Part 11

(_a_) Our most humble duties to your Grace. Whereas by the daily and disorderly exercise of a number of players and playing houses erected within this City, the youth thereof is greatly corrupted and their manners infected with many evil and ungodly qualities, by reason of the wanton and profane devices represented on the stages by the said players, the prentices and servants withdrawn from their works and all sorts in general from the daily resort unto sermons and other Christian exercises, to the great hindrance of the trades and traders of this City, and profanation of the good and godly religions established among us. To which places also do resort great numbers of light and lewd disposed persons as cutpurses, cozeners, pilferers and such like, and there under the colour of resort to those places to hear the plays devise divers evil and ungodly matches, confederacies, and conspiracies, which by means of the opportunity of the place cannot be prevented nor discovered, as otherwise they might be. In consideration whereof we most humbly beseech your Grace for your godly care for the reforming of so great abuses tending to the offence of Almighty God, the profanation and slander of his true religion, and the corrupting of our youth, which are the seed of the Church of God and the common wealth among us, to vouchsafe us your good favour and help for the reforming and banishing of so great evil out of this city, which ourselves of long time though to small purpose have so earnestly desired and endeavoured by all means that possibly we could. And because we understand that the Queen's Majesty is and must be served at certain times by this sort of people, for which purpose she hath granted her Letters Patent to Mr. Tilney, Master of her Revels, by virtue whereof he being authorised to reform, exercise, or suppress all manner of players, plays and playing-houses whatsoever, did first license the said playing-houses within the city for Her Majesty's said service, which before that time lay open to all the statutes for the punishing of these and such like disorders. We are most humbly and earnestly to beseech your Grace to call unto you the said Master of Her Majesty's Revels, with whom also we have conferred of late to that purpose, and to treat with him, if by any means it may be devised that Her Majesty may be served with these recreations as hath been accustomed, which in our opinions may easily be done by the private exercise of Her Majesty's own players in convenient place, and the city freed from these continual disorders, which thereby do grow and increase daily among us. Whereby your Grace shall not only benefit and bind unto you the politic state and government of this city, which by no one thing is so greatly annoyed and disquieted as by players and plays and the disorders which follow thereon, but also to take away a great offence from the Church of God and hindrance to His gospel, to the great contentment of all good Christians, specially the preachers and ministers of the Word of God about this city, who have long time and yet do make their earnest continual complaint unto us for the redress hereof. And thus recommending our most humble duties and service to your Grace we commit the same to the grace of the Almighty.

(_b_) An order set down by the Lords and others of Her Majesty's Privy Council, the 22 of June 1600 to restrain the excessive number of play-houses and the immoderate use of stage plays in and about the city.

Whereas divers complaints have been heretofore made unto the Lords and others of Her Majesty's Council of the manifold abuses and disorders that have grown and do continue by occasion of many houses erected and employed in and about the city of London for common stage plays; and now very lately by reason of some complaint exhibited by sundry persons against the building of the like house in or near Golding Lane by one Edward Allen, a servant of the right honourable the Lord Admiral, the matter as well in generality touching all the said houses for stage plays and the use of playing as in particular concerning the said house now in hand to be built in or near Golding Lane hath been brought into question and consultation among their Lordships; forasmuch as it is manifestly known and granted that the multitude of the said houses and the misgovernment of them hath been made and is daily occasion of the idle, riotous and dissolute living of great numbers of people, who, leaving all such honest and painful course of life as they should follow, do meet and assemble there; and of many particular abuses and disorders that do thereupon ensue. And yet nevertheless it is considered that the use and exercise of such plays not being evil in itself may with a good order and moderation be suffered in a well-governed estate, and that Her Majesty being pleased at some times to take delight and recreation in the sight and hearing of them, some order is fit to be taken for the allowance and maintenance, of such persons as are thought meetest in that kind, to yield Her Majesty recreation and delight, and consequently of the houses that must serve for public playing to keep them in exercise. To the end therefore that both the greatest abuses of the plays and playing houses may be redressed and the use and moderation of them retained, the Lords and the rest of Her Majesty's Privy Council have ordered in manner and form as followeth.

First, that there shall be about the city two houses and no more allowed to serve for the use of the common stage plays; of the which houses one shall be in Surrey, in that place which is commonly called the Bankside, or thereabouts, and the other in Middlesex.... It is likewise ordered that the house of Allen shall be allowed to be one of the two houses, and namely for the house to be allowed in Middlesex. And for the other, allowed to be on Surrey side, their Lordships are pleased to permit to the company of players that shall play there, to make their own choice which they will have, choosing one of them and no more. And especially is it forbidden that any stage plays shall be played (as sometimes they have been) in any common inn for public assembly in or near about the city.

