St. Martin Pomary 95/4

Introduction

This property lay between 3 to the S., 5 to the N., and tenements in St. Lawrence Jewry parish fronting on St. Lawrence Lane to the W. In the 12th century it may have been part of or associated with 3. From the early 15th century onwards 4 and 5 both belonged to St. Paul's Cathedral. In the records of the letting of the numerous parts of the combined property it is not possible certainly to identify those parts which corresponded to 4 and 5, although the identification adopted here probably corresponds closely, if not exactly, to the true situation. From the 16th century onwards this St. Paul's property was leased in 2 parts, the more southerly of which is identified as 4 and the more northerly as 5.

Twelfth to fourteenth century and quit-rents

In 1263-4 this was the land of Robert Arnis which adjoined the N. side of a tenement (3) from which Hugh de Nevill granted a rent of 10s. to John de Gysorz. By the same deed Hugh granted to John a rent of 2s. from a tenement of the same Robert Arnis in the parish of St. Lawrence Jewry. The descendants of John de Gysorz were later in possession of a rent of 2s. from 95/4 (see below) which was probably identical with that due from the tenement of Robert Arnis. In 1263-4 Hugh de Nevill had rents from several tenements which seem to have been on the E. side of St. Lawrence Lane extending N. from Sevehod Lane, but in the description of these tenements and their abutments no reference is made to that of Robert Arnis. At the S. end of this group of tenements, however, there was an entry which may be identical with that later known to have been associated with the S. part of 95/4 (see below). This entry may have been used by Robert Arnis and it is possible that the 2s. rent was originally due from the entry, which lay in St. Lawrence Jewry parish, and was later due from 4, which lay in St. Martin Pomary parish. (fn. 1)

It thus seems possible that 4 was once part of a substantial property extending from Ironmonger Lane to St. Lawrence Lane which had once belonged to Gervase of Cornhill. If so, it would probably have descended from William son of Herlewin (fl. 1130) to William's nephew, Gervase of Cornhill (probably d. 1183-4), to Gervase's son, Henry of Cornhill, and to Henry's daughter Joan, who by 1200 had married Hugh de Nevill. By 1234 the estate had passed to Hugh's son John de Nevill (d. 1246), whose son, Hugh de Nevill disposed of the rents to John de Gysorz in 1263-4. (fn. 2)

In 1252 4, or a part of it, may have been the house of Richard de Wylehale adjoining a property which is probably to be identified as 95/3. The interest of Richard's family in the property may later be represented by a rent of 6s. 8d., in 1303-4 due from 4 to the church of St. Martin Pomary (see below). This rent may have been identical with a 6s. 8d. rent from a shop in Ironmonger Lane still due, or at least remembered, in the mid 16th century, when it was said to have been given to the church by William Wylehale. (fn. 3) There is no evidence, however, that the landlord of 4 paid the rent after the early 15th century (see below).

In the late 13th century 95/4 belonged to Guillot de Parys, tawyer (allutarius), who was dead by 1293-4. He was probably identical with the William de Parns (rectius Paris), tawyer (allutarius), whose tenement adjoined the S. side of 95/5 in 1284-5, and may have been the same as the William de Parys, cordwainer, who by his will, enrolled in 1290, left his tenements to his children, including a daughter Cristiana. 4 was certainly divided between Guillot's 3 children, William, Blanche, and Cristiana. The 3 parts of 4 were then acquired by Peter de Hibernia, also known as Peter le Ireys, tailor (cissor) and citizen, who granted the property to Thomas de Hibernia; in 1303-4 Thomas and his wife disposed of the property. The 3 parts may have corresponded approximately with one of the holdings or structures which can be identified along the frontage of 4 during the 15th century (4A, B, and D; cf. below). The northernmost part of 4 (4D?) passed to Guillot's daughter Cristiana, who in 1293-4 with her husband Ralph de Drayton, leather merchant (mercator alut'), granted the messuage to Peter de Hibernia, who paid £20 down and was to pay rents of 12s. 8d. to the lords of the fee and 5s. to the donors. The next part of the property to the S. (perhaps 4B and 4C and E to the rear) was a tenement of Guillot's son William which was acquired by Peter de Hibernia, who then granted it to Thomas de Hibernia of Esedene and his wife Maud. The southernmost part of the property (perhaps 4A and part of 4B) consisted of 2 1/2 shops with solars above which came into the possession of Guillot's daughter Blanche, who with her husband, John de Boudhawe, granted them to Peter de Hibernia, who in turn granted them to Thomas de Hibernia and his wife Maud; the shops were bounded on the W. by a lane leading from Ironmonger Lane to St. Lawrence Lane. In 1303-4 Thomas de Hibernia and his wife Maud granted these 3 parts of 4 to David le Foundour and his wife Margaret, citizens (sic), who were to pay rents of £1 to Richard Asshewy and his heirs, 16s. to Merton Priory, 2s. to the heirs of John Gysorz, 6s. 8d. to the church of St. Martin Pomary, and £5. 13s. 4d. to the grantors and their heirs. Richard Asshewy's will was enrolled in 1310, and in the following year his executors sold the £1 rent from 4 to David le Fundour and his wife Margaret. (fn. 4)

