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Detailed History 1485-1885 There are very few institutions in this country which can boast of a history of four centuries, but the Yeomen of the Guard can now do so, for this famous Body Guard of the Sovereign was formed by Henry VII, and made its first appearance in public at His Majesty’s coronation on the 30 October 1485. Since that remote time there has been no royal pageant or ceremonial in which the Yeomen of the Guard have not taken a more or less conspicuous part. Their portly appearance, picturesque costume and ancient weapons, have made them famous, but it is more than a century since any attempt was made to write a history of the Corps. Then Samuel Pegge, who was sometime a Groom of the Royal Chamber, wrote an extremely interesting paper on the subject for the Society of Antiquaries, of which he was a Fellow. Taking Pegge’s paper as a starting point, the compiler of the following pages, with the courteous assistance of Lord Lathom, a past Captain of the Guard, and now the Lord Chamberlain; Lord Barrington, the present Captain; Lieut-General Milman, Major of the Tower; Lieutenant-Colonel Baring, the Clerk of the Cheque; Sir Albert Woods, Garter and other gentlemen, has gone over the same ground and discovered many interesting incidents in documents which a century ago were not know to be in existence of could not be found. Careful search has also been made in several directions not reversed by Pegge, and some original documents from the archives of the Lord Chamberlain’s office have furnished what has proved to be most entertaining reading. These old customs, set before as in such a charming way, give an endless variety of interesting particulars, and convey to us a better idea of the old-time doings than would be obtainable without them and this is the author’s excuse for occasionally wandering somewhat from the subject matter of this history. The ceremonies described are only given once as examples, to illustrate the duties of the Guard, and as a role, only the part of the pageant or ceremonial in which the Corps itself or some of its members figure is given. The history, deficient as it is, will be found to contain particulars of the formation of the Corps, its constitution, its strength in each successive reign, its weapons, uniform, duties, and privileges. Also a complete list of all it several Captains, with biographical notices of its prominent members. There are very few memorials of the old Guard now left, the Present Order Book only goes back to the beginning of the present century, and it is conjectured that the earlier books and other properties belonging to the Guard were destroyed in the fire which did so much damage to St James’s Palace in the year 1809. This loss had rendered necessary a search through the Council Registers, and it will no doubt surprise many readers of the extracts gleamed there from to find that the Lords of the Privy Council, for so many years and as late as the reign of George III, had so much to do with the arrangements of the Royal Household. The illustrations have been made expressly for this history, and have been taken either from originals kindly placed at the disposal of the compiler, or from well authenticated copies where originals were inaccessible. A glance at the successive uniforms of 1520, 1585, 1685, 1785, and 1885, shows that the supposition that the present costume is the same as that worn in the time of Henry VIII is erroneous. In the chapter relating to the Tower Wardens the origin of a recent scare concerning a supposed change of uniform is dealt with, and the groundlessness of the alarm made clear which could not conveniently be allotted as belonging exclusively to any particular reign, and the subject of the Officers has a chapter to itself. There is some uncertainty as to the derivation and precise meaning of the word Yeoman, and there can be no doubt that it has undergone some changes of signification since its introduction into the language. Dr. Johnson only gives a speculative derivation, of the word in his dictionary, and there seems to be considerable doubt as to its birthplace. From many examples of its use it would seem to have designated a servant of the higher grade, as we hear of the Yeoman of the Guard, Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod, Yeoman of the Chamber, Yeoman of the Pantry, Yeoman of the Robes, Yeoman of the Crown, Yeoman of the Mouth, and so forth. In the Gentleman’s magazine, Vol XXIX p.408 is the following instructive information:-"The title Yeoman is generally in no esteem, because its worth is not known. A yeoman that is authentically such is by his title on a level with an esquire the title yeoman is of military origin, as well as that of esquire and other titles of honour. Esquires were so called because in combat they carried for defence an acu or shield: and yeomen were so styled because, besides the weapons fit for close engagement, they fought with arrows and the bow, which was made of yew, a tree that hath more repelling force and elasticity than any other. "After the Conquest, the name of Yeomen as to their original office in war was changed to that of archers. Yeomen of the Crown had formerly considerable grants bestowed on them, in the fifth century, (fifteenth?) John Forde, yeoman of the crowne, had the moytie of all rents to the town and hundred of Shafesbury, and Nicholas Wortley, yeoman of the chamber, was made ballieffe of the lordships of Scaresdale and Chesterfeild, with the county of Derby all which prove that the title of yeoman was accounted honourable, not only in remote antiquity but in later ages. "Yeomen, at least those that frequent palaces, should have their education in some academy, college, or university, in the army or at court, or a private education that would be equivalent. Then our Latin writers would be no longer so grossly mistaken as to their notion in this respect. In Littleton’s Dictionary, and I believe in all our Latin dictionaries, yeomanry is Latinised plebs* and yeoman rusticu, paganus, colonus. The expressions of ‘Yeomen of the Crown,’ Yeomen of the Chamber,’ ‘Yeomen of the Guard, ‘Yeoman Usher,’ show the impropriety of this translation, for thereby it is plain that yeomen originally frequented courts and followed the profession of arms. Yeomen of the Crown were so called, either because they were obliged to attend the King’s person at court and in the field, or because they held lands from the crown, or both." Dr Johnson thought that Yeoman in one sense was a ceremonious title given to soldiers, and quotes Spencer Tall Yeomen seemed they, and of great might. And were arranged ready still for fight. Shakespeare puts the word into the mouth of Henry V: You, good Yeomen whose limbs were made in England show us here the mettle of your pasture Spencer wrote about
"A jolly yeoman marshal of the hall, whose name was Appetite." So that the
beef-eating propensities of the yeomen must have been patient as early as
Spencer’s time. Harrison, in his introduction to Holinshed’s History of Great
Britain gives the following definition of a Yeoman, as the title was understood
about half a century after the formation of the Corps of the Yeomen of the
Guard. It gives us an insight into the "manner of men" who were then considered
to be desirable protectors of the person of the Sovereign:- The Captaincy of the Royal Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard has always been regarded as an honourable post to fill, and for nearly 200 years the service was purely honorary, the only recognition on the part of the sovereign being the occasional present of "a gown." The Household Books of James I show that this was the custom during the reign of that monarch and the cost of the gown given to the Captain was £14. But it often happened that the Captain of the Guard held some salaried office in the Household. Sir Walter Raleigh was, at the same time, Captain of the Guard and Gentleman of the Chamber, but the post of Vice-Chamberlain appears to have been the office most frequently associated with the Captaincy. A peer of the realm has filled the office of Captain for many generations, indeed (as may be seen by the Table of Officers) with only one exception since the appointment of Sir Henry Rich in 1617. The precedency of the Captain in State processions was considered and decided as recently as 1843. On the 11th of April in that year an order states that the place of the Captain is to be on one side of Gold Stick, the other side being occupied by the Captain of the Corps of Gentlemen at Arms. This was the place assigned to these officers at the coronation of James II, and, with but one or two exceptions; it has been their position in all State processions since that time. The Captain is distinguished by a richly-chased gold top and a gold lace knot and acorn. This