Secondly, forasmuch as these stage plays by the multitude of houses and company of players have been too frequent, not serving for recreation, but inviting and calling the people daily from their trade and work to misspend their time; it is likewise ordered that the two several companies of players, assigned unto the two houses allowed, may play each of them in their several house twice a week and no oftener; and especially that they shall refrain to play on the sabbath day, upon pain of imprisonment and further penalty; and that they shall forbear altogether in the time of Lent and likewise at such time and times as any extraordinary sickness or infection of disease shall appear to be in or about the city.

Thirdly, because these orders will be of little force and effect unless they be duly put into execution, it is ordered that several copies shall be sent to the Lord Mayor of London and to the Justices of the Peace of the counties of Middlesex and Surrey, and that letters should be written to them straightly charging them to see the execution of the same by committing to prison the owners of playhouses and players who shall disobey and resist these orders.

A PLAGUE ORDER (1593).

Since the Great Plague of 1665 there has been no similar outbreak in this country, but before that year plagues were of comparatively frequent occurrence. Despite the enormous loss of life which these pestilences caused, no effective measures were taken to prevent their recurrence. Although the outbreaks were by no means confined to the towns, they appear invariably to have commenced there, and the blame was usually attached to immigrants, or to the importation of infected foreign goods. The conditions in the towns, particularly London, were so utterly insanitary that infectious diseases were positively encouraged, and the annals of London contain periodical accounts of disastrous visitations such as the one described by Stow as occurring in 1603. The early literature concerning the Plague is not very illuminating, and we get very few details as to treatment. The chief points of the regulations which were issued on the occasion of every serious outbreak appear to be isolation of infected persons and special attention to sanitation. These measures, of course, are exactly those which are adopted at the present day; but it seems that, excellent though the regulations themselves might be, they were very imperfectly enforced, and we are almost entirely in the dark as to the treatment accorded to the sufferers and the remedies, if any, which were found to prove at all effective.

=Sources.=—(_a_) Lansdowne MSS., Malone Society, _Collections_, 1., ii., xix; (_b_) Stow,_Annals_, p. 857.

(_a_) 1593. Orders to be sett downe by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London for taking awaie such enormities as be meanes not only to continue but increase the plague and disorders of the Citie; being taken out of the proclamations set out by the Citie and the articles sett downe for providing for the poor and setting them to work.

_Aldermen or their Deputies._

1. To give charge to Churchwardens, Constables, Parish Clerks and Bedells to enquire what houses be infected.

2. To visit the ward often to see orders observed, especially touching cleanness in the streets.

3. The Aldermen or their deputies in their own persons to appoint Surveyors monthly in every parishe.

4. To appoint that certificate may be made to them what houses be infected.

5. To give charge to all teachers of children that (as nere as they can) they permit no children to come to their scoles from infected houses, especiallie till such houses have bene clere by the space of 28 daies, and that none kepe a greater number than their Roomes shall be thought fit by the Aldermen or their deputies to conteyne.

_Surveyours._

1. To see the orders for the sick executed daylie and diligentlie, upon knowledge from the Aldermen what houses be infected.

2. To appoint purveyours of necessaries for infected houses (being of the same houses), and deliver them reed rods to carry, and see that none other resort to their houses.

_Constables._

1. To bring every daie notice in writing to the Aldermen or their deputies what houses be infected.

_Constable and Churchwarden._

1. To provyde to have in readiness women to be providers and deliverers of necessaries to infected houses, and to attend the infected persons, and they to bear reed wandes, so that the sicke maie be kept from the whole, as nere as maie be, nedefull attendance weighed.

_Constable and Bedell._

1. To inquire what houses be infected.

2. To view dailie that papers remaine upon doors xxviii daies or to place newe.

_Clarkes and Sextons._

1. To understand what houses be infected.

2. To see bills set upon the doors of houses infected.

3. To suffer no corpses infected to be buried or remain in the churche during prayer or sermon, and to keep children from coming nere them.

_Scavengers and Rakers._

1. To see the streets made cleane every daie saving Sunday and the soile to be carried away.

2. To warn all inhabitants, against their houses to keep channels clere from fylth (by only turning it aside) that the water maie have passage.

_Common Hunt._

1. To kyll dogs, etc., or to lose his place.

_Householders and Houses._

1. Houses having some sicke though none die, or from whence some sicke have bene removed, are infected houses, and such are to be shut up for a month.

2. The whole familie to tarry in xxviii days.

3. To keep shut the lower rooms for the like space.

4. One licensed to go for provision, etc.

5. No clothes hanged into the streets.

6. Such as have wells or pumpes, every morning by six and every evening after eight a clocke, shall cause ten bucketts full to run into the streets.

