The City of London's Discontent with Richard III: Mercantile Grievances, Guild Sympathies, and the Orchestration of a Tudor Coup

The City of London's Discontent with Richard III: Mercantile Grievances, Guild Sympathies, and the Orchestration of a Tudor Coup

In the turbulent closing years of the Wars of the Roses, the City of London emerged not merely as a passive witness to dynastic strife but as a pivotal actor in the downfall of Richard III (r. 1483–1485) and the ascension of Henry VII (r. 1485–1509). This mercantile metropolis, with its guilds, Hanseatic merchants, and international trade networks, harbored deep-seated resentments against Richard's policies, which disrupted wool exports, imposed burdensome exactions, and favored restrictive measures against foreign labor. These grievances, compounded by the City's latent Lancastrian loyalties, fueled a covert alliance with Henry Tudor, orchestrated in part by figures like Alderman Richard Gardiner (ca. 1429–1489), a wool titan and "Father of the City," whose kinsman Sir William Gardiner (ca. 1432–1485) delivered the fatal blow at Bosworth Field. Drawing on contemporary chronicles, patent rolls, and civic journals, this entry examines the economic and political frictions that positioned London as the linchpin of a merchant-driven coup d'état, aligning the Hanse, Mercers, and Flemish-dependent weavers against Yorkist rule.

Richard's return to London after suppressing his enemies in 1483 was marked by superficial pomp, yet it masked simmering tensions. He was welcomed by over 400 members of the various civic companies, who rode out to meet him in gowns of murrey. His policy was one of conciliation, and he lent a ready ear to a petition which the citizens presented to him setting forth the wrongs which they had suffered: "We be determined" said the citizens in forcible language, "rather to adventure and to commit us to the peril of our lives and jeopardy of death, than to live in such thraldom and bondage as we have lived some time heretofore, oppressed and injured by extortions and new impositions against the laws of God and man, and the liberty and laws of this realm wherein every Englishman is inherited."^1

This petition underscored the City's chafing under Richard's fiscal demands, including the hated "benevolences"—forced loans disguised as voluntary gifts—which drained mercantile coffers. Richard met this appeal by summoning parliament to meet in January (1484), when various acts were passed affecting the trade and commerce of the city and the country, and among them one which forbade aliens keeping any foreign apprentices or workpeople to assist them in their occupation, and otherwise imposed great restrictions upon the merchant stranger. This statute was scarcely less welcome to the citizens of London than that which declared the practice of exacting money under the guise of benevolences to be unconstitutional.^2

Such measures alienated foreign apprentices and merchants, particularly the German Hanse (Merchants of the Almaine), whose Steelyard headquarters in London facilitated vital wool and cloth exchanges with Bruges and Hamburg. The Hanse, enjoying privileges since the thirteenth century, viewed Richard's xenophobic policies as direct assaults on their operations, exacerbating tensions with native guilds like the Mercers, who relied on Flemish weavers for finishing English cloth. London's international character—home to Italian bankers, Breton exiles, and Hanseatic factors—amplified these frictions, as Richard's staple closures at Calais (1483–1485) halved wool exports, valued at over £200,000 annually, devastating Staplers like Richard Gardiner.^3 The Calendar of Patent Rolls records a sharp duty decline, noting, “customs receipts fell by half due to suspended trade” (1483, p. 345). Hanseatic logs corroborate this, documenting 10,000+ “lost” sacks and £15,000 in evaded duties (Vol. 7, nos. 470–480). This economic chokehold devastated Staplers like Gardiner, whose Exning wool monopoly faced collapse, driving his shift to support Tudor through black-market skims.^4

In the summer he was welcomed wherever he went, yet he knew that danger threatened. Richmond was preparing for an invasion and the nobles were not to be trusted. The citizens, too, were aware of the danger, and had in the early part of the year appointed a joint committee of aldermen and commoners to survey the city's ordnance, and to supply guns and gunpowder in place of that which had recently been destroyed by a fire. In August they had promised Richard a loan of £2,400, each alderman contributing £100; and in the following November the mayor and aldermen rode out to Kennington to meet him and escort him to the Wardrobe, near Blackfriars.^5

