King's Manor, Southwark
Encyclopedia
The King's Manor - formally 'The City of London’s King's Manor of the Town and Borough of Southwark
' - is an institution of the City of London
which is not a Livery Company
as it is territorially rather than trade based, being the organisation of the Juror freemen of the Court Leet
. The Manor covers the area from the western-side of Borough High Street, Southwark, to the borders of Newington
and Lambeth
. The manor originally lay in Surrey
.
The City of London acquired the ‘borough of Southwark’ from the Crown in 1327, nicknamed the 'Guildable Manor' since 1377. In 1550 the City purchased from Edward VI
's government the manors to the south of this on the west and the east of the high street. The City's royal charter of 1550 makes difficult reading because the three manors being described are referred to as 'The Town and Borough of Southwark' (Guildable), 'Our Lordship and Manor of Southwark' (King's) and 'Our Manor and Borough of Southwark' (Great Liberty), all three together are termed ‘The Borough and Town of Southwark and all of its parishes and precincts aforesaid’ (all text in Latin). Today the City officers refer to the three manors as the 'Town and Borough of Southwark', as stated on the Courts Leet summons, on which none of the nicknames appear.
in 1086 the Southwark and Bermondsey areas were owned by the king and by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the latter’s holding was the manor along the eastern side of the high street. The king owned the northern bridge-head or borough area and the land on the western side of the highway, over to Lambeth and also the areas of Bermondsey
and Rotherhithe
to the east of the Canterbury manor.
Before Henry VIII
acquired the manor in 1536 it belonged to Bermondsey Abbey
. A fascinating early plan-map, discovered in the Duchy of Lancaster
archive, shows Southwark at some point between the Dissolution and the 1550 charter. Perhaps it was prepared with reference to the jurisdictional disputes with the king’s agents, the City and its manor of the Guildable, as the boundary points are shown on it. A date of 1543 has been assigned to this. On this plan the City’s manor at the northern end of the high street is called ‘the lyberte off the mayre. The later nicknames 'King's manor', and occasionally the 'Queen's manor', for the western Bermondsey Abbey manor, are used only after the crown had sold it to the City; the nickname probably derives from the prominent royal mansion/ mint there; Henry VIII only held it from 1536. This western manor area is delineated, ambiguously, as the liberte off the manor. In fact the plan refers to the eastern manor acquired from Canterbury, the so called ‘Great Liberty’, as the kynges lyberte. In John Silvester's (Recorder
~High Steward in 1807) notes and procedures of the Southwark manors he also uses the abbreviations of the borough for the Guildable, the manor for the King's and the liberty for the Great Liberty.
The first post Domesday fracture of this extensive royal estate is a result of the creation by one Aylwin ‘Cild’ of a priory at Bermondsey in 1082, but he also assigned rents from properties in the City to a Cluniac house in France, presumably for the purpose of supporting this church. Members of the Order arrived in Bermondsey in 1089 to formalise the relation. The priory was dedicated to ‘St Saviour’. We know little of this benefactor save that he was a London merchant but seems to have been (by name and title) an Englishman rather than a Norman.
It has been suggested that the mercantile dynasty of the early mediaeval period called ‘Ailwyn’ were his descendants and that Henry Fitz-Ailwyn, the first known Mayor of London (ca 1189) was one of these; we know that his daughter in law was interred in the Priory church.
The Priory’s, (from 1399 an Abbey) main site can be identified today by Abbey Street and Bermondsey Square. In Domesday 'Bermondsey' is described as ‘held’ by King William I
but before him by 'Earl' Harold ie Harold Godwinson
. According to the Annals of the Abbey, King William Rufus gave the manor of Bermondsey (along with Rotherhithe) to the Priory in 1092.
The priory became exceptionally well endowed and eventually as an abbey had lands all over the country. However, one of its earliest forays was into local real estate but it was constrained by the neighbouring manors, including Walworth
to the south, held by Canterbury. Nevertheless, it approached Henry I
in 1103/04 to acquire what was held directly by the crown there. This was all of the territory on the western side of the high street, designated by this writer the ‘Royal Manor’ for convenience; it was described as ‘the hide of Southwark’, ie of one hide
, as a part of the king’s demesne
.