Joan widow of Peter le Ireys established a claim to £2 as dower out of the £5. 13s. 4d. rent reserved by Thomas de Hibernia and his wife Maud. Thomas died leaving a son Thomas, and Maud then married Alan atte Watergate of Bosham (Sussex). In 1323 Alan, his wife Maud, and Thomas son of Thomas de Hibernia granted and quitclaimed to William le Furbour of Ironmonger Lane, citizen, £3. 13s. 4d. rent from 4 together with the reversion of the £2 rent then in the possession of Joan widow of Peter le Ireys. In this grant 4 was described as tenements in the parishes of St. Lawrence Jewry and St. Martin Pomary between 5 on the N., a lane leading from Ironmonger Lane to St. Lawrence Lane on the S., Ironmonger Lane on the E., and a tenement of John son of John le Botoner (presumably in St. Lawrence Lane). The reference to St. Lawrence Jewry parish suggests that the rear part of 4 was occupied separately from that part near the street frontage and that the houses there, which had ready access to St. Lawrence Lane by the lane on the S. side of the property, were in St. Lawrence Parish. Joan widow of Peter le Ireys married Henry Renbaud and in 1324 with her new husband quitclaimed to William le Furbour in the £2 rent which they had from 4. (fn. 5)

William le Furbur was also known as William Love, who by his will of 1327, enrolled in 1328, divided the rent of £5. 13s. 4d. into 4 separate rents. £4 of the rent was to sustain a chaplain in the church of St. Martin Pomary, 3s. 4d. was to be paid for a torch at the elevation of the host in the same church, 10s. was to be paid towards maintaining the Conduit opposite the church of St. Thomas of Acre, and £1 was to be paid to Cristina daughter of John Neweman and her legitimate heirs, with remainders to her brother Thomas and then to Love's executors. The 10s. rent in support of the Conduit appears regularly to have been paid to the city chamber by the landlord of 4 until 1651; it was then in arrears until 1655, but was paid regularly thereafter. Love's widow and executrix, Cristina, married Willliam de Pountfreyt, citizen, and in 1346 with her new husband, Cristina daughter of John Neweman having died without heirs, sold the reversion of the £1 rent after the death of Cristina's brother Thomas to William Albon, citizen and fell-monger; Thomas died and at his death in 1348-9 Alban left the rent to his wife Agnes for life with successive remainders to his children William, Joan, and Margaret and their heirs; later, Robert Hownere, citizen and brewer, held this rent for a term of years and at his death in 1380-1 left it to his wife Margery for life with remainder to the church of St. Martin Ludgate; there is no later record of the rent. Early in the 15th century the St. Paul's properties in Ironmonger Lane (95/2, 4, and 5) were charged with £5. 6s. 8d. rent to the church of St. Martin Pomary. This total was presumably made up of the 6s. 8d. rent due in 1303-4, the £4. 3s. 4d. left by William Love, and whatever rent was due from 5 on account of the church's interest there. By 1420, however, St. Paul's was no longer paying this rent. In the early 15th century 4 was still charged with 16s. rent to Merton Priory. St. Paul's continued to pay this rent to the priory and then to the Crown until 1572 when, with other rents due from St. Paul's properties, the Crown relinquished it in exchange for certain payments due to lay vicars and others serving in the cathedral. (fn. 6)

The tenement representing 4 belonged to David le Foundour in 1320, but had ceased to belong to him by 1325. It passed to David's daughter and heir, Isabel, who in 1345 with her husband, Robert atte Heg of Essex, granted it with certain quitrents from 3 and from nearby tenements in St. Lawrence Jewry parish, to John Wygod, citizen and girdler (zonarius), for the term of his life at a rent of a grain of wheat for the first 12 years and £13. 6s. 8d. thereafter. Wygod was to be responsible for repairs. In this grant 4 was described as lands, rents, and tenements in the parishes of St. Martin Pomary and St. Lawrence Jewry between 3 on the S., 5 on the N., and 2 other tenements, probably in St. Lawrence parish, on the W. At about this time a part of 4 was probably held by William Fratre, for at his death in 1351 John Gysors, citizen, left to his son Nicholas 2s. rent from William's former tenement in St. Martin Pomary parish. The property reverted to Robert atte Heg and Isabel, who in 1352 granted and quitclaimed in it to Roger atte Brok, citizen and leatherseller, and his wife Agnes. 4 was now described as a brewhouse (tenementum bracineum) with houses built on it and with shops, cellar(s), and solar(s) in the parish of St. Martin Pomary between 3 on the S., 5 on the N. and other tenements (probably in St. Lawrence parish) on the W. Later that year atte Brok and Agnes granted this property to John de Horewode of London, senior, who was still said to hold it in 1359. The property then passed to Nicholas de Horewode, citizen, who at his death in 1361 left it to his wife Joan, his son Nicholas, and the latter's heirs and assigns. (fn. 7)

