“Receyved of the executors of John Edwards, Skynner, latte decessed,
for his bequest to make a recreacion at Skynners’ Hall for the
clothinge of the Company that were present at his buryall in the
tyme of thys accompt
xl_s._”
The fine imposed on Water Bucknell for his “oprobryus” words to the
Master and Wardens show that the authorities of the Company knew how to
guard themselves from insult. But they were equally careful in the case
of less important members. Thus, in 1535–6—
“R’d of William Tornor for a fyne for that he Revyled and myssayd
ongoddly wordes to George Forman
v_s._”
“Item, R’d of George Forman for slaunderus wordes and mysbehavyor to
the sayd William Turnor the same day
iii_s._”
It may be conjectured that the 2_s._ by which Turner’s fine exceeded
Forman’s was owing to the blasphemous character of his language.
Litigation was a cheap and inexpensive amusement in those days. Thus, in
1535–6—
“Payd for the sute in the lawe bytwene thys house and Mystres Bedell
in the Spirituall Corte for maynteynynge of the Torches Master
Bedyll gave thys house
vii_s._ vi_d._”
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the Company contained many
men of distinction. One of the more conspicuous of these was Sir Andrew
Judd, who was Master of the Company in 1533, and on five subsequent
occasions. He was Alderman, Sheriff, and (in 1550) Lord Mayor of London.
He was also Mayor of the Staple of Calais, and in all his various
offices he was distinguished by loyalty and capacity, taking, among
other things, an active part in the suppression of Sir Thomas Wyatt’s
rebellion. He died in 1558, having amassed a considerable fortune as a
merchant, and was a benefactor of the Company to a substantial extent.
He founded the Company’s almshouses for men in Great St. Helen’s. But
his especial glory is that, in the year 1553, he founded and endowed, in
his native town of Tonbridge, under letters-patent obtained by him from
Edward VI, the famous free Grammar School, now known as Tonbridge
School, which has since made good its claim to a place among the great
public schools of England. This school is, by direction of the Founder,
governed by the Skinners’ Company, in whom he reposed the fullest
confidence, not unwisely.
Very little now remains of the original school buildings, with the
exception of a part of the Head-Master’s house; the old buildings were
removed and new ones erected in 1863–4, to which were added a large
block of science rooms, with a library and gymnasium, in 1886–7, and a
great hall with another large block of class-rooms and workshops,
joining the science buildings to the 1863–4 buildings, in 1894. A new
chapel was erected in 1900–2, replacing a smaller one which had been
built in 1859, but which was never consecrated, and is now used as a
museum. Still further additional buildings are in prospect. Large
additions have also been made to the playing-fields. The school is now
governed under a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners of 1881, and
contains about four hundred boys.
The annual Visitation of the Governors takes place at the end of the
summer term, when the doors of the houses in the town are decorated with
young birch trees, in a way which I only remember to have seen elsewhere
at the old Imperial city of Rothenburg, in Bavaria, at Whitsuntide. On
the first day the buildings and property are inspected, and any
necessary directions given. On the second day a Latin address, reminding
one of the _Ad Portas_ at Winchester, is delivered by the Head Boy on
the arrival of the Governors at the School, to which one of the
Examiners replies. A roll-call in the Great Hall follows, succeeded by a
commemorative service in the parish church, at which an interesting
bidding prayer is repeated (see Appendix II). In the afternoon there is
a prize distribution in the Great Hall, with the addition of addresses
by the Head Master and the Master of the Governors, an announcement of
the result of the examination for leaving exhibitions, and a list of
honours obtained, which grows from year to year. Three silver pens,
respectively gilt, parcel-gilt, and plain, are also presented to
distinguished scholars, in accordance with the Founder’s directions.
The inscription on Sir Andrew Judd’s monument in the church of St.
Helen’s, Bishopsgate, is as follows:—
“To Russia and Muscova
To Spayne Gynny withoute Fable
Traveld he by land and sea
Bothe Mayre of London and Staple.
The commenwelthe he norished
So worthelie in all his daies
That ech state fullwell him loved
To his perpetuall prayes.
Three wives he had: one was Mary
Four sunes one mayde had he by her
Annys had none by him truly
By Dame Mary had one dowghter
Thus in the month of September
A thowsande fyve hunderd fyftey
And eyght died this worthie Staplar,
Worshipynge his posterytye.
S’r Andrew Judd Knt.”
Sir Andrew Judd’s daughter by his first wife was named Alice, and
married one Thomas Smythe. She, by her will dated in 1592, left
considerable bequests for the benefit of the inhabitants of the
almshouses founded by her father, and for other purposes connected with
the Company. Her second son was the well-known Sir Thomas Smythe,
referred to later on.
Other conspicuous Skinners of the sixteenth century were Sir John
Champneys, Lord Mayor in 1534 and six times Master of the Company; Sir
Richard Dobbs, Lord Mayor in 1551 and four times Master, who took a very
active part in the foundation of Christ’s Hospital; Sir Wolstan Dixie,
Lord Mayor in 1585 and seven times Master, also President of Christ’s
Hospital; Sir Stephen Slaney, Lord Mayor in 1595, Master four times and
President of Christ’s Hospital; Sir Richard Saltonstall, Lord Mayor in
1597, Master four times, and Governor of the Merchant Venturers’
Company.
