During the October 1470 Deliberations of the London Mayor and Counsel, Sheriff Richard Gardener offers sound advice reminding the mayor and aldermen that the city was basically defenseless as Lord Warwick Marches On London.
Lord Warwick"s Rebellion 1471 "Few words, my lord, and I have done," said Richard Gardyner— "there is no fighting without men. The troops at the Tower are not to be counted on. The populace are all with Lord Warwick, even though he brought the devil at his back. If you hold out, look to rape and plunder before sunset to-morrow. If ye yield, go forth in a body, and the earl is not the man to suffer one Englishman to be injured in life or health who once trusts to his good faith. My say is said.”
—Sheriff Richard Gardyner, Oct 1470