CHEAPSIDE TRIBUTARIES, NORTH.
Goldsmiths' Hall--Its Early Days--Tailors and Goldsmiths at
Loggerheads--The Goldsmiths' Company's Charters and Records--Their
Great Annual Feast--They receive Queen Margaret of Anjou in State--A
Curious Trial of Skill--Civic and State Duties--The Goldsmiths break
up the Image of their Patron Saint--The Goldsmiths' Company's
Assays--The Ancient Goldsmiths' Feasts--The Goldsmiths at
Work--Goldsmiths' Hall at the Present Day--The Portraits--St.
Leonard's Church--St. Vedast--Discovery of a Stone
Coffin--Coachmakers' Hall.
In Foster Lane, the first turning out of Cheapside northwards, our first
visit must be paid to the Hall of the Goldsmiths, one of the richest,
most ancient, and most practical of all the great City companies.
The original site of Goldsmiths' Hall belonged, in the reign of Edward
II., to Sir Nicholas de Segrave, a Leicestershire knight, brother of
Gilbert de Segrave, Bishop of London. The date of the Goldsmiths' first
building is uncertain, but it is first mentioned in their records in
1366 (Edward III.). The second hall is supposed to have been built by
Sir Dru Barentyn, in 1407 (Henry IV.). The Livery Hall had a bay window
on the side next to Huggin Lane; the roof was surmounted with a lantern
and vane; the reredos in the screen was surmounted by a silver-gilt
statue of St. Dunstan; and the Flemish tapestry represented the story of
the patron saint of goldsmiths. Stow, writing in 1598, expresses doubt
at the story that Bartholomew Read, goldsmith and mayor in 1502, gave a
feast there to more than 100 persons, as the hall was too small for that
purpose.
From 1641 till the Restoration, Goldsmiths' Hall served as the Exchequer
of the Commonwealth. All the money obtained from the sequestration of
Royalists' estates was here stored, and then disbursed for State
purposes. The following is a description of the earlier hall:--
"The buildings," says Herbert, "were of a fine red brick, and surrounded
a small square court, paved; the front being ornamented with stone
corners, wrought in rustic, and a large arched entrance, which exhibited
a high pediment, supported on Doric columns, and open at the top, to
give room for a shield of the Company's arms. The livery, or common
hall, which was on the east side of the court, was a spacious and lofty
apartment, paved with black and white marble, and very elegantly fitted
up. The wainscoting was very handsome, and the ceiling and its
appendages richly stuccoed--an enormous flower adorning the centre, and
the City and Goldsmiths' arms, with various decorations, appearing in
its other compartments. A richly-carved screen, with composite pillars,
pilasters, &c.; a balustrade, with vases, terminating in branches for
lights (between which displayed the banners and flags used on public
occasions); and a beaufet of considerable size, with white and gold
ornaments, formed part of the embellishments of this splendid room."
"The balustrade of the staircase was elegantly carved, and the walls
exhibited numerous reliefs of scrolls, flowers, and instruments of
music. The court-room was another richly-wainscoted apartment, and the
ceiling very grand, though, perhaps somewhat overloaded with
embellishments. The chimney-piece was of statuary marble, and very
sumptuous."
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF GOLDSMITH'S HALL.]
The guild of Goldsmiths is of extreme antiquity, having been fined in
1180 (Henry II.) as adulterine, that is, established or carried on
without the king's special licence; for in any matter where fines could
be extorted, the Norman kings took a paternal interest in the doings of
their patient subjects. In 1267 (Henry III.) the goldsmiths seem to have
been infected with the pugnacious spirit of the age; for we come upon
bands of goldsmiths and tailors fighting in London streets, from some
guild jealousy; and 500 snippers of cloth meeting, by appointment, 500
hammerers of metal, and having a comfortable and steady fight. In the
latter case many were killed on both sides, and the sheriff at last had
to interpose with the City's _posse comitatus_ and with bows, swords,
and spears. The ringleaders were finally apprehended, and thirteen of
them condemned and executed. In 1278 (Edward I.) many spurious
goldsmiths were arrested for frauds in trade, three Englishmen were
hung, and more than a dozen unfortunate Jews.
The goldsmiths were incorporated into a permanent company in the
prodigal reign of Richard II., and they no doubt drove a good business
with that thriftless young Absalom, who, it is said wore golden bells on
his sleeves and baldric. For ten marks--not a very tremendous
consideration, though it was, no doubt, all he could get--Richard's
grandfather, that warlike and chivalrous monarch, Edward III., had
already incorporated the Company, and given "the Mystery" of Goldsmiths
the privilege of purchasing in mortmain an estate of L20 per annum, for
the support of old and sick members; for these early guilds were benefit
clubs as well as social companies, and jealous privileged monopolists;
and Edward's grant gave the corporation the right to inspect, try, and
regulate all gold and silver wares in any part of England, with the
power to punish all offenders detected in working adulterated gold and
silver. Edward, in all, granted four charters to the Worshipful Company.
