St. Mary Colechurch 105/26

Introduction

This large property was the earliest unit in the block 25-35; the other properties seem to have been shops along its W. and N. frontages, which became separate units in the 13th century.

In 1858 the property was approximately represented by part of nos. 2 and 3 Poultry and by nos. 36-9 Bucklersbury.

Twelfth and thirteenth centuries, 25-35

In 1182 Geoffrey Blundus held the western moiety of a large property in the parish of St. Mildred Poultry of the abbey of St. Augustine, Canterbury, for the service of 16s. 6d. p.a. The abutments of the moiety were given as the land held of St. Augustine's Abbey by Walter the smith and the land held of the convent of St. Peter Westminster by John Pipercorn. The first of these was probably identical with Walter the marshal, to whom St. Augustine's granted the eastern moiety of the same property, in St. Mildred Poultry parish, in 1182. The land of John Pipercorn and Westminster probably therefore lay to the W., and was (or was part of) 26-35. Westminster is known to have had a rent of 9s. from 25A, and a further £1. 10s. rent elsewhere in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, but the latter rent did not survive until the Reformation and is little recorded. (fn. 1)

Geoffrey Blundus and his son Matthew held 25-35 in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch in the early 13th century. The shops along the northern frontage of the site appear to be recorded in a deed of 1212-13, or shortly before, concerning a property on the other side of the street which was 'opposite the shopkeepers' (ex opposito soppar'; see 105/23). Between 1220 and 1222 Matthew Blundus son of Geoffrey Blundus granted to Clerkenwell Priory a row of 8 stone shops (see 31-5) in in ferronaria to the N. of his own capital messuage, extending from his wooden shops on the W. to his 9th shop on the E. The grant was made to fulfil a grant of £4 (6 marks) quit-rent left by Matthew's brother Thomas to the priory cum corpore suo; the nuns gave Matthew £11. 6s. 8d. (17 marks) as a gersum, forgave him £17 (25 1/2 marks) arrears, and promised to pay him 10s. yearly. The value of the shops was therefore probably over £4. 10s. p.a. The dimensions of the shops were given in detail. The westernmost shop measured 9 ft. 2 in. (2.79 m.) in front by 12 ft. 10 in. (3.91 m.) deep, and the others ranged from 6 ft. 10 in. (2.08 m.) to 7 ft. 4 1/2 in (2.25 m.) in width by 15 ft. 4 1/2 in. (4.69 m.) to 18 ft. 9 in. (5.72 m.)in depth. The total length of the row was 59 ft. 1 in. (18.01 m.). This row seems to represent nos. 31, 32A, 32B, 33, 34, and 35 (the last comprising 3 shops), from which a total of £5. 6s. 8d. (8 marks) quit-rent was due to Clerkenwell in the 15th and 16th centuries. The frontage lengths of 32A- B, 33-4, and 35 in the 17th century correspond quite closely to multiples of the shop-frontages given in the 13th century. The 9th shop was probably part of the adjoining property in St. Mildred Poultry. In 1222-3 Matthew Blundus surrendered the property in vico ferronum in the parish of St. Mildred Poultry, bounded to the W. by the land of the nuns of Clerkenwell, to St. Augustine's. In 1231-2 Henry Bokointe quitclaimed to Clerkenwell Priory in the tenement and shops which were of the fee of Geoffrey le Blund which was in ferronaria de Westchep in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, about which he had impleaded the prioress and Gilbert le Ferron in the Husting of London by royal writ. The prioress gave him £1 for this quitclaim. (fn. 2)

At some time during the 13th century the other shops facing Poultry (27-30) were also separated from 26. The owners of 26 regained control of 27 and 28 in the early 14th century, and for a time of 32B, but the other shops remained independent properties. Matthew Blund sold his property (25, 26, possibly 27-30) to Roger le Duc, who sold it to Isaac of Norwich, a Jew, from whose heirs Henry III purchased it. In 1239 the king granted it to the hospital of Ospringe, Kent, which he had founded, in free alms. By 1245 Reginald le Hauberg' held the property of Ospringe, and the king ordered the Exchequer to make no distraint there for the debts of Isaac of Norwich. Reginald's name suggests he was a maker of habergeouns, and therefore the earliest known armourer associated with this property. Reginald le Hauberger was said in 1246 to have built a pentice beyond or over (ultra) his cellar. This may have been the origin of 25, which seems to have been regarded as a purpresture. In 1251 the warden and brothers of Ospringe granted the house with cellar and appurtenances which the king had granted them in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch to Reginald le Hauberger, to hold to him and his heirs for ever, rendering £2 p.a. for all services. Reginald gave £17. 6s. 8d. (26 marks) as a gersum. (fn. 3)

26, thirteenth to fifteenth centuries (see also 27, 28, 32a)

Reginald le Hauberger was probably dead by 1271. He left 4 daughters, Avice, Joan, Margery, and Dionisia. In 1271 Hugh Grapefige and his wife Joan, daughter of Reginald le Hauberger, granted their share of the capital messuage late of Reginald in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch to Thomas dictus le Mareschal, vintner, and his wife Avice, daughter of Reginald. Margery and Dionisia also apparently did the same. Thomas le Mareschal, vintner, was said in 1276 to have made 4 shops near the Conduit, for which encroachment he paid 10s. These were probably not the 4 shops that comprised 25, but it is not clear whether they were on the Poultry or Bucklersbury side of 26. In 1276 Thomas le Mareschal, citizen and vintner, and his wife Avice granted a quit-rent of 2 marks (£1. 6s. 8d.) to Walter le Cornewaleys, his heirs and assigns, charged on their tenement in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch ad conductum, between the tenement late of Gilbert Cosin (in the parish of St. Benet Sherehog) on the E. and the shop of Walter le Ferrun son of Alexander (25A) on the W. Walter paid them 18 marks (£12) as a gersum. In 1280 or 1281 Thomas le Marescal, taverner (tabernator), and his wife Avice leased their capital messuage with their brewhouse, with 2 lead vessels (plumba) and one lead trough (algea) in the brewhouse, with cellar and solar and all easements of the brewery, together with 7 shops and one solar towards the street, belonging to the house, formerly of Reginald le Haberger in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch beside the Conduit, to William le Paternostrer and his wife Beatrice. The grantees were to hold for 6 years from 1280, paying yearly 2 1/2d. socage to the king, £2 to Ospringe, £1. 6s. 8d. to Walter le Cornewal', but no rent; they gave the grantors £20. 8s. for this term. The grantors were to repair and maintain, and make good any losses occasioned by vacancies of the shops. The shops were probably on the Bucklersbury frontage. This lease may not have been of the whole tenement, as in the next few years le Mareschal made several leases of single shops and solars. (fn. 4)

