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Placing her right hand on a parchment lying on the altar. Queen Mary said, " I
have signed this instrument, by which I contract and affiance myself in marriage to
Philip, Prince of Spain."— Page 305. Ftontis. Vol. I. Tlie Tower of London.











EDITION DE LUXE






THE WORKS OF






William Harrison Ainsworth












The






Tower of London






Volume One












With Illustrations






By GEORGE CRUIKSHANK
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THE NOTTINGHAM SOCIETY






NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO











102412



EDITION DE LUXE

Limited to One Thousand Sets
Printed for Subscribers Only

This set is number



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A I



CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.



BOOK THE FIRST.

JANE THE QUEEN.

CHAP. PAGK

I. Of the manner in which Queen Jane entered the

Tower of London 1

II. Of the indignity shown to the Privy-Council by the
Duke of Northumberland ; and of the resolution
taken by Simon Renard to avenge them 25

III. Of the three giants of the Tower, Og, Gog, and

Magog ; of Xit, the dwarf ; of the fair Cicely ; of
Peter Trusbut, the pantler, and Potentia, his wife ;
of Hairun, the bearward ; Ribald, the warder ;
Mauger, the headsman ; and Nightgall, the jailer ;
and of the pleasant pastime held in the Stone Kit-
chen 84

IV. Of the mysterious occurrence that happened to

Queen Jane in St. John's Chapel, in the White

Tower 41

V. Of the misunderstanding that arose between Queen

Jane and her husband, Lord Guilford Dudley . . 48

VI. Of the solemn exhortation pronounced to the giants
by Master Edward Underbill, the " Hot-Gospeller,"
at their lodging in the By-ward Tower ; and of the

effect produced thereby 57

VII. How Cuthbert Cholmondeley was thrown into a dun-
geon near the Devilin Tower ; and how a mys-
terious female figure appeared to him there 66

VIII. How Gilbert escaped from the By-ward Tower, and
swam across the moat ; how Og hung Xit upon a
hook ; and how Lawrence Nightgall brought the
token to Cicely 76

IX. Of the mysterious manner in which Gunnora Braose

was brought to the Tower 83

X. How the Duke of Northumberland menaced Simon
Renard in St. Peter's Chapel on the Tower Green ;
and how Queen Jane interposed between them 93

iii



iv CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE

XI. How the Duke of Northumberland was prevailed
upon to undertake the enterprise against the Lady

Mary 107

XII. How Magog became enamored of a buxom widow,
ycleped Dame Placida Paston ; how he went a-
wooing ; and how he prospered in his suit 113

XIII. Of the stratagem practised by Cuthbert Cholmon-

deley on the jailer 120

XIV. How Simon Renard and the Lords of the Council

were arretted by Lord Guilford Dudley 128

XV. How Gunnora Braose sought an audience of Queen

Jane 133

XVI. How the Council deposed Queen Jane ; and how she

fled from the Tower 143

XVII. In what manner Jane was brought back to the Tower

of London 151



BOOK THE SECOND.

MARY THE QUEEN.

I. Of the arrival of Queen Mary in London; of her
entrance into the Tower ; and of her reception of

the prisoners on the Green 1G1

II. How Jane was imprisoned in the Brick Tower 174

III. How Simon Renard ascended to the roof of the White

Tower ; and of the goodly prospect he beheld
therefrom 177

IV. Of the Tower of London ; its antiquity and founda-

tion ; its magnitude and extent ; its keep, palace,
gardens, fortifications, dungeons, and chapels ; its
walls, bulwarks, and moat ; its royal inmates ; its
constables, jailers, warders, and other officers;

its prisoners, executions, and secret murders 181

V. How the Duke of Northumberland was arraigned of
high treason in Westminster Hall ; and how he

made four requests after the judgment 200

VI. By what means the Duke of Northumberland was

reconciled to the Church of Rome 209

VII. How the Duke of Northumberland was beheaded on

Tower Hill 215

VIII. Of Queen Mary's attachment to Courtenay 224

IX. Of the duel between Courtenay and Simon Renard ;

and how it was interrupted 236



CONTENTS. *

CHAP. PACK

X. Of the conference held between Bishop Gardiner

and Lady Jane Grey in the Beauchamp Tower. 243
XI. How Cuthbert Cholmondeley revisited the Stone

Kitchen ; and how he went in search of Cicely. 254
XII. How Edward Underbill, the "Hot-Gospeller,"
attempted to assassinate Queen Mary ; and how
she was preserved by Sir Henry Bedingfeld. ... 267



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS— VOL. I.



