Library Item - London

This page is under construction. In time it will have details about the history of Medieval London.

Year	Month	Event
871	Qtr 2	More Danes arrive in Britain
	Another army of Danes landed in London and were joined by those at Reading. The army defeated Alfred at Wilton and so the king decided to pay the Danes some money to keep the peace.[1]
1013		Swein Fork-Beard and Canute attack England
	Swein Fork-Beard and his son Canute sailed from Denmark to attack England. Again London defended itself and the Vikings moved elsewhere, taking Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria.
	Nov	London surrenders to Swein
	London was the last part of the country to accept Swein as the new king of England. Swein and his Viking army had already taken control of the Danelaw and the rest of the country accepted him as their new ruler. Swein's rule of the country would only last a few months.
1016	Apr	Canute attempts to take the throne
	Canute advanced on London for a fight with Aethelred but Aethelred died in the same month. London accepted Edmund Ironside as their ruler. Canute would have to defeat Edmund if he was to become King of England.[2]
1066	Oct 6	Harold and his forces reach London
	Harold II had to march south from Stamford Bridge to counter the threat of invasion from William of Normandy.
1078		Work starts on the White Tower
	Gundulf began work on the White Tower, the Tower of London.[3]
1128		Templar Church in London
	Hugh de Payens may have been granted the land for the first Temple Church in London at this time. Consisting of an orchard, a cemetery, a round church. The position was possibly at the end of Chancery Lane. The temple was moved in 1161.[4]
1141	Jun	Matilda enters London
	Matilda and her supporters entered London for her coronation. Her supporters included David I, king of the Scots. Geoffrey de Mandeville who controlled the Tower of London, abandoned his king as he saw Matilda had the upper hand. He joined her side and offered her the Tower of London. He did this to ensure he kept the Earldom of Essex which made him one of the most powerful barons of the time.
1155		Knights Templar build Temple in Fleet Street
	Being the superintendents of the Masons, the Knights Templars build their Temple in Fleet Street in London.[5]
1161		Knights Templars move London Temple
	The Knights Templars moved their London temple to the new site between Fleet Street and the Thames.[6]
1177		Henry as arbitrator
	Again Henry's knowledge of law is used in a conflict between Alfonso IX of Castile and Sancho VI of Navarre held in London.[7]
1189		First Lord Mayor of London
	The post of Lord Mayor of London was introduced in this year. The first holder of the title was Henry FitzAilwin.[8]
1212		A Great fire of London
	Fire broke out on the southern shore of the River Thames and crossed the river starting more fires on the northern shore. Many people were killed. Boats tried to rescue people trapped on London Bridge but the boats became overloaded and many drowned. This appears to be a big a disaster as the fire of 1666.[9]
1215	Jan	John meets the Barons in London
	Promising the Barons safe passage, John met them in London to discuss their demands. John postponed any answer until Easter.[10]
	May 17	London falls to the Rebels
	The gates to London were opened by a supporter of the rebellious Barons and the houses of Jews were targeted for ransacking and burning. The rebels called for those Barons still on the side of John to join them. The Tower of London held by John's supporters was too well defended to fall into the hands of the rebels.[10]
1216	Feb	King John puts down revolt
	King John put down a revolt in East Anglia. The Barons and the French kept hold of London.
	Feb	Small French fleet land in London
	A small French army landed in London. Their commander informed the rebel barons that Prince Louis would soon arrive from France.
1263		Edward raids the Temple in London
	On the pretence of removing his mother's jewels, Edward (I) entered the Knights Templar's Temple in London and ransacked the treasury, taking the proceeds to the Tower of London.
1265	Summer	Armies march
	Simon's son was sent to London to raise money and troops. He diverted back through Winchester which was loyal to the king and then moved through Oxford and Northampton. Edward (I) moved from Worcester to Bridgnorth destroying bridges and means of allowing Simon who was on the Welsh side of the Avon from crossing back. The people of Bristol, friendly to Simon's cause sent ships to Newport to help Simon cross, but they were intercepted and destroyed by Edward.[11]
1294		Edward Balliol asks for resources
	Edward Balliol arrived in London and asked for men and money for Edward's French war.[12]
1348	Jun	The Plague reaches England
	The plague reached the shores of England first at Melcombe Regis in Dorset. By winter of the year, the plague had reached London.[13]
1354		Statute of Staples
	A law that fixed 15 towns as staple towns. A staple town was a town that was restricted in what it could sell to foreign merchants. The towns were Bristol, Canterbury, Carmarthen, Chichester, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Exeter, Lincoln, London, Newcastle, Norwich, Waterford, Winchester and York.
1381	Jun 11	Rebels move towards London
	Both the Kentish and the Essex rebels move towards London.
	Jun 12	Rebels reach London
	The Essex rebels reach Mile End near Aldgate and the Kentish rebels reach Southwark.[14]
1450	Jun	London ransacked by the rebels
	The rebels under the command of Jack Cade defeated a section of King Henry's army at Sevenoaks and entered London. The rebels ransacked the city and after crossing London Bridge to the south were prevented crossing back to the north by angry Londoners. The rebels were defeated and fled.
1460	Jul 2	Yorkists enter London
	The Yorkists marched first to Canterbury where the officers in charge of protecting the town against them joined forces with the rebels. They then moved on and arrived at London on July 2nd. There they were welcomed by the Mayor of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury.[15]
1461	Feb 27	Yorkists enter London
	Edward and Warwick were allowed to enter the city of London. The citizens of London had refused to let the Queen enter and so she returned north with the King.
1484	Dec	Richard returns to London
	Richard was welcomed into London by the Mayor and a procession led him to Blackfriars. Christmas was spent celebrating.[16]
Early Modern Period (1500-1800)
1566		The Royal Exchange founded
	The Royal Exchange in London was founded by Sir Thomas Gresham. The exchange and dealing in foreign currency had become very important and this put London at the heart of the process.