The son Nicholas must have died almost immediately. Early in 1362, since there were no heirs of the elder Nicholas de Horewode surviving, the mayor seized the property on behalf of the king. 4 was now described as a brewhouse and 2 shops worth nothing because they were in ruins and ad terram prostrate. The king then granted this and other properties to John Pecche, who was mayor at the time. A further inquiry was made in 1369, when it was said that Nicholas de Horewode had been a bastard and that John Pecche still held the property. Before then, however, 4 had come into the possession of John de Horewode, senior, citizen, who was presumably a relative of Nicholas de Horewode. John probably rebuilt the property and at his death in 1366 left his dwelling house (domus habitacionis) to his executors for a month after his death, so that they could administer his goods therein, with remainder to his son John, who was to have immediate possession of the shops with solar(s) above in front of the dwelling house. By a deed dated 20 February 1372 John Horewode, son of John Horewode, granted the tenement with shops, houses, solar(s), and cellar(s) representing 4, which he had had by his father's legacy, to Adam Stable, citizen and mercer, and his wife Katharine. This transaction was associated with a loan of £106. 13s. 4d., repayable at Easter 1372, which Stable had recently made to John Horewode. It seems to have been thought possible that 4 was entailed on John and his male heirs, for it was agreed that the loan need not be repaid if John lacked male heirs or, in case such an heir with a claim to 4 survived John and succeeded in ejecting Stable and his wife, if John's executors paid Stable £53. 6s. 8d. These agreements were made on 13-14 February, and by a deed dated 24 February the elder John de Horewode's executors sold the property for a sum of money to Adam Stable, his wife Katharine, and Adam's heirs. (fn. 8)

From 1383 onwards the property was subject to the same series of transactions as 95/2 (q.v.), and in 1409 came into the possession of St. Paul's Cathedral as part of the endowment of the duke of Lancaster's chantry. 95/5 was subject to the same series of transactions and from 1394 onwards 4 and 5 were described in a single phrase as certain tenements with 9 shops adjacent and a vacant plot of land. In 1409 4 and 5 were described as 3 messuages with 9 shops and a vacant plot. It seems likely that 3 of these shops and 1 of the messuages had been part of 4, but the other parts of the property cannot be identified.

During the 15th and 16th centuries St. Paul's Cathedral owed a quit-rent of 10s. from its properties in Ironmonger Lane to the landlords of 95/3. The rent was probably due from 95/4 and from 1413-14 onwards was said to be due to the heirs of Margery Adyn. The rent may have arisen from an adjustment of boundaries between 3 and 4. By the early 14th century the landlord of 4 had a rent of 10s. from 3, and it is possible that the 2 rents were created in a reciprocal arrangement. In 1468 Oliver Davy recovered possession of the 10s. rent which seems to have been due from 4 against William Adyn, who with his wife Katharine and son Richard Adyn then quitclaimed in the property; Davy's widow, Margaret Harrys, sold the rent to William Holt, who in 1501, when it was said to be due from the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, granted it to Richard Crispe, John Style, and Thomas Smalwoode; later the rent was due to Augustine Crispe, and in 1565 was due to John Blackman, both known to be landlords of 3. (fn. 9)

Fifteenth century

From 1413 onwards 4 can probably be identified as 5 separate holdings in Ironmonger Lane let by St. Paul's Cathedral. They are identified here as 4A-E, following the order in which they appear in the first surviving account. Of these 4E, a mansio, was by far the most substantial and probably occupied the rear part of the property. 4A, 4B, and 4D probably occupied the Ironmonger Lane frontage: they were sometimes repaired on the same occasion and appear to have shared a common latrine. In the early accounts the rents from the St. Paul's properties in Ironmonger Lane (95/2, 4, 5) appear to be listed in order from S. to N. and so 4A, 4B, and 4D probably occupied the frontage in that order from S. to N. 4C, a 'little hall above the stairs' was perhaps a subsidiary structure associated with 4A, 4B, and 4D, with which it was sometimes repaired; if the identification adopted here is correct, it was next to (probably behind) 4B. Before 1409 4 appears to have been a tenement with shops and solars let to William Bartelot for £14. 15s. 4d. rent. Bartelot lived in 4E and was dead by 1412 or perhaps by 1409. In 1413-14 the total rent which could be expected from 4A-E was £13. 5s. 4d., although this was not in fact received either then or in subsequent years. (fn. 10)