In 1284 Thomas dictus marescallus de conducto leased to Andrew le Armurer and his wife Alice the shop with solar over, lying between the corner shop with solar held by Hamo le Ferron on the W. and the grantor's shop on the E., with a frontage of 4 3/4 ells 4 in. (14 ft. 7 in.; 4.44 m.). The solar lay between Hamo's solar and the solar held by William le Paternosterer. The grantees were to hold for life, paying the sum of £5. 6s. 8d. (8 marks) to the grantor for his urgent business, and a rent of £1. 6s. 8d. (2 marks) p.a. after 4 years. Hamo le Ferrun's shop may have been 25A; he probably also held 25D, but the Poultry frontage is accounted for at this date (see 27, 28). In 1286 Thomas Kari (identical with Thomas le Mareschal) leased a solar encontre le frount du condut de Lond' in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, between the shop of Adam de Seint Auban the younger (le Joefne) on one side and the shop of Hamund le Ferrun on the other, to Roger de Euere, ironmonger, for life, for 8s. rent. The grantee was to maintain against weather, and if he rebuilt was to do so as high and as well as before. He could use the grantor's stone wall to bear his building and receive his corbels. If the grantor failed to keep the agreement, he was to compensate the grantee with 8s. rent from this and from his 3 shops between the shop Roger held of his master towards the W. and the grantor's chief messuage to the E. De Euere paid Kari 4 marks (£2. 13s. 4d.). This solar was possibly over part of 25, but more probably over 27, though the latter did not face the conduit. Kari's 3 shops mentioned in the grant were probably along the street now known as Bucklersbury. In 1290 Thomas Mareschall de conductu Lond' leased a shop and solar above to Druettus le Armurer for 10 years, at £1. 13s. 4d. (2 1/2 marks) rent, of which Druettus paid 10 marks as a lump sum for the first 4 years' rent, for the grantor's 'urgent need.' The shop leased adjoined one already held by Druettus from Mareschall on one side and Mareschall's tenement on the other. The grantor was to maintain the shop against the weather; if the grantee had to repair the roof through the grantor's default he would be repaid, by the view of 4 men. Mareschall covenanted not to obscure the property's light. (fn. 5)

In 1274 26 was described as a stone house, late of Reginald le Hamberger, against the gable of which 25 then stood. In or before 1292 Thomas de Conductu, citizen (presumably identical with Thomas le Mareschal), granted his stone house in the parish of Colechurch to the hospital of Ospringe, to hold for 3 years, possibly in repayment of a debt or arrears of rent; in 1292 he bound himself and all his property and rents to repay them if they lost any term of the 3 years. In 1293, as Thomas de Cary, citizen, he granted Ospringe all the tenement he held of the hospital in the parish of Colechurch by the service of £2 p.a., for a debt of £10. 10s. in which he was bound to them and in return for £6 p.a. to be received from them for his food and clothing. The hospital was to hold the property for as long as it acquitted him of the debt and annuity. Probably this agreement had ended before Thomas' death, in or before 1298. The will of Thomas Cary dictus le Marchal de conduct', citizen, was proved in 1298. He left the moiety of the tenement sometime of Reginald le Hauberger, citizen, in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, which Reginald's daughters Margery and Dionisia had granted him, to Roger Brunne, one of his executors, to hold for 16 years, with reversion to the testator's son John, or, if John should die without heirs within the 16 years, for sale. Roger was to render £1. 13s. 4d. (2 1/2 marks) to the chief lords of the fee, this being half the total charges of £2 to Ospringe and £1. 6s. 8d. (2 marks) to Walter le Cornewaleys or his heirs. Probably the other moiety was left to the testator's widow Avice, whose inheritance it was. The devise of half to Roger Brunne may not have been effective. (fn. 6)

In 1300 Richard dictus le Coupere of London and his wife Margery, daughter of Reginald le Hauberger, granted and quitclaimed to Avice, widow of Thomas Marescallus of London, all right in a fourth part of the stone house and appurtenances late of Reginald in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch prope conductum, which she (Margery?) had by succession on her father's death. It lay between the tenements of Edith le Ferrun (? 25C-D) and Agnes de Writle (25B), and the shop of Margery le Ferrun (25A) to the W., and the tenements of Eleanor wife of Adam of St. Albans, ironmonger, (? 28) and of the merchants of the society of Ricardi of Lucca ('Servat's Tower' in the parish of St. Stephen Walbrook; see forthcoming gazetteer entry 156/13) to the E. In 1306 Avice la Haubergere, widow, probably Thomas le Mareschal's widow, granted to Richer de Refham, citizen and mercer, her messuage, 3 solars, 8 shops with cellars, houses, buildings and appurtenances in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch. She also granted him 13s. 4d. (1 mark) quit-rent from the solar over (ultra) the shop of Roger de Brunne (25A), which he held from her at the corner against (contra) the Conduit. In 1307 de Refham granted the tenement he had by Avice la Haubergere's grant in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, and the quit-rent, together with tenements in other parishes, to his son John and his heirs, with remainder to Richer and his sister Joan, wife of Robert le Callere, and her heirs. John was to pay Richer and his assigns £140 p.a. for life, and the services to the chief lords. Richer de Refham also seems to have acquired 32A, one of the 8 stone shops granted to Clerkenwell by Matthew Blund in 1220-2 and since then granted like the others at 1 mark (13s. 4d.) p.a. In 1320 the prioress of Clerkenwell distrained in his tenement in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, which he held of her for the service of 13s. 4d., in arrears for a quarter of a year. Richer admitted the obligation and the prioress remitted arrears up to half a mark. (fn. 7)

In 1328 John de Refham, son of Sir Richer de Refham, kt., quitclaimed to his father in all the lands, tenements, and rents he had in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch and elsewhere. By his will dated and proved in 1328, Richer de Refham left to his wife Joan all the tenements he held by the feoffment of Avice la Haubergiere in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, charged with rents of 2 marks (£1. 6s. 8d.) to the heirs of William de Leyre (cf. below), £2 to Ospringe Hospital, and, for a shop of the said tenements versus vicum regium de Ferronerie, 1 mark to the nuns of Clerkenwell. He also left her 27 and 28, described as 2 shops on the Poultry frontage of 26, also subject to quit-rent charges. Joan was to hold these and numerous other properties for life, with reversion to John, and to support John and his wife Margaret for life. In 1331 the tenement of John de Refham lay to the E. and S. of 32A, and to the E. of 25. The date of John de Refham's death is not known, but in 1352 his brother and heir Roger de Refham quitclaimed to Henry de Ware in the 13s. 4d. quit-rent from the solar over 25A, adjoining his own tenement. Edward de Refham, brother of Roger, ratified the transaction. Roger de Refham's tenement lay to the E. of 25C-D in 1357. Roger de Refham granted all or part of the same property to Richard Wynchecumbe, armourer, and his wife Agnes for life. The tenement of Richard de Wynchecombe, armourer, lay to the E. and S. of 32A in 1358, so the part granted included 32B and the adjoining part of 26 at least. By 1363 the property had come to Thomas son of William de Tudenham and his wife Margaret (daughter of Roger de Refham), who were then involved in pleas of intrusion (not completed) against and brought by Maud, widow of Thomas Frembaud, and Thomas Whitchurch, cordwainer, relating to an estate of 8 messuages, 6 shops, and £2. 6s. rent in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch and elsewhere. In 1371 Margaret Tudenham, widow of Thomas Tudenham, citizen and mercer, and daughter of Roger de Refham, granted to Walter Forster, citizen and skinner, and his wife Agnes the tenements which Roger de Refham had granted to Richard Wynchecumbe and the said Agnes for life, to hold for their lives at £22 p.a. The property consisted of 4 tenements now held by Simon Wynchecombe, William Dumberton, William Horsham, and John West, and a shop held by Thomas de Ware. The grantees were to repair, and pave as necessary. (fn. 8)

