Historical Gazetteer of London Before the Great Fire Cheapside; Parishes of All Hallows Honey Lane, St Martin Pomary, St Mary Le Bow, St Mary Colechurch and St Pancras Soper Lane. Originally published by Centre for Metropolitan History, London, 1987.
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D J Keene, Vanessa Harding, 'St. Martin Pomary 95/3', in Historical Gazetteer of London Before the Great Fire Cheapside; Parishes of All Hallows Honey Lane, St Martin Pomary, St Mary Le Bow, St Mary Colechurch and St Pancras Soper Lane( London, 1987), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/london-gazetteer-pre-fire/pp118-125 [accessed 31 October 2024].
D J Keene, Vanessa Harding, 'St. Martin Pomary 95/3', in Historical Gazetteer of London Before the Great Fire Cheapside; Parishes of All Hallows Honey Lane, St Martin Pomary, St Mary Le Bow, St Mary Colechurch and St Pancras Soper Lane( London, 1987), British History Online, accessed October 31, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/london-gazetteer-pre-fire/pp118-125.
D J Keene, Vanessa Harding. "St. Martin Pomary 95/3". Historical Gazetteer of London Before the Great Fire Cheapside; Parishes of All Hallows Honey Lane, St Martin Pomary, St Mary Le Bow, St Mary Colechurch and St Pancras Soper Lane. (London, 1987), , British History Online. Web. 31 October 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/london-gazetteer-pre-fire/pp118-125.
In this section
Introduction
Up to the mid 14th century this property extended from Ironmonger Lane on the E. to St. Lawrence Lane on the W. At the Ironmonger Lane end it lay between 95/2 on the S. and 95/4 on the N. In the course of the 14th century the W. end of the property came into separate ownership and can subsequently be traced as a group of holdings in St. Lawrence Jewry parish (see 81B). By the end of the 13th century a lane known as Sevehod Lane, from a family which was closely associated with the property, extended the full length of the property on its S. side. Between the late 14th and the late 17th centuries a part of the property projected to the S. so that it lay between 81C on the S. and W. and 95/2 on the E.; the area covered by this projection had probably once formed part of 81C and had probably been transferred to 95/3 by 1309.
In 1858 the property was no. 27 Ironmonger Lane and nos. 6-7 King Street.
Twelfth to fourteenth century and quit-rents
In 1214-15 the property on the N. side of 95/2 was described as the land of the fee of Hugh de Nevill which Peter de Ely held. Peter's interest in the property came into the possession of St. Mary Spital (see below). Hugh de Nevill's land extended W. as far as St. Lawrence Lane, where it was charged with a rent to Canterbury Cathedral Priory (see 81/B). It is not yet known how far Hugh's land extended to the N., although in 1263-4 several tenements which seem to have been on the E. side of St. Lawrence Lane immediately N. of 95/3 were charged with rents to him, and it seems possible that 95/4 was part of his property. Hugh de Neville, the forester of England, was in possession of the London lands which had once belonged to Gervase of Cornhill, and this enables the history of 95/3, and possibly also of 95/4, to be traced back to the first half of the 12th century. Thirteenth-century rentals of St. Paul's Cathedral note that St. Paul's had a rent of 2s., due in equal portions at Easter and Michaelmas from land in St. Martin Pomary parish which had belonged to William son of Herlewin and which later belonged successively to Gervase of Cornhill, to Hugh de Nevill, and to John de Neville. According to Round's reconstruction of the family of Gervase of Cornhill, the property would have descended from William son of Herlewin, who was alive in 1130, to William's nephew, Gervase of Cornhill, who probably died in 1183-4, to Gervase's son Henry of Cornhill (d. 1193), and to Henry's daughter Joan, who by 1200 had married Hugh de Nevill. Hugh was dead by July 1234 and was succeeded by his son, John de Nevill, who died in 1246 and was succeeded by his son, Hugh de Nevill, who died in 1269. One of the St. Paul's rentals names John de Nevill as being responsible for the 2s. rent due from land lying to the W. of the church of St. Martin. Such a location would suit 95/4 rather than 95/3, and this may further indicate that both properties belonged to the de Neville family. (fn. 1)