This transaction did not include the far north-western part of the area. This, presumably, had already been granted by the crown to another party. It was later described as 'Wideflete' or 'the Wyldes', this was very poor quality low-lying flood-plain as its original name indicates. The priory had this granted to them, shortly afterwards, by Robert Marmion in 1113. He was the hereditary King's Champion and certainly a direct tenant of the Norman kings. It was described as of "one hide, seventy acres and a mill". It was later to be called 'Paris(h) Garden' and is best identified today as the northern part of Blackfriars Road.
Therefore by 1113, Bermondsey Priory had control of most of the Southwark area, all of that which had previously constituted the 'Royal Manor', except the borough. There is an anomaly to this territory: The Canterbury holding on the eastern side of the high street has a small part detached from it. This, at least in part, derives from what was the small de Ardern family property which occupied the corner of the junction of the high street, Long Lane and 'old' Kent street (Tabard Street), presumably this had been acquired from Canterbury after 1086. It may have been a hamlet that had congealed at what is the junction of the Roman roads now known as Stane Street and Watling Street
. This too was given to Bermondsey priory in 1122, by the Ardern’s along with St George’s church which is in that precinct. It clearly is in the ‘wrong’ manor as the high street is the natural border. However, at the period under scrutiny it was just a small part of the extensive combined area held by the Priory occupying the western side of the high street, which as shown above was already owned by it. This area is coincident with St George's ancient parish. Obviously, this largely open area was assigned to that church as an administrative convenience. The Rectors were appointed by the Priory/Abbey until the transfer to Henry VIII in 1536. The main open ground, sparsely populated, of the manor was assigned to this church as its outlying parish
and hence it acquired the alternative epithet of 'St George's Fields
'.
To use the post-Reformation
titles of these areas we can see that by 1122 Bermondsey Abbey owned all of the so called 'King's', 'Clink' and 'Paris Garden' manors, as well as Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. Canterbury owned Walworth as well as the 'Great Liberty'. The crown controlled only the western side of the 'borough' or 'Guildable' manor, the eastern part being controlled by the de Warrennes successors to the Godwins' sub manor.
From this large combined area Bermondsey Priory divided a part which was let-out to one Ordgar the Rich; just when is not clear. However, it was from Ordgar (with the consent of Bermondsey Priory) that the Bishop of Winchester
acquired it, no earlier than 1144/49, this was for the creation of a palace near London to enable the Bishop to carry out his political duties. The part acquired by Winchester was the nucleus of the manor later known as 'The Clink'. The parts remaining to Bermondsey Priory were 'Wideflete' and the remnant of the 'Royal Manor' (ie less the 'Clink') along with the Ardern property. The 'Wideflete'/ Paris Garden was demised to the Templars (on the opposite side of the river to their 'New Temple') in 1166.
The manorial area that was left was informally referred to as 'le weste socne' (ie the 'soke' west of the 'high' street) in the thirteenth century and as the 'Abbot's manor' later. From some point in the fifteenth century the Brandon family became the King’s Marshals; as such they controlled the two ancient royal prisons on the eastern side of the high street, the King's Bench and the Marshalsea. As they became more prominent at court they grew wealthier and acquired parts of the western side of the high street from the Abbey to create a large mansion and grounds including, notably, Moulton Close which is now the park around the Imperial War Museum. The house became known as Brandon Place. Charles Brandon, the last of the male line, became Marshal in 1510 and was created Duke of Suffolk in 1514; he married Henry VIII's sister in 1516. The mansion then becomes known as Suffolk Place.
Henry took an interest in Suffolk Place and acquired it from Charles in 1536. Shortly after, in June 1536, the St Saviour's Abbey of Bermondsey was induced to 'grant' its land to the king, part of the Dissolution
process, hence he now owned all of the Abbey’s manor west of the high street. However, Henry gave this building to Queen Jane Seymour
in 1537, mother of Edward VI, who died of post-natal complications shortly after his birth. In 1538 Henry acquired from Thomas Cranmer
the Archbishop of Canterbury's manor on the eastern side of the high street; it seems it was his intention to create a new hunting park out of the two areas and the Brandon mansion was to act as its lodge.
