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Guildhall, London

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103-521: Guildhall is a municipal building in the Moorgate area of the City of London , England . It is off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap . The current building dates from the 15th century; however documentary evidence suggests that a guildhall had existed at the site since at least the early 12th century. The building has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and

206-443: A modernist style. The West Wing is separately listed as a Grade II listed building . The older part of Guildhall and the adjacent historic interiors are still used for official functions, and it is open to the public during the annual London Open House weekend. Guildhall Art Gallery was added to the complex in the 1990s. Guildhall Library , a public reference library with specialist collections on London, which include material from

309-457: A sovereign wealth fund . [REDACTED] Media related to Guildhall, London at Wikimedia Commons Moorgate Moorgate was one of the City of London , England's northern gates in its defensive wall , the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields , an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall. The gate was demolished in 1762, but gave its name to

412-579: A child, Frances's eldest daughter, Jane, could. She was young, healthy, and brought up in the Protestant faith, and her other qualities were of no importance. Edward VI personally supervised the copying of his will which was finally issued as letters patent on 21 June and signed by 102 notables, among them the whole Privy Council , peers, bishops, judges, and London aldermen . Edward also announced to have his "declaration" passed in parliament in September, and

515-479: A clear conscience, Edward, guided primarily by Dudley, planned the exclusion of his older half-sister from the line of succession. The king’s intentions aligned closely with Dudley’s fears: Dudley, who had become a symbol of the hated Reformation for Mary, reasonably believed that Mary might seek to eliminate both him and his family once she came to power. Both the King and Protector Dudley knew of Mary's intense devotion to

618-504: A duke, but the king. When the Duchess of Northumberland heard of the argument, she became furious and forbade Guildford to sleep any longer with his wife. She also commanded him to leave the Tower and go home, but Jane insisted that he remain at court at her side. Princess Mary was last seen by Edward in mid-February, and both her advisors and the imperial ambassador were keeping her informed about

721-421: A grand-niece of Henry VIII , and cousin to Edward VI , Mary I and Elizabeth I . Under the will of Henry VIII , Jane was in line to the throne after her cousins. She had a humanist education and a reputation as one of the most learned young women of her day. In May 1553, she was married to Lord Guildford Dudley , a younger son of Edward VI's chief minister John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland . In June 1553,

824-641: A humanist education from John Aylmer , speaking Latin and Greek from an early age, also studying Hebrew with Aylmer, and Italian with Michelangelo Florio . She was particularly fond, throughout her life, of writing letters in Latin and Greek. Through the influence of her father and her tutors, she became a committed Protestant and also corresponded with the Zürich reformer Heinrich Bullinger . She preferred academic studies rather than activities such as hunting parties and allegedly regarded her strict upbringing, which

927-494: A major street, Moorgate , laid out in 1834. The area around the street and around Moorgate station is informally also referred to as Moorgate . The Moorgate district is home to many financial institutions and has many notable historic and contemporary buildings. Moorgate station was the site of the Moorgate tube crash of 1975, when a Northern City Line train failed to stop and hit a brick wall killing 43. This resulted in systems, known as Moorgate control , being installed on

1030-556: A railway. The area around the former gate, Moorgate Street and Moorgate station is referred to informally as the Moorgate area. This locale roughly approximates to the Coleman Street Ward of the City of London . The contemporary street of Moorgate runs north from Princes Street and Lothbury at the back of the Bank of England , across the road named London Wall and the location of the old gate, and then continues north. After leaving

1133-409: A special commission, took place on 13 November 1553, at Guildhall in the City of London . The commission was chaired by Sir Thomas White , Lord Mayor of London , and Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk . Other members included Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby , and John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Bath . As was to be expected, all defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death. The Duke of Suffolk

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1236-565: A stone building in a semi- Gothic style which was completed in 1999 to replace an earlier building destroyed in 1941. The Moorfields were an extensive area of open land, partly in the City of London, partly in the Manor of Finsbury . The Lower Moorfields was home to the Bethlem Royal Hospital (also known as Bedlam, Europe's oldest psychiatric hospital ) from 1676 to 1815. The Lower Moorfields

1339-472: A stone gate in 1672. Moorgate and the Wall originally formed the northern boundary of Coleman Street Ward . It appears that the area outside, the once very marshy Lower and Little Moorfields (now mostly occupied by Finsbury Circus and the surrounding buildings), previously part of the Manor of Finsbury were added in the 17th century, though it was not developed until 1817. Moorgate was demolished with most of

1442-483: A temporary diversion) Listed clockwise from the West Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/7 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage and as the " Nine Days' Queen ", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 to 19 July 1553. Jane was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII , through his youngest daughter Mary , and