It is not possible certainly to identify the property from which St. Paul's had rent in the 13th century with any of the London lands of the cathedral described, with dimensions, in an early 12th-century list. This list mentions land in Cheapside (in foro) measuring 16 ft. (4.88 m.) next to the highway by 24 ft. (7.32 m.) and a palm in length, and lying next to the house of Herlewin. A more likely candidate for identification with the Ironmonger Lane property is the land of Godwin Scat in Cheap ward (warda fori) from which St. Paul's had £1 rent in fee. This land measured 111 ft. (33.83 m.) in length by 82 ft. (24.99 m.) in width at both front and rear. The latter dimension is very close to the combined frontage widths of 95/3 and 95/4 as defined in this gazetteer. If Godwin's land was identical with this Ironmonger Lane property, it would have extended about two-thirds of the distance from Ironmonger Lane to St. Lawrence Lane. (fn. 2)
According to its 13th-century rentals, St. Paul's had rents from several other properties in St. Martin Pomary parish. One was almost certainly due from a part of 95/3-4. This was a rent of 2s. due in equal portions at Easter and Michaelmas from land which had belonged to Raerus de sancto Bartholomew, presumably the founder of St. Bartholomew's Priory who died in 1144. Later holders of this land were the heirs of William de Blemund, Hugh de Nevill, and John de Nevill. The rentals also mention another group of rents which could have been due from 95/3-4. At Easter St. Paul's had 2s. 2d. rent in the parish of St. Martin Pomary in the Jewry from the land of Aelricus Parole, Jew, who may have been an early 12th-century tenant; later, perhaps still in the 12th century, the rent was due from Helyas the Jew and later still, probably in the 13th century, from James Crispin. The corresponding rent at Michaelmas appears to have been due in 2 parts, both due from properties said to be in the Jewry; those were a rent of 1s. 1d. from Alricus Parole, Samson, and Benedict parvus, which was later due from Helyas the Jew; and a rent of 1s. 1d. due from Abraham the Jew, to whom no successor was named. In c. 1138-42 the canons of St. Paul's granted to Benedict the Jew and his heirs a third part of the land which Alric Parole had held. The total of these rents due to St. Paul's in the 13th century, apparently all in St. Martin Pomary parish, was 8s. 4d. or 100d. This suspiciously round figure suggests that the rents were fractions of a single rent originally due from one property, possibly 95/3-4. If this property was identical with the land of Godwin Scat, the rent had been reduced since the early 12th century. (fn. 3)
The de Nevill interest on 3 subsequently took the form of a quit-rent of 10s. due at 2 terms from the tenement of Robert Sevenhod, which in deed of 1263-4, recorded in a 15th-century copy, Hugh de Nevill (d. 1269) granted with other rents to John de Gysorz, citizen. Out of this rent John was to pay rents of 5s. to St. Paul's and 4s. to the Hospital of St. Giles. Soon after this, probably in 1266-7, the hospital quitclaimed to John in the 4s. rent. John and his descendants probably paid the rent to St. Paul's, but by 1336 were claiming successfully that they owed only 2s. in spite of the fact that the property was charged with 4s. in the rental. There had perhaps been some confusion over the various sums entered in the earlier St. Paul's rental. It is not known how long St. Paul's continued to receive the 2s. which was now due from the property. The 10s. rent remained in the possession of the descendants of John de Gisorz, and at his death in 1351 John Gisors, citizen, left it to his son Nicholas in tail male, with remainder to his son Edward in tail male. (fn. 4)
95/3, or a part of it, may have been the land of the fee of the hospital of St. Giles measuring 15 1/2 ells (46 ft. 6 in.; 14.17 m.) in this parish belonging to Bonevia Mittun, Jew, who forfeited it to the Crown on account of a homicide he had committed. In 1227 the king granted the land to John de Gyse, who shortly afterwards exchanged it and other holdings with Seman balistarius for land in the parish of St. Olave Old Jewry (cf. 105/18). (fn. 5)
In 1252 Dieus le Evesk, Jew, acknowledged that he owed £12 to Abraham son of Joce of York and offered as security a house in Ironmonger Lane between the house of Pictavinus le Joevene (probably 95/1-2) and the house of Richard de Wylehale (perhaps 95/4). In 1272 Abraham attempted to recover the debt against the prior of St. Mary Spital whom Robert Sewelhod, as tenant of some of the lands which had belonged to Dieus son of Benedict, had called to warrant. St. Mary Spital's interest in the property seems to have been that which in 1214-15 belonged to Peter de Ely (cf. above), for in the early 13th century William de Ely granted to the hospital the land in this parish which had belonged to Richard the Ely and his brother Peter. There is no record of the hospital's interest in the property after 1272. (fn. 6)