Placing her right hand upon a parchment lying on the altar,
Queen Mary said, "I have signed this instrument by
which I contract and affiance myself in marriage to
Philip, Prince of Spain." , Frontis.

PAGE

Holding forward the light, a shudder ran through her frame

as Jane perceived at her feet an axe 47

"Put up your sword," cried Jane. M You forget in whose pres-
ence you stand." 105

Upon a stout oak table sat Magog, his eyes tenderly fixed on a
comely dame, Who was presenting him with a large foam-
ing pot of ale 118

"Don't loss time," cried the old woman as Jane hesitated. "We

may be followed and re-taken." 150

Mary forcibly threw aside the arras, gazed at them with eyes

that literally seemed to flash fire 200

Regardless of her screams and struggles, Nightgall dragged
Cicely by main force through the doorway and so down
the secret staircase 230

"What would you, Reverend Sir," said Jane, as Feckenham
advanced towards her holding a parchment to which a
legal seal was attached 266



The Tower of London



PEEFACE



TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION.

It has been, for years, the cherished wish of the writer
of the following pages, to make the Tower of London —
the proudest monument of antiquity, considered with
reference to its historical associations, which this country
or any other possesses — the groundwork of a romance ;
and it was no slight satisfaction to him, that circum-
stances at length enabled him to carry into effect his fav-
orite project, in conjunction with the inimitable Artist
whose designs accompany the work.

Desirous of exhibiting the Tower in its triple light of
a palace, a prison, and a fortress, the Author has shaped
his story with reference to that end ; and he has also
endeavored to contrive such a series of incidents as should
naturally introduce every relic of the old pile — its
towers, chapels, halls, chambers, gateways, arches, and
drawbridges — so that no part of it should remain un-
illustrated.

How far this design has been accomplished — what
interest has been given to particular buildings — and what
mouldering walls have been informed with life — is now
to be determined : unless, indeed, it may be considered
determined by the numbers who have visited the differ-
ent buildings, as they have been successively depicted by
pen and pencil, during the periodical appearance of the
work.

One important object the Author would fain hope his
labors may achieve. This is the introduction of the
public to some parts of the fortress at present closed to

iii



Jy PREFACE.

them. There seems no reason why admission should not
be given, under certain restrictions, to that unequalled
specimen of Norman architecture, St. John's Chapel in
the White Tower — to the arched galleries above it — to
the noble council-chamber, teeming with historical rec-
ollections — to the vaulted passages — and to the winding
staircases within the turrets — so perfect and so interest-
ing to the antiquary. Nor is there stronger reason why
the prison chamber in the Beauchamp Tower, now used as
a mess-room, the walls of which, like a mystic scroll, are
covered with inscriptions — each a tragic story in itself,
and furnishing matter for abundant reflection — should
not likewise be thrown open. Most of the old fortifica-
tions upon the inner ballium-wall being converted into
private dwellings — though in many cases the chambers are
extremely curious, and rich in inscriptions — are, of course,
inaccessible. But this does not apply to the first-men-
tioned places. They are the property of the nation, and
should be open to national inspection.

It is piteous to see what havoc has already been made
by alterations and repairs. The palace is gone — so are
many of the towers — and unless the progress of destruc-
tion is arrested, the demolition of others will follow. Let
us attempt to preserve what remains.

Opposite the matchless White Tower — William of
Orange by the side of William the Conqueror — is that
frightful architectural abomination, the Grand Store-
House. It may not be possible to remove this ugly and
incongruous structure. It is not possible to take away
others that offend the eye at every turn. It is not pos-
sible to restore the Tower to its pristine grandeur. But
it is possible to prevent further mutilation and desecration.
It is possible to clear the reverend and massive columns
of St. John's Chapel, which look like giants of departed
days, from the thick coat of whitewash in which they
are crusted — to sweep away the presses with which its
floors are cumbered, and to find some other equally se-
cure, but less interesting, less sacred, in every sense, de-



PREFACE. V

pository for the Chancery rolls. It is possible to render
the same service to the magnificent council- chamber, and
the passage leading to it — it is possible to clear the walls
of the Beauchamp Tower — and it is, also, possible and
desirable, that the public should be admitted to these
places, in which they have so strong an interest. The
visitor to the Tower sees little — and can see little of its
most curious features. But it is the hope of the writer,
that the day is not far off, when all that is really worth
seeing will be accessible. In this view, the present pub-
lication may not be without use.

