Attendance at the court or the Parliament led to a demand for lodgings in London. Baynard's Castle was the town residence of the Duke and Duchess of York. Crosby Place, which is still standing, was the home of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester during the short protectorate. Cold Harbour, in Thames Street, alternately lodged the Earl of Salisbury (1453), Anne Duchess of Exeter, and her brother the Duke of Clarence. There were other houses of the nobility within the city, including Ely Place in Holborn, with large gardens behind them; and some of the richer citizens had handsome residences of which Crosby Place was an example. It was on the occasion of visits to the capital that opportunities were offered for those extravagant displays which were the fashion of that age, especially at the great tournaments.
The House of York was closely knit to the nobility by ties of kindred. Of the three Dukes, Suffolk was King Richard's brother-in-law, Buckingham and Norfolk were his cousins, as were the Earls of Northumberland, Westmoreland and Essex, and Lords Abergavenny and Greystoke. Lincoln was his nephew. Richard, moreover, had four first and several second cousins among the Barons; and the Archbishop of Canterbury was also his cousin. There must have been a feeling of kinship as well as of loyalty when the nobles gathered round the sovereign on state occasions.
Magnificence of the court
Magnificence in dress was not a sign of ostentation and vanity, but of what was felt to be due to high rank and to ceremonial functions of state; and it was undoubtedly good for trade. Long gowns with high collars were the indoor and civil dresses, and they lent themselves to displays of great splendour. Thus, in the wardrobe accounts, we find among the materials for doublets and gowns, black velvet, crimson velvet, blue velvet figured with tawny, white velvet, white damask with flowers of divers colours, chequered motley velvet, cloth of gold, silks and satins, sarsenet, as well as embroidered shoes, and ostrich feathers. We find green, scarlet and white cloth, ermines, sables, fringes, gowns of blue velvet lined with white satin, golden aiglettes, and various furs. The keeper of the King's wardrobe also had in charge feather beds and bolsters, bed clothes, cushions, table cloths and napkins, and the King's carriage. Presents from the wardrobe are recorded as being given to the Duke of Norfolk, Lord Grey, Lord Stanley, Sir W. Parr, Sir J. Borough, Lord Audley and the College of Windsor. When the Duchess of Burgundy came to visit her brother, all her attendants were ordered to be clothed in cloth jackets of murrey and blue, while the knights appointed to attend upon her received gowns of velvet. The velvet was ten shillings a yard, the ostrich feathers ten shillings each. These wardrobe accounts of the last years of Edward IV. bear silent testimony to the lavish splendour of the court, and of court ceremonial in those days.
Increasing wealth resulted to the merchants and traders of the City, the Guilds flourished and increased in numbers, and there were periodical fairs in the country. At the Stourbridge fair, which was the chief mart of Lombard Exchange, glass, silks and velvets were sold by the Venetian and Genoese merchants, linen of Liège and Ghent by the Flemish weavers, hardware by Spaniards, tar and pitch by Norwegians, wine by Gascons, furs and amber by the Hanse Towns. Millstones came from Paris. Our own products were hides and woolpacks, the produce of the tin mines, and iron from Sussex. At Abingdon there was a cattle fair, at Winchester a wool and cloth fair. King Richard's Parliament gave much attention to the advancement of trade.
In London the wealthy merchants lived in handsome houses with gardens. The lawyers lived in the Inns of Court, and there were not wanting good inns and hostelries for passing travellers. We hear of the 'White Hart' in Southwark, the 'George' at Paul's Wharf, and several others.
The City Companies were acquiring great influence. The Skinners' Company founded the 'Brethren of the fraternity of Corpus Christi' of which the Duke of York and his sons Edward IV. and the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester were members. Disputes between City Companies were amicably settled. There was one between the Skinners' and Merchant Taylors' with reference to precedence in City processions. In the reign of Richard III., 10 April, 1484, the two companies agreed to abide by the judgment of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen.
The award was that the Skinners should invite the Merchant Taylors to dinner every year, on the Vigil of Corpus Christi, and that the Merchant Taylors should invite the Skinners on the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist. On the first year after the arbitration the Skinners were to walk in all processions before the Merchant Taylors, on the next year the Merchant Taylors before the Skinners, and so on. Thus was arbitration established in the City during Richard's reign, a course always favoured and practised by the King himself.