From Robert Sevehod the property passed to Henry Sevehod, who by 1283 let or granted the tenement to John le Coffrer. Robert's name, however, continued to be associated with the property, suggesting that he may have lived there. Thus, in 1303-4 the former tenement of Robert de Sevehod and the lane leading from it into St. Lawrence Lane adjoined the N. side of 105/11-12 (including 81/C) and Robert's former tenement also adjoined the E. side of the same property. By 1328 the lane was known as Sevehodeslane. John le Coffrer was in possession of the tenement in 1283, when he undertook on behalf of Henry Sevehod, who was then out of London, to repay a debt to Thomas Box on condition that Henry was to repay John before he regained possession of the tenement. Henry Sevehod was in possession of the tenement and the lane which went with it extending from Ironmonger Lane to St. Lawrence Lane in 1294, when Ralph de Aisshendon and his wife Maud, daughter of Guillot de Par(is), granted 5s. rent from the property to Ralph de Drayton. Guillot had held 4 adjacent to the N. and so this quit-rent may have concerned a piece of land or an easement once part of 4 and now part of 3. John le Coffrer was again in possession of the tenement in 1298-9, when Peter le Yreys (the MS appears to read le Mreys) took naam for 3 years arrears of a rent of 10s. from a tenement in this parish. Peter's descendants seem later to have been in possession of this rent from 95/3 (see below). On this occasion he claimed that Henry Sevehod had paid the rent and had assigned the tenement with the obligation to pay the rent for a term to Adam le Coffrer. John le Coffrer claimed that the tenement was his and that Adam, from whom he had perhaps acquired the property, had not been obliged to pay the rent. By his will, enrolled in May 1305, John le Coffrer left his tenement with houses in this parish which had once belonged to Robert Sevehod to his executor, Adam Braz, who was to pay £26. 13s. 4d. for it to the other executors. (fn. 7)
After the death of John le Coffrer the property, now described as a tenement and 4 shops, was in dispute between Adam Braz and Henry Sevehod's widow Joan, who had married Thomas de Lodelowe. In August 1305 Thomas and Joan attempted to dispossess Adam of the property. Adam claimed that in 1295-6 Henry Sevehod and his wife Joan had granted the property to John le Coffrer and his heirs for ever and that John was peacefully seised of the property for 8 years before he died, leaving it to Adam. Adam produced a document of 1297-8 purporting it to be a quit-claim by Joan as a widow to John le Coffrer. The witnesses to the document were summoned, however, and declared that the document was not Joan's, that at that time Thomas and Joan were seised of the property as Joan's free tenement, and that Thomas and Joan should recover possession against Adam. Adam made an unsuccessful attempt to have the judgement reversed on the grounds that there had been errors in the pleading and in the record. (fn. 8)
By July 1306 Thomas de Lodelowe had died and Joan had married John de Borham, girdler (cincturarius), of London. In 1305-6 John and Joan, described as Henry Sevehod's widow, granted to John de Redingg, citizen and tawyer (allutarius), the brewhouse extending from Ironmonger Lane to St. Lawrence Lane which had once belonged to Henry, except for the shops in front of and behind the house. De Redingg was to hold the property for the term of Joan's life, paying a rent of £3. 6s. 8d. for the firt 6 years and £6. 13s. 4d. a year thereafter. Included in the grant were a malting kiln (thorale) and all the vessels and utensils of the house. The latter comprised 2 great wooden brewing tubs, 2 lead vessels for heating water (plumba ad fornaces), a sieve (cilicium; probably a perforated malting-tray) for the kiln, 2 hurdles (clayos) for the same, a lead cistern, and 2 grindstones for malt (molas lapid' pro bracin'). In 1306 John de Gysors took naam in the tenement for his rent of 10s., which de Borham and his wife acknowledged was due. At the time of the grant in 1305-6 Joan may have claimed no more than a life interest in the property. Subsequently she, or she and her husband, established an unrestricted title, and John de Redingg presumably gave up his interest to them. In 1309, in return for a sum of money, John de Borham and his wife Joan granted the tenement with the shops in front and behind to William called le Fourbour, citizen. The tenement was now said to be bounded by 95/2 on the S., 95/4 on the N., Ironmonger Lane on the E., and St. Lawrence Lane on the W., and the following rents were said to be due to the lords of the fee: 10s. to John Gysorce, 10s. to Lady Eleanor daughter of Peter, and 10s. to David le Foundour. (fn. 9)
The identity of Lady Eleanor daughter of Peter is uncertain, but it seems possible that she was the same as Eleanor, widow of the John son of Peter who had owned 105/11-12 and 81/C. If this was so the 10s. rent may have been charged for that part of 95/3 which is later known to have lain between 95/2 on the E. and 81/C on the W. see below), and this may mean that that part of 3 had once been part of 81/C.