In 1378 John Salle, citizen and cutler, and his wife Margaret held the tenement called la horsheved on the hope, lying to the W. and S. of 33, which Thomas de Farneburgh then granted them. Salle was possibly only a tenant. Later in 1378 the E. abutments of 32A were the tenement of Adam Fraunceys and his wife Margaret (32B) and that of John Salle (33); the tenement of Adam Fraunceys and Margaret (26) also lay to the S. Adam Fraunceys and Margaret held the property in the latter's right: possibly she was the daughter of Margaret widow of Thomas Tudenham (see 105/12). At any rate she was the heir to the de Refham properties. John Salle continued to hold the tenement, or part of it, until at least 1391. In 1394 the W. abutment of 33 was given as the entry to Adam Fraunceys' tenement called le Horsheved, and the S. abutment was the tenement itself. The solar of Simon Wynchecombe, part of 32A, lay over the entry in 1402. Adam Fraunceys died in 1417, holding by the law of England after the death of his wife Margaret tenements in a number of parishes including St. Mary Colechurch. The heirs were his and Margaret's daughters Agnes, wife of Sir William Porter, kt., and Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Charleton. This part of the estate went to Elizabeth, who died in 1451 holding 8 messuages, cellar(s), and solar(s) in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, and other tenements elsewhere. Her son Thomas Charleton, esquire, was her heir. Sir Thomas Charleton in 1464 granted his London properties to feoffees, Henry Frowyck of Middlesex, esquire, Thomas Frowyk of London, gentleman, Robert Olney, Thomas Reynes, William Mauser, Thomas Swan, Nicholas Malle, Thomas Peny, chaplain, and Richard Jancy, chaplain, to hold to fulfil his will. On his death in 1465 Charleton's heir was his son Richard, aged 15. Richard Charleton was attainted for treason in 1485 for his support of Richard III, and the property escheated to the Crown; he had 6 tenements, called 'Charleton's lands', in Bucklersbury in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, worth £13. 13s. p.a. (fn. 9)

The descent of the quit-rents

A rent of 13s. 4d. was due to Clerkenwell Priory from 32A, in the same ownership as 26 from the early 14th century. The rent of £2 reserved by Ospringe Hospital in their grant to Reginald le Hauberger in 1251 was referred to in 1280-1, 1293, and 1298. In 1415 Sir Adam Fraunceys, kt., paid the rent to Ospringe for a stone house called le Horshed iuxta conductum, in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch. The rent for le Horshede in Poultry was in arrears in 1472-3, and was probably no longer being paid by 1518, when Ospringe was appropriated to St. John's College, Cambridge. (fn. 10)

Thomas le Marescal granted a quit-rent of £1. 6s. 8d. (2 marks) from 26 to Walter le Cornwaleys in 1276. The latter granted it to Thomas Box, who in his will proved in 1301 left his rent of 2 marks from the tenement sometime of Reginald le Hauberger by the Conduit for the celebration of masses for 2 years after his death, and after that for sale. In 1300-1 William de Leyre bought it from Box's executors. In 1306 he distrained for arrears of the rent in Richer de Refham's tenement, who denied the rent, but afterwards failed to appear in court. In 1308 de Leyre distrained in the same tenement, now held by John de Refham and his wife Margaret, who after denying it then acknowledged his right. By his will of 1322, proved 1323, William de Leyre left his £1. 6s. 8d. rent from the tenement sometime of Avice la Haubergere in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch to his daughter Joan de Leyre, a nun at Clerkenwell, for life, with remainder to his right heirs. The subsequent descent of this quit-rent is not clear, but it may be identical with the £1. 6s. 8d. quit- rent granted in 1404 by Sir John Chambre, kt., lord of Lillingston Lovell (Oxon.,) and his wife Joan, from their brewhouse called le Horshed in the Poultry in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, to John Marchall, citizen and tailor, for life. Roger Chambre, esquire, son of Sir John, confirmed the same. The later descent is not known. (fn. 11) There was also a quit-rent due to Blackmore Priory from 27 (q.v.).

26, later fifteenth to seventeenth century

In the later 15th century and later the tenement here described as 26 also included 27 and 28. It abutted W. on 25, N. in part on Poultry (between 25 and 29) and in part on the backs of 29-35, E. on tenements in St. Benet Sherehog parish and possibly in St. Mildred Poultry, and S. on Bucklersbury, a long frontage of nearly 100 ft. (30.48 m.). The ground floor shop 32A, held with 26 in the 14th century and sometimes described as the entry to the same, became a shop again by the mid 15th century, and seems to have been lost or transferred to the owners of 32A, the Merchant Taylors' Company, probably in the later 15th century. (fn. 12)

After Richard Charleton's forfeiture in 1485, the lands in Bucklersbury were held by Thomas Broun, William Blounte, John Charleton, Thomas Kendall, and William Wymbush, who received the profits until 1510. Henry VIII granted the 6 tenements in Bucklersbury in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, forfeited by Sir Richard Charleton, to Morys ap Henry and Reynold Wolvedon, during pleasure. In 1513 the same 6 tenements were granted to Wolvedon and John Tregian in survivorship. On Wolvedon's death Tregian surrendered his interest, and the king granted the same 6 tenements, called Charleton's lands, to Richard Hyll or Hill, sergeant of the king's cellar, for ever. Hill thereupon (in 1529) leased the 6 tenements to Giles Hamond, citizen and carpenter, for 60 years at £10 rent. The lessee was to pave, repair, cleanse privies and pay all chief and quit-rents. The tenements lay between 25 to the W. and the land of the priory of Stratford atte Bow, Essex, occupied by Henry Lomner, grocer, in the parish of St. Benet Sherehog, to the E. In 1548, as the result of a variance between William Hamond and William Locke (the freeholder) the 6 tenements in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch were viewed. They measured in length from the S.W. corner principal post eastward along Bucklersbury 106 ft. 1 in. (32.33 m.), northward from the same post to the N.W. corner principal post 22 ft. 2 in. (6.76 m.) and eastward along Poultry 18 ft. (5.49 m.). The N.-S. dimension is smaller than that given at the time of the Fire, but it is not clear why. (fn. 13)