4A

Between 1413 and 1420 this was a tenement let for £1. 6s. 8d. rent to Joan Daventre, pinner, who lived there. It had previously been let for £1. 10s. rent. Joan was the widow of John Dawntre, citizen and pinner, who had lived in this parish, probably in 4A, and had died in 1405. (fn. 11) Tilers repaired the roof of this house and of 4B and 4D in 1413- 14 and 1416-17. The roof of 4A included a gapyer (a type of dormer window), which in 1417-18 was repaired with timber and iron hooks and hinges, and was tiled over. In 1420-1 and for 3 terms of the next year the house was vacant. From Easter 1423 to early in 1426 Richard Clerk, cutler, also known as Richard Coteler, lived in the house, paying £1. 2s. a year rent. The house, or part of it, may have been used as an ale tavern, for in 1423 two benches (formul' pro scannis) were purchased for it and an easement for ale was made under the stairs by inserting a doorway there at a total cost of 3s. 11 1/2 d. Clerk seems to have vacated the house for the second half of the year 1425-6 while the latrine was emptied (cf. 4C). Thomas Baret then held the tenement for the same rent until 1433, when it was vacant for a term. This was probably the house of William (rectius Thomas?) Baret where 1s. 8d. was spent on repairing the buttery in 1431- 2.

The usual rent for the house was then £1. 2s. a year, but vacancies were frequent. It seems to have been let in 1445-6, but was vacant for 3 terms in 1447-8, when William Freman, bedemaker, was named as a former tenant. Freman was said to have paid 11s. 6d. for the latter half of 1448. Robert More paid £1. 2s. rent between 1448 and 1454. An unnamed tenant paid the rent in 1454-5, and William Curtays paid it between 1455 and 1461. An unnamed tenant paid it between 1465 and 1469. The house was vacant in 1469-70, when John Halley was named as tenant. The £1. 2s. rent was paid in 1470-1 and 1472-3, and between 1474 and the early part of 1477-8 John Halstede paid it. In 1478-9 Edmund Walden, grocer, paid it for a tenement formerly held by John (sic) Curteys. This tenement was vacant 1484-5, when Hugh Cowper and John Kyngiston were named as successive former tenants. It was let for one term in 1485-6 when Thomas Passhelode was named as a former tenant. The £1. 2s. rent was probably paid in 1487-8.

4B

Between 1413 and 1419 John Chester, pinner, was said to pay £2 rent for this tenement, which had previously been let for £2. 2s. 8d. These references presumably concern John Chestre, citizen and pinner, who lived in this parish, probably in 4B, and died in 1415, and his son of the same name. (fn. 12) The tiled roof was repaired in 1413-14 and again in 1416-17. In 1415-16 a mason with an assistant worked on the chimney of the house and a carpenter and a dauber repaired a wall in the kitchen, at a total cost of 11s. 11 1/2d. In 1417-18 a carpenter and a dauber worked on the latrines here and at 4D, a carpenter worked on a window in the hall here, a dauber repaired a celour in the hall, a carpenter repaired the floor over a chamber using elm boards, and a carpenter repaired the stall of the shop, at a total cost of £1. 0s. 2d.

From 1420 to 1427 William Veel was usually recorded as paying £2 rent for the property. From 1431 to 1433 he is recorded as paying £2. 10s. rent for 2 shops. The house may have been substantially improved between 1427 and 1431 in order to account for this increase in rent. No rent was received for a term in 1421-2, when John Veel was named as tenant. In 1420-1 a carpenter repaired the floor over the latrine in the kitchen there, repaired the kitchen itself and a window there, and made stairs in the house; a maiccelshyd (perhaps a clerical error for mantelshyd) costing 6d. was purchased for the chimney in the kitchen over the latrine and a mason repaired the chimney using 7 ft. (2.13 m) of freestone for a border; and a dauber worked in the kitchen and elsewhere in the house; the total cost was £1. 5s. 4d. In 1426-7 £2. 17s. 2 1/2d. were spent on repairing the latrine belonging to this house and to the houses of William Pekke (probably 4D) and Thomas Baret (probably 4A, but cf. 5F). Labourers were hired for a total of 32 1/2 man-days and 10 man-days at rates which ranged from 4d. to 7d. a day. Five labourers worked for a day in pulling out the walls of the latrine and in washing and cleaning it. 16 pipes of ordure, 8 carts of dung (fimum), and 12 carts of rubbish were removed, and 5 labourers worked 2 nights and a day removing the dung which could be carried in neither barrels nor carts. The highest rate was paid to the 4 labourers who worked for 2 days to remove the great stone of the broken-down wall beneath the new house of William Pekke (probably 4E). The works were flooded by a sudden rainstorm and the water was baled out into a special gutter made of elm boards 22 ft. (6.71 m.) long and extending to the street. Immediately following the expenditure on this work in the account are records of works with a total cost of £6. 8s. 9 1/2d., which were probably undertaken at this group of properties (4A, 4B, and 4D). A mason made 2 walls, one 22 1/2 ft. (6.86 m.) and the other 12 ft. (3.66 m.) long, and mended another wall, using 5 cartloads of chalk for the stuf of the walls; he also made a gutter with 22 1/2 ft. (6.86 m.) of gutter stone (total cost £2. 7s. 11d.). A chimney there was newly made (£1. 1s. 8d.). A carpenter renewed the plate, walls, joists, rafters, and windows of the long shed there, using elm board and other timber (£2. 9s. 10 1/2d.). A dauber and labourers worked using loam and beech laths (19s. 5d.). A tiler worked for 8 days using oak laths, tiles, pins, and roof nails (16s.). A plumber worked on 2 gutters and a pipe, and a labourer helped the other craftsmen for 10 days (13s. 4d.).

