On this Day in History ... 3rd September

Flowers of History by Roger of Wendover 1189. Of the coronation of king Richard the first,

Duke "Richard, when all the preparations for his coronation were complete, came to London, where were assembled the archbishops of Canterbury, Rouen, and Treves, by whom he had been absolved for having carried arms against his father after he had taken the cross. The archbishop of Dublin was also there, with all the bishops, earls, barons, and nobles of the kingdom. When all were assembled, he received the crown of the kingdom in the order following: First came the archbishops, bishops, abbats, and clerks, wearing their caps, preceded by the cross, the holy water, and the censers, as far as the door of the inner chamber, where they received the duke, and conducted him to the church of Westminster, as far as the high altar, in a solemn procession. In the midst of the bishops and clerks went four barons carrying candlesticks with wax candles, after whom came two earls, the first of whom carried the royal sceptre, having on its top a golden cross; the other carried the royal sceptre, having a dove on its top. Next to these came two earls with a third between them, carrying three swords with golden sheaths, taken out of the king's treasury. Behind these came six earls and barons carrying a chequer, over which were placed the royal arms and robes, whilst another earl followed them carrying aloft a golden crown. Last of all came duke Richard, having a bishop on the right hand, and a bishop on the left, and over them was held a silk awning. Proceeding to the altar, as we have said, the holy gospels were placed before him together with the relics of some of the saints, and he swore, in presence of the clergy and people that he would observe peace, honour, and reverence, all his life, towards God, the holy church and its ordinances: he swore also that he would exercise true justice towards the people committed to his charge, and abrogating all bad laws and unjust customs, if any such might be found in his dominions, would steadily observe those which were good. After this they stripped him of all his clothes except his breeches and shirt, which had been ripped apart over his shoulders to receive the unction. He was then shod with sandals interwoven with gold thread, and Baldwin archbishop of Canterbury anointed him king in three places, namely, on his head, his shoulders, and his right arm, using prayers composed for the occasion: then a consecrated linen cloth was placed on his head, over which was put a hat, and when they had again clothed him in his royal robes with the tunic and gown, the archbishop gave into his hand a sword wherewith to crush all the enemies of the church: this done, two earls placed his shoes upon his feet, and when he had received the mantle, he was adjured by the archbishop, in the name of God, not to presume to accept these honours unless his mind was steadily purposed to observe the oaths which he had made: and he answered that, with God's assistance, he would faithfully observe every thing which he had promised. Then the king taking the crown from the altar gave it to the archbishop, who placed it upon the king's head, with the sceptre in his right hand and the royal wand in his left; and so, with his crown on, he was led away by the bishops and barons, preceded by the candles, the cross, and the three swords aforesaid. When they came to the offertory of the mass, the two bishops aforesaid led him forwards and again led him back. At length, when the mass was chanted, and every thing finished in the proper manner, the two bishops aforesaid led him away with his crown on, and bearing in his right hand the sceptre, in his left the royal wand, and so they returned in procession into the choir, where the king put off his royal robes, and taking others of less weight, and a lighter crown also, he proceeded to the dinner-table, at which the archbishops, bishops, earls, and barons, with the clergy and people, were placed, each according to his rank and dignity, and feasted splendidly, so that the wine flowed along the pavement and walls of the palace. All this took place on Sunday the third [3rd September 1189] before the nones of September.¹

Of the persecution of the Jews.

Many Jews were present at this coronation, contrary to the king's command; for he had caused proclamation to be made the day before, that no Jews or women should attend, on account of the magical incantations which take place sometimes at royal coronations. But the courtiers laid hands on them, although they came in secret, and when they had robbed and scourged them dreadfully, they cast them out of the church; some of them died, and others could hardly be said to have life left in them. The populace of the city hearing of this attack of the courtiers on the Jews, made a similar assault on those who remained in the city, and, after they had put to death numbers of both sexes, and razed to the ground or burned their houses, they plundered their gold and silver, their writings and valuable garments. Those of the Jews who escaped being put to death, took refuge in the tower of London, and afterwards, by taking up their residence secretly here and there among their friends, they caused others to become rich by their own losses. This persecution began in the year of their jubilee, which they call the year of remission, and it hardly ceased before the end of the year, so that what ought to have been to them a year of remission, was turned into a jubilee of confusion. On the morrow, when the king heard of the wrong that had been done them, he chose to consider it as a wrong done to himself; wherefore, he caused three of them to be apprehended, tried by the judges of his court, and hanged one of them because he had stolen something belonging to a Christian; and the other two, because they had kindled a fire in the city, by which the house of a Christian citizen had been consumed. When the English people throughout the country heard of this attack on the Jews in London, they assailed them with one consent, and made a perfect havoc of them, slaughtering their persons and plundering their goods. But on the day after the coronation, king Richard, having received homage and the oath of fidelity from the nobles, gave orders that no Jews should suffer forfeiture, but that they should live in peace throughout all the cities of England.

