Note 246 — Chapter VIII
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The following letter by Captain Slingsby relates to this disturbance. It will be noticed that the writer says, "none were killed;" but Fuller states one man died of the injuries he received.
"I cannot say we have had a merry Christmas, but the maddest one that I ever saw. The prentices and baser sort of citizens, sailors, and watermen, in great numbers every day at Westminster, armed with swords, halberds, clubs, which hath made the King keep a strong guard about Whitehall of the trained-bands without, and of gentlemen and officers of the army within. The King had upon Christmas-eve put Colonel Lunsford in to be Lieutenant of the Tower, which was so much resented by the Commons and by the City, that the Sunday after he displaced him again and put in Sir John Biron, who is little better accepted than the other. Lunsford being on Monday last in the Hall with about a dozen other gentlemen, he was affronted by some of the citizens, whereof the Hall was full, and so they drew their swords, chasing the citizens about the Hall, and so made their way through them which were in the Palace Yard and in King's Street, till they came to Whitehall. The Archbishop of York was beaten by the prentices the same day, as he was going into the Parliament. The next day they assaulted the Abbey, to pull down the organs and altar; but it was defended by the Archbishop of York and his servants, with some other gentlemen that came to them; divers of the citizens hurt, but none killed. Amongst them that were hurt one knight, Sir Richard Wiseman, who is their chief leader. Yesterday, about fifteen or sixteen officers of the army, standing at the Court gate, took a slight occasion to fall upon them and hurt about forty or so of them. They, in all their skirmishes have avoided thrusting, because they would not kill them. I never saw the Court so full of gentlemen. Every one comes thither with their swords. This day 500 gentlemen of the Inns of Court came to offer their services to the King. The officers of the army, since these tumults, have watcht and kept a Court of guard in the presence chamber, and are entertained upon the King's charge. A company of soldiers put into the Abbey for defence of it."—State Papers, December 30th, 1641.