1545-544: A visit from Protestant divine, but the Queen denied her request, and instead Mary sent her chaplain, Father John Feckenham to see Jane, who was initially not pleased about this. Though she would not give in to his efforts "to save her soul", she became friends with him and allowed him to accompany her to the scaffold. The day before their executions, Lord Guildford asked Jane to have one last meeting, which she refused, explaining it "would only ... increase their misery and pain, it

1648-474: A wave of popular support. She was accompanied by her half-sister Elizabeth and a procession of over 800 nobles and gentlemen. Jane is often called the Nine-Day Queen, although if her reign is dated from the moment of Edward's death on 6 July 1553, it could be reckoned to have lasted for almost two weeks (13 days). On 19 July 1553, Jane was imprisoned in the Tower's Gentleman Gaoler's apartments, and Guildford

1751-501: A week to try to build up a larger force. He was in a dilemma over who should lead the troops. He was the most experienced general in the Kingdom, but he did not want to leave the government in the hands of his colleagues, in some of whom he had little confidence. Jane decided the issue by demanding that her father should remain with her and the Council. On the night of July 10, during dinner,

1854-413: Is located at the corner of Moorgate and London Wall, and was designed by Foster and Partners . The building has 28,000 m (300,000 sq ft) of office space in 19 storeys, and is built in the location of a smaller office building built in the 1960s known as Moor House. A 36 m shaft under the building incorporates part of Crossrail 's new station and ticket hall serving Liverpool Street. During

1957-499: Is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation . It should not be confused with London's City Hall , the administrative centre for Greater London . The term "Guildhall" refers both to the whole building and to its main room, which is a medieval great hall . It is a Grade I -listed building. During the Roman period, the Guildhall was the site of

2060-642: Is the home of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales . The Guildhall is connected to Moorgate station via Bassishaw Highwalk. The Guildhall is the home of the City of London Corporation and the centre of City government since the Middle Ages . Adjacent and internally connected to the Guildhall is the Guildhall Art Gallery , which houses the art collection of the City of London. It occupies

2163-506: The City of London in the direction of the London Borough of Islington , the street is known as Finsbury Pavement (which at one time was known as Moor Fields Pavement) and then City Road. The street was constructed around 1846 as one of the new approaches to London Bridge . While the street was formally known as "Moorgate Street", the street part of the name eventually fell out of use. The Chartered Accountants' Hall , on Moorgate Place,

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2266-538: The English Romantic movement. Keats was born in 1795 in the Swan and Hoop Inn at 199 Moorgate, where his father was an ostler . The pub is now called "The John Keats at The Globe", having previously been known as "The Moorgate Coffee House", "The Moorgate" and "The John Keats at Moorgate", only a few yards from Moorgate station. A new commercial development on Moorgate, known as Moor House , opened in 2005. The building

2369-477: The Gunpowder Plot of 1605). The 1783 hearing of the infamous Zong case , the outcome of which focused public outrage about the transatlantic slave trade , also took place at Guildhall. On 16 November 1848, the pianist Frédéric Chopin made his last public appearance on a concert platform there. The marathon route of the 2012 Summer Olympics passed through Guildhall Yard. Guildhall continues to serve as

2472-523: The King's Council , he proposed his daughter Jane as a bride for the Protector's eldest son, Lord Hertford . Nothing came of this, however, and Jane was not engaged until 25 May 1553, her bridegroom being Lord Guildford Dudley , a younger son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland . The Duke, Lord President of the King's Council from late 1549, was then the most powerful man in the country. On 25 May 1553,

2575-642: The London Roman Amphitheatre , rediscovered as recently as 1988. It was the largest in Roman Britain , partial remains of which are on public display in the basement of the Guildhall Art Gallery , and the outline of whose arena is marked with a black circle on the paving of the courtyard in front of the hall. The siting of the Anglo-Saxon Guildhall here was probably due to the amphitheatre's remains. Excavations by Museum of London Archaeology at

2678-624: The Third Succession Act . Through Northumberland, Edward's letters patent in favour of Jane were signed by the entire privy council, bishops, and other notables. After Edward's death, Jane was proclaimed queen on 10 July 1553, and awaited coronation in the Tower of London . Support for Mary grew rapidly and most of Jane's supporters abandoned her. The Privy Council of England suddenly changed sides, and proclaimed Mary as queen on 19 July 1553, deposing Jane. Her primary supporter, her father-in-law,

2781-524: The Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET). The Worshipful Company of Carmen holds its cart-marking ceremony in the courtyard each July. In 1992 during the Ruby Jubilee of Elizabeth II , a lunch was held at Guildhall to mark the 40th year of the Queen's reign. Elizabeth II made a famous ' annus horribilis ' speech after the 1992 Windsor Castle fire and the separation of two of her children. The members' bar in