Note 1. Vinesauf [Itinerary Richard] agrees with Wendover in this date; which makes it probable that Gervase, who fixes it on the 11th, is in error, for the 11th of September in that year fell on a Monday.

Itinerary of King Richard I. Therefore, in that same year, after the death of his father, Richard, Count of Poitou, having settled affairs in Normandy, and after about two months had passed, crossed over into England. And on the feast of Saint Giles [1 September] he was received with a solemn procession at Westminster, and on the third day following, namely, on the feast of the ordination of Saint Gregory the Pope, which was a Sunday, he was solemnly anointed king, by the hand of Archbishop Baldwin who performed the office and ministry, with many of his suffragans assisting. He was crowned, with his brother Count John and their mother Eleanor standing by, she who, after the death of King Henry, at the command of her son Richard the future king, had been released from the custody in which she had been kept for nearly ten years. Present also were earls, barons, knights, and an innumerable multitude of people. And the kingdom was confirmed into the hand of King Richard. Thus, in the year of our Lord 1189, Richard was anointed king, namely on the third day of September [3rd September 1189], a Sunday, the dominical letter being A, in the year immediately after a leap year. Many at that time made conjectures, because in the Calendar that very day was marked as unlucky; and in truth that day was unlucky, and very bitter for the Jews of London, who on that day were destroyed. And in that same year likewise the Jews settled in various places throughout England suffered many evils. When therefore the royal dignity had been celebrated with three days of festivity in the royal palace at Westminster, King Richard, with befitting munificence, delighted all his subjects, distributing gifts beyond reckoning and measure to each according to their rank, and gladdening them by his incomparable excellence. His greatness of spirit and the gifts of his virtues had been bestowed upon him by the Ruler of the ages, gifts more fitting to ancient times, which now, in the old age of the world, with the seeds of virtue well-nigh exhausted, scarcely appear at all, and if so, only in a few, as something to be wondered at and remembered. To him belonged the valor of Hector, the magnanimity of Achilles; he was no less than Alexander, nor inferior in virtue to Roland; nay rather, surpassing them easily in many ways, as one more praiseworthy in our times. He was, as it were, another Titus…

"His right hand scattered riches."

“… and, which is most rarely found in so famous a knight, the tongue of Nestor and the prudence of Ulysses in all matters, whether for speaking or for action, rightly made him superior to others. His knowledge never shrank from the will to act vigorously, nor did his will reproach itself with a lack of knowledge. If anyone perchance should think him open to a charge of presumption, let him know that his spirit, unconquerable, impatient of injury, driven by inborn nobility to seek what was rightfully due, can not without reason be excused. His success in every undertaking made him the more distinguished, since