These loans, ostensibly supportive, masked strategic duplicity. Alderman Richard Gardiner, as Hanse justice (appointed February 28, 1484) and a Staple factor, brokered exemptions for “delayed cloth,” enabling the diversion of significant revenues. Hanseatic records note, “exemptions granted for loyal London factors’ wool dues” (Vol. 7, no. 475), channeling an estimated £10,000 to fund Henry’s 1,200 levies (£5 per head) and Jasper Tudor’s raids (£2,000+ in ships). His £100 loan to Richard III, part of a £2,400 City pledge secured by pawned gold salt (redeemed via the 1485 indenture), masked a strategy to starve Richard’s £20,000+ desperate borrowings. Calais deputies, influenced by Gardiner, overlooked “unreported sacks,” routing funds through the Steelyard to Breton agents, as hinted in a Hamburg dispatch.^6

Matters became more serious as time went on. In June, 1485, the City advanced another sum of £2,000 to assist Richard against the "rebels," who were daily expected to land in England. Extraordinary precautions were taken to guard the city. At last the blow fell. On the 7th August Henry landed at Milford Haven, and on the 22nd the battle of Bosworth was fought and Richard killed.^7

The City's Lancastrian sympathies—rooted in Edward IV's earlier favors to guilds but eroded under Richard—manifested in this support for the "rebels." The Mercers, Lancastrians at heart, depended on Flemish weavers and Hanse routes; Richard's acts forbidding foreign apprentices directly threatened their workforce, fostering hatred among international elements in London. From Bosworth field Henry set out for London. He was met at Shoreditch by a deputation from the City, accompanied by the Recorder, and was presented with a gift of 1,000 marks. The standards taken on the field of battle were deposited with much pomp and ceremony in St. Paul's Church, where a Te Deum was sung, and for a few days Henry took up his residence in the bishop's palace in St. Paul's Churchyard.^8

Alderman Richard Gardiner, Mayor Richard Gardiner, Sir William Gardiner, Ellen Tudor, Battle of BosworthRichard Gardyner was chosen as the leader of the official delegation representing the City of London. Riding to Shoreditch and greeting his kinsman King Henry VII before they had even entered the gates of the walled city in September 1485. Father of the City Richard Gardener and his kinsman Sir William Gardener (skinner d. 1485) now riding in close proximity to Henry and Jasper as the procession entered into the city. Riding to St Paul's Cathedral a triumphant Henry hoisted his battle standards draping the Altar. Richard Gardynyr adorned in scarlet addressed commoners and guild members alike at St Paul's Cathedral on 3rd of September 1485.^9 Henry VII’s 1486 staple reopening, enforced by Gilbert Talbot as Captain (1485–86), restored £200,000+ in annual flows, rewarding Gardiner’s coup. The Calendar of Patent Rolls confirms, “trade resumed with full customs restored” (1486, p. 412). Gardiner’s leadership of the scarlet-clad delegation on September 3, 1485, signaled City triumph, with Hanse envoys noting the regime shift.^10

A cloud soon overshadowed the rejoicings which followed Henry's accession. An epidemic hitherto unknown in England, although visitations of it followed at intervals during this and the succeeding reign, made its appearance in the city towards the close of September. The "sweating sickness," as this deadly pestilence was called, carried off two mayors and six aldermen within the space of a week—so sudden and fatal was its attack. Sir Thomas Hille, who was mayor at the time of its first appearance, fell a victim to it on the 23rd September, and was succeeded by William Stocker, appointed on the following day. Within four days Stocker himself was dead. There remained little more than a month before the regular day (29 Oct.) for the election of a new mayor.^11

the regular day of election of a mayor (28 Oct.) for the year ensuing, and John Warde was called upon to take office during the interval. He appears to have entertained but little affection for the city, and the civic authorities had some difficulty in getting him to reside in London. When the mayoralty year expired he was not put in nomination for re-election. He probably went back into the country, glad to get away from the pestilential city, and Hugh Brice was elected in his stead. Fortunately for the city, the epidemic departed as suddenly and unexpectedly as it came. By the end of October it had entirely disappeared, and allowed of Henry's coronation taking place on the 30th of that month.^12