2884-568: The 11th century onwards, is also housed in the complex. Two giants, Gog and Magog , are associated with Guildhall. Legend has it that the two giants were defeated by Brutus and chained to the gates of his palace on the site of Guildhall. Early carvings of Gog and Magog were destroyed in Guildhall during the Great Fire of London . They were replaced in 1708 by a large pair of wooden statues carved by Captain Richard Saunders. These giants, on whom

2987-542: The 1940s-60s, HM Customs and Excise investigation staff were based at Moorgate Hall, 153 Moorgate. There is a campus of the London Metropolitan University , formerly a polytechnic, and part of the London Guildhall University , on Moorgate. The campus houses its business school, a library , and other administrative facilities. A number of large buildings are being planned or already built in

3090-729: The Catholic faith and opponents of Northumberland, lived there. Rather, it seems the Earl of Arundel, together with William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke orchestrated a coup d'état in the Privy Council in Northumberland's absence. Arundel, one of the leaders of the Conservative faction within the Council and a staunch opponent of the reformist religious policies of both the King and Northumberland, had been imprisoned twice by Dudley for having sided with

3193-602: The Catholic faith; The Princess had half accepted some of her father's reforms, but bitterly disapproved of all those made by Edward, and the fear of both Edward and Dudley is that if she came to the throne, she would reestablish Catholicism, reversing all the reforms made. Mary regarded the Pope's cause as her own, and Mary's Catholic convictions were so strong that when Edward's parliament passed an Act of Uniformity that required all church services to be in English, she continued to have

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3296-616: The Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula on the north side of Tower Green. No memorial stone was erected at their grave. Jane's father, the Duke of Suffolk, was executed 11 days after Jane, on 23 February 1554. The executions did not contribute to Mary's or the government's popularity. Five months after the couple's death, John Knox , the famous Scottish reformer , wrote of them as "innocents ... such as by just laws and faithful witnesses can never be proved to have offended by themselves." Of Guildford Dudley,

3399-486: The Council. After proclaiming Mary, the Duke raised his cap and "laughed to try to hide the tears that fell down his pain-filled cheeks." Two members of the Council, the Catholics William Paget and Henry FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel , rode to Framlingham to beg Mary's pardon, on behalf of the majority of the councillors, for having signed the document removing her from the succession and placing Jane Grey on

3502-497: The Crown. Whatever the degree of his contribution, Edward was convinced that his word was law and fully endorsed disinheriting his half-sisters: "barring Mary from the succession was a cause in which the young King believed". Referred to by the court as Jane Dudley, wife of Guildford, Jane was charged with high treason , as were her husband, two of his brothers, and the former archbishop of Canterbury , Thomas Cranmer . Their trial, by

3605-410: The Duchess of Suffolk, Jane's mother, and the Duchess of Northumberland broke into tears, due to the arrival of Mary's letter, as the duchesses knew that they could be left in a vulnerable position if Mary triumphed and acceded to the throne. On 12 July, Mary and her supporters gathered an army of nearly twenty thousand at Framlingham Castle , Suffolk, Duke of Norfolk's property, to eventually confront

3708-562: The Duke of Northumberland, was accused of treason, and executed less than a month later. Jane was held prisoner in the Tower, and in November 1553 was also convicted of treason, which carried a sentence of death. Mary initially spared her life, but Jane soon became viewed as a threat to the Crown when her father, Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk , became involved with Wyatt's rebellion against Queen Mary's intention to marry Philip of Spain . Jane and her husband were executed on 12 February 1554. At

3811-452: The Government decided to continue with the sentence against Jane and her husband. The former Queen was becoming a serious threat to Mary, so the executions of Grey and Guildford Dudley were also an opportunity to remove possible inspirations for future unrest and unwelcome reminders of the past. It troubled Queen to let her cousin die, but she accepted the Privy Council's advice. Mary signed

3914-447: The Guildhall is a highly subsidised facility for members of the Court of Common Council and the Court of Aldermen . Access to the facilities is a privilege for life, even after an individual ceases to be a member of either of these courts. Members can also entertain guests there. It is substantially cheaper than any other bar in the City of London , as it is subsidised from the City's Cash ,

4017-616: The Horse and chamberlain , Adrian Stokes . She died in 1559. In 1836, American poet Lydia Sigourney published a poem, "Lady Jane Grey", in her volume Zinzendorff and Other Poems . In 1911, the British historian Albert Pollard called Jane "the traitor-heroine of the Reformation". During the Marian persecutions and its aftermath, Jane became viewed as a Protestant martyr, featuring prominently in