emblem of office is presented by the Sovereign to the Captain on his appointment. The colour of the uniform coat is scarlet, trimmed with gold lace, and the trousers are a dark blue, with gold lace stripes at the side. The cord of the aiguillettes is looped on the top Dexter button. There has been some uncertainty as to the proper position of the bullion sash-tassels. In the sketch they are placed before the sword-hilt as they have been generally worn: but recent authorities say the bullion should be behind the sword. There is very little to admire in the officer’s uniform. By virtue of his office the Captain of the Guard is usually made a Privy Councillor (webmaster note - no longer). He goes out of office with the Ministry. Lord Barrington, the present Captain, was appointed in succession to Lord Monson on 29 June 1885. The salary is £1,200 per annum, and in the reign of William III, Lord Grandision was granted a pension of £1,000 a year. At one time there were also some valuable privileges connected with the office: but the only ancient custom which survives is the annual present of venison from the Royal forests. The order respecting this privilege states that the Captain is entitled annually to two bucks and two does: and application for the warrant for same are to be made at the office of Her Majesty’s Woods and Forests, Whitehall, for the bucks about the middle of the month of July, the buck season ending 25 September, for the does at the end of the month of October, and doe season ending the 17 January. The fees payable at the office for the warrants are for the bucks £1 6s and for the does 13s The second officer is the Lieutenant. He must have been a colonel or lieutenant-colonel in the army or marines or in the Indian army. At the time of the abolition of sale and purchase of commissions the value of the Lieutenant’s commission was £8,000: the salary is £500 a year. The office dates back to the year 1668, and the first of the Lieutenants was the Hon. Thomas Howard, second son of the Earl of Suffolk. The present Lieutenant, Lieut-Colonel Sir Arthur Need, was appointed 11tFebruary 1870. The third officer, the Ensign, was added by Charles II, and it may fairly be assumed that when appointed he had to do an ensign’s duty, namely, to carry the Banner or Standard of the Corps. Diligent search has more than once been made for this Standard, but it is not forthcoming. Thom, in his Book of the court when speaking of the duties of the Ensign of the Guards says: - "But, though such an appointment was then (1668) made and has, continued ever since, there does not exist the smallest evidence that the Corps ever possessed either Banner or Standard." The late learned antiquary could not, at the time he wrote his, have seen the Order Book of the Guard at St James’s Palace, for one of the first entries therein is as follows:- "In consequence of the death of Mr Jno Glover, late Secretary of the Earl of Macclesfield, his lordship ordered that the Standard, Books, belonging to the Corps and kept by him be now given up, and that they be considered in future the property of the Corps, and kept as such by the Secretary for the time being." The Earl of Macclesfield was appointed Captain in 1804, and the great fire in St. James’s Palace occurred 21 January 1809: it reasonable, therefore, to suppose that the Standard was amongst the property destroyed. According to Chamberlayne’s Anglice Notitia for 1672 the Standard of the Guard was "a Cross of St. George and likewise four bends", but the colours of the field and the charge are not given. By the regulations now in force the Ensign before appointment must have held a commission as a lieutenant-colonel or major in the army or marines or in the Indian army. The salary is £300 a year. The present Ensign is Colonel the Hon. W. J. Colville, who has held the appointment since 11 February 1870. The officer next in rank is the Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant. This is the oldest paid officer in the Corps and the post is extremely ancient. Long before the formation of the Guard the office of Clerk of the Cheque was usual in the royal households and also in the establishments of the highest of the nobility. His duty was to keep the checkroll or "checker-roll", which was a book containing the names of the household servants. In an old dictionary he is described as "an officer who has the check and controlment of the Yeomen of the Guard and all the Ushers belonging to the Royal family". He never was the paymaster of the Corps and had nothing do with "cheques" in the modern meaning of that word. He was and is to all interest and purpose the Adjutant and secretary of the Guard, residing in the Palace, keeping the Order Book, attending all parades, and preparing the quarterly statements. It was customary at coronations to Knight the Clerk of the Cheque. Sir Francis Clarke, who filled the office in 1712, was knighted on the coronation of George I, on 20th October, 1714. Several subsequent Clerks of the Cheque were also similarly honoured, but Coles Child, who held the appointment in the reigns of George III, and George IV, was several times offered the distinction, but, on account of his retiring habits he could not be prevailed upon to accept it. The silver-topped ebony baton was not carried by the Clerk of the Cheque till 1787, when one was given to Francis Barker, Esquire, on of the Exons, on his promotion, by order dated 5th July 1787. The present regulations require that before appointment the Clerk of the Cheque must have held a commission as a lieutenant-colonel or major in the regular army or in the marines or Indian army. Till Charles II, re-organised the Guard in 1660, the salary of the Clerk of the Cheque was 2s 6d per day, with fees, residence, and table-money: but the new regulations raised it to £150 per annum. Lieut-Colonel Francis Baring, who now fills the post, was promoted from an Exoncy on 4 December 1884. The next officers in rank are four Exons. The first mention of Exon is in the ceremony of All Nights, which is fully described in the chapter relating to Charles II. They were added to the staff of officers in 1668 just about the time when Marsham’s account of All Night was written. The derivation and meaning of the word exon has been and is a puzzle to many, but it is undoubtedly the French pronunciation of the word exempt. An exempt was an officer in the old French Garde Du Corps. "Exempts des Guedes du Corps" are described in a military dictionary as "Exons belonging to the Body Guards," There was in France till quite recently an officer of police called "Un Exempt (exon) de Police." When Charles II formed his Horse Guards he created a commissioned officer who was styled indiscriminately the exempt or the exon, and in each of the two troops this officer ranked with the captain. There is further confusion connected with the title of exon, for in his commission he is styled corporal. But it appears that in Elizabeth’s reign "corporal" was a commissioned officer, and the term was synonymous with captain. Down to the time of the coronation of George III, which took place on 22nd September, 1761, corporal was only another word for exon, as may be seen on referring to the official programme of the coronation, wherein mention is made of "the Corporals or Exons of the Yeomen of the Guard." The exempt in the French Garde du corps always had charge of the Night Watch, and the exon is the English Body Guard was especially appointed for that service. Curiously enough the word Exempt is also used in the orders of the Yeomen of the Guard with its English meaning. On the present Muster Roll there are still two "Exempts," that is, men who are exempt or excused from duty, and the term "Exempt Yeoman" is used in the same sense in an order dated 12th March, 1790. The Exon’s duty as defined in 1881 was to occupy the Exon’s quarters at St James’s Palace, to attend the calling of "the Bill" at mid-day at the Yeomen of the Guard’s Office, and to ascertain from the Lord Chamberlain’s Department what other orders there might be for the day. The present rules require that a candidate for the appointment of Exon must have been a captain in the army or marines or Indian army. The value of an exon’s commission in 1881 was £3,500 the uniform is similar to that of the other officers, except that the Exons do not wear the aiguillettes. The present senior Exon is Honorary Lieut-Colonel CD Patterson, whose appointment dates from 12th February 1862. The next is Captain F. Brockman Morley, 23rd January 1869; then Colonel Henry Hume, C.B., 23rd November, 1873; and Major RG Ellison 4th December, 1884. It was customary for an officer of the Corps, other than the Clerk of the Cheque, to be knighted on the occasion of a coronation; and the following list includes all who have been so honoured during the half century now last past.
