THe continual new Buildings, and addition and increase of Buildings in and near about the City of London is grown to that excess, and doth draw together such an overflow of people, specially of the meaner sort, as can hardly be either said and sustained, or preserved in health or governed, which doth not only threaten, but hath already bred & brought forth at divers times dearth of Victuals, infection of Plague, and minifold disorders, which his Majesty in his Royal wisdom before this time foreseeing, hath since his happy coming to the Crown, by two several Proclamations, The one in the second year of his highness Reign concerning building with Brick, the other in the fift year of his Reign concerning building upon New foundations, (wherein nevertheless the former ordinance touching Brick buildings is continued) sought to give remedy and provision for the same; But such hath been & is the covetous desire of gain & private benefit arising of such Buildings, joined with a neglect of justices & Officers in executing his majesties said Proclamations, as many persons have presumed & adventured to offend against them, both to the continuance and increase of the former evils and inconveniences, and to the manifest ill example of contempt and disobedience in a case so notorious, and in the view of the whole kingdom: His Majesty nevertheless not forgetting (though upon so just cause of indignation) his accustomed clemency, hath thought good to make a difference between the offenders and their cases, and for such as have offended in not building with Brick, in as much as the offenders were in great multitude, and might have some colour of necessity, or pretended impossibility, though unjustly, as themselves must needs confess, if they look abroad, & see what is done in other well polliced Cities of Europe, His highness gave order that after some exemplar censure of a few Offenders by sentence in the star-chamber, the residue should be admitted to composition, according to his majesties Commission of grace for that purpose granted, wherein his majesties express pleasure was, That the Fines should be so mild and moderate as might make the Offenders themselves sensible of his majesties jenitie & gracious disposition, and might make all others perceive, That it was not his majesties profit that was sought, but only the repressing of the inconvenience, and the preserving of the authority of his majesties Royal commandments for the public good, from contempt. But for the second for of offenders, which have erected new foundations where no Buildings were before, which had no manner of circumstance to extenuate their offence, but many to aggravate the same, being against a Proclamation so lately published, and so straightly penned, & immediately after a seucre sentence in the star-chamber, his Majesty hath directed that all such Offenders, (the number of which cannot be many being within the compass of one year) shallbe proceeded within in the star-chamber. But as his Majesty doth not think fit to admit at all to grace that kind of Offenders, so his Highness doth publish and declare, That for the other point of Brick building, no man do hereafter expect any the like favour of Composition, as his Majesty was pleased only at this time for the avoiding of rigour and extremity to grant & extend: But his majesties will and pleasure is, That his said ordinance be hereafter straightly observed, and maintained, and the offenders against the same with all severity punished. And to the end to remove & take away all colour of pretended necessity in that point, His Majesty is graciously pleased that his former Proclamations be explained & qualified in manner and form following, That is to say, That if any person that shall hereafter erect any building upon ad old foundation within the precincts limited in the Proclamation published in the fift year of his highness reign, shall make it appear, That either the quantity of the ground whereupon the old Foundation standeth, is of too small a proportion to receive a Brick building, or that the house is situate in so obscure or mean a Lane of Alley, as is not fit for such a Building, or that the trade of such person as intendeth such building, is the trade of a retailing shopkeeper, & of such a nature as his shop and building cannot with any convenience be built with Brick, and thereupon shall obtain certificate under the hands of the Lord Maior, the Recorder, and the Alderman of the Ward, if the building be within the City or the Liberties thereof, and under the hands of two justices of the Peace, whereof one to be of the Quorum, if it be out of the City and Liberties, And shall further upon the said Certificate, procure a Licence under the hands of any four of his majesties Privy Council, whereof the Lord Chancellor, Lord treasurer, Lord privy Scale, and Chancellor of the Exchequer for the time being, to be two in allowance of the same, That in such case such person so building, shall not be deemed and taken for an offender against his majesties Proclamations, any thing in the said Proclamations, or either of them to the contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding.  
Given at our Manor of Tuddington the 25. day of july in the sixth year of our Reign of Great Britain, France and Ireland. 
 God save the King.   

❧ Imprinted at London by the Deputies of Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. Anno 1608.