1638–9. About this period the war with Scotland consequent upon Charles I interfering in Scotch Church matters, broke out, and a large army being collected in the North the Barber-Surgeons were directed to “press” and forward twenty-three Surgeons to Newcastle.
The Minute relating to this is as follows,—
20th April, 1639. Upon reading the warrt sent to this house from Yorke signed by the Lord Generall concerneing the want of Surgians in the Armye It is concluded by the Governors & Assistants here pˀnte that Mr Warden Dunn & Mr Collins shall goe on, & goe aboard some Newcastle shipp and agree with a shipper for ye conveighance of ye Surgians & their Chests & provisions & their mates, & likewise give them conduct money, & that for the present that charge to be borne out of the stock of this house untill it cann be reobteyned from the Thrẽr of ye Armye.
This appears to have cost the Company £44 14s., whereof they received but £23, the balance never having been paid. The details of the expenditure are subjoined, and in reading them we cannot but commiserate the unhappy men who were barged to Gravesend and thence “transported” to Newcastle.
Disbursemtꝭ for Impresting and Shippinge of the Surgians in the Years Imploymt for the Kings Service.
| Laid out by Edmund Johnson for ymprestinge of Surgeons for the Kingꝭ service | vli | ||
| Delivered to Mr Collins for the like | xs | ||
| Spent in goeinge to Lymehouse Ratcliffe & wappinge to presse | xviijd | ||
| Paid to xxiij Surgions who were transported by sea from London to Newcastle xxiijli of wch recd by Mr Serjant Clowes xvijli xs & my selfe xxs so that there doth remayne unsatisfied | iiijli | xs | |
| Paid unto Tho: Wells the Mr of the shipp to transport them | viijli | ||
| Paid for a barge to carry us & them to Gravesend | xxxs | ||
| Spent at Gravesend at dynner | ixs | vjd | |
| Spent at Supper | vijs | ||
| Paid Jo: Mules wch he disburced for Warfage literage caremenn & other like Charges as pˀ bill | xxvjs | ||
| Sum̃ is | xxjli | xiiijs |
In accordance with their Charters the ancient practice of the Company had been to elect annually two Surgeons and two Barbers for Master and Wardens; this fell into electing two Surgeons and two others who were often neither Barbers nor Surgeons, and latterly, even the qualification of Surgery came to be disregarded, whereupon (29th March, 1639) a mandate, signed by Charles I and directed to the Company, was read in Court (see [Appendix, G]) in which the King set forth that divers persons as “hosiers dyers & other tradesmen unskilfull in Chirurgery or Barbarye” had been chosen for Masters and Wardens contrary to the Charters and Acts of Parliament, and further “wee takeing into considerac͠on of what dangerous consequence it maye be to suffer a Companye wherein the lives and safetie of or people are soe much concerned and for wch or progenitors have soe carefully provided to be governed by such unskilfull pˀsons,” the King straitly commanded the Company to elect the Governors in the future as they ought to do, viz.: two Barbers and two Surgeons each year.
This order of the King appears for some little time to have been obeyed, and then the Company relapsed into their old practice of choosing at their pleasure, whereupon another mandate came from the King, for we find that:—
17th January, 1644. The Court took notice of the King’s mandate, and a very long and elaborate minute is entered to the effect that the practice of choosing two Barbers and two Surgeons for Governors was fraught with much inconvenience and had led to great dissensions, and the Court referring to the Statute of Henry VII, where it is allowed that any person free of the Company following any other profession than that of a Barber or Surgeon should be reputed and taken as a Barber, ordered that for the future, any Member of the Assistants, other than a Barber or Surgeon, might be put in nomination, and that he should be accounted a Barber. The Court were very careful to express their loyalty to the King whilst they ignored his mandate, trusting no doubt, that should they afterwards be called to account by the King, their dutiful expressions towards him would serve in a measure as an excuse for disobeying his express commands.