It was publicly announced in 1858 that knighthood was not to be looked upon by the officers of the corps as a right, and this intimation was repeated in February, 1881. The following order related to the abolition of purchase of officers commission, and it gives some directions as to filling future vacancies for the date of the order:- "My Lord I am commanded by the Queen to inform you that is Her Majesty’s pleasure that the purchase of the officers commission in the Corps of the Yeomen of the Guard should cease at the earliest possible moment, and that it is ordered by Her Majesty that the future vacancies in the Corps should be filled up by officers of the army of long and good service, to be selected from a list kept at the Horse Guards by the General Commanding-in-Chief, the recommendation being made to Her Majesty in each case, as now, by the Captain of the Corps. "Any of the officers who acquired their commission by purchase, and are desirous of retiring from the Corps, upon communicating with the Captain, will receive, - the Lieutenant, £8,000, the three Exons £3,500 each (that being the regulation price), for the sale of their commissions, from the Secretary of State for War, and a successor will be appointed to the vacancy, who. however, it must be clearly understood, will not be allowed to sell his commission. "The Lieutenant in future to be appointed must have been a colonel or lieutenant-colonel in the army or marines or in the Indian army. "The Ensign and the Clerk of the Cheque, a lieutenant-colonel or major in the army or marines or in the Indian army. "The Exons, captains in the army or marines or in the Indian army, according to the present regulations of the Corps. "It is further Her Majesty’s pleasure that no officers should be appointed to the Corps above the age of fifty. "Whenever an Exon becomes in the opinion of the Captain permanently incapacitated to perform the duties of the appointment, he will be required to resign it, or half his salary will be paid to a substitute, selected as already described, and who will succeed to the next vacancy of the Corps. "This order is not to be retrospective, or to apply to those officers of the army now in the Corps who have been appointed on the recommendation of the General Commanding-in-Chief." It is to be clearly understood that all officers who may be appointed for the future under the above regulations will be, as heretofore, entirely under the command of the Captain of the Corps. For many years previous to 1883 there was a Deputy Clerk of the Cheque who acted as Secretary to the Adjutant. The last deputy was Mr Davis, who had been in the Corps sixty-four years when he died. A re-arrangement of the office duties has done away with the necessity for appointing a successor to Mr Davis. Her Majesty has graciously granted his widow an annuity of £40 a year The Messengers, of whom there are now two, rank first amongst the non-commissioned officers of the Guard, and receive £75 per annum. They, like the rest of the Yeomen, are army pensioners, and are at liberty to employ their spare time in any way consistent with their duties. The serjeant-majors rank next, they receive £60 per annum, besides their badge of four chevrons and a crown on the right arm, and they may be distinguished by their batons, which they carry instead of the partisan. Ranking next the serjeants as non-commissioned officers are the Yeomen Bed Goers (YBG), concerning whose peculiar duties there are several examples in the following pages. Then come the six men distinguished by the initials YBH these are the Yeomen Bed Hangers, and it was their special employment to hang the **** and tapestry in the bed-chamber of the sovereign. George III took his Yeomen Bed Goers and Yeomen Bed Hangers with him when he went to Hanover in 1783. The only other official is the Wardrobe Keeper who finds plenty to do as custodian of the uniforms and arms at St James’s Palace, and in superintending their removal to Windsor and other places to which the Guard may be sent. He is not a Yeoman of the Guard (in 2005....he is now) Since the first admission of army non-commissioned officers to the ranks of the Corps, fifty years ago, there have been five of them entered on the roll who wore or wear on their breasts the Victoria Cross. They are:-
Another Yeoman of the Guard has been rendered some what famous through having sat as a model for the "Beefeater," which was one of the gems at the exhibition of the Royal Academy about 10 years ago. This was Serjeant-Major John Charles Montague, formerly Serjeant in the 16th Lancers; he died 16th May, 1878. By the kind permission of Sir John E Millais I am able to give a copy of the picture. Regarding the sobriquet of "Beef-eater," which has long been the popular name of the Yeomen Guard; it does not seem to be necessary to go very deeply into the question of the origin of it. There is a story attributed to Fuller the historian, which will be found in the chapter relating to Henry VIII, which gives a very probable origin, but there are other not less likely derivations. When we remember that the Corps itself was copied from a similar Guard which attended the French King, who were nicknamed the Becs du Corbin, from a fancied resemblance of the hooks of their halberds to the beak of a crow, why should not the English Guard have got their sobriquet from the resemblance of their partizans to the bill or beak of the bird called the Beef-eater? Buffon describes the beak of this bird as a "strong thick bill, with which it pecks through the hides of oxen." This derivation may be far-fetched, but it should be remembered that the English Yeomen were often referred to as bill-men, because they carried a weapon with a hook resembling the beak or bill of a bird. Doubtful the derivation may be, but it seems to be quite as probable as the generally accepted one of the name being derived from buffetier, in as much as the Yeomen never had charge of the buffets at the Royal banquets. Although the men who now form this famous Guard are not Yeomen in the original sense of the word, they are, it must be admitted, better men for the Body Guard of the Sovereign than those so employed in the last century. What could be a better recommendation for a place in such a corps than the fact that the applicant had spent the best years of his life in the service of his country, and that he had won the medals on his breast for bravery in face of the enemy or for long service?. These medals, which all the Guard wear, show that they have done "Yeomen’s Service" for the Crown already, and if there be more of such service to be done, though of a less arduous and dangerous kind, surely none could do it better than brave soldiers such as those who now comprise the Corps. It will be well to remember that these grand Yeomen or their predecessors have taken part in and added to the brightness and picturesqueness of every Royal pageant or State ceremonial that England has seen during the past four centuries, and they have done this and at the same time guarded their Sovereign without once bringing discredit to their Corps. On the contrary, there is evidence enough in these pages to show that many of them lived the lives of good servants and loyal citizens, and died leaving behind them substantial proofs of their benevolent dispositions. All honour, then to the grand old Guard on this the four hundredth anniversary of its formation, may it continue to be recruited from soldiers such as those who now so nobly fill its ranks and, may it last for ever. A dread of personal violence undoubtedly prompted Henry VII, to form a Body Guard, who would be available to protect him day and night, he had on 22nd August, 1485 won the Crown of England at the battle of Bosworth, and there is evidence in his Ordinances as he came to the throne that both the King and his Council greatly feared treachery, therefore by the day of his coronation 30th of October 1485 he had formed his Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard and they made their first appearance at the coronation. Hall says; "Wherefore for the safeguard and preservation of his own body he constituted and ordained a certain number, as well of good archers as of divers other persons, being hardy strong, and of agility, to give daily attendance on his person whom he named Yeomen of his Garde, which precedent men thought that he learned of the French