7. Every evening at that hour the streets and channels to be made cleane, the water not swept out of the channell, nor the streets overwett but sprinkled, etc.

8. The houses infected and things in them to be aired in the xxviii days and no clothes or things about the infected persons to be given awaie or sold, but either destroyed or sufficientlie purified.

9. Owners of houses infected with their familie, may within the month depart to any their houses in the countrye, or to any other house in the Cyttye without being shut up, so that they abstain from returning to the Cyttye, or from going abroad out of house in the Cyttye, for a month.

10. None shall keep dogg or bitche abroad unled nor within howling or disturbing of their neighbours.

11. To have no assembly at funeral dynners or usual meeting in houses infected.

12. None shall for a month come into infected houses but such as be of the house and licensed to do service abroad.

13. No donghills out of stables, Bearhouses or other places to be made in the strete.

14. To have double time of Restraint for consenting to pull down bills, and the taker awaie to suffer imprisonement for viii days.

_Two Viewers of Dead Bodies, Two Viewers of sick suspected_,

Shall be appointed and sworne.

These viewers to report to the Constable, he to the Clarke, and he to the chief of Clarkes, all upon pain of imprisonment.

A pain of standing on the pillory for false reports by the viewers. A loss of pension to such as shall refuse.

_Mendinge of Pavements._

That diligent care be had, that pavements be amended where nede is, and that principall paviers be appointed to survey the wants of paving, especiallie in Channels, and that the dwellers against such may be forced to amend them.

_Interludes and Plaies._

If the increase of the sicknes be feared, that Interludes and plaies be restrained within the libertyes of the Cyttye.

_Phisicions and Surgeons._

That skilful and learned physicions and surgeons may be provided to minister to the sicke.

_Vagrant, Masterless, and poore people._

1. That all such as be diseased be sent to St. Thomas or St. Bartylmewes hospitall, there to be first cured and made cleane, and afterwards those which be not of the Cyttye to be sent awaie according to the statute in that case provided, and the other to be sett to worke, in such as are least used by the Inhabitants of the Cyttye, for the avoyding of all such vagrant persons as well as children male and female, soldiers lame and maymed, as other idle and loytering persons that swarme in the streets and wander up and downe begging to the great daunger and infecting of the Cyttye for th' increase of the plague and annoyance to the same.

2. That all maisterless men who live idlie in the Cyttye without any lawfull calling, frequenting places of common assemblies, as Interludes, gaming houses, cockpitts, bowling allies, and such other places, may be banished the Cyttye according to the laws in that case provyded.

(_b_) In the former year, 1603, the plague of pestilence being great in Ostend, and divers other parties of the Low countries, and many soldiers returning thence into England, and many ships of war lying long at Sea became also infected, who in their return, brought that contagion into divers parts of this land, chiefly into the City of London: by reason whereof many citizens, and other inhabitants thereof, for their better safety went into most shires of this kingdom, where in divers places they were kindly entertained, and entreated, and in many places most unchristianly, and despitefully reviled, and not suffered to have relief, neither for love, nor money, saying God must needs plague you, for your monstrous wickedness etc. many died in high-ways, fields and barns, near unto good towns, and villages, where too many of them were let remain too long unburied, but God whose mercy is above all his works, stayed his visitation in London, to the honour of his own name, and admiration of all men.

The City of London, the year ensuing viz. 1604, was cleared of all infection, and the other cities of this kingdom, most villages, and towns corporate, more extremely visited, and some by proclamation prohibited from coming to London: and it was Christianly observed in the year 1604, in the which it pleased Almighty God to visit the whole land with pestilence (London only excepted) that all those places were least, or not at all visited, which the year before had relieved the distressed. There died in London, and the liberties thereof, from the 23rd of December 1602, unto the 22nd of December 1603, of all diseases, 38,244, whereof of the plague, 30,578: the next March following, against the time the King should ride in triumph through London, to behold the state and beauty thereof besides the Clergy, Nobility, and chief gentry, of every country, and great numbers of strangers from beyond seas, there repaired thither such great multitudes of people from all places, as the like in London was never seen until that day, all which notwithstanding, there died that year of all diseases within London, and the liberties of London but 4,263.

LONDON SCHOOLS (1598).

During the Middle Ages there was little provision for education; the monasteries and the Universities kept alive such learning as existed, and it was not until the sixteenth century that the revival of learning affected England and brought about a widespread interest in education and the pursuit of knowledge. It is well known that Wolsey and Henry VIII. at first proposed to divert some of the wealth of the monasteries to educational purposes, such as the endowment of schools and colleges in the Universities; and although this intention was not fully carried out, the cause of education in London was advanced by some of the City Companies and by private benefactions. The following passage from Stow gives an entertaining description of the educational methods of his day.