The descent of the freehold interest

By 1550 the freehold was held by Sir William Lock, kt., who left his 6 messuages and shops in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, in Poultry and Bucklesbury, to his younger sons John, Henry, and Michael Lock. They seem to have assigned their interest in the same to their brother Thomas Lock, who in 1554 granted these 6 tenements with others to John Coswarthe, Thomas Stacy, and Anthony Hickman, citizens and mercers, to hold to the use of himself and his wife Mary, and after their deaths to the use of William Lock their son, and his heirs, and subsequently to their other sons and their heirs. Thomas Locke died before 1558, and William Locke the son in 1558; Matthew Locke, his brother, was his heir, aged 9 in 1561. Mary, widow of Thomas Locke, was still alive and seised of the premises in 1561. Matthew Locke of Merton, Surrey, and his wife Margaret held the property in 1596, though Michael Lock may still have had some interest there. After Matthew's death Margaret married Sir Thomas Muschamp of Merton; they made leases of parts of 26 in 1609 and 1617. In 1623 Thomas Lock of Merton, son and heir of Matthew Lock, and his wife Jane sold to John Davis of Stepney, gentleman, and Richard Williamson of London, all their 6 messuages or tenements in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, subject to Dame Margaret Muschamp's life interest, and certain leases, for £700. The premises were described as 6 messuages known as the Wild Man (26A), the Bear (26B), the Falcon (26D), the Greyhound (26E), and the Wild Man in Bucklersbury (26F), or other names, now occupied by Thomas Lock, Randall Pickering, Nicholas Gibson, William Spilman, Matthew Bell, William Shambroke, Thomas Wheatley, and John Vaughan, together with a kitchen or room now held by John Vaughan (see 33-4), late used with or belonging to the Greyhound. The 6 messuages had a frontage to Bucklersbury to the S. of 106 ft. 1 in. (32.33 m.), and to Poultry on the N. of 18 ft. (5.49 m.), and abutted W. on the tenement occupied by Thomas Philippes (25), and E. on a tenement in Bucklersbury now occupied by John Baker. The grantors convenanted to levy a fine to Charles Yeoman and George Pryor, to hold to the grantees' use, and to make further assurance on request. (fn. 14)

The agreement and fine, duly levied, were subsequently stated to be to the use of Thomas Love, esquire, of London, and Richard Pulford, citizen and ironmonger, who had supplied the purchase money. Davis and Williamson conveyed separate moieties of the property, described as above, to Love and Pulford later in 1623. In 1627 Sir Thomas Love, kt., sold his moiety to Richard Pulford for £600. By his will of 1630 Richard Pulford, citizen and ironmonger, left his lands in London to Richard Williamson on London, gentleman, Richard Fisher of Ipswich, and Charles Yeoman of London, scrivener, to hold in trust for the use of his wife Anne during the minority of his heir Ferdinando Pulford. Anne Pulford and the trustees renounced administration in 1631, and it is not clear how the lands were then held. Ferdinando Pulford seems to have been of age by 1638. By his will of 1640, Ferdinando left his tenements in or near Bucklersbury, in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, to his mother Anne for life, with remainder to his brother John and his issue, and then to his sister Hannah and her issue. A legacy of £1000 to Hannah was to be raised from the testator's freehold lands, which he bound therefor, when she was 21. In 1654 Hannah, with her husband John Herbert, citizen and merchant tailor, released all claims and charges against Anne Pulford, Hannah's mother, now living in Clerkenwell, and John Pulford, gentleman, her brother, also of Clerkenwell, concerning the legacy of £1000, and agreed to levy a fine securing the lands, including those in Bucklersbury, to John Pulford, his heirs and assigns. (fn. 15)

In 1659, as part of the marriage settlement of John Pulford of Tottenham High Cross and Anne Allen, daughter of Sir Thomas Allen of Finchley, John Pulford covenanted that his 6 messuages in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch should be held by him and his feoffees to the use of himself and Anne and the survivor, as jointure, with remainder to the use of his heirs and assigns. John Pulford and his wife Anne held the freehold at and after the Great Fire; different rebuilding agreements were made with each of their tenants. (fn. 16)

The leasehold interests

Richard Hill leased the whole of 26 to Giles Hamond, citizen and carpenter, for 60 years from 1529 at £10 rent, the lessee to repair and pay all chief and quit-rents. After Hamond's death his wife Isabel or Elizabeth held the lease, and after her death William Hamond, who appears to have been in possession in 1548, held it. He also held tenements in St. Sepulchre parish on lease from William Lock. Hamond sublet parts of the whole, by leases not recorded, and William Davies acquired his interest in the whole in 1556. Davies's widow Magdalen married Arthur Goodgame, citizen and fishmonger, who in 1580 assigned the leases of 26 and the tenements in St. Sepulchre parish to James Monsey, citizen and grocer. Monsey assigned the leases to David Hollilond, citizen and mercer, in 1586. The original lease should have expired in 1589, and Matthew Lock, the freeholder, made leases of several parts of 26 from the 1590s. The property is usually described as 6 messuages or tenements, but there seem to have been at least 7 parts to the whole (see A-G below). (fn. 17)

26A

This tenement was the only part of 26 to have a frontage to Poultry. It corresponds, therefore, to the medieval shops 27 and 28, with part of the original 26. 26A seems to have been occupied in or before 1532 by John Abraham, citizen and poulterer. Thomas Walkeden was probably tenant in 1558, when he held the house between 29-31 and 25, then valued at £6. Thomas Gadby held the same house c. 1571-4, and Robert Sweete may have been tenant in 1612. In 1616 it was occupied by Randall Pickering, citizen and haberdasher, and said to be late occupied by William Brasier, haberdasher. Pickering probably held a lease from Dame Margaret Muschamp, as Thomas Lock now leased the tenement to him for 25 years from the death of Lady Muschamp, for £200 fine and £20 rent. The lessee was to repair, pave, and cleanse, and covenanted that the messuage should not thereafter by his means come into the possession of the heirs of Thomas Smyth of Blackmore, Essex, or any claiming through him. This condition presumably related to the Smyth family's claim to 16s. rent from the property once known as 27 (q.v.), as grantees of the lands formerly of Blackmore Priory, to which 27 had belonged in the early 14th century. Randall Pickering occupied this property in 1622. It was probably the one referred to as the Wild Man (in Poultry), held by Randall Pickering, in 1623. Lady Muschamp died in 1624. (fn. 18)

