Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys was born in Londn in 1663, and was the son of a tailor. 

Educated at St Paul's School and later at Magdalene College, Cambridge.

In 1665 he married Elizabeth St Michael the daughter of a Huguenot immigrant 

1660 - became Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board (ordered materials for the Navy) and lived in a house owned by the Navy in Seething Lane 

1669 - Elizabeth died

Held posts in the Admiralty and Royal Society

Spent 7 weeks in the Tower of London accused of spying for France

1679 - moved to Buckingham Street with his assistant Will Hewer.

1685 - became Master of Trinity House (nominated by the King)

1703 - Died in Clapham

Buried in St Olaves Church Hart Street (near Seething Lane)

His famous diaries were written between 1660 and 1669 about the time of the Plague and the Great Fire.

The diaries were written in shorthand, and were not intended to be read by his contemporaries.

Pepys had decided to keep his diary secret and record private messages and experiences as well as everyday events at home and work. He also liked to record his increasing wealth starting with mere £25 in 1660 and being worth some £10,000 a decade later when the Diary ends

At the time of Pepys death, the diaries were passed to Magdalene College and were not discovered when work began on John Evelyn's diary in 1818. 

1970 - the complete works of Pepys is published.

Example from the front page of his diary showing the shorthand used.

The two dates 1659 and 1660, refer to two calendars, the year was 1659 in the old (Julian) calendar, where the year began on 25 March, but 1660 in the new (Gregorian) calendar when the year began on 1 January.  

Pepys Street off Seething Lane.

Rebuilding the City after the Great Fire

After the Great Fire several designs were put forward for the redevelopment of London. Nearly 3,000 houses were built within three years. 

Men such as John Evelyn, Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke saw the opportunity to create a new modern City, but complex problems such as property ownership led to rebuilding using the original medieval layout. A tax on coal raised £736,000 for public works to be carried out.

A committee of 6 men, known as 'Commissioners for Rebuilding' including Christopher Wren, surveyed ruined properties, designed new buildings and made alterations to the streets. 

Narrow roads (as seen above) were widened to reduce the risk of fires spreading in the future. Over 100 streets were widened and two new wide streets - King Street and Queen Street were laid out. 

New buildings had walls of stone or brick instead of timber, and guidelines were issued for the height of houses, according to the type of street in which they were built.

High and principle streets - neither more or less than 4 storeys 

Streets and lanes of note - 3 storeys

By lanes - 2 storeys

Houses which lay back from the street, with courtyards and gardens - limited to 4 storeys

Post fire houses in Laurence Pountney Hill

The Monument to the Great Fire

The Monument to the Great Fire of London was jointly the work of Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke. They drew up plans for a Doric column containing a cantilevered stone staircase of 311 steps leading to a viewing platform. 

On the top, a drum and copper urn from which flames emerged symbolised the fire.

It stands at 202 feet high and is situated at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Hill Street at the exact distance from the source of the fire in Pudding Lane (to the east of the Monument)

It was built between 1671 and 1667 to celebrate the rebuilding of the City. 

It's first use was by the Royal Society, for science experiments using the column as a zenith telescope. The urn at the top had a hinged lid and there were a number of trap doors in the column which could be opened. Lenses were placed at various heights. However, vibrations caused by traffic meant that they had to be discontinued. 

An inscription on the north panel gives details of the Great Fires damage to houses and buildings. 

Another of the decorative panels (south) 

A short distance away from the base of the Monument on the pavement, there is a memorial plaque to Robert Hooke. 

The monument survived WW II, with only some superficial damage to the base from bomb fragments. The first high explosive bombs to fall on London landed 202 feet to the west in King William Street. 

This unique pillar of Portland stone is the tallest isolated column in the world. 

The Great Fire 1666

In the 1600s most houses in London had timber frames, which were often high and crammed together with little space between. Road were quite narrow.

Open fires were used for heating and candles used for lighting, either beeswax, rush or tallow according to income. There were flammable materials everywhere; hay in houses and streets, pitch and tar by the river for ships and boats, and kindling wood laying about and the City was 'tinder dry' after the long hot summer of 1666.