King when he was in France, for men remember not any King of England before that time which used such a furniture of daily soldiers." Bacon in his life of Henry VII, says he instituted for the security of his person, a band of fifty archers under a captain to attend him, by the name of Yeomen of his Guard, it is thought that Henry followed the precedent of Louis XI, King of France who ten years previously had established himself a Grand Guard of 100 knights and 200 attendants, the latter were armed as archers when in the battlefield, but at State ceremonials they carried a halberd of a peculiar shape, the hook at the back resembling the beak of a crow. Henry lost no time in letting his subjects see that he was well guarded. In March, 1486 he paid a State visit to York, and went by way of Waltham, Cambridge, Huntington, to Lincoln, where he kept the Feast of Easter, and on Holy Thursday he washed the feet of twenty-nine poor men and gave them alms. The number corresponded to the years of his age, the King then attended service "in the Cathedral Church and in no Private Chapel, the principallest residencers there being present did divine observance." The next resting place was Nottingham, and thence he journeyed onward to York, on the road the King was met by the Earl of Northumberland with a grand retinue. At Pomfret the King was accompanied by "great Noblesse, Esquires, Gentilmen and Yeomen in defensible array; for in that tyme ther wer certayne rebells about Rypon and Midlem, which understanding the King’s might and were approaching, within two dayes disperse." Leland (from whose account of Henry’s progress these extracts are made) goes on to say that "at Tadcastell the King, richly besene to a gowne of cloth of gold, furred with ermine, take his esquire, his henchmen and followers also in goldsmythe’s work, were richly besene." The Mayor of York met the cavalcade three miles outside the city and there "was ordained a pajaunt." There was also another "again at hider ende of House Brigge another garnyshed with shippes." The Earl of Oxford, who was the first Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, is frequently mentioned as taking an active part in the proceedings, diligent but unsuccessful search has been made for a portrait of the First Captain, and the Curator of the National Portrait Gallery says that there is no known portrait of this Earl of Oxford. QUARRELS AMONGST THE KING’S SERVANTS One of the earliest Acts of Parliament issued in the English language is 3 Henry VII, cap.14, and it is worth calling attention to as it relates to the origin of the Body Guard. A slight alteration from the original spelling has been found necessary to make the extract intelligible. It runs as follows:- "For smooch as by quarelles, made to suche as hath been in greate auctortie office and of Councell with Kynge of this roialme, hath ensued the Destrucccon of Kynge and the neer undoying of this Realme, so as yt hath appeared evedently when compassyng of the deth of such as were of the Kynge’s true subjiettis was hadd, the destruction of the prynce was ymagyned thereby; and for the most part yt hath growen and ben occasioned by envy and malice of the King’s owne housold servantes as nowe late lyke thyng was lykely to have ensued." It is then enacted that the Steward, of the King’s Household may enquire, by Twelve Persons of the Cheque Roll of Conspiracies, by the King’s Servants to murder the King or his Counsellors or Great Officers. There had evidently been something amiss in the Royal Household, for we find amongst the Acts of Parliament for the fourth year of the King (chapter 7) an enactment to the effect that all Letters Patent made to Yeomen of the Crown and Grooms of the King’s Chamber should be void if there were any lack in their attendance. Sir William Stanley Knight was Lord Chamberlain to Henry VII, when the Corps of the Yeomen of the Guard was formed, but he was unfortunate enough to offend the King and was condemned to the block in 1495. But the best evidence of the extraordinary case taken against treachery is to be found in the following amusing extract from the Household Ordinances as the manner of making the King’s bed. After bringing in "the stuff for the bed Then the Esquire of Gentleman Usher shall command them what they shall do. So first, one of them to fetch the straw with a dagger or otherwise (that there be no untruth therein), and then the Yeoman to take the straw and lay it plain and draw down the canvas over it straight, then shall they lay on the bed of down and one of the Yeomen to tumble up and down upon the same for the search thereof, to beat it and lay it even and smooth. Then the Yeoman taking the Assay to deliver them a blanket of fustian on which all the Yeomen must lay hands at once, that it touch not nor ruffle out the bed, then the bolster likewise tried and laid on without touching the bed, then to lay on the nether sheet, likewise to take assay and that it touch not the bed, until it be laid where it should be; then take both the sheet and the fustian and truss the same back together under the feather bed on both sides and at the feet and under the bolster, then the Esquire for the Body to take the other sheet and roll it in his arm or stripe it through his hands, and then go the bed’s head and stripe over the bed twice, or thrice down to the feet. Then all the said Yeomen to lay hands on the sheet and lay it plain on the bed; then the other fustian or two and such a covering as shall best content the King. Then take a pane of ermine and lay it above, then a pane or two of marterns, then to roll or fold down the uppermost of the bed sheet and all, the space of an ell. Then the Yeoman takes the pillows and beat and raise them well, and deliver them to the Esquires of the Body, who shall lay them on as shall best please the King. Then take the head sheet of raynes and lay one side thereof under each end of the bolster and the other side to lie still, then take a head sheet of ermine and lay it above and over, and then the other side of the head sheet raynes and cover the bed over and over on every side, first taking an assay of all those that have touched any part thereof, making a cross and kissing there where their hands last were, and then to stick up the angels about the same bed, and an usher to let down the sparver or curtain and knit them; and an Esquire for the Body to cast holy water on the same bed." An Esquire for the Body ought then forthwith to charge a secret groom or page to take a light and have the keeping of the same until the time that the King be dispose to go to it. A Groom or Page ought to take a torch while the bed is making, and fetch a loaf of bread, a pot of ale, and another of wine, and bring it without the traverse, where all they which were at the making of the bed shall go and drink together." Regarding this quaint description, it should be remarked that it is very similar to a reprint made by I.C. Brooke, Rouge Croix, 15th January, 1776. He says that the account is extracted from an original manuscript which belonged to the Earl Marshal of England, containing the whole duty of the Lord Chamberlain, and was copied for the instruction of Henry FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel, who was Lord Chamberlain to Henry VIII in 1526. With regard to these details it may be desirable to mention that assay was a "tryal or proof", the word fetch then meant to test or try; pane was a covering, probably like the counterpane of modern times; marterns is intended for marten, a kind of fur, there is doubt about raynes, but it most likely was a kind of striped velvet; and the sparver was a canopy set up over the bed. Some of the Guard were called Bed Hangers and some Bed Goers, and the titles are still continued, though their elaborate duties as detailed in the above ordinance have long been obsolete. It may be interesting to observe that at this period a bed of downe with a bolster cost £5, the teaster of tynsell and black velvet with arms, having curtains of silk with fringes, was worth £20. Fifty of the Guard were accountred as bowmen and the other fifty were armed with the halberd, the King himself a famous archer and a contemporary poet say of him