The sixteenth-century benefactors of the Company include Thomas Hunt and
Lawrence Atwell, under whose wills, dated respectively in 1557 and 1588,
considerable property was bequeathed to the Company for various
charitable purposes; and Henry Fisher, under whose benefaction, by deed
dated in 1562, an Exhibition at Brasenose College, Oxford, is maintained
for a Tonbridge scholar, and remuneration is provided for the preacher
of the annual Corpus Christi sermon.
Sir James Lancaster was a successful merchant, trading to the East
Indies, and an esteemed naval commander. In 1600 he was appointed the
first Admiral of the fleet of the East India Company, of which he was a
director. Under his will, dated 1618, certain Exhibitions at the
Universities, and stipends for poor preachers, are awarded by the
Company.
Sir Thomas Smythe, son of Dame Alice Smythe, and grandson of Sir Andrew
Judd, after serving the office of Sheriff of London, became the first
Governor of the East India Company. He was also prominent in connection
with the Muscovy Company and the Virginia Company, and acted as
Ambassador from James I to the Czar of Russia. By his will, proved in
1625, property was left to the Company, out of which certain University
Exhibitions, as well as scholarships at Tonbridge, are established; and
the residue is distributed for charitable purposes among poor residents
in certain parishes in Kent, under a scheme sanctioned by the Chancery
Division in 1883.
Under the will of William Stoddard, dated 1611, the Company possesses
the right to nominate children to Christ’s Hospital.
In the early years of the seventeenth century the Company was largely
occupied with the acquisition and settlement of its Irish estates in the
County of Londonderry. Proposals for the colonisation of large districts
in the North of Ireland were issued by the Crown in 1608, and the
response made by the public proving inadequate for the purposes in view,
application was made to the City of London, which resulted in the City
undertaking the plantation of the County of Londonderry. This was
effected through the instrumentality of a new Corporation composed of
Aldermen and members of the Common Council, to which was given the name
of “The Irish Society.” Of this Society the first Governor was Alderman
Sir William Cokayne, Lord Mayor in 1619, and Master of the Company in
1609 and two later years. He was also President of St. Thomas’ Hospital,
and was son of the donor of the Cokayne cups. The first Deputy-Governor
was also a Skinner, William Towreson, or Towerson, who was Master in
1616. The _modus operandi_ was that the county (exclusive of the towns
of Derry and Coleraine, and the ferries and fisheries) was divided into
twelve portions, equalised as far as practicable, and that these were
appropriated by lot among the twelve great Companies. With two
exceptions, each of the twelve had associated with it some of the minor
Companies, who contributed certain proportions of the necessary funds,
so that each of the twelve, with its associated Companies, provided
one-twelfth of the total expense. The Skinners’ estate, constituting the
Manor of Pellipar, was shared by them with the Stationers, the
White-Bakers, and the Girdlers, the Skinners’ share being somewhat
larger than those of the other three combined. In 1876, the Skinners’
Company bought out the Stationers and Bakers, leaving the Girdlers their
sole co-owners, the latter owning rather more than eleven per cent, of
the undivided estate, and the remainder belonging to the Skinners’
Company. For many years the estate was let to middlemen on successive
leases for three lives, but in 1872 this system came to an end, and the
estate was managed directly by the Skinners’ Company. It has recently
been disposed of under the Irish Land Acts.
In the seventeenth century, the Company became possessed of a
considerable estate in Clerkenwell, known as “Clarke’s Close,” under the
will, dated in 1630, of John Meredith. They also award another
University Exhibition under the will of Edward Lewis, dated in 1673.
Under the will of Lewis Newbury, dated in 1683, the Company’s almshouses
for women were erected at Mile End. These, as well as the Judd
almshouses for men at St. Helen’s, have recently been replaced by new
and more commodious buildings at Palmer’s Green: to which all
inscriptions and other objects of interest at the old almshouses have
been carefully removed.
The Company was involved in the troubles arising from the arbitrary
proceedings of the kings of the Stuart family, and the disturbances
attending the establishment and supersession of the Commonwealth. In
1625, the Company was compelled by judgment, obtained on a writ of _quo
warranto_, to surrender its lands to the Crown, but the judgment was set
aside by the Parliament in 1641, and Charles I assented to their
decision. During the great Civil War large sums of money were advanced
to the City, and the Renter Warden’s accounts contain numerous entries
of expenditure on arms and gunpowder. In 1645–6, the following entries
appear:—
“Aug. 5. Paid the Collectors of Dowgate Ward for 2 months ending 1
Aprill, 1645, for the maintenance of S’r Thomas Fairfaxes army
0024 00 00
Aug. 13. Paid the Collectors of Dowgate Ward for the fortifications for
2 months
0021 00 00
Aug. 25. Paid the Collectors for 3 months for the maintenance of S’r
Tho: Fairfaxes army
0036 00 00
Sept. 30. Paid the Collectors for the maintenance of S’r Thomas Fairfaxs
army for two months
0024 00 00
Nov. 10. Paid the Collectors for 2 months assessment for the Scottish
army
0009 00 00
Dec. 3. Paid the Collectors for the fortifications for 2 months and is
in full for 6 months
0021 00 00
Jan. 7. Paid the Collectors for the maintenance of S’r Tho: Fairfaxs
army for 3 months in full
0036 00 00
Jan. 23. Paid the Collectors in full for 12 months for the Brittish
armye in Ireland
0010 10 00
Apr. 21. Paid the Collectors in full for the assessm’t of the Scottish
armye
0009 00 00”
In 1648, the following entries relate to soldiers quartered at the
Hall:—
“Nov. 30. Paid, spent on the Lieutenant and souldiers when they came to
quarter in the Hall
0000 13 06