The Great Fire started in Thomas Farriner's Bakehouse in Pudding Lane, and was probably caused by the ovens not being damped down after baking finished on the Saturday night. This led to a spark falling onto a pile of fuel and causing a fire to start in the early hours of Sunday 2 September. 

The area around Pudding Lane was full of warehouses and a strong easterly wind quickly blew the fire from house to house. 

Thomas Farriner and his family had to climb out of an upstairs window and onto a neighbours roof to escape. Many Londeners fled to the river to escape by boat, or rushed to the City gates to escape to fields outside London. 

The fire raged west along the waterfront, which was packed with combustibles and reached the area around the present site of Southwark Bridge in the afternoon. Gaining momentum on Monday, the Fire advanced west to the River Fleet and north beyond Cornhill, Ludgate and the Royal Exchange.

Fire breaks were established by pulling down houses with 'fire hooks' but the wind blew the fire across the gaps and the job was made more difficult because of wood laying in the way.

Fire posts were set up around the City, each staffed by 130 men. Fire fighters were not organised, and often had little more than buckets and large syringes to spread the water. 

On the third day, gunpowder was used to clear a firebreak in front of All Hallows by the Tower, to port the Tower of London with its gunpowder stores. 

In all, the fire destroyed almost four-fifths of the City; 13,200 houses, 90 churches, including St Paul's Cathedral  and 50 livery company halls. 

The wind began to drop on Wednesday 5 September, allowing fire fighters to control and douse the flames. By Friday it had stopped. Some places continued to smoulder for months.

Fewer than 10 people were recorded as dying in the Great Fire. An extract from the London Gazette in September 1666 records the events

A Frenchman, Robert Hubert, confessed to starting the fire and was hanged. Records later showed that he was not actually in London at the time, having arrived three days later! 

The total loss was estimated at around £10m, at a time when the City's annual income was £12,000

The Plague

The first ever recorded plague in London was in 664, with later outbreaks in 1348, 1603, 1625 and 1636.

It was a bubonic plague reported in Holland in 1664 that came to London. The plague was carried by fleas on rats from the continent who entered the City of London via docks, wharves and jetties. The first recorded case was Rebecca Andrews in April 1665, although poor peoples records were seldom kept, so it is likely that she was not the first. 

By Juky 1665, the plague was rife in the City, and the court of King James retreated to Oxford. Many other richer businessmen and professional people who could afford to do so also left and London's houses were boarded up. As the poor were legally prevented from leaving the City, the spread of infection was not halted.

Samuel Pepys was one of the notable people who remained in the City, and the witnessing of the plague is one of the themes of his diary.

Infection would take between 2 to 5 days, with various onset symptoms similar to flu. Most people died within 3 days of contracting the first signs; after rapidly degenerating with pain, breathing difficulty, coma and skin decay.

Unqualified 'plague doctors' would diagnose victims and bodies were buried in plague pits. All cats and dogs in the City were culled, although had they survived, they might have kept the rat population down.

Posies of petals were held under noses to mask the stink of decay and pepper, frankincense and other substances were burned in the belief that strong odours would clear the air. During the plague it was believed that the air was infected, and that it was a punishment from God. 

The plague reached its peak in September with 7,000 deaths per week. In total it is thought that around 100,000 people died, although this number does not include the poor, as their deaths were not officially recorded. 

Bills of Mortality were recorded and printed on sheets that were stuck up in public places to warn people. In September 1665 it shows that 7,165 people died from the plague. Infant mortality was also high, 'teeth' meaning infants who were still teething, and also 42 women died from bacterial infection after giving birth. Typhus (spotted fever) was also recorded: 101 people probably also died from this. 

Review : The Lord Mayor’s Show – November 8th 2014

The cloudy skies did not deter the crowds as the main part of  the Lord Mayor’s Show got underway with the new mayor Alan Yarrow was escorted by other dignitaries to the ornate State coach to begin his journey  to St Paul’s for a blessing and then to Royal Courts of Justice to swear the Oath of Allegiance to the Sovereign.