See where he shoteth at the butts, Amongst his expenses are such items as "Lost to my lord Morging at buttes, 6s 8d; "Payed to Sir Edward Boroughe, 13s 4d, which the King lost at buttes with his crosse-bowe." Both the King’s sons were likewise expert archers, especially Arthur, the elder one; and it came to be customary to call the champion archer "Prince Arthur," and other good bowmen were called his knights; but the pleasantry seems only to have lasted till the next reign, when, as will be seen, the champion Barlow was dubbed Duke of Shoreditch, On the death of Prince Arthur his brother Henry became patron of the art, and Hall, the chronicler, in his Life of Henry VIII, says that when he came to the throne "he shotte as strong and as greate a lengthe as any of his Garde." In the Canterbury Tales Chaucer
describes the Yeoman bowman as follows:- An improvement in fire-arms which took place in this reign induced the King to arm some of his Yeomen with the new weapon, which was called the arquebuss. The word is derived from arc-a-bouche, or are-a-bousa, it being a weapon combining the old handgun with cross-bow. There does not appear to be any complete description of the uniform worn by the Yeomen of the Guard when they made their first appearance at the coronation. The colour of the Royal livery was then, and always has been, scarlet. The shoulders and arms as far as the elbows were protected with scale armour, and they wore knee-breeches and stockings of various colours. The engraving gives a fair idea of what the Yeomen of the Guard looked like towards the end of the fifteenth century. Mr Henry Shaw, in his Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages, says that the extravagance in dress of the fifteenth century appears at no period more remarkable than during the reign of Henry VII. Shoes in the previous reign had been worn of inordinate length, so long, indeed, as to require the point to be supported by a cord attached to the garter. Now the fashion turned to broad toes or "duck’s bills", and it is in shoes of this kind that the pictures of the period would show the Yeomen of the Guard. Also, referring to the costume worn at this period, Strutt says that "the dress of the English was exceedingly fantastical and absurd, insomuch that it was even difficult to distinguish one sex from the other." This must have referred exclusively to civilian costume, it could hardly have applied to the Yeomen of the Guard. But there was then a perplexing similarity in the names of articles of male and female wearing apparel which may very well account for the mistakes made. We read of a gentleman on getting up in the morning requiring "a clene Sherte and breche, a pettycote, a doublet, a long cotte, a stomacher, hys hozen, his socks and his schoen." A gentleman of to-day dressed in these garments might well be mistaken for one the gentler sex. Henry VII died in 1509, and at his funeral twelve Yeomen of this Guard bore his body to the tomb in Westminster Abbey. In the programme of the ceremonial it is recorded that "then followed the Lord Darcy, being Captayn of the Garde, after whom came the Garde and many other gentlemen." At the west "dore of St. Powles the saide Corps," which had been thus "brought through the cittie with torches innumerable," was received by the Bishop of London, and after it had been "encensed" it was taken out of the chariot "and borne by xij p’sons of the Garde, because of the weight thereof," into the choir, where it remained till the morrow, when the Yeomen again attended, carried the body to the chariot, and accompanied the procession to Westminster Abbey, at the door of which the body was lifted out of the chariot by the Yeomen of the Guard and carried to the choir," Parts of the inscription on his tomb in Westminster Abbey are as follows:-
HERE LIES ~~~~~~ Part of the Guard was told off to attend on the Queen, and in 1502 they were paid at the rate of one shilling per day. One of them, named Griffiths, was buried at the Queen’s expense in the churchyard of St. Margaret, Westminster, at the cost of xiijs. iiijd. The following "anecdote of an English Yeoman, in the 4th of Henry VII," is taken from an old Chronicle reprinted in 1771:- "On this season the Flemmyings holding Freshe partie, and on especial those of Brugges, with the assistance of the Lord Guardis, had besieged Dixemve on Flaundres. The Lord Dawbency, the Kinge’s Lieutenant of Calais, and the Lord Morley, with divers oudir noble Knightes and Esquires of the garnyson, and of the crew of Calais, and of the Englishe marche in thoos parties, rescued Dixemvie, and brake the sege. And their ware slayne the substance of al servaunts, as the garnyson of Scottes, which lay at Ostenguen, with the substance of the Bruggelingis. Of the Englishe partie, there was slayn that gentill young Knight the Lorde Morley, and many noblemen hurt; as Sir James Tyrell sore wounded in the legge with a Quarell; and a gentill and a courageous Esquier called Robert Bellyngham, the whiche foughte in his cotte of armes foot gerded with his swerd upon his harnois. And their was wonnen moche Artillerye, whereof moche was brent with the Gounne Pouldre, also it is not to be forgotten, but to by had in remembrance, the goode courage of an Englishe Yeoman (of the Guarde) called John Person, afte that a gounne had borne away his foote by the small of the legge, yet that notwithstanding, what setting and what kneling, shotte after, many of his arrows, and when the Frenchemen fledde, and his felowes were in the chase, he cried to one of his felowes, and saide, "Have thow these vi arowes that I have lefte and follow thow the chase for I may not,". The whiche John Person died within a few days after; on whose soulle God have mercy." During the reign of Henry VIII, the Corps became famous. The King was proud of his Guard, and in the year 1510 he doubled its strength and also added 100 mounted men, who acted as a cavalry escort in all processions. Fifty of them were armed, with a new kind of arquebuss; and when the King led his army into France in 1513 the Guard was increased to 600 men, most of them archers. They took part in the siege of Turenne, when Hall says - they wore white gaberdines and caps. The picture in Hampton Court Palace of the meeting of Henry VIII, and Maximillian does not however show the Yeomen, or, if it does, they do not appear to be clad as Hall describes them. - They were present at "The Battle of the Spurs", and helped capture Tournay; and 400 of them were told off to garrison the town under their commander Lord Moutjoy, who undoubtedly owed his life to their fidelity; for all the other troops mutinied, and the 400 English Yeomen won great renown for their faithfulness and valour, being styled "The Constables of Tournay," and received a money reward from the King and his thanks on their return to England. The year 1520 was famous for the grand meeting of Henry VIII, and Francis I, King of France, on the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The Guard played a very prominent part in this famous pageant, and fortunately there is a picture extant which enables us to see exactly how they appeared and what were their duties at this period. The picture was at the beginning of this century at Windsor Castle; but when Hampton Court Palace was restored and thrown open for the public inspection the picture and several others illustrating the history of the reign of Henry VIII, who built the palace, were appropriately added to the collection. It is now hung in Queen Anne’s Audience Chamber, and numbered 342 in the catalogue of pictures. The following description of the picture is an abridgment of that given in the Archaelogia, omitting the parts not in any way connected with the history of the Yeomen of the Guard, but retaining enough particulars to show how extremely interesting the picture is. In a French picture of the Field of the Cloth of Gold one of the English Yeomen of the Guard is represented on horseback and carrying a bow. The interview between the two monarchs took place on the open plain, named from the magnificence of the pageant, "Le Camp de Drap D’Or" – the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The proceedings began on the 4th of June 1520, and lasted 28 days. In the foreground of the picture on the right-hand side of the picture, is the very numerous English cavalcade, marching out of the town of Guines and entering the castle-gate by a bridge thrown over the ditch. Its farther progress is not here represented; but it may be supposed to have passed from the castle, through the sally-port, to