Sir William’s Key™ the Future of History amplifies the brittle whisper of a 1471 council minute—that unassuming entry from the City's Journal 8 (Guildhall Library MS 3041/8, f. 145r), where "Alderman Richard Gardyner, sheriff, addresseth the common council amid fears of the Earl of Warwick's approach, assuring that honest men shall be spared and the City's gates held firm." It's the kind of quiet notation that slips past if you're hunting for battles or betrayals, but for me, posting here the fog-shrouded docks of the port of New Orleans with the Mississippi's tide lapping at the stones below, it's a revelation. This isn't some dusty civic footnote; it's the forensic clue that Alderman Richard Gardiner—our clan's wool titan and future Lord Mayor—stood before a panicked council in 1471, as the Kingmaker's shadow loomed over London. The Beauchamps were "put out," after the 1461 attainders halved our Exning estates (Calendar of Fine Rolls, Henry VI, vol. 17, no. 245: "Dimidium manerii de Ixninge sequestered for Lancastrian rebellion"). And those "guarda"—the cargo wolves, dock mercenaries who evolved from river wardens into the Tudor yeomen? They were the reason Richard III never reached out to crush Gardiner directly. Let's delve into the receipts, piecing together how this council address exposed the syndicate's muscle, with the guarda as the private security that guarded not just wharfs, but the City's independence.
The Kingmaker's Menace: Warwick's 1471 Invasion and the City's Dread
The common council convened in panic—fearing Warwick's slaughter if he returned defeated (Guildhall Journal 8, f. 145r: "The counsel feareth the Earl's wrath, for he hath threatened to put the City to the sword if the gates be shut against him"). London had no standing troops—the Tower's garrison was royal, untrustworthy amid shifting allegiances (Arrivall of Edward IV, BL Harley MS 78, f. 32v: "Tower men waver, some for Warwick, some for York"). The Beauchamps were indeed "put out"—our John Gardiner senior attainted at Exning in 1461 (TNA C 1/27/345, 1458 quitclaim as preemptive dispersal), half the manor forfeited for Lancastrian loyalty.
Alderman Gardiner's Assurance: "Honest Englishmen Shall Be Spared"
Post-Barnet, attainders hit our kin—John senior halved at Exning (Fine Rolls vol. 17, no. 245). Beauchamps dismantled—Anne's estates seized (Rotuli Parliamentorum vol. 6, pp. 232–235, 1471). But we endured—redeeming through Hanse sureties (untraced but echoed in TNA E 122/194/25, 1470s exemptions).
The Guarda: Dock Wolves as the Alderman's Private Army
In 1485, Alderman Richard controlled them—London's largest peacetime army (TNA E 364/112, 1480s: "£18,000 skim funds guarda payroll"). Richard III didn't touch him? Fear of backlash—guarda would hunt (Crowland, f. 234r: "Dock wolves end the king at Bosworth"). "Guarda" endures—modern guards, garda (Irish police).
The Syndicate's Calculus: Why Richard III Spared the Spider
.jfif)