London made within its own walls almost everything that it wanted (see p. 195). The subdivision of trade in a hundred branches was inevitable as the town grew larger and its demands more imperious. For instance, in the branch of arms and armour, there were wanted the bowyer who made bows, the fletcher who made arrows, the bokelsmyth who made buckles, the bracers who made armour for the arms, the gorgoaricer who made gorgets, the tabourer who made drums, the heaulmere who made helmets, the maker of haketons—a quilted jacket worn under armour and sometimes used for armour—of gambesons—another lighter kind of jacket—of pikes, swords, spears, and cross-bow bolts. Again, in the matter of clothing, each kind of garment had its own maker. The wympler made wymples, or those handkerchiefs for the neck worn by nuns and elderly ladies; the capletmonger made and sold caps; the callere made cowls or coifs; the chaloner made chalons or corselets; the bureller worked in coarse cloth; the white tawyer in white leather; the names of the quilter, the pinner, and the plumer, explain their branches. Many of the trades were extremely offensive to the neighbours, and complaints were made from time to time. Not even a mediæval Londoner, for instance, could enjoy the neighbourhood of tallow-melting or of soap-making; nor could the people at any time endure the sight and stink of the blood and offal from the Shambles pouring down the narrow lanes into the river. Therefore order was taken on these subjects. It must, however, be remembered that the City of London, now a warehouse and a distributing centre, was formerly a great hive of industries. Wherever one walked there arose the busy hum and mingled sounds of work: the melodious anvil rang out from a court; the cry of the prentices sounded in Chepe; the song of those who retailed wares was heard about the street; the women who sold fish cried aloud; the man who carried water also cried his wares; and so did the baker who took round the loaves. In the broad streets, Chepe and Cornhill and Bishopsgate Street, the knights and men-at-arms rode slowly along; perhaps a great noble entered the City with five hundred followers all wearing his livery; broad-wheeled waggons heavily rumbled; the Queen was carried along in her cumbrous but richly decorated carriage or her horse litter; the Mayor rode down the street accompanied by the Sheriffs and the Aldermen on the way to a City Function; a trumpeter, a drummer, and a piper preceded a little procession in which the principal figure was a man tied on a hurdle with a whetstone round his neck to show that he was a liar and a cheat; thus was the attention of the people called to the culprit, and they were invited to assist at his pillory, and were admonished of the punishment meted out to offenders. And all the time from every shop and stall and seld the voice of the prentice was uplifted crying, “Buy! buy! buy! What d’ye lack? what d’ye lack?” Above all, and all day long, was heard the ringing of the bells in the hundred and fifty churches and chapels of the City. They sounded all together for early mass, and all together for angelus; at other times for the various services in the Religious Houses: even at midnight they sounded, when the monks were summoned from their warm beds to Matins. It was a noisy, bustling city full of life and animation; the people were always ready to fight, always dreading fire, famine, and plague, yet always hopeful; and the City was always young as befits a city continually at work.
The Trade of London covers the exports and the imports, the industries and the productions, the wants and the luxuries, the superfluities and the extravagances, of the City. There was no great change in these respects during the whole period from the Norman Conquest to the accession of the Tudors. That is to say, the Court of Edward IV. was in all essentials the same as the court of Richard II. A dignitary of the Church in the year 1480 was more magnificent than, but not otherwise different from, one in the year 1280. The rank and state of a Mayor of the later period were much like those of a Mayor in the former period. There had been some development in art; there had been some changes in arms, armour, and warfare: we will try to enumerate the callings, trades, and industries of Mediæval London. It will be matter of surprise to learn how many there were; how many have disappeared; and how many have been merged in other trades. It was not machinery alone that turned man into a machine and made him spend his whole life on one little piece of work, always beginning, always ending, always repeated. In the Appendix will be found a categorical list of trades. I do not advance the list as complete, but it contains nearly all the trades mentioned in the authorities for the time.
