horse's harness, and the guild dates back to the days of Henry III., but
its history is uneventful. The Masons have few records. By their charter
of Elizabeth they had power to view stones intended for building--as to
whether these were of proper length and measure, and well and
sufficiently wrought. The Musicians have recently celebrated their
tercentenary, commemorating the granting of their charter by James I. in
1604. They might have claimed a longer period of existence, as their
first charter was granted by Edward IV. Their bye-laws are particularly
interesting, and give minute directions with regard to their profession.
They tested the skill of music and dancing masters, forbade the singing
of ribald, wanton, or lascivious songs, or the playing of any instrument
under any knight or gentleman's window without the company's licence.
The Needlemakers existed in the time of Henry VIII., but have little
history. The Painters' or Painter-stainers' Company suggests many
reflections on their art and skill, and its history would require many
pages. Their guild existed in the time of Edward III., and received its
first charter from Edward IV. Their bye-laws order that if any member be
found rebel or contrariwise to the wardens he shall pay one pound of wax
for certain altar-lights. No tin-foil might be used, but only oil
colours. They derive their name Painter-stainers from the custom of
calling a picture a "stained cloth." The principal artists in England
were members of the guild, and in their hall are numerous examples of
the work of its members. The Pattenmakers' Company suggests a picture
of the condition of the streets of London in mediaeval times, when
garbage and refuse were thrown into them, when drains and watercourses
were things unknown, and pattens were invented as a useful foot-gear,
and clogs and goloshes were sorely needed. The company appears on the
scene in the fifteenth century, and the name of the city church of St.
Margaret Pattens, Rood Lane, points out that locality as the seat of the
industry. The Pewterers, a company of "friendly and neighbouring men,"
existed in 1348, and did much to make English pewter famous and highly
esteemed in other lands. They visited markets and fairs throughout
England, and seized and condemned base pewter ware, brass goods, and
false scales. They furnished men with arms for the defence of the city,
and kept in their hall corselets, calyvers, bill pikes, and other
weapons, and paid an armourer to keep them in good order. Their history,
written by Mr. Charles Welch in two large volumes, abounds in
interesting facts, and we can only here refer our readers to those
records.
The Plaisterers, formerly known as Pargetters, were skilful in
contriving curious elaborate and beautiful ceilings, which form such an
attractive feature in many old houses. They were incorporated by a
charter of Henry VII. The Playing-card Makers' Company was founded in
1628, with the object of counteracting the deceits and abuses practised
by the inexpert in the art and trade of making playing-cards, and by the
importation of foreign cards into this country. It has no records and
little history. The Plumbers' Company stands high in public estimation,
and has been in existence several centuries, though not incorporated
until 1611, when a charter was granted for "the utility, advantage, and
relief of the good and honest, and for the terror and correction of the
evil, deceitful, and dishonest." Their modern efforts to initiate a
national registration and training of plumbers are worthy of the highest
praise.
Every citizen knows the Poultry in the city--the locality where the
Poulters anciently carried on their trade, selling "rabbits, fowls, and
other poultry." The trade was not without its dangers. Unsound poultry
doomed the seller to the pillory, the articles being burnt under him--a
peculiarly disagreeable penalty. The company existed in 1345, but was
not incorporated until 1504, and its history has been uneventful. The
Saddlers' Company is a very honourable and wealthy corporation, and
possesses records of unusual importance, dating back to Saxon times. The
early colony of saddlers settled near the church of St. Martin-le-Grand,
and they have never strayed far from there, their present hall being in
Foster Lane. They can boast of having received many charters, the
earliest having been granted by Edward I. In early days they were
associated with a collegiate brotherhood, the house of which was
situated where the General Post Office now stands. This religious
fraternity offered masses for the souls of deceased saddlers, and shared
with them a common graveyard. They disputed much with the joiners,
painters, and loriners, who were always trying to trespass upon the
rights of the saddlers. The introduction of coaches alarmed them as much
as the invention of railways frightened the coachmen, but with less
cause. The saddle trade prospered. The Civil War caused many saddles to
be made and many emptied. Their records tell of much old-time civic life
and customs. They had a barge on the river; they buried their deceased
members with much ceremony, and their old hearse-cloth still remains;
they can boast of having a Royal master, Frederick Prince of Wales, in
1751.
