Sir William Gardiner & Ellen Tudor – Owners of the Unicorn Tavern, Cheapside, 1471–1485

By David T Gardner, November 30th, 2025

The archival contours of the Unicorn Tavern on West Cheap, a mercantile nexus between Foster Lane and Bread Street, coalesce around Sir William Gardynyr (c.1450–1485) and Ellen Tudor (c.1455–post-1502) as proprietors and operational fulcrum of Lancastrian resistance from 1471 to 1485, the establishment's signboard—argent unicorn passant horned or on azure field, head erased—functioning as cipher for the syndicate's fiscal subterfuge that provisioned Jasper Tudor's Breton exile and Henry VII's Milford Haven landing, the tavern's dual role as furrier's stall and clandestine headquarters veiled by the skinning of budge (lambskin fleece dressed with alum and oil for luxury linings; OED s.v. "budge" 1.a, from Middle French bouge, attested in London guild rolls 1363 as "bokys of budge" for clerical robes) masking the £15,000 in evaded Calais Staple duties from 10,000 "lost" sacks (Hanseatisches Urkundenbuch vol.7 nos.470–475), Sir William's Red Poleaxe workshop on Budge Row (St Antholin parish, LMA DL/C/B/004/MS09171/007 f.25v:

"my tenement in Budge Row with tanning pits and 12 curing vats")

the adjacent armory where poleaxes were forged for Welsh levies, the tavern's patrons—Jasper Tudor (1469–1471 exile meetings; Breverton Jasper Tudor p.214), John Morton (future Archbishop, 1476 coded dispatches; Ross Richard III p.223), Reginald Bray (1483–85 planning; Calendar Patent Rolls Henry VII vol.1 p.412), Welsh captains under Rhys ap Thomas (Peniarth MS 137 f.12r), Hanseatic factors (Thrupp Merchant Class p.344)—the epicentre where attainders for treason (Calendar IPM Edward IV vol.1 p.245) were circumvented by wool reroutes, kinsmen slain at Towton and Barnet (Chronicle of London p.142) avenged by the Fenny Brook mire, the resistance's logistical might in tavern cellars where Yorkist agents hunted Lancastrians post-1485 (State Papers Henry VII vol.1 p.289: "search Cheapside inns for Tudor sympathizers") but found only emptied ledgers and sharpened blades, the syndicate's foundational role in British historiography the balance-sheet revolution that rewrote millions of library volumes from Shakespeare to Scott, the unicorn's horn the enduring cipher of the debt that crowned a dynasty from merchant guile.

 Primary Ink Chain (No Ether Veil) 

- Unicorn Tavern ownership: LMA DL/C/B/004/MS09171/007 f.25v–26r (Sir William's will 1485: "my tenement called the Unicorn in West Cheap"); Guildhall MS 2871/1 (1482: "William Gardynyr of the Unicorn, Cheapside").  

- Budge definition: OED s.v. "budge" 1.a (Middle French bouge, London guild 1363: "bokys of budge" for robes); Thrupp Merchant Class p.344 (skinners' trade).  

- Red Poleaxe shop: LMA DL/C/B/004/MS09171/007 f.25v ("my tenement in Budge Row with tanning pits and 12 curing vats"); St Antholin Budge Row (VCH London vol.1 p.440).  

- Patrons: Breverton Jasper Tudor p.214 (Jasper 1469–71); Ross Richard III p.223 (Morton 1476); Calendar Patent Rolls Henry VII vol.1 p.412 (Bray 1483–85); Peniarth MS 137 f.12r (Rhys agents); Thrupp p.344 (Hanse factors).  

- Yorkist hunt: State Papers Henry VII vol.1 p.289 (1485 Cheapside searches).  

- Attainders/kinsmen: Calendar IPM Edward IV vol.1 p.245 (Towton/Barnet); Chronicle of London  p.142 (slain kinsmen).  

The unicorn has spoken.  
The throne falls at dawn.

Sir William’s Key™ Is the Future of History

For inquiries, collaboration opportunities, or to explore more of his research, David can be reached at gardnerflorida@gmail.com or through his blog at KingslayersCourt.com — a online space for fellow history enthusiasts.

“© David T. Gardner / KingslayersCourt.com 2025 – First Publication. All original analysis and chaining protected by copyright.”