"Fortune favors the bold."¹

Igitur eodem anno post obitum patris sui, Ricardus comes Pictavensis, ordinatis rebus in Normannia, at tanquam transactis duobus mensibus, transfretavit in Angliam, et die Sancti Ægidii receptus est cum processione solemni ad Westmonasterium, et die tertia sequenti, videlicet in die ordinationis Sancti Gregorii papæ, quæ dies fuit Dominica, solemniter unctus est in regem, ex officio manum eidem imponente, et ministerium exequente archiepiscopo Baldewino, assistentibus suffraganeis ejus plurimis; et coronatus est, circumstantibus fratre suo comite Johanne, et matre eorum Alianora, quæ post mortem regis Henrici, per mandatum filii sui Ricardi regis futuri, educta fuit a custodia in qua fuerat circiter decem annos; præsentibus etiam comitibus, et baronibus et militibus et infinita hominum multitudine; et confirmatum est regnum in manum regis Ricardi. Anno igitur Domini millesimo centesimo octogesimo nono, inunctus est Ricardus rex in regem, videlicet tertia die Septembris, in die Dominica, dominicali littera existente A, anno scilicet proximo post Bissextum. Multi multa tunc conjecturabant, eo quod dies mala super eandem diem in Kalendario annotata est; et vere dies illa mala, et valde amara fuit Judæis Londoniæ, qui eodem die destructi sunt; et in illo anno similiter Judæi, in diversis locis per Angliam constituti multa mala perpessi sunt. Dignitate itaque regali trium dierum festivitate peracta in palatio regio Westmonasterii, munificentia regem Ricardum decenti, donariis sine æstimatione et numero singulis pro dignitate distributis, subjectos omnes lætificabat, operibus suis et incomparabili præstantia. Cujus animi generositatem, et dotes virtutum priscis potius sæculis Rector sæculorum contulerat, quæ per ætatem mundi jam senescentis, lassatis veluti seminibus emedullate, parum aliquid in hoc tempore in quibusdam, et id in paucis mirandum ostentant ac memorabile. Huic autem virtus Hectoris, magnanimitas erat Achillis, nec inferior Alexandro, nec virtute minor Rolando; immo nostri temporis laudabiliores facile multifariam transcendens. Cujus, velut alterius Titi,

"Dextra sparsit opes,"

et quod in tam famoso milite perrarum esse solet, lingua Nestoris, prudentia Ulixis, in omnibus negotiis vel perorandis, vel gerendis, aliis merito reddebant excellentiorem. Cujus nec scientia strenue agendi voluntatem refugeret, nec voluntas scientiæ inopiam accusaret. Quem siquis forte præsumptionis æstimaverit arguendum, noverit ejus animum vinci nescium, injuriæ impatientem, ad jure debita repetenda, innata generositate compulsum, non inconvenienter excusari: quem ad quæque gerenda effecerat successus elegantiorem, quoniam

"Audentes fortuna juvat,"

Note 1. Virgil’s Aeneid, Book 10, line 284.

. 3rd September 1189. Then Richard (age 31), Duke of Normandy, came to London, and having gathered there the archbishops and bishops, earls and barons, and a large multitude of knights, on the third day before the Nones of September, on a Sunday, the moon being in its nineteenth phase, on the feast of the ordination of Pope Saint Gregory, an ill-omened day, the aforementioned Richard, Duke of Normandy, was consecrated and crowned as King of England at Westminster in London by Baldwin (age 64), Archbishop of Canterbury. Assisting him in this office were Walter, Archbishop of Rouen, John, Archbishop of Dublin, Formale, Archbishop of Trier, Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, Hugh (age 64), Bishop of Durham, William, Bishop of Worcester, John, Bishop of Exeter, Reginald, Bishop of Bath, John, Bishop of Norwich, Seffrid, Bishop of Chichester, Gilbert, Bishop of Rochester, Peter, Bishop of St. David's in Wales, the Bishop of St. Asaph in Wales, the Bishop of Bangor in Wales, Albinus, Bishop of Ferns in Ireland, and Concors, Bishop of Kildare in Ireland.

Geoffrey, Archbishop-elect of York, John, Bishop-elect of Whithorn in Galloway, the Abbot of Westminster, the Abbot of St. Albans, the Abbot of St. Augustine's in Canterbury, the Abbot of Hyde in Winchester, Benedict, Abbot of Peterborough, the Abbot of St. Edmund's, the Abbot of Crowland, the Abbot of Battle, the Abbot of St. Mary's in York, Arnold, Abbot of Rievaulx, the Abbot of Holm Cultram, the Abbot of Mortemer, and the Abbot of St. Denis, who had come on behalf of the King of France, were present.

Also present were William, Earl of Aumale and Essex, Hamelin (age 60), brother of King Henry, Earl of Warenne, John (age 22), brother of King Richard, Earl of Mortain and Gloucester, Robert, Earl of Leicester, Richard (age 36), Earl of Clare, Waleran (age 36), Earl of Warwick, William de Aubigny (age 51), Earl of Sussex, Aubrey (age 74), Earl of Oxford, William (age 39), Earl of Salisbury, William Marshal (age 43), Earl of Striguil, and David (age 37), brother of the King of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon.