4120-572: The Lord Mayor's Banquet, which is held in honour of the immediate-past Lord Mayor and is the first to be hosted by the new Lord Mayor of the City of London. In keeping with tradition, it is at this banquet that the Prime Minister makes a major world affairs speech. One of the last acts of the outgoing Lord Mayor is to present prizes at the City of London School prize day at Guildhall. Other events include those of various law firms and award evenings for

4223-589: The Plantagenets, the descendants of his aunt Margaret (the Scottish Stewarts) and his own older half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth, Edward was forced to choose from the descendants of his aunt Mary, Widow Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk. There were no male descendants in this branch of the Tudors, and the oldest woman of childbearing age was Mary's thirty-five-year-old daughter Frances Grey. If Frances could not bear

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4326-467: The Queen pleases" ( burning was the traditional English punishment for treason committed by women). The imperial ambassador reported to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , that her life was to be spared. Jane submitted a letter of explanation to the Queen, "asking forgiveness ... for the sin she was accused of, informing her majesty about the truth of events." In this account, she spoke of herself as "a wife who loves her husband". In December, Jane

4429-541: The River Thames, known as Troia Nova , or New Troy. The great hall is believed to be on a site of an earlier guildhall (one possible derivation for the word "guildhall" is the Anglo-Saxon "gild", meaning payment, with a "gild-hall" being where citizens would pay their taxes). Possible evidence for this derivation may be in a reference to John Parker, the sergeant of "Camera Guyhalde", London, in 1396. Construction began on

4532-555: The Royal navy. Given the circumstances and the fact that the Council had changed sides, the Duke felt that launching a final attack against Mary meant fighting a hopeless campaign. The army proceeded from Cambridge to Bury St Edmunds and retreated again to Cambridge. Stranded in Cambridge, Northumberland surrendered and proclaimed Mary in the Marketplace, as he had been ordered in a letter from

4635-509: The Underground in order to stop trains at dead-ends. The earliest descriptions of Moorgate date from the early 15th century, where it was described as only a postern in the London city wall . Located between Bishopsgate and Cripplegate and leading to a marshy open space known as Moorfields , it was not one of the larger or more important of the city gates. In 1415 an ordinance enacted that

4738-402: The amphitheatre beneath. The first documentary reference to a London Guildhall is dated 1127 or 1128; archaeologists have also discovered foundations dating to around that time. Legend describes the Guildhall site as being the location of the palace of Brutus of Troy , who according to Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae (1136) is said to have founded a city on the banks of

4841-538: The axeman answered, "No, madam." She then blindfolded herself. Jane then failed to find the block with her hands, and cried, "What shall I do? Where is it?" Probably Sir Thomas Brydges , the Deputy Lieutenant of the Tower, helped her find her way. With her head on the block, Jane spoke the last words of Jesus as recounted in the Gospel of Luke : "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!" Jane and Guildford are buried in

4944-400: The basis for Raphael Holinshed 's depiction, Jane gave a speech upon ascending the scaffold: Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, against the Queen's highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and

5047-498: The cause, "what chance of variance soever might grow amongst you in my absence". After marching to East Anglia, the Northumberland army spent a week practically without action, until on 20 July, the Duke learned that the previous day the Council had declared for Mary. Supported by the gentry and nobility of East Anglia and the Thames Valley , Mary's support grew daily and, through luck, came into possession of powerful artillery from

5150-410: The chronicler Grafton wrote ten years later: "even those that never before the time of his execution saw him, did with lamentable tears bewail his death." With only her two surviving teenage daughters and her husband executed for treason, Jane's mother, the Duchess of Suffolk faced ruin. As a wife, she had no possessions in her own right. All of her husband's possessions were forfeited by the Crown as

5253-622: The claim of Lady Jane Grey to the throne and proclaim Mary as Queen of England. That same day, a few hours before Queen Mary's proclamation in London, the baptism of one of the Gentlemen Pensioners ' children took place. Jane had agreed to be the godmother and wished the child's name to be Guildford. The Bishop of Winchester, Stephen Gardiner , who had been imprisoned in the Tower for five years, took great offence at this fact as he heard of it. Mary rode triumphantly into London on 3 August, on

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5356-486: The councillors moved out of the Tower before switching their allegiance. Becoming aware of his colleagues' change of mind, Jane's father abandoned his command of the fortress and proclaimed Mary I on nearby Tower Hill . The historical consensus assumes that this was in recognition of overwhelming support of the population for Mary. However, there is no clear evidence for that outside Norfolk and Suffolk, where Northumberland had put down Kett's Rebellion , and many adherents to

5459-530: The couple were married at Durham House in a triple wedding, in which Jane's sister Katherine was matched with the heir of the Earl of Pembroke , Lord Herbert , and another Katherine , Lord Guildford's sister, with Henry Hastings , the Earl of Huntingdon 's heir. Henry VIII had three children: Mary , who was raised Roman Catholic, and Elizabeth and Edward , the latter from the King's third marriage to Jane Seymour (who died in 1537 after complications arising from