The Scriveners formerly discharged many of the duties now performed by
solicitors, such as making wills, drawing up charters, deeds relating to
lands, tenements, and inheritances, and other documents. They were known
as the "Scriveners, or writers of the Court Letter of the city of
London." Their earliest set of ordinances was granted to them in the
time of Adam de Bury, mayor, in the 38th year of Edward III., a document
couched in old law French. They complained bitterly against certain
chaplains and other men out of divers countries who called themselves
Scriveners, and took upon themselves to make testaments, charters, and
other things belonging to the mystery, to the great damage and slander
of all honest and true scriveners. Their apprentices caused them
trouble, because they had not their "perfect congruity of grammar, which
is the thing most necessary and expedient to every person exercising the
science and faculty of the mystery." Every apprentice found deficient
was ordered to be sent to a grammar school until "he be erudite in the
books of genders, declensions, preterites and supines, equivox and
sinonimes." Their first charter was granted in 1617. John Milton, the
father of the poet, was a member of the company.
The Shipwrights have had a corporate life of four centuries, originally
known as the Brethren and Sisters of the Fraternity of SS. Simon and
Jude, and were established on the river side at Southwark or Bermondsey.
The use of "good and seasonable timber" in the building of ships was
enjoined by their ordinances. Their well-stored yards of timber were,
however, considered dangerous to the city, and the constant noise of
hammering offended the ears of the citizens; hence the shipwrights
migrated to Radcliffe, and they had much trouble with a colony of
"foreigners," who dared to set up their yards at Rotherhithe, and
actually obtained a charter from King James. A long and bitter struggle
for supremacy ensued, and was not settled until 1684. The art of
shipbuilding has been revolutionized by the advent of steam and the use
of iron; the Thames side is no longer the great centre of the industry,
and the importance of the company has waned, though it still exercises
some useful functions.
The Spectacle-makers' Company has no great history, though their first
charter dates back to the time of Charles I. Its membership is large,
including many illustrious names, and no less than twenty lord mayors.
It does much good in modern times by improving the skill of opticians.
The Stationers have a noteworthy history, which has been graphically
told by Mr. C. R. Rivington, and celebrated their five-hundredth
birthday four years ago. For an account of their powers, privileges, and
the story of their copyright register, I must refer the curious reader
to Mr. Rivington's book, or to my larger history of _The City Companies
of London and their Good Works_.
The Tallow Chandlers can boast of great antiquity, and possess several
charters and documents of much interest, and also the Tin-plate Workers,
_alias_ Wire Workers' Company. The Tylers and Bricklayers formed a
fraternity in 1356, and have received charters from Queen Elizabeth and
subsequent monarchs, which contain no remarkable provisions. The Turners
or "Wood-potters" showed their skill in mediaeval times in the
manufacture of household furniture, and their fellowship was recognised
in 1310. They received a charter from James I., and in modern times have
shown much activity, and have enrolled many distinguished men in their
rank of Freemen. The Upholder is really an upholster, or upholsterer,
who now supplies furniture, beds, and such-like goods. His company was
founded in 1460, and received a grant of arms from Edward IV. Cornhill
was the original home of the upholder, or fripperer, as he was sometimes
called, and he used to deal in old clothes, old beds, old armour, old
combs, and his shop must have been a combination of old curiosity shop
and a store-dealer's warehouse. Later on, he concentrated his attention
on furniture; his status improved, and his guild became an important
association, though never very wealthy or remarkable.
The Wax Chandlers lived in palmy days, when they furnished the great
halls of the nobles with the produce of their skill, and innumerable
lights burned before every altar in our churches. Their guild existed
in 1371, and was qualified to make "torches, cierges, prikits, great
candles, or any other manner of wax chandlery." They still possess a
hall in Gresham Street and Gutter Lane. The Weavers claim to possess the
oldest company of all the city guilds. It certainly existed in the time
of Henry I., and they have a charter of Henry II. which is signed by St.
Thomas of Canterbury, and no less than eleven others. In the palmy days
of the cloth industry they were very prosperous, but unfortunately few
records of their former greatness remain. The Wheelwrights' Company
suggests the fascinating study of the introduction of coaches and cars,
upon which we cannot now embark, nor listen to the wails of the Thames
watermen, who complained against new-fangled ways. This guild received a
charter from Charles II., and did good service in protecting the lives
of his Majesty's subjects from "the falling of carts and coaches through
the ignorance and ill-work" of foreign craftsmen. Last, but not least,
on the list stands the Woolmen's Company, founded in 1300, when the
trade in wool was at its zenith. It has borne several names, and was
identical with the guild of the wool-packers or wool-winders.