The 10s. rent to David le Foundour can be traced throughout the 14th century and belonged to the owners of 95/4. It was evidently the rent which Peter le Ireys had claimed from 3 in 1298 (see above). Peter, under the name of Peter de Hibernia, tailor, granted his rent in the parishes of St. Martin Pomary and St. Lawrence Jewry, together with the tenements and shops representing 4 to Thomas de Hibernia of Esedene and his wife Maud, who in 1303-4 jointly granted the property to David le Foundour and his wife Margaret, citizens. In 1306 John de Borham and his wife Joan acknowledged that the 10s. rent was due from 95/3. In 1345 Robert atte Hegge and his wife Isabel, who was David le Foundour's daughter and heir, granted the property including the 10s. rent to John Wygod, citizen and girdler (zonarius) and his wife Alice for the term of the grantees' lives. John and Alice died, and in 1352 Robert and Isabel granted the 10s. rent to Roger atte Brook, citizen and lethersellere, and his wife Agnes, who were in possession of 3, for the term of Agnes's life. Later in 1352 Roger and Agnes granted the rent to John de Horwode of London, senior, who by his will, dated and enrolled in 1366, left it to his son John. This John in 1372 granted the rent along with 4 to Adam Stable, citizen and mercer, and his wife Katharine. The rent was then subject to the same series of transactions as 4. It was specifically mentioned in the grant by which Stable and his wife made over their properties to John de Heylesdon and John Chircheman in 1383, but not in subsequent conveyances. St. Paul's Cathedral did not acquire the rent in 1409, when it came into the possession of 4, and it is likely that the rent lapsed about 1400. (fn. 10)
Fourteenth to sixteenth century
William called le Fourbour, who acquired 3 in 1309, was also known as William Love and William Love of Bokeden, furbisher (furbour). In 1318 Adam Bras, taverner, as executor of John de Sandwyco, coffrer, (evidently an alias of John le Coffrer), quitclaimed to William in the tenement and 4 shops, conerning which he had impleaded William by writ of right. Adam de Auntioche, cofferer, also impleaded William concerning the property, described as a tenement with 5 shops, and in 1325 made a similar quitclaim. William Love inhabited the property and by his will of 1327, enrolled in 1328, left the tenement and shops to his wife Cristina for life and then to be sold by his executors. William's residence probably included a part of 4, for he left to his wife the term which he had in a tenement in the parish let to him by Margaret le Foundour, the owner of 4. Cristina subsequently married William de Pountfreyt, citizen, with whom in 1346 she granted the tenement and shop for the term of her life to William Albon, citizen and felmonger, who was to pay the rents due to the lords of the fee and £10 yearly to the grantors. Two days later de Pountfreyt and Cristina, as executrix of William Love, sold the property to Albon. The property described in the quitclaim of 1325 extended to St. Lawrence Lane on the W., but that conveyed in 1346 was bounded on the W. by 81/A and 81/C, suggesting that William Love had disposed of the W. end of the tenement which had once belonged to Robert Sevehod. (fn. 11)