[Illustration: TRIAL OF THE PIX. (_See page 357._)]
Henry IV., Henry V., and Edward IV. both granted and confirmed the
liberties of the Company. The Goldsmiths' records commence 5th Edward
III., and furnish much curious information. In this reign all who were
of Goldsmiths' Hall were required to have shops in Chepe, and to sell no
silver or gold vessels except in Chepe or in the King's Exchange. The
first charter complains loudly of counterfeit metal, of false bracelets,
lockets, rings, and jewels, made and exported; and also of vessels of
tin made and subtly silvered over.
The Company began humbly enough, and in their first year of
incorporation (1335) fourteen apprentices only were bound, the fees for
admission being 2s., and the pensions given to twelve persons come to
only L1 16s. In 1343 the number of apprentices in the year rose to
seventy-four; and in 1344 there were payments for licensing foreign
workmen and non-freemen.
During the Middle Ages these City companies were very attentive to
religious observances, and the Wardens' accounts show constant entries
referring to such ceremonies. Their great annual feast was on St.
Dunstan's Day (St. Dunstan being the patron saint of goldsmiths), and
the books of expenses show the cost of masses sung for the Company by
the chaplain, payments for ringing the bells at St. Paul's, for drinking
obits at the Company's standard at St. Paul's, for lights kept burning
at St. James's Hospital, and for chantries maintained at the churches of
St. John Zachary (the Goldsmiths' parish church), St. Peter-le-Chepe,
St. Matthew, Friday Street, St. Vedast, Foster Lane, and others.
About the reign of Henry VI. the records grow more interesting, and
reflect more strongly the social life of the times they note. In 1443 we
find the Company received a special letter from Henry VI., desiring
them, as a craft which had at all times "notably acquitted themselves,"
more especially at the king's return from his coronation in Paris, to
meet his queen, Margaret of Anjou, on her arrival, in company with the
Mayor, aldermen, and the other London crafts. On this occasion the
goldsmiths wore "bawderykes of gold, short jagged scarlet hoods," and
each past Warden or renter had his follower clothed in white, with a
black hood and black felt hat. In this reign John Chest, a goldsmith of
Chepe, for slanderous words against the Company, was condemned to come
to Goldsmiths' Hall, and on his knees ask all the Company forgiveness
for what he had myssayde; and was also forbidden to wear the livery of
the Company for a whole month. Later still, in this reign, a goldsmith
named German Lyas, for selling a tablet of adulterated gold, was
compelled to give to the fraternity a gilt cup, weighing twenty-four
ounces, and to implore pardon on his knees. In 1458 (Henry VI.), a
goldsmith was fined for giving a false return of broken gold to a
servant of the Earl of Wiltshire, who had brought it to be sold.
In the fourth year of King Edward IV. a very curious trial of skill
between the jealous English goldsmiths and their foreign rivals took
place at the "Pope's Head" tavern (now Pope's Head Alley), Cornhill. The
contending craftsmen had to engrave four puncheons of steel (the breadth
of a penny sterling) with cat's heads and naked figures in high relief
and low relief; Oliver Davy, the Englishman, won, and White Johnson, the
Alicant goldsmith, lost his wager of a crown and a dinner to the
Company. In this reign there were 137 native goldsmiths in London, and
41 foreigners--total, 178. The foreigners lived chiefly in Westminster,
Southwark, St. Clement's Lane, Abchurch Lane, Brick Lane, and Bearbinder
Lane.
In 1511 (Henry VIII.) the Company agreed to send twelve men to attend
the City Night-watch, on the vigils of St. John Baptist, and St. Peter
and Paul. The men were to be cleanly harnessed, to carry bows and
arrows, and to be arrayed in jackets of white, with the City arms. In
1540 the Company sent six of their body to fetch in the new Queen, Anne
of Cleves, "the Flemish mare," as her disappointed bridegroom called
her. The six goldsmiths must have looked very gallant in their black
velvet coats, gold chains, and velvet caps with brooches of gold; and
their servants in plain russet coats. Sir Martin Bowes was the great
goldsmith in this reign; he is the man whom Stow accused, when Lord
Mayor, of rooting up all the gravestones and monuments in the Grey
Friars, and selling them for L50. He left almshouses at Woolwich, and
two houses in Lombard Street, to the Company.
In 1546 (same reign) the Company sent twenty-four men, by royal order,
to the king's army. They were to be "honest, comely, and well-harnessed
persons--four of them bowmen, and twelve billmen. They were arrayed in
blue and red (after my Lord Norfolk's fashion), hats and hose red and
blue, and with doublets of white fustian." This same year, the greedy
despot Henry having discovered some slight inaccuracy in the assay,
contrived to extort from the poor abject goldsmiths a mighty fine of
3,000 marks. The year this English Ahab died, the Goldsmiths resolved,
in compliment to the Reformation, to break up the image of their patron
saint, and also a great standing cup with an image of the same saint
upon the top. Among the Company's plate there still exists a goodly cup
given by Sir Martin Bowes, and which is said to be the same from which
Queen Elizabeth drank at her coronation.