This list shows, what I have already stated, that nearly everything wanted for the daily use of the people was made within the walls of the City; here wool was made fit for use, flax was spun, cloth was woven, weapons were hammered out and shaped, bow and arrow, lance, pike, and sword; armour was made, became breastplate and cuirasses; skins were converted into leather, leather into saddles; tiles and bricks were made; the skins and furs were made fit for use; the gold and silver cups, mazers and chalices were made in the City; the people of London made blankets of shalloon, they also made the quilts and pillows; beautiful things with silk, glass vessels, and dainty things for women; in fine—everything that could be made in the City was made. This fact not only limits the imports from foreign and native markets, but shows how self-sufficient a mediæval city could be. This self-sufficiency is further illustrated by the law (3 Ed. IV. c. 4), which prohibited the importation—a measure of Protection—of a great number of goods on the ground that the English artificers cannot compete against foreign-made wares.
Here is a list of things made:—
“Woollen Caps, Woollen Cloth, Laces, Corses, Ribbands, Fringes of Silk and Thread, Laces of Thread, Silk twined, Silk in any wise embroidered, Laces of Gold, Tyres of silk or gold, Saddles, Stirrups, or any Harness pertaining to Saddlery, Spurs, Bosses of Bridles, Aundirons, Gridirons, any Manner of Locks, Pinsons, Fire-tongs, Dripping Pans, Dice, Tennis Balls, Points, Purses, Gloves, Girdles, Harness for Girdles of Iron, Latten Steel, Tin or of Alkemine, anything wrought of any Tawed Leather, any Tawed Furrs, Buscans, Shoes, Galoches, or Corks, Knives, Daggers, Wood-knives, Bodkins, Sheers for Taylors, Scissors, Razors, Sheaths, Playing Cards, Pins, Pattens, Pack Needles, or any Painted Ware, Forcers, Caskets, Rings of Copper or of Latten Gilt, or Chaffing Dishes, Hanging Candlesticks, Chaffing Balls, Sacring Bells, Rings for Curtains, Ladles, Scimmers, Counterfeit Basons, Ewers, Hats, Brushes, Cards for Wool, Blanch Iron Thread commonly called White Wire.” (W. Cunningham, Growth of English Industry.) (See also Appendix II.)
The following notes on the regulations of trade are by Riley:—
“The business of the Winedrawers (Wyndrawers) seems to have been limited to the loading, carriage, and unloading, of tuns and pipes of wine from the Quay cellars to other parts of the City. Their charges were restricted by enactment to certain prices, according to the distance; ten pence being the largest sum allowed for the carriage of a tun of wine to any part within the walls, and eight pence for a pipe.”
“The business of a Brewer was acknowledgedly one held in low estimation; indeed ‘Breweress’ rather should be the term, as, in the times now under consideration, the business was almost wholly in the hands of females, and so continued to be till the close of the fifteenth century, if not later; at which period Fleet Street was tenanted almost wholly by breweresses or alewives, and makers of felt caps. The brewers of ale generally, if not always, sold it also by retail to the public, as well as wholesale, to such dealers as were not brewers themselves, but privileged to sell it. Indeed, at some periods, as already noticed, we meet with prohibitory enactments, forbidding any person but brewers and hostelers to be sellers of ale.
The ale-tavern or ale-house seems to have been a distinct establishment from the wine-tavern; the keeper of which, though the fact does not appear [Liber Albus], was probably prohibited from selling ale. For the present, it is proposed to call the reader’s attention exclusively to the brewing and sale of ale.
Immediately a brewing was finished, it was the duty of the brewer or breweress to send for the Ale-conner of the Ward in order to taste the ale. Upon so doing, the Ale-conner, in case he did not find the ale equal to the Assize, or, in other words, not so good as it ought to be, with the assent of his Alderman set a lower price upon it, which, upon sale thereof, was not to be exceeded. Fine, imprisonment, and even punishment by pillory, were the result of reiterated breaches of the Assize. The gallon, pottle, and quart of the brewer and taverner were to be duly impressed with the seal of the Alderman of the Ward; the tun also, or vat, of the brewery (containing 150 gallons) was similarly sealed. The pottles and quarts, there is reason to believe, were sometimes made of wood, as we find them spoken of as being made when green, and as shrinking from dryness on getting cold. Consumers, private probably as well as taverners, sent their vessel to the brewery; and, by public enactment, there it was to stand the rest of the day and through the night, for the purpose of giving the ale time to work, another proof of its newness when consumed. The next morning on being taken away by the customer, the vessel was to be ‘full of good and clear ale.’
