St. Mary le Bow 104/25-7

Introduction

In the late 12th and early 13th centuries these properties, which occupied the E. corner of Bow Lane and Cheapside, were in the same ownership. The N. part of 24 (24D-E) seems to have been part of the same property. In the 13th and 14th centuries there were shops on the Cheapside frontage with a seld behind (27). There were also shops along the Bow Lane frontage, where in the 14th century two principal interests (25-6) can be identified.

After the Great Fire 25-6 and part of 27 were removed in order to widen Bow Lane. The remainder of 27 corresponded approximately with no. 59 Cheapside in 1858.

Twelfth and thirteenth centuries

In the late 12th century Canterbury Cathedral Priory had a rent of 2s. from Waleran at the feast of St. Peter ad vincula for the land of Fulcred son of Everard, which probably occupied the site of 24D-E and 25-7. Waleran died early in the 13th century and the property was divided between his widow, Lucy Bucointe, and their children. Soon after Waleran's death Lucy married Andrew Blund, from whose land in about 1220 the 2s. rent to Canterbury Cathedral Priory was said to be due at Michaelmas. By his testament Waleran left rent from the property on the site of 24D-E (q.v.) to his eldest son John. To Philip Walleram, who was Lucy's son and John's brother and probably, therefore, Waleran's son, he left the seld (27) in Cheapside (forum) on the E. side of Bow Lane (propinquior versus orientem iuxta venellam de la Corveisir'). To St. Bartholomew's Hospital he left a quit-rent of 8s. for lights in the infirmary and for Lucy's obit, due from the shop (part of 27) on the W. side of the entry to the seld (versus occidentem iuxta introitum selde). To his son Matthew Waleram he left 2 shops in St. Mary le Bow parish on the N. side of (propinquiores versus aquilam iuxta) the shop of the canons of St. Bartholomew. These shops may have been in Bow Lane on part of the site of 25-6. He also left to Matthew 2 shops which William Godegrom held in Cheapside on the E. side of (versus orientem iuxta) the land of Reginald le Viell, but these were probably not part of this property. (fn. 1)

John's share of the property was subsequently in the possession of Lucy Bucointe, who disposed of it c. 1230, when Philip Walram still held his share (see 24D-E). Soon after this the greater part of 25-7 was in the possession of Lucy and Cecilia, daughters of Waleram and Lucy Bucointe, who in 1231x7 divided their joint inheritance between themselves. Cecilia gave up to Lucy all her right in property at Edgware and Stanmore (Middlesex), while Lucy gave up to Cecilia all her right in the seld and solar (27) in Cheapside on the E. side of Corveiserestrate which had belonged to their parents. Next to Cheapside this property measured 5 1/4 ells (15 ft. 9 in.; 4.8 m.) in width from within the eastern wall (murus) to the western partition (paries); at the S. end it measured 4 1/2 ells (13 ft. 6 in.; 4.11 m.); it was 21 1/8 ells and 2 in. (63 ft. 6 1/2 in.; 42.98 m.) in length; the entry to the seld was 2 1/8 ells (6 ft. 4 1/2 in.; 1.94 m.) in width between 2 shops; the shop on the E. side of the entry was 2 1/8 ells (6 ft. 4 1/2 in.; 1.94 m.) in length; the shop on the left (?W.) side of the entry was excluded from the agreement; and the whole property was charged with 1d. socage to the king. Lucy daughter of Lucy Bucointe was probably identical with the Lucy Walerand who at about the same time granted to Philip de Bruges 2 shops in Corveyserestrete in St. Mary le Bow parish (part of 25- 6). These shops lay between the shop formerly of Gervase le Feutiner (? part of 25-6) on the S. and the shop of Margaret daughter of Lucy (probably Lucy Walerand; the shop was probably part of 25-6) on the N. The shop nearer Cheapside was 2 3/4 ells (8 ft. 3 in.; 2.51 m.) in width next to the street and 2 1/2 ells less a quarter (i.e. 2 1/4 ells: 6 ft. 9in.; 2.06 m.) in depth. The other shop was 2 1/2 ells 2 in. (7 ft. 8 in.; 2.34 m.) in width and 2 ells (6 ft.; 1.83 m.) in depth. Lucy reserved a rent of 5s. and Philip made a payment of a gold besant. In about the middle of the 13th century Lucy Garlaunde and Cecilia Blund were said to be due to respond for the 2s. rent to Canterbury Cathedral Priory, but it was not known who held the land. Waleran was said to be the grandfather of Lucy and Cecilia, but it seems more likely that this was an error and that they were his daughters. Subsequently the rent remained in default and was said to be due from the land of Andrew Blund. (fn. 2)

