62 L O N D O N. 
Tower of London. The next morning they were brought 
to their trial ; and, fentence of death being pa fled upon 
them, on the following day they were drawn by the feet 
through thecity to a part of Smithfield then called the Elms, 
where they were publicly executed, and then hung in chains. 
Tut tile disturbances were not wholly appeafed, and the 
'tempelt of fedition was rather huftied than lupprefled. 
The body of Fitz-Olbert being taken down and carried 
away, a report was immediately propagated by a prieft, 
who was a kinfman of the deceafed, that feveral miracles 
had been wrought at the place of his execution. Here¬ 
upon vaft numbers of people reforted to Smithfield, many 
of whom picked up and carried away, as holy relics, pieces 
of the earth on which the blood of their champion had 
been fpilt, udiile others continued there the whole night 
in the utmoft fervor of devotion ; nor did they quit the 
place till a military guard was fent, by whom they were 
at length, though with great reluftance on their part, dif- 
perfed to their refpeffive habitations. It was now thought 
neceffary, in order to undeceive the deluded populace, to 
make public the life of Fitz-Olbert, which was accordingly 
done by authority ; his relation, the prieft, was excommu¬ 
nicated for attempting to deceive the people, who there¬ 
upon applied quietly to their refpeftive occupations, and 
all the riots and tumults fubfided. 
King Richard in the eighth year of his reign granted 
a charter by which the citizens of London were empow¬ 
ered to remove out of the river Thames all wears that 
might impede the navigation of this incomparable ftream ; 
and, as a farther encouragement, the king reflgned all his 
rights and pretenfions to the annual duties arifing thereby, 
which were paid to the officers of his Tower of London. 
The charter is in Latin, and begins as follows: “ Dom. Ri- 
cardus Rex, filius Regis Henrici Secundi, conceffit et fir- 
miter pra;cepit, ut omnes kidelli (wears) quifunt in Tha- 
mifia amoveantur, ubicunque fuerint in Thamifia, &c.” 
From this deed the city of London claims its jurifdiftion 
and conffervancy of the river Thames. 
King Richard wasfucceeded,in 119 9, by his brother John, 
who favoured much the city of London, and granted the 
citizens three charters. The firft was a recital and confir¬ 
mation of thofe granted by Henry I. and II. with the far¬ 
ther privilege of being free from toll and every other duty 
or cuftom in his majefty’s foreign dominions ; for which 
they paid the fum of 3000 marks. The fecond was a confir¬ 
mation of that granted by king Richard, and by which the 
citizens of London had the jurifdi&ion and confervancy 
of the river Thames; with a claufe to extend that juris¬ 
diction, and the powers therewith granted, to the river 
Medway ; and with another claufe to enable the faid city, 
as conlervators of the Thames and Medway, to inflift 
a penalty of iol. upon any perfon that fliould prefume to 
ereft a wear in either of thefe rivers. The third charter 
contains a fee-farm rent of the fherifi'wicks of London and 
Middlefex at the ancient rent, of which they had been de¬ 
prived by queen Maud; granting them all'o the additional 
power of chooiing their own {heriffs. This charter was 
given by way of conveyance from the crown to the citi¬ 
zens for a valuable confideration, by which the Iheriffwick 
became tbeir freehold; and this is the firlt covenant or 
conveyance we find’on record, with the legal terms of to 
have and to hold , which are at this time accounted an ef- 
fential part in all conveyances of property. 
Befides thefe figtial favours of king John, we find that 
in the very beginning of his reign he continued the good 
practice he had begun under his brother, and perfifted in 
it notwithftanding his numerous follies and misfortunes; 
this was the erecting his demefne-towns into free burghs, 
which prepared the way for the gradual dilfufion of com¬ 
merce through his dominions. Inftead of the king’s col¬ 
lectors having the power, as formerly, of levying fundry 
tolls, taxes, and cuftoms, from towns, there was now only 
©ue annual fum paid, which was called the fee-farm rent 
of each refpeCtive burgh: this fum was raifed by the 
corporation, by a general afleffinent. Before his time, the 
crown had alfo always appointed a chief officer, who ruled: 
them, fometimes arbitrarily enough, and raifed the feveral 
taxes. King John gave the townfmen the privilege of elect¬ 
ing their chief officer, annually, out of their own body* 
From this privilege arifes the prefent annual magiftracy of 
corporations. 