The Lord’ Mayor’s show is one of oldest civic pageants in the world. It began in 1215, when King John allowed the Mayor of London to become one of the first elected offices in the modern world.

It is the connection between the modern and the ancient that makes the show a strange mixture of pageant and spectacle with weird and wonderful costumes and vehicles. The 2014 procession will have over 7000 participants, with 21 bands, 150 horses, 23 carriages carts and coaches, and hundreds of other vehicles; vintage cars, steam buses, tanks, tractors, ambulances, fire engines, unicycles, steamrollers, giant robots, ships amongst others.

Towards the head of the procession you will see two wicker giants. They are Gog and Magog, the traditional guardians of the City of London, and they have been carried in the Lord Mayor’s Show since the reign of Henry V.

The  floats and displays were dominated  by  City’s businesses, Livery Companies, charities, Her Majesty’s Forces, the City Police and Londoners from all walks of life.

It is one of the more unusual parades in London and is always popular with the crowds that throng the streets surrounding the parade.

Each parade is 18 months in the planning stage and the Pageantmaster, Dominic Reid makes sure that everything runs like clockwork.

The Armed Forces are well represented with a wide range of regiments and bands.

There are what is known as the Great Twelve Livery Companies, however there are in total 11o Livery Companies in the City which represent a diverse range of trades, crafts and professions. Each year the Livery Companies donate around 40 million pounds to good causes and charities.

At St Paul’s, the new Lord Mayor and  his wife kneel down to receives a blessing before they carry on their journey to the Royal Courts of Justice.

The Lord’s Mayor show is one of the great pageants of London starting with the River Flotilla in the morning, the main parade  and then the firework display in the evening. The City of London plays a crucial part in the commercial functioning of London and although moving with the times, pays homage to its traditions. Much of their work is often hidden but events like the Lord Mayor’s show  illustrates the public face of the corporation.

In the dead of night, a crucial practice run for the Lord Mayor's Show

       By Luke Hanrahan: ITV London Reporter

As London slept this morning, its streets were transformed during a crucial practice run, in the dead of night, for the Lord Mayor's Show.

A gilded coach, drawn by six shire horses, wound its way through the capital.

Credit: ITV News

Tens of thousands will line the streets to watch an event which dates back to 1189, the official ceremony to acknowledge the new Lord Mayor. So the pressure is on to get it right.

Credit: ITV News

We do this specifically for two purposes. One is to take the Lord Mayor through his paces because he is somebody who doesn't have any experience of this. He's not a soldier. He's not a member of the Royal Family. He doesn't know how to inspect a Guard of Honour. So he's got to rehearse that.

We're also taking a team of horses through it because you've got a team of six horses and it's a very specific configuration of horses.

– DOMINIC REID - PAGEANTMASTER, THE LORD MAYOR'S SHOW

Credit: ITV News

The Lord Mayor elect began his 4am journey around the oldest parts of town.

Credit: ITV News

The Lord Mayor is the ambassador for financial services. About 5% of his time is doing ceremonial stuff. The rest is out selling the country.

– ALAN YARROW, LORD MAYOR ELECT

Despite the early hour a few Londoners were up, some were bemused. Others were just getting on with their jobs but most were amazed by what they saw.

So if you thought you saw a Lord in a funny hat inside a gilded horse drawn carriage you weren't dreaming. The real thing takes place on Saturday.

Play video

The Magna Carta - 1297

The Magna Carta is a document of basic rights. The 1297 copy is in the Guildhall Art Gallery 

Originally issued in 1215, it was the first document forced onto a king of England by his subjects as they sought to protect their basic rights. 

It was redrafted three times (1216, 1217 and 1225) and finally confirmed as English law in 1297. Most parts have been repealed; however, 

Clause 1, securing the freedom of the English church;

Clause 9, guaranteeing the 'ancient liberties' of the City of London, and 

Clause 29, the right to due process, are still in force today.

The City of London played an active role in the events that led to the creation of the Magna Carta, and is the only City to be mentioned on it. 

"The City of London shall have all its ancient liberties by land as well as water"

The City was later granted the right to appoint a Lord Mayor, and part of his duties were to ensure that the provisions of the charter were carried out.

