hi PE,

What is the message behind this with the cathedral?

cheers

I've been reading about my ancestor Thomas More and the Tudors and I wanted to do something about the death of Utopia so I set the background as a Cathedral as part of this whole Old London Street Art historical thing Im kind of exploring (there will be no jack the ripper / lovable chimney sweep Dick Van Dyke prints I promise ) ... I'm well into studying the history of London at the moment.. did you know that back 'in the day' there was an 'Evil May Day' riot in 1517 .. it was a race riot that happened .. it sounds like some BNP type shit =

'According to the chronicler Edward Hall (c. 1498–1547), a fortnight before the riot an inflammatory xenophobic speech was made on Easter Tuesday by a Dr. Bell at St. Paul's Cross at the instigation of John Lincoln, a broker. Bell called on all "Englishmen to cherish and defend themselves, and to hurt and grieve aliens for the common weal". Over the proceeding two weeks there were sporadic attacks on foreigners and rumours abounded "that on May Day next the city would rebel and slay all aliens.

Within a few hours approximately a thousand young male apprentices had congregated in Cheapside. The mob freed several prisoners who were locked up for attacking foreigners and proceeded to St Martin le Grand, a privileged liberty north of St Paul's Cathedral where numerous foreigners lived. Here they were met by the under-sheriff of London, Thomas More, who attempted vainly to persuade them to return to their homes. However as soon as More had calmed them the inhabitants of St Martin started to throw stones, bricks, bats and boiling water from their windows which also fell on an official who screamed: "Down with them!".

This sparked panic in the mob and they looted foreigners' houses there and elsewhere in the city, although no one was killed. By 3am the riot had died down and the three hundred people arrested were pardoned. However thirteen of the rioters were convicted of treason and executed on 4 May, and Lincoln was executed three days later. This account by Hall is mirrored by a letter to the Venetian doge written five days after the riot.

While the mob were on the rampage shots were fired from the Tower of London.

In a different version the rioters closed the city gates to prevent the King's guard from being reinforced and then temporarily took control over the city. King Henry VIII was woken up in the middle of the night at his residence in Richmond and was told of the mayhem ensuing in the capital. Then forces under the command of the Duke of Norfolk (or the Earl of Shrewsbury and Duke of Suffolk) and his son the Earl of Surrey finally arrived in the city and seized prisoners. '

nice history lesson, interesting stuff.