5562-410: The current building in 1411 and was completed in 1440 under the supervision of John Croxton. The Great Hall did not completely escape damage in the Great Fire of London in 1666; it was partially restored (with a flat roof) in 1670. The present grand entrance (the east wing of the south front), in " Hindoostani Gothic ", was added in 1788 by George Dance . A more extensive restoration than that in 1670

5665-470: The current versions are based, lasted for more than two hundred years before they were destroyed in the Blitz . They, in turn, were replaced by a new pair carved by David Evans in 1953 and given to the City of London by Alderman Sir George Wilkinson, who had been Lord Mayor in 1940 at the time of the destruction of the previous versions. Guildhall hosts many events throughout the year, the most notable one being

5768-425: The dying Edward VI wrote his will, nominating Jane and her male heirs as successors to the Crown, in part because his half-sister Mary was Catholic, while Jane was a committed Protestant and would support the reformed Church of England , whose foundation Edward laid. The will removed his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, from the line of succession on account of their illegitimacy, subverting their lawful claims under

5871-447: The entrance to Guildhall Yard exposed remains of the great 13th-century gatehouse built directly over the southern entrance to the Roman amphitheatre, which raises the possibility that enough of the Roman structure survived to influence the siting not only of the gatehouse and Guildhall itself but also of the church of St Lawrence Jewry whose strange alignment may shadow the elliptical form of

5974-478: The face of you, good Christian people, this day. While admitting to action considered unlawful, she declared that "I do wash my hands thereof in innocence". Jane then recited Psalm 51 ( Have mercy upon me, O God ) in English, and handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maid. The executioner asked her for forgiveness, which she granted him, pleading: "I pray you dispatch me quickly." Referring to her head, she asked, "Will you take it off before I lay me down?", and

6077-442: The fact that she was noted as being in her seventeenth year at the time of her execution. Frances was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII 's younger sister, Mary . Jane had two younger sisters: Lady Katherine and Lady Mary . Through their mother, the three sisters were great-granddaughters of Henry VII ; great-nieces of Henry VIII; and first cousins once removed of the future Edward VI , Mary I and Elizabeth I . Jane received

6180-407: The forces led by Dudley. On 14 July Northumberland was obliged to relinquish control of a nervous Council in London to pursue Mary into East Anglia. That same day, Northumberland, accompanied by his sons John, Earl of Warwick , the Duke's heir apparent, and Lord Ambrose , left London and headed to Cambridge with 1,500 troops and some artillery , having reminded his colleagues of the gravity of

6283-407: The headquarters for the City of London Corporation , with most of its offices housed in modern extensions to the north and west of the original building. The North Wing was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and was built between 1955 and 1958, facing a new public square between Aldermanbury and Basinghall Street. The West Wing was designed by Richard Gilbert Scott and built between 1970 and 1975 to

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6386-587: The inception of the "devise" and the insistence on its implementation to the king's initiative. Diarmaid MacCulloch has made out Edward's "teenage dreams of founding an evangelical realm of Christ", while David Starkey has stated that "Edward had a couple of co-operators, but the driving will was his". Among other members of the Privy Chamber, Northumberland's intimate Sir John Gates has been suspected of suggesting to Edward to change his devise so that Lady Jane Grey herself—not just any sons of hers—could inherit

6489-465: The monarch that he could not disinherit just one of his two older half-sisters: he would also have to disinherit Elizabeth, although she, like her half-brother, was also a Protestant. Instigated by Northumberland, Edward decided to disinherit both Mary and Elizabeth, thus contravening the Succession Act of 1544, and appointed Jane Grey as his heir. The essence of Edward's will was to give priority to

6592-473: The morning", and escape. However, it was too late, as that same morning Arundel arrived to once again arrest the Duke, his sons, and his entourage. The prisoners returned riding side by side through London to the Tower on 25 July, the guards having difficulties protecting them against the hostile populace. A pamphlet appearing shortly after Northumberland's arrest illustrated the general hatred of him: "the great devil Dudley ruleth, Duke I should have said". He

6695-440: The necessary writs were prepared. The King died on 6 July 1553, but his death was not announced until four days later. On July 9, Jane was informed that she was now Queen. She was initially reluctant to accept the crown, although she later relented after pressure from an assembly of nobles, including her parents and her parents in-laws, while Guildford chimed in with a lovelier approach, with "prayers and caresses". On July 10 she