To those who conceive that the Author has treated the
character of Queen Mary with too great leniency, he can
only affirm that he has written according to his convic-
tion of the truth. Mary's worst fault as a woman —
her sole fault as a sovereign — was her bigotry : and it
is time that the cloud which prejudice has cast over
her should be dispersed. " Let us judge of her dispas-
sionately and disinterestedly, says Griffet ; i " let us
listen to the testimony of those who have known her,
and have had the best means of examining her actions
and her discourse. Let u's do this, and we may per-
haps discover that the reproaches which Protestant
writers have heaped upon her have been excessive;
and after a strict and impartial examination of her charac-
ter, we may recognize in her qualities worthy of praise."
To this authority may be added that of Mr. Patrick Frazer
Tytler and Sir Frederick Madden, the latter of whom, in
his able introduction to the " Privy Purse Expenses of the
Princess Mary," has most eloquently vindicated her.

Presuming upon the favor which the present work has
experienced, the author begs to intimate that he has other
chronicles of the old fortress in contemplation, which he
hopes to find leisure to produce. Those who desire
further insight into its history and antiquities are re-

1 Nouveaux Eclaircissements sur l'Histoire de Marie, Reine
d'Angleterre, Addresse a M. David Hume. 1766.



vi PREFACE.

ferred to Mr. Bayley's excellent and comprehensive
work on the subject — a publication not so much known
as it deserves to be, and from which much important infor-
mation contained in the present volume has been derived.

It would be unpardonable in both Author and Illus-
trator were they to omit to allude to the courtesy and at-
tention they have experienced from the gentlemen con-
nected with the different departments of the Tower, as
avcII as from the occupants of the various fortifications.
They beg, therefore, to offer their cordial acknowledg-
ments to Major Erlington, fort-major and acting gover-
nor ; to Edmund L. Swift, Esq., keeper of the regalia ;
to Robert Porrett, Esq., F. S. A., of the Principal
Store-keeper's Office ; and George Stacey, Esq., of the
same ; to Thomas Hardy, Esq., F. S. A., keeper of the
records in the Tower; to Lieutenant Hall, barrack-
master ; and to many others.

The Author's best thanks are, also, due to Sir Henry
Bedingfeld, Bart., of Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk (the lineal
descendant of the Lieutenant of the Tower introduced in
the following pages), for his obliging communications re-
specting his ancestor.

" And so," to adopt the words of old Stow, in his con-
tinuation of Holinshed's Chronicle, " craving a favorable
acceptation of this tedious travail, with a toleration of all
such faults, as haply therein lie hidden, and by diligent
reading may soon be spied (especially by the critics), we
wish that they which best may, would once in their life
grow resolute and at a point in this laudable kind of study,
most necessary for common knowledge, little or much to
exercise their head and hand." Finally, beseeching God to
bless these realms, and its ever precious jewel, our gracious
Queen Victoria, and the infant princess newly given to
us ; to save them as the apple of his eye ; and to protect
them with the target of his power against all ill, — the
Chronicler, in all humility, takes his leave.

Kensal Lodge, Harrow Road,



INTRODUCTORY NOTE.



Ainswokth's popular romance, " The Tower of Lon-
don," originally appeared in 1840, and was designed, as
the author himself tells us, to depict the Tower as
palace, prison, and fortress, with such historical asso-
ciations as attached themselves to the place in the fate-
ful era of the two rivals for the English throne on the
death of King Edward VI. The era is the middle of
the sixteenth century, and the rival queens are Lady
Jane Grey, and Mary L, the predecessor and elder sister
of Queen Elizabeth. The story is primarily a romance ;
though the author well manages, as it was his desire to
do, to give the reader an intelligent insight into the his-
tory and antiquities of the Tower — aided by the illus-
trations in the work — and to delineate its many historic
halls, council and prison chambers, turrets, galleries,
stairways, and passages, etc., so as to make them pic-
turesque and vivid in connection with their grim annals,
as well as to perpetuate them as the memorials of a
remote antiquity. Few more interesting sights can be
viewed in the old metropolis of Britain than this an-
cient fortress and gloomy state-prison, which dates as

VII



Viii INTRODUCTION.