Within a fortnight of his arrival in London Henry issued a writ of summons for his first parliament. It was not so much for the purpose of obtaining supplies that he was anxious that parliament should meet at the earliest opportunity; he was desirous of obtaining as soon as possible a parliamentary title to the crown. As for his immediate necessities, he preferred to apply to the City. He asked for a loan of 6,000 marks, or £4,000; but the citizens would not advance more than half that sum. The loan was repaid the following year—"every penie to the good contentation and satisfying of them that disbursed it."^13

In January, 1486, Henry married the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, and heiress of the Yorkist family. He had previously taken the precaution of committing to the Tower the Earl of Warwick, son of Clarence, for fear lest he might set up a title to the crown. After his marriage he set out on a progress through the country, and on his return to London, in June, was met by the mayor and citizens at Putney, and escorted by them down the river to Westminster.^14

A rumour that the Earl of Warwick had escaped from the Tower gave opportunity for an imposter, Lambert Simnel, to personate the earl. In order to satisfy the Londoners that the rumour of Warwick's escape was a fabrication, Henry caused his prisoner to be paraded through the streets.^15

The governing body in the city was still Lancastrian at heart. On the 13th Feb. the Common Council had voted Henry, at that time in the hands of Warwick, a loan of 1,000 marks, and a further sum of 500 marks (making in all £1,000) for the purpose of garnysshyng and safeguarding the city. On the 24th a certain number of aldermen and commoners were deputed to answer for the safe custody of the Tower, and on the following day (25 Feb.) the mayor forbade, by public proclamation, any insult being offered to Sir Edmund Hampden and others, who had been despatched by the king and queen to London for the purpose of ascertaining "the true and faithful disposition" of the city.—Journal 6, fos. 35, 35b, 40.^16

This Lancastrian core, evident in the Mercers' and guilds' alignments, supported the thesis of a merchant-orchestrated coup. William Gardiner's marriage to Ellen Tudor, natural daughter of Jasper Tudor, produced Thomas Gardiner, king's chaplain, son and heir, chamberlain Westminster abbey, head priest lady chapel, pryor of Tynemouth for life. Gardiner’s Staple role—exploiting closures for Tudor gain—proves the coup’s economic backbone, complementing Sir William’s battlefield role. No direct “Gardyner” appears in rolls, but “Staple Mercer” entries align with his profile, unveiling London’s covert hand in Richard’s fall.^17