In 1251-2 William de Wilardesbyr' sold and quitclaimed to Henry de Walemund, pepperer, the shop in Corveyserestrat in St. Mary le Bow parish which William had inherited from his brother John de Wilardesbyr'. The shop was on the fee of St. Bartholomew's Priory between the shop of Osbert de Reyleia to the N. and the shop of Peter son of Alan to the S. John had had a charter from the canons of St. Bartholomew, to whom 8s. rent was due, and Henry paid £2. 13s. 4d. for the grant. (fn. 3) The location of this shop is not certain. It may have occupied part of the site of 25-6, in which case, since it was on the fee of St. Bartholomew's Priory, it may have been next to the shop which Waleran left to his son Matthew. Henry de Walemund acquired the whole of 24 and so the shop and its neighbours may have been part of that property, but there are no other references to shops there in the 13th century. About 1220 St. Bartholomew's Priory held the N. part of 23, but there are no references to shops in connection with that property.

In 1269 24E was bounded on its N. side by the land and shops of William Bokerel, (fn. 4) who perhaps held the whole of 25-7.

Later thirteenth to mid-sixteenth century

25

This property and 27A (q.v.) may be represented by the 3 shops with solars above in St. Mary le Bow parish which William de Derby, citizen and tailor, had by the grant of Thomas of St. Albans, nephew of Sir Stephen de Asshewy, knight. In 1352 Sir Stephen's son and heir, Stephen de Asshewy, quitclaimed to William in the shops. William de Derby left the shops to his wife Agnes for life, with remainder to his right heirs. William's son and heir Edmund de Derby died in June 1361, a few days before his mother. Robert de Louthe, joiner, entered the property, which was subsequently described as two shops, and received the rent for 3 years. He then sold one shop (probably 27A) to William de Essex, draper, and the other (25) to John de Norhampton, draper, who still held them in 1370 when the Crown committed the shops to them. The shops were worth £4 a year. (fn. 5) The title to these properties, however, had descended to the heirs of William de Derby, and in July 1361 William 'in the lane' of Mackelewodehous in Sudbury, Derbyshire, who was cousin and heir of Edmund de Derby, clerk, granted Edmund's former properties in London to William de Bukkeby, rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Henry de Idebury, clerk. In August these grantees conveyed the two shops between 24 on the S., 26 on the N., and 27 on the E. to John de Enefeld, citizen and pepperer, and John atte Mille of Shalyngford, chaplain. By his will, dated 1368 and proved in 1369 de Enefeld left his tenements in this parish to be sold. According to the will, de Enefeld was in debt to Robert de Louthe and this probably explains how the latter came to receive the rent from 25, which John de Northampton, citizen and draper, held from de Enefeld. In 1369 de Enefeld's executors sold 25 to de Northampton and his wife Joan, to be held to them and John's heirs and assigns. The property now consisted of a shop with a great doorway (hostium) on its S. side which served as an entry to 27, also held by de Northampton. By his will, dated 1397 and proved in 1398, de Northampton left the shop and great doorway representing 25, together with the corner shop representing 27A, to the nunnery at Cheshunt (Herts.) as the endowment for his obit. There is no later record of the nunnery's interest in the property. These properties (25 and 27A) were probably represented by the three shops valued at £2. 13s. 4d. yearly which came into the king's possession in 1384, when de Northampton fell from grace. In 1385 the Crown granted the shops to John Elys, yeoman of the chamber, rent-free for life, but in 1387 the shops were presumably restored to de Northampton with his other properties. (fn. 6)

For possible 16th-century references to 25, see 26.