In the third year of his reign he granted the city a 
fourth charter, by which, “at the requeft of the mayor 
and citizens of London, the guild of w’eavers (hall not 
from thenceforth be in the city of London, neither (hall 
be at all maintained.” It does not appear, either by this 
charter, or by any other document now in exiftence, what 
occafioned this requeft of the citizens; for it is abfurd to 
fuppofe, with fotne hiftorians, that the addition of two 
marks to the royal revenue could have procured it. It is 
much more probable that the difference in the value of 
money occafioned the alteration, the fum paid to the ex¬ 
chequer by the weavers being then eighteen marks; and 
that required of the city, as a compenfation for theiofs of 
it, being but twenty. 
From Madox’s Hiftory of the Exchequer we learn that, 
in 1204, Guy de Von ftood indebted to the crown in the 
fum of one thoufand and fixty-fix pounds eight /hillings 
and fourpence, for arrears of rent of the Cambium , cr Ex¬ 
change of London, which had been let upon leal'e to him 
for a term of years. This is a fatisfaCfory proof that the 
trade of London mult have been very conliderable at that 
time. 
The city of London may, in fome meafure, be faid to 
have been firft made a free city by king John, in the year 
1207, when, according to fome authors, they had liberty 
to choofea mayor out of their own body, annually, which 
office had been before for life ; but fir Richard Baker 
places this event in the tenth year of his reign, or two 
years later, though probably his fifth charter, which will 
be inferted in its place, was the original grant. 
In 1209, the king’s purveyor having bought a quantity 
of corn in London, Roger Winchefter and Edmund Har- 
dell, the {heriffs, would not permit him to carry it off'; 
which fo highly incenfed the king, that lie fent a poiitive 
command to the council of the city (which confiffed of 
five-and-thirty members) to degrade and imprifon the 
/heriffs; which being done, in obedience to the royal pre¬ 
cept, the council fent a deputation to the king at Lang¬ 
ley, to intercede for their unfortunate {heriffs; and to af- 
fnre his majefty that what they had done was not out of 
any difrefpeft to him, but purely to prevent an infurrec- 
tion, which was then threatened, and, at that critical 
juncture, might have proved dangerous to the royal af¬ 
fairs ; which reafon proved fo fatisfaclory to the king, 
that he gave orders for their immediate difeharge. 
The king, however, by the intrigues of feveral parti- 
fans of the church of Rome, incurred the difpleafure of 
his loyal citizens of London, who joined the barons in the 
defence of national interefts. The public fafety growing 
every day more dubious, the citizens began in 1211 to 
ftrengthen their walls with a deep ditch, two hundred 
feet wide, which was finiflied in two years ; being fome- 
what retarded by an extraordinary accident of fire on 
London-bridge, about four years after the bridge had 
been finiffied, on the 10th of July, 1212, in the night, 
which began in Southwark; where, the flames taking 
hold of St. Mary Overy’s, then called Our Lady of the 
Canons, communicated, by a ftrong fouth wind, to the 
north end of the bridge, which interrupted the paffage, 
and ftopt the return of the multitude that had run from 
London to extinguifli the fire; and, while the confufed 
multitude were attempting to force a paffage through the 
flames at the north end of the bridge the fire broke out 
at the fouth end alfo. Thus they were enclofed between 
two raging fires; and above three thoufand people either 
periftied in the flames, or were drowned by overloading 
the boats that ventured to their affiftanee. The bridge was 
greatly damaged, and a great part of the city was conl'umed 
Another caufe of difpleafure war the king’s command 
5 to 
