles II, a girl holding flowers
with two lambs by her side, and five stone-
ware statuettes (in imitation of bronze) of
Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Meleager, and Saturn.
Speaking of the above collection of pieces,
Mr. Burton remarks 18 : 'It is still more
remarkable to find a series of figures displaying
such finished modelling, perfect proportion,
and breadth of treatment. Finer artistic work
than this, in clay, has never been produced in
this country, and the knowledge, taste, and
skill shown in their production fully entitle
Dwight to be reckoned among the great pot-
ters of Europe.'

The characteristics of Dwight's pottery
have been described as follows 19 :

The Fulham stone-ware, in imitation of that of
Cologne, is of exceedingly hard and close texture,
very compact and sonorous and usually of a grey
colour, ornamented with a brilliant blue enamel,
in bands, leaves, and flowers. The stalks have fre-
quently four or more lines running parallel, as
though drawn with a flat notched stick on the
moist clay ; the flowers, as well as the outlines, are
raised, and painted a purple or marone colour,
sometimes with small ornaments of flowers and
cherubs' heads, and medallions of kings and queens
of England in front, with Latin names and titles,
and initials of Charles II, William III, William and
Mary, Anne, and George I. The forms are mugs,
jugs, butterpots, cylindrical or barrel-shaped, &c. ;
the jugs are spherical, with straight narrow necks,
frequently mounted in pewter, and raised medallions
in front with the letters CR WR AR GR, &c. These
were in very common use, and superseded the
Bellarmines and longbeards of Cologne manufacture.

The quality of hardness which distinguishes
stoneware from other kinds of pottery is im-
parted to it, says Professor Church, 20 partly
by the nature and proportions of the materials
used in making the body or paste, partly by
the temperature at which it is fired. The salt-
glaze employed for European stoneware is
formed on the ware itself and in part out of
its constituents. It is produced by throwing
into the kiln moist common salt towards the
end of the firing when the pieces have ac-
quired a very high temperature. The salt
's volatilized, and reacting with the water-
vapour present is decomposed into hydro-

ls W. Burton, Hist, of Engl. Earthenware (1904),
43-

''' W. Chaffers, Marks and Monograms on Pottery
and Porcelain (ed. 7, 1886), 805.

M A. H. Church in Some Minor Arts as practised
In Engl. (1894), 33.

chloric acid gas, which escapes, and into
soda, which attacking and combining with the
silica of the clay in the body, forms with it
a hard glass or glaze of silicate of soda, in
which a little alumina is also always present.
This was the two-fold secret which Dwight
at length succeeded in discovering. His
note-books 21 contain many curious recipes
for the composition of his various pastes or
' cleys ' which were the results of his
numerous and laborious experiments. Large
extracts from these memoranda have been
published. 22 There is a tradition in the
family 23 that besides concealing the vessels
found in the bricked-up chamber, Dwight
buried all his models, tools, and moulds
connected with the finer branches of his
manufactory in some secret place on the
premises at Fulham, observing that the pro-
duction of such matters was expensive and
unremunerative ; and that his successors might
not be tempted to perpetuate this part of the
business he put it out of their power by con-
cealing the means. Search has often been made
for these hidden treasures, but hitherto without
success.

For a long time after Dwight's death his
descendants I continued to manufacture the
same sort of jugs and mugs. In a private
collection there is a flip-can of historical
interest, which once belonged to the original
of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. It is inscribed
' Alexander Silkirke. This is my one.
When you take me on bord of ship, Pray
fill me full of punch or flipp, Fulham.' It is
said to have been made for Selkirk in or
about 1703. In cottages along the Thames
bank have been found many large tankards
with the names of well-known public houses.
Some of the jugs have hunting scenes and
others bear decorations of a loyal or political
character. For example, a mug with a medal-
lion portrait of Queen Anne, supported by
two beefeaters, is inscribed round the top,
' Drink to the pious memory of good Queen
Anne, 1729.'

John Dwight had five sons, but it is not
known whether all of them survived him or
which was his successor in business. Some
writers say he was succeeded by his son
Dr. Samuel Dwight, who died in November
1737; the Gentleman's Magazine in his

11 These were found by Lady Charlotte Schrei-
ber in 1 869 on a visit to the Fulham Potteries.
A manuscript copy made by her is in the British
Museum, but the original note-books have dis-
appeared.

" Chaffers, op. cit. 808-9.

83 Artjourn. 1862, p. 204.

14 Gent. Mag. 1737, p. 702.

INDUSTRIES

obituary notice, after mentioning his author-
ship of ' several curious treatises on physic,'
states that ' he was the first that found out
the secret to colour earthenware like china.'
He is said to have practised in his profession
as a physician, and wrote some Latin medi-
cal trea