6798-453: The neighbouring streets. These include a 43-storey, 140 m residential skyscraper at Milton Court ( The Heron ), that is taller than CityPoint , and a 90 m office tower at Ropemaker Place is also being developed by British Land , with construction already underway. Moorgate is served by the following bus routes: 21, 43 (24 hour), 76 (24 hour), 100 , 141 , 153, 214 (24 hour), 271 (24 hour) and Night Bus route N551 (Towards Gallions Reach on

6901-424: The old postern be demolished. It was replaced with a newer and larger structure located farther to the west, which included a wooden gate to be shut at night. This gate was enlarged again in 1472 and 1511, and then damaged in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Although the City gates had ceased to have any modern function apart from decoration, it was replaced along with Ludgate , Newgate , and Temple Bar with

7004-468: The order on 19 January. Bishop and Lord Chancellor Gardiner pressed for the young couple's execution in a court sermon, and the Imperial ambassador Simon Renard was happy to report that "Jane of Suffolk and her husband are to lose their heads." Their execution was initially scheduled for 9 February 1554, but was postponed for three days to give Jane the opportunity to convert to Catholicism. Jane asked for

7107-462: The other London city wall gates in 1761/2, and the resulting stone was sold for £166 to the City of London Corporation to support the starlings of the newly widened centre arch of the London Bridge . Little Moorgate was a postern opposite Little Winchester Street leading into Moorfields . It had been demolished by 1755, but gave its name to a street that was later removed for the building of

7210-475: The pregnancy and birth of Edward), who were raised as Protestant. Following the divorces of his first two wives, Catherine of Aragon in 1533 and Anne Boleyn in 1536, Henry rewrote the Act of Succession twice, declaring his eldest daughters Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate. Although Jane Seymour managed to briefly reconcile Henry with his daughters, the monarch's formal reconciliation with them would only come in 1543, at

7313-427: The previous Protector, Somerset; but it is not clear why Pembroke participated in the coup, especially since his son and heir Henry had married Jane's sister, Katherine , the same day as Jane and Guildford Dudley's wedding. Once the coup was consummated, the rest of the councillors, including those who were still loyal to Jane, accepted it. On 19 July, the Council met at Baynard's Castle , Pembroke's property, to end

7416-451: The same day as Jane's proclamation in London. Jane's proclamation in London was greeted by the public with murmurs of discontent. The council replied to Mary's letter that Jane was queen by Edward's authority and that Mary, by contrast, was illegitimate and supported only by "a few lewd, base people". Dudley interpreted the letter as a threat, although at that time he had not prepared for resolute action on Mary's part since he needed at least

7519-533: The state of her brother's health. At the end of June, Mary was invited to visit her dying brother, however her advisors warned her that it was a plan devised by Northumberland to capture her and thus facilitate Jane's accession to the throne. Therefore, a few days before Edward's death, the Princess left Hunsdon House , near London, and sped to her extensive estates around Kenninghall in Norfolk , where she could count on

7622-552: The succession, and also bypassed the claims of the descendants of his elder sister, Margaret , who had married into the Scottish royal house and nobility. In February 1553 Edward VI fell ill (many historians believe it was tuberculosis ). Although he briefly recovered, in May he suffered a relapse again, and by early June his health had seriously deteriorated to the point that royal doctors informed Regent Dudley and other noblemen close to

7725-709: The support of her tenants . Northumberland sent part of the Royal Navy to the Norfolk coasts to prevent their escape or the arrival of reinforcements from the Continent. To claim her right to the throne, Mary began assembling her supporters in East Anglia . Northumberland soon realised that he had made a grave mistake in failing to capture and neutralise the Princess before she fled to her estates in Norfolk. Although many of those who rallied to Mary were Catholics hoping to reestablish

7828-548: The throne to the unborn sons of Lady Frances Brandon, followed by the unborn sons of her daughter Jane Grey. The choice of the descendants of Henry VII's youngest daughter was easy: Edward had no choice. He could not follow Salic law because of the paucity of men in the Tudor line: the only such man, the Scotsman Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley , barely 6 or 7 years old and son of the King's first cousin, Lady Margaret Douglas ,

7931-454: The throne. A large group of townsmen and university scholars surrounded King's College to arrest the Duke, who was with his sons, lodged on the premises. In contrast to his father and his brother, Warwick resisted arrest. A letter from the Council arrived that everyman could go his way, so the Duke asked to be set free, "and so continued they all night [at liberty]". At dawn on 21 July, the Duke and his sons "was booted ready to have ridden in

8034-563: The time of her execution, Jane was either 16 or 17 years old. Lady Jane Grey was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk , and his wife, Frances Brandon . The traditional view is that she was born at Bradgate Park in Leicestershire in October 1537, while more recent research indicates that she was born somewhat earlier, possibly in London, sometime before May 1537 or between May 1536 and February 1537. This would coincide with