Randall Pickering the elder died in 1630, and appears to have been succeeded by his son of the same name. In 1638 Ferdinando Pulford granted a further lease of the same property to Randall Pickering, for 41 years from 1649, at £20 rent, for a fine of £60. Mr. Pickering occupied the house in 1638, when it was valued at £24 p.a. Randall Pickering, citizen and haberdasher, died in 1641, and by his will instructed his wife Ann to allow the friends to whom he had assigned his leases in St. Mary Colechurch parish and elsewhere to enjoy the same. She was to receive the rent, but on request was to assign the lease to the occupants for a payment. Either he before his death, or his widow, sublet the property to Jeffery Grantham for 28 1/2 years from 1641 at £80 rent. In 1643 Lidia Crabb, widow, executrix of Anne Pickering, widow and executrix of Randall Pickering, late citizen and haberdasher (the younger), assigned the present and future head-leases (from Pulford) to Edmund Lewen, citizen and merchant tailor (also tenant of 25), for £500. Lewen assigned the lease to William Pitchford, citizen and haberdasher, for £500 in 1644. Pitchford assigned the lease in 1645 to Jeffery Grantham, citizen and haberdasher, who was probably still the sub-tenant, for £520. In 1670 it was alleged that there had been great outlay in bettering the premises c. 1651. In 1651 Grantham assigned the lease to Peter Vandeputt of London, merchant, for £572. 15s., the assignment to be void if he paid Vandeputt a total of £587. 15s. in instalments by 1559. Grantham and Vandeputt assigned the lease to Dierick Host, gentleman, in 1655, for £548. 15s. paid to Vandeputt, and £100 to be paid when the premises were let, and £100 to be paid to Grantham's wife and children. In 1657 Host sublet the property to Simon Morse for 21 years at £80 rent and £100 fine, with covenant to repair. The property was referred to as the Wild Man in the Poultry, (late) occupied by Randall Pickering, in 1659. Dierick Host died c. 1665, leaving £100 by will to Grantham, and at the time of the Great Fire his estate was held by his executor Theodore Host. (fn. 19) Simon More or Morse was in occupation in 1662-3 and 1666, when the house was said to have 7 hearths. (fn. 20)

After the Fire most of the property, a strip 18 ft. (5.49 m.) long E.-W. by 11 ft. (3.35 m.) at the E. end and 15 ft. (4.57 m.) at the W. end, was staked out to be cut off to widen Poultry. The land remaining was too small to build on. The ground landlord, Pulford, negotiated through the Fire Court with the lessee of 26B to the S., and on obtaining a decree enabling him to acquire possession of that, put the two properties together, rebuilt them as one, and leased it, as the Green Man in Poultry, to Elizabeth Gardner, for 21 years at £165 fine and £60 rent. Theodore Host complained in 1670 that his interest in the ground remaining from 26A had been ignored, and that he had been willing either to rebuild or to give reasonable terms to Morse, the under-tenant, to rebuild. He demanded £300 compensation from Pulford, or offered to pay the cost of rebuilding in return for an increased term and reasonable rent. Pulford said that he had offered Host terms to rebuild (? both 26A and B), which the latter had refused, but the Court was not certain that these terms were reasonable, and felt that Pulford had entered 'too hastily' on possession and built 'unduly.' Accordingly it decreed that Morse should pay his rent to Host up to the Fire, and surrender without further contribution, that Host should pay his rent, less taxes, to Pulford for the same period, that Pulford should pay Host £65 and the latter should surrender or assign his interest to Pulford. All compensation paid by the City for land cut off was to go to Pulford. Pulford was paid £60. 1s. 3d. for 240 1/4 sq. ft. (22.32 sq. m.) cut off mostly from 26A but also including a small triangle cut off from 26C. (fn. 21)

26B

This house was the westernmost one on the Bucklersbury frontage of 26. The tenant in 1558 may have been George Sawterres, who occupied a house valued at £1. 6s. 8d. p.a., next to 25. One Lynche seems to have occupied the same house in 1571-4. Nicholas Gibson was probably tenant in 1612, 1618-1622, and 1623, when it seems to have been known as the Bear. In June 1638 Anne Pulford and Ferdinando Pulford leased to James Clarke, citizen and grocer, the tenement called the Black Bear in Bucklersbury, now occupied by Clarke, for 41 years at £20 fine and £20 rent. The tenement (see Fig. 14) measured 24 ft. (7.32 m.) E.-W. and 22 ft. N.-S. (6.71 m.) and contained a shop, a back room or warehouse, and an entry on the ground floor, a hall, kitchen, chamber, and buttery on the first floor, three chambers and two closets on the second floor, and two garrets on the third floor. Within 10 years Clarke was to take down the house, dig a new cellar, and rebuild the house of brick, at least 3 stories high over the cellar, at his own cost including fixtures such as doors, locks, and gutters. Thereafter he was to repair, pave, and cleanse, and pay all rates, fifteenths, and taxes. Clarke may have rebuilt, or at least begun rebuilding, by October 1638, when Ferdinando Pulford granted him a further lease of the same, for 21 years from 1679 at £20 rent. In 1668 it was alleged that Clarke had spent £450 in rebuilding, but had been unable to let the new-built house for more than £60 rent, including fine. Mr. Clarke occupied the house in 1638, when it was valued at only £12 p.a. James Clarke (senior; d. 1647 x 1649) left the lease of the Black Bear to his son James Clarke who occupied the premises for some time, and left the lease by will in 1657 to his wife Judith, who married Simon Fincham. 26B and C appear to have been occupied in 1662-3 and 1666 by Thomas Pritchard (6 hearths) and Thomas Dickenson (4 hearths in 1662-3, 7 in 1666); it is not certain which tenant held which. (fn. 22)

After the Fire Fincham offered to rebuild at his own charge, for an extended term at 20 marks (£13. 6s. 8d.) rent. John Pulford was unwilling to accept, because indepedent rebuilding of this house would render the land remaining from 26A useless. He said he was unable to take up the lease or sub-lease of 26A, held by Theodore Host and Simon Morce, to accommodate Fincham. The Court suggested that Pulford should buy out Fincham's interest and rebuild himself, which he was willing to do. His offers, first of £50 and then of 100 marks (£66. 13s. 4d.) to Fincham were refused, however, and the latter again offered to rebuild at 20 marks rent. The court, considering that the site would now front Poultry, which before it did not, and that Pulford would have to buy up 2 ft. (600 mm.) of ground next to Poultry to lay into this site, said that the old rent should be kept up, or the petitioner, Fincham, should surrender. Since Fincham was not the inhabitant of the property, the Court propounded, and then decreed, that Pulford should pay him £70 for his interest, deducting any arrears of rent up to the time of the Fire, and that Fincham should accept this and surrender the lease. This seems to have taken place, and Pulford rebuilt on the site of 26B and the remainder of 26A by December 1669, when he let the new built messuage of brick called the Green Man, with all shops, cellars, vaults, chambers, sinks, gutters, pipes, and lead, to Elizabeth Gardner for 21 years at £165 fine and £60 rent. He had not settled with the tenants of 26A, however, and further litigation as to the compensation for this ensued. (fn. 23)