Further repairs were carried out at 4B in 1431-2 when a window of softwood (estrich boord) and 5 ledges of elm for other windows were purchased, a dauber and a carpenter and their assistants each worked for a day, and the paving was repaired in the street, where 200 tiles were used for the gutter. Thirteen fathoms (teys) of paving were laid, representing an area of perhaps 468 square feet (43.48 sq. m.). Since the street was some 15 ft. (4.57 m.) wide at this point and the paving laid by the landlord would have extended to the gutter in the middle of the street, a length of about 60 feet (18.29 m.) would appear to have been paved. This was certainly more than the frontage occupied by 4B and may have approximated to the frontage occupied by 4 as a whole. The 2 shops held by Veel in 1431-3 were later let as 2 tenements to 2 separate tenants.

Robert Raynold, labourer, paid £1. 2s. for one of these tenements between 1445 and 1453. He was probably the Robert Reynold, citizen, founder, and resident of this parish, who died in 1477. (fn. 13) Thomas Masse, girdler, paid the same rent between 1453 and 1461, and Robert Wretell, point-maker, between 1469 and 1488. During Masse's tenure a dauber and his assistant repaired the house using 2 loads of loam. In 1469-70 a mason spent 3 1/2 days taking down and rebuilding a chimney which tended to catch fire (ardescebat); he used 1000 bricks and also made a hearth with a stone border; a tiler repaired the roof around the chimney, and the total cost of the work was 15s. 8 1/2d.

John Wodecroft paid £1 rent for the other tenement, where he lived, between 1445 and 1448. John Madyd paid the rent between 1448 and 1452, when his tenure ceased. The tenement was then vacant for half a year, and John Curteys paid the rent and lived there between 1453 and 1455. Nicholas Hagur paid the rent between 1455 and 1461, and John Curtes, perhaps identical with the earlier tenant of that name paid the rent in 1469-70. A carpenter worked for 5 days on the house in 1454-5, and carpentry repairs were carried out in the kitchen in the following year, when a tiler also worked on the roof; a dauber worked there in 1460-1. Further carpentry repairs, probably including work on doors, windows and a stall, were carried out in 1469-70. John Curtes was named as a former tenant in 1470-1. John Stevens, pointmaker, was named as a former tenant in 1474-5, when Nicholas Smith paid the rent for one term. At some time during 1474-5 the tenement was let with a part of 4E (q.v.) to Thomas Ilom for £2. 13s. 4d. rent. By 1477-8 the earlier letting arrangement seems to have been re-established and 4B was probably the tenement for which Thomas Ely, pointmaker, paid £1 rent. Ely's tenure ceased half way through 1484-5 and the house was vacant for the remainder of that year. The £1 rent was paid in 1487-8 for Ely's former tenement.

4C

This part of the property occupied an upper storey. It was described variously as a tenement, a hall, a hall and chamber, and a chamber. It included a kitchen and perhaps had no more than 2 or 3 rooms in all. It was probably structurally incorporated with 4A, 4B, and 4D, and was next to 4B. It was usually entered in the rent accounts between 4B and 4D and perhaps adjoined 4B to the rear.

4C was a little hall above the stairs (parva aula supra gradus) generally vacant between 1413 and 1420, but previously let for 16s. and let in 1416-17 for 10s. In 1416-17 and the following year its roof was repaired along with those of 4A, 4B, and 4D; the repair accounts also mentioned the window of 4C and an outer door leading to it. In 1420-1 it was repaired with 4B and 4D and a dauber worked on the chimney of the kitchen there. 12s. rent was received for a letting of 3 terms in 1421-2. It was then described as a little hall next to 4B, and between 1422 and 1424 was held and inhabited by Richard Andrewe for 13s. 4d. rent. The property was vacant for 2 terms in 1423-4. In 1425-6 it was described as a chamber next to 4B for which J. Barbour paid 13s. 4d. rent, although in the same account it was described as a tenement held by William Stodele and as a house of 'Stodeler' (rectius Stodele), where windows of the hall and chamber were repaired. A barber paid 13s. 4d. rent in 1426-7, and William Stodeley paid 12s. rent for the tenement between 1431 and 1433. This was probably the little tenement for which William Dale, girdler, paid 13s. 4d. rent between 1445 and 1448. John York was tenant for a term in 1448. Between 1448 and 1453 Thomas Cokeyn or Coken paid 13s. 4d. rent for the tenement, Richard Fox paid it between 1453 and 1455, and Agnes Yorke, widow of Richard Yorke, between 1455 and 1461. Richard was probably a relative of John York, and in 1460-1 carpentry, daubing, tiling and repairs to the locks were undertaken at the house of John de Yorke and the adjacent tenements.