8137-487: The time she was still viewed with some suspicion by the Queen, and employed the Duchess's two surviving daughters as maids of honour. In 1555 there was talk of a possible marriage between Frances and her relative Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon , but Courtenay was reluctant, and soon went into exile to the Republic of Venice , where he subsequently died. Frances, to avoid having problems with Mary again, married her Master of

8240-608: The traditional Latin mass celebrated in her private chapel. When Edward and his advisors pressured Mary to conform to the Law of Uniformity, the Princess went so far as to appeal her situation to her first cousin, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V , the most powerful monarch in Catholic Europe, who threatened to intervene militarily in England if the Government continued to interfere with Mary's religion. Edward's advisors warned

8343-419: The traditional faith and defeat Protestantism, among her supporters there were also Protestants who were dissatisfied with the governance of both Edward and Dudley, and many for whom the Princess's legitimate claim to the throne overrode religious considerations. On 9 July, from Kenninghall, she sent a letter saying that she was now Queen and demanded the obedience of the Council. The letter arrived on 10 July,

8446-629: The urging of his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr . The princesses were reinstated in the line of succession in the Final Act of 1544, although they were still regarded as illegitimate. Furthermore, this Act authorised Henry VIII to alter the succession by his will. Henry's will reinforced the succession of his three children, and then declared that, should none of them leave descendants, the throne would pass to heirs of his younger sister, Mary, which included Jane. For reasons still unknown, Henry excluded his niece and Jane's mother, Lady Frances Brandon from

8549-628: The world to come joy everlasting. Your humble son to his death, G. Dudley Mary initially decided to spare the lives of Jane and her husband, assuming that they had been mere pawns in the midst of a much larger political plan designed and orchestrated by Northumberland, and the Duke was executed on 22 August 1553, a month after Mary's accession to the throne. However, the Wyatt's Rebellion in January 1554 against Queen Mary's marriage plans with Philip of Spain ultimately sealed Jane's fate. The Queen's marriage plan

8652-430: The world; or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs and other ways (which I will not name for the honour I bear them) ... that I think myself in hell. Around February 1547, Jane was sent to live in the household of Edward VI's uncle, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley , who soon married Henry VIII's widow, Katherine Parr . After moving there, Jane

8755-577: The young monarch that he had only a few weeks to live. At the time, Edward's heir presumptive was his Catholic half-sister, Mary. Edward, in a draft will ("My devise for the Succession") composed earlier in 1553, had first restricted the succession to (non-existent) male descendants of Jane's mother and her daughters, before he named his Protestant cousin "Lady Jane and her heirs male" as his successors, probably in June 1553. Aware of his impending death and still with

8858-523: Was Sir John Gates , Northumberland's friend and intimate, and one of the instigators of the plan for Edward VI to modify his will to facilitate Jane's succession. The day before their executions, Northumberland and Gates were escorted to the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula , in the Tower grounds, where they both attended a Catholic Mass , took the communion and returned to that faith, abjuring Protestantism. Northumberland's religious retraction outraged Jane, who

8961-401: Was Catholic and therefore unacceptable to the monarch. The Plantagenet men were also unacceptable: Edward Courtenay descendant of Catherine of York , great-aunt of Edward VI, not only was he Catholic, but he had also spent many years imprisoned in the Tower . Reginald Pole and his relatives were also Catholics and political emigrants. Having excluded from consideration the descendants of

9064-426: Was a fervent Protestant. In September, the first Parliament of Mary's reign revoked the provisions of Edward's will that favoured Jane Grey's succession, declaring Mary her brother's rightful heir, and denounced and revoked Jane's proclamation as a usurper. For centuries, the attempt to alter the succession was mostly seen as a one-man plot by Northumberland. Since the 1970s, however, many historians have attributed

9167-657: Was able to receive educational opportunities available in court circles. Jane lived with the couple at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire as an attendant to Katherine, until Katherine died in childbirth in September 1548. About eleven years old at the time, Jane was chief mourner at Katherine's funeral. After Thomas Seymour's arrest for treason, Jane returned to Bradgate and continued her studies. Lady Jane acted as chief mourner at Katherine Parr 's funeral; Thomas Seymour showed continued interest to keep her in his household, and she returned there for about two months before he

9270-543: Was allowed to walk freely in the Queen's Garden. Lord Robert and Lord Guildford had to be content with taking the air on the leads of the Bell Tower. Jane and Guildford may have had some contact with each other, and at some point Guildford wrote a message to his father-in-law in Jane's prayer book: Your loving and obedient son wishes unto your grace long life in this world with as much joy and comfort as ever I wish to myself, and in

9373-482: Was also accused of high treason and sentenced to death, but thanks to his wife's close friendship with Mary, he was temporarily saved from being executed, although he remained under house arrest. Jane's guilt, of having treacherously assumed the title and the power of the monarch, was evidenced by a number of documents she had signed as "Jane the Quene [sic]". Her sentence was to "be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as