=Source.=—Stow's _Survey_, p. 74.

But touching schools more lately advanced in this City, I read that King Henry the fifth having suppressed the priories aliens whereof some were about London, namely one Hospital, called Our Lady of Rouncivall by Charing Cross: one other Hospital in Oldborne [Holborn]: one other without Cripplegate: and the fourth without Aldersgate, besides other that are now worn out of memory, and whereof there is no monument remaining more than Rouncivall converted to a brotherhood, which continued till the reign of Henry the 8. or Edward the 6., this I say, and their schools being broken up and ceased: King Henry the sixth in the 24. of his reign, by patent appointed that there should be in London, Grammar schools, besides St. Paul's, at St. Martin's le Grand, S. Mary le Bow in Cheap, S. Dunstans in the west and S. Anthony's. And in the next year, to wit, 1394, the said King ordained by Parliament that four other grammar schools should be erected, to wit, in the parishes of Saint Andrew in Holborn, All Hallows the great in Thames Street, S. Peters upon Cornhill, and in the Hospital of S. Thomas of Acons in west Cheap, since the which time as divers schools by suppressing of religious houses, whereof they were members, in the reign of Henry the 8. have been decayed, so again have some others been newly erected, and founded for them: as namely Paul's school, in place of an old ruined house, was built in most ample manner, and largely endowed in the year 1512 by John Collet Doctor of Divinity, Dean of Pauls, for 153 poor mens children: for which there was ordained a master, surmaster, or usher, and a chaplain. Again in the year 1553 after the erection of Christ's Hospital in the late dissolved house of the Grey Friars, a great number of poor children being taken in, a school was also ordained there, at the Citizens charges. Also in the year 1561 the Merchant Tailors of London founded one notable free Grammar-School in the Parish of St. Laurence Poulteney by Candlewick street, Richard Hills late master of that Company, having given £500 toward the purchase of an house, called the Manor of the Rose, sometime the Duke of Buckingham's, wherein the school is kept. As for the meeting of the Schoolmasters, on festival days, at festival Churches, and the disputing of their Scholars logically, etc., whereof I have before spoken, the same was long since discontinued: but the arguing of the school boys about the principles of grammar, hath been continued even till our time: for I my self in my youth have yearly seen on the Eve of S. Bartholomew the Apostle, the scholars of divers grammar schools repair unto the Churchyard of S. Bartholomew, the Priory in Smithfield, where upon a bank boarded about under a tree, some one scholar hath stepped up, and there hath opposed and answered, till he were by some better scholar overcome and put down: and then the overcomer taking the place, did like as the first: and in the end the best opposers and answerers had rewards, which I observed not but it made both good schoolmasters, and also good scholars, diligently against such times to prepare themselves for the obtaining of this garland. I remember there repaired to these exercises amongst others the masters and scholars of the free schools of Saint Pauls in London: of Saint Peters at Westminster: of Saint Thomas Acons Hospital: and of Saint Anthony's Hospital: whereof the last named commonly presented the best scholars, and had the prize in those days.

A GERMAN VIEW OF LONDON (1600).

The author of the following passage was a German lawyer who visited England while on a three years' tour as tutor to a young Silesian nobleman, from 1597 to 1600. On his return to Germany he published a description of his travels, written in Latin, under the title of "Itinerarium Germaniæ, Galliæ, Angliæ, Italiæ."

=Source.=—Paul Hentzner's _Travels in England_.

This most ancient city is in the county of Middlesex, the fruitfullest and wholesomest soil in England.... The city being very large of itself, has very extensive suburbs, and a fort called the Tower, of beautiful structure. It is magnificently ornamented with public buildings and churches, of which there are above one hundred and twenty parochial. On the south is a bridge of stone eight hundred feet in length of wonderful work; it is supported upon twenty piers of stone, sixty feet high and thirty broad, joined by arches of about twenty feet diameter. The whole is covered on each side with houses so disposed as to have the appearance of a continued street, not at all of a bridge. Upon this is built a tower, on whose top the heads of such as have been executed for high treason are placed on iron spikes; we counted above thirty.

The wealth of the world is wafted to London by the Thames, swelled by the tide; and navigable to merchant ships through a safe and deep channel, for sixty miles, from its mouth to the city; its banks are everywhere beautified with fine country seats, woods and farms....

The government of the city is lodged by ancient grant of the Kings of England in twenty-five aldermen, that is, seniors; these annually elect out of their own body a mayor and two sheriffs, who determine causes according to municipal laws.