In 1469-70 the tenement was let for only one term, probably to Robert Boxstede, at whose tenement a carpenter made new doors and windows, a mason made a hearth, a dauber worked using sap-laths, sprig nails, loam and straw, and locks, keys, a hook, and an iron bar with 2 staples were fitted to the doors, for a total cost of 11s. 4d. Boxstede paid the rent for 3 terms in 1470-1 at the rate of 13s. 4d. a year. By 1474-5 John Frensshe, water- bearer, was paying 12s. rent for the tenement. The property was probably vacant in 1477-8, William Stevynson paid 11s. in 1478-9, and the tenement was let for a term at the same rate in 1484-5. The property was vacant in 1487-8, when it was described as a chamber of William Wastell.

4D

John Gobyon paid £1. 6s. 8d. rent for this tenement between 1413 and 1426. The property had previously been let for £1. 10s. rent. From 1422 onwards Gobyon was said to dwell in the tenement and he left it in 1426 because he became a leper. Tiling repairs were carried out there in 1413-14 and 1416-17; a dauber made a hearth in 1414-15; a carpenter worked on the outer window of the shop in 1415- 16; a wall was made and a carpenter repaired the latrine in 1417-18; a lock and key were purchased in 1418-19; a mason worked on the chimney, using 4 1/2 feet (1.37 m.) of freestone for a border and 50 Flanders tile, and a labourer worked on the latrine and cleaned the house in 1420-1, at a total cost of 5s. 5 1/2 d.; a tiler worked on a chamber for 2 days in 1422-3.

In 1426-7 £1. 4s. rent was received, the remaining 6s. of the nominal total being said to have been received by William Pekke 'according to his indentures.' Pekke held 4E under lease, and this may mean that part of 4D had been incorporated in 4E. This arrangement presumably fell through and in the accounts for 1431-3 4D appears to be represented by a tenement let for 13s. 4d. rent to Thomas Mayowe, but vacant for a term in 1431-2 and for the whole of 1432-3, when 2 loads of rubbish were removed from the house.

4D seems then to be represented by a tenement for which William Baille, cutler, paid £1. 5s. rent between 1445 and 1453, although the property was vacant for half a year in 1451-2. John Palmere paid this rent between 1453 and 1457, but the property was vacant for a term in each of the last 2 years of this period. William Adyn paid this rent between 1458 and 1460, but in the following year the tenement was vacant. In 1469-70 William Priour paid £1 rent for the tenement, where a mason made a hearth and paved an area in the kitchen, and a lead cistern was purchased for the kitchen. Priour still held the property at the same rent in 1474-5. Subsequently the property may have been let as part of 4E.

4E

This was the largest part of 4 and probably occupied the rear part of the property. William Bertelot inhabited the tenement c. 1409, and in 1412 John Whithed, citizen and mercer, lived there. In January 1412 the dean and chapter let the tenement to Robert Neuton, clerk, and John Olyve, grocer, for a term of 10 years from the following summer at £7. 6s. 8d. rent, the tenants being liable for repairs. Whithed had apparently been offered the lease, but was unwillling to pay so much rent. He refused to leave the tenement but in July was ordered to do so by the Lord Chancellor after the case had been taken before the king and his council. Whithed still did not leave, and prevented Olyve from entering the property. In November the case was submitted to the mayor and aldermen for arbitration and Whithed was again ordered to leave. (fn. 14) John Pek seems to have succeeded to Olyve's interest in the property and between 1413 and 1415 paid £7. 6s. 8d. rent for the mansio. William Pek, mercer, paid the rent from 1415 onwards. In 1423-4 William was allowed the rent in return for making a new house in the tenement and in the same year he took a 20-year lease of the tenement where he lived for £7. 6s. 8d. rent. In 1425-6 a latrine between Pekke's house and 5B (q.v.) was cleaned out and in 1426-7 there was a reference to Pekke's new house (see 4B), which he presumably erected at his own expense c. 1424. Between 1431 and 1432 William Souman paid £7. 6s. 8d. for the property.

Pek's lease would have ended in 1443-4. By 1445-6 4E was being let in 2 parts, a shop for £4 rent and a tenement for £3. 6s. 8d. rent.

The shop was vacant in 1445-6, when it was said to have been held by John B.che. It was again vacant in 1447-8, when it was said to have been held by John Mogh. In 1448-9 it was a warehouse let for £4 rent. In 1450-1 it was described as a tenement called a warehouse and as a shop held by John Bysset, and was vacant for a term. In the same year it was also described as a great shop and a carpenter worked there for 5 days using nails at a total cost of 5s. 1d. Between 1451 and 1455 the warehouse was vacant. In 1455-6 the warehouse was also described as a seld, and for the last term of the year Nicholas Hagur paid 15s. rent for it, having apparently agreed to take it for £3 a year rent. In subsequent accounts, however, Hagur is noted as paying £4 rent. Between 1461 and 1469 Hagur was succeeded by Thomas Ilom, who by the latter year was paying only £2 rent, which he was still paying in 1475.