26C

No principal leases survive for this property, the next east along Bucklersbury from 26B. The inhabitant in 1558 was probably Edward Plomer, but in later tithe and rate assessments cannot be identified with certainty. The tenant(s) in 1623 may have been Matthew Bell and/or William Spilman. Matthew Bell, citizen and clothworker, of the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, died in 1625, leaving his leaseholds to his brother-in-law and executor Richard Franklyn. The occupant of 26C in 1638, when the house was valued at £14 p.a., appears to have been Mr. Martyn. It is possible that part of 26C was the tenement referred to in 1653 as the White Hart in Bucklersbury in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, the easternmost of two messuages recently rebuilt in brick by William Hulme, citizen and grocer, presumably Pulford's lessee, which Hulme was then (sub-) letting to Thomas Fountayne of London, citizen and grocer, for 14 years from 1652 at £30 rent and £40 fine. Fountayne was to repair, but not to alter walls, partitions, and principals, and must allow Hulme 'and all other landlords' to enter to view the repairs. The previous occupant had been William Atkinson. Thomas Fountain was named among the occupants of Pulford's tenements in 1654. William Royston, named in the same deed, cannot be identified with any other part of 26 and may therefore have been the occupant of the 'westernmost messuage' which Hulme presumably also held on lease from Pulford. William Royston of the parish of St. Mary Colechurch died in 1658, leaving all his goods to his wife Ellen. In 1662-3 and 1666 26B and C were probably occupied by Thomas Pritchard (6 hearths) and Thomas Dickenson (4 hearths in 1662-3, 7 in 1666), but it is not clear which of them held which house. (fn. 24)

The sub-lease to Fountayne was due to expire in 1666 and possibly the principal lease to Hulme expired then or shortly after. There is no Fire Court decree concerning this property and Pulford seems to have rebuilt himself without complications. A foundation in Bucklersbury was surveyed for John Pulford in 1668, with the tenements of Mr. Moss (?Morse) to the W., Mr. Nutt to the E., and Mr. Fletcher (29-31) to the N. The property had not previously had any frontage to Poultry, but the new line of that street cut off the N.W. corner of this plot, a triangle 3 ft. by 4 ft. by 4 ft. 4 in. (910 mm. by 1.22 m. by 1.32 m.). The widening of Poultry left 29-31 with a triangular plot, part of which could not be built on by the owners of that property. In 1669 Thomas Jesson, tenant of 29-31, covenanted to lease a triangle of land, part of his plot, measuring 9 ft. (2.74 m.) towards Poultry, 4 ft. (1.22 m.) at the E. end and 9 ft. (2.74 m.) along the base, to Pulford, for £20 paid and a peppercorn rent. The lease was for 45 years, the remainder of Jesson's term, to be extended to 84 years if the Merchant Taylors extended his lease by 40 years as they had offered. Jesson was to receive any compensation for the land cut off in front, but the improvement to 26C by having a new frontage was taken into consideration when compensation was assessed. Pulford may subsequently have acquired the freehold of the triangle, as it is not drawn in the Merchant Taylors' plan book of 1685. Pulford received compensation for the small triangle cut off 26C. In 1676 he leased the messuage or tenement in Poultry, against the end of Old Jewry, known as the Three Kings, to John Wysham, citizen and joiner, for 5 years, at £10 for the first quarter and £60 p.a. thereafter. The tenement measured 18 ft. (5.49 m.) towards Poultry, 21 ft. (6.4 m.) towards Bucklersbury, 27 ft. (8.23 m.) on the E. side and 29 ft. (8.84 m.) (sic; 24 ft. or 25 ft. (7.32 m. or 7.62 m.) would probably be more correct) on the W. side. (fn. 25)

26D

Little information survives relating directly to the leasehold of this property. It was probably occupied in 1558 by William Creketoft, who may be the same as the William Crickfast who occupied it in 1571-4. Mr. 'Brictast''s household in 1574 consisted of himself, his wife, and 2 other communicants. John Hayward held the tenement to the W. of 26E in 1609 and he was the occupant, according to rate assessments, in 1612 and 1619-22. In 1623 one of Lock's messuages was called the Falcon; this appears to be 26D, and was probably held by either Matthew Bell or William Spilman. Matthew Bell, citizen and clothworker, died in 1625, leaving his leasehold interests to his brother-in-law and executor Richard Franklyn. In 1628 the Falcon, occupied by Walter Brockett, citizen and merchant tailor, lay to the W. of 26E, of which Brockett then took a lease. In 1638 the occupant was probably Mr. Culverwell, whose name occurs in the tithe assessment list after William Shambrook (26E-F). His house was worth £8 p.a.

In 1639 Ferdinando Pulford leased 26D, a house in Bucklersbury, to James Clarke, citizen and grocer, for 99 years from 1646, at £20 rent during the life of Ann Pulford, the lessor's mother, and £10 thereafter. The fine is not recorded. By his will of 1647, proved 1649, Clarke left the lease of his house in which Job Nutt, citizen and drugster, lived, to his wife Helen or Eleanor for life, with remainder to his daughters Mary and Ann. Job Nutt occupied one of the Pulford properties in 1654. Eleanor Clarke died in 1650, but Mary Simpson and Anne Symonds, daughters of James Clarke, were alive in 1657. 26D was occupied in 1662-3 and 1666 by Job Nutt; it had 6 hearths. In post-Fire foundation surveys Mr. Nutt was given as the E. neighbour of 26C and the W. neighbour of the S. part of 33-4, though Mr. Pastover was given as the W. neighbour of 26E in a slightly later survey. The foundation was surveyed in June 1669, but it is not clear for whom. It abutted N. on the Merchant Taylors' land in Poultry (32), S. on Bucklersbury, with a 14 ft. 8 in. (4.47 m.) frontage, W. on Mr. Pulford's land (26C) and E. on Mr. Child's (26E). In 1670 Thomas Symonds, citizen and barber-surgeon, and his wife Ann, and Sybilla Aynsworth, the last-named acting as trustee for John, Mary, Joseph, and Sibilla Simpson, children of the late John and Mary Simpson, sued in the Fire Court for a contribution from Pulford towards the cost of rebuilding, which they had already carried out. The court, however, considered that since the rent and term of the existing lease were so favourable, and since the new-built house had already been let by the petitioners at £200 fine and £80 rent, the £10 rent to Pulford should be reduced to £5 from the Fire until Lady Day 1670, and thereafter should be paid in full. (fn. 26)

26E

This tenement, between 26D to the W. and 26F-G to the E., abutted N. on 33-34. The S. part of 33-34, as surveyed in 1669, was probably land originally part of 26, possibly only added in the 17th century. There was also such a complex intermixture between the back parts of 26E-F-G, fronting Bucklersbury, and 35, fronting Poultry, that at the time of the Fire it was not certain to whom the back ground belonged. In 1558 E was probably occupied by William Hayeward. William Wright, grocer, held it in 1596. He still occupied most of 26E in 1609, when Sir Thomas and Lady Muschamp, who had a life-interest in the freehold, leased a warehouse, now used as a kitchen, under part of Wright's messuage, to John Vaughan, citizen and draper, tenant of 33-34, on the back part of whose shop and house it abutted. The other abutments were Muschamp's tenement now or late held by John Hayward to the W., Muschamp's tenement occupied by Thomas Wheatlie to the E., and Wright's messuage to the S. Vaughan was to hold for 21 years, if Lady Muschamp lived so long, for £1. 6s. 8d. rent, and a fine of £10. Muschamp reserved access for himself and his tenants for repair of adjacent rooms, with liberty to take down and set up all principal walls and chimneys, and also access via Vaughan's house opening into the Poultry. This warehouse or kitchen probably occupied the plot measuring some 16 ft. (4.88 m.) wide E.-W., 10 ft. 3 in. (3.12 m.) at the E. end and 6 ft. 9 in. (2.06 m.) at the W., part of the plot surveyed for the tenant of 33-34 in 1669. In 1623 the kitchen or room now held by John Vaughan or his assigns, late used with and belonging to the messuage called the Greyhound (26E) was specifically mentioned in a deed conveying the whole of 26. William Wright, grocer, died in 1612 or 1613. (fn. 27)