The government of the Company has been seen to have been vested in an
alderman in the reign of Henry II., and in four wardens as early as 28
Edward I. The wardens were divided, at a later period, into a prime
warden (always an alderman of London), a second warden, and two renter
wardens. The clerk, under the name of "clerk-comptroller," is not
mentioned till 1494; but a similar officer must have been established
much earlier. Four auditors and two porters are named in the reign of
Henry VI. The assayer, or as he is now called, assay warden (to whom
were afterwards joined two assistants), is peculiar to the Goldsmiths.
The Company's assay of the coin, or trial of the pix, a curious
proceeding of great solemnity, now takes place every year. "It is," says
Herbert, in his "City Companies," "an investigation or inquiry into the
purity and weight of the money coined, before the Lords of the Council,
and is aided by the professional knowledge of a jury of the Goldsmiths'
Company; and in a writ directed to the barons for that purpose (9 and 10
Edward I.) is spoken of as a well-known custom.
"The Wardens of the Goldsmiths' Company are summoned by precept from the
Lord Chancellor to form a jury, of which their assay master is always
one. This jury are sworn, receive a charge from the Lord Chancellor;
then retire into the Court-room of the Duchy of Lancaster, where the pix
(a small box, from the ancient name of which this ceremony is
denominated), and which contains the coins to be examined, is delivered
to them by the officers of the Mint. The indenture or authority under
which the Mint Master has acted being read, the pix is opened, and the
coins to be assayed being taken out, are inclosed in paper parcels, each
under the seals of the Wardens, Master, and Comptrollers. From every 15
lbs. of silver, which are technically called 'journies,' two pieces at
the least are taken at hazard for this trial; and each parcel being
opened, and the contents being found correct with the indorsement, the
coins are mixed together in wooden bowls, and afterwards weighed. From
the whole of these moneys so mingled, the jury take a certain number of
each species of coin, to the amount of 1 lb. weight, for the assay by
fire; and the indented trial pieces of gold and silver, of the dates
specified in the indenture, being produced by the proper officer, a
sufficient quantity is cut from either of them for the purpose of
comparing with it the pound weight of gold or silver by the usual
methods of assay. The perfection or imperfection of these are certified
by the jury, who deliver their verdict in writing to the Lord
Chancellor, to be deposited amongst the papers of the Privy Council. If
found accurate, the Mint Master receives his certificate, or, as it is
called, _quietus_" (a legal word used by Shakespeare in Hamlet's great
soliloquy). "The assaying of the precious metals, anciently called the
'touch,' with the marking or stamping, and the proving of the coin, at
what is called the 'trial of the pix,' were privileges conferred on the
Goldsmiths' Company by the statute 28 Edward I. They had for the former
purpose an assay office more than 500 years ago, which is mentioned in
their books. Their still retaining the same privilege makes the part of
Goldsmiths' Hall, where this business is carried on, a busy scene during
the hours of assaying. In the old statute all manner of vessels of gold
and silver are expected to be of good and true alloy, namely, 'gold of a
certain _touch_,' and silver of the sterling alloy; and no vessel is to
depart out of the hands of the workman until it is assayed by the
workers of the Goldsmiths' craft.
"The _Hall mark_ shows where manufactured, as the Leopard's head for
London. _Duty mark_ is the head of the Sovereign, showing the duty is
paid. _Date mark_ is a letter of the alphabet, which varies every year;
thus, the Goldsmiths' Company have used, from 1716 to 1755, Roman
capital letters; 1756 to 1775, small Roman letters; 1776 to 1795, old
English letters; 1796 to 1815, Roman capital letters, from A to U,
omitting J; 1816 to 1835 small Roman letters a to u, omitting j; from
1836, old English letters. There are two qualities of gold and silver.
The inferior is mostly in use. The quality marks for silver are
Britannia, or the head of the reigning monarch; for gold, the lion
passant, 22 or 18, which denotes that fine gold is 24-carat; 18 only 75
per cent, gold; sometimes rings are marked 22. The _manufacturer's mark_
is the initials of the maker.