£3. 6s. 8d. rent was received from John Pecok for the tenement, which he inhabited, between 1445 and 1453. Agnes Hyfeld paid the rent in 1453-4. John Gardyner, mercer, paid this rent and lived in the tenement between 1454 and 1461, and a carpenter worked for 5 days at the house during the first year of his tenure. By 1466-7 Thomas Ilom was paying the same rent for the property, which he held for a term of years. In 1474-5 Ilom was said to hold this tenement and 4B for £2. 13s. 4d. rent.

4B then seems to have been detached from the property and in 1478-9 the 2 parts of 4E appear to have been represented by a tenement let to Thomas Ilom, mercer, from which £5. 6s. 8d. rent was received. The same rent was received in 1484-5, 6s. 8d. only in 1485-6, and £5. 6s. 8d. in 1487-8 from the tenement let to Thomas Ilom, alderman, which by then may have included 4D.

Sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

At Michaelmas 1532 4 appears to have been represented by a tenement let by lease for £6. 13s. 4d. rent to Thomas Crispe, mercer, deceased, and now held by his widow Anne Crispe. In 1533, when the dean and chapter let this property to Walter Mershe, citizen and mercer, for a term of 40 years at £6 rent, it consisted of a great messuage (4E?) with houses, chambers, cellars, solars, and appurtenances, where Crispe had dwelled, together with 2 shops (4C?) occupied by Crispe and adjoining the messuage, and 4 other tenements with shops, solars, and cellars (4A, B, and D?) on the Ironmonger Lane frontage and occupied by Grace Nelson, widow, William Seton, tailor, Gilbert Southwood, and William Barrat. John Mershe paid £6 rent for this property between 1548 and 1557. In 1565, 'for divers and good considerations', St. Paul's let the same property to John Mershe of London, esquire, for a term of 50 years from 1573 (the expiry date of the current lease) at £6 rent, the tenant being responsible for repairs, paving, and cleansing. Under this lease the tenant was to acquit the landlords concerning a rent of 6s. 8d., should any such be due, out of a shop pertaining to the messuage or some part of the premises. This rent was probably that which in the late 13th century had been due from 4 to the church of St. Martin Pomary (see above) or it may have been that once due to Holy Trinity Priory from 95/1-2 (q.v.). Under the same lease the tenant was to pay the 10s. rent due to the landlord of 3. (fn. 15)

The property was described in detail in the lease of 1565, which was accompanied by a plan of which no copy survives. The great messuage and 2 shops were now occupied by William Carewe and the 4 tenements were occupied by Thomas Grigge, tailor, George Stokes, tailor, George Savage, glasier, and Thomas Oliver, weaver, respectively. To the W. the property was bounded by a tenement (in St. Lawrence Jewry parish) which had once belonged to Elsing Spital, and it measured in length from Ironmonger Lane to that tenement 62 1/2 ft. (19.05 m.) on the N. side, 107 ft. 3 in. (32.69 m.) in the middle, and 100 ft. 8 in. (30.68 m.) on the S. side. From S. to N. the property measured 53 ft. (16.15 m.) by Ironmonger Lane, 87 ft. 4 in. (26.62 m.) in the middle, and at the W. end 21 ft. 7 in. (6.58 m.) between former tenements of Elsing Spital to the S. and N. including a well in the wall on the N. side of the messuage.

John Mershe paid the £6 rent for this property until 1581, and James Smyth paid it between 1581 and 1594. The lease then came into the possession of Hamlett Clarke, citizen and fishmonger, who surrendered it and in 1608 took a new lease for a term of 40 years from 1609 on terms similar to those of the former lease. The great messuage was now in the occupation of Clarke himself, apart from a room formerly used by Clarke as a coal house and now occupied by the tenant of 5 as a warehouse. Of the 2 rooms belonging to the messuage and formerly described as shops, the one which lay towards the street was now occupied by John Bincke, salter, and used as a warehouse, and the other, lying inwards, was used by Clarke himself for an office. The 4 tenements were now occupied by Percival Dowthwait, merchant tailor, Robert Troughton, merchant tailor, and Richard Nicholls, freemason. Troughton had occupied his tenement (4D), which adjoined the S. side of 5D-F, in 1604. Additional measurements were given for the property. From E. to W. it measured in length on the N. side 62 1/2 ft. (19.05 m.), in the middle southward 107 ft. 3 in. (32.69 m.) in the middle northward 100ft. 8 in. (30.68 m.), and on the S. side 85 ft. 1 in. (25.93 m.). From N. to S. in breadth it measured along the lane 53 ft. (16.15 m.), in the middle 67 ft. 4 in. (20.52 m.: in later leases this dimension is given as 77 ft. 4 in.; 23.57 m.), and at the W. end 21 ft. 7 in. (6.58 m.). From the N.E. corner of the well yard to the S. corner it measured 32 ft. 1 in. (9.78 m.). (fn. 16)