William Albon died in 1348-9, leaving this and other properties to his wife Agnes for life. After her death the lands and tenements representing 3 were to be divided. Albon's daughter Joan was to have a new house which had been built there together with the cellar, hall, and solars next to the entry leading from St. Lawrence Lane on the S. side of the entry. This entry was presumably Sevehod Lane and the new house would therefore have occupied that part of 3 which lay between 81/C on the S. and W. and 95/2 on the E. In addition Joan was to have a rent of £2 from the remainder of 3 possession of which was to pass to Albon's son William. Albon's daughter Margaret was to have a rent of £2 from the estate including the main part of 3. Albon's widow Agnes apparently married Roger atte Brook, citizen and lethersellere. In 1352, when Roger and Agnes granted the 10s. rent they had from 3 to John de Horewode (see above). John, who owned 4, convenanted that neither he nor his successors would obstruct the window of the hall and window of the parlour (colloquaorum) belonging to Roger and Agnes. About 1350, therefore, 3 would appear to have included buildings suitable for the accommodation of at least 2 households, one on the S. side of Sevehod Lane and one on the N. side of the lane. (fn. 12)
In 1355-6 Roger atte Broke was reported for having blocked up a common way through the house of Gillot le Fourbour (i.e. William Love) which he held in the right of his wife Agnes. The way was presumably Sevehod Lane, which seems subsequently to have been reopened. Agnes survived Roger and in 1372 3 was described as the tenement of Agnes atte Brook. The next owner of the tenement was probably John Adyn, who held it in 1374 and 1389, but had ceased to do so by 1394. He was probably the John Adyn, citizen and leatherseller, whose widow Margaret Adyn, purcer, held 3 in 1409 and died in 1414. Margaret was an inhabitant of St. Martin Pomary parish and probably lived in this property. (fn. 13)
During the 15th century 3 remained in the possession of the Adyn family. Margaret Adyn was survived by her son, John Adyn senior, and in her will mentioned Margaret Adyn, daughter of John Adyn junior. This younger John, probably son of John Adyn senior, may be the John Adyn, citizen and point-maker, who died in 1412-13 leaving a widow Juliana. Later 3 was represented by the lands and tenements in St. Martin Pomary parish which in 1461 William Adyn granted to Thomas Hert, Robert Writtell, Ralph Verney, Robert Scrayngham, and Richard Gardyner. Hert and Writtell quitclaimed to the other grantees, all mercers, who in February 1468 granted the property to the same William Adyn, citizen. In March Oliver Davy, citizen and goldsmith, recovered possession from Adyn of 7 messuages and 10s. rent (probably due from 4) in this parish, and immediately afterwards Adyn, his wife Katharine, and their son Richard Adyn, citizen and girdler, quitclaimed to Davy in the property. Davy's widow and executrix, Margaret Harrys, sold the 7 messuages and rent to William Holt, citizen and grocer, who in 1501 granted the property, now described as 4 messuages and 10s. rent, to Richard Crispe, mercer, John Style, mercer, and Thomas Smalewode, wax-chandler. Immediately after this grant Holt and his wife Isabel quitclaimed to the grantees. Of the grantees in 1501 Richard Crispe was probably the one who enjoyed the use of the property. He appears to have been succeeded by Thomas Crispe, mercer, who was tenant of the adjoining property to the N. (see 4). Thomas Crispe was probably in possession of this property by 1510, when a chimney measuring 6 ft. 9 in. (2.06 m.) by 2 ft. 3 in. (686 mm.) in plan and forming part of a property of Elsing Spital in St. Lawrence Jewry parish was found to be standing on his ground in the parish of St. Martin Pomary. Another chimney in a chamber belonging to the Elsing Spital property was found to extend over Crispe's ground at an upper level. At the time of his death in 1531-2 Crispe was dwelling in St. Martin Pomary parish, and he left his holdings there to his wife Anne for life, with remainder to his son Augustine Crispe. (fn. 14)
Members of the Adyn family are not known to have had a freehold interest in any property in this parish other than 3, and so it seems probable that the 7 messuages conveyed in 1468 occupied the site of 3 and that by 1501 their number had fallen to 4.
Sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
In 1563 Augustine Crispe, gentleman, of Buckton (Northants.) sold the property to John Blackman. At that time it was or had been in the tenures or occupations of Blackman himself, Hugh Brincklowe (cf. 81/C), Roger Sherington, John Lockwood, and the dean and chapter of St. Paul's (cf. 95/4). Blackman was probably identical with the man of that name who held 105/13 in 1558, and the references to the other tenants suggest that parts of 95/3 were held by the owners or occupiers of adjoining properties. In 1564 John Blackman, a grocer, was in dispute with the Mercers' Company concerning access with timber for rebuilding his house over the 'void place' to the W. of 3 in St. Lawrence Lane. (fn. 15) From then on 3 seems to have consisted of 2 parts, the bounds of which are defined in surveys drawn up soon after the Great Fire: 3A occupied the Ironmonger Lane frontage and included that E. part of 3 on the S. side of the alley which now occupied the side of Sevehod Lane; 3A lay to the rear and fronted on to the 'void place'. Both parts of the property were in the parish of St. Martin Pomary.
3A
In 1582 John Blackman, yeoman of Stapleford Abbot (Essex), who was evidently identical with John Blackman, grocer, granted and sold to Anthony Radcliff, citizen and merchant taylor, for £270 the messuages, lands, tenements, cellars, solars, allies, etc., which he had acquired in 1563, together with all his other properties in Ironmonger Lane. This sale probably concerned 3A only, since Blackman had already sold 3B (q.v.) to Radclyff. In 1608 Henry Hurlock, grocer, occupied the tenement on the S. side of 4 representing 3A, and in 1624 Hurlock or his assigns occupied it. Hurlock's tenure had ceased by 1636, when 3A was occupied by Thomas Lathum, or Latham, gentleman, whose house was valued at £20 a year in 1638. The freehold of this property descended to Anthony Radcliff's son, Edward Radcliffe, and then to Edward's son, Anthony Radcliffe, esquire, of Chalfont St. Giles (Bucks.) who in 1639 with his wife Elizabeth sold it to Thomas Pentlow, gentleman, of Wilby (Northants.), and his wife Elizabeth, and their male heirs, with remainder to Thomas's right heirs. The subject of this conveyance was 2 messuages in Ironmonger Lane in the parish of St. Martin then or late in the tenure or occupation of Thomas Latham and Radcliffe Poole or their assigns, together with a messuage in Ironmonger Lane and in an entry leading from Ironmonger Lane to the 'void place', then or late in the tenure or occupation of John Leake or his assigns. It seems most likely that the 2 messuages occupied the part of 3A which lay on the N. side of the passage and that the messuage held by Leake lay on the S. side of the passage. All three messuages were probably included in Latham's property as valued in 1638, and Poole and Leake may have been Latham's undertenants. (fn. 16)
Thomas Latham was said to occupy the 2 messuages on the site of 3A in 1656, when Henry Hunter, merchant, who was seised in demesne and had presumably acquired Pentlow's title, leased them to William Latham, citizen and draper, for a term of 51 years at £22 rent and in consideration of rebuilding. William Latham leased one of the messuages to Thomas Latham, presumably the Thomas Latham, attorney, who occupied a house of 6 hearths in 1662-3 and one of 5 hearths in 1666. The occupants of the other parts of 3A in 1662-3 cannot be identified, but in 1666 they appear to have been Richard Morris, merchant, with a house of 6 hearths, John Land, barber, with one of 3 hearths, and William Bashford, cooper, with one of 4 hearths. William Latham was succeeded by his executors, John Latham and Daniel Latham, who in 1671 held 3A under the lease granted to William. Henry Hunter died in 1669 and was succeeded by his son and heir, Nathaniel Hunter, who held in 1671. By this date Thomas Latham had surrendered his interest in one of the messuages to Theophilus Birkenhead, who in 1671 had about 37 years to come of a term for which he had paid £470 down and peppercorn rent. After the Great Fire John and Daniel Latham were unable to rebuild and paid no rent. In consequence the landlord initiated rebuilding: a foundation on that part of 3 which lay to the S. of the alley was surveyed for Henry Hunter in 1669, and a foundation next to Ironmonger Lane was surveyed for Nathaniel Hunter in 1670. The bounds of the messuages and the width of the alley can be established from these two surveys. In the Fire Court in January 1671 John and Daniel Latham were ordered to surrender their interest and, chosing one of the alternatives proposed by the court, Nathaniel Hunter paid Birkenhead £26. 13s. 4d. for his interest. (fn. 17)