"The Company are allowed 1 per cent., and the fees for stamping are paid
into the Inland Revenue Office. At Goldsmiths' Hall, in the years 1850
to 1863 inclusive, there were assayed and marked 85 22-carat
watch-cases, 316,347 18-carat, 493 15-carat, 1550 12-carat, 448 9-carat,
making a total of 318,923 cases, weighing 467,250 ounces 6 dwts. 18
grains. The Goldsmiths' Company append a note to this return, stating
that they have no knowledge of the value of the cases assayed, except
of the intrinsic value, as indicated by the weight and quality of the
gold given in the return. The silver watch-cases assayed at the same
establishment in the fourteen years, 1,139,704, the total weight being
2,302,192 ounces 19 dwts. In the year 1857 the largest number of cases
were assayed out of the fourteen. The precise number in that year was
106,860, this being more than 10,000 above any year in the period named.
In a subsequent year the number was only 77,608. A similar note with
regard to value is appended to the return of silver cases as to the
gold." There has been a complaint lately that the inferior jewellery is
often tampered with after receiving the Hall mark.
An old book, probably Elizabethan, the "Touchstone for Goldsmith's
Wares," observes, "That goldsmiths in the City and liberties, as to
their particular trade, are under the Goldsmiths' Company's control,
whether members or not, and ought to be of _their own company_, though,
from mistake or design, many of them are free of others. For the
wardens, being by their charters and the statutes appointed to survey,
assay, and mark the silver-work, are to be chosen from members, such
choice must sometimes fall upon them that are either of other trades, or
not skilled in their curious art of making assays of gold and silver,
and consequently unable to make a true report of the goodness thereof;
or else the necessary attendance thereon is too great a burden for the
wardens. Therefore they (the wardens) have appointed an _assay master_,
called by them their deputy warden, allowing him a considerable yearly
salary, and who takes an oath for the due performance of his office.
They have large steel puncheons and marks of different sizes, with the
leopard's-head, crowned; the _lion_, and a certain _letter_, which
letter they change alphabetically every year, in order to know the year
any particular work was assayed or marked, as well as the markers. These
marks," he adds, "are every year new made, for the use of fresh wardens;
and although the assaying is referred to the assay master, yet the
_touch-wardens_ look to the striking of the marks." To acquaint the
public the better with this business of the assay, the writer of the
"Touchstone" has prefixed a frontispiece to his work, intended to
represent the interior of an assay office (we should suppose that of the
old Goldsmiths' Hall), and makes reference by numbers to the various
objects shown--as, 1. The refining furnace; 2. The test, with silver
refining in it; 3. The fining bellows; 4. The man blowing or working
them; 5. The test-mould; 6. A wind-hole to melt silver in, with bellows;
7. A pair of organ bellows; 8. A man melting, or boiling, or nealing
silver at them; 9. A block, with a large anvil placed thereon; 10. Three
men forging plate; 11. The fining and other goldsmith's tools; 12. The
assay furnace; 13. The assay master making assays; 14. This man putting
the assays into the fire; 15. The warden marking the plate on the anvil;
16. His officer holding his plate for the marks; and 17. Three
goldsmiths' small workers at work. In the office are stated to be a
sworn weigher to weigh and make entry of all silver-work brought in, and
who re-weighs it to the owners when worked, reserving the ancient
allowance for so doing, which is 4 grains out of every 1 lb. marked, for
a re-assay yearly of all the silver works they have passed the preceding
year. There are also, he says, a table, or tables, in columns, one
whereof is of hardened lead, and the other of vellum or parchment (the
lead columns having the worker's initials struck in them, and the other
the owner's names); and the seeing that these marks are right, and
plainly impressed on the gold and silver work, is one of the warden's
peculiar duties. The manner of marking the assay is thus:--The assay
master puts a small quantity of the silver upon trial in the fire, and
then, taking it out again, he, with his exact scales _that will turn
with the weight of the hundredth_ part of a grain, computes and reports
the goodness or badness of the gold and silver.
The allowance of four grains to the pound, Malcolm states to have been
continued till after 1725; for gold watch-cases, from one to four, one
shilling; and all above, threepence each; and in proportion for other
articles of the same metal. "The assay office," he adds, "seems,
however, to have been a losing concern with the Company, their receipts
for six years, to 1725, being L1,615 13s. 11-1/2d., and the payments,
L2,074 3s. 8d."
The ancient goldsmiths seem to have wisely blended pleasure with profit,
and to have feasted right royally: one of their dinner bills runs
thus:--
EXPENSES OF ST. DUNSTAN'S FEAST.
1473 (12 _Edward IV._).
L s. d.
To eight minstrels in manner accustomed 2 13 8
Ten bonnets for ditto 0 6 8
Their dinner 0 3 4
Two hogsheads of wine 2 10 0
One barrel of Muscadell 0 6 6
Red wine, 17 qrts. and 3 galls 0 11 10
Four barrels of good ale 0 17 4
Two ditto of 2dy halfpenny 0 6 0
In spice bread 0 16 8
In other bread 0 10 10
In comfits and spice (36 articles) 5 17 6
Poultry, including 12 capons at 8d. 2 16 11
Pigeons at 1-1/2d., and 12 more geese, at 7d. each.