the place of interview, along the valley and by the side of the rivulet there described. The guns of the castle are represented as firing while the King passed. The advanced guard consisted of his guard of bill-men with their officers. Then follow three ranks of men on foot, five in a rank, and all unarmed. After them are five of Wolsey’s domestics on horseback. The Sir Thomas Wriothesley, Garter King-at-Arms, bareheaded and in the tabard of his order, mounted on a piebald horse richly trapped and caparisoned, supported on his left hand by a serjeant-at arms mounted on a black horse, and followed by Sir Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, bareheaded, carrying in its heath the sword of state, upright, dressed in a gown of clothe of gold, over which hangs the Order of the Garter, and mounted on a beautiful dun horse, richly trapped and caparisoned. The Marquis is followed by his Yeomen of the Guard, on foot, their partizans on their shoulders, in scarlet habits, guarded and laced with dark-blue velvet, and on their breasts and backs the union-rose, and over it the royal crown embroidered in gold. The King’s Majesty, mounted on a stately white courser, most richly caparisoned, the trappings, reins, stirrups, etc says Hall, being covered with wrought gold highly embossed. The King has on his head a black velvet hat, with a white feather on the upper side of the brim, and under it a broad lacing of rubies, emeralds intermixed with pearl. His garment is cloth of gold, plaited, over a jacket of rose-colored velvet. His collar is composed of rubies and pearls set alternately; and on his breast is a rich jewel of St. George suspended by a ribbon of the order. His boots are of yellow leather and in his right hand is small whip. Parallel with the King on his left, rides Cardinal Wolsey. On each side of the King are two pages with nine Yeomen of the Guard, on the right and left-three in a rank bearing their partizans shouldered. The King is immediately followed by four of his principal nobles, riding abreast. On their right hand march six more ranks of Yeomen of the Guard. Between the tents and temporary palace stands a large pavilion, consisting of one long and two round tents, all covered with cloth of gold, flowered with black. On the front of each of the round tents are the arms of France and England. In this pavilion Henry and Catharine frequently entertained at dinner the French King and Queen and their principal nobility. At a small distance from it is a view of the culinary offices set up on the plain, consisting of a large group of ovens, at which several bakers are busied; and two spacious tents, whose fronts, being thrown open, discover the one to be intended for boiling and the other for roasting, in which offices several cooks are employed. From these kitchens fourteen Yeomen of the Guard, each carrying a covered dish, are going towards the royal pavilions, preceded by the Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Steward, bearing his white staff, and attended by a gentleman wearing a sash. In the background, and at the extremity on the left-hand side, appear the lists or camp set apart for the justs and tournaments. French soldiers – in a blue and yellow uniform, with a salamander, the badge of Francis I, embroidered on it keep the entrance on one hand, and the English Yeomen with their halberds on the other. The picture here described, which is five feet six inches high by eleven feet three inches in breadth, has been generally ascribed to Hans Hobein, but without foundations, as he did not arrive in England till near six years, after the interview; and, besides, his style, colouring, are widely different. It is observable that the head of King Henry appears to have been cut out of the picture and afterwards restored. This was a contrivance of Philip Earl of Pembroke, after the death of King Charles I, to prevent a French agent from purchasing it; for finding it thus mutilated, the Frenchman declined the purchase. By this means it was preserved in the palace till the Restorations, when the Earl of Pembroke delivered the mutilated piece to King Charles II, who immediately ordered it to be restored to its place. The accompanying sketches of three of the Yeomen of the Guard are taken from this picture. Five years later, that is in 1525, Henry found it necessary to put an end to some of his extravagances, and so set about retrenching his household expenses. Cardinal Wolsey assisted the King, and the result of their deliberations was the issue at Lady Day 1526 of what are known in history as the Statutes of Eltham. They were so called because they were made and promulgated at the Palace at Eltham. The preamble recited the reasons which had prompted the King to increase the Guard, mainly in consequence of the wars, which now being ended his Majesty decreed a diminution of the number of the Guard, and its re-establishment on an improved basis. The ordinances went on to state that "the number of Yeomen is now so great, and they occupy the greatest part of the lodgings, and entertain, every of them, one or two lads or simple servants, whom they cannot afford to keep." It was then ordered that Yeomen Ushers have 12d per day and allowances, to keep no servants in the Court or suffer them to come there. If any of the Guard offended they were to lose three day’s wages the first time; the second time a week, the third time a month, and for the fourth time they were to be expelled out of their rooms. As to the rest of those discharged, the King made them Yeomen of the Crown. "Any not having 2d per day wages to have an allowance of 6d per day unchequed; and those that have offices of 2d per day shall have besides 4d, per day unchequed. To be allowed to repair to their dwellings, but to be ready to attend the King when he required them, and as they die no new ones to be appointed." The Yeomen Waiters, upon their waiting-day, were to "*** the haute place at the King’s chamber door of all manner of servants, rascals, boys, and others, so as the same place be not pestered with any great number of persons and that they see that the same haute place be clean kept, so that no waste water, broken-meat, or other thing be cast or remain there to the annoyance and filthiness of the same." The principal result of the revised statutes and ordinances was that the Guard was reduced from 600 to 200, and their several duties and privileges were accurately defined. On this subject Hall says; - "Alas! What sorrow and what lamentation was made when all these persons should depart the Court. Some said that the poor servants were undone and must steal; some said they were found of the reversions (remains) of the other service, so that for them was nothing more set out at the dresser, and it was great charity to find them. Others said how they would polle (cheat) in their countreys, and oppress the poor people." The picturesquely handsome uniform which the Yeomen of the Guard now wear is not like that which they wore in 1520. This may be seen from an inspection of the accompanying sketches. Indeed, there was obviously a good deal of diversity in the cut and colour of the dress worn by the Guard previously to 1527. In that year the King gave an order for a livery of red; that is, scarlet cloth for his Guard, and the coats were ordered to be embroidered front and back, with the crowned rose for badges. The coats were to be made to reach down to the knees. The caps to be of black velvet, round, and broad crowned, with ribbons of the King’s colours. The breeches were to be scarlet, and to reach to the knee, and to be guarded with velvet. They also wore grey stockings and broad-toed shoes with knee-bows, that is, roses made up of bows of ribbon, and shoe-bows to match. The cross-belt for the arquebuss went over the left shoulder, and there was a waist-belt with a frog on the left side for the sword. From an entry in the Household Books dated 29th March, 1532, we find that the shooters’ livery coats cost £1 2s 6d each, the charge for two being "xlvs." A MS at Heralds’ College contains the following copy of a Payment by Warrant, dated 1543:- "Item, to Simond FitzRichards and Robert Perry, Yeomen of the Guarde, for their costs in going to London for the riche cotes of the Guard against Whitsuntide by the space of iiij days every of them, and for ij carts for carriage of the said riche coates from London to