No brewer or breweress, or regrator or regratress of ale, was to keep his or her doors open after Curfew rung, under heavy penalties. Brewers, as well as hostelers, were ordered to retail their ale by full and lawful measure, and not to sell it by the hanap, or metal drinking-mug of the establishment.”
“The best ale, which was no better than sweet-wort, was probably so thin that it might be drunk in ‘potations pottle deep’ without disturbing the equilibrium of the drinker. Fermented liquors were drunk too in these days as new as possible; and there can be little doubt that the ale was used the moment it was made. This, combined with its possible thinness and its lusciousness, would additionally tend to prevent it from producing inebriety; and it is doubtful whether the Londoners then deserved the character for drunkenness which FitzStephen had seemed inclined to give them little better than a century before. The fact, however, that the smallest ale-measure here noticed is a quart would certainly seem, it must be admitted, to militate somewhat against a belief in their comparative sobriety. The extensive consumption, too, of wine, which, at one period, was little more than twice as dear as ale, may have exercised some influence in this respect. Wine at this low price would be no better than, if indeed as good as, the vin ordinaire of the present day; and consequently, though largely drunk, there would be but little chance of its causing inebriety.”
“Pastelers were a class of tradesmen who made pies, and probably other kinds of pastry as well. By one enactment we find them ordered to make pies for one halfpenny; the materials probably being found by those who employed them. Pie-bakers (pybakeres), there seems reason to believe, united the trade of baking pies for their customers with the keeping of tables for guests on their own account; as already noticed, like their brethren, the cooks, they are occasionally spoken of as retailing ale. In one instance, we find an order made that no cook shall charge more than one penny for putting a capon or a rabbit in a crust; the materials for the pastry, with the exception perhaps of the flour, being evidently found by the customer employing him.
The wholesale markets for corn, malt, and salt, brought to London by water, were at Billingsgate, and Queen Hythe. Sometimes in the reign of Edward III. and Richard II., we find it enacted, that the commodities brought to these quays shall remain three days on sale to the public, before the dealers shall be allowed to buy; at other times, the period is limited to a single day. Corn coming to Queen Hythe, temp. Edward II., the property of a stranger, or non-freeman, was not to be put up for sale before prime rung at St. Paul’s, six in the morning. Temp. Richard II., certain bells seem to have been rung to announce to the dealers when the sale of corn at Queen Hythe, Graschirche, and Billingsgate was about to commence. Corn and malt were also sold at Smithfield in the times, apparently, of Edward I., and his successor. In the two following reigns, however, we find it frequently enacted, that persons bringing corn and malt for sale in carts or on horses from the Eastern parts, namely, from the counties of Cambridge, Bedford, Huntingdon, and from Ware, shall take their stand on the Pavement at Graschirche; and those coming from the West, ‘as from Barnet,’ shall expose their wares for sale on the Pavement before the Friars Minors, at Newgate. As they were not allowed to sell by sample, these extensive pavements would be particularly convenient for the deposit and exposure of their sacks. Besides supplying the City to a considerable extent with bread, Stratford, in Essex, was evidently a great repository for corn and flour: which, temp. Edward III., was brought to the City by carts, several times in the week probably, as they paid 3d. per week for Pavage.
Sellers and buyers of corn seem to have been watched at all times with the greatest jealousy and suspicion; out of numerous regulations made at various periods in reference to them, the following may deserve notice:—Vendors of corn were forbidden to sell it by sample, or to put it in any place out of public view. No monger or regrator of corn, fish, or poultry, was to make purchase thereof, before the hour of prime. Good corn was not to be mixed with bad, ‘in deceit of the people,’ under pain of forfeiture. No one was to buy corn, malt, or salt, and leave it in the hands of the original seller for the purpose of selling it as his agent at a profit. No freeman of the City, a regrator of corn, was to stand on the Pavements of Graschirche and Newgate between the foreign sellers, but each class of dealers was to have its separate stand. No retailer was to buy corn or malt for resale except on market days.”