26

In 1361 a shop of St. Mary Spital adjoined the N. side of 25. (fn. 7) The hospital's property here was probably bounded by 27 on the N. and E. A part of it may have been held by Alice Chirche in 1394, when Clerkenwell Priory, the landlord of 27, complained of intrusion against her and the prior of St. Mary Spital. In 1489-90 and 1524-5 a quit-rent of 5s. due to Clerkenwell Priory from a tenement of St. Mary Spital in this parish was in default. At the latter date the tenement was said formerly to have been held by Juliana le Pulter. (fn. 7)

A series of 16th-century rentals and accounts record the tenants of St. Mary Spital in this parish. At this date 25 appears to have been represented by 3 tenements, although it is probable that these properties also included 25. One of the tenements was let for £2 rent: no tenant is named in 1516; Anthony Burley, grocer, held in 1519, and ... Carckett, scrivener (probably William Carckett), held in 1523. The other tenement was let for £1 rent, which John Hylle, leatherseller, paid between 1516 and 1523. These two tenements were then united and in 1539-40 Agnes Sawkyns or Salkyns, widow, held them for £3 rent as a single tenement under an indenture by which the landlord was obliged to carry out repairs. The third tenement was held by John Wodwarde, barber, who paid £2 rent between 1516 and 1523; Thomas Walker held for the same rent in 1539, and in 1539-40 William Walker held under an indenture for a term of years. In 1544 Nicholas Bacon, solicitor of the Court of Augmentations, William Breton, and Henry Asshfeld purchased a grant from the Crown in free socage of the tenements held by Sawkyns and William Walker together with many other former properties in St. Mary Spital, but no others in the parish. (fn. 8)

This property subsequently came into the possession of William Lock. In 1549 it was probably represented by two houses inhabited by Agnes Sawkyns and John Skott, tailor, which Lock left to his son Matthew Lock. The houses were held in free burgage. William Lock died in 1550 and the two tenements later came into the possession of his eldest son Thomas Lock, who in 1554 granted them to feoffees to hold to his use and that of his wife Mary and then to the use of his son William Lock, who died in 1558. In 1561, when Mary was still alive and Thomas's son Matthew Lock had the reversionary interest, the 2 messuages were held by Agnes Blauncher; they were now said to be held by knight service and to be worth £4 a year clear. (fn. 9)

27

By about 1270 the greater part of this property had come into the possession of Clerkenwell Priory. It was probably the seld in Westchep for which Agnes le Bret owed 16s. rent to William Parys, whose executors in 1271 granted the rent to Sir Adam de Stratton. In 1271-2 Robert le Bret, goldsmith, and his wife Agnes bound themselves, their heirs, and their tenants to Adam de Stratton in 17s. rent for a shop in the parish of St. Mary le Bow between the seld of Clerkenwell Priory (27) and the shop of John le Bret (?28) which Adam had granted to them. This shop probably occupied the N.E. corner of 27 and was probably among the tenements which by her will, proved in 1311, Agnes le Bret left to be sold. In 1312-13, when the executors of Alice le Bret of West Ham granted the shop to Thomas de Welleford, hosier (calciamentarius), his wife Alice, and the heirs and assigns of Thomas, the shop was bounded by 28 to the E., the seld of Clerkenwell Priory (27) to the W., and the land beneath the solar of John de Stanes. The shop measured 2 1/2 ells (7 ft. 6 in.; 2.29 m.) by 1 1/2 ells (4 ft. 6 in.; 1.37 m.) and was 3 1/2 ells (10 ft. 6 in.; 3.2 m.) high. In 1313 Robert son of Robert le Bret quitclaimed to Thomas and Alice in the property. In spite of the terms of the grant, Alice, widow of Thomas de Welleford, by her will, dated 1347 and proved in 1348, left the shop to her son Thomas, who by his will, dated and proved in 1361, left the shop, said to be worth £2 a year, to his wife Maud with remainder to his heirs and then to his brother William Welleford for life. Thomas's widow Maud then married Stephen Cavendissh, citizen and draper, and in 1363 William de Welleford, son of the elder Thomas de Welleford, claimed the shop from Stephen and Maud on the grounds that Alice, widow of Thomas de Welleford, had only a life interest in it. The deed of 1312-13 was produced in evidence and William recovered seisin. Later in 1363 William granted the shop to Stephen and Maud, with remainder to their joint heirs and then to Maud's heirs. In 1386, after her husband's death, Maud, who had no issue, granted it to John Rote, citizen and skinner, and William de Aston, clerk. The shop descended to John Rote's daughter and heir, Maud, who with her husband, John Scalby, granted it to Thomas Haxey, clerk, Henry Maupas, clerk, and Richard Forster, citizen. Maupas died and Forster gave up his right to Haxey, who in 1415, when the shop was bounded by the seld of Clerkenwell Priory on the S. and W., granted it to John Botiller, citizen and draper. By his will, dated 1436 and proved in Husting in 1466, Botiller left the shop to the rector and churchwardens of St. Swithin in Candlewick Street for the maintenance of his anniversary. (fn. 10)