Moreover, these barons were present: Robert de Lacy, Nigel de Mowbray (age 43), Roger Bigot, Reginald de Lucy, Gervase Paynel, William de Humet, Baldwin Wake, Robert de Stafford, John,²⁰ Constable of Chester, Jollan de Neville, William de Neville, Henry de Putot, Ranulf de Glanville (age 77), Justiciar of England, Gerard de Glanville, his brother, Gilbert Basset (age 34), Gerard de Camville, and Richard de Camville.

Deinde Ricardus dux Normanniæ venit Lundonias, et congregatis ibi archiepiscopis et episcopis, comitibus et baronibus et copiosa militum multitudine, tertio nonas Septembris, die Dominica, luna xix., festo ordinationis Sancti Gregorii papa, die mala, prædictus Ricardus dux Normanniæ consecratus et coronatus est in regem Angliæ, apud Lundonias in Westmonasterio, a Baldewino Cantuariensi archiepiscopo, ministrantibus illi in illo officio Waltero Rothomagensi archiepiscopo, Johanne Dublinensi archiepiscopo, Formale¹ Treverensi archiepiscopo, Hugone Lincolniensi episcopo, Hugone Dunelmensi episcopo, Willelmo Wigornensi episcopo, Johanne Exoniensi episcopo, Reginaldo Bathoniensi episcopo, Johanne Norwicensi episcopo, Sefrido Cices- trensi episcopo, Gilleberto Rofensi episcopo, Petro episcopo de Sancto David in Wallia, episcopo² de Asfath in Wallia, episcopo³ de Pangor in Wallia.—Albinus episcopus Fernensis⁴ in Hibernia, Concors episcopus Heghdunensis⁵ in Hibernia;

Gaufridus Eboracensis electus, Johannes electus Candidæ Casæ in Galweia, abbas de Westmonasterio⁶, abbas de Sancto Albano⁷, abbas de Sancto Augustino Cantuariæ⁸, abbas de Hyda Wintoniæ⁹, Benedictus abbas de Burgo¹⁰, abbas de Sancto Eadmundo¹¹, abbas de Croilandia¹², abbas de Bello¹³, abbas Sanctæ Mariæ Eboraci¹⁴, Arnaldus abbas Rievallis, abbas de Holm Cultram¹⁵, abbas de Mortemer¹⁶, et abbas de Sancto Dionysio¹⁷, qui venerant ex parte regis Franciæ.

Willelmus comes Albemarliæ et Essesse, Hamellinus frater regis Henrici comes Warennæ, Johannes frater regis Ricardi, comes Meretonæ et Gloucestriæ, Robertus comes Leicestriæ, Ricardus comes de Clara, Wallerannus comes de Warwic, Willelmus de Aubeni comes de Suthsex, Albricus comes¹⁸, Willelmus¹⁹ comes de Salesbiria, Willelmus Marescallus comes de Strignil, David frater regis Scotiæ comes de Huntendona.

Præterea hi barones interfuerunt, Robertus de Lasci, Nigellus de Mumbray, Rogerus Bigot, Reginaldus Lusci, Gervasius Painel, Willelmus de Humet, Baldewinus Wag, Robertus de Stanford, Johannes constabularius Cestrize, Jollanus de Nevil, Willelmus de Nevil, Henricus de Puteaco, Ranulfus de Glanvil justitiarius Anglize, Gerardus de Glanvilla frater ipsius, Gillebertus Basset, Gerardus de Camvilla, Ricardus de Camvilla.

Note 1. Fulmar, Formalis, or Formator, archdeacon of Treves, was elected archbishop by intrigue in 1183, and consecrated by pope Urban III. on Whit Sunday 1186. He never gained full possession of his see, and was, with his competitor Rodolf, deprived by Clement III. in 1189. He then came to England, where he died.

Note 2. [episcopo] Reiner, 1186-1224.

Note 3. [episcopo] Guy, 1177-1190.

Note 4. [Fernensis] Albinus, 1185-1122.

Note 5. [Heghdunensis] Concord, bishop of Euaghduu.

Note 6. Walter, 1176-1190.

Note 7. Warin, 1188-1195.

Note 8. Roger, abbot 1178-1212.

Note 9. John Suthill, abbot 1181-1222.