With "butchery," "fishmongery," and "miscellaneous articles," the total
amount of the feast was L26 17s. 7d.
A supper bill which occurs in the 11th of Henry VIII. only amounts to L5
18s. 6d., and it enumerates the following among the provisions:--Bread,
two bushels of meal, a kilderkin and a firkin of good ale, 12 capons,
four dozen of chickens, four dishes of Surrey (sotterey) butter, 11 lbs.
of suet, six marrow bones, a quarter of a sheep, 50 eggs, six dishes of
sweet butter, 60 oranges, gooseberries, strawberries, 56 lbs. of
cherries, 17 lbs. 10 oz. of sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and mace,
saffron, rice flour, "raisins, currants," dates, white salt, bay salt,
red vinegar, white vinegar, verjuice, the hire of pewter vessels, and
various other articles.
In City pageants the Goldsmiths always held a conspicuous place. The
following is an account of their pageant in jovial Lord Mayor Vyner's
time (Charles II.):--
"First pageant. A large triumphal chariot of gold, richly set with
divers inestimable and various coloured jewels, of dazzling splendour,
adorned with sundry curious figures, fictitious stories, and delightful
landscapes; one ascent of seats up to a throne, whereon a person of
majestic aspect sitteth, the representer of Justice, hieroglyphically
attired, in a long red robe, and on it a golden mantle fringed with
silver; on her head a long dishevelled hair of flaxen colour, curiously
curled, on which is a coronet of silver; in her left hand she advanceth
a touchstone (the tryer of _Truth_ and discoverer of _Falsehood_); in
her right hand she holdeth up a golden balance, with silver scales,
equi-ponderent, to weigh justly and impartially; her arms dependent on
the heads of two _leopards_, which emblematically intimate _courage_ and
_constancy_. This chariot is drawn by two golden unicorns, in excellent
carving work, with equal magnitude, to the left; on whose backs are
mounted two raven-black negroes, attired according to the dress of
India; on their heads, wreaths of divers coloured feathers; in their
right hands they hold golden cups; in their left hands, two displayed
banners, the one of the king's, the other of the Company's arms, all
which represent the crest and the supporters of the ancient, famous, and
worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.
"Trade pageant. On a very large pageant is a very rich seat of state,
containing the representer of the Patron to the Goldsmiths' Company,
Saint Dunstan, attired in a dress properly expressing his prelatical
dignity, in a robe of fine white lawn, over which he weareth a cope or
vest of costly bright cloth of gold, down to the ground; on his reverend
grey head, a golden mitre, set with topaz, ruby, emerald, amethyst, and
sapphire. In his left hand he holdeth a golden crozier, and in his right
hand he useth a pair of goldsmith's tongs. Beneath these steps of
ascension to his chair, in opposition to St. Dunstan, is properly
painted a goldsmith's forge and furnace, with fire and gold in it, a
workman blowing with the bellows. On his right and left hand, there is a
large press of gold and silver plate, representing a shop of trade; and
further in front, are several artificers at work on anvils with hammers,
beating out plate fit for the forgery and formation of several vessels
in gold and silver. There are likewise in the shop several wedges or
ingots of gold and silver, and a step below St. Dunstan sitteth an
assay-master, with his glass frame and balance, for trial of gold and
silver, according to the standard. In another place there is also
disgrossing, drawing, and flatting of gold and silver wire. There are
also finers melting, smelting, fining, and parting gold and silver, both
by fire and water; and in a march before this orfery, are divers miners
in canvas breeches, red waistcoats, and red caps, bearing spades,
pickaxes, twibills, and crows, for to sink shafts, and make adits. The
Devil, also, appearing to St. Dunstan, is catched by the nose at a
proper _qu_, which is given in his speech. When the speech is spoken,
the great anvil is set forth, with a silversmith holding on it a plate
of massive silver, and three other workmen at work, keeping excellent
time in their orderly strokes upon the anvil."
The Goldsmiths in the Middle Ages seem to have been fond of dress. In a
great procession of the London crafts to meet Richard II.'s fair young
queen, Anne of Bohemia, all the mysteries of the City wore red and black
liveries. The Goldsmiths had on the red of their dresses bars of
silver-work and silver trefoils, and each of the seven score Goldsmiths,
on the black part, wore fine knots of gold and silk, and on their
worshipful heads red hats, powdered with silver trefoils. In Edward
IV.'s reign, the Company's taste changed. The Liverymen wore violet and
scarlet gowns like the Goldsmiths' sworn friends, the Fishmongers;
while, under Henry VII., they wore violet gowns and black hoods. In
Henry VIII.'s reign the hoods of the mutable Company went back again to
violet and scarlet.