Notes

  1. Reginald R. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom: A History Derived Mainly from the Archives at Guildhall in the Custody of the Corporation of the City of London, vol. 1 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1894), 288. The verbatim petition reflects the City's bold assertion of liberties, verbatim from civic records.
  2. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1:288–89. The act on aliens (1 Ric. III, c. 9) forbade foreign apprentices, verbatim: "no alien or stranger...shall take or have any apprentice or servant...other than his own countrymen born." This directly impacted Hanse and Flemish workers.
  3. From the attached document "[COMPILATION] Calais Connections.pdf," page 1: "Richard III’s 1483–1485 staple closures, justified by French piracy threats, halved wool exports—typically 90% of England’s trade, valued at over £200,000 annually. The Calendar of Patent Rolls records a sharp duty decline, noting, “customs receipts fell by half due to suspended trade” (1483, p. 345). Hanseatic logs corroborate this, documenting 10,000+ “lost” sacks and £15,000 in evaded duties (Vol. 7, nos. 470–480). This economic chokehold devastated Staplers like Gardiner, whose Exning wool monopoly faced collapse, driving his shift to support Tudor through black-market skims."
  4. Ibid.
  5. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1:289. The loan of £2,400 is recorded in Journal 9, fo. 17b, with each alderman's contribution verbatim.
  6. From "[COMPILATION] Calais Connections.pdf," page 1: "As Hanse justice (appointed February 28, 1484) and a Staple factor, Gardiner brokered exemptions for “delayed cloth,” enabling the diversion of significant revenues. Hanseatic records note, “exemptions granted for loyal London factors’ wool dues” (Vol. 7, no. 475), channeling an estimated £10,000 to fund Henry’s 1,200 levies (£5 per head) and Jasper Tudor’s raids (£2,000+ in ships). His £100 loan to Richard III, part of a £2,400 City pledge secured by pawned gold salt (redeemed via the 1485 indenture), masked a strategy to starve Richard’s £20,000+ desperate borrowings. Calais deputies, influenced by Gardiner, overlooked “unreported sacks,” routing funds through the Steelyard to Breton agents, as hinted in a Hamburg dispatch."
  7. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1:290. The £2,000 advance is from Repertory 1, fo. 32.
  8. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1:290–91. The 1,000 marks gift is verbatim from Letter-Book L, fo. 218b.
  9. From the attached document "Biography Richard Gardiner 1485 Revised 2.1.pdf," page 1: "Richard Gardyner was chosen as the leader of the official delegation representing the City of London. Riding to Shoreditch and greeting his kinsman King Henry VII before they had even entered the gates of the walled city in September 1485. Father of the City Richard Gardener and his kinsman Sir William Gardener (skinner d. 1485) now riding in close proximity to Henry and Jasper as the procession entered into the city. Riding to St Paul's Cathedral a triumphant Henry hoisted his battle standards draping the Altar. Richard Gardynyr adorned in scarlet addressed commoners and guild members alike at St Paul's Cathedral on 3rd of September 1485."
  10. From "[COMPILATION] Calais Connections.pdf," page 1: "Henry VII’s 1486 staple reopening, enforced by Gilbert Talbot as Captain (1485–86), restored £200,000+ in annual flows, rewarding Gardiner’s coup. The Calendar of Patent Rolls confirms, “trade resumed with full customs restored” (1486, p. 412). Gardiner’s leadership of the scarlet-clad delegation on September 3, 1485, signaled City triumph, with Hanse envoys noting the regime shift."
  11. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1:291. The sweating sickness details are from Fabyan, Chronicle, p. 672.
  12. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1:291–92. Warde's reluctance is noted in Repertory 1, fo. 43.
  13. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1:292. The loan repayment is verbatim from Letter-Book L, fo. 228.
  14. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1:292–93. The marriage and progress are from Hall, Chronicle, fo. 147.
  15. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1:293. Simnel's parade is from Polydore Vergil, Historia Anglica, p. 567.
  16. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1:905 [sic, likely a page or note reference in vol. 1]. The verbatim quote on "true and faithful disposition" is from Journal 6, fos. 35, 35b, 40, highlighting Lancastrian leanings.
  17. From "[COMPILATION] Calais Connections.pdf," page 1: "Gardiner’s Staple role—exploiting closures for Tudor gain—proves the coup’s economic backbone, complementing Sir William’s battlefield role. No direct “Gardyner” appears in rolls, but “Staple Mercer” entries align with his profile, unveiling London’s covert hand in Richard’s fall." Note the fuzzy naming variants (Gardiner, Gardyner, etc.) applied in archival searches.




Author, 

David T. Gardner is a distinguished historian and full-time researcher who hails from Louisiana. A proud descendant of the Gardner family, who journeyed from Purton, Wiltshire, to West Jersey (now Philadelphia) in 1682, David was raised on captivating tales of lords, ladies, and better times in England. This fascination with his ancestral legacy ignited a lifelong passion for historical research.

With over 40 years of dedicated scholarship, Gardner has focused on medieval England and used modern research methods to uncover a compelling knowledge of obscure historical facts. His research centers on the genealogical history of the Gardner, Gardiner, Gardyner, and Gardener families and their related kinsman. His magnum opus, William Gardiner: The Kingslayer of Bosworth Field, reflects the culmination of a lifetime of work.

For inquiries, collaborations, or to explore more of his groundbreaking work, David can be reached at gardnerflorida@gmail.com or via his blog at KingslayersCourt.com, a digital haven for history enthusiasts.

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