Judges look at the City of London's 1297 copy of the Magna Carta in a carriage during the Lord Mayor's show in London November 8, 2014. The manuscript was part of the annual procession marking the start of its 800 year anniversary in 1215

See: http://magnacarta800th.com/

Magna Carta takes centre stage at The Lord Mayors Show video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEPUdQtEJS4&feature=youtube_gdata_player 

The Agas Map

Also known also as the Civitas Londinum which was printed from woodblocks in about 1561, the Agas Map is the earliest known birds eye view format map of Tudor London, showing rich detail of buildings and streets in the City. The map has been attributed to Ralph Agas, who was a surveyor. Around that time maps usually showed a panoramic view.

The 1561 version no longer exists, but the Guildhall Art Gallery has a copy. A later modified version of the map was printed in 1633. In the later version, the Stuart Coat of Arms replaces the Elizabethan one, and the 1571 Royal Exchange has been added. 

The original map was around 6 feet long by 2 feet high. 

An interactive version can be found at the link below, enabling the viewer to zoom in and see close ups of the 32 sections and to search for information on churches, markets, parishes, streets, taverns etc

http://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/map.htm

Painting - 'Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar' 1782 by John Singleton Copley

This painting is based on an attack that took place in Gibraltar, 1782.

It was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British. 

Secret Spanish weapons, known as floating batteries (wooden timbers filled with layers of wet sand) were thought to be fireproof. The British used furnace-temperature heated cannonballs, nicknamed 'hot potatoes' to fire at the advancing ships, causing them to smoulder and burn.

This is the largest and most dramatic painting in the Guildhall Art Gallery, measuring 7.6 m by 5.6 m

and is one of Britains largest oil paintings. No wall was large enough to display it and it can now be seen on the entire back wall of the main exhibition space at the gallery which was built to house it. 

It was stored out of London during the Blitz, three weeks before the gallery was destroyed. 

Painting - 'Ninth of November' 1888 by William Logsdail

The Ninth of November, 1888 by William Logsdail (1890)

The painting depicts The Lord Mayors Show procession at Bank junction, with the Royal Exchange in the centre and the old Bank of England building on the left. The procession is just passing the Mansion House (not visible on right hand side)

Logsdail used professional models as the subjects, and began by painting the policemen in position in the early morning. He later positioned himself in the middle of the traffic to draw the background architecture. The Lord Mayors coach was painted whilst the horses were harnessed up at the stables, whlist the footmen and coachmen posed wearing their liveries in his studio in Primrose Hill.

He also incorporated some his friends including the painter J W Waterhouse in a brown bowler hat. Sir James Whitehead (whose Mayoral procession it had been) bought the painting for £500, on the understanding that it was to be presented to the Guildhall Art Gallery. It was eventually sold to the Corporation after his death for £250.

Close ups of the scene showing the detail of characters: a soldier in uniform, costermongers, small child and a policeman with the three Beadles leading the procession. 

It was quite poignant that on this very morning, only a half mile or so away in Spitalfields, the body of Mary Kelly, another victim of Jack the Ripper had been found. 

Guildhall Art Gallery

The Guldhall Art Gallery was originally built in 1885 and completed in 1999, to replace a building destroyed in the Blitz. It is adjacent to the Guildhall.

It houses the art collection of the City of London, documenting the history of the City. There are about 250 paintings on display at any time and works date from 1670 to the present time.

The remains of a Roman amphitheatre built in AD70 also stand on the site under the Art gallery, and this is now a protected monument. The amphitheatre was discovered by archaeologists working on the site of the new Guildhall Art Gallery building in 1988. 

Right, privileges and duties of The Lord Mayor of London

In the City of London The Lord Mayor has precedence over all except the Sovereign. 

The main role of The Lord Mayor is to represent, support and promote the businesses and residents of the City, and also serve as Chief Magistrate in the City, Is Admiral of the Port of London and Trustee of St Paul's Cathederal.

The Lord Mayor can be expected to make up to 800 speeches within the year, and can spend over 100 days abroad. 