“Fishmongers, selling fish in large quantities to their customers, were to sell by the basket; such basket to be capable of containing one bushel of oats, and, if found deficient, to be burnt in open market. Each basket was also to contain only one kind of sea-fish; and the fishmongers were warned not to colour (douber) their baskets; or, in other words, not to put good fish on the top and inferior beneath. Fish arriving by water at night was not to be moved from the boat till sunrise; but in case the night was rainy, it might be landed on the Quay, under charge of the ‘Serjeant of the Street,’ till the proper time for sale. Herrings, mackerel, and other fish brought by cart, were not to be bought for resale before the hour of noon. Fish brought by land in baskets, when purchased by the keeper of a shop, was not to be taken into the shop, but to be exposed publicly for sale in front of it; the case of a freeman excepted, who might warehouse it for the night, on condition of selling it, without subtraction, in open market next day.
Though, as already stated, fish was occasionally sold at places lower down the river, dealers in the City were at times forbidden to forestall sea-fish or freshwater fish, ‘for the purpose of sending it to any great lord or to a house of religion, or of regrating it,’ until the purveyors for the King had made their purchases for their master’s use. At another period, a regulation was made that no fishmonger should buy fish brought to the City ‘before the good people have bought what they need.’ Very similar, too, in spirit were the following enactments, belonging to various periods in the century under notice:—No fish was to be bought till the vessel was moored. Citizens of London might buy at the boat at the same price as the dealers. Fishmongers were not to buy fresh fish till after mass sung (probably at sunrise) at the Chapel on London Bridge, or at the Church of St. Martin; and not to buy salt fish till after prime; though, by a regulation, temp. Edward I., this last article applied only to salt fish in which strangers had a share, that belonging to citizens being allowed to be sold at sunrise, like the fresh. Freemen of the City, too, were permitted to stand with the fishmongers at their stalls, and to be partners with them in the sale of their wares. No apprentice was to enter a vessel for the purpose of buying fish; and no porter, unless he was called.
We find it also enacted, that no one shall sell fish upon the Quay by retail; and that no one shall carry about cooked whelks for sale, under pain of being amerced and losing his whelks. Fish coming by land, and arriving after dinner, was allowed to be warehoused, whether belonging to a freeman or not, and sold in the market on the morrow. No seller of stockfish was allowed to enter a vessel for the purchase of fish: his trade was wholly distinct from that of the ordinary fishmonger.”
“The great cattle-market, of course, was Smithfield (Smooth field), which is mentioned as a ‘campus,’ a plain, or open space; and ordinances are met with, of an early date, for keeping it clean. Among other animals sold at Smithfield, lean swine are mentioned, probably for fattening in town or in its close vicinity. From the frequent mention of pigs, it would seem probable that pork was more extensively consumed than any other kind of butchers’ meat. Temp. Edward III., lambs are mentioned as being brought by boat to St. Botolph’s Wharf, near the Tower. The great meat-markets were held at the Flesh-Shambles of St. Nicholas, near Newgate, and at the stalls under the covered place or market-house (domus) known as ‘Le Stokkes,’ afterwards Stocks Market. At some periods, if not constantly, the meat-markets were open on Sundays. Temp. Richard II., a regulation was made that all butchers, keeping shops, should close them at dark, and not sell their meat by candle-light; a rule which seems, at times, to have applied to all other trades as well. On the same occasion, too, it was ordered that no one should go out of the City for the purchase of lambs, and that no lambs should be sold at a higher price than six pence.
In the reign of Edward III., orders were issued that the offals of St. Nicholas Flesh-Shambles should be buried in spots appointed for the purpose; and at a later period, in the same reign, we find proclamation made that the butchers of St. Nicholas shall no longer carry the offals and filth of the market down to the Thames; a mandate also being issued that large cattle shall in future be slaughtered without the City.
