The City of London and the problem of the liberties, c1540 - c1640

• Main Author: House, Anthony Paul
• Other Authors: Archer, Ian
• Published: University of Oxford 2006
• Subjects: 271.0094210903; History : City of London (England) : London (England) : 16th century : 17th century
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.440726

The post-monastic liberties have long formed a footnote to the history of early modern London, but they have escaped serious historical consideration on their own merits. Only a handful of the capital's two dozen religious houses became liberties after the dissolution. The thesis focuses primarily on four of them, showing the liberties to be more complex and more functional places than their traditional depiction would suggest. The introduction contextualises London's post-monastic liberties. In addition to reviewing the historiography of the liberties, the introduction puts them in an historical context, considering them alongside provincial jurisdictional battles, early modern London's rapid growth, and the institution of sanctuary. The second chapter focuses on the City of London's relationship with the liberties in the century after the dissolution. A chronological survey of its approach to the liberties precedes a thematic discussion of the issues that affected that approach. The following chapters present in-depth study of four post-monastic liberties. They explore the development of administrative and social conditions within each liberty and consider the relationship of each to outside authorities. Because of variations in the survival of sources, different aspects of each liberty's history come to the fore. The Minories chapter focuses on its ecclesiastical exemptions and their role in fostering an early Puritan community there. The Blackfriars chapter considers the effects of its gentry and noble population as well as the role of its playhouses and its Puritan leanings in the decades before the Civil War. St Katherine by the Tower's history is explored through the development of an indigenous administrative system to govern the growing population of the precinct, which existed alongside its still-operating hospital. The St Martin le Grand chapter corrects long-held misconceptions about its role as sanctuary and considers its administrative