At The Lord Mayors Banquet the Prime Minister delivers the keynote address. Other speeches are given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Bankers Dinner in June, and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs at the Easter Banquet. 

The Lord Mayor is apolitical; not involved in politics.

The Lord Mayors residence is the Mansion House built by George Dance, the Elder. 

Tours take place every Tuesday afternoon at 2pm and are one hour long.

The Lord Mayors official title is: The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of London.

The wife of a Lord Mayor is known as Lady Mayoress.

The cost of The Lord Mayor is not bourne by the taxpayer; but by the City Fund, the City Cash (investments) and the Bridge House Estate 

Note to self: find out more about these

The Lord Mayor's Show

The Lord Mayors Show takes place on the second Saturday in November. 

The River Pageant

An early morning hour long journey starting at 8:30 am from Vauxhall to the City (HMS President) in a flotilla of traditional Thames barges and small boats from Livery Companies takes place. The Mayor travels on QRB Gloriana, and Tower Bridge opens in salute. The Lord Mayor then goes to Mansion House ready to join the procession to the Royal Courts at 11:00 am 

The Lord Mayors Show Procession 

The Mayor travels in a gilded State Coach, the oldest ceremonial vehicle in regular use in the world.

The coach which is pulled by six brewery shire horses travels at the rear of the procession.  .

The State Coach, built in 1757 at a cost of about £1,000

The Mayors procession originally travelled to Westminster on the Thames by boat. This is where the word carnival float comes from. This was replaced by the Mayor and Aldermen travelling on horseback, until in 1711 a Mayor fell off and broke his leg. Ever since the State Coach has been used.

A new dampening system was installed to counteract the problems of motion sickness reported by previous Mayors due to a swinging movement from the straps which held the coach to the undercarriage. The speed of the coach is 237 steps per minute.

In 2012 the coach broke down during the procession due to sand residue on the road causing a fault with the wheel mechanism. It is the only time a Lord Mayor returned to the Mansion House in an open top Land Tover.

The procession is presided over by a Pageantmaster, and close to the front are the 14 feet high figures of Gog and Magog, the traditional guardians of the City of London. 

The Lord Mayor is accompanied by three Esquires; the City Marshall who clears the way, the Common Cryer and Sergeant-at-Arms who carries the Mace and the Swordbearer 

The procession is preceded by Pikemen and Musketeers of the Honourable Artillery Company and by Doggetts Coach and Badge men with their oars. 

The Great Twelve Livery Companies take part as of right; the remaining companies participate by invitation. There is usually a flypast by the Royal Air Force whilst The Lord Mayor waits at the Mansion House before joining the rear of the procession.

The Lord Mayor briefly stops at St Paul's to receive a blessing from the Dean. At the Royal Courts of Justice The Lord Mayor takes an oath of allegiance to the sovereign before returning to the Mansion House (see route) to review the Pikemen and Musketeers of the Honorable Artillery Company. 

The Lord Mayor passing St Mary le Bow in Cheapside 

Outside the Royal Courts of Justice

The Lord Mayors Show procession begins about 11 am and finishes around 3:30 pm. The procession is over three miles and the route has been fixed since 1952.  In the evening a firework display is held.

Election and ceremonies

The Lord Mayor is elected at Common Hall by Liverymen. Eligible candidates must have served as Sheriffs and be a current Alderman.

The election takes place at Michaelmas on 29th September and is usually by a show of hands.

The new Lord Mayor is sworn in and takes office on the Friday before the second Saturday in November. This ceremony is known as the Silent Ceremony, as no speeches are made. 

At the Guildhall, the outgoing Mayor transfers the Mayoral insignia, the Seal, the Purse, the Sword and the Mace to the incoming Lord Mayor during the Silent Ceremony. A swordbearer wears a Moscovy fur hat which has a small pocket in which he keeps the key to the seals safe. This is passed to the outgoing Mayor, who passes it to the incoming Mayor, who returns it to the swordbearer with the instruction 'keep it under your hat'

Each Lord Mayor is given a tricorn hat made by the Feltmakers Company. The new Mayor wears this hat at the Silent Ceremony, and the doffing of the hat by the new Lord Mayor and the removal of the hat by the outgoing Mayor marks the handover of the office.