The mansion is shown on the 'Lancaster Plan' of 1543 and there called De manor place. In any case Henry seems to have lost interest in the project before his death in 1547. From 1545 until 1551 it was the Mint
, supplementing the main mint at the Tower of London
. This part of the borough is still called 'the Mint'. These manors belonged to the king for only fourteen and twelve years respectively, as in 1550 the City acquired both of the properties. The building then reverted to being a royal mansion; in 1554 Queen Mary I
stayed overnight with her new husband King Philip II of Spain
as part of their progress to London. In 1556 she granted it to the Archbishop of York for his London house, but it was soon leased out in parts for income. Unfortunately, although the park behind it and various buildings at its lodge or gatehouse were transferred to the City the mansion and garden where retained by the king; this curtillage might be what is delineated by the semi-circular line around the building in the 'Lancaster Plan'. These had been specifically excluded from the City’s jurisdiction by clauses in the charter. This allowed it to become a haunt and refuge for undesirable persons and activities (see Alsatia
). So notorious a place did it become that it was included in an Act of 1697 to allow the Sheriff a power of 'posse comitatus
' (a writ to raise an armed group) and enter into it to evict its inhabitants. However, it reverted to its bad ways and another, specific, Act of 1723 was required to clear it out for good. The City's jurisdiction was now complete.
and View of Frankpledge with the Court Baron
of the Lord Mayor
and Commonalty of the City of London
" is now summoned for the three City manors once a year, usually on the second Wednesday in November, ie following the Presentation of the Lord Mayor (see Lord Mayor's Show
).
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
' - is an institution of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
which is not a Livery Company
Livery Company
The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...
as it is territorially rather than trade based, being the organisation of the Juror freemen of the Court Leet
Court leet
The court leet was a historical court baron of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge" and its attendant police jurisdiction, which was normally restricted to the hundred courts.-History:...
. The Manor covers the area from the western-side of Borough High Street, Southwark, to the borders of Newington
Newington, London
Newington is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It was an ancient parish and the site of the early administration of the county of Surrey...
and Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
. The manor originally lay in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.
The City of London acquired the ‘borough of Southwark’ from the Crown in 1327, nicknamed the 'Guildable Manor' since 1377. In 1550 the City purchased from Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
's government the manors to the south of this on the west and the east of the high street. The City's royal charter of 1550 makes difficult reading because the three manors being described are referred to as 'The Town and Borough of Southwark' (Guildable), 'Our Lordship and Manor of Southwark' (King's) and 'Our Manor and Borough of Southwark' (Great Liberty), all three together are termed ‘The Borough and Town of Southwark and all of its parishes and precincts aforesaid’ (all text in Latin). Today the City officers refer to the three manors as the 'Town and Borough of Southwark', as stated on the Courts Leet summons, on which none of the nicknames appear.
Earliest beginnings: The 'Abbot of Bermondsey's manor of Southwark'
At the time of Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1086 the Southwark and Bermondsey areas were owned by the king and by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the latter’s holding was the manor along the eastern side of the high street. The king owned the northern bridge-head or borough area and the land on the western side of the highway, over to Lambeth and also the areas of Bermondsey
Bermondsey
Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
and Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
to the east of the Canterbury manor.
Before Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
acquired the manor in 1536 it belonged to Bermondsey Abbey
Bermondsey Abbey
Bermondsey Abbey was an English Benedictine monastery. Most widely known as an 11th-century foundation, it had a precursor mentioned in the early 8th century, and was centred on what is now Bermondsey Square, the site of Bermondsey Market, Bermondsey in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast...
. A fascinating early plan-map, discovered in the Duchy of Lancaster
Duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is one of the two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Cornwall. It is held in trust for the Sovereign, and is used to provide income for the use of the British monarch...
archive, shows Southwark at some point between the Dissolution and the 1550 charter. Perhaps it was prepared with reference to the jurisdictional disputes with the king’s agents, the City and its manor of the Guildable, as the boundary points are shown on it. A date of 1543 has been assigned to this. On this plan the City’s manor at the northern end of the high street is called ‘the lyberte off the mayre. The later nicknames 'King's manor', and occasionally the 'Queen's manor', for the western Bermondsey Abbey manor, are used only after the crown had sold it to the City; the nickname probably derives from the prominent royal mansion/ mint there; Henry VIII only held it from 1536. This western manor area is delineated, ambiguously, as the liberte off the manor. In fact the plan refers to the eastern manor acquired from Canterbury, the so called ‘Great Liberty’, as the kynges lyberte. In John Silvester's (Recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
~High Steward in 1807) notes and procedures of the Southwark manors he also uses the abbreviations of the borough for the Guildable, the manor for the King's and the liberty for the Great Liberty.
