London was England's greatest manufacturing city. By 1600 the greatest trading companies in London ceased to be associated only with their traditional goods and were dominated by merchants whose main interest was in the cloth trade. Ambitious merchants joined a livery company to become freemen of the city and for the status and social benefits of membership. The companies still made charitable endowments, had funeral feasts, cared for the welfare of guild members, and made lavish displays of pageantry. They were intimately involved with the government of the city. They supplied members for the Court of Aldermen, which relied on the companies to maintain the City's emergency grain stores, to assess and collect taxes, to provide loans to the Crown, to control prices and markets, to provide armed men when trouble was expected, and to raise armies for the Crown at times of rebellion, war, or visits from foreign monarchs. From about 1540 to 1700, there were 23% involved in cloth or clothing industries such as weavers, tailors, hosiers, haberdashers, and cappers. 9% were leatherworkers such as skinners; tanners; those in the heavy leather crafts such as shoemakers, saddlers, and cobblers; and those in the light leather crafts such as glovers and pursers. Another 9% worked in metals, such as the armorers, smiths, cutlers, locksmiths, and coppersmiths. 8% worked in the building trades. The victualing trades, such as bakers, brewers, butchers, costermongers [sold fruit and vegetables from a cart or street stand], millers, fishmongers, oystermen, and tapsters [bartender], grew from 9% before 1600 to 16% by 1700. Of London's workforce, 60% were involved in production; 13% were merchants before 1600; 7% were merchants by 1700; 7% were transport workers such as watermen, sailors, porters, coachmen, and shipwrights; and 5-9% were professionals and officials (this number declining). Life in London was lived in the open air in the streets. The merchant transacted business agreements and the attorney saw his clients in the street or at certain pillars at St. Paul's Church, where there was a market for all kinds of goods and services, including gentlemen's valets, groceries, spirits, books, and loans, which continued even during the daily service. Some gentlemen had offices distant from their dwelling houses such as attorneys, who had a good income from trade disputes and claims to land, which often changed hands. Plays and recreation also occurred in the streets, such as performances by dancers, musicians, jugglers, clowns, tumblers, magicians, and men who swallowed fire. The churches were continuously open and used by trades and peddlers, including tailors and letter-writers. Water carriers carried water in wood vessels on their shoulders from the Thames River or its conduits to the inhabitants three gallons at a time. A gentleman concocted an engine to convey Thames water by lead pipes up into men's houses in a certain section of the city. In 1581, a man took out a lease on one of the arches of London Bridge. There he built a waterwheel from which he pumped water to residents who lived beside the bridge. Soldiers, adventurers, physicians, apprentices, prostitutes, and cooks were all distinguishable by their appearances. An ordinance required apprentices to wear long blue gowns and white breeches with stockings, with no ornamentation of silk, lace, gold or silver and no jewelry. They could wear a meat knife, but not a sword or dagger. Apprentices lived with their masters and worked from 6 or 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Some people knitted wool caps as they walked to later sell. There were sections of town for booksellers, butchers, brewers, hosiers, shoemakers, curriers, cooks, poulters, bow makers, textwriters, pattenmakers, and horse and oxen sellers. Large merchant companies had great halls for trade, such as the mercers, grocers, drapers, fishmongers, and goldsmiths. The other great guilds were the skinners, merchant tailers, salters, haberdashers, ironmongers, vintners, and clothworkers. Smaller guilds were those of the bakers, weavers, fruiterers, dyers, Thames watermen and lightermen, carpenters, joiners, turners, and parish clerks. The guilds insured quality by inspecting goods for a fee.
About 1571, mercer and Merchant Adventurer Thomas Gresham established the Royal Exchange as a place for merchants and brokers to meet for business purposes. It became the center of London's business life. Its great bell rang at midday and at 6 p.m. Its courtyard was lined with shops that rented at 50s. yearly and became a popular social and recreational area. Gresham formulated his law that when two kinds of money of equal denomination but unequal intrinsic value are in circulation at the same time, the one of greater value will tend to be hoarded or exported, i.e. bad money will drive good money out of circulation.
The work-saving knitting frame was invented in 1589 by minister William Lee; it knit crosswise loops using one continuous yarn and was operated by hand. The stocking knitters, who knitted by hand, put up a bitter struggle against its use and chased Lee out of the country. But it did come into use. Some framework stocking knitters paid frame rent for the use of their knitting frames. Frame knitting became a scattered industry.
