Detailed list of grievances against Lord Lucas (Lieutenant of the Tower) and his staff

<409r>

To the Rt Honble ye Lds Commrs of his Maties Treary.

May it please yor Lops

We ye Warden Master Worker & Controller of his Maties Mints do most humbly represent yt his Maty doth will by or Charter confirmed by many Kings for above five hundred years past thall the Officers Workers Moneyers & other Ministers of the Mints are incorporated throughout all England into {illeg}one body under ye Government of a Warden with freedome from Arrests & other great Privileges & without subjection of our Corporation to ye particular Government or Iurisdiction of ye Tower &of London or its liberties. And that the Kings of England have given us ye ground & houses between the Lines in the said Tower not out of their royal favour & for or greater security & not to deprive us of those their alsootherother royal grants above mentioned & bring us into subjection trouble & danger & strongstress. And also that his Maty by the Indenture made between himself & the Master & Worker of the Mint doth {illeg}will & streightly charge all officers of the Tower that all ye Officers of ye Mint & their servants & all importers of gold & silver shall have free ingress & regress & issue by the Gates & through ye same Tower & Franchises thereof inward & outward at all times without any arresting disturbance letting or gainsaying of the chief Governour Constable Lieuetenant or the Porter or any other Officer or Person whatsoever he be for any manner of debt matter or cause whatsoever it be & without any thing given to any of them or to any other to have such entry or issue.

And we further represent to your Lordships that we have at all times in every thing shewed due respect to my Lord Lucas as chief Governour of ye Tower [& are not conscious to or selves that any under Officer or Workman within or jurisdiction has been any ways failinedg therein.] {illeg}And therefore we are concerned that we should be now forc{illeg}ed to represent to yor Lops that on Satturday the third iInstant, Philip Atherton one of or Labourers was apprehended in or Melting house for debt by without the licence or knowledge of or Warden by Roger Bayly a Constable by virtue of a Warrant of Robert Bateman Esqr one of his Mayorties Iustices of ye Peace for ye Liberties of ye Tower backt with another Warrt of my Lord Lucas & is now detained in New Prison from ye Kings service. And that on the same day one of the Warders, to let out of the Mint some people wch he had brought in, seized the Gate of ye Mint & took ye Porters son by the collarthroat; whence arose a fray between them wch caused such a tumultuous concourse of people as rendred ye money unsafe wch was then coming down the street of the Mint in Trays & yt ye said Warder threatens revenge upon the Porters son wherever he meets him & my Lord Lucas himself threatens further without any regard to or Privileges to sue or Porter for ye same. (in opposition ofnotwithstanding his Maties commands will & pleasure command to ye contrary exprest in ye Charter & Indenture of the Mint) to <409v> sue or Porter for the same, saying that or Privileges do exempt us from law

And we further represent to yor Lops that othe Centryinals lately appointed to guard the door of the Engravers working room where the Dies & Puncheons were are were seized & kept by the Warden had orders to permit entrance as well to my Lord Lucas as to ye Warden And that or Engraver Mr Harris having sollicited my Lord to turn Mr Roettiers family out of the Mint & my Lord having divers times prest the Warden to do it & threatned to apprehend Mr Iames Roettiers & at length an OathInformation being made by one of their acquantance that King Iames was theren seen in Mr Roettiers House, My Lord did thereupon seize the Gates of the Mint & search Mr Roettiers house two several days without giving notice to any Officer of the Mint of his intended search, & now demands a list of the names of all persons belonging to ye Mint, in order to search their houses at pleasure, under pretence that they entertein such lodgers as belong not to ye Mint & are dangerous to ye Tower. Where as his Maty by ye Indenture of the Mint places in the Officers of ye us the care of enquirying after such as live or inhabit therein ye Mint without our licence or other right & impowers us to turn them out, & military searches without us have not hitherto been used so far as we know, nor are necessary to ye safety of the Tower the Mint being shut up on all sides by the Lines & we being ready to search {illeg}either alone or wth his Lop upon notice of any danger, & if military searches without us should be now allowed & Constables let in upon us {illeg}at pleasure we cannot undertake any longer the charge of the Dyes & Puncheons & Marking Engins & other coyning Tools & of the Gold & Silver wch lyes scattered about in all the rooms apperteining to ye coynage, nor {illeg} {illeg}will Merchants & other Importers think their estates secure in the Mint. We were placed in yea TowerGarrison not that ye Exchange & Treasury of ye Nation might not be invaded by {illeg}our Guards but guarded in our custody from all manner of invasion.