In 1617 Sir Thomas and Lady Muschampe leased to George Houghton, citizen and grocer, the messuage called the Greyhound in Bucklersbury, sometime occupied by William Wright, citizen and grocer, but now by Houghton, for 21 years from 1616, if Lady Muschampe lived so long, for £22 rent, and possibly no fine. The lessee was to repair, pave, and cleanse. John Vaughan was a witness to the sealing but no special mention or provision was made of his interest in part of the property. The occupant in 1619 and subsequently may have been William Shambrooke. Lady Muschamp died in 1624. In 1628 Richard Pulford made 2 separate leases of the front and back parts of the Greyhound to Walter Brockett, citizen and merchant tailor, then in occupation (see Fig. 14). The forepart of the Greyhound comprised a cellar, a shop above it, and a little yard adjacent, a hall over the shop, a chamber over the hall, and a garret over the chamber. There was a house of office adjacent to the house, and a schedule of fixtures also mentions a chamber next to the hall, with a window to the S., and a little room under the garret and over the kitchen, with a window to the N. and a wainscot press. The hall had a glass window to the E., a closet with a window, and settles, the chamber over the hall had a glass window to the E., a study with 2 little lights, and a painted cloth, and the garret had a light to the N. The cellar had 3 board partitions, and measured 24 ft. (7.34 m.) from the Falcon (26D), now occupied by Brockett, to the W., to the tenement (26F) now occupied by William Shambrook, to the E., and 16 ft. (4.88 m.) N.-S. on the W. and 18 ft. (5.49 m.) N.-S. on the E. Brockett paid a fine of £36. 7s. 3d. and was to pay rent of £16 p.a. and a sugar loaf, weight 4 lb., at Christmas if demanded; he was to repair, pave, and cleanse. Pulford or his tenants or lessees could enter the yard and other convenient places to repair other tenements. The back part of the Greyhound, leased to Brockett on the same day, comprised a kitchen above stairs, measuring 11 1/2 ft. (3.51 m.) E.-W. by 11 ft. (3.35 m.) N.-S., a room adjacent to the E. part of the kitchen measuring 14 ft. (4.27 m.) E.-W. and 12 ft. (3.66 m.) N.-S., a passage or entry leading to the kitchen measuring 12 1/2 ft. (3.81 m.) N.-S., and a room over the kitchen measuring 10 ft. (3.05 m.) E.-W. by 12 ft. (3.66 m.) N.-S. The lease of this part was for 20 years, at £13. 12s. 9d. fine and £6. 10s. rent, with repairs to be done by the lessee, but if Pulford wanted to pull down and rebuild, he could give 6 months notice and the lease would be void. Brockett would surrender and Pulford would pay him 13s. p.a. for the remainder of the term in compensation. (fn. 28)

Mr. Shambrooke was probably occupying both 26E and F in 1638, when his house was valued at £24 p.a. In 1639 Ferdinando Pulford granted a reversionary lease of the messuage formerly called the Greyhound and now the Phoenix, to William Shambrooke, citizen and apothecary, for 51 years from 1647 at £50 fine and £22 rent. Shambrooke was already in occupation, probably as assign of Brockett's leases. The tenement now comprised a shop with a cellar under, a yard behind the shop with a house of office in the yard, and an entry from the street to the yard, a hall over the shop, and a little room over part of the yard, a chamber over the hall, and 2 garrets over the chamber, with an entry to them. Behind the shop and yard was a 'great old kitchen', with 2 rooms above it, one now used as a kitchen, with a buttery at the further end, and the other used as a chamber, with a closet in it next to the house of office. Possibly the 'great old kitchen' was in fact the kitchen or warehouse leased to Vaughan in 1609, and not therefore included in this lease. In 1661 Douglas Russell of London, widow, administratrix of the goods, chattels, debts and credits of William Russell (d. 1660-61) and William Shambrooke, late citizens and apothecaries, who had perhaps been partners, granted a (sub) lease of the messuage formerly called the Phoenix and now the Wildman, now in her occupation or her assigns', to Thomas Wigan of London, grocer, for 21 years at £40 rent and £100 fine. The premises were described in similar but not identical terms to the lease of 1639, in that the 'great old kitchen' was now described as a kitchen or warehouse, with a cellar under it, and the room above now used as a kitchen had a yard (sic) and not a buttery at the further end. Wigan was to repair, and to allow Mrs. Russell or her assigns or Ferdinando Pulford to view the repairs. Thomas Wiggam occupied the house, which had 5 hearths, in 1662-3; in 1666 the same house was occupied by George Villers. (fn. 29)

After the Fire, Zachary Bertrand and Thomas Child, tenants of 26F-G and 35, claimed that they were forced to procure an assignment of the lease of the Phoenix, late of William Shambrook, in order to rebuild, because its rooms were so intermixed with part of 35. The rebuilding arrangements are dealt with under 26F-G. (fn. 30)

26F

The occupant of this house in 1558 was probably Edward Wyestowe and in 1571-4 Thomas Kere or Kery. In 1574 Thomas Kery's household consisted of himself and a servant. Anthony Bateman held 26F, in Bucklersbury to the S. of 26G, on lease in 1596. William Shambrooke was probably the tenant in 1612, 1619-22, and 1623, when the tenement was known as the Wild Man in Bucklersbury. William Shambrook was probably occupying 26E and F in 1638, when his house was valued at £24. In 1640 Pulford leased the messuage called the Wild Man, next to Bucklersbury, held by William Shambrook, apothecary, or his assigns, together with 26G behind, the messuage formerly known as the Naked Boy and now as the Three Flower de Luces, late occupied by Henry Lindley and now by John Lorymer, citizen and apothecary, to Lorymer, for 84 years from 1641, for £100 fine and £20 rent during the life of Ann Pulford, the grantor's mother, and £13 thereafter. Within 18 years Lorymer was to take down and rebuild the tenements, in good brick and timber, and thereafter keep them in repair. The two tenements lay between 26E to the W., late occupied by William Wright and now by William Shambrook, and a tenement (in the parish of St. Benet Sherehog) to the E., late of one Riche, late occupied by Thomas Hunt, comfitmaker, now by one Wigge. To the N. they abutted on 3 tenements, one (33-34) hitherto of John Robinson, late occupied by John Vaughan, draper, now by John Fletcher, baker, another (35) of Humphrey Wyndham esquire, late occupied by Henry Lyndley and now by Lorymer, and the third (in St. Mildred Poultry parish) of Robert Tudnam, late occupied by Thomas Richardson, clothworker, and now or late by Mrs. Benson, widow. The tenements let contained in length from Bucklersbury northwards 68 ft. 9 in. (20.88 m.; this measurement corresponds with the E. boundary of 26F-G, which was not a straight line). The dimensions and abutments make it clear that the properties extended to the back of 35 and the tenement in St. Mildred Poultry, only some 18-19 ft. (5.49 m. to 5.79 m.) S. of Poultry, and therefore probably corresponding to the line of the back wall of the stone shops described in 1220-2 (see above, section i). (fn. 31)