By 1600 basement services were frequently found in town houses built on restricted sites in London. Lastly, provision of water supplies and improved sanitary arrangements reflected concern with private and public health. There was virtually no drainage. In the case of town houses, some owners would go to considerable effort to solve drainage problems, often paying cash to the civic authorities, but sometimes performing some service for the town at Court or at Westminster, in return for unlimited water or some drainage. Most affluent households, including the Queen's, moved from house to house, so their cesspits could be cleaned out and the vacated buildings aired after use. A few cesspits were made air tight. Otherwise, there was extensive burning of incense. Refuse was emptied out of front doors and shoveled into heaps on street corners. It was then dumped into the Thames or along the highways leading out of town. People put on perfume to avoid the stench. By 1600, the first toilet and water closet, where water flushed away the waste, was built. This provided a clean toilet area all year round. But these toilets were not much used because of sewer smells coming from them. The sky above London was darkened somewhat by the burning of coal in houses.
Taverns served meals as well as ale. They were popular meeting places for both men and women of all backgrounds to met their friends. Men went to taverns for camaraderie and to conduct business. Women usually went to taverns with each other. Two taverns in particular were popular with the intelligentsia. Music was usually played in the background and games were sometimes played. Beer made with hops and malt was introduced and soon there were beer drinking contests. Drunkenness became a problem.
At night, the gates of the city were closed and citizens were expected to hang out lanterns. The constable and his watchmen carried lanterns and patrolled the streets asking anyone they saw why they were out so late at night. Crime was rampant in the streets and criminals were executed near to the crime scene.
There were a few horse-drawn coaches with leather flaps or curtains in the unglazed windows to keep out the weather. The main thoroughfare in London was still the Thames River. Nobles, peers, and dignitaries living on the Thames had their own boats and landings. Also at the banks, merchants of all nations had landing places where ships unloaded, warehouses, and cellars for goods and merchandise. Swans swam in the clear bright water. Watermen rowed people across the Thames for a fee. In Southwark were theaters, outlaws, cutpurses, prostitutes, and prisons. In 1550 Southwark became the 26th and last ward of London. In the summer, people ate supper outside in public.
As of old times, brokers approved by the Mayor and aldermen made contracts with merchants concerning their wares. Some contracts included holding wares as security. Some craftsmen and manual workers extended this idea to used garments and household articles, which they took as pawns, or security for money loaned. This began pawn brokerage, which was lucrative. The problem was that many of the items pawned had been stolen.
Elizabeth had good judgment in selecting her ministers and advisors for her Privy Council, which was organized like Henry VIII's Privy Council. The Queen's Privy Council of about twelve ministers handled foreign affairs, drafted official communiques, issued proclamations, supervised the county offices: the 1500 Justices of the Peace, chief constables, sheriffs, lord lieutenants, and the county militias. It fixed wages and prices in London, advised Justices of the Peace on wages elsewhere, and controlled exports of grain to keep prices down and supplies ample. It banned the eating of meat two days a week so that the fishing industry and port towns would prosper. When grain was scarce in 1596, Elizabeth made a proclamation against those ingrossers, forestallers, and ingraters of grain who increased its price by spreading false rumors that it was scarce because much of it was being exported, which was forbidden. There were labor strikes in some towns for higher wages after periods of inflation. In 1591, London authorities rounded up the sturdy vagabonds and set them to work cleaning out the city ditches for 4d. per day.
Elizabeth did not allow any gentleman to live in London purely for pleasure, but sent those not employed by the Court back to their country manors to take care of and feed the poor of their parishes. Her proclamation stated that "sundry persons of ability that had intended to save their charges by living privately in London or towns corporate, thereby leaving their hospitality and the relief of their poor neighbors, are charged not to break up their households; and all others that have of late time broken up their households to return to their houses again without delay." She never issued a license for more than 100 retainers. She was partially successful in stopping Justices of the Peace and sheriffs from wearing the liveries of great men. She continued the policy of Henry VII to replace the rule of force by the rule of law. Service of the crown and influence at court became a better route to power and fortune than individual factions based on local power structures. At the lowest level, bribery became more effective than bullying. The qualities of the courtier, such as wit, and the lawyer became more fashionable than the qualities of the soldier.