f [306v] (12 December)
...
Mr. Whittacres
presentes in writeinge. the examinacion in writeinge,
concerning the wordes ‸⸢expressed⸣
vsed by the Master of the be Beare Garden: that hee would Cutt the throates of those
yat refused to subscribe the
⸢a⸣ peticion: Wherevppon, It was:
Resolued vppon the Question:
That Mr. Godfrey Master of ye Beare Garden shall bee forthwith Committed to Newgate there to remaine during ye pleasure of this house.
ordered; that the masters of the Beare Garden: & all other<.> persons who haue interest there
<..> bee Injoyned &
required by this house that for the future, ⸢they doe not
permitt to bee vsed⸣
there bee noe Beare bateinge the Game of Bearebateinge in these tymes of great
distracciones. till this House doe giue further order
herein//.
The masters of the royal game of Bears, Bulls, and Mastiff Dogs in 1642 were Thomas Manley and James Davies, appointed 9 February 1638/9; see TNA: C66/2824, mbs 26–8.
For an abstract of this record and details of its transcription in other printed sources, see the related EMLoT event.
Record title: Journal of the House of Commons
Repository: Parliamentary Archives
Shelfmark: HC/CL/JO/1/24
Repository location: London
The context for the arrest and imprisonment of Thomas Godfrey, deputy keeper of the Bear Garden, was a riot at the London Guildhall while the lord mayor and council were in session on 12 December 1642. Godfrey was among the ringleaders protesting new powers given by parliament to the city officials; see further Hotson, Commonwealth and Restoration Stage, p 7. Despite the subsequent parliamentary order against bearbaiting, the practice continued during the Interregnum until 1655/6, as Hotson describes, Commonwealth and Restoration Stage, pp 61–9.
9 September 1642–14 March 1642/3; English; paper; ii + 552 + xviii (modern), final 75 ff: contemporary 'Catalogue for ye 12th Booke'; 208mm x 328mm ; no foliation; no decoration, left margins ruled; dark brown leather board binding (spine broken, covers detached), faded gilt letters and rules, title on spine: '[rule] | JOURNAL | FROM SEPTEMBER <.>9.1642 | TO MARCH 1<.> 1642 | [rule] 17oCAROL: I. | [double rules] | 10 |[rule],' title on front cover: 'HOUSE OF COMMONS.'
Parliamentary Archives, London: HC/CL/JO/1/24, f [306v]