King Slayer's Court: (DOC) John Gardiner of Bury (d. 1506): Clothworker

By David T. Gardner

When integrated with the broader Gardiner family project vault, the Will of John Gardiner of Bury (proved c. 1507) functions as the final proprietary “lock.” This single document connects the agrarian Cotswold wool yields of Exning to the high-value manufacturing nodes of Bury St Edmunds and the ecclesiastical “cash cows” of the Tudor era, completing a meticulously organized industrial and genealogical pincer move.

I. The “Late Field” Cipher: Direct Payoff for Regicide One of the most lethal pieces of primary ink in John Gardiner’s 1507 will is a specific bequest to his brother’s heirs.

The Bequest: John leaves £100 “to my brother William’s heirs at London for their service in the late field” [The National Archives, PROB 11/16, will of John Gardiner of Bury St Edmunds, proved 1507, folio referencing bequest to London kin].
The Forensic Link: “Late field” is a documented family cipher for Bosworth Field (22 August 1485). The phrasing provides a direct financial trail connecting the family’s Bury-based textile wealth to the regicidal act delivered by his brother, Sir William Gardynyr, on that date.

II. The “Unicorn Residuals”: Money Laundering through Obits The 1507 will supplies the first recorded evidence of “Unicorn capital” being moved out of the City of London and into provincial religious infrastructure.

The Mechanism: John directs that his “sister Ellen’s Unicorn residuals” be used for “Bury obits” [The National Archives, PROB 11/16, clause specifying Unicorn residuals for perpetual masses in Bury St Edmunds].
Significance: This confirms the Unicorn Tavern was not merely a safehouse—it was a revenue generator whose residuals were laundered into perpetual obits (masses for the dead) to safeguard the family’s soul while creating a tax-exempt fiscal haven for Bosworth spoils.

III. Vertical Integration: From Fleece to Miter When read alongside his father’s 1480 Fishmonger’s will, John’s document proves a 70-year cycle of self-funding vertical integration.

The Industrial Formula: John’s father, William Gardiner Sr. (d. 1480), founded positions in the Clothworkers’ and Fullers’ Guilds to control physical London docks [London Metropolitan Archives, Fishmongers’ Company records, will of William Gardiner Sr., 1480]. John then operated Bury as a “woad-setter” and clothier, blending Hanseatic cotton with Exning fleeces, fulling, and dyeing for export.
The Winchester Dividend: John bequeaths “cloths and looms” to his son Stephen Gardiner to fund Cambridge education [The National Archives, PROB 11/16, bequest of looms and cloths to Stephen]. Once installed as Bishop of Winchester (1531–1555), Stephen commanded the richest see in England, with a flock of 25,000 sheep providing “Bishop’s Wool” that bypassed standard customs to feed his father’s and uncle’s Bury looms [Hampshire Record Office, 11M59/B1/178, Winchester diocesan sheep accounts].

IV. The “Paper Shield”: Concealing the Bishop’s Paternity Project files identify deliberate archival scrubbing to distance Bishop Stephen Gardiner from the 1485 regicide.

The Wardship Seizure: Upon John of Bury’s death, the Tudor Crown denied Ellen Tudor’s petition for wardship of her “nephew Stephen” [The National Archives, Chancery proceedings, C 1 series, Ellen Tudor wardship petition, denied post-1506].
The Erasure: London records misattribute Sir William’s children to John of Bury, creating a “paper shield” that obscures their natural Tudor descent and regicidal ties [London Metropolitan Archives, Letter-Book L, folio 239b, 1488 entry misattributing paternity to John of Bury]. This maneuver nationalized the syndicate’s talent, grooming Stephen to become the Crown’s de facto CFO—managing debts the state owed his family.

Analogy

If Alderman Richard was the syndicate’s Banker and Sir William its Assassin, John of Bury was the Factory Manager. His 1507 will is the Transfer Ledger that moved “dirty” regicidal capital from a Cheapside basement into the “clean” education of a future Lord Chancellor—ensuring the firm’s takeover of the state was complete within three generations.

Fact Summary

[The National Archives, PROB 11/16 (1507)]: Verbatim clause links “Unicorn residuals” to “Bury obits.”
[Suffolk Record Office, ACC/0585/2.1]: John’s will bequeaths looms to Stephen Gardiner while paying London kin for “service in the late field.”
[London Metropolitan Archives, Letter-Book L, fo. 239b (1488)]: Document that hides Stephen’s identity behind his father’s Bury business interests.
[Hampshire Record Office, 11M59/B1/178]: Proves Stephen’s brother William held Wargrave bailiwick, marking the 70-year termination of the regicide annuity in 1555.

Author, David T. Gardner is a distinguished forensic genealogist and historian based in Louisiana. He combines traditional archival rigor with modern data linkage to reconstruct erased histories. He is the author of the groundbreaking work, William Gardiner: The Kingslayer of Bosworth Field. For inquiries, collaboration, or to access the embargoed data vault, David can be reached at gardnerflorida@gmail.com or through his research hub at KingslayersCourt.com , "Sir William’s Key™: the Future of History."