Wool-combers were also licensed by the company. A noted member of this
ancient fraternity was Sir John Crosby, the founder of Crosby Hall,
"Grocer and Woolman," alderman of the city in the reign of Edward IV.,
whose noble house London has at length declined to spare.
THE VICISSITUDES OF THE COMPANIES
From this brief record of the City Companies, and of the part each one
played in the drama of the life of London, it will be gathered that most
of these guilds showed strong and vigorous growth in the fifteenth
century, and were thoroughly established. Then came the period of the
Reformation, which proved a time of storm and stress to the companies.
They held much property bequeathed to them for the endowment of
chantries, for the celebration of masses for the dead, and for other
purposes which were deemed to be connected with "superstition." The
companies were rich. Greed and spoliation were rampant, and many
powerful courtiers were eager enough to prove "superstitious uses" as an
excuse for confiscation. Hence a very large amount of the property of
the companies, as well as of plate and other valuables, was seized by
these robbers, and the guilds were compelled to redeem their lands and
wealth by paying down hard cash to the plunderers. It was a grievous
time, but the companies weathered the storm, and regained by much
sacrifice their possessions. The system of forced loans instituted by
the Tudor and Stuart monarchs also pressed hard upon the companies.
Henry VIII. required of them L21,000--an enormous sum in those days--for
his war with Scotland. Philip and Mary demanded L100,000 for the war
with France. The Mercers alone supplied Queen Elizabeth with L4,000
after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Before the Petition of Rights
put an end to these forced loans, Charles I. extracted a loan of
L120,000 from the city, and the Civil War made further demands on the
funds of the companies, both contending parties pressing them for money.
It need not be added that little of this enormous wealth was ever
returned to the guilds, and they were much impoverished. Many of them
were compelled to sell their plate and other valuables, and some were
almost reduced to the verge of bankruptcy.
Another drain upon the resources of the companies was the scheme of
James I. to establish the Ulster Plantation upon land forfeited to the
Crown through a recent rebellion there. The King offered the land to the
City Companies for a colony, pointing out the very great advantages
which the land afforded. These were painted in very glowing colours,
but scarcely answered the expectations of the colonists. The active
citizens of London at once formed the Irish Society, raised L60,000 for
the purchase of the land from the sagacious King, and each company took
an equal share. The old county of Derry was the chief scene of this
enterprise, and in token of its new masters was rechristened
London-Derry. The colony had scarcely been established when Charles I.,
with his strange arbitrariness, removed the grant, but it was restored
by Charles II., and most of the estates still belong to the energetic
companies, and have been made the most prosperous part of the
"distressed island."
But the greatest of all the misfortunes which have befallen the
companies was the Great Fire. Hall after hall, replete with costly
treasures bequeathed by departed brethren of the guilds, with all their
archives and documents, perished in that hideous holocaust. All the
wealth that rapacious kings and the troubles of the Civil War had spared
was engulfed in that awful catastrophe. Again and again, when we try to
read the history of a company, we meet with the distressing intelligence
that all its records were destroyed in the Great Fire. Very few escaped.
The leather-sellers, pinners, and ironmongers were happily without the
range of the conflagration. All the books of the companies abound with
graphic details of this calamity. It melted their plate, burned their
records, and laid their property, from which they chiefly derived their
incomes, in ashes. At the same time they were burdened with a load of
debt, the consequence of the compulsory loans to which I have referred,
and saw no means left of paying. The clouds that hung over the companies
were as black as the clouds of smoke that issued from the burning ruins
of their halls. But their English hearts were not daunted, and bravely
did they struggle with their adversities. They immediately set to work
to do what they could to save the relics of their fortunes. They first
took steps to secure their melted plate from the ruined buildings. Then
they set about the rebuilding of their properties. Extraordinary
exertions were made. The wealthier members subscribed vast sums of
money. The houses of their tenants rose like magic from the ruins, and
it is remarkable that in no more than two or three years' time most of
the halls of the companies were rebuilt, and many shone forth with
additional splendour. The reign of Charles II. did not, however,
conclude without involving the companies in additional anxiety,
occasioned by the King's arbitrary interference in their affairs by his
_quo warranto_ proceedings. He presumed to call into question the
validity of the charter of the city of London, and declared it to be
forfeited; and not only that, but also the charters of all the
corporations in England, including those of the City Companies. The
whole business, when regarded in the light of history, appears farcical
and absurd, but the danger to the life of the corporations appeared very
real and tremendous to the good citizens of London in the year 1684.