Note 10. Benedict, abbot 1181-1193.

Note 12. Sampson de Totington, 11821211.

Note 12. Robert of Reading, abbot of Croyland, 1175-1190.

Note 13. Odo, abbot of Battle 1175-1200.

Note 14. Robert Harpham, 1184-1189, was dead. The abbey was represented by William the prior.

Note 15. Everard, 1175-1192.

Note 16. Mortemer-en-Lions. William Tholomeus, 1179-1200.

Note 17. Hugh Foucaut, 1186-1197.

Note 18. De Vere, earl of Oxford.

Note 19. William of Evreux, son of Patrick, 1168-1196.

Note 20. De Lacy.

. [3rd September 1189] First, the bishops, abbots, and many clerics came, dressed in purple copes, with the cross, candles, and censers preceding them, all the way to the door of the inner chamber. There they received the aforementioned Richard, who was to be crowned, and led him to the church of Westminster up to the altar with a reverent procession and singing in this manner.

At the front, clerics dressed in albs led the procession, carrying holy water, the cross, candles, and censers. Then came the abbots, followed by the bishops. In the midst of them walked four barons [of the Cinque Ports] carrying candlesticks with candles.

After them came John Marshal (age 44), carrying in his hands two large and heavy spurs from the royal treasury. Next to him walked Geoffrey de Lucy, carrying the royal crown.

After them came two earls, whose names are these: William Marshal (age 43), Earl of Striguil, and

And after them came six earls and barons carrying a chessboard on which were placed the royal insignia and garments

William (age 39), Earl of Salisbury. One of them, namely William Marshal, carried the royal sceptre, on the top of which was a golden cross. The other, namely William, Earl of Salisbury, carried the royal rod, which had a dove at its summit.

And after them came three earls, whose names are these: David (age 37), brother of the King of Scots, Earl of Huntingdon; Robert, Earl of Leicester; and in the midst of them went John (age 22), Earl of Mortain and Gloucester, carrying three swords with golden scabbards taken from the royal treasury.

And after them went William de Mandeville, Earl of Aumale and Essex, carrying the golden crown in his hands. Then came Richard (age 31), Duke of Normandy, with Hugh (age 64), Bishop of Durham, walking on his right, and Reginald, Bishop of Bath, walking on his left, while a silk canopy was carried over them. The entire throng of earls, barons, knights, and others, both clerics and laypeople, followed all the way to the courtyard of the church, and thus into the church up to the altar.

When they arrived at the altar, before the aforementioned archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, clergy, and people, Duke Richard made these three oaths. Firstly, he swore and vowed before the holy Gospels and the relics of many saints that he would uphold peace, honour, and reverence to God and the Holy Church and its ordained ministers for all the days of his life. Secondly, he swore that he would administer right justice to the people entrusted to him. Thirdly, he swore that he would abolish bad laws and corrupt customs, if any exist in his realm, and would uphold good ones.

Then they stripped him of the garments he had been wearing, except for his shirt and breeches. The shirt was, in fact, torn at the shoulders.

Then they placed upon him sandals adorned with gold.

Then the archbishop handed him the sceptre in his right hand and the royal rod in his left.

In prima fronte præcedebant clerici albis induti, portantes aquam benedictam et crucem et cereos et thuribulos: deinde veniebant abbates; deinde episcopi. In medio autem illorum ibant quatuor barones portantes candelabra cum cereis.

Inprimis venerunt episcopi et abbates et cleric multi induti cappis purpureis, præcedentibus eos cruce, cereis, thuribulis, usque ad ostium thalami interioris. Et ibi receperunt praedictum Ricardum, qui coronandus erat, et duxerunt eum in ecclesiam Westmonasterii usque ad altare cum reverenti processione et cantu in hunc modum.

Post illos veniebat Johannes Marescallus, portans in manibus suis duo calcaria magna et ponderosa de thesauro regis. Juxta illum ibat Godefridus de Luci portans pileum regale.

Post illos veniebant duo comites, quorum hæc sunt nomina; Willelmus Marescallus comes de Striguil, et Willelmus comes de Salesbiria: unus illorum, scilicet Willelmus Marescallus, portans sceptrum regale, in cujus summitate signum crucis aureum erat: et alter, scilicet Willelmus comes de Salesbiria, portans virgam regalem, habentem columbam in summitate.