In 1456 (Henry VI.) the London citizens seem to have been rather severe
with their apprentices; for we find William Hede, a goldsmith, accusing
his apprentice of beating his mistress. The apprentice was brought to
the kitchen of the Goldsmith's Hall, and there stripped naked, and
beaten by his master till blood came. This punishment was inflicted in
the presence of several people. The apprentice then asked his master's
forgiveness on his knees.
[Illustration: EXTERIOR OF GOLDSMITHS' HALL.]
The Goldsmiths' searches for bad and defective work were arbitrary
enough, and made with great formality. "The wardens," say the
ordinances, "every quarter, once, or oftener, if need be, shall search
in London, Southwark, and Westminster, that all the goldsmiths there
dwelling work true gold and silver, according to the Act of Parliament,
and shall also make due search for their weights."
The manner of making this search, as elsewhere detailed, seems to have
resembled that of our modern inquest, or annoyance juries; the Company's
beadle, in full costume and with his insignia of office, marching first;
the wardens, in livery, with their hoods; the Company's clerk, two
renter wardens, two brokers, porters, and other attendants, also
dressed, following. Their mode of proceeding is given in the following
account, entitled "The Manner and Order for Searches at Bartholomew
Fayre and Our Ladye Fayre" (Henry VIII.):--
"Md. The Bedell for the time beyng shall walke uppon Seynt Barthyllmewes
Eve all alonge Chepe, for to see what plaate ys in eury mannys deske and
gyrdyll. And so the sayd wardeyns for to goo into Lumberd Streate, or
into other places there, where yt shall please theym. And also the clerk
of the Fellyshyppe shall wayt uppon the seyd wardeyns for to wryte eury
prcell of sylur stuffe then distrayned by the sayd wardeyns.
"Also the sayd wardeyns been accustomed to goo into Barth'u Fayre, uppon
the evyn or daye, at theyr pleasure, in theyre lyuerey gownes and
hoodys, as they will appoint, and two of the livery, ancient men, with
them; the renters, the clerk, and the bedell, in their livery, with
them; and the brokers to wait upon my masters the wardens, to see every
hardware men show, for deceitful things, beads, gawds of beads, and
other stuff; and then they to drink when they have done, where they
please.
"Also the said wardens be accustomed at our Lady day, the Nativity, to
walk and see the fair at Southwark, in like manner with their company,
as is aforesaid, and to search there likewise."
Another order enjoins the two second wardens "to ride into Stourbrydge
fair, with what officers they liked, and do the same."
Amongst other charges against the trade at this date, it is said "that
dayly divers straungers and other gentils" complained and found
themselves aggrieved, that they came to the shops of goldsmiths within
the City of London, and without the City, and to their booths and fairs,
markets, and other places, and there bought of them _old plate_ new
refreshed in gilding and burnishing; it appearing to all "such
straungers and other gentils" that such old plate, so by them bought,
was new, sufficient, and able; whereby all such were deceived, to the
grete "dys-slaunder and jeopardy of all the seyd crafte of goldsmythis."
[Illustration: ALTAR OF DIANA (_see page 362_).]
In consequence of these complaints, it was ordained (15 Henry VII.) by
all the said fellowship, that no goldsmith, within or without the City,
should thenceforth put to sale such description of plate, in any of the
places mentioned, without it had the mark of the "Lybardishede crowned."
All plate put to sale contrary to these orders the wardens were
empowered to break. They also had the power, at their discretion, to
fine offenders for this and any other frauds in manufacturing. If any
goldsmith attempted to prevent the wardens from breaking bad work, they
could seize such work, and declare it forfeited, according to the Act of
Parliament, appropriating the one half (as thereby directed) to the
king, and the other to the wardens breaking and making the seizure.
The present Goldsmiths' Hall was the design of Philip Hardwick, R.A.
(1832-5), and boasts itself the most magnificent of the City halls. The
old hall had been taken down in 1829, and the new hall was built without
trenching on the funds set apart for charity. The style is Italian, of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The building is 180 feet in
front and 100 feet deep. The west or chief facade has six attached
Corinthian columns, the whole height of the front supporting a rich
Corinthian entablature and bold cornice; and the other three fronts are
adorned with pilasters, which also terminate the angles. Some of the
blocks in the column shafts weigh from ten to twelve tons each. The
windows of the principal story, the echinus moulding of which is
handsome, have bold and enriched pediments, and the centre windows are
honoured by massive balustrade balconies. In the centre, above the first
floor, are the Company's arms, festal emblems, rich garlands, and
trophies. The entrance door is a rich specimen of cast work. Altogether,
though rather jammed up behind the Post-office, this building is worthy
of the powerful and wealthy company who make it their domicile.
The modern Renaissance style, it must be allowed, though less
picturesque than the Gothic, is lighter, more stately, and more adapted
for certain purposes.
The hall and staircase are much admired, and are not without grandeur.