They behaved in a most loyal and submissive manner, surrendered their
charters, expressed their fear that they had offended their sovereign,
who, "in his princely wisdom," had issued a _quo warranto_ against them,
and earnestly begged to have their charters renewed. The King granted
them new charters, which rivetted strong fetters about the guilds,
placed them, bound hand and foot, at the mercy of the King, and reduced
the city to entire subservience. James II. showed no inclination to
release the city and the companies from their bonds, until the news of
the advent of the Prince of Orange forced him to make an act of
restitution; the old charters were restored, and the proceedings _quo
warranto_ were hastily quashed. One of the first acts of William and
Mary was to renew the old charters and declare that all the acts of the
Stuart monarchs, with regard to the suppression of these ancient
documents and the granting of new ones, were entirely null and void.
This action endeared the new sovereign to the citizens, and, doubtless,
helped greatly to secure for him the English throne and the loyalty of
his people.
Public confidence being restored, the affairs of the companies began to
improve. Though still hampered by the loss of much wealth, and by the
misfortunes through which they had passed, their members were wealthy,
and gifts and bequests were not lacking. It is true that their
connection with the trades which they were supposed to govern was fast
dying out--indeed, many of their trades had for a long time become
obsolete--but the corporations still cared for their poor members,
managed their estates, promoted in some measure the trades with which
they were associated, and took their part in the government of the
affairs of the city. The value of their city property increased
enormously, and raised them from poverty to affluence. This has enabled
them to institute vast schemes of charity and munificence, which
enormously benefits the whole country, and to maintain, preserve, and
develop those magnificent educational and charitable establishments
which pious benefactors have committed to their care. In my book on _The
City Companies of London and their Good Works_ I have told at some
length their interesting story, and given a full account of their
charities and treasures, and how by wise schemes they have adapted old
bequests to modern needs, and how they maintain the hospitable
traditions of the city of London. But that story relates not to Old
London, and need not be told again.
THE HALLS OF THE COMPANIES
Time and space will only allow a very brief inspection of a few of these
interesting buildings, the homes of the companies, which are, without
doubt, the most interesting features of the city of London.[154] In
Cheapside is Mercers' Hall, a fine building, erected after the Great
Fire. The usual entrance is in Ironmonger Lane. If you would try to
realize the former hall and the hospital of St. Thomas and its noble
church, you must read Sir John Watney's work, if you are fortunate
enough to obtain a copy of that admirable privately printed quarto
volume. In the present hall you will see (if permitted) a fine store of
plate, four pieces of which escaped the Great Fire, including a curious
waggon and tun, the gift of W. Baude in 1573, which moves along the
table by clockwork. The entrance colonnade, which occupies the site of
the ancient cloister, with its Doric columns, is attractive, and a fine
stone staircase protected by a wooden portcullis leads to the hall and
court rooms. The hall itself is a noble chamber, panelled by Rowland
Wynne after the Great Fire, and hung with banners and paintings. The
most interesting paintings are: an original portrait of Sir Thomas
Gresham by Holbein; Dean Colet; and a fancy portrait of Sir Richard
Whittington with his famous cat.
[Illustration: THE HALL OF THE MERCERS' COMPANY:
ENTRANCE COLONNADE AND SITE OF ANCIENT CLOISTER.]
Grocers' Hall has been recently rebuilt, and Drapers' Hall is modern,
situated around a lovely court and garden, where a quiet stillness
reigns in refreshing contrast to the noise of the bustling throng of
busy stockbrokers in the adjoining street. Two fine pieces of statuary,
splendid specimens of Gobelins tapestry, much interesting plate, and
fine portraits of kings and queens and other worthies, are among their
treasures. The present hall of the Fishmongers was built in 1831, when
the new London Bridge, of which Mr. Tavenor-Perry, a member of this
company, tells in this volume, was erected. They have many treasures,
including the Walworth Pall, said to have been worked previously to
1381, and to have been used at Walworth's funeral, though it is
evidently the work of the sixteenth century. Numerous royal and other
portraits adorn the walls, paintings of fish by Arnold von Hacken,
Scott's pictures of old London and Westminster Bridges, and a large
representation of a pageant of ancient days, affording some idea of one
of London's scenes of old civic state.