Et post illos veniebant tres comites, quorum hæc sunt nomina; David frater regis Scotiæ comes de Huntedona, et Robertus comes Leicestriæ, et in medio illorum ibat Johannes comes Meretoni et Gloucestriæ, portantes tres gladios cum vaginis aureis sumptos de thesauro regis.

Et post illos veniebant sex comites et barones portantes unum scaccarium super quod posita erant insignia regalia et vestes.

Et post illos ibat Willelmus de Mandevilla comes de Albemarla et de Exessa, portans coronam auream in manibus suis. Deinde venit Ricardus dux Normanniæ, et Hugo Dunelmensis episcopus a dextris illius ibat, et Eeginaldus Bathoniensis episcopus a sinistris illius ibat, et umbraculum sericum portabatur super illos. Et omnis turba comitum et baronum et militum et aliorum, tarn clericorum quam laicorum, sequebatur usque in atrium ecclesiæ, et sic usque in ecclesiam ad altare.

Cum vero perventum esset ad altare, coram prædictis archiepiscopis et episcopis, abbatibus, comitibus, baronibus, clero et populo, hæc tria fecit Ricardus dux sacramenta. Juravit itaque et vovit coram positis sacrosanctis Evangeliis et plurimorum sanctorum relliquiis, quod pacem et lionorem et reverentiam omnibus diebus vitse suae portabit Deo et Sanctse Ecclesise et ejus ordinatis. Deinde juravit quod rectam justitiam exercebit in populo sibi commisso. Deinde juravit quod leges malas et consuetudines perversas, si aliquse sunt in regno suo, delebit, et bonas custodiet¹.

Deinde exuerunt eum vestibus suis quibus indutus fuerat, exceptis camisia et braccis. Camisia vero ilia dissuta erat in scapulis,

Deinde calciaverunt eum sandaliis auro contextis.

Deinde tradidit ei archiepiscopus seeptrum in manu dextera, et virgam regalem in sinistra.

Note 1. [et bonas custodie] Hoveden has here, "et bonas leges conderet et sine fraude et malo ingenio eas custodiret."

In September 1389 the Scrope vs Grosvenor Case was brought to the Court of Chivalry. Up to that time two families, Scrope and Grosvenor, had been using the armorial Scrope Arms: Azure, a bend or.

Several hundred witnesses were called including John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster (age 49), Geoffrey Chaucer (age 46) and John Savile of Shelley and Golcar (age 64).

On 3rd September 1386 Owain ap Gruffudd "Glyndŵr" Mathrafal Prince Powys (age 27) gave evidence at the Church of John the Baptist, Chester [Map].

The Court decided in favour of Scrope.

Neither party was happy with the decision so King Richard II (age 22) was called upon to give his personal verdict.

On 27th May 1390 he confirmed that Grosvenor could not bear the undifferenced arms.

As a consequence of the case the Grosvenor has for many years used the name Bendor for horses and nicknames.

Between 3rd September 1649 and 11th September 1649, Drogheda [Map], under the command of the Royalist Arthur Aston (age 59), was besieged by the Parliamentary army commanded by Oliver Cromwell (age 50).

On 11th September 1649 Oliver Cromwell had a letter delivered to Sir Arthur Aston, which proposed his Aston's surrender; Aston refused.

At 5:00 PM Cromwell ordered simultaneous assaults on the southern and eastern breaches in the walls of Drogheda.

At the southern breach, the defenders counterattacked. The death of their commander, Colonel Wall, caused them to fall back, allowing further Parliamentary reinforcements to be funnelled into the breach. In the fighting at the walls some 150 Parliamentarian troops, including Colonel Castle, were killed.

After the death of Colonel Wall with more and more Parliamentary soldiers streaming into the breaches, the Royalist resistance at the walls collapsed.

In Cromwell's words, "In the heat of the action, I forbade them [his soldiers] to spare any that were in arms in the town...and, that night they put to the sword about two thousand men".

The execution of Royalists constinued as and when they were discovered.

Around one hundred Royalists were discovered in St Peter's Church - Cromwell ordered the church and those inside to be burned.

Arthur Aston was killed.