They were in 1871 entirely lined with costly marbles of different sorts
and colours, and the result is very splendid. The staircase branches
right and left, and ascends to a domed gallery. Leaving that respectable
Cerberus dozy but watchful in his bee-hive chair in the vestibule, we
ascend the steps. On the square pedestals which ornament the balustrade
of the first flight of stairs stand four graceful marble statuettes of
the seasons, by Nixon. Spring is looking at a bird's-nest; Summer,
wreathed with flowers, leads a lamb; Autumn carries sheaves of corn; and
Winter presses his robe close against the wind. Between the double
scagliola columns of the gallery are a group of statues; the bust of the
sailor king, William IV., by Chantrey, is in a niche above. A door on
the top of the staircase opens to the Livery hall; the room for the
Court of Assistants is on the right of the northernmost corridor. The
great banqueting-hall, 80 by 40 feet, and 35 feet high, has a range of
Corinthian columns on either side. The five lofty, arched windows are
filled with the armorial bearings of eminent goldsmiths of past times;
and at the north end is a spacious alcove for the display of plate,
which is lighted from above. On the side of the room is a large mirror,
with busts of George III. and his worthy son, George IV. Between the
columns are portraits of Queen Adelaide, by Sir Martin Archer Shee, and
William IV. and Queen Victoria, by the Court painter, Sir George Hayter.
The court-room has an elaborate stucco ceiling, with a glass chandelier,
which tinkles when the scarlet mail-carts rush off one after another. In
this room, beneath glass, is preserved the interesting little altar of
Diana, found in digging the foundations of the new hall. Though greatly
corroded, it has been of fine workmanship, and the outlines are full of
grace. There are also some pictures of great merit and interest. First
among them is Janssen's fine portrait of Sir Hugh Myddleton. He is
dressed in black, and rests his hand upon a shell. This great benefactor
of London left a share in his water-works to the Goldsmiths' Company,
which is now worth more than L1,000 a year. Another portrait is that of
Sir Thomas Vyner, that jovial Lord Mayor, who dragged Charles II. back
for a second bottle. A third is a portrait (after Holbein) of Sir Martin
Bowes, Lord Mayor in 1545 (Henry VIII.); and there is also a large
picture (attributed to Giulio Romano, the only painter Shakespeare
mentions in his plays). In the foreground is St. Dunstan, in rich robes
and crozier in hand, while behind, the saint takes the Devil by the
nose, much to the approval of flocks of angels above. The great white
marble mantelpiece came from Canons, the seat of the Duke of Chandos;
and the two large terminal busts are attributed to Roubiliac. The
sumptuous drawing-room, adorned with crimson satin, white and gold, has
immense mirrors, and a stucco ceiling, wrought with fruit, flowers,
birds, and animals, with coats of arms blazoned on the four corners. The
court dining-room displays on the marble chimney-piece two boys holding
a wreath encircling the portrait of Richard II., by whom the Goldsmiths
were first incorporated. In the livery tea-room is a conversation piece,
by Hudson (Reynolds' master), containing portraits of six Lord Mayors,
all Goldsmiths. The Company's plate, as one might suppose, is very
magnificent, and comprises a chandelier of chased gold, weighing 1,000
ounces; two superb old gold plates, having on them the arms of France
quartered with those of England; and, last of all, there is the gold cup
(attributed to Cellini) out of which Queen Elizabeth is said to have
drank at her coronation, and which was bequeathed to the Company by Sir
Martin Bowes. At the Great Exhibition of 1851 this spirited Company
awarded L1,000 to the best artist in gold and silver plate, and at the
same time resolved to spend L5,000 on plate of British manufacture.
From the Report of the Charity Commissioners it appears that the
Goldsmiths' charitable funds, exclusive of gifts by Sir Martin Bowes,
amount to L2,013 per annum.
Foster Lane was in old times chiefly inhabited by working goldsmiths.
"Dark Entry, Foster Lane," says Strype, "gives a passage into St.
Martin's-le-Grand. On the north side of this entry was seated the parish
church of St. Leonard, Foster Lane, which being consumed in the Fire of
London, is not rebuilt, but the parish united to Christ Church; and the
place where it stood is inclosed within a wall, and serveth as a
burial-place for the inhabitants of the parish."
On the west side of Foster Lane stood the small parish church of St.
Leonard's. This church, says Stow, was repaired and enlarged about the
year 1631. A very fair window at the upper end of the chancel (1533)
cost L500.
In this church were some curious monumental inscriptions. One of them,
to the memory of Robert Trappis, goldsmith, bearing the date 1526,
contained this epitaph:--
"When the bels be merrily rung,
And the masse devoutly sung,
And the meate merrily eaten,
Then shall Robert Trappis, his wife and children be forgotten."
On a stone, at the entering into the choir, was inscribed in Latin,
"Under this marble rests the body of Humfred Barret, son of John Barret,
gentleman, who died A.D. 1501." On a fair stone, in the chancel,
nameless, was written:--
"LIVE TO DYE.