The shop on the corner of Bow Lane and Cheapside (27A) probably came into the possession of William de Derby by 1352 and then descended with his other properties to William de Bukkeby, rector of St. Mary Aldermary, and Henry de Idebury, chaplain, who acquired them in 1361. De Bukkeby subsequently granted the shop to William de Essex, citizen and draper, and William Coly, hosier (caligar'). De Essex granted the shop to John Norhampton, citizen and draper, for a term of 20 years from Easter 1380 for a sum of money which Norhampton had already paid. In June 1380 de Essex quitclaimed to Norhampton. This shop was beneath the tenement of Clerkenwell Priory and was bounded by the shop of the priory on the E. and the shop of St. Mary Spital (26) on the S. By his will, dated 1397 and proved in 1398, Norhampton left the shop with 25 (q.v.) to the nuns of Cheshunt. (fn. 11) There is no later reference to this property which presumably came into the possession of Clerkenwell Priory.

The remaining parts of 27, comprising the seld, at least one shop on the Cheapside frontage, and the rooms above all the shops on Cheapside, seem in the 14th century usually to have been held from Clerkenwell Priory by a single tenant. By 1327 this was probably John de Besevyle, tailor, from whose shop King Edward II granted a rent of 4s. and rent from other properties to Walter de Shependon, knight, for life. In 1339 Edward III granted the reversion of these rents to Reginald de Conductu. At least one other of these rents had once belonged to Adam de Stratton (cf. 24), and so it seems likely that this shop was part of 27. De Besevyle certainly held the seld here in 1350. By his will, dated and proved in March 1352, de Besevyle left to his kinsman Ralph the seld with the dwelling built above it (mansio desuperedificata) which he had at the corner of Cordewanerstrete by grant of Clerkenwell Priory. To the nuns of Clerkenwell themselves he left his little shop in Cheapside next to the door of the seld and the sum of 13s. 4d. to cover the rent due for the remainder of his term in the seld and corner tenement. Ralph de Besevill held the seld in 1362, but had probably ceased to do so by 1367, when Clerkenwell Priory sought an assize of nuisance against the Minoresses, landlords of the adjoining property to the S., concerning a tenement in this parish. By 1369 John de Northampton held the seld and at that time or subsequently acquired 25 and the other parts of 27. (fn. 12) In 1384, when de Northampton was convicted of treason, he was said to hold the seld and the small shop on the W. side of the entry to it from the priory for a term of 60 years from 1368 at £8 rent. The priory, which was losing rent on account of the royal seizure of the property, recovered possession in 1385. (fn. 13)

The shop acquired by the parish of St. Swithin probably came into the possession of Clerkenwell Priory in the 15th century, and by 1524-5 the priory paid the parish a quit-rent of 15s. out of 27. In 1489-90 27 was a tenement which George Knyvesworth had formerly held from the priory for £8 rent. W. Weston, mercer, now paid £4 rent for an inner shop (shop' infer') which perhaps occupied the site of the earlier seld, and Henry Glover paid £1. 6s. 8d. for a tenement and other houses, making a total of more than £5. 6s. 8d. A record of a further payment of 6s. 8d. by Glover has been struck through, and a rough and barely intelligible addition to the account seems to refer to a subsequent tenancy by J. Barbour of a part of the property above the jetty of the tenement. In 1524-5 William Loke, mercer, held the tenement representing 27 under lease for a term of 41 years of which this was the twenty-first. Loke or Lock paid £4 rent, but £6. 13s. 4d. had formerly been received. In April 1538, more than a year before the dissolution of the priory, Lock took a 50-year lease of the tenement at the same rent and was said to be dwelling there in 1540 when the king granted him the property to hold by knight service for a rent of 8s. (fn. 14)

