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. 



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