Goldsmiths' Hall, built in 1835, is perhaps the most imposing of all the
homes of the companies, and is rich in plate, sculptures, pictures, and
other works of art. A magnificent marble staircase leads from the ground
floor, monolith pillars support the roof, and a bust of the founder of
the company, Edward III., faces the entrance. Two fine sculptures by
Storey, the Libyan Sibyl and Cleopatra, adorn the vestibule. The oak
panelling of the court room was taken from the old hall. This room
contains a painting of St. Dunstan, the patron saint of the company,
some portraits of worthies, a silver vase and shield by Vechte, and a
small Roman altar, discovered when the foundations of the hall were
being laid. This altar is mentioned in the Ingoldsby Legend of the "Lay
of St. Dunstan." The plate of this company is remarkably fine.
[Illustration: MERCHANT TAYLORS' COMPANY--THE KITCHEN CRYPT.]
In Threadneedle Street is the hall of the Merchant Taylors, the name of
that thoroughfare being doubtless derived from their trade. This hall is
one of the most interesting of all the palaces of the companies,
inasmuch as the Great Fire did not completely destroy the old building,
and was stayed on the premises; hence the present hall is a restoration
of the ancient building, and not an entirely modern erection. There is
an ancient vaulted crypt, the use of which is not quite clear. It may
have been a passage leading from the street to the chapel. In the
fourteenth century Edmund Crepin granted the hall to John de Gakeslee,
the King's pavilion maker, who purchased it on behalf of the company.
The property was enlarged by the gift of the Oteswich family, who gave
to the company the advowson of the church of St. Martin Outwich (or
Oteswich), and certain shops for the benefit of the poor brethren and
sisters. The company built their almshouses on the west end of the
parish church, and attached to them a new hall, the interior of which
was adorned with costly tapestry representing the history of St. John
the Baptist, and a silver image of the saint adorned the screen.
Heraldic arms appeared in the windows, the floor was strewn with rushes,
and silk banners hung from the ceiling. A garden with alleys and a
terrace was at the rear of the hall, and in it stood the treasury, in
which plate and other valuables were stored; and there was a building
called the King's Chamber set apart and well furnished for the reception
of Royal guests, who frequently honoured the company with their
presence. This chamber, called the banqueting hall, was rebuilt in 1593,
and a few years later the space above the ceiling was deemed the most
convenient place for the storage of gunpowder. The great hall was
restored in 1671, and is "old-fashioned, ample, and sumptuous," having
all the characteristics of the fifteenth-century edifice. It is
impossible to describe all the treasures of the company, but we must
mention the two hearse-cloths of Italian fabric of early
sixteenth-century work, some valuable portraits of royalty and of
worthies of the company, two being painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller.
Happily, all the old deeds, charters, and documents were saved at the
Great Fire, and these add greatly to the history of this important
company.
Skinners' Hall was not so fortunate, and a new one was erected, thus
described in 1708: "a noble structure built with fine bricks and richly
furnished, the hall with right wainscot, and the great parlour with
odoriferous cedar." It has been much altered, a new front being added in
1791, and redecorated a hundred years later. The company can boast of
many noble and distinguished members, amongst whom we find Edward III.
and his Queen, the Black Prince, Richard II. and his Queen, Henry IV.,
Henry V., Henry VI., Edward IV., and their Royal consorts.
Haberdashers' Hall is modern, built in 1864 on a site bequeathed to the
company by William Bacon in 1478, but the court room was erected by Wren
after the Great Fire, and has a fine ceiling. Salters' Hall--they have
had no less than five--was finished in 1827, and is very magnificent,
having a large open space in front, which adds greatly to its imposing
appearance. Some pictures were saved at the Great Fire, and there are
two fine paintings of Queen Charlotte and George III. by Sir Joshua
Reynolds. Ironmongers' Hall, spared by the Great Fire, was pulled down
in 1903, and a new hall, we believe, is in course of erection.
[Illustration: SAMUEL PEPYS'S LOVING CUP.
_In the possession of the Clothworkers' Company._]