"All flesh is grass, and needs must fade
To earth again, whereof 'twas made."
St. Vedast, otherwise St. Foster, was a French saint, Bishop of Arras
and Cambray in the reign of Clovis, who, according to the Rev. Alban
Butler, performed many miracles on the blind and lame. Alaric had a
great veneration for this saint.
In 1831, some workmen digging a drain discovered, ten or twelve feet
below the level of Cheapside, and opposite No. 17, a curious stone
coffin, now preserved in a vault, under a small brick grave, on the
north side of St. Vedast's; whether Roman or Anglo-Saxon, it consists of
a block of freestone, seven feet long and fifteen inches thick, hollowed
out to receive a body, with a deeper cavity for the head and shoulders.
When found, it contained a skeleton, and was covered with a flat stone.
Several other stone coffins were found at the same time.
The interior of St. Foster is a melancholy instance of Louis Quatorze
ornamentation. The church is divided by a range of Tuscan columns, and
the ceiling is enriched with dusty wreaths of stucco flowers and fruit.
The altar-piece consists of four Corinthian columns, carved in oak, and
garnished with cherubim, palm-branches, &c. In the centre, above the
entablature, is a group of well-executed winged figures, and beneath is
a sculptured pelican. In 1838 Mr. Godwin spoke highly of the transparent
blinds of this church, painted with various Scriptural subjects, as a
substitute for stained glass.
"St. Vedast Church, in Foster Lane," says Maitland, "is on the east
side, in the Ward of Farringdon Within, dedicated to St. Vedast, Bishop
of Arras, in the province of Artois. The first time I find it mentioned
in history is, that Walter de London was presented thereto in 1308. The
patronage of the church was anciently in the Prior and Convent of
Canterbury, till the year 1352, when, coming to the archbishop of that
see, it has been in him and his successors ever since; and is one of the
thirteen peculiars in this city belonging to that archiepiscopal city.
This church was not entirely destroyed by the fire in 1666, but nothing
left standing but the walls; the crazy steeple continued standing till
the year 1694, when it was taken down and beautifully rebuilt at the
charge of the united parishes. To this parish that of St. Michael Quern
is united."
Among the odd monumental inscriptions in this church are the
following:--
"Lord, of thy infinite grace and Pittee
Have mercy on me Agnes, somtym the wyf
Of William Milborne, Chamberlain of this citte,
Which toke my passage fro this wretched lyf,
The year of gras one thousand fyf hundryd and fyf,
The xii. day of July; no longer was my spase,
It plesy'd then my Lord to call me to his Grase;
Now ye that are living, and see this picture,
Pray for me here, whyle ye have tyme and spase,
That God of his goodnes wold me assure,
In his everlasting mansion to have a plase.
Obiit Anno 1505."
"Here lyeth interred the body of Christopher Wase, late
citizen and goldsmith of London, aged 66 yeeres, and dyed
the 22nd September, 1605; who had to wife Anne, the
daughter of William Prettyman, and had by her three sons
and three daughters.
"Reader, stay, and thou shalt know
What he is, that here doth sleepe;
Lodged amidst the Stones below,
Stones that oft are seen to weepe.
Gentle was his Birth and Breed,
His carriage gentle, much contenting;
His word accorded with his Deed,
Sweete his nature, soone relenting.
From above he seem'd protected,
Father dead before his Birth.
An orphane only, but neglected.
Yet his Branches spread on Earth,
Earth that must his Bones containe,
Sleeping, till _Christ's_ Trumpet shall wake them,
Joyning them to Soule againe,
And to Blisse eternal take them.
It is not this rude and little Heap of Stones,
Can hold the Fame, although't containes the Bones;
Light be the Earth, and hallowed for thy sake,
Resting in Peace, Peace that thou so oft didst make."
Coachmakers' Hall, Noble Street, Foster Lane originally built by the
Scriveners' Company, was afterwards sold to the Coachmakers. Here the
"Protestant Association" held its meetings, and here originated the
dreadful riots of the year 1780. The Protestant Association was formed
in February, 1778, in consequence of a bill brought into the House of
Commons to repeal certain penalties and liabilities imposed upon Roman
Catholics. When the bill was passed, a petition was framed for its
repeal; and here, in this very hall (May 29, 1780), the following
resolution was proposed and carried:--
"That the whole body of the Protestant Association do attend in St.
George's Fields, on Friday next, at ten of the clock in the morning, to
accompany Lord George Gordon to the House of Commons, on the delivery of
the Protestant petition." His lordship, who was present on this
occasion, remarked that "if less than 20,000 of his fellow-citizens
attended him on that day, he would not present their petition."
Upwards of 50,000 "true Protestants" promptly answered the summons of
the Association, and the Gordon riots commenced, to the six days' terror
of the metropolis.