far back as the era of William the Conqueror, and
more than probably to Roman times. It is located, aa
all know, on the banks of the Thames, a little to the
east of the city proper, and is surrounded by battle-
mented walls and a deep though now drained moat.
The Tower has four entrances, viz., the Iron Gate,
Water Gate, Lion's Gate, and Traitor's Gate; and a
series of over a dozen towers flank the interior court,
which is dominated by the great Keep, or White Tower,
in the centre of the quadrangle. It was under the
stairway of this ancient Keep that the bones of the two
young princes, sons of Edward IV., were found, who
were murdered at the instigation of their uncle, Rich-
ard III. ; while in one of the apartments of the Keep
Sir Walter Raleigh was confined, and there he wrote
his " History of the World." In the twelve towers of
the inner ward many tragic scenes in English history
have been enacted, and most of them are associated with
dark deeds and hideous memories. The Bowyer Tower
is reputed to be that in which the Duke of Clarence,
brother of Edward IV. was drowned in a butt of malm-
sey; in Wakefield Tower Henry VI. is commonly be-
lieved to have been murdered ; in the Brick Tower Lady
Jane Grey was imprisoned ; in Beauchamp Tower was
the cell of her husband, Lord Guilford Dudley ; and in
the Bell Tower the Princess Elizabeth was incarcerated
for a time by her sister, Queen Mary.

The list is a long one of England's unfortunate nobles



INTRODUCTION. IX

and eminent men and women who have languished for
varying periods in the Tower, or have passed from its
prison cells to the place of public execution on Tower
Hill, just outside its precincts. Some of these — nota-
bly Lady Jane Grey, the Earl of Essex, and the Queens
Catharine Howard and Anne Boleyn — were beheaded
in the Tower itself. While the block and the scaffold
and other instruments of torture or of speedy release
from a world of intrigue, wrong-doing, and strife plied
their horrid trade within and without the Tower walls,
many others besides traitors and prisoners of state
found a hideous death at the faggot's blaze as heretics,
and a grave for their bones in the little burial ground
adjoining the chapel within the Tower. " In truth,"
writes Macaulay of this burial place, "there is no
sadder spot on earth than this little cemetery. Death
is there associated, not as in Westminster Abbey and St.
Paul's, with genius and virtue, with public veneration
and with imperishable renown ; not, as in our humblest
churches and churchyards, with everything that is most
endearing in social and domestic charities; but with
whatever is darkest in human nature and in human
destiny, with the savage triumph of implacable enemies,
with the inconstancy, the ingratitude, the cowardice of
friends, with all the miseries of fallen greatness and of
blighted fame." Of the great prisoners of state in the
Tower some have been kings of Scotland, one was a king
of France, and another was the father of a French



X INTRODUCTION.

king; others still — an unfortunate host — include dukes,
earls, knights, protectors, chancellors, and archbishops;
while almost as great a company left their heads on the
block, were poisoned, or died of their long and weary
imprisonment. The memory of them haunts the place
and imparts a terrible grimness to the turrets, cells,
corridors, chapels and burial plot of the Tower.

Other mementoes of former greatness, moreover, are
here, in the Crown Room and Regalia, where are the
symbols and deckings of royalty, including coronets,
sceptres, orbs, swords of state, stars, garters, and other
orders and insignia of high office — the aggregate value
of which, among the present-day treasures of the Tower,
is said to exceed fifteen millions of dollars. Besides
these, there are statues of the great departed, equestrian
figures, effigies of knights in armor and in shirts of mail,
the caparisons and various trappings of horses, together
with crests, badges, seals, and an array of old weapons
of war, including firearms, cannon, long bows, spear-
heads, and helmets. Of these and other objects of his-
toric importance the Tower is a great national treasure-
house, to look upon which is to conjure up visions of
men and women of the long ago, and of scenes, either
brilliant and stately or tragic and eventful, of the high-
est interest in the annals of the English nation.