Kingston-upon-Thames, and for ij carts to carry the said cotes from Kingston to London again by the King’s highness commandmte, as appeareth by a byll signed with Chamberlayne’s hand, xiiijs, viiid." Being so much employed in the wars it was only natural that Henry should arm his favourite Guard with the very best weapons obtainable, and of the newest kind. Fire-arms had begun to attract considerable attention, so much, indeed, that Acts of Parliament were passed to prevent the bow being entirely discarded. Nevertheless, Henry armed part of this Body Guard with the new arquebuss, and the accompanying sketch is made from one of these weapons still preserved in the Tower of London. This arquebuss had seen some rough usage in its time, and may have been hidden in the ground, for all the metal work is eaten with rust and the mahogany stock is black. But apart from its probable connection with the Yeomen of the Guard, this weapon is remarkable as being a breech-loader and as having a solid cartridge-case, another illustration of the adage that "there is nothing new under the sun". The breech is opened by a hinged flange very similar to the breech arrangement of the rifles of the present day, except that it opened from right to left, whereas the snider rifle and carbine open from left to right. The cartridge-case is of iron, and when charged with powder and ball was inserted in the breech, so that the touch-hole should come opposite a similar hole connected with the priming-pan. The flange was then turned over, and the breech being closed the cartridge-case became fixed in the required position. The weapon was fired by pulling the trigger, which brought down the smouldering match to the priming-pan, and set light to the powder. To re-load it was only necessary to open the breech, take out the empty cartridge-case, fill it again or insert another case already filled. Whether there were any complaints by the Yeomen of "jammed cartridges" is not recorded, but the principle of solid cartridge-cases which is now being reverted to in the army is evidently as old as the hills. The arquebuss is undoubtedly of the period ascribed to it, for it bears on the band on the barrel the letters H.R. deeply embossed, and on the flange (but partly on the barrel) is the date 1537. On the flange itself is the crowned rose; and the arms of Henry VIII can be traced, as well as the letters W.H., which are supposed to be the initials of the gunsmith who made the weapon. On the brass leaf ornament, on the stock in the rear of the breech, there is a faint outline of an engraving of an arquebussier on horseback. The remarkable weapon is complete, with the exception of the cleaning road (for which there is a receptacle), and the lid of the cavity in the stock is missing. The barrel is twenty-three inches long. Shooting in fanciful positions seems to have been practised by archers centuries ago as it is now by the riflemen at the Wimbledon Prize Meetings. Hall in his Life of Henry VIII, relates that:- "There came to his Grace King Henry the Eighth a certain man, with a bowe and arrowe, and he desired his Grace to take the muster of him, and to see him shoote; from that tyme hys Grace was contented; the man put hys one fote in his bosome, and so dyd shoote, and shote a very good shote, and well towards his marke; whereof not only his Grace, but all others, greatly merveyled; so the King gave him a reward." The man was afterwards known by the sobriquet of "Fote-in-bosome." The title of "The Duke of Shoreditch" originated under the following circumstances:- "The King having appointed a great archery meeting at Windsor, there came amongst the competitors a famous archer from Shoreditch named Barlow, and he shot so well that he surpassed all the others, which, so much pleased the King, who being in a merry mood, jocosely dubbed the champion The Duke of Shoreditch and this title was long afterwards retained by the captain for the time being of the English archers." The following narrative taken from Hall introduces the Yeomen of the Guard in an entirely new uniform; the Captain Sir Henry Guildford, appearing as Robin Hood and the Guard as foresters:- "The King and Queen, accompanied with many lords and ladies, rode to the high ground of Shooter’s Hill to take the open air, and as they passed by the way they espied a company of tall Yeomen, clothed all in green, with green hoods and bows and arrows, to the number of two hundred. Then one of them, which called himself Robin Hood, came to the King, desiring him to see his men shoot, and the King was content. Then he whistled and all the two hundred archers shot and loosed at once; and then he whistled again and they likewise shot again; their arrows whistled by craft of the head, so that the noise was strange and great, and much pleased the King, the Queen, and all the company. All these archers were of the King’s Guard, and had thus apparelled themselves to make solace to the King. Then Robin Hood desired the King and Queen to come into the green wood, and to see how the outlaws live. The King demanded of the Queen and her ladies if they durst adventure to go into the woods with so many outlaws. Then the horns blew till they came to the wood under Shooter’s Hill, and there was an arbour made with boughs, with a hall and a great chamber, and inner chamber, very well made, and covered with flowers and sweet herbs, which the King very much praised. Then, said Robin Hood, sir, outlaws’ breakfast is venison, and therefore you must be content with such fare as we use. Then the King departed and his company, and Robin Hood and his men then conducted." In the Household Books there are many entries relating to the making and repairing the butts and targets, but the mark for the best shots was a hazel rod or wand. The prize was usually an arrow of silver or gold. This appears from on old poem entitled "The Mery Gest of Robyn Hood," in which we read:-
He
that Shoteth al of the best Amongst other items of interest in this reign the following relate to the Yeomen of the Guard:- 1519 – The King sent 100 of his Guard with the Earl of Surrey to Ireland on his appointment to the post of Viceroy or Deputy, as the Lord Lieutenant was then called. 1521 – Part of the Guard were selected by the King to accompany Cardinal Wosley to France on the occasion of his going there to act as mediator between Francis 1. and the Emperor Charles V. By the King’s command Sir Henry Morney (Captain of the Guard from 1521 to 1523), with 100 of the Guard, attached the Duke of Buckingham and conveyed him a prisoner to the Tower of London; Sir William Kingston, Knight, who was Captain from 1523 to 1536, was sent by the King to Sheffield to take Cardinal Wolsey to the tower as a prisoner. This next entry is somewhat obscure "26th
August 1531 – Paid by the King’s command, to the Garde for to eat a buck at
Woodstock," Whether the King was in a merry mood and made a bet that the members
of the Guard then at Woodstock could not eat a buck, or whether the forty
shillings was to buy a buck, is uncertain. Sir H. Nicholas, in his notes on the
Household books, says "it is not easily explained." Ashmole states that in his time there was in the churchyard of Shottesbrooke, in Berkshire, a marble gravestone whereon are inserted brasses with the following epitaph:-
HERE