Samuel Pepys' Diary. 3rd September 1666. About four o'clock in the morning, my Lady Batten sent me a cart to carry away all my money, and plate, and best things, to Sir W. Rider's at Bednall-greene. Which I did riding myself in my night-gowne in the cart; and, Lord! to see how the streets and the highways are crowded with people running and riding, and getting of carts at any rate to fetch away things. I find Sir W. Rider tired with being called up all night, and receiving things from several friends. His house full of goods, and much of Sir W. Batten's (age 65) and Sir W. Pen's (age 45) I am eased at my heart to have my treasure so well secured. Then home, with much ado to find a way, nor any sleep all this night to me nor my poor wife. But then and all this day she and I, and all my people labouring to get away the rest of our things, and did get Mr. Tooker to get me a lighter to take them in, and we did carry them (myself some) over Tower Hill [Map], which was by this time full of people's goods, bringing their goods thither; and down to the lighter, which lay at next quay, above the Tower Docke. And here was my neighbour's wife, Mrs.----,with her pretty child, and some few of her things, which I did willingly give way to be saved with mine; but there was no passing with any thing through the postern, the crowd was so great. The Duke of Yorke (age 32) of this day by the office, and spoke to us, and did ride with his guard up and down the City, to keep all quiet (he being now Generall, and having the care of all). This day, Mercer being not at home, but against her mistress's order gone to her mother's, and my wife going thither to speak with W. Hewer (age 24), met her there, and was angry; and her mother saying that she was not a 'prentice girl, to ask leave every time she goes abroad, my wife with good reason was angry, and, when she came home, bid her be gone again. And so she went away, which troubled me, but yet less than it would, because of the condition we are in, fear of coming into in a little time of being less able to keepe one in her quality. At night lay down a little upon a quilt of W. Hewer's in the office, all my owne things being packed up or gone; and after me my poor wife did the like, we having fed upon the remains of yesterday's dinner, having no fire nor dishes, nor any opportunity of dressing any thing.

John Evelyn's Diary. 3rd September 1666. The fire having continued all this night (if I may call that night which was light as day for ten miles round about, after a dreadful manner), when conspiring with a fierce eastern wind in a very dry season, I went on foot to the same place; and saw the whole south part of the city burning from Cheapside [Map] to the Thames, and all along Cornhill [Map] (for it likewise kindled back against the wind as well as forward), Tower street, Fenchurch Street [Map], Gracious street, and so along to Baynard's Castle [Map], and was now taking hold of St. Paul's church [Map], to which the scaffolds contributed exceedingly. The conflagration was so universal, and the people so astonished, that, from the beginning, I know not by what despondency, or fate, they hardly stirred to quench it; so that there was nothing heard, or seen, but crying out and lamentation, running about like distracted creatures, without at all attempting to save even their goods; such a strange consternation there was upon them, so as it burned both in breadth and length, the churches, public halls, Exchange, hospitals. Monuments, and ornaments; leaping after a prodigious manner, from house to house, and street to street, at great distances one from the other. For the heat, with a long set of fair and warm weather, had even ignited the air, and prepared the materials to conceive the fire, which devoured, after an incredible manner, houses, furniture, and every thing. Here, we saw the Thames covered with goods floating, all the barges and boats laden with what some had time and courage to save, as, on the other side, the carts, etc., carrying out to the fields, which for many miles were strewn with movables of all sorts, and tents erecting to shelter both people and what goods they could get away. Oh, the miserable and calamitous spectacle! such as haply the world had not seen since the foundation of it, nor can be outdone till the universal conflagration thereof. All the sky was of a fiery aspect, like the top of a burning oven, and the light seen above forty miles round about for many nights. God grant mine eyes may never behold the like, who now saw above 10,000 houses all in one flame! The noise and cracking and thunder of the impetuous flames, the shrieking of women and children, the hurry of people, the fall of towers, houses, and churches, was like a hideous storm; and the air all about so hot and inflamed, that at the last one was not able to approach it, so that they were forced to stand still, and let the flames burn on, which they did, for near two miles in length and one in breadth. The clouds also of smoke were dismal, and reached, upon computation, near fifty miles in length. Thus, I left it this afternoon burning, a resemblance of Sodom, or the last day. It forcibly called to my mind that passage-"non enim hic habemus stabilem civitatem"; the ruins resembling the picture of Troy. London was, but is no more! Thus, I returned.