9476-492: Was arrested at the end of 1548. Seymour's brother, the Lord Protector , Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset , felt threatened by Thomas' popularity with the young King Edward. Among other things, Thomas Seymour was charged with proposing Jane as a bride for the king. In the course of Thomas Seymour's following attainder and execution, Jane's father was lucky to stay largely out of trouble. After his fourth interrogation by

9579-478: Was better to put it off ... as they would meet shortly elsewhere, and live bound by indissoluble ties." Around ten o'clock in the morning of 12 February, Guildford was led towards Tower Hill, where "many ... gentlemen" waited to shake hands with him. Guildford made a short speech to the assembled crowd, as was customary. "Having no ghostly father with him", he knelt, prayed, and asked the people to pray for him, "holding up his eyes and hands to God many times". He

9682-479: Was completed in 1866 by the City of London architect Sir Horace Jones , who added a new timber roof in close keeping with the original hammerbeam ceiling. This replacement was destroyed during the Second Great Fire of London on the night of 29/30 December 1940, the result of a Luftwaffe fire-raid. It was replaced in 1954 during works designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott , though the original hammerbeam design

9785-611: Was customary in the case of noblemen convicted of treason. She managed to plead with the queen to show mercy, which meant at least she and her daughters had the chance of rehabilitation. Mary forgave Frances; apparently the Queen did not want to send her first cousin, goddaughter and childhood playmate to the scaffold. The queen's forgiveness meant some of Suffolk's property would remain with his family, or at least could be granted back at some later time. Frances maintained good relations with Mary, who allowed her to reside in Richmond, although at

9888-400: Was developed in 1817, with the building of Finsbury Circus . Finsbury Circus includes a number of classical buildings surrounding an oval-shaped circus . The gardens in the centre of the circus occupy a 5,000-square-metre (1.2-acre) plot enclosed by railings, and include the lawn of the City of London Bowls Club. Moorgate is also the birthplace of John Keats , one of the principal poets in

9991-459: Was greeted with widespread opposition, not just among the populace but also among Members of Parliament and some of the privy councillors, and the Rebellion, which was joined by the Duke of Suffolk and Guildford's brothers, Robert and Henry Dudley, resulted from this dislike. It was not the intention of the conspirators to bring Jane to the throne again. Nevertheless, at the height of the crisis,

10094-435: Was imprisoned in the Bell Tower. There he was soon joined by his brother, Robert . His remaining brothers were imprisoned in other towers, as was Northumberland, who was for the moment the only prominent person to go to the scaffold . Despite the Duchess of Northumberland's desperate pleas to the Queen not to execute him, nothing changed the final sentence and Dudley was beheaded on 22 August 1553. Also executed that same day

10197-424: Was killed with one stroke of the axe, after which his body was conveyed on a cart to the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula for burial. Watching the scene from her window, Jane exclaimed: "Oh, Guildford, Guildford!" She was then taken out to Tower Green , inside the Tower, to be beheaded. According to the account of her execution given in the anonymous Chronicle of Queen Jane and of Two Years of Queen Mary , which formed

10300-452: Was not retained. The large, seated sculpture of Winston Churchill by Oscar Nemon , which was cast by H. H. Martyn & Co. , was unveiled by Churchill in 1955. Trials at the Guildhall have included those of Anne Askew (the Protestant martyr), Thomas Cranmer (Archbishop of Canterbury) and Lady Jane Grey ("the Nine Days' Queen") as well as Henry Garnet (executed for his complicity in

10403-493: Was now commonly thought to have poisoned King Edward while Mary "would have been as glad of her brother's life, as the ragged bear is glad of his death". Dumbfounded by the turn of events, the French ambassador Antoine de Noailles wrote: "I have witnessed the most sudden change believable in men, and I believe that God alone worked it." The Council switched their allegiance and proclaimed Mary queen in London, on 19 July. A majority of

10506-609: Was officially proclaimed Queen of England, France and Ireland and that same day, she and her husband Guildford made their ceremonial entry into the Tower of London, where English monarchs customarily resided from the time of accession until coronation. After the young couple's arrival at the Tower, Guildford began demanding to be made King Consort. Jane had a long discussion about this with Guildford, who "assented that if he were to be made king, he would be so by me, by Act of Parliament ". However, Jane would agree only to make him Duke of Clarence ; Guildford replied that he did not want to be

10609-420: Was typical of the time, as harsh. To the visiting scholar Roger Ascham , who found her reading Plato , she is said to have complained: For when I am in the presence either of father or mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, I must do it as it were in such weight, measure and number, even so perfectly as God made

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