And we further represent that ye Centi{illeg}nals begin to be rather a grievance then security to us. The Press-room about a fortnight ago was in danger of being robbed a Thief getting in & breaking open a lock to ye money without being disturbed by the Centinalsone of ye Locks of the door being broken, wch makes a suspicion wch makes a suspicion that he {illeg}that ye Centinal was at {illeg}leastprivy to it, so that the Moneyers are now fain to lodge two {illeg}Labourers in ye Press room for their security wch they never didthought necessary to do before. And about the same time two of our houses being greatly disturbed at Midnight by a drunken CaptainOfficer upon the Guards who drew his sword brake ye window & would have forced himself into one of ye houses & running after one of or servants made a pass at him & ran him through ye cloaths & a Centinal being called either to come to their assistance or to call his Corporall with a File of Musketeers, the Centinal would not stirnor call. And when a Corporal & File of Musketeers wasere called by another person, the Captain endeavoured to perswade a by-stander to beare false witness for turning the blame upon our men. And my Lord Lucas instead of being told the truth of such matters is only informed by the soldiers that our men get drunk & affront the Centinals, & being very forward to beleive & aggravate complaints against us, has thereupon such informations ordered the Centinals to fire at us. Whereas heretofore the Centinals used not to be set singly as now, but to walk ye Mint-street all night in a body strong enough to apprehend any drunken or <410r> excess-graineddisorderly person without firing at him. And For why should we lose a good Artificer forupon pretence of his being drunk, when ye best are most addic{illeg}ted to yt crime & it was never yet made death? Or why should every Centinal be impowered under any feigned pretence to shoot his enemy or any other man that complains, whereif such bloody discipline may safely be avoyded? Or why should ye people who live in {illeg}ye Mint be so terrified as to in line their to leave their habitations in it to ye neglect of ye Kings service & insecurity of the treasure.

And we are further constrained to represent that the Warden on thursday last about these things telling my Lord Lucas the mis{illeg}edemeanours committed in the Mint by theis drunke{illeg}n CaptainOfficer, his Lop & the Deputy Governour together did the next day being Friday give strict charge to yehis Warders not to suffer either meat or drink to be brought into ye Tower to workmen in the Melting-house or Press-room, & that if any were sent for, they should take it away from the messengers & give it to the soldiers, his Lordp pretending that the workmen abused the same to excess & sell it to others, (which we never heard of) & yt his Warders have an unreasonable trouble in examining persons that go in & out.. {illeg}And this b order being strictly put in execution gave so great discontent to ye workmen, that but for ye perswasion of the Officers of the Mint they would have left off their work that day & did not their full days work on Saturday& the two next days & yesterday instead of nine nine potts were not able to melt above six being obligd to do a necessity of drinking & say they (must leave off can none can willwork no more unless they may have speedy redress. But whether his Lop gave this order by way of recrimination or for any other reason we know not.

And we are further to acquaint yor Lops that my Lord Lucas represents that he doth not invade the Privileges of the Mint but that ye power wch he useth over us is asserted by ancient Records & Court Rolls preserved in the Tower, as if or Cooperation ought suit & service to them.

All wch we most humbly praydesire yor Lops according to your great wisdomes to take into serious consideration in order to or releife & pray that for comparing these differences & the Records & Court Rolls alledged by wch his Lop acts may be produced & compared with or Charter & Indenture & with ye reason of both constitutions & the rights between the Tower & the Mint thence adjusted stated & limited so that both parties may know their Duties Privileges & Powers in respect of each other for conserving a good correspondence & friendship between {illeg} them for the future & that what has hitherto been done by mistake been done against us may not be drawn into precedent hereafter.