The following day a procession from Guildhall to the Royal Courts of Justice, known as The Lord Mayors Show takes place. The Lord Mayor travels in a guided coach and is presented to The Lord Chief Justice to swear allegiance to the Sovereign. 

The Lord Mayors Banquet is held at the Mansion House on the Monday following The Lord Mayors Show. The Prime Minister is the principal speaker. The outgoing Mayor is not invited, and must observe a period of purdah until the following Easter. 

Route to becoming Lord Mayor

Freemen

Obtaining the Freedom of the City, by patrimony (inheritance) by servitude (apprenticeship or trade) or by redemption (purchase) is the first step.

The enrolment ceremony is at the Chamberlains Court at the Guildhall. A 'Declaration of a Freeman' is read and a copy of the Freedom is presented. The current Freedom Fee (known as the fine) is £30

Certain privileges are:

- The right to drive sheep and cattle over London Bridge (no longer applies, but in times gone by this meant not having to pay tolls from the markets in the south to north of the river)

- Protection from 'press gangs'

- To be hung with a silken rope 

- If found drunk and disorderly, the City of London Police will send you home via taxi instead of holding you in a cell.

Liverymen

Application for becoming a member of one of the 110 Livery Companies applies to those people associated with the relevant trade or profession. 

The procedure to becoming a Liveryman is to become a Freeman of the Livery Company by fulfilling the Company's requirements, then apply for the City Freedom. A Liveryman is a full member of their Company. 

In medieval times the word 'livery' was the term used for the clothing, food and drink provided to rich households. Later, the term refers to the distinct clothing and badges that were the symbol of their priveliges, and so that they could be distinguished from one another. They wear ceremonial dress on their company's official and formal occasions. 

The senior members of the Livery companies form Common Hall, which is the body that chooses The Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs. 

Note: any two Liverymen may nominate a candidate for the Freedom of the City. 

Aldermen

The Court of Aldermen has 25 members, one representing each Ward in the City. They are elected by the registered voters within the ward every 6 years. A non-residential voting system is also in place, and for each company or business, the number of votes are based on the number of workers.

Some Aldermen sit as Magistrates in the City of London, although the requirement to do so has been dropped. 

The sole qualification of office is that Aldermen must be Freemen of the City.

Sheriffs

The office of Sheriff is the oldest in Lomdon, the name deriving from the Shire Reeve who exercised the kings authority over his citizens. 

There are two Sheriffs of the City, and their role is to support and accompany The Lord Mayor to official occasions at home and abroad. Both live in the court house at the Mansion House so that one is always in attendance. It is a customary that the The Lord Mayor must have previously served as a Sheriff, so would have already been introduced to the role. 

One is known as the Aldermanic Sheriff - after having served as an Alderman and hoping to go on to becoming The Lord Mayor. 

The other is Non-Aldermanic Sheriff - who has no civic ambitions and is happy to complete the year, responsible for the Old Bailey as an administrative officer of the court and also host receptions. 

Richard Whittington

Born into a wealthy Gloucestershire family, as younger son he did not stand to inherit any estate so he was sent to London to learn the trade of mercer. He became successful, selling luxury fabrics to the Royal Court. 

He became a Councilman, then Alderman before being appointed Sheriff. He took the vacancy of Lord Mayor after a previous Mayor died suddenly, and negotiated a deal in which the City brought back its liberties for £10,000 (about £4m today)

He was a popular elected Mayor, and was noted for lending King Henry V large amounts of money, collecting revenues and import duties and donating profits to the City. He actually served three and a bit terms as Mayor.

He was responsible for the rebuilding of the Guildhall, a home for unmarried mothers, and the City's first public toilet, known as a Whittington Longhouse, with seats for 64 men and 64 women. It was cleansed by the River Thames at high tide.

He is buried at St Michaels Paternoster Royal.  

The pantomime Dick Whittington and his Cat is based very loosely on his life, although he was never poor, nor kept a cat.  Dick Whittington never existed. 

A 17th century engraving of him replaced an original skull he was holding with a cat, which is out of proportion