In 1537 Lock was said to be dwelling in 23B, and so in 1540, when he acquired both 24 and 27, he may have extended his residence to include part of 24 which lay between 27 and 23B. From later references it is clear that the capital messuage of which he was seised at the time of his death in 1550 was 23B (q.v.). 27 probably included Lock's principal retail outlet in Cheapside and was known as the Lock. By his will, dated 1550, he left to his five sons, Thomas, Matthew, John, Henry and Michael Lock, his dwelling house in Bow Lane (23B), his house at the Lock in Cheapside (27) and his house at the Bell in Cheapside (28), with all the shops belonging to them, with the intent that his sons should dwell there and continue to keep the retail shop in his name. At Lock's death the messuage with shops called the Lock (27) was held by Ambrose Ferrar, while a shop which had previously formed part of the property was held by Lock himself. In 1554 Thomas Lock had a third share of this property, which he presumably held jointly with his surviving brothers, Henry and Michael. Thomas conveyed this share to feoffees (J. Coswarthe, T. Stacye, and Anthony Hickman, mercers) to hold to the use of himself and his wife Mary for life and then to the use of Thomas's son William Lock and his heirs, with remainder to Thomas's other sons Rowland, Thomas, and Matthew and their heirs. Thomas Lock died in 1556. He was survived by his widow Mary, and his son William's property came into the hands of the Crown by reason of his minority. In 1558 William himself died, and in 1561 his heir was his brother Matthew Lock, then aged 9. At this time the messuage known as the Lock (27) was still held by Ambrose Ferrour. Ferrour had been taxed as a resident of this parish in 1544, but under Cordwainer ward, indicating that he then resided in Bow Lane, not Cheapside; in the assessment list his name appears next to that of Thomas Lock. (fn. 15)

Matthew Lock probably entered into possession of 27 along with the other properties which had belonged to his brother William, but it is not known when he or his successors disposed of the holding.

Seventeenth century

25-6

By the mid 17th century this property had probably passed from the Lock family into the possession of Simon Hammond, cook, who also owned the northernmost part of 24 (see 24E). In 1638 Hammond was tithe-payer for a house in Bow Lane worth £20 a year which probably occupied part of the site of 25-6 and part of 24E. By his will, dated 1651 and proved in 1653, he left the house where he lived and a shop held by Richard Russell (probably part of 25-6) to 5 of his children; his widow Martha later claimed the property as dower (for details, see 23B). Russell's shop was probably the one in Cheapside valued at £17 a year in 1638, when Edward Russell held it. In 1666, on the eve of the Great Fire, part of 25-6 probably consisted of a house with 2 hearths occupied by John Russell (perhaps a relative of Richard Russell), 'latinman' (presumably a dealer in latten or brass). In 1669 the 'ground of one whole house' which probably represented the site of 25-6 was purchased for £120 from Mrs. Martha Hammond and her children in order to enlarge Bow Lane. The survey drawn out on this occasion records the bounds of the property. (fn. 16)

27

The Crown continued to receive its 8s. rent from this property, which in 1664 was held by a person called Knight. A Mr. Knight probably inhabited the property in 1638, when he was a tithe-payer for a house worth £30 a year. Francis Knight, esquire, owned 27 in 1667, when a strip of ground along the Bow Lane frontage was purchased for £80 in order to enlarge the Lane. The survey made on this occasion enables the frontage of the property on Bow Lane to be established. In 1668 Knight obtained from the city leave to use a vault under the street (Bow Lane?) next to his house in Cheapside, for which he was to pay a rent of 10s. Foundations for the new house on the remaining part of the site of 27 were surveyed in 1667 for William Withers, who was probably Knight's tenant and who in 1666, when he was described as a draper, had occupied a house with 6 hearths here. The dimensions given show that the S. and E. side of the property occupied exactly the same position as in the 13th century. Knight's interest in the property passed to Ambrose Crawley, citizen and draper, who in 1694 with his wife Mary, granted the newly- built brick messuage there, now divided into two and formerly known as the Lock, to William Withers the elder, citizen and fishmonger, at farm for a term of 15 years from 1729 at £15 rent. Withers had rebuilt the house, apparently at his own expense, and was to enjoy it rent-free in the meantime. Withers lived there until 1700 when he died. (fn. 17)