1308. The first express entry which we have concerning our Company is the presentation and admission of Richard le Barber, as Supervisor or Master of the Barbers, before the Court of Aldermen in 1308 (Letter-Book C. 96).
Ric’s le Barbour ex oppõito ecc̃lie omñi scoꝜ parue elect’ est et p’sentatˀ pˀ Barbitonsores london die Martˀ p’xˀ p’t fm̃ Sc̃e Lucie virgĩs Anno R. E. fiɫ R. E. sc̃do coram dñis Nichõ de ffarndon tũc maiore london Johñe de Wengũue cetˀisqʒ Aldermĩs ad custodiendˀ officiũ BarbitonsoꝜ &c. Et admissus est et jurˀ q’d quolibet mense faciet scrutiniũ pˀ totñ officiũ suũ et si quos invenˀit lupanarˀ id alio mõ inhonestos et in scandalũ officii &c. eos distringat & distriaõem in cam’am apportari faciet &c.
Richard le Barbour dwelling opposite to the Church of Allhallows the Less, was chosen and presented by the Barbers of London, on Tuesday next after the feast of Saint Lucy the Virgin (13th December) in the second year of the reign of King Edward, son of King Edward, before Sir Nicholas de Farndon, then Mayor of London, John de Wengrave and other Aldermen, to have supervision over the trade of the Barbers &c. And he was admitted and made oath that every month he would make scrutiny throughout the whole of his trade, and if he should find any among them keeping brothels, or acting unseemly in any other way, and to the scandal of the trade, he was to distrain upon them, and cause the distress to be taken into the Chamber (of London) &c.
The foregoing record does not appear very creditable to the reputation of the Barbers of Edward the Second’s time, but it should be remembered that in those days, and for a long period before and afterwards, the Barbers superintended the Baths (Bagnios) and that these places were not infrequently the resort of improper characters; a few of our predecessors had perhaps, under the circumstances, been somewhat lax in their morality, and let us hope that Richard le Barber administered to those whom he found offending, due correction according to his oath and their deserts.
It would not seem from the terms of the admission, that the Master was at that period elected annually, and the Office was probably held by one man for a considerable number of years. There is no entry in the City books (which have been carefully examined for the purpose) of another admission to the Office until the year 1376, when two Masters were appointed, and then for some years subsequently two new Masters were sworn in annually.
1309. In this year we find the first record of an admission of a Barber to the freedom of the City, and several others occur about this period (see [Freemen]).
1310. On Wednesday next after the feast of the Nativity, 4th Edward II, Gerard the Barber was sworn keeper of the Gate of Newgate (Letter-Book D. 113), and there are other entries of Barbers being appointed keepers or porters at the City gates; from one of these, in 1375, it would seem that they were to keep a strict watch that no lepers should enter the city, and it was doubtless on account of their surgical knowledge enabling them to distinguish those afflicted with leprosy, that these offices were conferred upon them.
1310. On Monday before the feast of St. Gregory the will of Richard le Barber, our first Master, was proved in the Court of Husting. To Katherine his wife and Johanna his daughter, he left tenements and rents in Bread Street, Cordwainer Street, Queenhithe, Candlewike Street, and Whitecrouche Street. To Thomas de Mangrave his apprentice, a shop in Bread Street; to the fabric of London Bridge 20s., and the residue to pious uses.