LYETH BURIED Noke was a native of Bray in Berkshire. This chapter may appropriately, be concluded with the following anecdote of Henry VIII. The King was fond of disguising himself, and in this manner going about among his subjects. An escapade of this kind is said by Fuller to have given to the Yeomen of the Guard the sobriquet of Beefeaters:- Once, while on a hunting expedition at Reading Abbey, he dressed himself in the uniform of one of his Yeomen of the Guard, and so disguised paid a visit to the Abbot about dinner-time. Being apparently one of the King’s retinue he received welcome form the Abbot, and was invited to dine at his own table. The principal dish was a large joint of beef, and the King, being "hungry as a hunter," ate heartily, yes voraciously of the meat. The Abbot, observing his evident enjoyment, addressed him, saying, "Well fare thy Heart! And here in a cup of sack I remember the health of His Grace your master. I would an hundred pounds if I could eat as heartily of beef as you. Alas! my weak and squeamish stomach will only digest a piece of a small rabbit or a chicken." After courteous thanks the guest departed. In a few weeks after the Abbot was committed, he knew not, why, a close prisoner to the Tower, and his food was limited to the usual prison fare – bread and water, and with this he had to be content for some time. At least, to his surprise and delight, a joint of beef was put before the prisoner and he attacked it with gusto. While so employed the Abbot was astonished to see the King enter the room and demand a hundred pounds of him for having restored to him his lost appetite for roast beef. The money was ultimately paid, and the prisoner released, and ever thereafter whenever the Abbot saw a Yeoman of the Guard he thought of the Beefeater, and the King in disguise as a Yeoman of the Guard. The tale is told by some other historians with some slight variations, and it is just possible that the jocular name of Beefeater was given to the Guard when this bit of waggery came to be told and repeated, as it would be with great glee. EDWARD VI , or rather perhaps his Council, soon set aside the Statues of Eltham. The strength of the Corps was again fixed at 200, of whom 66 ranked as Yeomen in Ordinary and the rest as Yeomen Extraordinary. There were also 15 sent to Tower to do duty as Warders. Young as he was, Edward seems to have taken great care in the selection of his Guard, and Sir John Hayward in his Life and Reigns of Edward VI, says that "Generally none might be of his Guarde but (besides of tall and comely stature) such as were either good archers or wrestlers or casters of the barre or leapers or runners or of some other man-like quality." But the Guard appears to have been under the direct control of the Lords of the Council. According to Stove, they sent Sir Anthony Wingfield, the Captain of the Guard, to the King at Windsor, and severed the Lord Protector from his person, and caused the Guard to watch him till the Lords coming. The following items are from the Council Register:- "At Westminster, 16th October, 1550, a warrant was issued to deliver £77 7s to 24 Yeomen of the guarde for waiting 17 days, after the rate of xiid, by the day, to be paid to John Peers, Clerk of the Cheque." This is the first occasion that the Clerk of the Cheque is mentioned. The office is further noticed in the chapter on Officers: but the following extracts show that, though the Clerk was granted a pension, he continued to fulfil at least some part of the duties of his office:- Westminster 28 June1550. That John Peers, Clerke of the Checke of the Garde, in consideration of his long and painfull (painstaking) service, shall have a pension of £20 a year. At Oatlands, the 28th Sept 1550. "A warrant to Sir Edmond Peckham to deliver unto Sir William Cavendish, the Treasurer of the Chamber, £204. 12s to be paid to John Peers, Clerk of the Checke, for the wages of the Garde for the month of September, 1550." At Westminster on the 25th November, 1550. "A warrant in parchment to the Treasurer of the Xths (Tenths) to pay £156 for the watch liveries of the garde." At Westminster, the 7th December, 1550. " A warrant to pay £305 to John Pyeres (Peers), Clerk of the Checque, for the payment of one hundreth Yeomen Extraordinaire attending aboute the King’s Majesty’s person the months of October and November, being in number 56 daies at xiid euerie of the day." At Westminster, xth, December 1551. "A warrant to the Chancellor and Treasurer of the Augmentations Court, to deliver unto John Peers, Clerk of the Cheque, the sum of £300 to be by him defrayed about payment of wages due to the Garde." Regarding uniform there is little or nothing to be said, except that in a coloured drawing of the procession of Edward VI, from the Tower the trunk-hosen are of different colours, An order for clothing mentions red caps and red coats, but the colour of the rest of the uniform is not specified. Regarding weapons, the copy of the King’s diary (published in the Archaeologia) shows that he was a patron of the art of archery, and could use the bow with some skill. His guard were partly armed with halberds, cross-bows, and hand-guns: but the use of these weapons by the people generally was forbidden by law, under a penalty of ten pounds, The King writes; "There mustered before me 100 archers, two arrows apiece, all of the Guarde, who afterwards shot together, they shot at an inch board, which some pierced quite and stuck in the other board. Divers pierced the target, quite through with the heads of their arrows, the board being very well seasoned timber." On the occasion of an archery fete given to entertain the French Ambassador, M.le Marechal St. Andre the King says, "He saw me shoot, and saw all my Guarde shoot together." As the Guarde became used to the new weapon, called the carabine, with which some of them were now armed, the bowmen were less numerous, and their number was again lessened by the introduction of a handsome weapon of the bill type, called a partizan, with which about half of the Corps were armed,. This is the same weapon which is still carried by the Guard. The original partizans were however about ten feet long, whereas those in present use are only seven feet eight inches. The royal arms and initials "E.R." were engraved on the head. There are several of these old partizans in the Tower, but their exact age cannot be traced, as the rust of centuries, combined with the systematic polishing of latter times, have left but the semblance of the original enrichments. The name partizan was derived from a French bill or pike carried by the Garde de la Manche called " la pertusane." Sir Thomas More, writing about the Guard, calls them billmen, and such they really were, for all the pikes, except those having axe-heads, were varieties of the bill. Leland in his account of the procession of the King from the Tower to Westminster, taken from a manuscript formerly belonging to William le Neve, Norroy King-at-Arms, quotes as follows, "On 9th February, 1547, the Pensioners and Men of Arms with their halberds in their hands." The "pole-axes" still carried by the Gentlemen-at Arms are called halberds. The Guard at this period always brought up the rear of the royal processions. In the Household Book of Queen Mary, under date 1553, is recorded that there were then on the salaried establishment of the Yeomen of the Guard:-
And there were also 30 Yeomen of the Crown whose pay was at the rate of 6d a day. The subjoined items indicate very clearly what gorgeous uniforms the Guard wore in Mary’s reign:- "At the Coronation, 1st October, 1553 then came the Captain of the Guard and the Guard following him in their rich coats." "1553- Copy of a warrant for payment to Peter Richardson, maker of spangles for the rich coats of the Queen’s Highness’s Guard, the sum of £1,000." By another warrant of the same year there is authority "to pay to the above-mentioned Peter Richardson, gold-smith for 7175 oz of spangles gilt, delivered to the Queen’s embroiderers for embroidering the coats of Her Majesty’s Guard. At the Court of St. James’s the 17th November, 1555, there was an order made for "A warrant to the Treasurer and Chamberlain of the Exchequer to pay, to Mr. Walgrave, Mr (Master) of the Great Wardrobe, £275, to be by him paid over for the watch and liveries due to the Yeomen of the Garde at Michaelmas 1554." "At Eltham, 6th August, 1556. "This day, my Lords of the Council, upon considering of the state of things at this time, resolved, for the preventing of all inconvenience that might happen and safeguard of the King and Queen’s Majesty’s persons, if need should require, that Mr. Comptroller, in the absence of the Lord Steward, and Mr. Treasure and Mr. Underchamberlain, in the absence of the Chamberlain, should to-morrow in the morning call before them the Officers of the Household and the Yeomen of the Guard, and other servant under their charge, and to inquire what armour and weapons each of them hath". It is very much to be feared that the large increase in the number of the Yeomen Extraordinary was due to the terrible work allotted to them of attending the punishment and execution of the unfortunate people who were condemned to be burned or tortured as heretics. They appear to have been especially selected for their horrible vocation for we read only too often of the needles torture inflicted by the Guard, and many revolting acts of cruelty are also laid to there charge. They were indeed Yeomen "Extraordinary." |