But it is with the characters and events of the age,
on the death of the youthful Edward VI., that we have
chiefly to do in treating of Mi. Ainsworth's fascinating



INTRODUCTION. XI

novel on " The Tower of London." Henry VIII., it
will be remembered, died in 1547, bequeathing the Eng-
lish throne in succession to his three children, each of
whom, in turn, assumed the royal sceptre. These were
(1) Edward, Henry's son by Jane Seymour; (2) Mary,
daughter of Katharine of Aragon; and (3) Elizabeth,
daughter of Anne of Boleyn. Edward VI. came to the
throne at the age of nine, and reigned for six years.
During his short reign the country was under the Pro-
tectorate, first, of the Duke of Somerset, brother of
Queen Jane Seymour, and afterwards of the Earl of
Warwick, who became Duke of Northumberland.
Under Edward, or rather (as the present writer has
elsewhere related) under the Protector, Somerset, the
Reformation in England made much progress, though
it continued to excite differences of opinion and even
rebellion. Somerset, with Archbishop Cranmer's as-
sistance, passed an Act for securing uniformity in the
church's service, and introduced the English Prayer
Book into the church. Though these Acts had the ap-
proval of many good people, among whom were the great
Reformers, bishops Ridley, Coverdale, and Latimer,
there were not a few in England opposed to the new doc-
trines, particularly among the Catholics of the North
and the West. The latter stirred up bitter feeling
against Somerset, who at times acted with little wisdom
or moderation. He procured the repeal, however, of
the " Bloody Statute " of Edward's predecessor, and



XII INTRODUCTION.

cancelled the oppressive edicts against the Lollards.
But he was unwise in his attitude towards Scotland,
which he attacked, that he might force the Scots to give
the young queen, Mary, in marriage to Edward VI. In
this he failed, though he defeated the Scots in battle;
but the latter sent Mary to France, where she married
the young Dauphin. After this, trouble increased in
England, partly through the intrigues, which were
brought speedily to an end, of Somerset's ambitious
brother, Lord Seymour, and partly from the social
changes that were going on in the nation. These
changes came about from hard times, and from the
rapacity of wealthy landowners, who, in acquiring prop-
erty, turned the poor laborers with their families out
of their homes, and left many to beggary or starvation.
Their condition was made worse by severe laws passed
by Parliament against begging, and by the lack of the
aid which the poor used to get from the monasteries.
The situation drove thousands to riot and rebellion.
Insurrections for a time were rife in Cornwall, Devon-
shire, and Norfolk ; but they were finally put down with
great loss of life. The blame of these disorders fell
upon Somerset, and much dissatisfaction was expressed
with his government. This feeling broke out in coun-
cil, where Somerset's enemy, the Earl of Warwick, de-
fied him, upset his authority, and finally had him con-
demned and beheaded.

Earl Warwick, now Duke of Northumberland, sue-



INTRODUCTION. xni

seeded to the Protectorate in the place of Somerset
The bo j king (Edward VI.) was in ill-health and not
likely to live. Northumberland, knowing this, schemed
to get Edward to alter the succession in favor of his
daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, great granddaughter
of Henry VII., thus setting aside both Mary and Eliza-
beth, the rightful heirs to the crown. He succeeded in
his design by playing upon the young king's fear that
the Reformed Church would suffer if Mary, who was a
Catholic, should succeed ; and shortly afterwards (A. D.
1553) Edward VI. died, and Lady Jane Grey, in spite
of her own protests, was proclaimed queen. But the
English people did not like to see Mary Tudor de-
frauded of her inheritance; moreover, they had kind
feelings toward her on account of Henry VIII.'s ill-
usage of her mother, Katharine of Aragon. So they
rallied round the true heir, and dethroning Northumber-
land's daughter-in-law, crowned Mary. The latter's ac-
cession, however, brought great trouble to England. As
a Catholic, she repealed all the laws in favor of the
Protestant religion, restored the Catholic bishops to
office, and began a religious persecution on account of
which many have affixed to her the epithet of " Bloody
Mary." Eor his reckless ambition, Northumberland
was executed, and the unfortunate Lady Jane Grey and
her husband (Lord Guilford Dudley), as Ainsworth re-
lates in his romance, came also to the block.

These, in brief, are the historic incidents which form



XIV INTRODUCTION.

the dramatic background to the Ainsworth novel. The
story, as will be seen, is divided into two parts, one
dealing with Lady Jane, and the other with Mary
Tudor, as queen. The history in both sections is on the
whole closely adhered to, though the author, in the sec-
ond book, does not conceal his sympathy with Mary,
bigot though he admits her to be, and consequently is
opposed to the luckless Lady Jane Grey. In the story,
Mr. Ainsworth gives additional interest to it as an
historical romance by introducing other notable char-
acters of the era, among them the Princess (afterwards
Queen) Elizabeth, and Edward Courtenay, Earl of
Devonshire, aspirant for the hand of Queen Mary and

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