3B
In 1568 John Blackman, citizen and grocer, leased the messuage which he had recently built on this site, together with the shop, cellars, solars, warehouses, chambers, yards, and other parts of the property, to John Alsopp, citizen and haberdasher, for a term of 21 years at £5 rent and for a fine of £133. 6s. 8d. Some years later the Mercers' Company succeeded in levying rents from the tenants or occupants of the houses fronting on to the 'void place' in exchange for the right of access across it (cf. 81/B). Alsopp paid 1s. 4d. rent to the company between 1574 and his death in 1583. Subsequent payers of this rent seem also to have been occupants of 3B. Alsopp's widow paid it between 1584 and 1586, Thomas Phillippes between 1586 and 1596, Mr. Springham between 1596 and 1598, Matthew Springham between 1598 and 1630, and Springham's assign between 1630 and 1636, when the payment ceased. Matthias (sic) Springham, merchant tailor, was said to inhabit the house in 1608 and 1610, and the Henry Browne who was named as occupant in 1624 may have lived there as Springham's undertenant. In 1636 the tenment was said to be occupied by Dr. Turner, physician, and formerly to have been in the tenure of Matthew Springham, merchant tailor. In the same year Turner complained that the Mercers' Company restricted his access across the 'void place', and the intervention of the earl of Dorset on his behalf apparently caused the company to remit the rent. Turner resided in the property, which in 1638 was said to contain a great warehouse and was valued at £24 a year. (fn. 18)
In 1581 John Blackman and his wife Elizabeth sold this tenement, saving the tenant's rights under Alsopp's lease, to Anthony Radclyff, citizen and merchant tailor. The property was then acquired by Robert Cutt, citizen and ironmonger, who at his death in 1610 left it to his daughters, Anne Lutterford and Elizabeth Sams, and their heirs equally. Anne Lutterford was later in sole possession of the property, which at her death in 1638 she left to her son Edward Lutterford. She had leased it to Dr. Turner, who occupied it, for a term of 6 years at £17 rent, out of which Edward Lutterford was to pay an annuity of £5 for a term of 10 years to her other son Robert Chapman. Turner had ceased to occupy the property by 1644 when a moiety of the property was in the possession of Henry Heymon, bt., of Somerfield (Kent), who held to Chapman's use. In 1644 Heymon released his interest to feoffees who were to sell it for Chapman's best advantage. (fn. 19)
Robert Turner, doctor of physic, was succeeded as tenant or occupant by Samuel Gwyn, who was in turn succeeded by John Benbow, who was tenant or occupant in 1646. The property was now described as a messuage with shops, cellars, solars, chambers, rooms, etc. and a moiety of it belonged to Robert Chapman, a merchant resident in London and son and heir of Anne Lutterford. According to an agreement drawn up in 1646, William Justice and John Adams, both citizens and haberdashers, were to bring a writ of right into the court of Husting and demand this moiety from William Adams, citizen and haberdasher, who was to vouch Robert Chapman to warranty, and Chapman was then to call the common vouchee so that judgement would be made against William Adams. Justice and John Adams would thus gain possession of the moiety of the property. There may have been a connection between Robert Cutt and John Blackman in the descent of the freehold of 3B, for both had been owners of 105/13. The aim of the recovery was presumably to break the entail created by Robert Cutt and a similar agreement was probably made with the owner of the other moiety. John Benbow, a citizen and grocer, probably inhabited the property at about this time, and in 1646 obtained from the Mercers' Company permission to have passage for carts over the 'void place' and to replace one of the posts there by a chain with a padlock, for which he was to pay a rent of £1. 10s. He continued to pay this rent until 1666 and from 1657 had a lease for this right of access for a term of 7 years. (fn. 20)
On the eve of the Great Fire Alderman William Justice, haberdasher, who died in 1675, lived in the house, which had 13 hearths. After the Fire the ground occupying the W. end of the site was taken for King Street, and in 1668 a foundation occupying the remainder was surveyed for John Lane, identical with the John Land who before the Fire had held part of 3A (q.v.). (fn. 21)