The first post Domesday fracture of this extensive royal estate is a result of the creation by one Aylwin ‘Cild’ of a priory at Bermondsey in 1082, but he also assigned rents from properties in the City to a Cluniac house in France, presumably for the purpose of supporting this church. Members of the Order arrived in Bermondsey in 1089 to formalise the relation. The priory was dedicated to ‘St Saviour’. We know little of this benefactor save that he was a London merchant but seems to have been (by name and title) an Englishman rather than a Norman.
It has been suggested that the mercantile dynasty of the early mediaeval period called ‘Ailwyn’ were his descendants and that Henry Fitz-Ailwyn, the first known Mayor of London (ca 1189) was one of these; we know that his daughter in law was interred in the Priory church.
The Priory’s, (from 1399 an Abbey) main site can be identified today by Abbey Street and Bermondsey Square. In Domesday 'Bermondsey' is described as ‘held’ by King William I
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
but before him by 'Earl' Harold ie Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
. According to the Annals of the Abbey, King William Rufus gave the manor of Bermondsey (along with Rotherhithe) to the Priory in 1092.
The priory became exceptionally well endowed and eventually as an abbey had lands all over the country. However, one of its earliest forays was into local real estate but it was constrained by the neighbouring manors, including Walworth
Walworth
-Places:United Kingdom* Walworth, County DurhamUnited States* Walworth County, South Dakota* Walworth County, Wisconsin* Walworth, New York* Walworth, Wisconsin, a village* Walworth , Wisconsin, a town...
to the south, held by Canterbury. Nevertheless, it approached Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
in 1103/04 to acquire what was held directly by the crown there. This was all of the territory on the western side of the high street, designated by this writer the ‘Royal Manor’ for convenience; it was described as ‘the hide of Southwark’, ie of one hide
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
, as a part of the king’s demesne
Demesne
In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...
.
This transaction did not include the far north-western part of the area. This, presumably, had already been granted by the crown to another party. It was later described as 'Wideflete' or 'the Wyldes', this was very poor quality low-lying flood-plain as its original name indicates. The priory had this granted to them, shortly afterwards, by Robert Marmion in 1113. He was the hereditary King's Champion and certainly a direct tenant of the Norman kings. It was described as of "one hide, seventy acres and a mill". It was later to be called 'Paris(h) Garden' and is best identified today as the northern part of Blackfriars Road.
Therefore by 1113, Bermondsey Priory had control of most of the Southwark area, all of that which had previously constituted the 'Royal Manor', except the borough. There is an anomaly to this territory: The Canterbury holding on the eastern side of the high street has a small part detached from it. This, at least in part, derives from what was the small de Ardern family property which occupied the corner of the junction of the high street, Long Lane and 'old' Kent street (Tabard Street), presumably this had been acquired from Canterbury after 1086. It may have been a hamlet that had congealed at what is the junction of the Roman roads now known as Stane Street and Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
. This too was given to Bermondsey priory in 1122, by the Ardern’s along with St George’s church which is in that precinct. It clearly is in the ‘wrong’ manor as the high street is the natural border. However, at the period under scrutiny it was just a small part of the extensive combined area held by the Priory occupying the western side of the high street, which as shown above was already owned by it. This area is coincident with St George's ancient parish. Obviously, this largely open area was assigned to that church as an administrative convenience. The Rectors were appointed by the Priory/Abbey until the transfer to Henry VIII in 1536. The main open ground, sparsely populated, of the manor was assigned to this church as its outlying parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
and hence it acquired the alternative epithet of 'St George's Fields
St George's Fields
St George's Fields was an area of Southwark in South London, England.Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south-side of the Thames, which was low lying marshland unsuitable for even agricultural purposes. As such it was part of the extensive holdings of the king, it is difficult...
'.
To use the post-Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
titles of these areas we can see that by 1122 Bermondsey Abbey owned all of the so called 'King's', 'Clink' and 'Paris Garden' manors, as well as Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. Canterbury owned Walworth as well as the 'Great Liberty'. The crown controlled only the western side of the 'borough' or 'Guildable' manor, the eastern part being controlled by the de Warrennes successors to the Godwins' sub manor.