In 1624 Clarke, now described as 'of London, gentleman', renewed his lease of this property for a further term of 40 years. The great messuage was in the tenure of Clarke or his assigns; the room formerly a coalhouse was occupied by the tenant of 5; and the 4 tenements were now represented by 3 tenements occupied by Mark Ewer, haberdasher, John Bowreman, mercer, and Thomas Lathon, gentleman, or their assigns. Lathon is later known to have occupied 95/3, and so his tenement was probably the southenmost of the three. Hamlett Clarke, gentleman, was probably dwelling in the great messuage in 1633, when the ownership of a high brick wall 22 1/2 ft. (6.86 m.) long between his dwelling house in St. Martin Pomary parish and another dwelling house in St. Lawrence Lane was in dispute. It was decided that Clarke should repair the coping on the wall and that a little opening, 9 in. (229 mm.) by 18 in. (457 mm.), near a pissing cistern on Clarke's side of the wall, and through which ill-affected servants of either house could pass things to the other, should be stopped up. In 1636, when Clarke again renewed his lease for a term of 40 years, increasing the rent by 2 capons or 5s., the 3 tenements next to Ironmonger Lane were occupied by Mark Ewer, John Whitway, merchant tailor, and Thomas Bludder, apothecary. The 4 houses comprising 4 were in the same occupation in 1638, when Clark's house (approximately 4E) was valued at £28 a year, Bludder's house (approximately 4A) at £13 a year, Ewer's house (approximately 4B) at £12 a year, and Whitway's house (approximately 4D) at £12 a year. (fn. 17)

By 1649 the lease granted in 1636 was in the possession of Hugh Smithson and the property was described in detail in the Parliamentary Survey of that year (see Figs. 1 and 2). The whole property was now valued at £76. 5s. a year, by comparison with a total 'moderate' valuation of £65 in 1638, and early in 1650 was sold by the parliamentary commissioners to Hugh Smithson, junior, gentleman, for £258. The capital messuage (4E) was occupied by Smithson himself and consisted of: below ground, 2 cellars; on the ground floor, 2 yards, a wainscoted parlour, 3 warehouses, a kitchen, a buttery with a coal house on the N. side of it, and a little stable at the W. end of the yard; on the first floor, a fair dining room, a little parlour behind it, 7 chambers, and a closet; and on the second floor, 2 leads over part of the house and 5 garrets. The site occupied by the messuage measured from S. to N., 21 ft. 7 in. (6.58 m.) at the W. end, 77 ft. 4 in. (23.57 m.) in the middle, and 40 ft. (12.19 m.) at the E. end; from E. to W. it measured 81 ft. (24.69 m.) together with an entry from Ironmonger Lane measuring 5 ft. (1.52 m.) by 26 ft. (7.92 m.). The southernmost of the 3 tenements next to the street (4A) was occupied by Edward Ballance or his assigns and measured 54 ft. (16.46 m.) E./W. by 13 ft. 3 in. (4.04 m.) N./S. Within this space were contained below ground, a cellar; on the ground floor, a shop, an entry leading through a little yard to a kitchen, and a room behind the shop; and on the first floor 2 chambers with a garret over them. The next tenement to the N. (4B) was occupied by Mark Ewer and measured 15 ft. 3 in. (4.65 m.) by 28 ft. (8.53 m.). It contained below ground a cellar; on the ground floor, a shop with a little room behind it; on the first floor, a kitchen and a small chamber; and on the second floor 2 little chambers with a garret over them. The entry to the capital tenement (4E) was between this tenement (4B) and the northernmost of the three (4D). This was occupied by John Whitway and measured 19 1/2 ft. (5.94 m.) E./W. by 23 1/2 ft. (7.16 m.) N./S. It contained below ground a cellar; on the ground floor a shop with a little room behind; on the first floor a chamber and a kitchen; and on the second floor 2 chambers with an outlet to the little leads and 2 garrets above. (fn. 18)

St. Paul's regained possession of the property at the Restoration and Smithson continued as tenant. In 1666 4A was probably a house of 3 hearths occupied by Edward Ballance, bricklayer; 4B a house of 1 hearth occupied by Mary Poole, widow, and a house of 2 hearths occupied by Thomas Rye, engraver; 4E a house of 12 hearths occupied by William Webb, 'councellor' (perhaps the house of 13 hearths occupied in 1662-3 by Mary Waller); and 4D a house of 3 hearths occupied by Thomas Ely, coat-seller, and a house of 1 hearth occupied by Mary Vernon, victualler. The buildings were destroyed during the Great Fire and in 1668 St. Paul's granted a new lease for a term of 40 years at £6. 5s. rent to Sir Hugh Smithson bt. of Tottenham High Cross (Middx.), who undertook to rebuild the property. Two foundations were set out for Smithson in 1669 and the survey drawn up on that occasion records the bounds of 4 and that part of the W. end of it which was taken for making King Street. This survey suggests that the most reliable of the earlier records of the dimensions of the property are those given in the leases of 1624 and later. The reconstruction adapted here seems to be the best reconciliation between those dimensions and the record of the 1669 survey. (fn. 19)