John Lorymer was also the lessee of 35 (q.v.) from 1640, by a lease of 1641. In 1661 his widow Frances and his executor Thomas Culling, citizen and mercer, leased the great messuage formerly 3 messuages, the back part of which had been rebuilt by John Lorymer, which they held by virtue of the leases of 1640 by Pulford (of 26F-G) and 1641 (by Portman, of 35), to Zachary Bertrand and Thomas Child, citizens and apothecaries, who already occupied the same. Bertrand and Child were to hold for 10 years at £100 fine and £100 rent, doing all repairs, and covenanting not to obstruct the lights of the adjacent tenements of Henry Dixon and Thomas Gardener, lying to the E. and N. of the premises let. The schedule seems to describe the rooms of 26F-G, not those of 35, though some of the back rooms were probably intermixed. The building was complex, rising in part to 5 storeys, and the schedule to the lease suggests that it was well-fitted in a substantial style (see Fig. 14). (fn. 32)

There were 3 cellars, described as the easternmost cellar backwards, the middle cellar backwards, and the first or westernmost back cellar, each with shelves and boards, and the last with an oaken post to support the mortar plate in the back shop, and with a privy. As the lessees were apothecaries the mortar may well have been used for trade, but it is not listed in the fixtures of the shop. There was a 'foreshop' a 'westernmost back shop' and a 'southernmost back shop', each shelved and partitioned. The foreshop had a door to the street, and the westernmost shop a door to the cellar. There were 3 little rooms or sheds lying one over another in the SE corner (? of the property, or of the yard). There was a paved yard, and a 'back low kitchen', with an upper kitchen, probably on the first floor, with windows to the S., cupboards and dresser. Both kitchens had piped New River water, coming from the street by way of the cellars. The buttery had an oak dresser, a large cupboard with turned 'bainesters' to the doors, windows to the E., and leads above. The main rooms consisted of a dining room over the shop, wainscoted, with a window all along the S. side, and Flanders tiles round the chimney pace, and a parlour, wainscoted and painted with a mantle footpace, white Flanders tiles round the chimney, and a painting of the four elements on the chimneypiece. There was a chamber over the shop, a middle chamber, a nursery chamber with a marble footpace, the 'purple room', with a marble footpace, an inner room, a passage room with 3 rooms in it, and another chamber backwards, with a marble footpace. On the fourth floor were garrets, one with a marble footpace to the chimney, and a house of easement, and on the fifth a turret, wainscoted and painted round, with 6 windows and a door to the leads. Over the turret were leads with rails round and stairs going up to them. The schedule also listed two signs of the Bell and Griffin (the sign for 35) hanging on a bar outside the house. In 1662-3 Zachary Bertrand and Thomas Child, and in 1666 Child, occupied this house (26F-G, 35), which had 12 hearths. (fn. 33)

In 1668, after the Fire, Frances Lorymer assigned her leases of 26F-G and 35 to Bertrand and Child, for £100 and a covenant to indemnify her against all rents and charges. Portman then sold them the freehold of 35, giving measurements which show that the land granted also included 26G; there is no evidence to show that the land had been sold by the Pulfords to Portman during the 17th century, and it seems probable that, with the two freeholds in a single occupation, and with intermixture, the exact boundaries of the original properties had been lost sight of. A plot corresponding to 26G and 35 was surveyed for Child in 1669, and another corresponding to 26E and F shortly afterwards. A dispute at law ensued, and in 1670 the Fire Court heard petitions from Child and Bertrand that they had rebuilt the sites of the Wild Man and the Three Flower de Luces (26F-G), held on lease from Pulford, but that he refused to allow them anything therefor and put them to great expense by his 'violent proceedings both in Law and Equity.' Bertrand and Child had also bought the lease of the Phoenix in Bucklesbury (26E), and rebuilt that, and again Pulford refused to contribute. The real source of dispute was the 'middle ground' (26G), about the inheritance of which there had been several suits in Chancery. Child and Bertrand had had to get the assignment of 26E because the rooms were so intermixed with the ones they already held. The Fire Court said that the question of the freehold should be settled first. Pulford offered to accept the court's judgment, and buy the land from Bertrand and Child for the same price they had paid to Portman, so that he owned it all, and he would then lease to them for 60 years at a rent decided by the court. Bertrand and Child agreed, and Pulford paid them £480, the purchase price. The court ruled that the rent of the Portman property was to be £28. 16s., and the rents of £13 and £22 for the Pulford properties were to be reduced to £26. 13s. 4d., because of the rebuilding costs of over £1000. (fn. 34)

26G

This property lay behind 26F, but must have had access to Bucklersbury by an entry through or beside that property. It was occupied together with 35 and separately from 26F in the late 15th and early 16th centuries but was then leased together with 26F and occupied with that and with 35. In 1596 Matthew Lock and his wife Margaret leased to Henry Lyndley, esquire, the part of the messuage with shops, warehouses, yards, cellars, etc., now occupied by Lyndley and Matthew Sutton, upholder, called the Naked Boy, in Bucklersbury, for 21 years from the death of Michael Lock the elder, uncle of Matthew, for 21 years at 16s. 8d. rent. The property abutted W. on 26D, N. on 3 tenements, 33-4, 35 (belonging to Humphrey Wyndham and occupied by Lynley) and a small tenement in St. Mildred Poultry parish, and E. on the tenement of one Riche, now occupied by Thomas Hunt, comfitmaker (in the parish of St. Mildred Poultry). Anthony Bateman held the tenement to the S. (26F) on lease. The distance from Bucklersbury to the N. point of the tenement was 68 ft. 9 in., 20.96 m. measured along the E. boundary of 26F and G which was not a straight line. Matthew Sutton, citizen and upholder, died in 1597, leaving his goods to his wife Jane. In 1609 the tenement to the E. of the back part of 26E was occupied by Thomas Wheatlie, who was one of Lock's tenants in 1623. 35 was leased to Thomas Whitley, identical with Wheatley, in 1623. In 1640 26G, referred to as the messuage backward of 26F, late occupied by Henry Lindley and now by John Lorymer, formerly known as the Naked Boy and now as the Flower de Luces, was leased with 26F to Lorymer. Its subsequent history is described under 26F. (fn. 35)