From this large combined area Bermondsey Priory divided a part which was let-out to one Ordgar the Rich; just when is not clear. However, it was from Ordgar (with the consent of Bermondsey Priory) that the Bishop of Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
acquired it, no earlier than 1144/49, this was for the creation of a palace near London to enable the Bishop to carry out his political duties. The part acquired by Winchester was the nucleus of the manor later known as 'The Clink'. The parts remaining to Bermondsey Priory were 'Wideflete' and the remnant of the 'Royal Manor' (ie less the 'Clink') along with the Ardern property. The 'Wideflete'/ Paris Garden was demised to the Templars (on the opposite side of the river to their 'New Temple') in 1166.
The manorial area that was left was informally referred to as 'le weste socne' (ie the 'soke' west of the 'high' street) in the thirteenth century and as the 'Abbot's manor' later. From some point in the fifteenth century the Brandon family became the King’s Marshals; as such they controlled the two ancient royal prisons on the eastern side of the high street, the King's Bench and the Marshalsea. As they became more prominent at court they grew wealthier and acquired parts of the western side of the high street from the Abbey to create a large mansion and grounds including, notably, Moulton Close which is now the park around the Imperial War Museum. The house became known as Brandon Place. Charles Brandon, the last of the male line, became Marshal in 1510 and was created Duke of Suffolk in 1514; he married Henry VIII's sister in 1516. The mansion then becomes known as Suffolk Place.
Henry took an interest in Suffolk Place and acquired it from Charles in 1536. Shortly after, in June 1536, the St Saviour's Abbey of Bermondsey was induced to 'grant' its land to the king, part of the Dissolution
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
process, hence he now owned all of the Abbey’s manor west of the high street. However, Henry gave this building to Queen Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
in 1537, mother of Edward VI, who died of post-natal complications shortly after his birth. In 1538 Henry acquired from Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
the Archbishop of Canterbury's manor on the eastern side of the high street; it seems it was his intention to create a new hunting park out of the two areas and the Brandon mansion was to act as its lodge.
The mansion is shown on the 'Lancaster Plan' of 1543 and there called De manor place. In any case Henry seems to have lost interest in the project before his death in 1547. From 1545 until 1551 it was the Mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
, supplementing the main mint at the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. This part of the borough is still called 'the Mint'. These manors belonged to the king for only fourteen and twelve years respectively, as in 1550 the City acquired both of the properties. The building then reverted to being a royal mansion; in 1554 Queen Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
stayed overnight with her new husband King Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
as part of their progress to London. In 1556 she granted it to the Archbishop of York for his London house, but it was soon leased out in parts for income. Unfortunately, although the park behind it and various buildings at its lodge or gatehouse were transferred to the City the mansion and garden where retained by the king; this curtillage might be what is delineated by the semi-circular line around the building in the 'Lancaster Plan'. These had been specifically excluded from the City’s jurisdiction by clauses in the charter. This allowed it to become a haunt and refuge for undesirable persons and activities (see Alsatia
Alsatia
Alsatia in London, was the name given to an area lying north of the River Thames covered by the Whitefriars monastery, to the south of the west end of Fleet Street and adjacent to the Temple...
). So notorious a place did it become that it was included in an Act of 1697 to allow the Sheriff a power of 'posse comitatus
Posse comitatus (common law)
Posse comitatus or sheriff's posse is the common-law or statute law authority of a county sheriff or other law officer to conscript any able-bodied males to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon, similar to the concept of the "hue and cry"...
' (a writ to raise an armed group) and enter into it to evict its inhabitants. However, it reverted to its bad ways and another, specific, Act of 1723 was required to clear it out for good. The City's jurisdiction was now complete.
Annual Court Day
"The Court LeetCourt leet
The court leet was a historical court baron of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge" and its attendant police jurisdiction, which was normally restricted to the hundred courts.-History:...
and View of Frankpledge with the Court Baron
Court baron
A Court baron is an English or Scottish manorial court dating from the Middle Ages.It was laid down by Sir Edward Coke that a manor had two courts, "the first by the common law, and is called a court baron," the freeholders being its suitors; the other a customary court for the copyholders...
of the Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
and Commonalty of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
" is now summoned for the three City manors once a year, usually on the second Wednesday in November, ie following the Presentation of the Lord Mayor (see Lord Mayor's Show
Lord Mayor's Show
The Lord Mayor's Show is one of the longest established and best known annual events in London which dates back to 1535. The Lord Mayor in question is that of the City of London, the historic centre of London that is now the metropolis's financial district, informally known as the Square Mile...
).