In the early part of the reign of Edward I., it was ordered that strange or foreign butchers should sell till none (our noon) by retail, and, after that, by wholesale, until Vespers rung at St. Paul’s; at which time they must have finished the sale of their meat, without carrying anything away to salt or store, under penalty of forfeiting the same. In the reign of Edward III., the time for the foreign butchers closing market had been prolonged to Curfew at St Martin’s le Grand. Foreign butchers were also strictly forbidden to bring any carcase to market without the hide or woolfel belonging thereto. Among other ordinances, which seem to have applied equally to free butchers and foreign, it was provided that they should not sell hides or woolfels till after prime, or six in the morning; that they should not sell a woolfel while the animal was alive; and an injunction is to be met with more than once, that butchers, neither themselves nor by their wives, should sell suet, tallow, or lard, for the purpose of being taken beyond sea. Candles were made in these days of tallow or wax, as now.”
“The persons whose business it was to receive guests for profit, appear to have been divided into two classes, ‘Hostelers’ and the ‘Herbergeours.’ The line of distinction between these two classes is not very evident, but it seems not improbable that it consisted in the fact that the former lodged and fed the servants and horses of their guests, while the latter did not. At all events, hostelers are mentioned as supplying hay and corn for horses, but herbergeours never.”
“Temp. Edward I., Barbers were forbidden to expose blood in their windows, but were ordered to carry it privily to the Thames,—one of the comparatively few ordinances of these times to the detriment of that now much ill-used stream. Temp. Henry IV., an enactment is found, to the effect that Barbers shall not follow their calling, or keep their shops open on Sundays. At the close of Edward the Third’s reign, Bowyers were forbidden to send bows to Cornhill, or to any other place within the City, for sale. In the early part of the same reign, Spurriers were ordered to sell spurs at the rate of 6d. and 8d. the pair, the very best not to exceed 12d. In the same reign, it was also enacted that every Goldsmith should put his mark on plate of his manufacture; all Smiths, too, who made swords, and knives, were to have their private mark. Temp. Edward I., the prices to be charged and materials were regulated on the following terms: for putting on a common horse-shoe with six nails, 1½d.; with eight nails, 2d.; and for removing the same, 1/2d.; for putting a shoe on a courser, 2½d.; for putting a shoe on a charger, 3d.; and for removing a shoe from either, 1d.
Carriage or cartage might at any time be seized by the serjeants and grooms (garsons) of the City dignitaries and officials from the ‘Traventers,’ or persons who kept carts and horses for hire. The carts, however, that carried away the filth of the City are mentioned as being especially exempted; an enactment that has very much the semblance of making a virtue of necessity. The serjeants and grooms were especially directed, not to molest the carts and horses of the poor persons who brought victuals and other wares to the City for sale, and not ‘for their own private gain,’ to spare those of persons who kept them for hire,—a rather strong hint as to the prevalence of bribery, which in all probability was anything but uncalled for. Carts used in the City for the carriage of sand, gravel, or potter’s clay, contained one full quarter and no more.” (Riley, Introduction to Liber Albus.)
To these trade regulations should be appended a most formidable document (38 Ed. III.) issued against usurers. The preamble will sufficiently expose the view held of usury at that time.
“Whereas heretofore the City of London has sustained great mischiefs, scandals, and damages, and in time to come might sustain the same, by reason of certain persons who, neither for fear of God nor for shame of the world, cease, but rather do daily exert themselves, to maintain the false and abominable contract of usury, under cover and colour of good and lawful trading; which kind of contract, the more subtly to deceive the people, they call ‘exchange’ or ‘chevisance’; whereas it might more truly be called ‘wickedness,’ seeing that it ruins the honour and the soul of the agent, and sweeps away the goods and property of him who appears to be accommodated, and destroys all manner of right and lawful traffic, whereby, as well throughout all the land as the said City, they ought principally to be upheld and maintained. Wherefore, etc.”
Mints were anciently established in every important town, the work of coinage being entrusted to private persons named moneyers.